The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3057 Deliberate Concealment
If Chen Mo were here right now and happened to see that small indentation and the etched patterns, he would definitely be able to recognize that the etched patterns were energy circuits, and that the entire building should have an array embedded in it.

That small indentation, where something needs to be put in, is actually where spirit stones are placed; any cultivator could see it at a glance.

Unfortunately, neither Qian Ying nor Zhou Zixing were cultivators, only martial artists, so they couldn't tell what was going to be placed here.

Fortunately, after hearing Zhou Zixing's description, Qian Ying remembered something and then let Zhou Zixing go up to experiment.

Qian Ying recalled a time when she encountered a place similar to a barrier during a mission. There was a similar recessed hole with a white stone embedded in it.

Although they didn't know what the stone was for at the time, they went to great lengths to open the barrier. In the end, the barrier absorbed all the innate power of a fellow innate master before it was finally opened.

Qian Ying's vague memories from before were this almost forgotten memory, which she was now gradually recalling. It was simply that this memory was so distant, so long ago, that she had already begun to forget it.

However, after Qian Ying spoke, he found that Zhou Zixing was actually standing there, but instead of doing as he had said, he was just standing behind the building, staring blankly at the indentation. Of course, Qian Ying couldn't see the indentation from where he was standing; he only deduced it from Zhou Zixing's expression and the distance from the back of the building.

Seeing Zhou Zixing's demeanor, Qian Ying frowned. Was this guy trying to rebel because he was so uncooperative and disobeying her orders?
A cultivator at the second level of the Innate Realm actually dares to rebel in front of me? He's really giving me a hard time!
Qian Ying was immediately angry. She wanted to give the order again, but after thinking about it, she realized that if she spoke too harshly, Zhou Zixing might quit.

Therefore, it's best to be polite.

After calming down a bit, Qian Ying asked in a gentler tone, "Elder Zhou, what's wrong? Why didn't you press it as I told you to?"

"Elder Qian, is it dangerous to touch these etched patterns with your fingers and output your innate power?" Zhou Zixing asked immediately after hearing this, looking reluctant.

Qian Ying didn't waste any time and started talking about a time when she was on a mission and encountered a scene similar to a barrier, including a recessed cave with etched patterns inside. There was also a stone in the recess that looked like jade, but it weathered into dust at the slightest touch.

Finally, after the team members channeled their innate power into the hollow, the entire barrier disappeared, and they successfully completed their mission.
"Oh? You mean the etched patterns in this recess can actually be made to run using innate power?" Although Zhou Zixing was quite old and had reached the end of his life, he had never encountered a similar situation before. Hearing Qian Ying's description, he was quite curious.

As for the idea that Qian Ying was lying, that was unlikely. However, Zhou Zixing believed that while Qian Ying's words were credible, how many pitfalls lay in them depended on how he interpreted them.

Anyway, Qian Ying is not a very reliable person, especially in the current situation. You should never believe everything he says.

Zhou Zixing's guess was correct. Qian Ying's account of what happened and how the barrier was broken were all correct. However, she concealed the fact that after the innate master inputted his innate power, not only was his innate power completely absorbed by the barrier, but the innate martial artist also died from exhaustion in the end.

If Qian Ying had told him everything, would Zhou Zixing still have reached out to him? Absolutely not. That's why Qian Ying spoke with hidden meaning, saying some things that were true while concealing others.

"Elder Zhou, why don't you try it as I said? Don't worry, there's no danger, it just consumes some of your innate power." Seeing Zhou Zixing hesitate, Qian Ying urged, "If you're worried about the danger, then let me do it. You go back and watch over these two beasts, I'll go give it a try!"

Then, he emphasized again, "Don't worry, there's no danger at all. In the mission I mentioned earlier, everyone was curious and touched it with their hands, and even infused it with their innate power. That's why I said that this kind of etching pattern is not dangerous."

Well, Qian Ying lied. In fact, after a master of innate energy was absorbed and died from exhaustion, they all remembered the dent and the etched pattern. They then made up their minds that if they encountered a similar situation in the future, they must never touch it or release their own innate energy.

"Elder Zhou, why don't you switch with me? Just keep an eye on these two beasts and make sure they don't escape. I'll go try this dent etching." Qian Ying said impatiently when Zhou Zixing still didn't move.

Of course, he also gave Zhou Zixing a hint here, which was that if he wanted to keep an eye on these two strange beasts, he couldn't let them escape, otherwise he wouldn't be able to find a way to cross the lake, and then these two strange beasts would be the key.

