Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

"That’s good!"

The Demon Bears all breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Chi now knew the time limit for this exploration.

He had to gather enough resources within fifty years and find a way out.

For now, he didn’t have a single clue how to leave.

Fortunately, he believed that a being of the Demon Bear King’s caliber, who knew so much and even spoke of what would happen after they left, must surely know the way out.

—

"Those Cultivators who entered are another story. I hear most of them are Nascent Soul Powerhouses, which is indeed a problem. Furthermore, the exit is already under the joint control of our major factions. If they want to leave, they’ll have to go through us," the Demon Bear King continued.

"What should we do?"

"Exactly! We wouldn’t normally fear them, but they might resort to sneak attacks and guerrilla warfare. That would be difficult to defend against!"

The Demon Bears were all worried.

"That’s true. That’s why our factions are preparing to dispatch a joint force of powerhouses to proactively hunt them down and eliminate them," the Demon Bear King said with a slight nod.

"Good!"

At this, the many Demon Bears breathed a sigh of relief.

"That’s a viable plan, but it’s not the best one. You could say it’s not foolproof."

"I think we should prepare on two fronts: launch our own offensive while also shoring up our defenses. For instance, we could activate the Mountain Protection Array left behind by the Pill Cauldron Sect," Zhang Chi suddenly interjected.

"You’re right, but activating the Grand Array is easier said than done. Even though we took over these ruins, we’ve never been able to fully repair or control it. After all, we aren’t human Cultivators, and our understanding of Arrays is insufficient. Besides, the Mountain Protection Array was already severely damaged long ago," the Demon Bear King said regretfully.

The other Demon Bears nodded in agreement.

"Haha, that’s simple. The truth is, I’ve always had a talent for Arrays. I can definitely repair and control it. I just never bothered to show off because... well, it’s boring."

"But for the safety of our race this time, I’m willing to make an exception and put in some effort."

Zhang Chi laughed heartily and immediately volunteered for the task.

"Old Jiu, are you serious?"

The various Demon Bears were stunned. They wondered if they had misheard, or if he was just joking.

"Of course I am. And as for whether I can do it, you’ll all find out soon enough!" Zhang Chi replied, full of confidence.

"Alright, then the matter is settled. We’ll leave it to you. You can start right away. The race will provide whatever materials you need. If you need manpower, we’ll arrange that for you too!"

Seeing his conviction, the Demon Bears began to believe him.

The Demon Bear King, in particular, was overjoyed and immediately gave Zhang Chi his full affirmation and support.

’I’ll get the job done, I guarantee it!’ Zhang Chi was inwardly ecstatic but outwardly gave a solemn promise.

Right then and there, the Demon Bear King took out several tattered Array Flags. He then led Zhang Chi to a forbidden area deep within the Pill Cauldron Sect to inspect the Array Base of the Mountain Protection Array.

Both the Array Flags and the Array Base were so severely damaged they could only function at one percent of their capacity. And that was only because the Demon Bear King had managed to acquire a key item: the Pill Cauldron Sect’s Sect Leader’s Golden Seal.

Unfortunately, the Demon Bear King couldn’t truly complete the Refinement of this Seal and knew nothing of Arrays; otherwise, he could have unleashed much more of its Mighty Power.

Zhang Chi, however, was astonished to discover that the Array was actually at the Peak of Tier Four, and it was a colossal one at that.

If it were repaired and fully activated, even a Tier Four Peak powerhouse would have a hard time breaking through it.

"Well? Can it be repaired and controlled?" the Demon Bear King asked, his voice filled with anticipation.

"I can, but it will take a significant amount of time. I’ll also need some materials, like Star Divine Iron. I’ll write up a list of what’s required and update it as needed," Zhang Chi replied with a slight nod.

His current skill with Arrays wasn’t high enough yet, but he had plenty of time, so he wasn’t worried.

’Besides, even if I could fix it right away, I’d never tell the Demon Bear King. That would be letting him off too easy.’

"That’s no problem. If you have any other needs, just tell me!"

The Demon Bear King was overjoyed and, suspecting nothing, readily agreed.

After all, repairing things like the Array Base and Array Flags did require Artifact Refining Materials.

"Any extra Array inheritances or Cultivation insights you have, I’ll take them. If you have any Talisman Making inheritances from Tiers One to Four, bring those over as well. Talismans and Arrays are fundamentally linked. And give me the Sect Leader’s Golden Seal," Zhang Chi added with a nod.

"Done. However, the Sect Leader’s Golden Seal is only on loan. I will take it back when you’re finished. After all, it’s best that the Array remains under my control. I’ll also assign some subordinates to assist you," the Demon Bear King agreed readily.

But this Demon Bear King was no fool, so he quickly took some precautions.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I don’t need many subordinates, but it would be best if they were clever enough to be useful," Zhang Chi replied with a nod.

"Of course. I understand."

Zhang Chi understood the king’s intentions but wasn’t concerned.

’Those Demon Bears are all amateurs when it comes to Arrays. Even if they watch my every move, they won’t spot any discrepancies.’

The Demon Bear King nodded in satisfaction. He then took out a square Golden Seal, about the size of a human palm, and placed it in Zhang Chi’s hands.

This was the Pill and Artifact Sect’s Sect Leader’s Golden Seal. Even after countless years, it still emanated a faint, imposing pressure. It was, without a doubt, a legendary Celestial Grade Magical Treasure.

Such Magical Treasures were exceptionally powerful and rare, even earning the monikers of Pseudo-Spirit Treasure and Half-Step Spirit Treasure.

