As soon as these words were spoken, the courtyard instantly plunged into a dead silence.

At Qin An's table, everyone wore expressions of shock and horror.

Only those present could truly grasp the weight of Gao Lingyu's words just now.

Though today's attendees were merely representatives of the middle-tier forces in Xunyang Prefecture, which of them was not a powerful figure in the Outer Elixir Realm?

If not for the special status of the Profound Celestial Array Gate, they would not have lowered themselves to attend a banquet hosted by Gao Lingyu, a mere Condensed Vein Cultivator.

Yet at this moment, this Sect Leader, well-connected within Xunyang Prefecture, was praising a minor Prefecture General so highly, showing the astonishing potential of this young man.

The well-dressed man who first struck up a conversation with Qin An was filled with regret.

If he hadn't previously neglected the other party, he might have forged good relations by now.

The talkative middle-aged woman was even more remorseful; an unintentional comment had completely offended this promising Prefecture General.

The other guests at the table secretly felt relieved they hadn't been rash.

Though they had not made a connection, at least they hadn't made an enemy, leaving room for future interactions.

Gao Lingyu watched the changing expressions of the crowd with great interest.

Thinking of how she too once underestimated Qin An, only to be won over by his talent, a mischievous smile crept up her lips.

The urge to smile was almost uncontrollable as her malicious pleasure was satisfied.

Qin An's brow slightly arched; he knew the other was building momentum for him and quietly sipped the nectar in his cup.

"Mr. Qin, allow me to entertain other guests," Gao Lingyu said, pressing her slender hand lightly on the table's edge, her voice gentle and full of grace.

Qin An nodded and said, "Please go ahead, Sect Leader Gao."

Gao Lingyu slightly nodded and, with a light step, left the table.

As her graceful figure drifted away, an awkward silence quickly enveloped the table.

The well-dressed man wanted to approach and talk but retreated in the face of Qin An's cold gaze, letting out a long sigh.

He knew full well.

Some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever.

Just like now.

If he wanted to befriend Qin An, it was impossible.

Everyone else at the table shared the same thought.

It's better to provide timely help than to make a contribution at a convenient time.

The crowd fell into a dead silence.

Qin An, however, did not mind, enjoying the delicacies and wine alone.

The banquet finally ended after more than an hour.

During this time, aside from Qin An's table, the hosts and guests enjoyed the event immensely.

Especially after Gao Lingyu introduced Qin An's situation, representatives from various factions came to toast.

At the first meeting, they exchanged polite greetings, and Qin An handled it with ease.

After guests began to leave, a disciple came forward and called Qin An.

"Mr. Qin, please wait, the Sect Leader has important matters to discuss."

The disciple was very respectful, being part of the group that had gone to Lingzhou earlier.

Having witnessed Qin An's exceptional talent, the disciple dared not show any disrespect.

Qin An slightly nodded, putting aside thoughts of leaving, and patiently waited in his seat.

After the last guest departed, Gao Lingyu slowly walked over, cheeks tinged with blush, approaching Qin An.

"Mr. Qin, was the banquet to your satisfaction?"

Qin An nodded slightly: "It was satisfactory, with good food and wine. As for the people..."

Gao Lingyu's eyes sparkled with a gleam: "What about the people?"

Qin An shook his head: "The people weren't too good."

Gao Lingyu's lips curled slightly, her red lips pursed gently: "Xunyang Prefecture is vastly different from Lingzhou; here is a place of fame and fortune, and everyone desires to ascend the clouds."

From today's banquet, Gao Lingyu also saw that Qin An was not interested in this enormous place of fame and fortune.

Qin An lightly tapped the scabbard with his fingers: "Sect Leader Gao, let's get to the point; what important matter did you wish to discuss by asking me to stay?"

The night was deep, and he wished to rest early, to replenish his energy for tomorrow's cultivation proficiency, unwilling to waste more words.

Gao Lingyu raised her delicate hand and gestured slightly to the side: "Mr. Qin, please step into the inner courtyard for a detailed discussion."

