63: Entering the Ancient Formation

Qin Yue conversed with Luo Yu in a secret voice for a moment. Then Luo Yu released the Blue Elf, whisked away with Qinghuo and Suying, heading straight in the direction of the Ancient Grand Array.

The Grinning Fang and Ghost Claw waited nervously for Qin Yue’s orders. Only after Luo Yu vanished from sight did Qin Yue speak coolly, “Lead the way.”

The two alpha wolves led Qin Yue northward, and in less than an hour, they stopped in the Shennongjia mountains.

Grinning Fang said proudly, “Master, look—this is our territory.”

Before their eyes, strange peaks jutted into the sky, sheer cliffs met with clear waters, all shrouded in mystery. Qin Yue swept the area with her spiritual sense. “The aura here is decent. With a Spirit Gathering Array, it could become a prime place for cultivation.”

Ghost Claw, eyes alight, offered, “If you like it, why not stay here long-term? With your talent for arrays, setting up a Spirit Gathering Array would be effortless. Someday, our Wild Wolf Den will rival the great sects.”

Qin Yue replied flatly, “It’s not bad, but not the best. Let’s go down and see.”

The two wolf demons felt a twinge of dissatisfaction. Many rogue cultivators had tried to seize this territory! Their master’s ambition was too great; where could one find a better place these days? True, with their strength they could claim a good spot in the Nine Heavens Palace, but the matriarch there acted like a landlord—extracting large sums of spirit stones and demanding obedience, even sending them to fight her battles. If someone provokes you, must you obey and fight? It’s absurd! Honestly, they’d rather be kings of the mountain than endure such humiliation.

The three reached a valley veiled by an illusion array. Inside was an open space, and at the far end, a cave marked by a bizarre stone inscribed with three blood-red characters: “Wild Wolf Den.” At the entrance, a few low-level wolf demons were wrestling, while two foundation stage wolf demons watched the commotion.

The young demons on the ground spotted the trio and shouted, “The kings have returned!” Wagging their tails, they rushed to circle around and flatter them.

Grinning Fang sneaked a look at Qin Yue’s face. Seeing no displeasure, he barked at the little demons, “Call everyone out. I have something to say.”

The wolf demons at the entrance sized up Qin Yue, then came forward to salute the two wolf kings.

Soon, seven or eight foundation stage wolf demons poured out, followed by over a dozen low-level monsters of various kinds.

Grinning Fang leapt onto a large stone and announced, “During our travels, Ghost Claw and I offended a true master. After losing a match, we pledged our loyalty to him. From now on, we are no longer your kings…” He turned to Qin Yue and bowed. “The new king is—our master.”

An uproar spread among the lesser demons, while the foundation stage wolf demons looked at each other in shock. One of them stepped forward haughtily. “We have yet to witness this master’s abilities. If he wishes to be our king, he must fight us all!”

The other wolf demons grew restless, voicing their agreement.

Grinning Fang made no move to stop them, merely knelt before Qin Yue on one knee. “Master, please forgive them!”

Qin Yue swept a cold gaze over the assembled demons. “Come at me together, then.”

The wolf demons bristled in outrage, eyes flashing, claws emerging. Such contempt! He was only a foundation stage cultivator—how dare he be so arrogant?

Secretly, Qin Yue was exhilarated. Normally, he sparred with vampires—whose movement was bizarre and whose speed rivaled teleportation. Though it honed his reflexes, it was always the same opponent, and he had long since learned their patterns. It grew dull. Now, with a whole group, things would be much more interesting. He only worried they might be too weak and he’d have to train them harder.

The wolf demons charged, some hanging back to unleash magical artifacts. Qin Yue was unhurried; in a flash, his figure turned into a red blur that shot into the wolf pack. The valley erupted with furious roars and swirling yellow mist—a scene of utter chaos. Those wielding magical weapons soon realized their attacks might hit their own, so they lunged in with their claws—they preferred close combat anyway. Although their claws weren’t as powerful as magical artifacts, it was far more satisfying to fight up close!

