“Foundation Establishment!”

Ink Painting’s eyes lit up. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time! Thinking that he would soon achieve Foundation Establishment, Ink Painting couldn’t help but narrow his eyes and laugh, his small face adorable in its silly state, like a cat leisurely basking in the sun.

Bai Zixi watched, his gaze gentle, the corners of his mouth also showing a faint smile.

Bai Zisheng, however, curled his lips: “No ambition, only Foundation Establishment, yet you’re this happy… You are my junior brother, your ambition should be a little more far-sighted, at least Gold Core, or even Featherization…”

Ink Painting was too lazy to pay attention to him. His mood was good now, so he wouldn’t argue with his little senior brother.

Mister Zhuang gently glanced at Ink Painting, smiled slightly, thought of something, and then slowly said, “Don’t be happy too early. Your Foundation Establishment is different from ordinary people, and it probably won’t be that easy…”

Ink Painting was startled and said in a low voice, “Because of the bottleneck in divine sense?”

Mister Zhuang nodded slightly.

Ink Painting furrowed his brows and calculated carefully. According to what Mister Zhuang had said before, his cultivation path was to first cultivate his divine sense to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, around fourteen patterns. Then, using the rule of divine sense doubling with a cultivation breakthrough, he would leap a major realm in one go, directly increasing his divine sense to the realm of late-stage Foundation Establishment. As for whether it would be seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen patterns, it was hard to say.

However, even if it was only seventeen patterns, it would be quite ridiculous. Early-stage Foundation Establishment having late-stage Foundation Establishment divine sense. This also meant that in the path of arrays, Ink Painting, just entering the second grade, would have enough divine sense to learn high-level second-grade arrays!

And all of Ink Painting’s skills relied on divine sense. A strong divine sense would benefit not only arrays but also body techniques and spells. But this was just Ink Painting’s idea. Whether it would really be so was hard to say. Because, as Mister Zhuang said, there were very few cultivators who proved the Dao with divine sense, there were not enough precedents to use as reference, and it was impossible to know exactly what changes this path would bring later on.

Moreover, the bottleneck from thirteen to fourteen divine sense patterns was much more difficult than Ink Painting had imagined. Thirteen to fourteen patterns seemed to only differ by one pattern, but it was the bottleneck from early-stage Foundation Establishment to middle-stage Foundation Establishment. And Ink Painting was still only at Qi Refining.

Every day, he still practiced arrays non-stop, and his divine sense also slowly strengthened, but no matter what, it was still only at the peak of thirteen patterns. There seemed to be a natural chasm between thirteen and fourteen patterns. No matter how much his divine sense strengthened, it seemed to be just a drop in the bucket. He simply could not break through the bottleneck and reach the realm of fourteen patterns.

He didn’t know how long it would take to cultivate to fourteen patterns, even learning the absolute arrays of thirteen patterns. This speed would probably be very, very slow…

Ink Painting couldn’t help but sigh.

Mister Zhuang glanced at Ink Painting, smiled gently, and said calmly, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Don’t let your heart hesitate just because the road ahead is bumpy and the journey is long. As long as this is the road you want to walk, there’s no need to hesitate. What you need to do is walk step by step with a clear heart… Many things, you will understand as you walk. And many opportunities and turning points can only be discovered on the road.”

Ink Painting’s eyes brightened slightly, and he nodded.

Mister Zhuang then glanced at Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi again and said warmly, “The Bai family situation is complex, and it’s not convenient for me to say more, but these words apply to both of you as well.”

Bai Zisheng and Bai Zixi both cupped their hands and said, “Yes, Master.” Only Bai Zixi was somewhat thoughtful, while Bai Zisheng still didn’t quite understand.

In the following days, Ink Painting began to continue drawing arrays. Tedious, mechanical, repetitive. It seemed tedious. But each time he drew, his array patterns became a little more proficient, and his understanding a little more profound. Opportunities were a matter of going with the flow and could not be forced. But practicing arrays was something he could do himself.

Ink Painting gradually calmed his heart. In the past, Ink Painting had been drawing day and night. For a long time to come, Ink Painting would continue to draw… He engraved Mister Zhuang’s words in his heart. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. He just needed to walk step by step with a clear heart, drawing one time after another…

After Ink Painting left, Nanyue City gradually calmed down. The cultivators of the Dao Court who were ordered to suppress the Corpse Mine also gradually dispersed. Only the skinny old man, the middle-aged cultivator, Young Master Yun, and a group of other cultivators still gathered together. Their original purpose was not the Corpse Mine.

