0137 From One, Infer Ten

Squads returned one after another, and the data was gradually compiled at the Thousand Lion Bridge pavilion.

Bai Guo was the closest, yet he was not the first to return. Neither Gan Fuxing nor Jiang Feng found this surprising; in fact, Jiang Feng looked up and smiled at Gan Fuxing, saying, "It seems I truly underestimated him."

Gan Fuxing stroked his beard and laughed, "I still have a keen eye for choosing disciples."

Jiang Feng smiled again, and the two lowered their heads to return to the intense work of data compilation and analysis.

A long time later, after the other eleven squads had all returned, Bai Guo finally arrived late, accompanied by those two individuals. He kept a straight face as he handed a stack of papers to Gan Fuxing. Gan Fuxing raised his eyebrows and remarked, "This is very meticulous work!"

He passed it to Jiang Feng. Upon looking, Jiang Feng saw elegant and neat handwriting arranged in clear, orderly columns. Occasionally, fine diagrams were drawn in the margins to provide an intuitive explanation of the situation.

In terms of this data alone, it ranked first among the twelve squads!

Jiang Feng praised, "Beautifully done!"

Bai Guo gave a soft "hmph" and asked, "Do you want to double-check it?"

Jiang Feng stared at the data for a while before actually looking up and saying, "Well, take a look at this entry—is there perhaps an issue here?"

Bai Guo’s eyes widened, and he was about to flare up. But for some reason, he suppressed his anger and leaned in reluctantly. Jiang Feng pointed at several figures above and below it. "Look at these numbers; they are supposed to change in sequence. But this one clearly doesn't follow the pattern..."

Bai Guo frowned, pondering for a long time before turning away and saying, "I’ll go check again!"

With that, he walked out of the Thousand Lion Bridge without looking back and hurried toward the direction of his previous survey!

Jiang Feng, not expecting him to be so impulsive, stared at his retreating figure in a daze. After a long while, he chuckled bitterly, "Master Gan, your disciple's personality is... quite endearing!"

"Endearing?" Gan Fuxing suddenly smiled with hidden meaning.

By the end of the day, the data was fully compiled. Jiang Feng and Gan Fuxing discussed the details with the leader of each squad to confirm the findings.

The Thousand Lion Bridge pavilion was brightly lit. Neither the old man nor the young man had any intention of resting; they were prepared to continue working through the night.

Gan Fuxing was a Third-Line Treasure Crafter, and his attainments in crafting far exceeded those of Jiang Feng, who had only recently started. Therefore, this crafting project was undoubtedly led by him.

At first, Gan Fuxing and Jiang Feng discussed conceptual ideas, with Gan Fuxing relying more on Jiang Feng to spark his inspiration.

Before long, Jiang Feng produced a document and handed it to him. Gan Fuxing was stunned at first glance. Bai Guo, who was helping nearby, took one look and was also rendered speechless.

It was a thick stack of paper filled with data and diagrams. In terms of both richness and precision, it far surpassed Bai Guo's report!

This was the complete data on all twelve demon caves in Taicang City, along with the analysis and conclusions drawn from them. The conclusions clearly indicated that these demon caves were indeed connected, even providing the methods of their connection and several fixed resonant frequencies.

With this information, Gan Fuxing’s work would be far more than twice as effective!

Gan Fuxing looked at the contents of the pages for a long time before asking, "Did you do this?"

Jiang Feng nodded. "I have been crafting treasures near the demon caves during this time. While learning to sense and control Bright Power, I was also constantly sensing the presence of demonic energy. I simply recorded them."

Bai Guo finally realized the truth. A treasure crafter’s senses and control reach their peak while crafting. It was not surprising that he could be that sensitive while working beside the demon caves.

However, crafting treasures near a demon cave was extremely difficult in itself. The demonic energy was dense, and the Bright Power was faint; the level of skill required to distinguish the minuscule Bright Power from the thick demonic miasma and channel it into a treasure was unimaginable.

Moreover, Jiang Feng hadn't just made one or two; he had crafted over seven hundred in succession! That meant he had kept himself in that state the entire time!

At this moment, the feelings in Bai Guo’s heart became even more complex. He stared at the stack of papers and gave a soft "hmph," but the tone was entirely different from before.

Gan Fuxing flipped through the materials and mused, "I heard you only visited three of the demon caves?"

Jiang Feng nodded.

Gan Fuxing asked, "But there are twelve in total here."

Jiang Feng smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, the top three are the ones I sensed and surveyed myself. The remaining nine were calculated based on the commonalities of those three."

"Calculated?!"

Gan Fuxing was shocked. "How did you calculate them?"

In truth, this work had been performed autonomously by the Heavenly Mystery Demon Cube while he was in the dungeon. However, Jiang Feng had observed the entire process and seen exactly how the cube worked. When he explained it, Gan Fuxing was left completely speechless.

Jiang Feng said, "I have just compared them, and there is no significant discrepancy between my calculated data and what the squads brought back. In other words, the connection between the demon caves is indeed real."

Gan Fuxing tapped the papers in his hand and sighed, "You kid, you are simply terrifying. The younger generation is truly formidable!"