Qin Yue formed a crimson fire claw in his hand. Wherever he struck, waves of heat rolled out, charring his opponents into blackened wolves. Some among them were fire specialists, but Qin Yue’s speed and the pressure of his spiritual sense meant that by the time their claws extended, he had already vanished. Furthermore, his Heaven-Gang Golden Dragon Sutra was well practiced, so a little fire tail couldn’t harm him at all.

The fight dragged on, leaving the wolf demons utterly exhausted, while Qin Yue grew increasingly exhilarated. His cultivation wasn’t far above theirs, but his years of forging artifacts had refined his control over spiritual power far beyond theirs. He wasted almost nothing, every bit used efficiently, until at last the wolf demons lay groaning on the ground, spent, and he finally stopped, still eager for more.

The wolf demons were dirtied and battered; Qin Yue was refreshed, brushing off his sleeves as he asked coolly, “Do you want to continue?”

The wolf demons answered straightforwardly, “You win, you’re the king!” “Greetings, King!” “The king is truly powerful; I admit defeat!” The lesser demons cheered with delight. Their new king was incredibly strong! With him, they’d surely feast on spiritual meat every day—maybe drink spiritual wine too! What happiness!

The monsters were thoroughly pleased with their new king and clamored to throw a feast in celebration.

Qin Yue said indifferently, “Let’s wait until we reach our new home to celebrate.” Then he turned to Grinning Fang and Ghost Claw. “All of them are about equal in strength. They must have all reached foundation stage at the same time. Where did you get so many Foundation Pills?”

Grinning Fang replied, “To be honest, Master, after we advanced, Ghost Claw and I went treasure hunting and found a piece of Essence Marrow, the size of a pigeon egg. Ten years ago, we also found a stalk of Immortal’s Dew on a certain cultivator—it’s still growing in our cave. But to help our followers advance, the Essence Marrow has been used up. Only that stalk of Immortal’s Dew remains.”

Qin Yue was delighted to hear this. Though he no longer needed it, who would turn down such a rare spiritual treasure?

So, King Qin accepted the Immortal’s Dew with no courtesy, summoned the Kunlun Mist to carry the lesser demons, and bundled up all the monsters’ accumulated treasures to take along.

Grinning Fang and Ghost Claw stepped onto their magical tools with lingering regret, gazing back at the receding Shennongjia, their hearts heavy with sorrow. Where would they go? Would it be as wonderful as Wild Wolf Den?

The band of immortal monsters moved in grand procession toward the Ancient Grand Array. The lesser demons, flying for the first time, rolled about with joy atop the Kunlun Mist. As they passed a group of cultivators and several airplanes, the humans aboard only saw a sparkling cloud flash past and disappear.

Up ahead, Luo Yu and Qin Yue split into two groups, rushing back to the array to set up formations for the spiritual herb garden—since the new subordinates were all here for the spiritual herbs, a little caution was necessary.

For Qinghuo and Suying, this was their first time entering the Ancient Grand Array. The moment they crossed the boundary, they were astounded. The spiritual energy here was even richer than at Kunlun Mountain! Their masters were truly amazing! Even the forest held what—thousand-year-old ginseng, growing like wild grass! It was unbelievable!

The scenery was more enchanting than a celestial paradise: ethereal water pavilions, majestic halls, and an imposing mountain gate that left the two overwhelmed. Was this their sect? It was even more awe-inspiring than Langfeng Peak!

By now, construction within the array was nearly complete. The foreigners had been sent away, leaving only ghosts tending the fruit grove’s soil and cleaning up.

Luo Yu noticed the two staring at the palace, eager to explore. He let them go off as they pleased, while he went to set up illusion and defense arrays at the array’s core.

A sweep of Luo Yu’s spiritual sense showed vampires directing zombies to plant roses in the castle, while Grandpa, Luo Li, and Luo Ling played with the ginseng dolls in the square. As soon as Luo Li saw Luo Yu, she dashed over. “Nii-san, give me a Foundation Pill! I’m ready to break through!”

