ATEG Chapter 77

Bang!

The first few cultivators to approach crashed into the protective array without any hesitation.

It was a concealed water ripple, starting three zhang outside the Huai River Lord’s Mansion, firmly protecting the entire water mansion within. This protective array was formless and immaterial, with no rebound force. Instead, it generated a strange whirlpool-like suction that caused the several cultivators who had crashed into it and were momentarily dazed to stop comically upon the array.

A small fish that hadn’t yet gained intelligence swam leisurely past with the current, its body entering the protective array’s range without any obstruction.

A cultivator nearby suddenly reached out, grabbed the fish’s tail that had not yet entered the protective array’s range, forcibly pulled it out, and crushed it into pulp with one grip. Only then did he withdraw from the array’s suction with a gloomy expression.

Mocking and contemptuous sounds came from not far away. Though the voices were small, they still fell clearly upon the cultivator’s ears.

“How could a place like the Huai River Lord’s Mansion not have a protective array? Only an idiot would charge straight at it!”

The face of the cultivator who had just broken free became even more sinister. Of course he knew the Huai River Lord’s Mansion must have a protective array, but in the instant the water mansion manifested, he saw the water current touching the mansion’s gates and walls without any obstruction, and the water plants, fish, and shrimp within three inches were all fine.

For this reason, he judged that the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s protective array might not be the kind deployed outside the mansion, but rather embedded within the gates, walls, bricks, and tiles—or possibly only triggered after entering the mansion.

In such circumstances, charging forward first to gain an advantage wasn’t incomprehensible. If he had guessed correctly and succeeded, he would be the object of everyone’s envy. Unfortunately, he had guessed wrong.

No one paid attention to these fellows. They either remained outside the array testing it, or discussed the array’s situation with each other.

“It seems this protective array only blocks us cultivators and doesn’t obstruct ordinary living creatures,” someone said.

“If that’s the case, we can try controlling ordinary water beasts to go in and make contact, see if we can get the door open,” another said.

This method probably wouldn’t work. If the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s protective array was so easily broken, then the Huai Water Divine Lord’s reputation would be completely undeserved.

However, there was no harm in trying. If they could discover something through testing, all the better; if not, there was no loss.

Before long, a cultivator skilled in controlling water beasts had already caught a large fish from the river and made it approach the Huai River Lord’s Mansion. The large fish indeed wasn’t obstructed by the protective array, but once it entered within three zhang of the water mansion, the cultivator frowned. “No good. After entering the range, I lost control of it.”

“This protective array not only blocks cultivators but also shields techniques. It seems this method won’t reveal anything…”

“Not necessarily. I have an idea—this method might still be useful,” someone else said.

“What method?” the others asked.

“Controlling common beasts doesn’t necessarily require techniques. We just need to find water beasts that have gained spiritual intelligence or naturally possess a certain degree of wisdom…” After this person explained their plan, after a while, someone caught a mother otter with her pup.

Otters can’t dive for very long. This person used a water-repelling technique to trap them inside, holding the mother otter and the small otter separately. The mother otter struggled and bit desperately, trying to snatch back her child, but for a cultivator, this little bit of force couldn’t even break the skin.

After returning, he impatiently threw the mother otter to the beast-controlling cultivator. “This stupid creature struggled terribly!”

The beast-controlling cultivator grabbed the mother otter and forcibly stuffed several pills into its mouth, saying, “If you’d found a smarter one with spiritual intelligence, wouldn’t it have no choice but to obey?”

“In such a short time, being able to find one with a pup was already not easy,” that person said.

The beast-controlling cultivator said nothing more. He was concentrating his energy to help the mother otter dissolve the medicinal power. After a while, the mother otter began to struggle painfully, and her body size began to increase at a visibly rapid rate. These pills weren’t anything good—they contained many impurities and fierce medicinal power that would damage a spirit beast’s foundation. Nevertheless, this otter was just a common beast caught at random. That the medicine could forcibly open some spiritual intelligence and enhance its strength was already sufficient.

After the medicinal power was fully dissolved, the mother otter’s body had grown twice as large, and her eyes appeared much more intelligent.

“Listen,” the beast-controlling cultivator said directly to the mother otter through divine consciousness. “I want you to do something for me. If you do it well, I’ll take you and your pup under my command. In the future, you won’t have to suffer from hunger or natural enemies, and your lifespan will even increase. If you don’t do well, your pup will lose its life.”

Only after seeing the mother otter nod did the beast-controlling cultivator continue to explain what he wanted her to do.

The commotion here had already attracted others’ attention. A demonic cultivator who found it distasteful spat and said, “Can’t do it yourself, so you use a pup to force the mother beast—what trash!”

“Since you don’t want to waste magical power for nothing, why bother with verbal disputes? Haven’t you demonic cultivators eaten wild beasts before?”

The two sides argued for a few exchanges, then both forcibly suppressed their anger. The place was currently a chaotic mix—no one wanted a real fight to break out. If someone got injured, wouldn’t that just benefit others?

Though distasteful, to that demonic cultivator, these two otters were indeed just wild beasts. He wouldn’t risk danger over this.

