The streets and buildings of Border City were laid out in a grid pattern.
The Spirit Snake Gang was located to the northwest, near the City Lord's manor, and occupied a large area of housing.
Just as she reached the designated meeting point, Gu Ningyun sensed two divine senses.
One belonged to Zhou Fei, and the other was quite unfamiliar.
Zhou Fei's transmission arrived. "This is the insider I bought within the Spirit Snake Gang."
Once everyone had gathered, the insider led them in from a corner. "Wu Chao has arranged for most of the common gang members to lie in ambush within the city. There aren't many common members left on guard here right now."
Under the insider's guidance and with the help of their divine senses, Gu Ningyun's group spent half an hour knocking out all the common members in the outer perimeter.
As they approached the inner perimeter, Mu Chenze transmitted to his four companions, "A yellow-rank high-grade protection array. It has both defensive and early-warning effects."
Just as he finished his transmission, the insider's divine sense transmission came through: "The inner perimeter will be more troublesome."
"Since Wu Chao was injured, the protection array has been active, and Wu Chao's confidants have been patrolling in shifts. The guard is very strict."
"We will wait here for fifteen minutes. When they change shifts, there will be a ten-second window where the array is not under their watch. I will open the array then."
Hearing this, Gu Ningyun couldn't help but glance toward the insider.
Knowing the outer perimeter of the Spirit Snake Gang like the back of his hand was one thing, but being able to open the inner protection array and knowing the shift change times perfectly was another.
This insider's status in the Spirit Snake Gang was not low. Could he be one of Wu Chao's confidants as well?
As the fifteen minutes approached, the insider removed his Stealth Talisman and walked up to the array.
The person patrolling this area saw the insider and wasn't surprised. "Wang Che, have you finished the task the gang leader gave you?"
"Indeed. I activated a Stealth Talisman and did a full sweep of Border City and the outer perimeter. I found nothing unusual and have already reported back to the gang leader."
After the insider, Wang Che, finished speaking, he raised his hand and formed a hand seal, preparing to open the array.
The patrolling cultivator's eyes flickered. "The gang leader truly trusts you, even teaching you the technique to enter and exit the protection array."
"I am grateful for the gang leader's favor," Wang Che said with a smile, his movements to open the array never stopping.
The patrolling cultivator looked down at Wang Che's fingers and curled his lips into a stiff smile.
He looked at the moon. "It's time for the shift change. Remember to close the array properly after you enter."
"Of course," Wang Che nodded, giving him a gentle smile.
The patrolling cultivator snorted, flicked his sleeves, and walked toward the center of the inner perimeter.
Once he disappeared from sight, Wang Che opened the array.
Perhaps because he had been running too fast while patrolling Border City earlier, his storage bag slipped from his waist and fell to the ground.
Wang Che frowned, took a step back, crouched down to pick up the storage bag, and patted it clean.
A few cool breezes brushed past. Wang Che tied the storage bag back to his waist and entered the array unhurriedly, closing it behind him.
If an array opened for no reason, the person who set it would surely notice.
With Wang Che's little display, the opening of the array appeared perfectly reasonable.
At this moment, the other patrolling cultivator for the next shift arrived.
Wang Che greeted him as they passed each other.
Gu Ningyun's divine sense was already scouting the shadows of the entire inner perimeter.
Unlike the outer perimeter where people stayed in their rooms to cultivate, the cultivators in the inner perimeter—aside from Wu Chao—were either patrolling in the open or gathered together resting, waiting for their shift.
No matter which one they knocked out, it would be noticed by the others.
Their previous tactics would no longer work.
Gu Ningyun's divine sense had already searched the inner perimeter twice but had not found Wu Chao.
"Wu Chao has been keeping a concealment array active these past few days. From time to time, he even uses a Stealth Talisman and moves his location while carrying the concealment array. No one can find where he is."
"He only uses a Spirit-Attuning Jade Token to send us messages when he's assigning tasks."
Wang Che entered a room, holding a green insect in his hand.
The insect's antennae trembled as they pointed in a certain direction.
He slapped a Stealth Talisman on himself, and both the insect and the man disappeared from the room.
"When I helped Wu Chao back a few days ago, I put some Bamboo-Lure Flower nectar in his hair."
"As long as we follow the antennae of the Bamboo-Lure Insect, we can find his location."
As Wang Che spoke, he used his divine sense to lead them toward the southeast corner of the inner perimeter. "My sudden disappearance from the room might be noticed at any time."
"If we don't want to alert the enemy, we have to move faster."
Wang Che was extremely familiar with the inner perimeter. He led them easily past the patrolling cultivators, without making a single sound or stepping on anything that would expose their tracks, until they reached an unremarkable house.
When he saw the house the Bamboo-Lure Insect was pointing to, Wang Che's breathing grew heavy, and he nearly crushed the insect to death.
He waited for a good while before barely managing to maintain his composure. "The Bamboo-Lure Insect says the scent of the nectar is right here."
"City Lord, what is the next step?"
Mu Chenze didn't want to reveal his identity as an array master in front of Zhou Fei, so he only transmitted to Gu Ningyun and the others: "There is indeed a yellow-rank high-grade concealment array here that can hide what's inside."
"Any cultivator below the Foundation Establishment stage looking in from outside the array will only see an empty room."
"If it were a yellow-rank top-grade concealment array, even a Qi Refining level twelve cultivator entering the array would see the same scene as those inside."
"They wouldn't notice the existence of the concealment array, let alone the person hidden within it."
"This is only a yellow-rank high-grade array. While it's not as perfect as a top-grade one, it won't be easily detected as long as one doesn't enter the array's interior."
Gu Ningyun looked at the tightly closed doors and windows. If they didn't alert the enemy, she feared they wouldn't be able to enter the array.
But even so, she shared Mu Chenze's thoughts and had no intention of informing Zhou Fei of these details.
The contract only stated that they were to restrain the other gang members. Matters regarding arrays were not in the contract and thus were not within their scope of action.
"This Wu Chao is so afraid of death. If he isn't in the room, we won't be able to find him."
"We can only take a gamble."
"If he isn't there, I will kill his confidants and sever his arms."
As Zhou Fei transmitted, he produced a black pot, which instantly expanded to the size of the house. With a loud "thud," he slammed the house under the pot.
The black pot had left Zhou Fei's side and was no longer within the range of the Stealth Talisman.
Gu Ningyun stared at the massive black pot, momentarily shocked.
If she said that her pinning the blame for the Soul-Nourishing Flower on Zhou Fei back at the mass grave was mainly because he was a competitor...
Now, looking at Zhou Fei's artifact, Gu Ningyun only wanted to shake his hand and sigh: Fellow Daoist, it’s fate! This is truly fate!
Mu Chenze: "That pot was pinned perfectly."
Jiang Yao: "Fellow Daoist Zhou truly does have a penchant for black pots."
Wen Xuan looked at the pot and then at Zhou Fei's position. "I have to say, Fellow Daoist Zhou and black pots really are a match."
Taking advantage of the fact that Zhou Fei couldn't see them through the Stealth Talisman, Gu Ningyun nodded vigorously while transmitting to her companions, "Exactly, exactly! I'm not the type of person who just throws a black pot at anyone."
Zhou Fei, of course, was unaware of this conversation that would have surely made him explode with rage.
Rate on N.U.
