Chapter 105: Tianlan Lake

An hour later.

In front of the General Affairs Hall, a slender flying boat, three or four zhang long, rose into the air and shot off toward the distance.

Onboard stood a dozen people; at the front stood an emaciated old man, motionless, gazing far into the distance.

Behind him were four inner-disciple students and eight or nine outer-disciple students.

Wang Yu was one of them, leaning against the boat’s edge, silently observing the others.

The three inner-disciples consisted of two men and one woman.

The woman had slightly yellow hair, ordinary features, but sharp eyes; she followed closely behind the old man, holding a circular device in her hands, never lifting her head as she fiddled with it.

Not far from the woman stood a young man in silver robes, handsome-faced, with a black stone tablet strapped to his back; beside him stood a giant, taller than Wang Yu by a full head, ugly-faced, glancing around nervously.

When the young man in silver robes noticed Wang Yu’s gaze, he gave a slight nod; the giant grinned wide and waved his fist, as big as a sandbag.

Wang Yu’s lips twitched slightly, and he immediately looked away.

These two were the Qi Senior Brother and his bodyguard brother he had met once before.

The last inner-disciple was a thin black-robed man, around thirty years old, carrying a long sword on his back, radiating a chilling aura that kept anyone within a zhang away.

As for the remaining outer-disciples, Wang Yu glanced at them casually—some were in their forties or fifties, others barely seventeen or eighteen.

Two young women with beautiful faces caught his eye; he recognized them as the Feng sisters he had seen at the sect’s small inner-market.

Feng Xue, the elder sister, had a curvaceous figure, exuding a subtle married-woman allure; when she noticed Wang Yu looking, she smiled seductively.

Feng Rui, beside her, still looked like a shy girl, avoiding Wang Yu’s gaze.

Wang Yu found the two girls intriguing, but finally his gaze returned to the old man ahead, his mind flashing with a stream of information.

Zhu Datong, Foundation Establishment elder of Xuanwu Mountain, one of only two great array masters in the Four Symbols Sect, had once used the sect’s grand array to annihilate several opponents of his own realm, holding extremely high status within the sect.

The young woman with yellow hair was his disciple, Xi Men Mei, said to have inherited Zhu Datong’s true teachings, just one step away from becoming a full array master.

Wang Yu had inexplicably received a mandatory assignment from the General Affairs Hall to accompany this array master outside the Four Symbols Sect, supposedly because a crucial spiritual-fishing array had malfunctioned.

This array had been personally established by Elder Zhu, so only he could be summoned to fix it.

Wang Yu’s inclusion as a metallurgy apprentice was specifically requested by the array master, to repair any array devices that might fail on-site.

Although the sect had only a dozen or so metallurgy apprentices, the General Affairs Hall had chosen him—leaving Wang Yu baffled.

Had his minor reputation as a metallurgy apprentice in the outer sect reached even the General Affairs Hall’s executive elders?

Fortunately, the reward for this mission was generous: not only merit points, but also a mid-grade Zengyuan Pill—each inner-disciple received one, worth hundreds of spirit stones.

This was the only comfort Wang Yu could offer himself, since he had no desire to leave the Four Symbols Sect.

The flying boat moved at incredible speed, far beyond his own stone-powered mechanical iron boat; within a single day and night, it appeared above a vast lake called Tianlan Lake.

The lake spanned thirty to forty li in diameter, surrounded entirely by hills and forests.

The boat landed before a cluster of white-stone buildings, from which emerged a dozen Four Symbols Sect cultivators.

“Elder Zhu, you’ve finally arrived. If you hadn’t come, I don’t know how much longer I could have held out—without the array sealing the lake surface, I dare not sleep at night.” The lead man who stepped forward was a forty-year-old farmer, his skin dark and rough, face flushed red—he too was a Foundation Establishment elder of the Four Symbols Sect.

Behind him, besides two inner-disciples, all others wore outer-disciple robes.

“Elder Yan, what are you afraid of? The ‘Blood Crystal Fish’ raised here are precious to the sect, but this lies deep within Tongzhou—no fool would dare steal fish here.” The old man descended from the boat calmly.

“Times have changed. In the past two years, the demon brats of Yu Kingdom have been sneaking into Great Ming Prefecture constantly—our Tongzhou region bears the brunt.” The farmer shook his head repeatedly.

“That’s true. Ever since the Luo Sect’s man advanced his cultivation, the entire Yu Kingdom’s demonic path has grown restless—we must be cautious.” Zhu Datong’s expression hardened, and he nodded slowly.

“Elder Zhu, you and your team came overnight—you must be exhausted. First, eat something, rest, then inspect the array.”

“The ‘Green Gauze Array’ you established years ago was exquisitely crafted—it ran perfectly until three days ago, when its seals suddenly failed. I’m no expert, couldn’t find the issue—only you can fix it, Elder Zhu.” The Yan elder spoke urgently.

“No time to rest. The sect’s grand array is currently being adjusted—I came here only by stealing a moment’s free time. Fix it quickly and return.

Mei’er, take a few people and check the outer locations where the array devices are buried. I’ll go straight to the array’s core.” Zhu Datong shook his head and turned to Xi Men Mei.

“Yes, Master.”

The yellow-haired woman nodded, then pointed at Wang Yu and four other outer-disciples—Feng Xue and Feng Rui were among them.

“Then I’ll accompany Elder Zhu as well—next time something like this happens, I’ll know where the problem lies. Min Long, Zhang Li, you two accompany Sister Xi Men.” The Yan elder considered, then gestured to those behind him.

Two burly inner-disciples behind him bowed and responded, then walked toward Wang Yu’s group.

Zhu Datong glanced at them, eyes flickering slightly, but said nothing in opposition.

Thus, the group split: one party headed toward an island at the lake’s center, the other soared into the air toward a high slope on the lake’s perimeter.

…

“Sister Xi Men, I hear you’ve inherited Elder Zhu’s true array teachings—you’ll become a full array master in no time.”

“Senior Brother Min flatters me—I’m still far from becoming a full array master.”

“This junior brother looks unfamiliar—did he join the inner sect recently? Hmm, his cultivation talent must be exceptional.”

“I did join only in recent years, so it’s natural Senior Brother Min hasn’t seen me. But have you been stationed here all along? The spiritual energy here can’t compare to the sect’s—how do you cultivate normally?”

…

The inner-disciple named Min Long, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, chattered nonstop—he was clearly a talkative man.

The other inner-disciple, Zhang Li, remained expressionless and silent.

Xi Men Mei frowned slightly, offering no reply.

Wang Yu, however, kept smiling in response; when his gaze swept over the outer-disciples behind Min Long, they all immediately beamed with identical, overly eager smiles.

Wang Yu paused, startled.