Chapter 203: Spiritual Array
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Ghosts... curse?"
Fang Yuan revealed a mysterious smile. "Interesting! This is really interesting!"
Ghosts were once described in Master Heartless's inheritance and Yang Fan's dream world, but none of them was described like that.
"If it wasn't an extremely strong evil spirit which wiped out Red Leaf Village, then it must be..."
Fang Yuan was deep in thought. Suddenly, he looked at Li Hu and ordered. "We must be on our way to Descending Star City!"
"Yes Lord!"
Even the laziest person would become extremely alert after such a thing happened. After all, everyone would take their lives seriously. For their own safety, it was better to keep a distance from Red Leaf Village.
Due to their continuous journeying, they did not rest much. Instead, they arrived at Descending Star City a day earlier than planned.
"Indeed a spiritual city!"
Looking ahead, he could see the lake surrounding the city.
Although this city, with walls of only 20 feet tall, could not compare with the many huge cities that Fang Yuan had seen before, it was still rather lively. There were even spiritual inscriptions glowing on the city walls! As it swirled around, it gave the impression of a huge array.
"For sturdiness, defence and prosperity..."
Even Fang Yuan could only understand little about the true potential of the entire array around the city.
'It seems that the spiritual array master here had learnt quite a bit from Da Qian Empire, and is quite impressive!'
"Hold it there! Pay the entrance fees!"
As they arrived at the city gates, a row of soldiers stopped the caravan. The leader of the soldiers wore an armour made of an unknown hide, and this was already considered rather luxurious. "We'll count the people and the goods separately. Are you from Rock Village? You should know the rules, right?"
As the leader looked at Fang Yuan, he continued. "A day's worth of tax can only allow you to stay in the city for a day! If you are caught by the soldiers at midnight, it would not be as simple as paying a fine."
"No worries, we know the rules!"
Li Hu smiled and shoved a piece of black ore in the leader's hands. "Please let us pass!"
"I knew it! Everyone from Rock City is beggars..."
The leader frowned as though he was unsatisfied. However, he still kept the black ore and kicked Li Hu harshly. "Hold on to the license and get lost!"
Facing a person of such authority, not just Li Hu, but even Yu Jian shrugged his head, afraid to speak a word.
Since they were submissive, Fang Yuan did not want to attract too much attention as well. He followed their lead and became an obedient villager as they paid their tax to enter the city.
"This is our license. It allows us to stay in the city for a day. Lord, please keep it well. There are soldiers patrolling in the city at every moment. If we do not find a place to stay by midnight, we would be captured and sent to the quarries, with no chance of coming out..."
"Oh?"
Fang Yuan received the license and realised that it was a clay slab. It was made of a normal material, but there was a small spiritual inscription on it.
The spiritual inscription appeared useless and was only a form of marking. Based on the energy level, it would disappear in a few hours and could not last till the next day.
Descending Star City used this method to maintain order among the people living in the city.
However, to Fang Yuan, it was a useless method.
He looked around and noticed a small market.
Villagers that came from everywhere were following the lead of their leaders, and their eyes were filled with curiosity. They began to start trading at the market and were engaging in barter trade.
"My intention is to explore Descending Star City!"
Fang Yuan went up to Li Hu, who appeared pale. Without hesitation, Fang Yuan said, "Goodbye, I'll see you next time!"
He did not owe them anything. Instead, he provided protection to the entire caravan, and therefore he could leave without worries.
Li Hu was left dumbfounded and remained silent.
"Lord..."
Yu Jian clenched his teeth. "Bring me along! I want to be your servant! I am willing to do anything, and I eat very little..."
"Haha... Thanks, but I don't need a servant!"
Fang Yuan rubbed Yu Jian's head. "Little fellow, you should not take the risk now. Rather, you should continue to work hard on your martial arts and get a strong foundation, and take care of your family and your sister..."
This young boy had fate with Fang Yuan, but it was not enough to change his mind.
After saying his piece, Fang Yuan waved goodbye and disappeared into the crowd in style.
"Lord..."
Yu Jian was stunned.
He thought that based on his relationship with Fang Yuan, even if Fang Yuan would reject him as a disciple, he could still gain something from him.
Never would he have thought that Fang Yuan would leave just like that, destroying all hope that he initially had!
"How would it be so easy to get such a good deal... This is only reality!"
Although Li Hu was not willing, he still went forward and comforted Yu Jian. "Don't think about it anymore. At least you have left an impression of yourself in his mind. If you were to meet him in the future, you will have an advantage over others!"
Thinking about those people who boasted that they had found highly skilled masters in Descending Star City, he realised that all of them were gifted, and their family had enough wealth to support their dream. Some of the families even went bankrupt just to support their children!
If they didn't do this, how would they escape the cycle of poverty and bring hope to their family?
