Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 789 Stove

Life is often about repeating the same path we've walked before, and Chen Xuan and his friends were no exception this time. He wasn't originally that bored, but the little princess and her friends wanted to relive the places he had been, and of course, his wife had to indulge them.

Chen Xuan had traveled through Yunwu Mountain twice, once when he accompanied Xiao Gao north to study and once when he returned home south, but he had never carefully observed this mountain range shrouded in clouds and mist.

The first time, he wasn't strong enough; he was still in the Acquired Realm at that time. He only achieved the Innate Realm after passing through Cloud Mist Mountain. The second time, he simply slept his way through. He went there as a nobody in the Acquired Realm, and when he came back, his Grandmaster Realm cultivation had already started to stagnate.

The convoy had begun to venture deeper into the Cloud Mist Mountain area. Just like before, the visibility was very low. Ordinary people could not see things with the naked eye more than a few meters away. This group of people were highly skilled and daring, and they were not worried about safety at all, even though they knew for sure that there were bandits lurking in the mountains.

Reminded by Xia Mei, Chen Xuan became slightly interested and began to observe the mountain range with his senses.

He was still at the Grandmaster level, and his spiritual power couldn't break through the void of the human body to project outwards. Otherwise, it would be simple; a sweep of spiritual power would reveal everything. Now, he could only use a clever method to observe.

It's about silently spreading out true essence to 'explore' inch by inch, like invisible tentacles. Although it can't be directly observed, the effect is pretty much the same. With his current abundant and inexhaustible true essence, it's enough to cover this mountain range, and his mental power can fully withstand and process the huge amount of information.

True essence is an integral part of himself. When it spreads out, mountains, rocks, grass, trees, and air can all provide different sensations. It's like touching something with your hands and then processing the various information that comes back in your head. It's not much different from seeing it with your own eyes.

As a massive amount of information flooded his mind, a strange expression gradually appeared on Chen Xuan's face.

The bandits entrenched in the mountains were of course not beyond his detection, but he simply didn't take them seriously. There were two or three hundred of them, but the highest level of their cultivation was only at the stage of breaking through the Ren and Du meridians after birth. Experts at the innate level would not bother to come here to do robbery.

That said, these people are entrenched in the Cloud and Mist Mountains. They are familiar with the terrain and can take advantage of the clouds and mist. Even if ten times their number came to besiege them, they would be unable to do anything. No wonder they have been rampant for several years and still managed to get away with it.

This group of people definitely appeared after that giant python and the man in black robes. Last time, Chen Xuan and his group were lucky that they didn't jump out when they passed by here on their way home. Otherwise, they would probably have been wiped out long ago. Even if Grandmaster Chen Xuan didn't make a move, Xiao Gao could have easily defeated them all by himself.

Ignoring the bandits—if they were to jump out and court death, that would be a different story—Chen Xuan decided against the idea of ​​acting on behalf of Heaven. From the information he gathered from Xia Mei, these people were relatively ethical; they rarely resorted to violence after collecting tolls, so they had a decent reputation. Even if he eliminated them, there was no guarantee that another group with no scruples wouldn't come next time. He wasn't interested in constantly cleaning up the place; there were plenty of such cases in the world, and he couldn't be a chivalrous knight-errant all the time.

Perhaps it's because they still have some principles that they've been able to roam freely for a few years without being eliminated. They even clear out some wild beasts in the mountains to reduce the danger for passersby. From this perspective, they seem to have some use, and charging a toll seems quite reasonable, right? Forget it, there's no way to whitewash this kind of extortion.

Chen Xuan's investigation quickly confirmed that the perpetual fog was not a natural formation.

So he continued his careful investigation while looking at Xia Mei and smiling, "Aunt Mei, I know why you feel this place looks familiar."

Still confused, Xia Mei asked directly, "Please enlighten me, sir."

With a smile, Chen Xuan said, "Has Aunt Mei forgotten the fog array I taught you?"

Upon hearing this, she paused for a moment, then widened her eyes slightly incredulously and said, "Master, are you saying that the thick fog covering the entire mountain range is actually caused by a fog array?"

How could she not be surprised? This mountain range is at least a hundred miles in circumference. What kind of mist array could cover such a large area? According to what she learned from Chen Xuan, even a large mist array can only cover an area of ​​ten miles in circumference.

Nodding, Chen Xuan's strange smile deepened as he said, "I can answer Aunt Mei with certainty: yes, this mountain range is shrouded in a massive fog array. I've even discovered several array flags, and we're currently investigating more complete ones."

