Chapter 376: Heavenly Profound Hidden Secret

After Chief Lu and her group disappeared from view, the cultivators present were filled with excitement. They began communicating using their divine senses.

"I knew a prominent figure would be coming, but I never expected it to be Chief Lu!""Excuse my ignorance, brother, but who exactly is this Chief Lu?""No way, man. Which province are you from that you don't even know the name of our Tactic Array Hall's Chief Array Master?""With Chief Lu's Dao Integration ability, she could scan the entire Spirit Transformation Stream with a single thought, right? Why does she need to inspect it section by section?""You don't understand. She has to put on a show. If she just came and left without carefully examining anything, wouldn't that seem...?""Watch your words, brother!"

Li Fan did not participate in the lively discussion. He merely continued to diligently test the array units as if nothing was amiss. This was because he faintly sensed a colossal divine consciousness constantly sweeping back and forth over the Spirit Transformation Stream.

"They know they have to put on a show, yet they foolishly discuss things with their divine senses right under someone's nose. Do they really think divine sense transmission is absolutely safe?" Li Fan secretly shook his head. He kept his gaze down, focused on his task, and firmly decided not to engage in such suicidal behavior.

After the initial excitement, an order was issued that caused everyone to complain endlessly. Chief Lu would depart in two days. Before then, everyone needed to redouble their efforts to completely finish the construction of the entire Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array. Although the original progress was already quite advanced, the deadline was now forcibly compressed to within two days. The sudden increase in workload had multiplied several times over.

However, this order was directly issued by Dongfang Yao, and its wording was extremely strict. Knowing that Chief Lu was present, no one dared to complain. They could only work like mad. Fortunately for Li Fan, it was merely continuous work without rest, a common occurrence. His expression remained normal, without any change.

To prevent mistakes from rushing, Huangfu Song and Dongfang Yao would also appear from time to time to check on the progress. As for Lu Xichan herself, she had only shown her face that one day and had not appeared before the crowd since. No one knew what she was busy with. However, the immense divine consciousness that Li Fan sensed covering the Spirit Transformation Stream had not left for a single moment. Therefore, he diligently continued his work, not showing any signs of abnormality.

Time flew by as everyone worked selflessly. In a flash, two days had passed. Just as the Heavenly Profound Array Core was about to be installed and the Spirit-Locking Array was on the verge of completion, Chief Lu finally reappeared.

"Let me install this Heavenly Profound Mirror," she requested, surprising everyone. Although unexpected, no one dared to defy Chief Lu's command. Dongfang Yao, with a somewhat nervous expression, handed the red ethereal projection of the Heavenly Profound Array Core to Lu Xichan. In the central core area of the array, under the gaze of countless eyes, Chief Lu placed the Heavenly Profound Mirror. The mirror seemed extremely familiar with her. It hardly needed any manipulation, dutifully finding its precise position and beginning to connect with the surrounding array. The scene was identical to what Li Fan had witnessed outside the Roaring Abyss. Streaks of blue light, using the central array core as a node, continuously expanded outwards.

"Hmm?" Li Fan, however, keenly noticed that the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array here seemed to have a subtle difference compared to the one he had constructed. He showed no unusual expression, but his mind raced. "What's different?" If viewed purely from the perspective of array knowledge, Chief Lu's operation was flawless, without any discernible imperfection. Yet, Li Fan vaguely felt that the same Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array had undergone some peculiar change at a crucial point.

As he quietly watched the Spirit-Locking Array take shape, the sensation of constantly being watched reappeared. Li Fan's heart skipped a beat; he immediately knew where his feeling originated. The moment the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array was completed, the unknown array formed by transparent patterns that had previously enveloped the Spirit Transformation Stream simultaneously vanished without a trace. And the immense divine consciousness that Li Fan had sensed during this period also disappeared. Everything seemed perfectly natural. Even if someone noticed, they would simply assume Chief Lu withdrew her divine ability upon seeing the array completed. But Li Fan did not think so.

A bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind. Whether it was the unknown array's deployment method, identical to the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array's, or its remarkably similar all-seeing surveillance effect, both compelled Li Fan to ponder. "It didn't disappear. It merged? Did the two become one? Or is it simply lying dormant?" Li Fan's gaze remained as calm as usual, but a tempest raged within his heart.

"Is she trying to leave a backdoor for herself within the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array?" As the first Dao Integration Array Master to propose the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array plan, Lu Xichan undoubtedly possessed this capability. But her motive remained inscrutable to Li Fan. "Was it to prevent a potential loss of control of the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array in the future, which is why she did this? Or did she have another purpose?"

"Once the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array becomes widespread, mastering it would mean possessing supreme authority. The Chief Array Master of the Tactic Array Hall is merely an array master. There's still a considerable distance from the true pinnacle of power. Perhaps she could use the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array to achieve this qualitative leap. It might even be possible to glimpse the Immortal Realm."

While Li Fan's thoughts continued to wander, the Heavenly Profound Spirit-Locking Array, now fully formed due to Chief Lu's personal touch, drew thunderous applause from the cultivators within the Spirit Transformation Stream. Lu Xichan, rarely, showed a faint smile. Her expression gentle, she looked down at the cultivators. As her gaze swept over the face of a white-haired old man, her eyes suddenly narrowed. This person, she seemed to have seen him somewhere before? Lu Xichan felt a touch of surprise. He was merely a Golden Core cultivator; he shouldn't have caught her attention.

Her thoughts raced, and memories instantly flooded her mind. Suddenly, it paused on an incident several years ago, when her daughter returned after being missing for some time. Her daughter, Lu Xuejing, due to her blind arrogance, had unfortunately been abducted by Old Man Yufu. Fortunately, a cultivator had later exchanged items he carried for her daughter's return. Her daughter, who had luckily escaped with her life, was about to express her gratitude to that cultivator, but he seemed to be in a hurry and left quickly, so she couldn't. She didn't even know her savior's name, only remembered his face. At the time, her daughter had used Water Mirror Art to describe the cultivator's appearance to her. She had then committed it to memory. This must be him. Yet, only a short time had passed. How had this person become so old?

"Who is that person?" Lu Xichan transmitted her question to Dongfang Yao.

"Just as I thought!" Huangfu Song secretly thought to himself as he saw both Chief Lu and Brother Dongfang look towards Li Fan at the same time.