Chapter 223 Setting Up the Array
Half an hour later, Hei Hu strode into the villa, carrying a black leather suitcase. "Mr. Chen, here are the jade stones you requested."
Hei Hu approached Chen Xuan and placed the black leather suitcase on the table, then efficiently opened it.
The suitcase was filled with fifty to sixty precious jade stones, including Xiushan jade, Nanyang jade, and Lantian jade—all expensive varieties. This single box of jade had cost Hei Hu tens of millions.
"Mr. Chen, these are the jade stones that appear to be of good quality on the market," Hei Hu said proudly.
Because Chen Xuan needed the jade stones urgently, Hei Hu hadn't even bothered to negotiate prices. He had scoured the jade market, a move that had caused prices to climb.
Chen Xuan glanced at the jade stones in the black leather suitcase and couldn't help but frown.
He then picked out three pieces of jade from the suitcase, waved his hand, and said lightly, "I'll keep these three. You can take the rest back."
"Ah?"
Hei Hu stared at the three jade stones in Chen Xuan's hand, momentarily stunned.
One of the three jade stones was yellow jade, another was white jade, and the most valuable was a piece of Nanyang jade.
While these three pieces of jade were of decent quality, they appeared quite ordinary compared to the other precious stones in the box.
Why had Chen Xuan chosen these three unremarkable pieces and ignored the other valuable ones?
Hei Hu couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Chen, please tell me directly if there's anything you're not satisfied with. My men are still watching the market, and as soon as any good jade appears, they'll buy it immediately."
Chen Xuan frowned, unsure how to explain.
The jade stones he needed weren't related to their preciousness, but rather their spiritual essence. As for this so-called spiritual essence, the saying "gold and silver have prices, but jade is priceless" referred to whether jade possessed spiritual essence. It was like how he could see ghosts, but Hei Hu couldn't—it was simply impossible to explain such a thing.
He could only say, "It has nothing to do with you. Just bring me the jade stones."
"Understood, Mr. Chen."
Knowing that Chen Xuan's actions were often mysterious, Hei Hu didn't inquire further.
After Hei Hu left, Chen Xuan took the three jade stones into his room and quickly crafted three jade talismans!
Jade talismans, unlike ordinary spiritual talismans, could be used to set up arrays!
Yes, the reason Chen Xuan had been collecting jade stones with spiritual essence was to set up an array at the Qingwu Mountain villa!
He had thought of setting up a large array at the villa after being inspired by the feng shui array at Yangcheng's Black Market.
If a grand array could be set up at the villa, Su Yunxi's safety would be guaranteed.
Of course, Chen Xuan wouldn't be setting up a feng shui array like the one in Yangcheng's Black Market, but rather an array that could both attack and defend!
Ever since he had this idea yesterday, Chen Xuan had spent the night surveying the surroundings of the villa. This was Qingwu Mountain, nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Not only was it a place with auspicious feng shui, but it was also a convergence point of spiritual energy, making it extremely suitable for setting up an array.
Subsequently, Chen Xuan, holding the three crafted jade talismans, walked out of the villa and buried them at the positions of Gui (West), Kun (Southwest), and Xun (Southeast) outside the villa.
After completing this, he walked around the villa, occasionally digging a hole, cutting down a tree, or performing other strange actions.
These actions appeared very peculiar to others.
However, they were unaware that Chen Xuan had already set up a defensive array here!
With this defensive array, as long as Chen Xuan didn't want someone to enter, even the half-step Grandmaster from the Tang family would not be able to breach the villa. Chen Xuan was not yet satisfied with this defensive array.
This was because the defensive array could at most block a half-step Grandmaster; it would be ineffective against more powerful martial artists.
However, it didn't matter, as there was still room for improvement in the defensive array.
Two days later, Hei Hu delivered another batch of jade stones, but only two were usable. According to Chen Xuan's plan, he wanted to upgrade the defensive array to a level that could resist an Internal Energy Grandmaster, and to achieve this, he needed at least eight more jade stones, meaning he still needed six.
