Chapter 226: Taking Advantage

Lin Dong was furrowed in thought, trying to figure out how to separate the other party’s five elders. Meanwhile, Xiao Tianchi’s expression was also unpredictable, clearly considering a way out.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Tianchi suddenly turned to his second disciple, Xiao Munan, and ordered, “Enter the spirit array and summon the Grand Elder and the others back.”
Xiao Munan was stunned. “Without the Grand Elder and the others to support it, the spirit array will likely be broken within a few hours.”
Xiao Tianchi shook his head and glanced at Tianhao beside him, saying firmly, “It’s been over half a month with no sect coming to seek help. They must be too afraid of the power of the Ningji Sect to approach. Waiting any longer is pointless; we must find a way to break through.”
Xiao Munan took a deep breath and turned to leave, but was called back by Lin Dong, “Wait!”
Xiao Munan turned back, puzzled, and looked at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong hesitated for a moment before looking at Xiao Tianchi and saying, “Perhaps, I have a way!”
“Master Lin has a solution?” Xiao Tianchi was overjoyed. He knew very well how unpredictable Lin Dong could be. He hurriedly urged, “Master Lin, please tell us—what’s the plan?”
“I’m thinking about it!”
Lin Dong’s reply left Xiao Tianchi at a loss, and the joy on Xiao Munan’s face and the others’ faces quickly faded.
“Wait, give me some more time.”
As Lin Dong tapped his head in deep thought, a delicate and soft touch came from the back of his hand.
Turning his head, he saw Yun Lan standing silently, as if nothing had happened.
Was Yun Lan taking advantage of him secretly?
Lin Dong was amused by his own thought. Xiao Tianchi thought he had come up with a good idea and pressed, “Master Lin, do you have an idea?”
“Well…” Lin Dong glanced at Yun Lan again, felt a spark in his heart, and finally understood what she meant.
Without hesitation, Lin Dong said, “Master Xiao, from which direction did the five elders of the Ningji Sect break through the array?”
Xiao Tianchi pointed to the southeast corner. “It’s not certain. Although they’re not familiar with the spirit array and rely solely on their strength, they’re afraid we might set up advanced arrays along the way, so they keep wavering between directions, moving back and forth among about four spirit array locations.”
Lin Dong nodded slightly and asked further, “What kind of spirit arrays are there in each of those four locations, especially in the outermost layer?”
“All of them are fourth-tier Wind and Sand Arrays!” Xiao Tianchi replied.
Lin Dong turned to look at Yun Lan.
After a brief pause, Yun Lan nodded and said, “I need twenty helpers at the Mental State stage, preferably those who are cautious. Additionally, I need at least four hundred seventh-tier spirit stones—more is better.”
“Miss, what do you mean by this…” Xiao Tianchi was confused.

“By modifying the sandstorm arrays and gathering these materials,” Yun Lan said calmly, “I should be able to transform all four sandstorm arrays into remnants of Grade 7 Illusory Sand Arrays within a day.”
“Grade 7 spiritual arrays?” Everyone stared at Yun Lan in shock, finding it hard to believe such a claim.
Yun Lan nodded.
“This…” Xiao Tianchi hesitated, unsure whether to trust Yun Lan. He had never heard of transforming one spiritual array into another, let alone turning a Grade 4 array into a Grade 7 one—even if it was a remnant. What’s more, producing four of them in just one day was utterly unbelievable. Add to that Yun Lan’s apparent age…
Every aspect of it was simply inconceivable.
Yun Lan remained silent. If it were a worldly conflict, she would surely step in to help. But as the old man killed inside the Gu Huan Sect had said, sect disciples were not allowed to interfere in other sects’ disputes without reason, as it violated sect rules—especially revealing which sect they belonged to, as this could easily bring disaster to their own sect.
No matter the strength of these two sects, over ten or a hundred years, a genius might emerge, posing an unknown threat to their own sect.
If not for Lin Dong, Yun Lan would never have gotten involved. Since Xiao Tianchi was skeptical, she saw no need to explain further. If she really wanted to take Lin Dong and Tian Hao away, she was confident she could protect them as they left.
Over by the side, Lin Dong, seeing that Yun Lan refused to explain, hesitated for a moment before choosing silence.
Xiao Tianchi gazed at Yun Lan’s face for a while but couldn’t discern any expression behind her veil. He turned to Lin Dong in search of confirmation, only to receive no reply either.
Since Shopkeeper Lin said there was a solution, and that solution was the girl beside him, given his remarkable abilities, it should be genuine.
With a quick thought, Xiao Tianchi, being a shrewd man, realized instantly that Lin Dong didn’t want to force Yun Lan. As for Yun Lan not providing further explanations or proving her strength, there were only two reasons: pride and concern as a sect disciple.
While everyone was still in disbelief at Yun Lan’s ability to create Grade 7 spiritual arrays, Xiao Tianchi’s aged face finally showed a smile he hadn’t worn in days. He bowed to Yun Lan respectfully and said, “Thank you, young lady, for saving my Gu Huan Sect. Should you ever need anything in the future, the Gu Huan Sect is willing to sacrifice everything for you.”
Yun Lan nodded silently.
“Young lady, we only have a dozen or so Grade 7 temporary arrays in the Gu Huan Sect,” Xiao Tianchi asked. “I was wondering if lower-grade spiritual stones could be used as substitutes?”