Sure enough, the little one had reached the peak without notice. She, too, had trained in Spiritual Wall and Lucid Dreaming, another prodigy: strong spiritual sense, no bottleneck, and extraordinary roots. Though her breakthrough came a bit later than Luo Yu’s, she’d taken no elixirs for the later stages, gaining all her experience within the grand array. Luo Yu, not without envy, handed her a pale green pill covered in intricate runes.

After a moment of wistful sighing, Luo Yu explained the situation to the ginseng dolls and Luo Ling, assigning Luo Ling a task: to monitor all subordinates within the array, knocking out any who coveted the spiritual garden with spiritual sense and notifying the little ghosts to capture them. Luo Ling promised solemnly to guard the family’s spiritual herbs!

Luo Yu reassured the ginseng dolls, encouraging them to keep training. Once their bodies were fully restored, they could hide their true forms; no cultivator of the same level would see through them. When they reached the peak of Qi Refining, their brothers would secure Foundation Pills for each of them. For now, they should stay hidden in the spiritual garden.

After everything was settled, Luo Yu filled the square with defensive arrays and shrouded it in an illusion, so that from outside, the square vanished, replaced by a simple, rugged flat-topped pyramid supporting a massive array core.

Not long after the protections were complete, Luo Yu heard Qin Yue’s secret voice. Luo Yu replied that everything was ready.

Soon after, Qin Yue brought the horde of monsters into the array.

The monsters were struck dumb by the sight, staring in silence at the human-shaped ginsengs.

Qin Yue said coldly, “Don’t even think about touching them. The array is flooded with spiritual energy. If anyone dares make a move, I will show no mercy.”

The lesser demons trembled and rushed to declare, “We’ll obey, King! We can’t refine pills and wouldn’t dare sneak a bite!” It wasn’t worth it—eating them raw without refining would be less effective than meditating here, and losing one’s head over it would be truly foolish. Even being exiled would be a huge loss…

Qin Yue led the monsters to the palace gates. The towering black archway left them gaping. One stepped forward hesitantly. “King, is this… is this…?”

Qin Yue replied, “You will live here from now on. But no living creature in this array is to be harmed. Disobey, and bear the consequences.”

“All will follow the king’s orders!” the monsters chorused.

At that moment, Qinghuo and Suying sensed Qin Yue and rushed over, dropping to one knee, their voices ringing out, “We greet our master!”

Qin Yue waved them up. “You two, show everyone to their quarters.”

The monsters’ eyes gleamed with joy—everyone got their own room? No more fighting over cave holes? They cheerfully followed Qinghuo and Suying away.

Qin Yue shook his head, soared into the clouds to find Luo Yu, and handed over the Immortal’s Dew to be planted by the ginseng dolls. Then the two discussed founding a sect—such a great palace shouldn’t go to waste, after all, and it would be livelier with residents. They could even come on weekends for sparring practice. But even establishing a guild in a game required rules; so, too, must their sect have its own code. These creatures were wild at heart and needed to learn proper conduct. Without rules, they’d never grasp right from wrong. But setting all this up was a hassle—they needed help… But whom? Gong Jingqian was too old-fashioned. The vampire, though, would be perfect. Him, then!

They strolled along the diamond-studded “Star-Shattering Path” to where the vampire was overseeing work, and the three of them sat down at a small table in the rose garden to confer.

The vampire said, “My darlings, mummy and daddy have been apart for a week now—a torment for lovers in the throes of passion… As for managing subordinates, haven’t the human militaries amassed plenty of experience? Work them mercilessly until they’re exhausted, then they’ll behave—this method works on both lovers and lackeys… Of course, don’t get me wrong, mummy would never treat daddy like that! Mummy would use sweeter methods—like swapping torment for affection… Oh, no! That’s mummy’s hard-won seventeenth-century antique… Don’t throw—oh! Close call!”

The vampire snatched a ruby-encrusted crystal goblet from midair, patting his chest. “Darling, do you know how hard it is to find one of these? Humans are obsessed with damn silverware!”

With a bang, Luo Yu slammed the table. “Enough! Are you helping or not? If not, forget about your sunshine vaccine!”

Brotherhood of Cultivators, Chapter 63 – The entire arc of taking up residence in the Ancient Array is now complete!