He looked up at Jiang Feng and said, "I almost envy Old Fang. In the future..."

He did not continue. After taking a deep breath, he commanded, "Come, you handle this part!"

Jiang Feng smiled and said clearly, "Yes!"

...

Two days later, a wild laugh erupted from the Thousand Lion Bridge pavilion: "Hahahaha, it’s finished!"

Hua Su had been keeping an eye on this place for the past two days. Upon hearing the news, he immediately took to the air and flew straight over.

He landed outside the pavilion with a thud and strode inside, asking, "Is it done?!"

As soon as he entered, he was so startled he took a step back.

The entire pavilion was submerged in paper. Every sheet was covered in ink, as if countless black flowers had bloomed on a white grassland. Ink lines extended everywhere, finally converging on the stone table.

Only the area around the table was slightly clean, where a large scroll lay open. A projection formed above the scroll, showing a precise, miniature version of Taicang City!

It looked like an exquisite and simple dome covering the city. Twelve golden flowers bloomed on the dome, each one in constant motion, alternately expanding outward and contracting inward.

Hua Su stared at the projection with wide eyes, asking in astonishment, "Is this the Demon-Sealing Grand Array?"

Gan Fuxing stroked his beard, his wrinkles blooming like a chrysanthemum. "That’s right, the Treasure Atlas has displayed it, which means it can definitely be activated!"

Hua Su was overjoyed. "Then what should we do next?"

Gan Fuxing pointed at the array. "This formation requires three Mind-Bright Martial Sects and ninety-nine Body-Bright Martial Venerables. Can you gather that many people?"

Finding three Mind-Bright Martial Sects was, of course, no problem; the difficulty lay in the latter requirement.

Hua Su calculated in his heart and nodded. "No problem at all!"

Jiang Feng added from the side, "These one hundred and two people have specific requirements and need to train together. Additionally, we need some auxiliary tools. Thirty-six Cultivation-Grade treasures in total..."

He glanced at Bai Guo and said, "Together with the masters of Taicang City, we each need to craft three, and we must finish within these three days."

Bai Guo had been helping them for the past few days and remembered the key aspects of the Demon-Sealing Grand Array. He huffed, "Simple!"

Jiang Feng smiled and continued, "There are some materials inside that need to be prepared on short notice..."

Hua Su said without hesitation, "No problem, just name them, and I will go prepare them!"

Having an Intent-Bright Martial Emperor personally gather materials for Cultivation-Grade treasures was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken. How many low-level treasure crafters could receive such treatment? Even Bai Guo couldn't help but show a hint of excitement upon hearing this.

Before long, everything was arranged.

Lu Bainian took charge of organizing the veterans and leading their training.

Fortunately, one of the Changchuan River demon caves had been sealed by Ku Zhan. The remaining caves were affected; they were like wounded beasts, focusing all their energy on healing. The concentration of demonic energy increased, but the number of demons appearing within them had decreased.

Because of this, the soldiers responsible for guarding the caves were much less pressured and were able to spare time for training.

Although Hua Su was immensely powerful, he knew nothing about crafting treasures. Gan Fuxing hesitated for a moment before deciding to accompany him. With two experts going together, they could finish quickly and return sooner.

Gan Fuxing assigned Jiang Feng to lead the training of the Taicang City treasure crafters, teaching them how to craft the Cultivation-Grade treasures needed for the array, with Bai Guo assisting him.

Bai Guo was a bit reluctant, but he agreed nonetheless.

He was diligent about things he had agreed to. That day, with Jiang Feng leading and him assisting, they quickly helped all the treasure crafters understand their tasks, and they began working on the available materials.

Jiang Feng glanced at him and smiled, "Thanks!"

Bai Guo huffed, "Since this is what the teacher ordered, of course I will get it done!"

Jiang Feng smiled and was about to speak when he suddenly looked up, as if he had heard something.

He realized with a jolt that, without him noticing, the entire day had passed.

Bai Guo didn't notice his strange behavior and frowned, "Why hasn't the teacher returned yet..."

The materials needed for the Demon-Sealing Grand Array had to be fresh and structurally intact. Due to the urgency, Gan Fuxing had specifically chosen materials that were not rare. With a powerhouse like Hua Su nearby, theoretically, it shouldn't have taken this long. Why was it already dark, and they still hadn't returned?

Jiang Feng seemed not to hear him. He stared in a certain direction for a while before standing up and saying, "I’m going for a walk."

It was late at night on the third day. The moonlight shone on the Changchuan River, casting rippling reflections. The surroundings were perfectly quiet. For these past three days, the Thousand Lion River had enjoyed a rare moment of peace.

Bai Guo assumed he was tired after a long day and wanted to clear his head, so he nodded casually. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong.

The surrounding air felt as if it were filled with some kind of substance—thick and sticky, making him feel very uncomfortable.

He suddenly realized something and had an epiphany. "That's right, it's been three days! The demon caves are about to reopen!" He looked at Jiang Feng nervously and said, "But the teacher and the others haven't returned yet!"