Chapter Seventy-Seven: The First Array Laid

The wind rushed past his ears, making his long hair dance and flutter. Unbeknownst to her, Du Lingyue’s hands had already wrapped around Li Yunfei’s neck, their faces barely twenty centimeters apart.

Gazing at Li Yunfei’s handsome profile, Du Lingyue’s heart fluttered wildly. His chest was broad and strong, exuding a potent masculine aura; being held in his arms offered her a profound sense of safety. The scent of him filled her nostrils, sending a dizzy blush to her cheeks, and her already dreamy, half-dazed eyes became even more entranced.

How wonderful it would be to stay in this embrace forever.

Li Yunfei, of course, had no idea that the girl in his arms was quietly awakening to her feelings. Last night, he had ventured deep into the mountains to avoid detection by the park rangers.

After running for several minutes, he finally reached a path paved with stone slabs. Following the stone road a little further, he stopped when the foot of the mountain came into view, bending down to set Du Lingyue gently on her feet.

For some reason, as Li Yunfei released her, Du Lingyue’s knees suddenly felt weak and she nearly stumbled.

“Hey…” Li Yunfei quickly steadied her, smiling, “What’s going on with you? Don’t tell me my speed made your legs go soft?”

Du Lingyue’s face flushed. She quickly turned aside and walked a couple steps away, scolding, “Of course not.”

Li Yunfei just laughed, unconcerned, and looked down the mountain. “Go to the base and call emergency services. Explain your situation. Someone from Zixiao will come to pick you up soon.”

Du Lingyue glanced at him furtively. “And what about you?”

Li Yunfei replied, “I still have things to do—won’t be going down the mountain. In fact, I need to head deeper into the woods.”

A hint of reluctance flashed in Du Lingyue’s eyes. She was silent for a few seconds before asking, “Will we meet again?”

Li Yunfei shrugged. “The world is vast, yet so small. If fate allows, we’ll see each other again.”

Du Lingyue turned to face him, “Then give me your contact information!”

“All right.”

Li Yunfei took out a notepad and pen, wrote down his phone number, and handed it to her.

“This number will never change, but I often go to places deep in the mountains where there’s no signal. If you can’t reach me for a while, don’t worry—try again after some time, and maybe it’ll go through.”

“But one thing: don’t give my number to the people from Zixiao. I don’t want to deal with them yet. Other than that, you can tell them the truth.”

Du Lingyue took the note and carefully folded it, treasuring it in her hand. Her bag had been left behind last night at Fangjiaping, and she had nowhere to store it.

She composed herself, smiled sweetly at Li Yunfei, and said, “You saved my life and helped me so much, but I haven’t properly thanked you yet!”

Li Yunfei waved his hand with a smile. “Call it fate. We’ve made a friend—no need for such formalities.”

He glanced up at the sky. “You’d better head down now! The sun will get stronger soon, and it’ll be scorching.”

Du Lingyue gave Li Yunfei a deep look, said, “Take care,” and turned to walk down the stone path.

This Mount Taihuang was not the “Mount Taihuang, towering above all, shrouded in clouds and mist, with rare clear days” of the Qinling range, and wasn’t particularly steep; even in high heels, it posed little trouble.

Du Lingyue took about ten minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. She looked back, and saw Li Yunfei waving at her from the peak.

She waved in return, and watched as Li Yunfei turned and walked deeper into the mountains, his voice carrying a magnetic song across the distance:

“Let it go, let it go, there’s no turning back, let it go, let it go, no more attachments as I turn away, on the cliff, I leave myself behind, let the wind and rain beat against me, after all, I’m not afraid of snow and ice…”

Du Lingyue burst into laughter, a hint of longing flashing in her eyes.

Who knows… could she really become Princess Elsa?

...

Meeting Du Lingyue had brought Li Yunfei a sense of satisfaction for having saved a life, but he didn’t dwell on it, treating it as a minor episode on his journey.

He was completely unaware of Du Lingyue’s budding feelings; in matters of romance, his obliviousness rivaled Zhang Ziying’s.

After descending the northern slope of Mount Taihuang, he focused on finding dungeons to level up.

Within two kilometers of Mount Taihuang, there were four or five villages; finding a cemetery was not difficult.

Before long, he found a sizable graveyard behind a village called Saline Water Village.

As he approached the cemetery, the system notification sounded as expected.

“Attention, host: Dungeon Graveyard detected, levels 31 to 35. Please select dungeon level.”

Li Yunfei didn’t rush in. He waved his hand to summon a table, and arranged his peach wood sword, coin sword, soul-calling bell, and bagua mirror.

The little fox transformed into battle mode, sitting quietly nearby, its two fluffy tails swaying gently behind it.

Li Yunfei took out the red spirit-binding cord, walked to an open patch before the “altar,” and used the cord to lay out a gigantic talisman on the ground, then attached exorcism charms at various joints.

He was setting up a talisman formation called the “Heavenly Net Array,” formidable enough to require at least the Spiritual Movement realm to control.

After everything was in place, Li Yunfei opened his spiritual sight. Seeing the formation integrated and the power of exorcism flowing smoothly, he nodded in satisfaction.

This was his first time setting up a formation. Though he’d lacked the cultivation to control such arrays before, he had simulated it many times and was not unfamiliar with the process.

With the formation ready, Li Yunfei made a series of hand seals, stepping in ritual patterns as he chanted:

“Mighty Jade Emperor, I beseech: First, sever the path of heavenly plague; second, the gate of earthly plague; third, the road for men; fourth, no gate for ghosts; fifth, the path of plague; sixth, the route of shadow soldiers; seventh, the way of evil practitioners; eighth, the five temples of calamity and plague; ninth, the path of shamans and cults; tenth, my master’s way. Since the mighty one has severed these, men may pass, but all demons and ghosts are barred. Should anyone with green face and red visage practice magic and step upon the Heavenly Net, there shall be no mercy. I respectfully invoke the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper and the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper. By the command of the Supreme Elder, let it be done.”

As the chant ended, he had completed thirty-six steps, and his sealed hands pointed at the Heavenly Net Array.

A bright yellow light shot forth, entering the center of the array and spreading throughout.

Soon, the whole formation shone with yellow light and surged with exorcising power, though it quickly subsided.

The Heavenly Net Array was now fully activated, but without monsters or ghosts entering, nothing appeared unusual.

Originally, Li Yunfei’s spiritual power was invisible, colorless, and tangible, with no special attributes.

But after chanting the Daoist incantation, it transformed into exorcising power, highly effective against monsters, demons, and spirits.

If it were merely pure spiritual power, lacking the Daoist exorcising force, it would only possess destructive capability, but not the specific restraining effect.

This was why Li Yunfei chose to use talismans against the White Boar King rather than simply attack with a blade.