Chapter 61: Walked a Few Dozen Steps Further, Suddenly the View Opened Up

Seven-colored poisonous miasma slowly spread like gauze dyed with cinnabar; Monk Fang Yuan's monk's robe glowed with golden light, burning a winding path through the poison fog.

The two passed through the miasma and soon reached the entrance to this valley.

Three weathered stone mythical beasts were half-hidden among the mugwort; eroded by time, only their rough outlines remained. Occasional bones lay scattered among the wild grass, looking quite desolate.

What lay before them was a scene of desolation, as if no human had set foot there for centuries, feeling quite eerie.

However, Chen Ye activated his Spirit Eyes and saw traces of spiritual energy flowing everywhere; the density of the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy far exceeded anything Chen Ye had seen before.

"Truly a good place for cultivation."

Monk Fang Yuan merely smiled and offered no guidance on how Chen Ye should enter the valley.

Chen Ye understood; this was likely a trial of the Hundred Seas Valley.

Even ordinary inns could set up a bronze door to test a guest's skill; how much more so for a cultivator's domain.

This desolate entrance before him must be an illusion; Chen Ye needed to find the correct entrance to enter the Hundred Seas Valley.

If Chen Ye were to duel others, he would likely feel nervous; who knew what methods others possessed? One strike could kill him.

But if asked to break an array, he was quite confident.

A sweep of his Spirit Eyes revealed the traces of the array.

Chen Ye muttered to himself: "Different from Najiang Shiyue's illusions, yet similarly arranged based on the local feng shui layout... the technique is far more refined, but the difficulty is not great."

As Chen Ye stepped into the valley, the seven-colored miasma surged from all directions; but as Chen Ye stopped, the toxic miasma seemed to hit an invisible wall, held back three feet away.

Chen Ye smiled slightly, raised his right hand, and tapped his fingertips repeatedly, calculating the direction through changes in spiritual energy.

"The Guizang Sixty-Four Trigrams Dragon-Entangling Formation; Kun position, yin line; initial six, treading on frost..."

Walking and speaking, Chen Ye paid no heed to the seven-colored poison miasma right before his eyes.

Every step he took landed on the correct position; with each step, he forced the boundless poison miasma back a little further.

In no time, Chen Ye's view suddenly cleared; the eerie valley transformed into a fairyland filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Turning back, he saw that Monk Fang Yuan was already gone.

Chen Ye understood the other's meaning; from here on, the path ahead would depend on himself.

Striding into this fairyland-like valley, he soon encountered a Daoist Priest with three long whiskers, exuding an immortal aura and Daoist bone.

This man approached with a smile and said to Chen Ye: "Congratulations, Daoist friend, on breaking the array."

Chen Ye knew he had passed the Hundred Seas Valley's trial and now qualified to join.

This Daoist Priest guarded the entrance; he must be the one specifically responsible for welcoming newcomers on behalf of the Hundred Seas Valley Alliance. Ordinary cultivators could not discern his cultivation level, and Chen Ye did not know what realm this man was in.

Regardless of cultivation level, since the other greeted him with a smile, Chen Ye naturally would not be rude; he politely said: "I am Chen Ye, a newcomer; please offer much guidance, Daoist friend."

Chen Ye pretended to be friendly, stepped closer, and slipped a small bottle of pills into the Daoist Priest's hand.

This Daoist Priest did not expect Chen Ye to be so courteous; he hurriedly accepted it, then exclaimed in surprise: "Pills from the Incense-Burning Sect; this is far too precious."

"Oh, no, no. My cultivation is low; breaking the array took considerable time. Troubling you to wait here is truly an apology."

After all, he had obtained them from Wei Changsheng; their effect was merely healing wounds, not particularly valuable, so Chen Ye gave them away without a twinge of pain.

This courteous yet generous demeanor immediately greatly increased the other's goodwill. The Daoist Priest said: "Daoist friend, what are you saying? I am Daoist Priest Lu Fusheng, on duty today. What 'waiting'? This is my duty."

"I imagine breaking the array took considerable time and effort. Please follow me; rest first, and I can introduce you to the rules of the Hundred Seas Valley."

Though Lu Fusheng said he was taking Chen Ye to rest, he actually only led him a few steps to a pavilion.

Lu Fusheng warmly invited Chen Ye to sit, personally poured him a cup of tea, then asked: "When did Daoist friend Chen arrive? Breaking the array must have taken considerable mental effort; you can rest here for a while."

This tea was nothing special; he sensed no heavenly treasures or earthly gems within it; it could only be said to taste good.

This was not strange; how could a gatekeeper offer you spiritual tea that increases cultivation?

After all, independent cultivators are all paupers.

Chen Ye said: "I arrived not long ago; I am not very tired now. Daoist friend Lu is too courteous."

Lu Fusheng wore an expression of "I understand" and said to Chen Ye: "Daoist friend need not worry. Unless one breaks the array by brute force, the illusionary array at the entrance cannot be entered without three or five double-hours of repeated calculations."