The skinny old man sighed and said, “Now it can be confirmed that these are indeed not the traces of the person we calculated, but that person deliberately leaked the cause and effect to draw us over. To say ‘draw over’ is actually more like ‘summon us over’…”

A cultivator said displeasedly, “Treat us as spirit pets? Summon us just like that?”

“This is the truth.”

“What truth? I think it’s nonsense!”

“The key is, summoning us over still made us work for free…”

“How is that working for free? Corpse King, Dao Evil, how great is this cause and effect? If it’s not resolved, how big a disaster will it cause again?”

“That’s right, in my opinion, this is a good deed…”

“That’s easy to say, but are you just willing to be played like this?”

“Otherwise, what? What can you do?”

The hall was a bit noisy for a while.

The highly respected white-haired old man motioned for everyone to be quiet, and then said in a hoarse voice, “No matter what, that person drew us over to suppress the Corpse Mine, resolve the Dao Evil chaos, avoid suffering for the creatures in the state, and follow the heavens and the Dao, doing good deeds. Everyone has merits in this battle. As for that person, even if his heart is high and arrogant and looks down on all beings, he is still a person with Dao righteousness in his heart.”

Among the crowd, some agreed, and some disdained. Instead, Young Master Yun nodded seriously.

The white-haired old man said again, “The problem now is, where exactly did that person go?”

The crowd looked at each other, all furrowing their brows in thought. A cultivator asked, “Are there any traces of that person in Nanyue City?”

“No… at least, I didn’t find any.”

“We didn’t find any clues either…”

“Not even a trace…”

“The entire Nanyue City, it seems no cultivator has seen that person’s appearance or knows their traces…”

“Then did he actually come here or not?”

“It looks like he didn’t come.”

“If he didn’t come, how would he know about the Corpse Mine matter?”

“You don’t think that he can only know about these matters by personally coming here and seeing them with his own eyes, do you? You underestimate him too much…”

Many cultivators secretly nodded. A cultivator said, “I just suspect that all of this is perhaps within that person’s calculations? Including the Corpse King’s evil change, including the battle to suppress the Corpse Mine, including Lu Chengyun’s plot, and that small array master who made the Corpse King submit, isn’t his every move within that person’s derivation?”

“If it’s really like this, it’s too terrifying…”

“If it’s really like this, we will never see that person’s face in our lifetime.”

“Be content. Tian Shu Pavilion has investigated for hundreds of years and still has no clues about that person. We are gathered here now, experiencing this matter, which is already considered the closest we’ve ever been to that person.”

“Too deep in scheming…”

“Indeed…”

“Speaking of which, that small array master is also really not simple.”

“Yes ah…”

“Such a powerful small array master, I don’t know where he came from…”

The crowd exclaimed.

“Speaking of the small array master…” someone furrowed his brows and thought, “…In Tongxian City, isn’t there also a small array master? I heard that small array master set up a grand array and executed the great demon Feng Xi…”

The crowd was silent for a while. Someone said with a serious face, “You’d rather believe these words than believe that I am the reincarnation of a Dao Sovereign?”

“Reincarnate your mother, are you even worthy?”

“How dare you scold this old man?”

“So what? A small array master set up a grand array? What do you think a grand array is?”

“Indeed, how can a grand array be child’s play?”

A cultivator furrowed his brows and said, “But… I heard an elder of the Tian Shu Pavilion say that in the second-grade Heishan state, Tongxian City, a great demon indeed appeared, and someone indeed set up a grand array and suppressed and killed the great demon…”

“This still needs to be said? That person’s cause and effect appeared in Tongxian City. So it’s not what, a small array master set up a grand array to execute a great demon, but that person is behind it…” As he spoke halfway, he suddenly stopped.

The crowd in the field also felt something was wrong. After thinking for a moment, their faces turned pale. Tongxian City had that person behind it… The affair in Nanyue City was also instigated by that person… Tongxian City had a small array master, and Nanyue City also had a small array master…

A shocking guess surfaced in the crowd’s hearts: This small array master, surely it’s… that small array master, right… So to speak, then the person behind this small array master is… the person they are looking for?! What is their relationship?

A middle-aged cultivator swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said with difficulty, “Didn’t this small array master say… he still has a Master?”

