## Chapter 50: Masters of the Array

Luo Feng, accompanied by Morosa, arrived at the Candle Clan’s cave dwelling. After all, they were both located in the “Chaos Armor Zone,” so the distance was short.

“As expected of the Candle Clan, the investment in this array alone must have been immense,” Luo Feng commented, observing the grand array in operation. The power of the array was the strongest he had ever seen in Huoyang City.

With such a formidable array, the assassin Shadow Cang wouldn’t be able to penetrate it.

Even Luo Feng, after more than twenty epochs of cultivation, had greatly improved his realm. Despite this, he felt he would only be able to tear through the array and force his way in by burning his divine power.

“Almost all of my Candle Clan’s hundreds of millions of core descendants reside here, so we cannot afford to be careless,” Zhuyou explained with a smile, standing beside him. “Back then, my Candle Clan expended a great cause and effect to create this array.”

Luo Feng nodded. Unlike the five great clans, which only had branches here, the Candle Clan was deeply rooted in this place and had naturally fortified their cave dwelling into an impregnable fortress.

Soon, Luo Feng saw a frail old man with green secret纹 imprinted on his skin. The old man looked at Luo Feng with a smile and said, “Divine Lord Luo He.”

“Clan Leader Zhugu,” Luo Feng replied politely. Clan Leader Zhugu’s reputation in Huoyang City was no less than that of Demon Li Xiao and Bloodcloud.

“Please,” Clan Leader Zhugu gestured, leading them into a small building.

Zhugu, Zhuyou, and Luo Feng sat down separately, and exquisite food and wine were served.

“Only today do I have the opportunity to meet with Divine Lord Luo He,” Clan Leader Zhugu said, looking at Luo Feng with admiration. “Although the Divine Lord hasn’t been in Huoyang City for long, your fame is now the greatest in the city.”

“That’s just empty praise,” Luo Feng said.

“The Divine Lord is too modest,” Clan Leader Zhugu waved his hand, and a jade bottle flew over, landing on the table in front of Luo Feng. “Two million universe sand. The Divine Lord can verify it.”

Luo Feng probed with his divine power, confirming that there were indeed two million universe sand, not a single one less. This made Luo Feng secretly marvel at the deep and unfathomable power of the local forces represented by the Candle Clan, who could so easily produce such a vast fortune.

“This is the Realm Sword,” Luo Feng said, handing the mechanical flow treasure, the “Realm Sword,” to Clan Leader Zhugu.

Clan Leader Zhugu examined it briefly and then put it away.

With the transaction complete, the atmosphere became even more harmonious.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Luo Feng took his leave of Clan Leader Zhugu, and Zhuyou personally escorted him out.

“No need to see me off,” Luo Feng said.

Outside the main gate of the Candle Clan’s cave dwelling, Luo Feng, accompanied by Morosa, piloted his flying boat and departed.

Clan Leader Zhugu stood in front of the small building, watching the flying boat disappear into the distance.

A gentle woman appeared beside him.

“Divine Lord Wei, your Realm Sword,” Clan Leader Zhugu said, handing the Realm Sword to the woman. “Divine Lord Wei, you have been observing in secret. Did you discover anything about Divine Lord Luo He?”

“He gives me a very unique feeling,” the gentle woman said with interest. “I have been traveling through the cities of the Yu Kingdom since leaving the royal capital, and I feel that Divine Lord Luo He is the most amazing person I have ever met.”

Clan Leader Zhugu was surprised. “The most amazing?”

“It’s just a feeling,” the gentle woman replied. “Thank you for your help with this transaction, Clan Leader Zhugu. Now that I have obtained the Realm Sword, I shall take my leave.”

“It’s nothing,” Clan Leader Zhugu said, still eager to be of service. In terms of strength, he was no less than Divine Lord Wei. However, Divine Lord Wei’s background was far greater than that of the five great clans, so he naturally had to keep her happy.

…

In the days that followed, Luo Feng sold some of his past “spoils of war” to various merchant guilds in Huoyang City, exchanging them all for universe sand.

“I now have 3.3 million universe sand, and the materials for three body refinement sessions are estimated to cost 3.6 million universe sand. Adding in some unexpected losses during refinement, I need to prepare a little more,” Luo Feng thought. “I’m short by a few hundred thousand universe sand. What should I do?”

He didn’t want to sell the River of Life Blood or the Myriad Realms Escape Token, those two mechanical flow treasures, for the time being.

He still had some Eternal True God-level armor, weapons, exotic beast materials, and so on, worth a total of three to four hundred thousand universe sand.

He also had more than half of the “Ye Beast Blood” given to him by the City Lord’s Mansion, worth five to six hundred thousand universe sand. But Luo Feng didn’t really want to sell them.

“Since I’m short by a few hundred thousand universe sand, I’ll just take on another bounty mission,” Luo Feng nodded slightly. “It’s been so long since I last took action. I’m afraid I haven’t deterred those vicious individuals enough.”

“Choose someone who deserves to die,” Luo Feng began to examine the assassination missions in the Yanfeng Guild’s dark hall, carefully selecting one.

Suddenly—

“Brother Luo He, you must go to Tianyan Gate immediately,” Demon Li Meng sent a message to Luo Feng.

“What’s wrong with Tianyan Gate?” Luo Feng asked, puzzled. Tianyan Gate was the weapon-refining sect founded by his friend Shang Tianyan.

“The forces of the Shi Kingdom have captured several array masters and are likely to capture Shang Tianyan as well,” Demon Li Meng transmitted.

Luo Feng’s heart tightened.

