Feng Xi laughed heartily, "Playing with fire and getting burned, how amusing."

He didn't say much more about the minor character, and after laughing, he immediately turned aside and extended his hand in invitation, "Brother Situ, this is not the place to talk. Come, please, inside."

Hosts and guests met, and the group proceeded into the mountain gate, then flew directly to the Divine Palace at the summit of the Divine Mountain to take their seats.

As a disciple attendant, Shi Chun did not have a seat and stood obediently behind Situ Gu's side.

Meanwhile, various spirit fruits and tea were served, leaving Shi Chun only to watch.

After inviting the guests to partake, Feng Xi formally asked, "Brother Situ, you're not someone who idles. Since you're here, it wouldn't be for just sightseeing, right?"

Situ Gu paused for a moment and answered succinctly, "I have some insights and wish to observe the 'Beidou Refusal Array' again. I wonder if the Clan Leader can grant permission?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun, who had been listening intently, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Previously not receiving a definitive answer from Situ Gu, he worried that the old guy wouldn't agree.

Originally, he thought of going back to inquire from the Golden-haired Rat clan, but now that there's an accompanying opportunity, it's natural to strive to save some trouble.

Besides, the Golden-haired Rat clan hadn't controlled the array for a long, long time. Who knows how much they still understand? It's better to follow Situ Gu to visit openly and learn.

Of course, it still depended on whether the host would agree.

He then kept an eye on the reaction of the one seated at the main position.

Feng Xi exchanged a glance with Feng Qingping, who sat below, an expression half-smile, half-not.

Feng Qingping understood his meaning, seemingly saying, "See, I wasn't wrong."

"Experts always keep in mind expert matters," Feng Xi laughed heartily and then spread his hands, "Brother Situ personally came knocking. If I refuse, wouldn't it make the Phoenix Clan look petty? But on the other hand, this matter still upholds the premise mentioned before. If Brother Situ can figure out the mechanics of the 'Beidou Refusal Array', our Phoenix Clan must also be privy to it."

Situ Gu nodded, "Alright."

Thus, Feng Xi laughed loudly and raised his cup in invitation, "Have some tea."

There wasn't much more to chat about, mainly related to Situ Gu's personality—a straightforward, no-nonsense person. Casual conversation with such a person could seem undignified and cause inner frustration. Feng Xi seemed to know Situ Gu's personality; to prevent losing face, seeing him uninterested in chatting, he promptly left Feng Qingping to entertain them and excused himself for prior engagements.

He did indeed have many matters to handle and wouldn't have come to entertain if not for Situ Gu's respectable presence.

Situ Gu also got up from the table, paced to the center of the Divine Hall, and looked up at the high ceiling.

Shi Chun followed his gaze, curiosity swelling. Could the array core be right here in the hall?

Feng Qingping also left her seat and approached them, maintaining a courteous manner, "Elder Situ, should you need any cooperation, just let me know."

Situ Gu glanced at Shi Chun, unsure of his plan.

Blame it on their lack of prior discussion.

Primarily because his intention arose upon arrival, leaving no time to consult.

But Shi Chun's goal wasn't truly to find some Demon Path but rather to locate the array core. He promptly transformed Situ Gu's inquisitive glance into a signal of acceptance and quickly stepped forward to cup his hands towards Feng Qingping, "The elder's meaning is for unrelated personnel to withdraw, to prevent disrupting the elder's concentration."

He glanced at the maidservants awaiting orders.

Feng Qingping smiled and nodded, immediately gesturing to dismiss the maidservants. Turning around, she found Shi Chun gazing at her expectantly. She pointed at herself instinctively and, seeing Shi Chun's slight nod, had no choice but to smile wryly and cup her hands towards Situ Gu, "Then I will leave you be. There are guards outside, call if there's anything, and I'll not disturb you."

After speaking, she stepped back and turned to leave, unafraid of losing anything.