The crowd’s hearts suddenly jumped. Master?! This small array master is that person’s disciple?! What do you call having no clues? What do you call having no traces? That person’s disciple appeared openly and grandly in front of these people, suppressed the Corpse King together, quelled the corpse plague, and even chatted and ate together. Before leaving, these people even said goodbye to him??

The cultivators in the field were all somewhat unable to accept it for a while. After a moment, someone finally said, “Perhaps Mister Zhuang was always in the city?”

“Should be called ‘that person’, not Mister Zhuang, otherwise he will know.”

“If you call him that, he won’t know?”

The crowd was silent for a while, and then all sighed. Forget it, Mister Zhuang is just Mister Zhuang. Their shouting “that person” was just like covering their ears to steal a bell, they could only deceive themselves.

“You say, that day when the small mister was sitting in that big white horse-drawn carriage leaving Nanyue City, would Mister Zhuang… not be in the carriage…” It was better not to say this. As soon as he said it, the crowd’s hearts churned out bitter water, regretting endlessly. The person they were looking for was right in front of them, sitting in a carriage and leaving. They still unknowingly went to send him off.

A cultivator didn’t believe it, “Impossible, it wouldn’t be such a coincidence, right?”

The skinny old man, however, shook his head, “A Qi Refining cultivation can draw first-grade absolute arrays. Besides Mister Zhuang, no one else can teach such a disciple.” Young Master Yun’s expression also showed some emotion.

“Moreover,” the skinny old man continued, “this small mister also has a pair of senior brother and senior sister surnamed Bai. These two small cultivators have astonishing talent, but they are also unfathomable. As for that small youth…” The skinny old man’s gaze revealed deep fear, “The Dao method he uses is Returning Dragon Spear!”

“From the Dragon Dao method, the Bai family, I presume I don’t need to say more, everyone can also understand what this means…” The crowd’s hearts tightened. Qian State Bai family ah, that is truly a colossal entity…

“But what is the relationship between the Bai family and that person?” a cultivator asked.

The skinny old man sighed, “The Bai family indeed has some origins with Mister Zhuang, but it is best not to inquire about this matter. The Bai family is not someone we can provoke.”

“So to say, this small mister is indeed Mister Zhuang’s disciple?” The skinny old man was somewhat shocked, and also somewhat unbelievable, and couldn’t help but sigh, “Should be.”

The atmosphere became even more silent for a while. They had a mission to find Mister Zhuang and find a way to spy on the secrets within Mister Zhuang. But after experiencing the various events of the Corpse Mine, they also sincerely did not want to be enemies with this small mister.

Suddenly someone asked, “What is the origin of this small mister? Where is he from? Does he have a family or sect? Why can he be taken as a disciple by Mister Zhuang? If I remember correctly, Mister Zhuang hasn’t accepted disciples for a very long time…”

The crowd furrowed their brows. “This small mister…” Someone just opened his mouth, and suddenly was startled, “…what is this small mister called?”

“Are you silly? This small mister is surnamed…” Another person was also suddenly stuck. Surnamed what? “Bai?”

“That’s his senior brother and senior sister’s surname.”

“Strange, I still remember his senior brother and senior sister, why can’t I remember him?”

“I don’t know his name, and I can’t even remember his appearance clearly…”

Someone was suddenly startled, “What did this small mister do?” This question confused the entire crowd. In their sea of consciousness, a picture emerged: Under the blood-colored sky, groups of corpses danced wildly, and the Corpse King confronted this small mister. They still remembered the palpitations, shock, and various emotions like disbelief at that time, but exactly what this small mister did and what happened afterward were all blurred.

The white-haired old man thought for a moment and sighed, “Mister Zhuang has laid down a fog in the cause and effect. Our divine sense is not enough to spy on it.”

The crowd was greatly shocked to hear this. “Is there still this method?”

“Then there is no clue at all?”

“Senior, is there any method?”

The white-haired old man furrowed his brows and thought, then slowly said, “Heaven’s mechanism derivation, perhaps can, through a tube peek at a leopard, see one spot…”

“Then senior, may you…”

The white-haired old man shook his head and said helplessly, “I am old, my divine sense is declining, I cannot calculate…”

The crowd looked at each other. Someone looked at the skinny old man, “Senior Wen, how about you calculate?”

The skinny old man was startled, “Me calculate?”

