A light rain was falling over Blood Rainbow City, washing the bluestone pavement until it shone.
Chen Feng, wearing a dark cloak, walked through the side gate. Rain dripped from the brim of his cloak, splashing tiny water droplets at his feet.
Gurman bowed and led the way, seemingly unconcerned that the hem of his dark red brocade robe was stained with mud.
"Master, the Tranquil Abode is ready." Gurman's voice was very low, with the obsequiousness typical of a servant.
The city lord, who was so imposing in front of outsiders, was now bent over like an old pine tree crushed by snow.
Chen Feng nodded slightly.
As they passed through the corridor, several maids hurriedly knelt down, their foreheads pressed against the backs of their hands, not daring to raise their eyes.
"Is everything taken care of?"
"Reporting to Master, those remaining in the manor are all household servants." Gurman pushed open the carved pear wood door, and a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out.
The gilded incense burner emitted a calming fragrance, and the luminous pearl in the corner gleamed softly in the rainy daylight. "This courtyard is connected to a branch of a spiritual vein underground, so this old servant has added twelve more layers of restrictions."
"Step back," Chen Feng interrupted.
After the door closed, Chen Feng finally let out a breath of stale air.
As the rain outside the window intensified, he used his fingers like a knife to slice one of the Hunyuan Fruits into thin slices.
The cross-section of the fruit pulp shimmered with star-like specks of light, a phenomenon not recorded in any ancient texts.
As soon as the first piece of fruit entered his throat, Chen Feng's entire body trembled violently. Unlike the mildness of ordinary spiritual medicines, the power of the Hunyuan Fruit was like a bursting torrent, with two completely different energies rushing towards his dantian and the space between his eyebrows respectively.
He hurriedly activated the Two Elements Stance Technique, and dark golden patterns appeared under his skin, moving throughout his body like living things.
At dawn seven days later, Chen Feng slowly finished his practice in the courtyard.
The purple bamboo, broken by last night's torrential rain, floated in the air, shattering into dust before reforming.
This is a sign that one's mental power has reached the state of "condensing the void into reality".
"Congratulations, Master, on your advancement in cultivation." Gurman stood outside the moon gate, holding a lacquered tray with three talismans that gleamed with a rusty sheen. "These are the Crimson Dragon Blood Talismans you requested."
Chen Feng sent a talisman from afar, and the talisman rang out under the guidance of his mental power.
This old servant was indeed very dedicated. The talisman paper stained with the blood of the Crimson Dragon was priceless on the market, indicating that the City Lord's Mansion had a deeper foundation than he had anticipated.
"Is everything ready?"
Upon hearing this, Gurman shook twelve jade boxes from his sleeve, each containing a rare material: lightning-struck wood core, moon dew, and earth fire refined gold...
The most precious piece is the three-inch-long section of chalcedony, which is filled with cloud-like spiritual energy.
"As instructed by my master, I exchanged these for three Earth-遁符 (Escape Talisman)." The old city lord smiled, but a hint of heartache lurked in the wrinkles around his eyes. "It's just that this old servant doesn't understand why these materials have conflicting properties..."
Chen Feng made a light, sweeping motion with his fingers, and the jade marrow snapped instantly.
One of the messages floated up to Gurman: "Here you go."
Only after the old servant thanked him profusely and withdrew did he reveal a meaningful smile.
These seemingly disparate materials are the key to crafting the "Small Heavenly Circuit Array".
Autumn has passed and winter is here in the blink of an eye.
An octagonal pavilion has been added to the southeast corner of the Tranquil Courtyard, and the bronze bells hanging from the eaves actually form a concealment array.
Chen Feng sat cross-legged in the pavilion, with seventy-two runes floating in front of him.
This was his thirty-sixth attempt to improve the Grade 3 Explosive Flame Talisman—to shorten the activation time by three breaths while maintaining its power.
"Failed again." Chen Feng waved his hand to scatter the charred talisman paper.
But this failure made his eyes light up, because the remaining rune structure showed a rare spiral arrangement.
This structure, listed as taboo in "The True Explanation of Talismanic Dao," unexpectedly aligned with the new insights he gained from the Primordial Fruit.
At midnight, the underground chamber of the city lord's mansion was brightly lit.
Seven masked men stood before Gurman, each with a different secret mark embroidered on their sleeve.
"A peak-grade third-rank spirit-gathering array plate, starting bid 8,000 high-grade spirit stones."
The old city lord tapped the jade hammer, and this precious item, half the size of a regular array plate, immediately caused a stir.
The woman wearing the silver fox mask immediately raised the price to 12,000, while the old man in black robes in the corner took out a deep-sea luminous pearl the size of a pigeon egg.
While the bidding for the secret room was in full swing, Chen Feng was testing a new talisman in the cellar of the villa.
The moment the improved Blazing Talisman is activated, the entire talisman paper transforms into a flowing golden-red liquid, forming the shape of a phoenix spreading its wings in the air.
When the flames died down, the three-foot-thick black iron target had turned into molten red iron.
"It should be called the Phoenix Flame Talisman now," Chen Feng murmured.
The price of excessive mental exertion was a throbbing headache, but the smile on his lips was impossible to suppress.
What kind of storm will this talisman, whose power has reached the threshold of the second rank but is still considered a third rank, stir up in the black market?
That day, Gurman delivered some unexpected news.
Chen Feng was copying the ancient thunder pattern when he heard this, his brush paused, and the cinnabar spread out in blood-red ripples on the talisman paper.
"An inspector from the Xuantian Pavilion?"
"They claimed it was a routine inspection, but they went straight to the warehouse and checked nearly six months' worth of auction records." Gurman handed over a jade slip. "This is the list of materials they requested."
Chen Feng scanned the jade slip with his divine sense, his eyes darkening.
Seventy percent of the materials on the list overlapped with what he had recently requested. What a coincidence!
What's even more suspicious is that the other party specifically asked the creator of the "Improved Grade 3 Talisman".
The rain started again, pattering on the newly planted seven-heart crabapple trees in the yard.
Chen Feng stroked the jade pendant at his waist, a trophy he had taken from an opponent in the secret realm half a year ago.
The jade pendant had the two small characters "Xuantian" engraved on the inside, but he didn't pay attention to them at the time.
"Prepare to relocate," Chen Feng suddenly announced, startling Gurman so much that he nearly dropped his teacup. "Raise the array base buried beneath the meditation room and replace it with this."
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