At this point, all the original occupants of the hall had left, which amused Shi Chun, discovering that Situ Gu still had considerable sway—not only did he not have to sneak around, but he also managed to turn things to his advantage.

If it were himself, he wouldn't dare imagine how he could sneak in here unnoticed.

With no one else around, he sidled up to Situ Gu and whispered, "Elder, is the array core really in this hall?"

Situ Gu countered, "Weren't you supposed to seize this opportunity to search for the Demon Path? Why didn't you take the chance to propose your request?"

Shi Chun: "Isn't it inappropriate to start snooping around sneakily at once? After all, I'm now disguised as a disciple of the Refining Heaven Sect; I thought I'd handle this here first and later find an excuse about missing something to go out and search. Elder, I'm telling you, you're too used to being aboveboard; you really don't have as much experience in stealthy inquiries as I do. In this regard, trust me, I'm right."

Alright, Situ Gu entirely agreed and calmly accepted the critique.

Shi Chun continued, "Since we're here, let me accompany you and broaden my knowledge. Elder, judging by your reaction, could it be that the core of the 'Beidou Refusal Array' really lies within this hall?"

Forgive his poor judgment; he had examined the hall several times yet hadn't discerned any array clues.

The entire building evidently isn't that old, at least it's a later construction, and it's difficult to see how it could be related to the array. Of course, he admits he doesn't understand these things.

The master and disciple nodded, "It's right inside the hall, since we're here, I want to see if there's been any change over the years."

He's not one for idle talk; he speaks little and acts more. Since he already mentioned it, he didn't stay idle and swiftly executed various finger techniques, stirring up a violent wind inside the hall, overturning some bowls and plates on the table onto the ground.

Wine spilled on the floor, flowing outwards, bowls and dishes tumbled, spirit fruits rolling.

Soon, a virtual wave illusion appeared inside the great hall, which instantly gave Shi Chun a huge visual impact.

It was an abruptly revealed vast starry sky backdrop, nebulae gently swirled, and meteors passed by—all so realistic.

Amidst it floated an object slowly rotating, like the metal framework of an umbrella, with twelve open ribs, remarkably resembling twelve lifelike dragons, their tails merging at the top, heads tilted and spouting water, melding black with gold, while the main shaft of the umbrella was dazzling gold.

That golden pattern wasn't unfamiliar to Shi Chun, identical to the golden command arrow in his hand. He quickly recalled Jinfu, the Golden-haired Rat Clan Leader's words, stating that the golden command arrow can take down the 'Beidou Refusal Array.' It seemed that this was verified right before his eyes.

How to dismantle it? After surveying up and down the umbrella frame, Shi Chun focused on the bottom of the main umbrella shaft; it seemed there was a missing handle there, yet an opening resembling a slot existed, which seemed to allow something to be inserted from below.

Shi Chun's Adam's apple bobbed; some things are naturally a match, apparent just by looking at the direction to move. Jinfu's words suddenly rang in his ears. Now he truly wanted to test inserting that golden command arrow to see if it fits.

Situ Gu clearly wanted to reach out to touch the metallic umbrella ribs above his head too. After stretching his hand into the virtual wave, though he seemed to have reached into the starry sky and touched the position of the umbrella frame, it still felt like an illusion, as catching it was like grabbing air.

That layer of virtual wave was clearly the culprit causing this, and Situ Gu unleashed various spells attempting to break through the obscurity caused by the virtual wave but was ultimately unable to break it.

Eventually, he had to give up, sighing in frustration, "These umbrella ribs should be the core of this 'Beidou Refusal Array.' Unfortunately, this core is entwined with the Power of Stars, so close before us yet as distant as the starry river, making it unreachable. Without accessing the array core, it's difficult to comprehend the array's mysteries, and naturally impossible to grasp its secrets. The array unbelievably isolates its core in the far-off cosmos; it's truly bewildering and perplexing how the original array crafter did it."