That person nodded, “You are the only one here proficient in derivation.”

“But…” the skinny old man showed a difficult expression.

That person continued, “You still have the Sancai Yishu copper coins to assist you. You can’t calculate Mister Zhuang, but calculating his small disciple should be no problem, right?”

Those beside him also echoed, “Senior Wen, please.”

The skinny old man’s heart was bitter. The one who sticks out gets hit first. How did this unlucky task fall on his head? The skinny old man wanted to decline, but there were so many cultivators in the field, all of whom had status, family, and sect. If he brushed off their intention, he was afraid they would bear grudges.

“Forget it, calculate it is.” Moreover, he himself also wanted to know the origin of this small mister. He could actually make the high and mighty Mister Zhuang accept him as a disciple. He could also make Mister Zhuang not lay down a fog to cover his cause and effect.

The skinny old man took out the copper coins, poured out his divine sense, chanted incantations, and the copper coins tumbled disorderly, finally settling. The skinny old man held the copper coins, placed them on his forehead, closed his eyes to perceive. But in the divine sense vision, there was a piece of fog. After half a day, he still knew nothing.

The skinny old man opened his eyes, sighed, and said helplessly, “Heaven’s mechanism is indeed covered, a piece of fog, nothing can be calculated, it is indeed Mister Zhuang’s handiwork…”

The crowd was somewhat disappointed to hear this. Perhaps the clues to Mister Zhuang were hidden in this small mister. And they were very important clues. But if they couldn’t be calculated, there was nothing they could do.

The middle-aged cultivator, however, furrowed his brows, “It’s one thing not to be able to calculate Mister Zhuang, but how can we not even touch his disciple at all…”

“Senior Wen, how about you change direction and calculate again?”

“That’s right, don’t calculate him, calculate his parents, relatives and friends, and other people around him, or calculate his past, where he lived, where he went?”

“Just a little trace would be fine.”

The skinny old man cursed them heartily. Such unlucky things were all left to one person to do. He also wasn’t without temper. The skinny old man opened his mouth, “This old man’s ability is limited. If you want me to continue calculating, you will have to lend me your Zhou Tian calculation tools.”

As soon as he said this, some people hesitated. Spirit tools containing the principles of Zhou Tian that could aid in derivation were all good things, and they were not easily lent to others. The skinny old man saw their expressions and snorted in his heart. It was easy to ask others for help, but they were unwilling to pay the price themselves.

Just at this moment, the white-haired old man opened his mouth, “I am willing to lend the Guanshan Cushion to Old Brother Wen…”

The skinny old man was startled. The white-haired old man then said to the others, “There are great secrets in Mister Zhuang, and the matter is of great importance. I presume everyone will not be so stingy with these external objects as to lose the big for the small.”

The crowd was silent, and after thinking for a moment, they made up their minds. One after another, someone said, “I have a pair of second-grade Tianji Disks…”

“I have a stick of Yangshen Incense…”

“This wooden hairpin of mine is a Kusang Hairpin, which can speed up mental calculations…”

Soon, a pile of spirit tools appeared in front of the skinny old man. The skinny old man looked at these spirit tools, somewhat unexpectedly, and then somewhat excitedly. These were all top-grade spirit tools used for calculation. Moreover, many of them were secret spirit tools of world families or sects, not easily given to outsiders for use. The skinny old man was suddenly full of spirit. In his life, he had never conducted such a “wealthy” heaven’s mechanism derivation. With the help of these calculation tools, he might really be able to slightly contend with Mister Zhuang. Clear away the fog laid down by Mister Zhuang and spy on that one thread of hidden heaven’s mechanism.

The skinny old man’s spirit was roused. Then he rested for a moment, waited for his divine sense to be full, and then solemnly burned the Yangshen Incense, wore the Kusang Hairpin, sat on the Guanshan Cushion, and arranged the Sancai Yishu copper coins on the Tianji Disk… With the assistance of so many spirit tools, his divine sense was unusually full, his thoughts unusually clear, and his eyes seemed to contain light, as if he could see through the past and derive the future.

The skinny old man sat upright and began to derive. Although he was now “fully armed,” he was still not careless. He was not greedy and did not calculate too much at once, only calculating a little bit, wanting to see the past of the small array master shrouded in fog, to see some moments of experience, to find some clues, to spy on a bit of cause and effect interaction. The fog laid down by Mister Zhuang, even if it was profound, would not be without dead angles.