“Which type of spirit stones above the third rank do you have in the largest quantity? How many?” Yun Lan asked.
“Third-rank spirit stones are the most, but in terms of the spiritual energy they contain, fourth-rank spirit stones are the most,” Xiao Tianchi replied. “There are roughly two thousand of them.”
Yun Lan frowned slightly. Two thousand fourth-rank spirit stones contained only as much spiritual energy as one hundred or one hundred thirty to one hundred forty seventh-rank spirit stones.
After pondering for a moment, Yun Lan said slowly, “Use the fourth-rank spirit stones to select the right people as quickly as possible.”
“Yes!”
Xiao Tianchi bowed respectfully and immediately assigned the task.
In terms of strength, the strongest person in the Gu Huan Sect was the Grand Elder Huo Yuan. But in terms of prestige, although Xiao Tianchi had only been in charge of the Gu Huan Sect for less than two years, his status was far higher than that of most sect leaders. Therefore, despite their disbelief in Yun Lan’s words, they acted without delay.
The disciples responsible for transporting various materials in the sect quickly sorted out the fourth-rank spirit stones, and the more cautious ones were also brought in one by one. In less than half an hour, all of Yun Lan’s requirements were met.
With twenty disciples from the Gu Huan Sect, the group arrived at the final layer of the spirit array. Just as one disciple was about to enter and close the array, Yun Lan stopped him.
“To modify the spirit array, it must be in an active state.”
Xiao Tianchi was astonished. “This Sandstorm Array was set up by a friend I invited from a spirit array sect. According to him, it’s a unique array of their sect, and not a single detail of its mechanism may be revealed. So, we only know how to move freely within it and the changes it undergoes every hour. Altering the array while it’s active might cause unpredictable issues.”
Yun Lan said nothing. With a flash, she entered the spirit array amidst everyone’s shock. Then, she vanished from sight in an instant.
“Shopkeeper Lin, your friend has an extraordinary presence that makes one feel inferior at first glance. I didn’t expect him to be so reckless.” Xiao Tianchi waved his hand and ordered his disciples, “Hurry, go in and close the array.”
Lin Dong could only laugh helplessly and didn’t stop them. As far as he knew, with Yun Lan in control of the fourth-rank array, it wouldn’t last long.
Sure enough, just as the disciple rushed in and was about to reach the array, Yun Lan appeared, dressed in white.
“This…”
Xiao Tianchi swallowed hard. Was this breaking through the array?
The others were even more shocked than Xiao Tianchi. They widened their eyes, unable to believe what they saw. But it seemed to be the truth—otherwise, her sudden disappearance couldn’t be explained. Only by entering the Sandstorm Array could one not distinguish her location from outside.

Among all the members of the Gu Huan Sect, only Tian Hao was slightly better, and only he had a vague understanding of Yun Lan’s true strength.
Yun Lan glanced at the faces of the twenty disciples and said slowly, “I’ve already destroyed the spirit array. So once we enter it, no one is allowed to come within ten meters of me unless I give the order.”
The twenty disciples quickly turned to look at Xiao Tianchi. Those words were terrifying—who knew if a single mistake could cost them their lives?
The ability to destroy a fourth-tier spirit array in an instant was incomprehensible, but there was no doubt about it. Xiao Tianchi gritted his teeth and shouted, “Once inside the array, we’ll follow the girl’s commands. Anyone who disobeys will be considered a traitor to the sect.”
“Yes!” The twenty disciples nodded in unison, feeling anxious.
Yun Lan didn’t turn around but raised her eyes to look at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong was stunned, then forced a wry smile. He knew nothing about that strange spirit array, and no matter how many times he heard about it, he still didn’t understand it. Going in wouldn’t just be a burden!
He turned his head away and glanced at Yun Lan out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that she remained indifferent, Lin Dong helplessly trudged over slowly.
“To transform a spirit array, one needs to understand its patterns. By experiencing it firsthand, one can gain a better understanding,” Yun Lan said calmly.
“Why make someone who likes playing the erhu study the structure of a zither…?” Lin Dong muttered. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he grinned as he grabbed the small hand beside him.
It was smooth and delicate, as soft as silk. With a slight pressure, its gentle warmth made him unable to resist.
Yun Lan turned to glare at Lin Dong.
“I’m scared…”
Lin Dong looked innocent. He didn’t want to take advantage either. In this world, it was a serious matter for a girl to have her hand touched. It could even lead to hanging oneself or refusing to marry anyone but the right person. Even for sect disciples, it wasn’t a trivial matter.
Having not even seen what she looked like, Lin Dong often reminded himself not to act rashly around Yun Lan. But he couldn’t help himself—he lost control accidentally.
Yun Lan was speechless, feeling as if she had brought a wolf into her home.
“Let’s go! If we wait any longer, it’ll be too late,” Lin Dong urged.
Yun Lan nodded helplessly and led Lin Dong slowly into the spirit array, with the twenty disciples of the Gu Huan Sect following closely behind.
Behind them, Tian Hao stared wide-eyed at the two hands stuck together.
“Could it be… I’m going to have a stepmother?”
“A stepmother?” Xiao Tianchi, clearly unaware of anything special about their hands, was puzzled by the question.
“Master,” Tian Hao asked, looking up, “I heard stepmothers are all bad. Is that true?”

“This… it’s not certain either; it depends on the person.” Xiao Tianchi was confused, but he still didn’t forget to teach Tianhao: “Some are indeed very bad, but there are also those better than one’s own mother. What matters most is the other person’s character. So, when dealing with any issue, one must first identify its root cause.”
Tianhao nodded, immediately feeling relieved.