He knew Zhou Zixing's strength; he might not be able to handle these two strange beasts. Therefore, after hearing his words and understanding his anxiety, Zhou Zixing obediently went to touch the crater. Sure enough, after hearing Qian Ying's words, Zhou Zixing shook his head and refused Qian Ying's suggestion, saying, "No need to replace it. Replacing it back and forth is troublesome and unnecessary. I'm just worried about the danger. After hearing what you said, I feel that this thing shouldn't be dangerous, so I'll test it myself."

Zhou Zixing genuinely didn't understand the meaning behind Qian Ying's words, and since things had already come to this point, he had no choice but to lend a hand.

So, after making up my mind, I simply raised my hand and extended my fingers to touch the etched patterns. They felt cool and refreshing, but there were no other problems.

After sensing for a while without any other movement, he hardened his heart and slowly channeled the innate power in his dantian into the etched patterns.

Sure enough, after he inputted his innate power, the entire etched pattern seemed to be lit up, and the brightness it emitted increased again.

"Elder Qian, it really works! You were right, there's a reaction. The brightness of the etched pattern has increased quite a bit." After Zhou Zixing inputted his innate power, he found that there was no danger. It was just that his innate power was being consumed quite a bit. However, he could cut off the output of innate power whenever he wanted, so he was relieved. It seems that Qian Ying did not deceive him in this regard.

However, Zhou Zixing did not expect that Qian Ying not only deceived him, but also concealed the truth that the innate master died after being drained of his innate power.

If Chen Mo were here now, he would see why the cave, which originally required spirit stones, was driven by Zhou Zixing's innate power.

Actually, it's because the building itself possesses a spirit-gathering array, making it a complex array. Normally, activating an array would require spirit stones, but after a thousand years, the array within this building hasn't been activated. Therefore, with the added benefit of the spirit-gathering array, the energy within the entire array is abundant.

This is why the etched patterns exhibit fluorescence after they appear; that fluorescence is a manifestation of the flow of spiritual energy. Since innate power is one of the energies of heaven and earth, inputting innate power to activate the formation is not a problem.

At least, this formation has no special markings and can operate as long as an energy source is provided.

This is one of the reasons why the entire formation could operate after Zhou Zixing inputted his innate power. Another reason is that the energy contained in Zhou Zixing's innate power was too little. If the spiritual energy in the entire formation had not been so abundant, it would have absorbed all the innate power in his dantian long ago.

Through a series of coincidences, Zhou Zixing was able to activate the array within the building.

There seemed to be flashes of light across the entire back of the building; even during the day, he could still feel the light emanating from the entire wall. In fact, this was the fluorescent glow emitted by the flow of spiritual energy as the internal formation operated.

As he continued to channel his innate power, a tremendous roar erupted from the entire building, shattering the silence of the entire lake. As the roar intensified, the two cylindrical structures on either side of the building in front of him were pulled up by two enormous iron chains that emerged from the ground.

The part of the cylinder that was above the water, which was the part that was connected to the building, was not long, only about ten meters. But unexpectedly, when it was pulled up by the chains, it was discovered that the two cylinders were actually sixty or seventy meters long, with most of them submerged in the water.

The chain was very long, with one end dozens of meters from the shore, completely buried in the sand, only becoming visible after the earlier commotion. The other end, as it was pulled, gradually emerged from the water.

Furthermore, these chains, though appearing to be made of metal, showed no signs of rust, whether they emerged from the sand or the water, and still retained their black metallic sheen. It was as if these chains had been freshly made, which explained their lack of corrosion when submerged in water.

Furthermore, the massive chains capable of lifting the enormous cylinder upright are definitely not ordinary iron chains; they must be special chains. Some special metals must have been added during their manufacture, otherwise these chains would not only have remained rust-free for thousands of years, but also possess such immense tensile strength without deforming.
The cylinder was very heavy, and when it was pulled up, it made a cracking sound, as if if the pulling wasn't done properly, the chain would snap and the cylinder would fall back into the water. However, as the cracking sound continued, the two cylinders were pulled upright by the two iron chains. The cracking continued, but no dangerous accident occurred until the cylinders were perpendicular to the ground, at which point the cracking stopped.

However, Zhou Zixing discovered that his innate power seemed to be consumed quite a bit with the movement. In just a short time, more than half of the innate power in his dantian had been used up.

In fact, this was also because the innate energy was too little. Although the formation did not absorb all of it as the main energy source, the energy consumed to activate the formation was still enormous for Zhou Zixing.

If it were Chen Mo instead, he might be able to withstand it, since his true essence, when converted into spiritual power, contains far more spiritual power than the innate power.