"Breaking the array consumes considerable mental energy. You worry that showing weakness will attract covetous eyes. Rest assured; once inside the Hundred Seas Valley, no one dares harm you. This is a peaceful land jointly recognized by the Five Great Sects; even the Demon Lord would not dare act wildly here. Once you enter this gate, you may cultivate in peace."

Chen Ye listened with confusion and asked: "Three or five double-hours?"

Just now, he had taken no more than thirty or forty steps in total; it was merely the time to drink a cup of tea. Could this array also have the effect of blurring the flow of time?

Lu Fusheng smiled: "A few double-hours is already impressive; only cultivators who deeply study arrays can achieve that. As for someone like me, not skilled in arrays, I once walked for a full two days back then and nearly died of exhaustion inside."

Chen Ye fell silent for a moment, then rubbed his temples and said: "Indeed difficult. I do not remember how long I walked, but it was certainly more than two days. I was just forcing myself through it; now I still feel dizzy and groggy."

Lu Fusheng smiled: "I understand, I understand. We independent cultivators lack both lineage inheritance and pills; naturally, we must be cautious upon arrival and not show weakness. But rest assured; there are many rules here, yet it is truly safe."

Perhaps because he had accepted Chen Ye's pills, Lu Fusheng was exceptionally warm toward Chen Ye, carefully introducing all the various rules of the Hundred Seas Valley.

Actually, summarized, it was not complicated.

Independent cultivators cultivating in the Hundred Seas Valley are free in all matters except dueling others.

Any unclaimed land may be used to build a hut; one may seclude oneself however one wishes.

The valley contains thirty-six pill-furnaces and eighteen artifact-forging towers; one may borrow them by spending some Cang Zhu.

"This is Cang Zhu. Most items in the Hundred Seas Valley can be traded with Cang Zhu, just as mortals use gold and silver."

Lu Fusheng placed a crystal-clear, jade-like white bead before Chen Ye.

This bead was smaller than a fingernail, yet exquisitely carved, smooth and flawless. Viewed with Spirit Eyes, one could faintly see spiritual energy circulating within it. Though not much, it seemed a treasure refined by a special technique.

Chen Ye asked again: "I wonder, what is the value of one such Cang Zhu?"

Lu Fusheng said: "Not cheap. Renting a pill-furnace for one day costs ten Cang Zhu. As for other materials and pills, that depends on your bargaining skill and eye for value. At market price, that bottle of pills you just gave me is worth three hundred Cang Zhu."

Chen Ye exclaimed: "So much? Then one could rent a pill-furnace for a month?"

The entire Hundred Seas Valley has only thirty-six pill-furnaces; these were forged through years of manpower and resources, incomparable to ordinary magical treasures. Renting one directly for a month would be extremely valuable.

Clearly, that bottle of pills could only heal minor external wounds; at most, it was produced by the Incense-Burning Sect with better efficacy. How could it be worth so much?

Lu Fusheng explained: "Daoist friend may not know; in the Hundred Seas Valley, treasures related to the Five Great Sects are priced ten times, or even dozens of times higher. Think: if I actually consumed this bottle of pills, it would be of little use. But if I concoct a story claiming some connection with the Incense-Burning Sect, what would others think?"

"In a few years, if I have descendants, I will give them this pill and tell them to seek out the Incense-Burning Sect, claiming our ancestors had ties to the Incense-Burning Sect. Perhaps that will allow them to enter an immortal sect, which would be a leap to the heavens."

Chen Ye understood; the medicinal effect of the pill itself was unimportant.

What mattered was the connection.

Even lone cultivators must observe human sentiment and worldly customs.

Seeing Chen Ye's sudden realization, Lü Fusheng said to him again: "Connections with great sects are especially useful in the Hundred Seas Valley. Since fellow Daoist can casually give away pills from the Incense-Burning Valley, your ties must be deep. In the future, I hope fellow Daoist will offer much support."

Chen Ye awkwardly rubbed his nose. If Lü Fusheng knew his pills were stolen, would he immediately cut ties and pretend not to know him?

But it didn't matter. Chen Ye had some misunderstandings with the Incense-Burning Sect, but his relationship with the Qinghe Sword Sect was quite good.

Before leaving, Su Chunyi gave him a new jade token, even more exquisite than the previous one.

Moreover, Su Chunyi said that after returning to the Qinghe Sword Sect, he would help Chen Ye select a magical treasure and deliver it to him when the time was right.

The Qinghe Sword Sect is number one under heaven; with such connections to show, life should be much easier.

Just as he was preparing to rise and take his leave to find a suitable place to stay, he saw two people part the mist and appear at the valley entrance.

Lü Fusheng said in confusion: "Normally, not a single newcomer appears for several months. Today is quite a coincidence; three have arrived at once."

Chen Ye also looked at the two people, and then his expression changed.

One of them was precisely the person he least wanted to see at this moment—Wei Changsheng of the Incense-Burning Sect.