The skinny old man sat patiently and calculated carefully. He didn’t know how long passed, but he finally cleared away a layer of fog from a piece of confusion and unknown! The skinny old man was overjoyed. Just as he was about to go see, his heart suddenly jumped violently, and a warning sign suddenly arose. It seemed that under the fog, there were extremely terrifying things hidden. Just touching it made his heart pound, his body tremble, and cold sweat profusely. Even in the fog, there was still a trace of qi that was fishy, rotten, ferocious, and ice-cold. This qi, although obscure, revealed a chilling death qi that made people’s hair stand on end. It was like a basin of cold water poured over his head.

The skinny old man woke up instantly: What am I doing? Who gave me the guts to spy on the fog laid down by Mister Zhuang? Am I worthy? What is my ability? What realm is Mister Zhuang in?

The skinny old man’s hands were trembling, his heart was trembling. “Good damn dangerous!” “I was almost confused by these spirit tools, my confidence inflated, I overestimated myself, and I lost my original duty.” To be a person, you have to stick to your original duty, and to derive, you also have to stick to your original duty. How much ability you have, you calculate how much cause and effect. If you can’t calculate it, it just means your ability is not enough. If your ability is insufficient and you force yourself to calculate, you will encounter cause and effect backlash beyond your ability, and it is not unexpected to even die and have your Dao vanish.

The skinny old man let out a long sigh of relief. Only his heart was still pounding wildly, as if he hadn’t recovered from the shock of the warning sign. After the endless fear, the skinny old man also felt a kind of luck from a narrow escape from death. It was good that he had self-knowledge and understood “mediocre”, otherwise he would have almost caused a major disaster.

Other cultivators saw the skinny old man’s face, and there was a sense of sudden enlightenment and relief. They all came forward and asked, “Senior Wen, how is it?” “Calculated it?”

I calculated your mother’s big-headed ghost!! The skinny old man cursed loudly in his heart. He calculated a fart, he almost didn’t throw in his old life. But these words couldn’t be said clearly, it would offend everyone and also lose his own face. The skinny old man then sighed, “Mister Zhuang indeed has world-shaking talent, his methods, I cannot see through…”

The crowd all sighed in disappointment. The clues were broken again. Someone also questioned, “With so many calculation tools assisting, it’s impossible not to be able to calculate it. Senior Wen, you don’t want to monopolize this secret, do you?”

The skinny old man looked at him coldly, “How about I give you all the calculation tools, and you come calculate?” That person then stopped and shut up. He could only talk, if you really let him go up, he really wouldn’t know anything.

The skinny old man returned the calculation tools, cupped his hands, and said, “This old man’s ability is insufficient, I have disappointed everyone’s good intentions.”

The white-haired old man knew the difficulty and danger of this matter, and said very understandingly, “Old Brother Wen has worked hard.” The cultivators beside him also regretted it somewhat, and all said, “Senior Wen, you’ve worked hard.” “Senior Wen, you’ve worked hard.” They were also just holding a slim chance of success mentality, trying a bit. If they couldn’t calculate it, it was also within their expectations. After all, in this world, there were few cultivators more proficient in heaven’s mechanism derivation than Mister Zhuang. This matter could only be planned for the long term again.

The crowd went back to rest separately. The skinny old man also put away his Sancai Yishu copper coins. Just holding up the copper coins, he then discovered that the edge of one copper coin actually… had a trace of crack. The skinny old man was startled, calmed down and thought for a moment. Then his entire person was swallowed by huge fear. He then realized that it wasn’t that he had self-knowledge. But this copper coin, at the critical moment, blocked a danger and saved his life! That’s why he had a warning sign in his heart! That’s why he had the intention to retreat and could escape a disaster! He truly had a narrow escape from death!

The skinny old man’s hands and feet were soft, and he slumped in the chair. Just as he calmed his chest, his heart immediately pounded again, and his back was also soaked with cold sweat. His eyes were still full of fear. What exactly was under the fog? How terrifying was the cause and effect of this small mister? He just spied a corner, no, he didn’t even have time to spy, and he almost died and his Dao vanished?! What exactly was hidden in his fate…

Thanks to ChanSO’s reward. I originally wanted to break a chapter and update some tomorrow, but after thinking about it, I still didn’t have the heart to… (End of this chapter)