As Chen Xuan was worrying about the jade stones, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "Zhang Pangzi and Murong Yuan from Jiangbei are jade merchants. If I ask them to help find jade stones, it should be quick."
So, Chen Xuan immediately called Murong Yuan and Zhang Pangzi to discuss finding jade stones.
The phone call was made in the morning, and by evening, Murong Yuan and Zhang Pangzi had rushed to Qingwu Mountain!
"Mr. Chen!"
Murong Yuan and Zhang Pangzi bowed in unison.
"No need to be polite. Where are the jade stones you brought?" Chen Xuan waved his hand and got straight to the point.
"Mr. Chen, they're in the trunk," Zhang Pangzi signaled to his two subordinates.
The two subordinates immediately carried two large boxes from the trunk.
Upon opening the boxes, they were filled with precious jade stones, over two hundred pieces in total.
As expected of jade merchants, Murong Yuan and Zhang Pangzi had brought twelve usable jade stones in this batch.
With these twelve jade stones, he could not only upgrade the defensive array by another level but could also begin setting up an offensive array!
Chen Xuan said, "Alright, I'll take these twelve. You can take the rest back. When you return to Jiangbei, remember to continue looking for jade stones for me."
Zhang Pangzi frowned deeply. "Only twelve? Master Chen, why don't you pick a few more? Look at this jade stone, its color is full and its quality is excellent."
As he spoke, Zhang Pangzi picked up a jade stone of good color and tried to place it in Chen Xuan's hand.
"No need, these are useless to me," Chen Xuan waved his hand.
Zhang Pangzi was about to say something more, but Murong Yuan stopped him.
Although he didn't know why Chen Xuan was doing this, he was sure there was a reason.
"Master Chen, we shall take our leave!" Murong Yuan cupped his fists.
"Remember to keep looking for jade stones for me later," Chen Xuan said, glancing at the two men as a reminder.
"We obey Mr. Chen's orders!"
With that, Zhang Pangzi and Murong Yuan prepared to leave.
With enough jade stones secured, Chen Xuan continued with his array upgrading plan. He had worked tirelessly and run all over the place to set up the arrays, to the point where he had lost weight, much to Su Yunxi's distress.
However, the gains were significant. In just a few days, Chen Xuan had not only upgraded the defensive array by one level but had also set up a small offensive array.
Under the defensive array, even Internal Energy Grandmasters couldn't break through.
Under the offensive array, if that half-step Internal Energy Grandmaster from the Tang family came again, this small array would be able to kill him. In essence, he was invincible below the Grandmaster level!
Even if a Grandmaster were to come, they would be severely injured, if not worse.
However, Chen Xuan had no immediate plans to head to the Tang family in the Central Plains because, in his opinion, the grand array was still not secure enough. With Su Qian's departure, many individuals had begun to stir, especially international organizations like Dark Blood, which were filled with experts, including many Internal Energy Grandmasters.
He dared not rashly leave Jiangnan Province without ensuring Su Yunxi's safety.
Due to the existence of the grand array, Chen Xuan had asked the people from the Yanhuang Iron Brigade to leave.
One morning, Chen Xuan was practicing his morning exercises in the villa.
Suddenly, he received a call from Wei Changgeng: "According to reliable sources, a group of people has arrived from the southeastern region. Their leader is Qi Feng, the sect master of the Profound Yin Sect, and they seem to be targeting you. He is stronger than Old Master Tang from the Central Plains Tang family, known as the strongest half-step Internal Energy Grandmaster. If you need support, call me immediately."
Chen Xuan frowned.
The Profound Yin Sect from the southeast? He hadn't even gone to the southeastern region to eradicate such heretical cults, and now the Profound Yin Sect had come looking for him?
Before Chen Xuan could hang up the phone, a chilling voice echoed, "Is this the residence of the Su family?"