The beast-controlling cultivator had already finished instructing the mother otter, repeatedly confirming that this mother beast that had just gained intelligence truly understood his meaning.

The mother otter looked tearfully at her pup once, then swam toward the Huai River Lord’s Mansion.

Several minutes later, the mother otter crossed the protective array’s position without obstruction. The beast-controlling cultivator breathed a slight sigh of relief. The pills he had force-fed the mother beast contained spiritual energy—otherwise they couldn’t have taken effect so quickly. This spiritual energy dispersed within the mother beast’s body and hadn’t been completely absorbed yet. Though he hadn’t taught the mother otter cultivation methods, he couldn’t be certain whether this mother otter would be blocked by the protective array as if she were a cultivator.

The mother otter swam toward the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s main gate. Though the cultivators blocked outside the array still hadn’t stopped their various tests of the protective array, they all divided some divine consciousness to pay attention to this mother otter.

The mother otter swam to the main gate, her hind paws stepped onto the stone steps, and her two thick front paws rested on the door, pushing hard.

No reaction whatsoever.

The mother otter tried several more times with force, but there was still no movement. She stopped pushing at the door and began to feel and test bit by bit along the water mansion’s perimeter. But the water mansion was too large—it wasn’t something she could circle in a short time. When her strength was nearly exhausted, she would swim out, catch her breath in the beast-controlling cultivator’s water-repelling technique, then swim back in to continue testing.

The other cultivators, seeing that this mother otter hadn’t discovered anything, also withdrew most of their attention, leaving only a bit of divine consciousness to pay attention while continuing to study and attempt to find the protective array’s weakness through various means, whether by techniques or array disks.

However, the mother otter had already swum back and forth countless times, and these cultivators still hadn’t made any progress.

Some cultivators began to grow anxious. “Can this protective array even be broken?”

This was the Huai River Lord’s Mansion. Though the Huai River Divine Lord had committed an offense in the Divine Court and had been imprisoned for over two thousand four hundred years, his subordinate forces long since mostly dispersed, who knew if he might have three to five close friends currently rushing here? If they dragged this out too long… things would become hard to predict…

Only if they opened the water mansion in time, divided the contents, then scattered and hid separately could they be considered safe. With so many of them, even the most formidable cultivator couldn’t find them all one by one—at most they’d find a few unlucky ones who hadn’t hidden well enough to vent their anger on.

As for the Huai Water Divine Lord… he had flooded Yong City and killed forty thousand residents, receiving a thirty thousand year imprisonment sentence. By the time he got out, this matter would long be beyond pursuit.

“The Huai River Lord’s Mansion wasn’t built for charity—of course this protective array isn’t easy to break,” someone shouted loudly. “The best preservation method for the Huai River Lord’s Mansion is to continue hiding and not let anyone discover it. But it manifested anyway! This means the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s array has a problem and can no longer maintain concealment! This array must have a weakness—we just haven’t discovered it yet!”

“Our most important task currently is how to break open this protective array, not to fight among ourselves. This old man proposes that everyone work together to break the protective array first. Whoever breaks it can take five percent of the mansion’s stored treasures, and for the rest, everyone can compete based on their own abilities!”

Five percent didn’t sound like much, but this was the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s storehouse. With over a hundred cultivators here, five percent was already quite generous. But if they couldn’t break the protective array, no matter how good the mansion’s storehouse was, they could only look on with envy.

Therefore, though the cultivators present harbored various schemes, in the end they all agreed to this proposal.

As time passed, cultivators skilled in arrays, in breaking prohibitions, and so on all began discussing and studying together, seemingly making some progress.

The beast-controlling cultivator grew increasingly anxious. Beast control was his only specialty, but spirit beasts couldn’t enter, and common beasts forcibly controlled to enter would lose connection when blocked by the protective array. Relying solely on this stupid creature that had been forcibly enhanced, even if it could approach the Huai River Lord’s Mansion, even if there really were clues, this stupid creature wouldn’t be able to recognize them and would just miss them.

The small otter had been held by a stranger the whole time. Unable to touch its mother for a long while and having nothing to eat, though frightened, it gradually couldn’t help but cry out, calling softly for its mother.

Seeing the cold severity in the beast-controlling cultivator’s eyes, the mother otter dared not rest much. But hearing the small otter’s cries, she couldn’t help but look toward the beast-controlling cultivator, pointing at the small otter with pleading eyes.

Though the beast-controlling cultivator’s voice carried a chill, he spoke to the cultivator holding the small otter. “Let her hold it.”

That person tossed the small otter into the water-repelling technique’s range where the mother otter was, looking at the beast-controlling cultivator’s cold expression with curiosity, “I thought you wouldn’t agree.”

“Because I understand how to control beasts,” the beast-controlling cultivator said flatly. He casually caught several fresh fish and threw them to the mother and small otter.

Though the mother otter’s appearance had changed completely, probably due to the bond between mother and child, the small otter was initially somewhat fearful but soon recognized the mother otter and grew close to her. However, though very hungry, it still didn’t dare take the fish the cultivator had thrown in.

