Chapter 11: Chapter 11: First Rotation

The next morning, as the mist condensed into a sheet of ice on the cliffs, three figures approached through the roiling vapor of the Dark River.

The Blue-robed Cultivator from the previous night stood before the stone house, his cuffs embroidered with silver cloud patterns. He appeared to be in his forties, with an inch-long scar on his cheekbone. He projected the aura of the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer.

He held a Cyan Jade Array Plate in his left hand, his fingertip tracing a damaged Array Pattern on its surface.

"My name is Chen Moyang." He knew a little about Arrays and had been stationed at Cyan Rattan Stream for two years.

"The name’s Liu Fengchun," a wizened man leaning on a Snake-Head Staff suddenly announced.

His withered fingers tapped the emerald snake eye set into the head of the staff. "Qi Cultivation Sixth Layer. I’ve wasted five years of my life in this godforsaken place."

The last man was leaning against a stalactite. Though he looked to be in his early thirties, his face carried an air of twilight weariness.

A Profound Iron Mask concealed half his face, but his exposed right eye had a serpentine, vertical pupil. "Call me Yin Jiu," he said, his voice as hoarse as sandpaper on iron. "Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer. I specialize in insect control."

The Blue-robed Cultivator cleared his throat, and the Array Disc in his hand suddenly glowed with a cyan light.

A projection of Cyan Rattan Stream materialized in the light, with twelve red dots marking locations along the Dark River. "Shifts rotate every three days. Patrols of the marked points are required at 7:00 AM, Noon, and 7:00 PM. If you need to leave for any reason, you must discuss it with us beforehand. A minimum of three people must be on duty here at all times."

With a flick of his finger, several rays of cyan light shot into everyone’s Jade Tokens. "If you encounter a swarm of more than twenty Ink-Scale Snakes, activate the call-for-aid Restriction immediately. We will come to you. Do not engage them by force."

Hearing this, Liu Fengchun let out a sudden, scornful laugh. "Last month, that fool Chen Jianghe just had to chase the Snake King into the Dark River. If he hadn’t, you wouldn’t be here..." His Snake-Head Staff thudded heavily against the ground, and the emerald snake eye on it suddenly glowed with a faint, eerie light.

Lu Zhao looked at the three of them, his voice tinged with confusion. "The records stated there are five members in the garrison?"

Just then, the sound of soft footsteps came from behind them. The very soil parted on its own to form a path, and a stooped, gray-robed old man approached.

What intrigued Lu Zhao the most was the plant the man held: an ink orchid with curled leaves. Its roots squirmed as if alive, and it radiated a dense Spiritual Qi. It was clearly an item of great value.

"This is Elder Zhou, a Spirit Plant Master from the Zhou Family," the Blue-robed Cultivator explained, a note of respect unconsciously entering his voice. "He has been cultivating Bone-Eroding Orchids here at Cyan Rattan Stream for thirteen years."

He then pointed toward the main herb field. "No one is allowed in there except for Elder Zhou."

Zhou Qixing’s murky eyes swept over them, and his fingers, like withered branches, suddenly pointed at Lu Zhao. "You carry the scent of Cyan Pattern Wood. At 7:00 PM, come to the small herb field in the southeast corner. I have something you want." With that, he shuffled away and vanished into the mist.

The noon sun finally pierced through the thick fog in the ravine. Lu Zhao picked his way upward over wet, slippery stalactites. The terrain of Cyan Rattan Stream resembled a bisected honeycomb, with a thousand dark rivers carving a network of ravines through the inky rock.

The main herb field was situated in a depression on the North Cliff. The twelve-mu Spirit Field was enclosed within a pale cyan barrier of light.

Through the Array, he could vaguely make out the scene within: dark soil, numerous Bone-Eroding Orchids, and something on their roots. Other than that, there was nothing else.

Lu Zhao followed the Dark River, noting a row of stone houses along a tributary to the west. Behind them, various Demon Beast Materials were laid out to dry.

Several sets of Snake Shedding were caught in the cobwebs hanging from the eaves, and crimson centipedes occasionally scurried from the cracks in the window lattices. This was clearly Yin Jiu’s home.

Continuing on, he reached a cave at the base of the South Cliff. As Lu Zhao stooped to enter the opening, the Puppet Guard he carried inside his robes suddenly began to tremble violently, as if staring into the cave’s depths.

