The Array Association

Mists curled around green pines and verdant cypresses. In front of the bamboo forest, a gentle woman clad in a goose-yellow dress smiled as she looked over.

“Sister Wen, what brings you here today?” Shi Yu stepped out of the cave dwelling and saw Wen Wen at a glance. “Is there an alchemy commission?”

Wen Wen stepped forward, looking up and down at the girl she hadn't seen for several months.

The girl's facial features were delicate and elegant, radiating a vibrant spiritual Qi, clearly showing that she was completely unharmed.

Seeing that Shi Yu was fine, Wen Wen breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “When I heard you were trapped in the secret realm for several months, my heart was in my throat. Now that I see you safe and sound, I can finally set my mind at ease.”

With that, she affectionately took Shi Yu's hand and answered her earlier question. “The Alchemy Exchange Conference is coming up soon, and the president specifically instructed us to let you rest well. How could we take on commissions and bother you?”

Shi Yu's eyelashes curved gently. “It's no trouble at all. Every time you visit, Sister Wen, you bring me pastries. If anything, I feel you don't visit often enough!”

“There will always be plenty for you.” Wen Wen smiled, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Shi Yu's ear that had been ruffled by the wind. She spoke warmly, “This long journey will take several months on the road. I came here under orders to take you shopping for supplies you might need along the way.”

“Everything will be paid for by the association. And once we're done shopping, there's a great place I want to take you.” Wen Wen blinked playfully.

Hearing her mention a great place, Shi Yu's interest was piqued. She called out to Qingzhou to inform him before heading down the mountain with Wen Wen.

After descending the mountain, Wen Wen led her through twists and turns, navigating into a quiet alley.

Looking at the all-too-familiar route, Shi Yu hesitated before asking, “…Sister Wen, where exactly are we going to shop?”

Wen Wen raised her chin forward. “Right ahead.”

“Don't be fooled by how remote this place is. There's a small shop inside whose goods are far superior in quality compared to other places, and they have quite a comprehensive selection.”

As they spoke, the two arrived at their destination.

Inside the modest shop, uniquely crafted spirit stone lamps cast a glow, while spiritual flowers and herbs added decorative touches, giving it an elegant and refreshing atmosphere.

Shi Yu stared at the store that she knew all too well: “…”

Wen Wen had actually brought her to her own shop.

It seemed Qingzhou and Mo Tong had indeed managed the store exceptionally well—so much so that even Wen Wen had heard of it and came out of admiration.

Seeing Wen Wen already step inside, Shi Yu hesitated for a moment before following her in.

There weren't many customers in the shop today. Mo Tong and Ji Yu, who had newly joined to help out, were each attending to a few patrons.

Shi Yu glanced over, only to see that the customer Mo Tong was attending to seemed a bit eccentric. His hair and beard were messy, and he looked unkempt. At the moment, he wasn't looking at the spirit talismans or pills displayed inside the counters. Instead, he leaned over the counter, leaning in close as his fingers traced the patterns on its surface inch by inch.

Mo Tong stood behind him, tilting his head in confusion, but with good nature he did not rush or shoo him away. He simply asked, “Senior, what are you looking for? Would you like me to make some recommendations?”

The customer's expression remained stern. Ignoring him, he merely waved a hand.

Wen Wen glanced over, feeling surprised once she recognized the man, and called out, “President Cui?”

The rigid-looking customer raised a gaunt face with sunken cheeks, shot a glance at Wen Wen, and said raspily, “Oh, the little girl from the Alchemist Association.”

Taking that as his greeting, he buried his head again to trace the counter.

Wen Wen whispered an introduction into Shi Yu's ear: “That is President Cui of the Array Association. What a coincidence today.”

Shi Yu nodded. Seeing the keep-out aura surrounding the president, she wisely refrained from stepping forward to disturb him for now.

Just then, Mo Tong also looked over. Seeing that it was Shi Yu, his eyes lit up. “Ah Yu!”

Born from Qingzhou, he sought to emulate him in everything, and thus called Shi Yu the same way Qingzhou did.

Not far away, Ji Yu also noticed her and shouted excitedly, “Sister!”

Hearing the two calls in quick succession, Wen Wen couldn't help but look at Shi Yu strangely. “This is…”

Before she could ask what Shi Yu had to do with this shop, President Cui spoke up on his own: “Who set up the array on this counter?”

Mo Tong replied with a touch of pride, “Our shop owner set it up personally.”

President Cui's gaze finally left the counter. Beneath his messy hair, a sharp glint flickered in his eyes. “Who is your boss?”

Mo Tong then turned to look at Shi Yu with an innocent expression.