Shi Chun also stretched his hand into the virtual wave to attempt and, enveloped by starlight like in a dream, couldn't grasp anything. Yet, images of the golden command arrow radiating golden globes penetrating the array's protective virtual wave flashed in his mind, somewhat understanding things, though in the end, he restrained himself and didn't dare to expose suddenly.

He knew very well that it's impossible to dismantle the 'Beidou Refusal Array' now. If he truly went ahead, leaving aside what Situ Gu might do to him, at the least, neither he nor Situ Gu could escape; in fact, he alone might not escape.

Again, the saying goes, they've come this far, and Situ Gu also didn't want to give up easily; after all, he indeed held some obsession over this array, thus he retrieved various magical artifacts attempting various methods to unravel that virtual wave illusion.

Shi Chun, watching on for a while, couldn't understand it, naturally feeling bored; coupled with already perceiving the array core's situation, he didn't want to hinder Situ Gu's goal from this trip, immediately interjected, "Senior, you continue here delaying time while I go out to investigate if there are other Demon Paths."

Situ Gu naturally nodded his approval.

Hence, Shi Chun exited the great hall, attracting the attention of nearby guards turning their heads.

Upon descending the steps and crossing an empty space, as he was about to descend the mountain, a maid awaiting orders quickly caught up to him and asked, "Is there any command? Just tell me."

Shi Chun replied, "The elder instructed me to walk a few more circles below the mountain's summit to see if there are any anomalies pulled out by the large array."

The maid promptly and tentatively suggested, "Brother might not be familiar with this mountain, shall I guide you around?"

Leading the way was false, attempting surveillance was true, Shi Chun could completely understand, gladly agreed, "Then I'll trouble you."

The maid smiled, accompanying him down the mountain, and Shi Chun indeed just lingered below the mountain's summit observing around, while holding paper to record his observations.

The maid peeked over trying to examine what he was recording. Fortunately, Shi Chun didn't conceal it from her, letting her see, yet deceiving her as she didn't understand.

He activated the Right Eye Superpower, having come, he didn't want to leave empty-handed; he marked the growth positions of the Reversing Soul Tree on the mountain. Formerly, when sneaking up the mountain, he dared not venture to this position.

The maid indeed couldn't comprehend, unable to restrain herself and asked, "What is brother marking here?"

Shi Chun said, "This you wouldn't understand. Elder Situ is activating the array core, and I am serving as his eyes, observing any positions the array's legs might pull."

The maid feigned understanding and casually uttered an acknowledgment, examining the marked positions, seeing nothing in the vacant area, and indeed found nothing.

After circling the mountaintop, Shi Chun didn't want to circle anymore, found a shaded spot, and sat chatting shoulder to shoulder with the maid.

Shi Chun shared stories of the Refining Heaven Sect with her, fabricating tales as if they were true.

The maid listened, believing them, never suspecting anyone would intentionally approach her with fabricated stories about the Refining Heaven Sect; amidst conversation, she willingly revealed some stories about the Divine Mountain or Phoenix Clan.

When enough time had elapsed, Shi Chun stood up and brushed off his pants.

The maid accompanied him back to the mountain top but dared not enter the Divine Hall, watching Shi Chun as he entered.

Seeing Situ Gu inside the hall still busy around that virtual wave with seemingly no progress, Shi Chun immediately approached to report, "Senior, indeed discovered another Demon Path on the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Situ Gu paused his activity, turned and asked, "Who?"

Shi Chun replied, "Just before entering the mountain gate, the bearded man who greeted you, the North Mountain Order Master, Huang Ye of Divine Mountain. When he greeted you, I felt a bit familiar, suspecting he was among those who previously hunted me alongside the Demon Path. After some investigation, I confirmed he's indeed one, coincidentally is Jiang You'er's superior. Oh, Jiang You'er had appeared at the mountain gate previously, just was beside the flower-clad man with a delicate appearance near Huang Ye."

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