Chapter 670: Chapter 669 Yang Fei’s Vigilance
Inside the room where the Array Eye of Yunwu Mountain’s Base was situated.
Yang Fei carefully examined the jade used as the Array Eye, and after a moment, his brows slightly furrowed.
Within the depths of his eyes, a glint of sharp light flashed by.
He sighed and said, "The sudden surge of spiritual energy concentration has put immense pressure on this piece of jade, causing it to crack due to being overloaded."
Hu Lizhong was startled, "Can it really happen like this?"
He had considered various possibilities but hadn’t thought that the crack in the Array Eye Jade was due to the excessive amount of spiritual energy that had gathered here.
"It seems like a good thing," Hu Lizhong immediately said excitedly, looking at Yang Fei.
Yang Fei glanced at him and nodded, "Indeed, it is a good thing. It indicates that the effect of the Gathering Spirit Array far exceeds expectations."
"So, do we just need to find a new piece of jade to replace the Array Eye?" Hu Lizhong asked curiously.
Yang Fei slowly nodded, "In theory, that’s the case, but with the current density of spiritual energy here, ordinary jade cannot withstand such tremendous pressure."
Hu Lizhong immediately said, "We have Fusang Wood. The minister sent something last time and said it was Fusang Wood."
Yang Fei hummed in response, seemingly asking casually, "Old Hu, have you been staying here all these days? Don’t you find it too boring?"
Hu Lizhong laughed heartily, "No, no. How could I be bored? Hahaha, I enjoy staying at this place. Brother Yang, please don’t replace me in this excellent assignment."
Yang Fei smiled faintly, "If you like it, then just keep at it. I was just worried you might be too bored."
"Not at all. The spiritual energy is abundant here. Even without cultivation, staying here is comparable to the hard cultivation I did outside before. Brother Yang, haven’t you noticed? My Innate Realm is now extremely stable and solid, and there are signs of reaching the Mid-Stage of the Innate Realm soon."
Upon hearing this, Yang Fei observed him carefully for a while and smiled, "That’s indeed the case, congratulations."
Hu Lizhong immediately expressed his gratitude, "All of this is thanks to Brother Yang’s support. Without you, where would I, Hu Lizhong, be today?"
"Old Hu, you are too polite. It was nothing but a small effort on my part; everything is the result of your own hard work," Yang Fei waved his hand dismissively.
But Hu Lizhong’s expression changed, and he quickly said, "I know the effort that Brother Yang put in to help me advance to the Innate Realm, for me it’s like being reborn, and I’m truly grateful."
Yang Fei chuckled and said, "Alright, let’s not bring this up again. I’ll find a way to repair the Array Eye. Having you here gives me peace of mind."
Hu Lizhong immediately promised, "Rest assured, Brother Yang, as long as I, Old Hu, am still breathing, nothing will go wrong here."
Yang Fei looked at him and while making some idle chit-chat, he used the Secret Transmission method to communicate with Hu Lizhong, "Old Hu, other than you, has anyone else visited this place during this time?"
Hu Lizhong was slightly shocked, but he reacted quickly, not showing any odd expressions. While chatting with Yang Fei, he used Secret Transmission and his cultivation to communicate, "Do you mean, Brother Yang, that you suspect someone came here and sabotaged the Array Eye?"
Yang Fei did not answer but pretended to observe the Array Eye Foundation Stone carefully.
Hu Lizhong also leaned in to pretend to observe, continuing to communicate through Secret Transmission, "I’ve been presiding over this place all along, controlling the fire in the reactor, and even personally handling the addition of the Genetic Fluid and the retrieval of the products. Minister Qin trusts me greatly and has given me this hefty responsibility. I am very grateful and have been cautious, without ever making a mistake."
Yang Fei silently nodded and whispered, "Have you not gone out at all during this long time? Surely the minister hasn’t been watching this place at all times, right?"
