Chapter 27: Hmph, This Mere Small Array

"Jiu Shi!"

"Shijie!"

"I say, madam!"

"Shouldn't we just visit openly instead of sneaking in like this? It's improper. We could ask directly and clear things up, don't you think?"

In the forests of Xiaoqiong Peak, two shadowy figures suddenly halted, revealing a tall and a short cultivator. They were still using techniques to evade immortal senses.

Jiu Wu blocked the path of his taller dao companion, earnestly advising, "Jiu Jiu has grown up. We can't keep her tied to us forever. She's over nine hundred and sixty-two years old, six months, and fifteen days—a true immortal, not a child anymore!"

Jiu Shi rolled her eyes slightly at her dao companion who had stopped her, huffing, "What would we learn from a direct visit? For this kind of matter, we have to sneak in to see the truth! Have you forgotten about Jiu Liu and Jiu Qi? How did we find out about them? We caught them red-handed on the bed, or they'd still be denying it! Quick, hide—we can't let them spot us!"

With a stamp of her foot, Jiu Shi grabbed Jiu Wu by the collar and lifted him up. The two transformed back into shadows and vanished into the grove.

Jiu Wu could only smile bitterly. Despite considering himself clever, he was utterly helpless before the woman he loved.

Yet, they hadn't gone more than a hundred zhang before they had to stop again. Their figures appeared on the treetop of a large tree, carefully scanning ahead.

"This array is set up quite cleverly," Jiu Wu praised. "Its boundaries blend almost perfectly with the surroundings, except for a slight imperfection at the edges that leaked a bit of spiritual energy fluctuation."

"Hmm?"

Jiu Shi tilted her head, the two small braids at her forehead swaying gently. After a quick look, she dismissively said, "It's just a basic Illusion and Confusion Array. How could it trouble us? Let's go in. From your expression, you're reluctant? Do you still want to share the bed tonight?"

Faced with this threat, Jiu Wu quickly surrendered. "Yes, yes, of course I do. It's rare for you to come out of seclusion, Jiu Shi... Fine! I'll go first and take responsibility if anything happens."

Jiu Wu sighed and jumped down from the tree first, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, absentmindedly surveying the area.

What he was really thinking about wasn't whether they could break the array—he didn't take Xiaoqiong Peak's arrays seriously, since there wasn't even a true immortal there. What worried him was what if they really caught Jiu Jiu with Qi Yuan... The scene would be incredibly awkward.

Especially… ‘Qi Yuan is probably not going to survive his heavenly tribulation. Would my little shimei end up widowed right after finding a dao companion? What a mess that would be!’

"Hurry up," Jiu Shi urged from behind. "At this pace, we'll miss everything!"

"Don't rush. I've already found the array's exit."

Jiu Wu quickly calculated the array's vital point and led Jiu Shi out of the first illusion array. But then, he stopped, raising his left hand in a signal to halt.

"Huh? It's a chain array?"

Jiu Wu chuckled, stroking his chin in admiration. "Though these are all simple illusion arrays, linking them into a chain shows some real skill in array crafting."

"Enough chatter!"

Jiu Shi snorted and stepped ahead of her shidi. Releasing her immortal sense, she swiftly located the exit and said coolly, "Follow me."

Jiu Wu smiled helplessly and followed his dao companion and shijie, still pondering how to handle things if they stumbled upon something incriminating.

Meanwhile, in the dan room about a dozen li away.

Li Changshou, who was sorting the poisonous herbs and spiritual medicines, furrowed his brow slightly. He glanced unobtrusively at Jiu Jiu, who was meditating, and thought for a moment but said nothing.

Those must be one of the Jiu Immortals with Jiu Wu. Perfect—they could test the effectiveness of the outer illusion arrays for him.

"Jiu Shishu?"

"Yes? Are we starting?"

"Not yet," Li Changshou said with a smile. "If Jiu Shishu returns to Broken Heaven Peak and someone asks what you've been doing here, just tell them the truth. But please keep the details of the arrays here, including their setup and numbers, confidential for me."

"Don't worry! I get it!"

Jiu Jiu patted her chest firmly. "I'm not the type to take favors and not deliver. Considering all the fine wine you just gave me, I'll keep this under wraps!"

Li Changshou smiled in response and continued adjusting the quantities of the herbs.

The Fusion Immortal Pill was finally ready to be refined. But they'd have to wait until those two true immortals outside left.

...

In the forest.

After half a shichen in the array.

"You break it," Jiu Shi muttered. "I specialize in artifact refining; I can't match you or our third shixiong in arrays."

Jiu Wu smiled calmly and stepped in front of his beloved, exuding a sense of manly resolve despite his shorter stature. "Stay close to me. This is called the Spirit Transcendence Six Revolutions Array. It's a basic illusion array, but the vital point is oddly placed—up above."

Before he finished speaking, Jiu Wu had already found the exit and led Jiu Shi to leap into the next array.

The surroundings suddenly inverted...

Another half a shichen later.

"This is strange. It feels like we've looped back," Jiu Wu said, his expression growing serious as he calculated with his fingers. "We've passed through twenty-four interconnected arrays, but those twenty-four form a hidden larger array. It's guiding us right back to the start. This setup is a bit tricky, not exactly brilliant, but certainly intriguing."