Young people nowadays were too weak!
...
"Indeed, even the words are in Da Qian language... The ancestor of Descending Star City must have migrated from Da Qian..."
Fang Yuan walked down a few streets and were looking at their signs.
The bestsellers in the market were still weapons and food!
Other than Hundred Casted Steel, there were weapons made out of beasts native to the icy plains and spiritual beasts. Their asking price was even higher than normal weapons, but the demand there.
Of course, these were still considered low-quality trades.
The top quality products would not be easily found on the streets, but in the majestic courts.
"Spiritual Array Court?"
Fang Yuan arrived at the centre of Descending Star City and noticed a towering building. The signboard was filled with words that were written with energy, but the most important was still an octogonal spiritual tablet. It was glittering on its surface and the spiritual inscriptions on it were glowing. This meant that a spiritual array master was in charge of this place.
"We sell all types of protective array plates, array maps, and the services of a spiritual array master..."
Fang Yuan rubbed his chin as he read off the introduction. He became increasingly excited.
To survive in a place with such harsh environments, they could rely on arrays!
Regardless if it was the brutal cold or the icy storm, the harsh natural weather conditions or the beasts native to the icy plains, all types of unknown dangers could wipe out an entire village.
Without the protection from a strong protective array, any prosperous village would still collapse after 3 days.
"It seems that the immigrants from Da Qian have obtained the inheritance to the array techniques in the Da Qian Empire..."
Fang Yuan walked into Spiritual Array Court and had a mysterious look on his face.
He had interest in knowing more about spiritual arrays.
If he was a normal spiritual knight, he had to worry that it might not be applicable to him.
However, on his path as a dream master, there were different paths to take after the Illusionary Divine Stage for him to specialise. There was no harm in understanding another path, and instead, it might even benefit him.
"Eh?"
As he entered the court, he could feel that something was different.
"The concentration of Heaven and Earth elemental energy? It's going up and is many times that of the outside... It has similar effects to a spiritual land!"
As he took another step forward, the surroundings suddenly expanded, revealing a huge hall. The decor was luxurious and did not feel normal at all.
"A new scene with every step? Indeed an array!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head and arrived at the counter.
"Welcome, guest!"
The person at the counter was a middle-aged man smiling. He was wearing a silk robe and appeared wealthy.
Furthermore, he appeared happy and a little chubbier than the rest. Fang Yuan could tell that his living conditions must be much better than the villagers living in Rock Village.
"What do you need, guest?"
He had a professional smile on his face. "We sell an 'immovable array', and it is uniquely designed for defence. It consists of three array plates and eight array flags. If you follow the design on the spiritual array map, you will be able to achieve at least 80% of the original array's power! This is the top choice for many who are looking to protect their homes!"
"Of course, if you are not satisfied with it, you can leave a feedback. I will contact the spiritual array master, and he will personally help you arrange the array..."
"Immovable array?"
Looking at the sealed up wall behind the counter, together with the array plates that were glowing with spiritual light, he shook his head. "The area covered for this array is too small. What if I want to protect an entire village?"
"That will be a giant array!"
The person at the counter shook his head. "We only sell it at the heart of this court. To add on, you will need to receive approval from the City Lord Manor. If the city master does not approve of it, then we would not dare to bear this responsibility..."
A giant protective array would be protection for an entire village!
The city master of Descending Star City was the source of this spiritual array. This way, he managed to obtain land and control over the villages and therefore would want ultimate control over the distribution of this giant array.
"I see!"
Fang Yuan nodded his head.
He could tell that in Spiritual Array Court, of all the many counters, every counter had a corresponding spiritual array master which was at the level of a disciple.
The giant array of all the villages required a spiritual array master at the Elemental Gathering Stage to personally construct, and therefore people had to pay a premium for it. To add on, there were also many restrictions.
'It seems that the city master has the sole access to the spiritual array master's inheritance...'
Fang Yuan shook his head. "I need to put myself against the city master just for a spiritual array master's inheritance? This doesn't seem... like it's worth it..."
Spiritual knights had all sorts of techniques up their sleeves. If enough time was given to a spiritual array master, he could surely come up with a shocking array capable of killing many. Fang Yuan did not want to test that theory out.
'The Descending Star City is their nest. A spiritual array master would have placed an array here that would last for eternity...'
Thinking about this, Fang Yuan was confused.
"It's alright. This seems not too bad, I'll have it!"
Just as the person at the counter thought that the trade was about to fall apart, Fang Yuan suddenly exclaimed, leaving him dazed.
"Alright. What would you use for payment?"
He rubbed his hands together as though he was extremely excited.
After all, it was not frequent that he would get a sale, and his commision would be quite a huge percentage.
"How's this?"
Fang Yuan smiled and took out a jade bottle.