Episode 19

  Jin Chan'er originally saw Gu Shi-xiong and that ancient sound Shi-mei make eye contact with her, so she bowed her head to pay respects. But seeing that person's majestic appearance scolding herself, she felt secretly annoyed in her heart. She had never been treated like this by anyone before! However, thinking of the pitiful and lonely circumstances of Jiao-jiao, she let out another sigh and said:

  "I suppose you think I'm so incompetent that I wouldn't have such a treasure? But have you ever seen someone use something as precious as this to trade for a spy who's about to be eliminated? My treasure was obtained when I accidentally encountered a giant tree spirit who died after crossing the heavenly thunder tribulation over a decade ago."

  "Not bad, it seems that your luck is also quite against the heavens! Our sect has suffered from rebellious disciples betraying and retaliating, so we must be cautious in all matters. However, with your current state, you cannot enter our Xuanzhen Sect as a disciple!"

  He knew the way to examine people, and with his great magical power, he used the Heart-Exploring Technique to investigate Jin Tian'er. Seeing that her pulse was calm and peaceful, and her six senses were undisturbed, he knew that what she said must be true, so he put his mind at ease, and even his expression became more gentle. Jin Tian'er sighed and said:

  "I have made a grand vow since childhood, that in this life I wish to travel ten thousand miles and catch a glimpse of the ultimate truth. Now the opportunity is here, but it's hard to fulfill one's wishes. Alas! The journey is fraught with difficulties! What can be done? What can be done?"

  "This... that kneeling white jade, you may not be able to enter my gate, but you can still be my nominal disciple, I wonder if you are willing?"

  Nangumen Zhūsī zhī zàisān, hòu yìrán dào.

  Translation:

  After careful consideration, Nangumen said resolutely.

  "Ah! Master is above, please accept three bows from your disciple!"

  Jin Chan'er was overjoyed when she heard this, and she kowtowed three times with nine knocks to show her respect. After finishing the ritual, she stood up and bowed to the other senior brothers and sisters in the hall before returning to her place among the junior disciples. The master of the ancient gate smiled and said:

  "Gu Yang Chun, Gu Yin, from now on you two should take care of Bai Jiao Jiao more. First teach her the rules and laws of our sect, then she can go to Master Zhen Fa's place to study the way of array formations."

  "Yes! Master!"

  "Got it, Dad!"

  Jin Chan'er heard this and bowed her head towards Gu Shi-xiong and Gu Yin, saying:

  "Thank you, Master Gu! Thank you, Sister Gu Yin!"

  Nangumen Zhu suddenly frowned and said to Gūyáng Chūn:

  "What's going on with your eyes?"

  "The disciple is no match for others in a contest of magical powers..."

  "Alright! What a fight, it's clearly the ancient sound that was hurt. Ancient sound, just this once, don't make an example of it! If you offend again, you will be severely punished according to the sect rules, do you understand?"

  "Yes, Father! I will remember it well and never dare to do it again!"

  "Yang Chun, one day I will teach you the divine eye technique. With the Dayan Rui Zhen bead, I can give you an even stronger cultivation method!"

  "Thank you, Master!"

  The master of the ancient gate did not speak again, his body just darkened and disappeared. In the hall, only Jin Chan'er glanced at a golden mark next to a painting in the main hall. She was surprised that the master of the ancient gate did not enter the painting, but entered the unremarkable golden mark instead. This golden mark was another mysterious and wonderful realm of a land-based immortal. A small sect actually had two such realms, which even surprised Jin Chan'er greatly!

  The master of the ancient gate entered the secret realm of the golden seal, and flew into a great golden hall. All things in the hall were cast from gold, emitting golden light, divine and spiritual, as if they had spirits that understood offense and defense, and showed warning signs when someone came. A cultivator in the hall wore a golden divine robe, bowed his head, and entered meditation without speaking.

  "Ancestors! Indeed, it's the Sun Moon Thunder Pearl! With this, our sect's protective grand formation will be successful, and the other two attacking formations also have a good chance of being completed soon. That Chou family, next time they come, won't need to leave again!"

  "Hmm! Is it really no problem for someone to come?"

  "No problem if it's what our ancestors said! The disciple has already used the Heart-Exploring Technique to investigate!"

  "Alright! With this, I'll complete the formation. This way, I can also focus on cultivating and breaking through to the realm of Yin-Yang harmony!"

  "Yes, ancestors! I'll go and handle it now!"

  Na Gumen Zhuzi flew out of the golden seal boundary and entered the painting. Several cultivators gathered around to ask questions, and after learning about the Sun Moon Thunder Pearl, they were all overjoyed, not caring about taking in disciples or registering them!

  "Master of the Gate, choose a lucky day first, let me finish setting up the grand formation before we talk!"

  "Right! First solve the enemy in front of us, then discuss how to destroy his sect, exterminate his clan, and uproot his foundation!"

  "Without delay, work began quietly on the same day, in order to complete it before the enemy's next attack, and catch them off guard."

  "Alright! Everyone, let's split up and take action. The Guardian Hall will be in charge of repairing the Protective Array, the Demon-Extinguishing Hall will be responsible for building the Eight-Sided Demon-Extinguishing Array, and the Fighting Hall will be in charge of building the Divine Subjugation Array. Is three months enough time?"