Jiu Shi pressed a hand to her forehead, complaining, "What's the way out? How long has this taken? By your usual speed, we've wasted three or four attempts!"

"Ahem," Jiu Wu cleared his throat. "Alright, I'll get serious. Follow me!"

He grabbed his dao companion's hand and strode back into the illusion array, their figures disappearing into the dense woods.

An hour later...

"This doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be like this."

Jiu Wu sat cross-legged on a patch of fallen leaves, his hands constantly forming calculations.

Jiu Shi paced back and forth, stroking her smooth, slightly pointed chin and muttering array formulas, but she was no help now.

The issue wasn't just finding Jiu Jiu in the large array anymore. The real problem was that they were... lost in the chain array! Even flying up or crawling down led to another illusion array, looping endlessly with no way out.

Jiu Shi said, "How about we just blast through the big array?"

"No way. Are we here to catch someone or destroy the mountain?"

Jiu Wu smiled bitterly. "Besides, if word gets out that we, a couple of true immortals, got trapped on a peak without any immortals guarding it, where would we put our faces?"

Jiu Shi complained, "Aren't you the array expert?"

"These are all basic arrays, but chain arrays don't have a fixed solution. You have to keep probing for weaknesses or flaws between them. The person who set this up hid the flaws too perfectly."

Jiu Wu slapped his forehead. "Wait, I've got it. Let's try again!"

So, another hour passed...

Thud!

At about five chi off the ground, a flat forehead repeatedly bumped against a tree trunk.

This short daoist had sunken eyes, his usually sharp gaze now dull and lifeless. His brown robe was stained with bits of dry grass and leaves, and his aura trembled chaotically.

He bumped his forehead again, letting out a couple of "heh" laughs, muttering, "It's all fake. All the array knowledge I've studied must be fake... So, basic arrays can form the most advanced illusions and traps. I've been on the wrong path all along... Is my dao wrong too? Is the Wuwei Scripture wrong? Heh... Turns out I'm just a mediocre true immortal. Heh..."

Jiu Shi stood beside him, at a loss, and quickly knelt on one knee, hugging her dao companion. "Shidi, don't scare me. We can just break the array."

"No, don't. The one who set this up must have prepared for direct attacks—it could turn into a killing array... Shijie?"

Jiu Wu's lips trembled as he looked up at the beautiful immortal before him, forcing a bitter smile. "I've never been worthy of you."

Jiu Shi hugged him tighter. "Don't say that. We swore to the Great Dao—we'll never part, for eternity!"

"I really don't des—"

A gentle breeze blew through, and white mist suddenly filled the forest, dissipating quickly. At the same time, they heard voices nearby:

"Jiu Shishu, let's rehearse once. Later, when I add these two herbs to the furnace, you'll..."

"Mm, got it."

Jiu Wu and Jiu Shi exchanged glances, and the latter immediately used a technique to turn them into shadows, darting toward the voices.

Soon, they realized that the place they'd been stuck was only about a hundred zhang from where Jiu Jiu was.

Hiding behind a large tree, they peeked at the dan room. The windows were open for refining pills, and from their angle, they could see Li Changshou and Jiu Jiu standing by the furnace, discussing something.

It was nearing dusk, and a ray of slanting sunlight fell on Jiu Jiu.

She stood with her hands behind her back, her left toes lightly touching the ground, leaning slightly forward as she listened intently to the tall figure in front of her explaining the pill-refining steps.

In the sunlight, the tips of her hair on her shoulders glowed softly, her skin was smooth and radiant, and her eyes sparkled like stars.

Her slender neck and graceful curves gave her an ethereal beauty.

Beside her, the man in the deep blue robe, with his long hair simply tied in a dao ring… well.

Jiu Wu whispered in confusion, "Li Changshou? So, the arrays here are his doing?"

Before he could finish, a soft hand covered his mouth. Jiu Shi chuckled lightly and sent a voice transmission: "Shh! Let's go. We can talk back at our place. Don't disturb them."

Jiu Wu was puzzled. "We're leaving just like that?"

"What else? He's quite handsome, this junior. Seems reliable too, even if he's only at the Returning Void Realm... That's not a big issue."

Jiu Shi smiled faintly and pulled Jiu Wu along as she activated her stealth technique.

Just then, a tender green leaf broke free and fluttered down, landing on Jiu Wu's head.

...

Finally, they're gone.

Li Changshou breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, reactivating the surrounding arrays and double-checking everything.

Good, nothing was exposed. The trapping array worked better than expected, and it handled the intruders' information just as he'd planned.

"Let's start refining the pills."

He said this, then turned to the open space nearby, took out a pouch marked "Xuan Eleven," and shook it out. A pile of items fell to the ground.

There was a treasure garment resembling a spacesuit, gloves that could withstand most "fierce poisons," poison-warding talismans, detoxifying pills, corrosion-resistant tongs and clamps, and oddly shaped containers...

"What are these?" Jiu Jiu asked curiously.

"Necessary precautions for refining poison pills," Li Changshou replied with a smile. "I've prepared a set for you too. Let's put them on. Even though your immortal power is strong, poison can seep in anywhere—it's better to be safe."

"Alright, you're always so thoughtful for me, little shizhi."

Jiu Jiu blinked and moved closer with curiosity.