You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

Chen Yang thought to himself, but he was not discouraged.

He recalled his previous experiences of breaking through the arena's "momentum field" and passing through the "self-refining furnace" barrier, and the mysterious feeling of merging his own fluctuations with the array's fluctuations.

"Interference...rejection...since we can't force an analysis, let's first 'appease' or even 'control' this interference itself!"

A bold idea formed in Chen Yang's mind.

He no longer focused on seeing everything immediately, but instead concentrated most of his divine sense to capture and analyze the "chaotic fluctuation" that was interfering with his investigation!
At the same time, he combined the "wave synchronization" technique he had previously grasped—a gentle and inclusive technique similar to water ripples—with his initial understanding of the flow of energy in the array patterns.

His spiritual fluctuations began to become extremely subtle and gentle. He no longer tried to "break through" or "confront" the interfering fluctuations, but rather, like the gentlest stream of water, he slowly approached, enveloped, and then tried to "imitate" or even "guide" the interfering fluctuations at a peculiar frequency.

This is an extremely delicate and mentally taxing process.

Fine beads of sweat gradually appeared on Chen Yang's forehead, but his expression remained focused and unwavering.

Time passes little by little.

After an unknown amount of time, when Chen Yang felt that his spiritual power was nearly half depleted, a turning point appeared!

The originally chaotic and repulsive disturbance gradually became smooth and regular under his tireless "guidance" and "soothing"!
It's like a raging wild beast whose fur has been stroked; it remains wary, but no longer attacks indiscriminately.

As the disturbance subsided, the intricate and magnificent internal structure of the entire protective array, like a beautiful woman who had shed her veil, began to be clearly revealed in Chen Yang's "perception"!

How energy is drawn from underground spiritual veins, how it is transformed through the core array eye, how it flows along specific rune circuits to the entire protective light shield, and how it forms a stable defensive force field... Although there are still many profound aspects that cannot be fully understood, Chen Yang has roughly grasped its basic framework, key nodes, and energy flow patterns!
More importantly, he discovered that this protective formation also contained a principle similar to that of the "momentum field" formation!

However, the "momentum field" formation transforms "momentum" into direct suppression and confinement, while the protective formation here cleverly transforms "momentum" into a uniformly distributed barrier that resists external forces!

The two share a striking similarity in their underlying energy application and rune configuration, and can even be found to corroborate and complement each other!

"I see! I understand now!"

Chen Yang suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light. He couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim softly, a look of delighted realization on his face.

His commotion immediately attracted the attention of Qiu Niu, Xing San, Su Meng, and Liu Piaopiao, who were searching through the nearby ruins.

The four of them quickly gathered around.

"Chen Yang, what's wrong? Did you find something?"

Qiuniu asked eagerly.

"Senior Brother Chen Yang, are you alright? You're sweating a lot."

Su Meng asked with concern.

Liu Piaopiao stared intently at Chen Yang, awaiting his answer.

After calming his excitement, Chen Yang explained to everyone.

"I have a basic understanding of the structure and operating principle of this protective array!"

More importantly, I discovered that it shares a core similarity with the 'potential field' formations we've encountered before!

"real?!"

Qiuniu was both surprised and delighted.

"Does that mean we can set up such powerful protective formations in the future? Or... can we replicate them, like you said?"

Chen Yang shook his head, pouring cold water on the excited Qiuniu.

"Replicating? Easier said than done."

This formation is quite large in scale and complex in structure, requiring extremely high levels of materials, energy, cultivation, and formation expertise from the person setting it up.

Given our current conditions and time, it's simply impossible to complete a full replica.

"Huh? Then... what's the use of researching this?"

Xing San scratched his head in disappointment.

"It cannot be copied, nor can it be taken away."

Su Meng blinked, then suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Senior Brother Chen Yang, could we find a way to strengthen the formation here? For example, reinforce the key nodes to make it more solid? That way, even if that white demon comes, it won't be able to break through for a while, and we can safely spend the night here, right?"

Chen Yang glanced at Su Meng, a hint of approval in his eyes, but then shook his head and rejected the idea.

"Su Meng's idea is good, but it's also unrealistic."

