"Is this the array core you mentioned?"
Inside Cuijue Slope, Xingqiu touched the ancient and weathered stone gate before him, asking Chongyun with a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected to find such a marvelous thing in this desolate wilderness; it truly opened his eyes!
Should he and Chongyun expand their range of activities? Staying only in Liyue and Qingce Village wouldn't lead them to such "good places."
Xingqiu thought this to himself, completely disregarding the potential future roars of his elder brother and father.
"This is it." Chongyun also reached out to touch the heavy stone gate. Unlike Xingqiu, he could clearly feel a subtle power flowing within it.
Presumably, this was the power contained within the array here.
"Then how do we open it?" Ember, seeing Chongyun's knowledgeable demeanor, inquired about how to open the stone gate.
He had stared at it for a long time but hadn't seen any mechanisms. Not just mechanisms, there wasn't even a crack for a door.
This made Ember begin to wonder if this thing was a stone slab or a stone gate.
"Let me try." Chongyun took a deep breath, then began to form hand seals and chant a spell.
"$#..."
His voice was as faint as a wisp of smoke; not only Xingqiu, but even Ember couldn't make out what he was muttering.
"Open!"
A bright flash erupted from Chongyun's fingertips, embedding itself into the massive stone gate before them.
Then, nothing happened.
"Chongyun, have you been slacking off lately? Why didn't that spell work?" Xingqiu ran forward and knocked on the stone gate. There was no reaction, not even a speck of dust fell off.
"Hmm..." Chongyun covered his head, lowering it in deep thought.
"It's because this array is too powerful; my family's array-breaking method is completely useless." After a while, Chongyun finally found the reason.
His hand gestures and incantations were correct; the only problem was that the array was simply too stable. Even the Exorcists' arts specifically designed to break arrays couldn't shake it in the slightest.
"Such a powerful array... what exactly is being suppressed inside?" Xingqiu grew even more curious about what lay behind the door after hearing Chongyun's words.
"Of course, it's a great evil being that doesn't even fear a Pure Yang Body!" Ember patted both their heads, then continued, "But if we can't open this door, then we won't see anything."
Ember withdrew his hand. If there truly was no other way, a violent approach wasn't impossible, but it was best to avoid it.
After all, this was an ancient ruin; they should protect it as much as possible.
"Quick, quick, quick! Chongyun, quickly pull out your all-purpose 'the family record of demonic oddities' and check how to break this array!"
Xingqiu grew even more excited upon hearing this.
Speaking of which, because he was inseparable from Chongyun, he had never actually seen an evil being, and he was full of curiosity about the things Chongyun constantly talked about.
"Cough, cough, cough! Stop patting!" Chongyun was quite choked by Xingqiu's patting. He sidestepped away from Xingqiu, then looked at the nine stone pillars faintly visible in the dark mist in the distance and said:
"If we want to break the array, we need to go check under those pillars. Those are the array positions, the power nodes of the grand array."
As Chongyun spoke, he strode towards the direction of the stone pillars.
Xingqiu was excited, but how could Chongyun not be?
Given the scale and style of this grand array, Chongyun was certain that an ancient great demon must be suppressed within it.
As for how great this demon was? Chongyun didn't know, but it was definitely great enough not to fear his Pure Yang Body.
As soon as he thought of this, Chongyun's heart surged. His Pure Yang Body could finally be put to use!
As for before? Chongyun felt that just standing there didn't utilize the inherent power of his Pure Yang Body.
The true Pure Yang Body should be able to freely integrate Yang energy into Exorcists' arts!
Just like when he accidentally set Xingqiu's hair on fire earlier.
But unfortunately, Chongyun hadn't even found an evil being that could withstand the aura of his Pure Yang Body, let alone a great demon that would allow him to cast spells infused with Yang energy.
Cuijue Slope was gloomy, like the moment of intersection between Yin and Yang just after sunset in the evening.
The first stone pillar wasn't too far from them, and soon, the three of them arrived at its base.
The stone pillar was tens of meters high, and unlike ordinary cylindrical pillars, this one was a cuboid.
To Ember, it bore some resemblance to the chopsticks commonly used by Liyue people for eating.
The top of the stone pillar was the most severely weathered, but even though its edges were jagged, the large noctilucous jade at the top of the pillar still emitted a faint glow, like a beacon in Cuijue Slope.
"This power..." Ember raised an eyebrow, feeling a somewhat familiar aura within it.
Was this placed here by Zhongli?
Although the power within the stone pillar was very weak, Ember still recognized that this power belonged to Zhongli.
"What, Senior, have you made a new discovery?"
Xingqiu walked around the pillar a few times but found nothing.
"No, I know nothing about 'arrays' or anything of the sort." Ember spread his hands, then pushed Chongyun.
"This kind of thing should be left to the professionals!"
"Alright, since Senior trusts me so much, I'll give it a try!" Chongyun took a deep breath. This was his first time breaking such a grand array.
Having adjusted his breath, Chongyun looked up at the towering stone pillar. Its surface was as smooth as marble, giving him no purchase.
Seeing this, Chongyun glanced at Xingqiu. The latter nodded.
"Hmph!" Stepping back a few paces, Chongyun let out a soft cry and leaped towards the stone pillar.
At the same time, his Vision at his waist began to flash, emitting a bright, frosty white light.
"Cut——"
Xingqiu also moved in sync with Chongyun's actions.
Sharp, flat water arrows condensed around Xingqiu, then shot out, embedding themselves into the stone pillar.
Chongyun's movements were just barely able to keep up with the water arrows. Whenever a water arrow was about to dissipate after embedding itself in the stone pillar, the cold air from Chongyun's feet would follow, transforming the water arrows into one jumping board after another.
"No, why are you two so skilled?" Ember couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at their seamless coordination.
Such a level of proficiency, even close friends couldn't achieve it! This must be the kind of familiarity that only comes from being extremely close!
"Well... it's a long story, a long story!" Xingqiu stopped using his element power when he saw Chongyun jump to the top of the stone pillar.
He turned to Ember and scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
As the second young master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, whether Xingqiu wanted it or not, many business matters of the guild would inevitably fall upon him.
And he was not one to endure loneliness, so Xingqiu's father had specially built the walls of their home very high to prevent Xingqiu from sneaking out.
But unfortunately, the higher the path, the greater the demon. That move just now was what Xingqiu used to climb over walls!
"Let's not talk about this; let's see if Chongyun has made any new discoveries!" Xingqiu clearly didn't want to dwell on this topic. After saying that, he looked at Chongyun.
Chongyun, high up, noticed their gazes and shook his head.
Then, he jumped down from the top of the stone pillar.
"Bang!"
Coming down was much easier than going up. Chongyun simply leaped lightly, returning to the ground.
"It can't be unlocked; this grand array requires a token. I estimate it should be some kind of gemstone or something." Before Xingqiu and Ember could ask anything, Chongyun preemptively stated the result.
He pulled out his family's 'the family record of demonic oddities,' pointing to a page with complex lines drawn on it and explained, "Look, it says here. This kind of array must be unlocked with a token. Otherwise, you can only use brute force."
Chongyun put the book away. He was now starting to consider how to fabricate a token. Asking at home, then seeking help from the Exorcists' circle, should be no problem.
"Let's go back first; I have an idea. We can break this grand array in a few days!"
Chongyun clenched his fists, looking full of confidence.
"What? You said it can be broken with brute force?"
Ember hadn't heard anything else, only the words "brute force."
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