Though he was delighted, he didn’t let his guard down. The array here hadn’t been completely destroyed, and the upcoming changes would be even more fierce.
Watching the rapidly growing bamboo shoots, Shen Wang felt a sense of danger emerging.
Suddenly, the upright bamboo shoots transformed into venomous snakes, hissing viciously as they lunged at him.
"Wood-Transformed Water!"
Shen Wang noticed the change. The water and wood attributes were close, carrying the mystery of mutual enhancement, instantly boosting the power to a higher level.
This attack was swift and left Shen Wang with little time to react; he could only evade, resulting in bamboo shoots from all directions turning into venomous snakes to encircle and attack him.
He had nowhere to retreat and hastily struck the ground.
Blood-Transforming Palm!
Even the most basic martial arts palm technique, when utilized with Foundation Establishment cultivation, the power wouldn’t be weak.
This Yin Soft Palm Power combined with Wood Attribute Palm Power, within a muffled sound, shattered the ground within a radius of three zhang in an instant.
Immediately, the snakes that reached him felt as if struck at their vital points, suddenly losing strength and collapsing to the ground.
The nearby ground and air began to twist and vanish, the fallen snakes turning into cyan smoke and dispersing. The nearby scene retreated like dispersing mist, converging forward.
A completely different ordinary courtyard appeared. There was no bamboo forest, only a pavilion and a few small trees, with a path leading to a deeper place in the distance.
Within the pavilion, countless wisps of smoke gathered towards the painting floating in the air. It was a picture scroll of the bamboo forest courtyard from earlier, becoming clearer and more realistic with the smoke returning.
However, one could see that a piece of ground in the bamboo forest was shattered, slowly recovering within its distortion.
Shen Wang found it rather stunning that the array he encountered was formed by this painting, making it quite an intriguing treasure.
This was far more exquisite than the array he bought with the array flag; so many arrays were concentrated in one scroll, not to mention convenient to carry, but also quite powerful.
Estimating its value to be very high, he noted it down but didn’t look further, his gaze moving beyond the scroll.
There were two people in the pavilion.
Li Yuanliu, who had retreated earlier, was full of surprise on his face.
And another middle-aged man, pale and somewhat sickly, raised his hand to grab, and the scroll fell into his hand, automatically rolling up.
The man clapped with a smile, "Impressive techniques there, sir. To discern that the foundation of the Bamboo Snake Array was the ground and to ruin it with a single strike, rendering the Bamboo Snake Array powerless.
And your earlier use of the array’s inherent changes to break the array showed great spiritual insight, much more thoughtful than those who only break arrays mechanically."
"Indeed, you are the first Foundation Establishment Cultivator I’ve seen in years to pass the Ten Array Map assessment, which speaks to your high level."
Li Yuanliu sighed, realizing that today he had truly engaged with someone with remarkable array skills, much superior to his own admission.
Shen Wang recognized that this was Elder Zheng Bingzhong, as mentioned by Li Yuanliu, mentally noting the name of this Ten Array Map, and hastily bowing, "I must thank Elder Zheng for holding back; if this map’s power were fully activated, I wouldn’t have had so many chances at all."
This wasn’t flattery or humility on his part. The assessment had a gradual pace that allowed him some time to observe the array and find flaws.
If it weren’t an assessment but rather a killing array, the Bamboo Snake Array would have been activated right away, leaving no time to observe, and being trapped by the Snake Array would have been inevitable.
"It’s not intended to kill, so there’s no need to activate the full array. You’ve passed the assessment and are now recognized as a High-level Array Grandmaster, ranked as Fourth-Grade Tributor within the sect, with benefits equivalent to an Outer Sect Steward."
Zheng Bingzhong waved his hand, announced the results of the assessment, and, before finishing, bent his head in a fit of violent coughs before continuing, "You may receive two hundred low-grade spirit stones monthly and are required to refine one set of middle-grade array components, or complete twelve in a year.
You can also choose to refine a middle-grade array needed by the Outer Pavilion, and other tasks like array setup or repair are similarly compensated. In special cases, you must heed sect transfers aside from completing basic tasks, earning various rewards in the process..."
He continued to cough, his face slightly flushed, hinting at evident health issues.
Li Yuanliu, standing aside, wanted to speak but was interrupted by a gesture from him, "Steward Li mentioned that you desire blueprints; here we can meet some of your needs. You now have the right to view all array formation manuals and blueprints for Fourth-Grade treatment and below within the Outer Pavilion, and you may also apply to join the Inner Cabinet to access Hundred Refining Sect’s true inheritance."
With that said, he produced a token made of cyan jade, inscribed with Fourth Grade, and tossed it to Shen Wang, "This is your identity token. You must return it if you advance in grade or leave, and Elder Li will guide you to receive various benefits later."
"Thank you, Elder Zheng."
Shen Wang took the token, inspecting it; there were some minor restrictions on it, unrelated to identifying him, nor any small tricks.
"I have health problems and won’t stay longer. Farewell."
Weakly, Zheng Bingzhong stood and left.
Only after Zheng Bingzhong had left did Li Yuanliu smile wryly, "Don’t be mistaken by Elder Zheng’s poor health; his array skills are among the top within the sect."
"Is Elder Zheng injured?"
Shen Wang was puzzled. From his aura, Zheng Bingzhong was already at the late-stage Foundation Establishment, higher than his realm, yet seemed sickly.
"He has injuries, as well as some innate ailments."
Li Yuanliu offered a brief explanation, then shifted the topic, "Congratulations, Younger Brother Wang, for Elder Zheng’s praise; your talent is evidently remarkable, and becoming an Array King in the future is just around the corner."
The next level after being an Array Grandmaster is the Array King, whom even Golden Core stage cultivators must treat with great respect, with only a few existing within the Sun and Moon Dynasty.
"That step is still far away. Is Elder Zheng Bingzhong an Array King?" Shen Wang asked, curious.
"He was, but after Elder Zheng’s injury, he could no longer set up top-grade arrays."
Li Yuanliu shook his head, with a touch of regret.
"Oh, wasn’t the Ten Array Map just now a magical treasure?"
Shen Wang was greatly interested in this item.
"Indeed, the Ten Array Map is a unique secret treasure of our Hundred Refining Sect; a single map scroll containing multiple arrays, capable of attack, defense, confinement, and confusion, it is the most comprehensive and powerful treasure, the more arrays it contains within, the stronger and more powerful it becomes."
Li Yuanliu nodded, proudly stating, "The lowest level of the Ten Array Map is a top-grade magical artifact, and Elder Zheng’s array map contains ninety arrays, making it a magical treasure. If it reaches a hundred arrays, it would be the legendary Hundred Array Map, known as a spiritual artifact with the power to destroy heaven and earth."
"Can this array map upgrade?"
Shen Wang’s eyes lit up.
"Of course, many of our Array Refining Pavilion’s true inheritors are involved in refining the Ten Array Map; it is inherently a prototype of the Hundred Array Map and can continue to be refined and upgraded later, with the chance to become a true Hundred Array Map."
At this, Zheng Bingzhong laughed, "This is a secret not shared outside Hundred Refining Sect, and if you want to get it, you’d have to enter the Inner Cabinet."