The coverage area of ​​this formation is too vast. To reinforce the formation across the entire area, hundreds, even thousands, of formation patterns and nodes would need to be modified and supplemented, requiring astronomical amounts of materials and effort. Even if we were to bring dozens more cultivators skilled in formations, it would take at least ten days to two weeks to complete it, let alone just a few of us. We don't have that kind of time.”

"This won't work, that won't work..."

Xing San muttered to himself, somewhat deflated.

"Then weren't we just wasting our time and effort researching here?"

Seeing the somewhat dejected expressions on everyone's faces, Chen Yang suddenly chuckled, a sly yet confident glint in his eyes.

"Who said it was a waste of effort? Although we can't do a complete replica and overall reinforcement, but—"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the ruins of the family estate before him, then looking at the faint protective aura surrounding it, before uttering a startling statement.

“We can artificially create a smaller, more robust ‘safe zone’ within ‘this’ larger safe zone, one that is even specifically designed to counter the characteristics of that white monster!”

"what?"

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.

Chen Yang further explained.

"What I mean is, we're not trying to repair or reinforce the entire protective array of the ruins. We're just looking for a relatively secluded, structurally intact corner within the array's protection—like a well-preserved inner courtyard or cellar."

Then, utilizing my new understanding of the principles of this formation, combined with my own cultivation level and the available materials, I adapted to the local conditions and set up a completely new, smaller 'inner protective formation' with a more focused defensive structure and optimized features!

"It's like, in a dilapidated but still sheltering house, we build a sturdier and more private little room ourselves using the best materials we can find.

The outer dilapidated buildings can serve as a first line of defense and a deception; even if they are breached, we still have the inner rooms as our last fortress!

The analogy was easy to understand, and everyone immediately grasped Chen Yang's meaning.

Qiuniu's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh suddenly.

"Wonderful!"
Chen Yang!

That's a brilliant idea!

A large formation encompasses smaller ones! The outer, remnant formation draws attention and depletes the monsters' power, while the inner, new formation is our true hiding place!

And with a smaller area, it should be much faster to set up, right?

Liu Piaopiao also realized what was happening and chimed in.

"Furthermore, could the newly arranged formation be specifically designed to counter the white demon's ability to 'destroy formations'? For example, could we enhance the 'resilience' of the formation structure, or add some formation patterns that interfere with or mislead its perception?"

Chen Yang nodded with a smile.

"exactly.

Although time is limited and materials are scarce, making it impossible to set up a perfect formation, it should still be possible to create a "turtle shell" that can hold out for a period of time at critical moments, buying us a chance to escape or giving us time to counterattack, by combining my newly understood "momentum field" with the commonalities of protective formations. Chen Yang's plan made everyone's eyes light up, and they all showed expressions of realization and approval.

"That's a good idea!"

A large formation encompasses smaller formations; the outer layer is for deception, while the inner layer ensures survival!
Chen Yang, you're really quick-witted!

Qiuniu excitedly slapped his palm.

Xing San nodded with a simple smile.

"Now I can finally get a good night's sleep!"

Su Meng and Liu Piaopiao's eyes were also filled with hope.

Chen Yang waved his hand, signaling everyone not to be too happy yet. He looked around at everyone, his tone becoming more serious.

"However, this idea is still just a theory. Whether it will work and whether the newly set up small formation can withstand the attacks of the monsters—especially the white monster—still needs to be verified in practice. What we need now is to conduct an experiment."

"experiment?"

Xing San scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"How are we supposed to test this? Monsters only come out in groups at night. Are we supposed to wait until nightfall and deliberately lure them to attack the formation we just set up? That's too dangerous! If we can't hold them off, we'll all be wiped out!"

Su Meng also expressed her concerns.

"Yes, it's too risky to use ourselves for experiments."

Chen Yang shook his head, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"We don't need to wait until night, nor do we need to use ourselves as test subjects. Xing San, you just said that monsters only come out at night, but have you thought about where they go during the day?"

This question surprised everyone.

They had been so preoccupied with the monsters' nocturnal threat that they hadn't really thought about where the monsters went during the day.

Su Meng reacted the fastest, her eyes lighting up.