Shi Yu: “…”

Wen Wen: “!?”

What was laid out on the counter was a Spirit-Solidifying Array designed to prevent spiritual Qi from dispersing. Unlike inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, if spiritual items were stored improperly in the outside world, their spiritual Qi would slowly bleed away, affecting their quality and grade.

For this reason, the wooden boxes and jade bottles used to hold pills and spirit talismans in the shop had all been specially crafted by Shi Yu with solidifying restrictions added to them.

On top of that, several layers of Spirit-Solidifying Arrays had been additionally placed on the large counters to ensure that when goods were placed on them, spiritual Qi leakage would be kept to an absolute minimum.

Following Mo Tong's gaze, President Cui looked toward Shi Yu. Seeing that she was merely a young girl, his eyebrows furrowed, displaying a hint of displeasure as if he had been played. “Her?”

He stepped forward and carefully sized Shi Yu up. Sensing that her aura was by no means weak, he was slightly surprised, and his expression softened a bit. “That young fellow said just now that the array on the counter came from your hands. Is that true?”

Shi Yu gave Mo Tong a helpless glance. Just as she was about to speak, Wen Wen interjected from the side, “President Cui, this is Miss Shi Yu, a Tier-2 alchemist from our Alchemist Association. As for arrays… there must be some mistake.”

“She's the junior Old Song often brings up?” President Cui nodded, forcing a somewhat kindly expression onto his face. He retrieved a spiritual material exuding a chilling, severe aura from his storage ring and handed it to Shi Yu. “A meeting gift. Take it.”

It was a piece of Bone Fiend Jade of exceptional quality—an excellent material for refining array plates.

Since it was a meeting gift from a senior, Shi Yu generously accepted it and turned to instruct Mo Tong, “Whenever President Cui visits in the future, remember to give him a discount.”

Mo Tong obediently agreed.

Watching this from the side, Wen Wen said in astonishment, “You're really the owner of this shop?”

Shi Yu did not hide it from her either. “It's the shop that the Zhou Clan gave me earlier. It would be a waste to leave it idle, so I fixed it up and opened for business.”

Wen Wen was also aware of Shi Yu concocting the Lesser Longevity Pills for the Zhou Clan, so she nodded upon hearing this. “So that's how it is.”

She pretended to complain, “And here I was thinking of bringing you here to hunt for good things. I've made a fool of myself.”

Shi Yu smiled and shifted the topic: “Didn't you say you were going to take me to a great place, Sister Wen?”

“Since this is your shop, there's nothing for us to buy here.” Wen Wen glanced at her playfully. “—That great place happens to be somewhere you've been yearning for for a long time. Come, let's head to the association.”

Shi Yu blinked, making an excited guess: “The ‘Legacy of Subtle Wonders’?”

Wen Wen simply smiled without answering.

Shi Yu knew immediately that her guess was spot on. Bowing respectfully to President Cui in farewell as a junior, she pulled Wen Wen along as they headed outside.

Shi Yu had been longing for the Alchemist Association's Legacy of Subtle Wonders for a long time. Although the worldviews of the two worlds were broadly similar, their developments differed. Even with her superb alchemy skills, there were still many alchemy seals, spells, pill recipes, and secret manuals that she was unaware of or lacked.

Housing a vast collection of ancient texts and pill recipes, the Legacy of Subtle Wonders was the foundation of the association, gathering the wisdom and experience of countless predecessors. It was the perfect place for Shi Yu to fill the gaps in her knowledge.

Now that she had the opportunity to peruse it, she could hardly wait.

Seeing Shi Yu so eager for once, Wen Wen chuckled softly and matched her pace. However, as they rounded a corner, she happened to glance back, only to see President Cui quietly following behind them.

The president of the Array Association was notoriously taciturn and eccentric in temperament. Unable to fathom his intentions, Wen Wen paused and asked respectfully, “President Cui, you are…?”

President Cui glanced at Shi Yu. “Coming along.”

Wen Wen opened her mouth, but given the vast disparity in their status, she couldn't utter any words of refusal. She could only let him follow along, feeling puzzled in her heart: What does President Cui mean by this?

Shi Yu, on the other hand, felt strangely guilty. Knowing that President Cui had definitely come for her array, she silently pondered how to handle it. It wasn't that she was afraid of revealing anything, but rather that thinking of how President Song would stamp his feet in fury again gave her a bit of a headache.

After that, the three walked in silence for the rest of the way.

With such an august senior trailing behind them, Wen Wen became much more constrained, making the atmosphere rather stifling for a while.

Finally rounding a corner, Wen Wen let out a breath of relief upon seeing the Alchemist Association right in front of them. “We've arrived.”