Xia Mei naturally had no doubt about Chen Xuan's words, but she still said incredulously, "Master, if this thick fog is formed by a mist array, I remember that mist arrays can affect people's thoughts and senses, let alone such a large-scale mist array. How could anyone pass through it so easily? According to your speculation, even a grandmaster would find it difficult to escape and would be trapped inside such a mist array."

Upon hearing this, the little princesses, who had been listening attentively, all showed expressions of surprise.

However, Chen Xuan laughed and said, "Normally, it is indeed as Aunt Mei said. Even grandmasters and powerful experts have a chance of being trapped in such a fog array forever. But if it is an unowned object and no one controls it, the most basic self-operation will only form a thick fog, so it will not affect the senses. At most, it will affect the vision."

"I see, then it's not surprising," Xia Mei immediately understood.

Chen Xuan had given her a set of mist arrays and knew their effects, but she was still somewhat shocked and said, "Logically speaking, a large mist array should only cover a radius of ten miles. Who could possibly set up an array of such a wide range?"

Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "The Misty Array isn't a particularly sophisticated array. It has its limits, but the person who sets it up has no limits. It's not too difficult to study it in depth and expand its scope. I'm just lazy and figured it's good enough for my needs. Otherwise, I could certainly innovate on it. Of course, there's no need to waste energy on in-depth research. Once my cultivation advances further, I won't need it at all. At that time, a single thought can achieve an effect ten or a hundred times better than this."

Xia Mei and the others were speechless. Their cultivation level was far too high, far beyond their comprehension.

At this point, Chen Xuan had roughly grasped the situation and had already identified all the array flags covering the mountain range. Feeling increasingly puzzled, he said with interest, "The mist array covering the entire mountain range is uncontrolled. If I wanted to, I could easily take over or even remove the array, allowing this place to return to sunlight. But there's no need. After all, it's existed for a couple hundred years. Let's maintain the status quo."

Chen Xuan has a certain authority to take over this unclaimed mist array, after all, he was the first to come into contact with a mist array.

Xia Mei and the others remained noncommittal, having already resolved their doubts, and no longer dwelled on it.

But Chen Xuan continued, "Remember when I said there might be some unexpected gains? Somewhere in this thick fog, even I can't see clearly from a distance. It seems we'll have to go check it out ourselves."

Upon hearing this, the little princess's heart tightened, and she said with concern, "Is there any danger? Husband, perhaps we should just give up. As long as we can get through smoothly, there's no need to go through unnecessary trouble."

Chen Xuan himself said that he couldn't figure it out clearly, so it's understandable that they had some concerns.

Smiling and giving them a reassuring look, Chen Xuan said, "There's no danger. It's just that the place seems to have a 'mirror image' effect when I probed it from a distance, so I can't quite figure it out. It reminds me of the illusion array Xue'er encountered last time. It must be concealing something, which is why I decided to go and see for myself."

Illusion arrays themselves are not dangerous, provided one remains unaffected by the illusions. Chen Xuan already had the method for setting up an illusion array in his mind, but he hadn't studied it in depth. He was too lazy to bother with better concealment arrays; he'd deal with them later when needed. Now that he had almost mastered concealment arrays, figuring out illusion arrays would be easy. He could create one with the materials, which weren't particularly difficult to find. Among the vast amount of information Old Liu had imparted to him were three rudimentary arrays: a mist array, an illusion array, and an attack array. However, he hadn't studied the other two in depth, except for the mist array. The attack array was completely useless to him at his current cultivation level, being a rudimentary array. Old Liu wasn't particularly skilled in array formations, only possessing a superficial understanding—at that time, that was relative to Chen Xuan's past level.

Well, the Nine-Tone Soul-Suppressing Bell doesn't even qualify as a formation; at best, it's somewhere between a mechanism and a formation.

"Master, perhaps we should just let it go as Madam suggested," Du Juan advised.

There was absolutely no need to take the risk. Most of the others thought the same way. After all, someone who could set up such a large-scale fog array must be at least a Grandmaster, and it wasn't impossible for them to be at an even higher level.

"I value my life very much. If there's any danger, I'll run away faster than anyone else. Don't worry, I'll be back soon." To avoid being persuaded by them, Chen Xuan decisively darted off towards that place after saying this.

The group looked at each other, bewildered. He was gone; what could they do? They could only hope he would return safely soon.

In just a few breaths, Chen Xuan arrived at the place, located in a valley. The surrounding fog was getting thicker and thicker, and ordinary people could hardly see anything more than ten feet away. However, he was not affected much and could see the surrounding situation clearly.

After a brief inspection, Chen Xuan spread his true essence to investigate and confirmed his guess: an illusion array had indeed been set up here, covering an area of ​​about one mile in radius.