In these past twenty-odd epochs, Shang Tianyan had always been forthcoming with his knowledge, helping Luo Feng with his body refinement questions. Moreover, after so long of interaction, Shang Tianyan could be considered Luo Feng’s only true friend in Huoyang City.

As for Black Butcher, Jade Tiger, and the like, their relationships were not on equal footing and were far from being considered “friends.”

“Qingyan, you guard the cave dwelling,” Luo Feng instructed, before taking Morosa and piloting his flying boat rapidly out of the cave dwelling. “What’s going on?” Jade Rock looked at the scene in the distance. “The master seems anxious?”

…

Tianyan Gate.

“Brother Luo He,” Shang Tianyan’s burly figure came forward to greet them, seeing Luo Feng and Morosa emerge from the flying boat.

“Demon Li Meng messaged me, saying you were in danger?” Luo Feng asked.

Shang Tianyan shook his head. “Just tonight, eight array masters within Huoyang City were captured and taken away by a mysterious force at the same time. These eight array masters are all Eternal True Gods, and none of them could resist.”

“Captured at the same time?” Luo Feng was surprised. Capturing Eternal True Gods alive was not easy. To dispatch eight groups simultaneously, each capable of capturing an Eternal True God, indicated a very powerful force.

“Yes, these eight array masters were mostly in their own cave dwellings,” Shang Tianyan nodded. “They were all captured alive and taken away, and even the City Lord’s Mansion cannot trace them. With such power and the willingness to do so, it should only be the Shi Kingdom forces.”

“Why capture them?” Luo Feng pressed.

Shang Tianyan said, “The entire Huoyang City’s array is very vast, formed by a perfect combination of numerous arrays. Over the long years, many array masters have repaired it. There are a total of nine people living in Huoyang City who repair the array, and eight of them were captured tonight! I am the last one.”

“They captured eight and left me alone,” Shang Tianyan shook his head. “The City Lord’s Mansion might even suspect me of colluding with the Shi Kingdom forces.”

!

Luo Feng understood. “Those eight array masters all served the City Lord’s Mansion. Isn’t the City Lord’s Mansion trying to save them?”

“I have already inquired with the City Lord’s Mansion,” Shang Tianyan said, looking at the night sky with a sigh. “The City Lord’s Mansion responded that the moment the eight array masters were captured, their cause-and-effect communication tokens were destroyed, making it impossible to lock onto their locations.”

“The City Lord’s Mansion should have the cause-and-effect imprints of these eight array masters,” Luo Feng said. “With these cause-and-effect imprints, they should be able to deduce the locations of the eight array masters.”

“Deduce their locations solely by using cause-and-effect imprints?” Shang Tianyan shook his head. “That’s a method only Chaos Dominators have, right?”

“The Yanfeng Guild can do it,” Luo Feng said.

“The Yanfeng Guild needs one million universe sand to deduce locations using cause-and-effect imprints,” Shang Tianyan shook his head. “The City Lord’s Mansion wouldn’t be willing to spend that much. According to past experience, once they are taken away by the Shi Kingdom forces, their life and death… are decided by the Shi Kingdom forces.”

Luo Feng nodded slightly.

“So, we cannot get involved in their struggles. Once you get involved, you can be crushed at any time,” Shang Tianyan shook his head. “But we, who are skilled in arrays, are ordered by the City Lord’s Mansion to repair some damaged arrays. We don’t have the right to refuse.”

Shang Tianyan looked at Luo Feng. “I have no collusion with the Shi Kingdom. The fact that they didn’t capture me this time… I guess… they don’t want to offend you.”

“Nine of us, and they spared only me,” Shang Tianyan said. “The eight who were captured were all my friends. We often discussed arrays together. I wonder if they will survive this time.”

******

Inside a secret treasure space.

Bloodcloud Divine Lord, Yu Tianhu, and Yu Tianyi were standing there, along with more than ten Eternal True Gods conducting interrogations in separate, independent spaces.

The Shi Kingdom forces had two teams in Huoyang City. The weaker team was led by Chairman Zanyun, and the stronger team was led by Bloodcloud Divine Lord! Chairman Zanyun could only contact Bloodcloud Divine Lord; he couldn’t contact many of Bloodcloud Divine Lord’s subordinates.

“Answer obediently, and you will live. If you don’t speak, you will die, and your family will be destroyed,” the Eternal True Gods threatened.

They had many methods of coercion, making these array masters wish they were dead.

Before long, all the captured array masters had confessed everything.

In reality, what they knew was only the tip of the iceberg of Huoyang City’s array.

“Of these eight array masters, one was already loyal to us, and the other seven have finally confessed,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord said with a smile.

“How should we deal with these array masters?” Yu Tianhu asked.

“Release five of them and kill three,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord said casually. “First, to let all parties in Huoyang City know that serving the City Lord’s Mansion leads to no good end. Second, to let them know that we of the Shi Kingdom are still merciful and will spare some obedient Eternal True Gods.”

Yu Tianhu frowned. “We only need to complete the mission. In my opinion, we should kill them all.”

“Do as I say,” Bloodcloud Divine Lord glanced at Yu Tianhu, and then finalized the list of five who would live, including the array master who was already loyal to them.

That night.

The five surviving array masters were released.

…

Inside Tianyan Gate.

Luo Feng and Morosa were sitting opposite each other, drinking wine.

Shang Tianyan was drinking wine and looking at the night sky, quite anxious. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he took out his cause-and-effect communication token.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Feng asked.

“Of the eight captured friends, three of their cause-and-effects have suddenly disappeared,” Shang Tianyan said, looking at the cause-and-effect communication token. “The cause-and-effect has disappeared, they are all dead. They clearly had no power to resist, yet the Shi Kingdom forces still killed them.”

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