Chapter 352 - 177: Chaotic Stone Forest
’I wonder if I’ll have a chance to get any rewards like Arrays in the future?’
’This stuff can’t directly improve one’s Martial Arts Cultivation, but the mysteries of Arrays are endless. I could learn from them by analogy.’
’Especially since many Martial Arts techniques evolved from the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, and the Sixty-Four Directions.’
’If I could grasp some of their secrets, I imagine the benefits would be endless.’
His current bit of knowledge about Arrays came from what he’d heard from Yu Yaoguang back in Pojun City.
He had been very interested at the time. He’d originally planned to study the mysteries of Arrays with Yu Yaoguang on their way to the Fang Family in Guangning City, but that woman never got down to business at night.
And as for himself... alright, he’d also indulged a bit too much in pleasure.
Looking back on it now, he felt a little ashamed.
As these miscellaneous thoughts ran through his mind, he urged Fang Dabao forward while his gaze swept over the surrounding chaotic stones.
Soon enough, he really did spot a few clues.
"This Array must have been set up based on the positions of the Five Elements..."
"But this is as far as my insight goes. I can’t see anything deeper."
Just as he thought this, two cold glints of light suddenly shot at him from the left and right.
Fang Shuwen smoothly executed Twin Golden Lotus. Before the two figures could even get close, their chests were pierced by his sharp Palm Power. A great spray of blood scattered through the air as their bodies fell to the ground.
He shook his head lightly and suddenly thrust out a finger, unleashing Four Seas Shocking Emperor Finger.
A speck of starlight shot out in an instant. With a tremendous BOOM, a huge boulder not far away was immediately blasted to pieces, sending shards of rock flying.
The person hiding behind the stone only had time to let out a scream before their body was riddled with holes by the flying debris.
Fang Shuwen didn’t stop. He unleashed Four Seas Shocking Emperor Finger again and again as if it cost him nothing. For a moment, the Chaotic Stone Forest was filled with thunderous BOOMS.
Every boulder he shattered was accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream.
Admittedly, it was difficult for Fang Shuwen to break the Inverted Five Elements Array using conventional Array-breaking methods. However, these people were being far too naive, thinking they could hide within the Array to launch a sneak attack on him.
This tactic might have worked against an ordinary person, but against Fang Shuwen... before they could even make a move, he already knew where they were.
One’s breathing can be hidden, but the sound of a heartbeat, the thrum of a pulse—unless one possessed an exceptionally profound Concealing Breath Technique, these things were nearly impossible to hide.
They thought this method would leave Fang Shuwen besieged from all sides and struggling to cope, but they had no idea that he could see their every move as clearly as if it were illuminated by fire.
Amidst the continuous explosions, these people finally realized that hiding like this was useless.
In fact, it might even guide Fang Shuwen to break the Inverted Five Elements Array.
This Array was based on the positions of the Five Elements, with the locations of many stones altered. The core, however, lay in five inconspicuous large boulders in the center—the legendary array cores.
Once these array cores were shattered, the Array would collapse on its own.
For a moment, many of them thought of retreating. But they were unwilling to give up; it would be difficult to encounter such favorable terrain and circumstances a second time.
Their group had gone to great lengths and exhausted their efforts, not to give up halfway, but to kill him.
Therefore, the group no longer hesitated. They all revealed themselves and charged toward Fang Shuwen.
Seeing this, Fang Shuwen merely smiled faintly.
"Is that everyone?"
He brought his palms together, and in an instant, a Dharma Aspect erupted behind him.
The ferocious, malevolent phantom of a Four-armed Fire God enveloped Fang Shuwen as scalding Fire Force was unleashed along with Anger Burning Heaven.
The attackers only felt a terrifying Palm Power come crashing down on them.
This Palm Power inflicted both internal and external injuries; it was nearly impossible to block.
For a moment, agonizing screams rose and fell one after another. In the blink of an eye, the ground was littered with corpses.
Fang Shuwen stood still, retracting his stance. With a flick of his hand, a spark seemed to fall from his fingertip, vanishing in an instant.
He sat down again.
"Dabao, keep going."
Fang Dabao strode forward, walking through the mangled corpses that littered the ground.
Fang Shuwen wanted to see if he could break this Array himself.
When he had attacked with Four Seas Shocking Emperor Finger just now, he had not destroyed the Array’s foundation. On one hand, he couldn’t find it; on the other, he had intentionally held back.
He wanted to use this opportunity to grasp more of the mysteries within the Array.
’After all, I have Fourfold Comprehension now. With the scraps of knowledge I have, maybe I can figure it out by analogy?’
Fang Shuwen soon discovered he had been too optimistic...
When one’s foundation was too shallow, even the highest comprehension was useless.
Left with no other choice, Fang Shuwen could only resort to making miracles happen through brute force.
In an instant, he unleashed a flurry of devastating techniques like Four Seas Shocking Emperor Finger, Great Black Heaven God Palm, and Sea-Shaking Divine Fist.
A few fish had slipped through the net within the Inverted Five Elements Array, but under this frenzied bombardment, not a single one was left alive.
Suddenly, as Fang Shuwen pulverized a large boulder with a single palm strike...
...the surrounding environment underwent a subtle change. Fang Shuwen had an epiphany.
"I must have shattered an array core and broken the Array."
’But there’s nothing praiseworthy about using brute force to overcome skill.’
He grinned. The path before him was now clear, and the trail on the ground that had previously vanished had reappeared.
However, their position had shifted quite a bit from where they were before.
Once they returned to the main path, their way was unobstructed.
But the Chaotic Stone Forest was vast, and they only walked out of its boundaries after a while.
When he looked up again, he saw a man standing outside the Chaotic Stone Forest. The man looked to be around thirty years old, with a Horizontal Saber slung over his shoulder. His green robes gave him a rakish, unrestrained air. He was currently shading his eyes with one hand, peering into the forest on his tiptoes.
When he saw Fang Shuwen and Long Qingzhi, his eyes immediately lit up.
"Brother, what were you two doing in the Chaotic Stone Forest just now? That was quite a commotion!"