After thinking for a bit, Hu Lizhong replied, "Minister Qin attaches great importance to this place and spends a considerable amount of time here. Also, I’ve gone out seven times during this period, but I’ve never gone far; the farthest was just to the toilet nearby."
At the end, Hu Lizhong added, "Do you suspect that someone came in and meddled with something, Brother Yang? That shouldn’t be possible. Every time I leave, it’s only for a brief period, and Minister Qin herself has instructed that one can’t enter here without special permission."
There was one thing he didn’t say out loud.
With his current Cultivation Realm at the Innate level, Hu Lizhong believed it was impossible for someone to enter without him noticing.
Even if he had gone next door to use the toilet or take a shower, if someone appeared in the center of the Array Eye, he would be able to sense it.
"Don’t be nervous, and don’t overthink it. I’m just expressing my suspicion and hypothesis. But you’re right, with such defense in place, it’s impossible for anyone to come in and tamper." Yang Fei reassured Hu Lizhong.
Hu Lizhong breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Fei, however, became even more convinced that someone had been inside, tampered with the Array Eye Jade, and damaged several runes on the surface of the jade, which led to the entire jade shattering.
The person was an expert in Rune Arrays, and by slightly altering the existing runes, they caused the effect of the entire Array Eye Jade to be stronger than before.
It was precisely because the Gathering Spirit effect was stronger that it led to a surge in the spiritual energy within the entire Gathering Spirit Array, which the Array Eye Jade could not withstand and thus cracked.
Being able to come and go here meant that the person had assumed the identity of a member of the Military Department.
And to be able to tamper with the runes on the jade without being detected while Hu Lizhong was briefly away, this person was not only profound in the Rune Tao, but it was also likely their cultivation realm was terrifying.
Hidden Sect.
Yang Fei felt that only the Hidden Sect could possibly have such an expert.
"Brother Yang, how is it, is there a way to repair it?" Hu Lizhong asked.
Yang Fei pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Repairing it is not difficult. If there really is Fusang Wood, not only can the Array Eye be repaired, but the entire Gathering Spirit Array can be made stronger and cover a wider range."
Hu Lizhong slapped his forehead, saying, "Look at my memory. Right, Minister Qin had someone send over a wooden box last time, saying that it contained Fusang Wood. Wait a moment, I’ll go get it. That thing is just stored in the next room."
Yang Fei nodded his agreement.
After Hu Lizhong left, a rapid stream of thoughts flowed through Yang Fei’s mind.
What was the intruder’s purpose in tampering with the Array Eye Jade?
Was it to lure him here?
Did they want to witness him resetting the Array Eye firsthand?
With this in mind, he activated his Divine Thought, checking the room once more.
He could confirm there were no surveillance devices installed.
With his current level of cultivation, as long as there was surveillance, he would have some kind of mystical sense and would be able to detect someone watching him.
He had been attentively perceptive since entering the place and had not detected any surveillance.
If the person couldn’t come here to see him arrange the Array Eye with their own eyes, what then was their purpose in destroying the previous Array Eye?
As he was thinking this, Hu Lizhong returned with a long, narrow wooden box in his hands.
Yang Fei’s eyelids twitched, his gaze falling on the wooden box.
He keenly sensed that there were Rune Formations on this wooden box.
He stirred his Divine Thought, attempting to peer through the wooden box to see what exactly was inside, but his consciousness was blocked by the box, unable to probe at all.
"Is this the Fusang Wood?" Yang Fei asked Hu Lizhong.
Hu Lizhong replied, "Not sure. Minister Qin said it was acquired by a Senior Duanmu at a great cost, and called it Fusang Wood. But whether it is the kind of Fusang Wood you need, you’ll have to verify it yourself since nobody has been able to open this wooden box."
As he spoke, Hu Lizhong was still full of amazed admiration, "If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that such mysterious methods as Rune Formations could exist in this world. A small wooden box that has stumped so many equipment masters of the Divine Continent, it’s really amazing."