A Golden Dragon was carved on top of the Golden Seal to serve as a handle, while four ancient, grand characters were engraved on the bottom: Wielding Elixir and Artifact.

Of course, the four words were reversed, so they would appear correctly when stamped.

After exchanging a few more words with Zhang Chi, the Demon Bear King left.

"Haha, excellent!"

Zhang Chi clutched the Golden Seal, his heart pounding with elation.

In the days that followed, his life fell into a simple routine. When he wasn’t returning to his cave abode or occasionally attending high-level meetings, he was here in the forbidden area.

The place was designated a forbidden area precisely because it housed the Array Base of the Pill and Artifact Sect.

The area was watched by Guards day and night and was also enveloped and protected by an Array the Demon Bear King had personally deployed.

Although the Demon Bear King knew little about Arrays, he had clearly obtained a complete set of Array Deployment Tools.

With those, setting up a simple Array was evidently not a problem.

Now, Zhang Chi had been granted special privileges and could enter and exit the forbidden area at will.

The Demon Bear King wouldn’t even have objected if he had decided to live there.

However, that would have been a bit much, not quite fitting his "bear-sona" of being talented but not particularly fond of Arrays.

A few days later, the Demon Bear King did indeed send over some helpers.

These helpers were actually there to supervise him and steal his techniques, though they acted perfectly obedient on the surface.

After Zhang Chi berated and even killed one bear for carelessly touching things, the others didn’t dare step out of line.

They soon discovered that they were completely incapable of learning anything, so they resigned themselves to acting as spies, reporting the daily progress to the Demon Bear King.

At first, the Demon Bear King had the patience to listen to the reports daily, but that soon changed to monthly, and then yearly.

The Demon Bears couldn’t find anything to report, so their updates were worthless—a complete waste of time.

In addition, Zhang Chi got what he wanted: a cache of materials, a Talisman Making inheritance for Tiers One to Four, and some insights on Array Cultivation.

This included a small amount of Star Divine Iron.

It was only a small amount because, for one, even the Demon Bear King—and likely the Pill and Artifact Sect before him—didn’t possess much of it.

For another, the Demon Bear King was no fool; he knew how valuable it was. He wouldn’t hand it all over at once, but would dole it out little by little.

Even so, Zhang Chi was quite pleased.

The Talisman Making inheritance and Array insights were just as precious, and a pleasant surprise at that.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chi adopted the appearance of being completely absorbed in his work. When he returned to his cave abode from the forbidden area, he kept to himself, his former fanaticism for Blood Food seemingly diminished.

The other Demon Bears didn’t find this suspicious. In fact, they admired Zhang Chi’s dedication.

Little did they know, Zhang Chi was only acting this way to avoid exposing himself.

After all, he could never stomach the other Demon Bears’ practice of gnawing on living creatures.

However, he wouldn’t refuse the Blood Food—or rather, the Demon Beasts—provided by the race. He would just deal with them privately.

After all, these Demon Beasts were typically Tier Three, and the materials they yielded were quite valuable.

Meanwhile, his Corpse Puppet and Flying Dragon No. 1 continued to hunt Demon Beasts and search for Spirit Grass in the outside world.

They even wiped out a few smaller Demon Beast clans.

Although these clans weren’t particularly powerful, Zhang Chi still reaped a bountiful harvest from them.

Finding these clans wasn’t difficult for Zhang Chi.

After all, he had performed a Soul Search on more than one Demon Bear, so he had a fairly good understanding of the situation throughout the Oasis.

His only regret was that the top-tier factions had extremely powerful Demon Beasts—more than one, in fact—and were protected by Arrays they had acquired.

These were simple Arrays set up using pre-made Array Deployment Tools, but they still provided decent defensive power.

Even the Demon Bear Race was protected by such an Array, though it only covered their core territory. Arrays of this type generally had a limited range and couldn’t be used as a full-fledged Mountain Protection Array.

The existence of these Arrays didn’t deter Zhang Chi. He even set his sights on a few of these factions, planning to slowly weaken them before eventually wiping them out.

The Demon Bear Race, for example, was one of his targets.

Tier Four Middle Stage Demon Bears were difficult to kill, but lone Tier Four Early Stage and Tier Three Demon Bears were fair game for assassination.

Meanwhile, back at the Canglan Sect, Zhang Chi spent his days in Cultivation in Seclusion, diligently studying the Tier Four Inheritance he had obtained.

「Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.」 On this day, Zhang Chi’s eyes snapped open as his consciousness returned from the Dream Space, a look of joyful realization dawning on his face.

’So that’s how it works! This is how you deploy a Tier Four Array!’

At that moment, within the Dream Space, Zhang Chi had finally become a Tier Four Array Master. And since Talisman Making was somewhat easier to practice, he had already become a Tier Four Talisman Master three years prior, as a matter of course.

At this point, the only skills for which he lacked a Tier Four Inheritance were Puppet Master, Spirit Plant cultivation, and the Turtle Shell Divination Skill.

Now, the only thing limiting his Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making was the lack of Tier Four materials.

Fortunately, while Tier Four materials were precious, they weren’t impossible to find.

He could gather them either through his Sect or here in the Oasis Ruins.

Especially in the Oasis Ruins.

Over the past ten years, the human Explorers and the various Demon Beast factions had clashed many times, with victories and defeats on both sides.

Overall, however, the Demon Beast factions held the upper hand.

The humans, for their part, had not given up.

Because they had already received some inside information.