A single glance revealed cave walls covered in fluorescent moss, illuminating a floor littered with bone fragments. The Dark River formed a whirlpool here, and half a Demon Beast skeleton rested at the bottom. Since the Kui Guard sensed danger, he decided not to venture any further inside.

When he returned to the top of the cliff and made his way behind a waterfall, he finally located the Array Hub. The Spirit Stone set into it was already dim and lusterless.

As dusk fell, Lu Zhao found the small herb field in the southeast corner that Zhou Qixing had mentioned.

A single stalk of Cyan Pattern Wood was planted there, and a great deal of dark red blood stained the soil around its tangled roots.

Zhou Qixing approached him then.

"This stalk of Cyan Pattern Wood is my private property."

"The scent of Cyan Pattern Wood on you is very strong. It’s clear you’re often in contact with it."

"So, are you interested? If you need a large quantity, I can give you a better price."

During their conversation, Lu Zhao learned that Zhou Qixing was a Tier One Middle-Grade Spirit Plant Master.

Zhou Qixing, in turn, learned that Lu Zhao was a Puppet Master.

In the end, Lu Zhao settled on a price with Zhou Qixing: one Spirit Stone for three jin, which was considerably cheaper than the Black Market.

For the next few days, Lu Zhao focused on familiarizing himself with his surroundings. It wasn’t until an encounter with Liu Fengchun that he began to understand the true dangers of this place.

He ran into Liu Fengchun at the Dark River Entrance one day, finding the old man dissecting the corpse of an Ink-Scale Snake.

Seeing that Liu Fengchun was in a rather good mood, he decided to ask about the place.

Liu Fengchun pointed at the Ink-Phosphorus Snake and began to explain:

"This snake’s venom isn’t in its fangs. It’s in the Poison Sac located at the third spinal vertebra." Liu Fengchun used a Jade Saber to pry out a black Poison Sac the size of a pigeon’s egg. "That fool, Chen Jianghe, was sprayed right on the crown of his head by the Snake King’s poison mist."

Lu Zhao watched as the old man dripped the venom onto a leaf of Poison Testing Grass, which instantly turned to black ash. "They mostly attack on the nights of the new and full moons, using the rising waters of the Dark River to conceal their movements."

His Snake-Head Staff suddenly pointed toward the South Cliff Cave. "The real danger here isn’t the snake swarms. It’s what lies beneath that half-eaten Demon Beast carcass."

The old man narrowed his eyes and suddenly grinned. "The Zhou Family has been sending people to garrison this place for years. You really think it’s for a few stalks of Bone-Eroding Orchid?"

As he spoke, a Communication Talisman from Yin Jiu suddenly streaked through the air. Liu Fengchun glanced at the Talisman Fire and sneered, "Another one who’s courting death."

"Well, I must thank you for sharing so much information."

Lu Zhao bowed to Liu Fengchun.

"It’s nothing. Just currying a little favor. After a few months here, you’ll know all about it anyway," Liu Fengchun said, waving his hand nonchalantly.

「Three nights later, at midnight.」

It was Lu Zhao’s first shift, and he was finally stepping into the main herb field.

The moment his Jade Token resonated with the Array, he saw that there was far more to the light barrier than met the eye. The things he had vaguely seen on the roots were now clear: buried beneath each Bone-Eroding Orchid was the corpse of a snake, its roots plunged deep into the body.

Just as Lu Zhao was taking in the scene, Zhou Qixing’s stooped figure suddenly appeared nearby. The roots of the ink orchid in his arms were plunged into one of the corpses.

Seeing Lu Zhao, he said to him:

"Use one of your Cyan Pattern Wood puppets to touch the soil in the southwest corner." The old man’s voice sounded like scraping, rusty metal. "Watch the reflection on the leaves."

The instant the Mouse Puppet’s claw touched the soil, all the Bone-Eroding Orchids trembled in unison.

Vein-like Array Patterns surfaced on the undersides of the leaves. As the Array’s Power fed back to him through the Mouse Puppet, he was startled to find the circulation of the Little Spirit Rain Technique within his body had suddenly accelerated by thirty percent.

"This is..." Lu Zhao’s pupils contracted slightly.

"What the Zhou Family wants isn’t the Bone-Eroding Orchids," Zhou Qixing said, his withered-branch fingers stroking the ink orchid. "They want the Natural Array Pattern of this place."

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