Qin An's brow slightly furrowed: "It seems that what Sect Leader Gao wishes to discuss is no trivial matter; it's not a small issue."

Gao Lingyu nodded: "Of course, it is not a trivial matter; if it weren't a major issue, how dare I delay Mr. Qin."

Qin An stood and said: "In that case, let's go in and see."

Gao Lingyu said no more, turned to lead the way, her willow-like waist swaying gracefully.

...

The two followed the bluestone path of the outer courtyard to the inner courtyard.

The inner courtyard's room was filled with the scent of sandalwood.

Gao Lingyu raised her hand to push open the door, entering first, her delicate hand brewed tea, her jade-like fingers supporting the glazed teacup: "Mr. Qin, drinking tea after wine can sober you and refresh your mind."

Qin An received it in his hand and drank the tea from the cup.

"This is indeed top-quality tea," Gao Lingyu smiled slightly: "If Mr. Qin likes it, you can take some back."

Qin An shook his head: "I'm a rough man, unable to discern the three flavors in tea. To me, good tea and bad tea are the same."

Gao Lingyu gathered her thoughts, her eyelids slightly raised: "If that's the case, let's discuss the serious matter."

After the small talk was almost done, Gao Lingyu knew Qin An was busy, so she didn't waste any more words.

Qin An sat grandly in his seat, waiting for Gao Lingyu to continue speaking.

After a brief pause, Gao Lingyu took out a rosewood box from the drawer beside her and opened it in front of Qin An.

Inside the box lay a brass key.

After taking the key, Gao Lingyu walked to a spot in the corner of the room.

"There is a secret compartment here. There are two ways to open it: one is to first break the array on the key, then use the key to open it, and the other is to open it with the Sect Leader's blood," Gao Linyu slowly explained.

Qin An's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "The array on this key is indeed intricate."

With his profession as an eighth-level Array Master, he could see it clearly.

Though the key is extremely small, it is covered with hundreds of arrays, linked together intricately.

Even a slight mistake would disrupt it, requiring one to start over from scratch.

Gao Lingyu tapped on the wall lightly, and it rumbled open from the middle, revealing the massive metal door inside.

Qin An squinted slightly: "This is an excellent material, even someone in the Outer Elixir Realm might not be able to break this door."

Gao Lingyu couldn't hide her surprise: "Mr. Qin, do you have accomplishments in the field of blacksmithing?"

Qin An nodded: "I just know a little."

Gao Lingyu decoded the arrays within the key, inserted it into the keyhole of the door: "There are also arrays inside the door. If forced open, the arrays inside would destroy everything in the secret room."

With those words, Gao Lingyu turned the key.

The door, made of rare metals, opened with a thundering sound.

Qin An sat on a chair, glanced at the opening position of the door, and slightly raised an eyebrow.

Inside the door, various shelves were displayed.

The shelves were carved from agarwood, emitting a faint sandalwood scent.

Just by smelling it for a while, one would feel refreshed, evidently these shelves were costly.

The shelves alone were already precious, and the items on them even more so.

The secret room was filled with various weapons and pills, none of them ordinary.

Gao Lingyu stepped into the secret room, her lively eyes turned towards Qin An, explaining: "This is the treasure vault of the Profound Celestial Array Gate, filled with crucial treasures of the Profound Celestial Array Gate, constituting the foundation of the entire faction."

Qin An narrowed his eyes: "Why did the Sect Leader bring me to such a private place?"

Gao Lingyu extended her delicate hand, pointing to the secret room: "Mr. Qin, come in and you'll know."

Qin An contemplated briefly, then lifted his foot and walked into the secret room.

Just as he stepped in, Gao Lingyu swayed her graceful figure, walked to a shelf, picked up a book, and handed it over.

Qin An showed a puzzled expression: "What is this?"

Gao Lingyu said: "Mr. Qin, you'll know after looking."

After a moment's hesitation, Qin An took it, carefully examining the cover.