He had personally experienced this thing. Without knowing how to control it, understanding the situation of the illusion, or knowing the exact route, even a master of innate talent would find it difficult to escape once trapped inside.

After careful investigation, Chen Xuan confirmed once again that this was unclaimed land and also figured out the location of the illusion array's base. There was no need to hesitate anymore. He raised his hand and gestured a few times in the air, directly controlling the illusion array. In an instant, the illusion of the valley in front of him transformed into a path leading forward, as if the valley had been split open and space had been displaced.

What was actually there was not a valley at all, but a mountain peak several hundred meters high. The valley was just an illusion, and the road in front of Chen Xuan led straight up the mountain.

However, that wasn't really a road; it was just a reflection of the true landscape: lush shrubs, overgrown weeds, and the rocks and vegetation were all damp and covered in water droplets due to the thick fog.

With a few steps, Chen Xuan arrived at the mountaintop, which was still shrouded in thick fog. After a moment's thought, he manipulated the fog array slightly, and the thick fog in the surrounding area quickly dissipated, revealing everything clearly before his eyes.

There is a flat area of ​​about seven or eight acres on the top of the mountain, covered with lush vegetation.

After a brief look, Chen Xuan confirmed that someone had lived here, but it had been too long. The small house had long since collapsed and rotted, and the long-term rampant growth of vegetation had almost destroyed it, leaving no trace.

Furthermore, looking at the surrounding environment, it is clear that this open space was cultivated many years ago, but it was completely destroyed by the rampant vegetation.

Upon closer observation, Chen Xuan noticed some ancient medicinal herbs growing in the woods, leading him to guess that there used to be a medicinal herb field here.

Chen Xuan glanced around and was secretly speechless. Someone had been here before him, because there were signs that the medicinal herbs in the forest had been picked. According to his keen senses, the signs were probably from seven or eight years ago.

He couldn't help but scratch his butt, wondering if the person who came here before him was the black-robed man he had killed when he accompanied Xiao Gao north to study.

It's highly likely. After all, that guy used to live in the Cloud Mist Mountain and even kept a giant python. He must have been carefully fed with the best medicinal herbs. It's a pity that so many precious herbs were wasted.

Chen Xuan wasn't disappointed about this; unclaimed land would be found by someone destined to possess it.

Stroking his chin, Chen Xuan suspected that this was where Old Liu had lived in seclusion for a period of time. Look, there's an illusion array concealing this place, and a mist array covering the entire mountain range. Old Liu only had a few rudimentary techniques in array formations. If he had more advanced ones, how could he not have set them up? He would have definitely poured them all into Chen Xuan.

Thinking about it, it's quite possible. After all, Qingping River is only a few hundred miles away from Yunwu Mountain. When Old Liu was in a state of confusion during the tribulation, he was still attached to the memory of being abducted as a child. So he left this place and drifted south along Qingping River until he ended up in Shangyun Prefecture. He spent decades in a daze, ferrying people across the river, and then that was it. In the end, he couldn't survive the tribulation and was caught up in the fate of heaven by some twist of fate.

Feeling increasingly strange, Chen Xuan was both amused and exasperated. If his guess was true, he really was destined to meet Old Liu, as he even managed to stumble upon the place where Old Liu had once lived in seclusion.

He decided not to dwell on it too much and looked at the already dilapidated hut. The vegetation there was towering and had been destroyed beyond recognition, but traces of someone having searched for it were still faintly visible.

There was really nothing here that Chen Xuan cared about. Even the few old medicinal herbs he hadn't paid any attention to. Don't forget he was still living off his wife. If he needed anything, what kind of precious medicinal herbs couldn't Zheng Wanqian get for him? It was just a matter of a word.

The reason he looked at the hut, now just ruins, was because something there had caught his attention.

It was a stove half-hidden by bushes and vines, with only a small part showing, and the exposed part was covered with moss, making it impossible to see its original appearance.

The reason it attracted Chen Xuan's attention was that, according to his observation, the area around the stove had been cleared before him, and people probably wanted to remove it, but for some reason they failed and it remained there to continue to be exposed to the elements.

He waved his hand in the air towards the stove, and the surrounding weeds and bushes were cleared away. Then, he made a grabbing motion in mid-air...

Chen Xuan raised his eyebrows slightly. What seemed like a simple matter to him had not gone as planned. The furnace remained motionless, and to him it did not seem heavy at all. It felt as if it were rooted to the earth and integrated into one with it.

In an instant, he understood why the predecessors had failed to take the furnace away; after all, he hadn't been able to easily move it.

That stove is strange; it seems there might actually be some unexpected gains.

Putting aside his nonchalant attitude, Chen Xuan walked towards the furnace, intending to examine it more closely… (End of Chapter)