"They can't move freely in the sunlight during the day, which means... they must be hiding somewhere during the day!"

Just like wild animals have dens!

"That's right!"

Chen Yang affirmed.

"Although demons are corrupted by demonic energy, most of them retain some of their instinct to avoid darkness or light, or their power is weakened by sunlight."

During the day, they inevitably lurk in dark corners, such as deep caves, the deepest parts of dense forests, underground crevices, or other places where sunlight rarely reaches.

Qiuniu slapped his thigh excitedly.

"yes!
If we can find their hiding places during the day, can't we use the monsters there for experiments? We don't need to wait until night, and we don't need to risk being surrounded by hordes of monsters!

"But……"

Liu Piaopiao raised a question.

"This trial ground is so vast and the terrain is so complex, how are we supposed to know where the monster's lair is? We can't just search all over the mountains and fields, can we? That would be too time-consuming and laborious, and we might alert the monsters or stumble into unknown and dangerous places."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought again. Indeed, finding monster lairs sounds simple, but it's not easy in practice.

At this moment, a confident smile appeared on Chen Yang's face.

"I happen to have a way to find them."

"any solution?"

Xing San and Qiu Niu asked in unison, looking at Chen Yang with curiosity.

Su Meng and Liu Piaopiao also cast puzzled glances at them.

Chen Yang said calmly.

"Have you all forgotten my other identity? I am the Underworld's Patrol Marshal. One of my duties is to capture souls and ghosts and monitor the Yin and Yang. The patrol banner in my hand holds not only those ordinary vengeful ghosts and spirits that were released last night to conceal their aura, but also some special souls that are particularly sensitive to negative energies such as evil and demonic energy."

He paused, met the surprised and somewhat incredulous gazes of the crowd, and continued.

"Using them, we might be able to pinpoint dark places nearby where demonic energy gathers and where demons can hide."

"You can do that?!"

Qiuniu's eyes widened.

"Chen Yang, your authority as the Underworld Commander is... just too useful! It's practically a human detection device!"

Xing San was also amazed.

"Amazing! No wonder you're Commander Chen!"

Su Meng and Liu Piaopiao's eyes also lit up with admiration, gaining a deeper understanding of Chen Yang's methods.

Chen Yang appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he was communicating with Li Rou.

"Li Rou, I'm sorry, but for the sake of convenience, I had to temporarily 'compromise' you by describing you as a 'special soul' that I captured."

Within her mind, Li Rou's cool voice rang out, tinged with obvious displeasure.

"Hmph! Master, in the eyes of your companions, am I now one of those vengeful spirits and ghosts in your banner, lost in a daze? Helping you and still getting criticized, really..."

Chen Yang quickly offered an apologetic explanation in his mind.

"In times of emergency, one must act expediently. I spoke without thinking. Li Rou, you are a magnanimous person, please don't hold it against me. I was just trying to convince everyone so we could find the monster for our experiments as soon as possible. Your existence is too special to explain in a complicated way, so this is the easiest way to put it."

Li Rou remained silent for a moment, seemingly still somewhat annoyed, and did not respond immediately.

Knowing her temperament, Chen Yang quickly added another promise.

"Thanks to you this time."

"Once we're safe and have completely refined and controlled this blessed land, you can decorate any place you like inside as you wish. I won't interfere at all; consider it my small compensation and token of my gratitude. How about it?"

Hearing this, Li Rou's tone softened slightly.

"Hmph, that's more like it."

"Considering your 'sincerity,' and the prestige of this blessed land, I'll let it slide this time. Tell me, how do you want my help?"

Chen Yang felt relieved and asked.

"With your spiritual perception and keen awareness of energy fluctuations, can you find a nearby location suitable for monsters to hide in, and one that is very likely inhabited by monsters?"

"of course can."

Li Rou's voice regained its usual coolness and confidence.

"Demons favor yin and filth, and abhor yang energy. The places they inhabit are invariably filled with yin energy and demonic stagnation, and they mostly choose shady, enclosed, or deep underground environments. Within a radius of dozens of miles, the 'aura' of such places is as distinct to me as a lamp in the dark." (End of Chapter)