On it were a few words — History of the Profound Celestial Array Gate.

Just from the cover, one could infer the book's contents, likely the history of the Profound Celestial Array Gate.

Thinking of this, Qin An opened the book and began to read carefully.

In the secret room, there were tea sets.

Gao Lingyu gracefully cleaned the tea sets, then brewed a cup of tea for Qin An, sat beside him, folded her hands on her flat abdomen, and patiently waited.

After about two incense sticks time, Qin An closed the book, his brows tightly furrowed.

"It seems that the Profound Celestial Array Gate might be facing a major crisis."

The book described that the Profound Celestial Array Gate originally wasn't a force from Xunyang Prefecture, but came from another prefecture-level city, and was separated from another faction in that city.

That faction was called the Celestial Solitary Array Gate.

The so-called Celestial Solitary Array Gate also practiced arrays, but the arrays they practiced were entirely different from the Profound Celestial Array Gate.

In the beginning, the Celestial Solitary Array Gate consisted of two branches.

One was like Gao Lingyu, who only practiced arrays.

The other was an extremely terrifying cultivation method, where they fused all kinds of array materials into their bodies, inscribing terrifying arrays on themselves, turning Array Power into battle power.

This type of cultivation method was extremely painful but could bring terrifying strength.

The Celestial Solitary Array Gate was initially these two branches.

The branch led by Gao Lingyu mainly arranged various arrays and used exceptional arrays to make connections with people from various forces.

The other branch guarded the Celestial Solitary Array Gate.

But in a special incident, Gao Lingyu led the disciples of the Profound Celestial Array Gate away from the Celestial Solitary Array Gate to Xunyang Prefecture.

As for what incident caused this, it was because the other branch of the Celestial Solitary Array Gate felt that Gao Lingyu and her people were completely sheltered and should become a subsidiary, not participate in the decision-making of the faction.

Now that Gao Lingyu showed him this book, it proved that what she was going to say next might be related to the Celestial Solitary Array Gate.

Gao Lingyu sighed, her tone a bit despondent: "Originally the two complemented each other, which could make the Celestial Solitary Array Gate prosper, but Mr. Qin, you also know, when one side is overwhelming, the so-called balance is completely broken, this world ultimately respects strength."

Qin An nodded: "Indeed, if the strength is strong enough, it can suppress everything, the initial situation of the Profound Celestial Array Gate depended on the insufficiency of power."

Gao Lingyu rotated the teacup in her hand, feeling heavy: "Before we left, they did not make things difficult for us, but recently an envoy from the Celestial Solitary Array Gate came, setting a wager with us."

"A wager?" Qin An asked: "What kind of wager?"

Gao Lingyu raised her clear eyes: "They have found an extremely talented Array disciple, and they want to merge the Profound Celestial Array Gate and the Celestial Solitary Array Gate into one, with not only great combat power but also the ability to replace the Profound Celestial Array Gate in array arrangement."

Qin An frowned: "If that's the case, then why seek you out?"

According to Qin An's thinking, since they have someone capable of merging the two, the original Profound Celestial Array Gate would naturally no longer be important.

Why seek out Gao Lingyu now?

There must be other reasons within.

Indeed, as soon as Qin An finished speaking, Gao Lingyu put down the teacup in her hand.

"Because when we left, we took with us the most powerful Secret Technique of our branch."

"They want the Secret Technique. If we win this wager, they will give us the rightful benefits, and even refrain from bothering us again."

"But if we lose, we must give them this Secret Technique."

Qin An rubbed his chin: "In other words, this wager is a competition in arrays between the two sides, primarily using the arrays of the Profound Celestial Array Gate."

Gao Lingyu nodded: "Mr. Qin, you are insightful. They said if they defeat us in our specialty area, then there's no need for us to retain the Secret Technique."

Qin An pondered: "You want me to lend a hand?"

Gao Lingyu reached into her bosom, took out an item: "I know Mr. Qin is very busy, but here is my reward to Mr. Qin, please take a look before you decide."

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