The mother otter took the fish to feed the small otter, then heard the beast-controlling cultivator say, “Nearly every brick, tile, door, and wall of the Huai River Lord’s Mansion has been checked, and nothing has been discovered.”

The mother otter looked up at the beast-controlling cultivator, hope in her eyes. She didn’t expect any lifespan increase—she just wanted to leave here with her child.

But the beast-controlling cultivator reached out and grabbed the small otter, throwing it back to the other cultivator. Looking at the mother otter, his divine consciousness connected to her brain, his gaze still cold and severe.

The mother otter stared at him blankly. After a moment, she seemed to understand something. She pointed at the small otter, made a swimming gesture, then pressed her paws together and bowed to the beast-controlling cultivator before spreading her front paws open.

The beast-controlling cultivator took out a bottle of pills, pouring three into the mother otter’s palm.

The mother otter swallowed all three pills in one gulp, and her body suddenly swelled up. She let out a sorrowful cry and charged fiercely toward the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s main gate.

At the moment of hitting the gate, she shattered with a bang into a ground full of blood and flesh, which was then quickly dispersed by the water current.

“What are you doing?” Other cultivators looked at the pinkish water current with considerable distaste. “Such filth…”

“Water gods have always been fierce and violent,” the beast-controlling cultivator said expressionlessly. “Countless numbers enjoy living sacrifices, and among those not under the Divine Court’s jurisdiction, many have flooded cities in anger without a second thought. Since this Huai River Divine Lord also doesn’t take flooding cities seriously, who’s to say he might not enjoy blood sacrifices? I’m just trying it—there’s no loss.”

Other cultivators cast displeased and disgusted looks, but the beast-controlling cultivator paid no attention. When they were waiting on shore for the Huai River Lord’s Mansion to manifest, hadn’t there been plenty of underhanded dealings? They were all people who would stop at nothing—now what were they pretending to be, saints?

Whether it was the other array-breaking attempts that took effect, or the beast-controlling cultivator’s blood sacrifice that had results, the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s protective array suddenly changed. The originally concealed protective array revealed itself, like rippling waves of water encircling the water mansion.

The mother otter was already dead, and her pup was useless now. The cultivator holding the small otter casually threw it out and approached the protective array. He had no need to kill this little thing, but also couldn’t be bothered to send it back to where he’d originally caught it.

But this was the bottom of the Huai Water.

The small otter had just been thrown out of the water-repelling technique’s protective range when it choked on water. It struggled in panic in the water. No one rescued it, and no one cared about it. All the cultivators’ attention had been drawn to the changing protective array.

In the river bottom mud that no one noticed, a withered hand suddenly reached out, placed the small otter inside a bubble, and pulled it down to disappear.

…

After another long while, the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s protective array wavered more and more violently, finally about to break.

A cultivator proficient in arrays breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Good, the array has been broken down to about this point. What remains is just to break it by force. The weak point is here. Anyone with good control? Don’t use too much force—if we trigger other changes in the water mansion, it’ll be hard to handle. This array will self-repair. Those capable, act quickly.”

Several cultivators with relatively refined magical power control were already prepared.

The cultivator proficient in arrays cautioned. “Water is ever-changing, and this array will change itself. There aren’t many opportunities—if you miss this one, we’ll have to start over. Be careful.”

The several cultivators briefly coordinated with each other, and several well-coordinated attack streams shot toward the protective array’s weak point.

The protective array was about to shatter, and the Huai River Lord’s Mansion within was now close at hand. Just as those streams of light that had attracted all the cultivators’ attention were about to hit the protective array, they were suddenly blocked by a turtle-shell barrier!

“Who’s playing tricks?!” “Who is it? Get out here!” Several angry shouts rang out simultaneously.

An old man slowly emerged from the mud and sand within the turtle-shell barrier, saying slowly, “Coming out, coming out.”

“So it’s an old turtle!” someone sneered. “Don’t tell me greed has blinded you and you want to monopolize the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s treasury—you’d better see if you can withstand us!”

Someone enticed, “Your strength is not bad—why provoke everyone’s anger like this? Who knows if there aren’t other arrangements inside the Huai River Lord’s Mansion that you can handle alone? Better to join us. With your strength, you’ll surely get a share of the mansion’s treasury.”

Someone said nothing and had already begun fiercely attacking the newly appeared turtle-shell barrier.

But the old man only sat cross-legged within the barrier, squinting as he watched the Huai River Lord’s Mansion’s protective array slowly repair. “This old man never thought he could hold you off for long. As long as I hold out until this protective array repairs completely, and hold you off another ten days to half a month, perhaps others who support the Divine Lord will arrive?”

The water flowed and the protective array began to change. The long effort they’d invested was about to go to waste. Someone cried out in shock and fury. “I see you don’t want to live!”

The old man squinted and smiled, his hunched back leaning against the protective array. In the array’s water ripples, he glimpsed the Divine Lord of bygone years.

“This old man has lived long enough,” he said.

Though his turtle shell was sturdy, under the siege of so many cultivators, it couldn’t hold for long. Little Loach wanted him to escape, but he couldn’t get away.

He had already… lived long enough.