  "Yes! Master Door. Several large arrays and nodes have been built for hundreds of years, their basic forms have long been completed, only lacking the crucial object, the Day-Month Thunder Pearl. Now that I have this object in hand, it will be enough to just put it in place, so time should be sufficient!"

  Then secretly all of them flew out towards various places of this mysterious formation gate.

  Most of the disciples under the Xuan Zhen Gate, apart from practicing the way of formation arrays, were also cultivating the Xuan Huang mysteries to attain the right fruit in their cultivation. Therefore, after Valley Master Brother and Gu Yin Master Sister brought Jin Chan'er into the ancient family's school, they instructed her for a few sentences before leaving to cultivate.

  In the ancient house of learning, there were several masters of the law array. On one hand, they studied and refined their law arrays, on the other hand, they taught their disciples the way of the law array. These masters of the law array, if one were to walk alone in the mortal world, would certainly be a figure sought after by many sects. In the eyes of ordinary cultivators, their mastery of the law array was high and unmeasurable, but in the ancient house, they were merely teachers who had been entrusted with passing on their knowledge. Among them was one named Song San Sheng, whose disciples called him Master San Sheng. He was most skilled in the illusory array, and was famous for establishing the three great illusory arrays. His demeanor was elegant, and he treated his disciples with kindness, making him the most beloved by all his disciples. Another was named Shao Ya, whom his disciples addressed as Master Ya. He was renowned for his defensive law array, and was also well-versed in mechanisms and messaging. This person was taciturn, with a humble appearance, and neither male nor female disciples were willing to be near him. However, when it came to researching the ancient law arrays, even the masters of the Mystic Array Gate and the Three Halls could not surpass him. The third was named Guo Yuanzi, whom his disciples called Old Man Guo. He excelled in offensive law arrays, and although he had a majestic demeanor, he did not lack spirit. He often wore a stern expression, and did not like those who tried to curry favor with him. His disciples revered him as if he were their father. There was also one female cultivator among the masters of the law array. Her name was Fa Zhen, and she was known for her cold and detached demeanor, rarely speaking or smiling. However, when it came to understanding the way of the law array, even the sect master had a deep appreciation for her abilities.

  Jin Chan'er entered the ancient school hall, attracting the attention of many male and female disciples. Even the great masters had a look of surprise on their faces. They were amazed by her stunning beauty and elegant demeanor! The preferences of those gentlemen were soon revealed through whispers among fellow students. In just half a day, they all became familiar with each other. Jin Chan'er treated people very kindly, getting along harmoniously with all the disciples, regardless of gender or age, showing great respect to everyone.

  Masters only lecture once every half month, the rest is self-study. If there are questions, they can come and ask on their own. Jin Chan'er has been studying hard for tens of thousands of years, and has a good understanding of the cultivation methods, spell arrays, etc., so her understanding is very deep, and the questions she raises are often highly valued by many masters.

  Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, more than a decade has passed. The Xuan Zhen Gate has completed several large arrays. That rebellious cultivator and his followers were completely defeated in the battle against the Xuan Zhen Gate ten years ago, and they were even counter-killed by the Xuan Zhen Gate, their sect was destroyed. All kinds of spiritual materials, elixirs, and divine weapons that he had hidden away were obtained by the Xuan Zhen Gate! As a result, the Xuan Zhen Gate's power has greatly increased, and it is now the number one sect within tens of thousands of miles around!

  Bullying the weak with strength, and eliminating the inferior is a common practice in the cultivation world. One door closes, another opens. The rising ones use the fallen's hidden treasures to cultivate their disciples, greatly increasing their power. And the fallen are just that - extinct sects without outsiders. Jin Chan'er has experienced, heard, and seen many things on her long cultivation path, so she doesn't mind this at all. She focuses on cultivating with a calm heart, mastering the true teachings of the four great masters. And in her interactions with these four people as master and disciples, she also regards them as her own masters from the bottom of her heart!

  On this day, Jin Chan'er entered the library as usual to study and found the method of the Return to Origin Great Array in a worn-out book. Jin Chan'er was overjoyed and carefully read it. After finishing reading, she was greatly disappointed! It turned out that this great array was created by a powerful ancient cultivator. The required immortal materials and methods were not only enormous in quantity but also extremely rare. A considerable part of this realm had already become extinct. Later generations simplified and modified it, using their blood and sweat to turn it into an ordinary array for condensing yuan force to assist in cultivation. Jin Chan'er sighed dejectedly, copied down the method, and put it in her bag. Then she sat blankly on the meditation mat, lost in thought.

  "Alas! The key to the Return to Origin Great Array has been found, however..."

  She stood up and looked around the mysterious array of books in the library, a place where she had left her mark. After decades of cultivation, Jin Chen'er had little contact with her fellow disciples. Except for Gu Shi Xiong and Gu Yin Shi Mei, who occasionally came to visit, other fellow disciples were almost strangers to her. The hidden reason was that as a registered disciple, she shouldn't be too ostentatious; on the other hand, it was because of her suspicious background, and the upper echelons of the sect had secretly instructed other disciples not to get too close to her. Jin Chen'er suddenly decided to leave. Although she had gained a lot, the method of rebuilding her delicate body had become an illusion! The disappointment in her heart was still not small. So now, looking at this library, Jin Chen'er felt a little melancholy.