Despite the pile of cultivation resources before him, Jared wasn’t in the mood for training. The unsolved mystery of the spirit beasts’ illness weighed on him.
Lying in bed, he gazed at the moonlight streaming through the window, deep in thought. What could be causing these spirit beasts to fall ill? He had examined them thoroughly, but found no signs of disease.
As Jared tossed and turned, a low, rhythmic sound reached his ears. It was faint but deep, like something stirring from the earth itself. Jared sat up, listening intently, and then slipped out of his room to investigate.
Following the sound, he was surprised to find himself back in the courtyard where the sick spirit beasts were kept. The creatures, bathed in moonlight, appeared terrified. They huddled in corners, letting out mournful howls, clawing at the ground.
Jared frowned. There was nothing visibly wrong in the courtyard, yet the spirit beasts behaved as though they were gripped by fear.
Intrigued, Jared approached the courtyard. The arcane array protecting it was child’s play to someone of Jared’s skill, and he passed through it easily.
Once inside, the spirit beasts barely reacted to Jared’s presence. They continued to huddle in fear, their claws scratching the earth as if trying to burrow into it. Jared crouched down and gently placed his hand on the ground.
The moment his hand touched the earth, a sudden burning sensation surged through him, and he felt the ground tremble faintly beneath his fingers.
Jared quickly stood up, his eyes narrowing. Something was hidden beneath the surface, but he couldn’t sense what it was.
He struck the ground twice with his palm, but nothing happened. The earth remained solid, though the spirit beasts grew even more agitated. Jared was now convinced that something was buried deep below.
“Could there be an arcane array hidden underground?” Jared muttered to himself as he began examining the ground more closely. He searched for signs of an arcane array or any array runes, but found nothing. The surface seemed untouched.
“This is too strange…” Jared thought, deep in concentration.
As he pondered, the moonlight fully illuminated the courtyard, and to his surprise, faint array runes began to emerge on the ground. They were so faint that they were nearly imperceptible, visible only under the moon’s glow.
Jared knelt down to study the array runes. But just as he began to analyze them, the moonlight dimmed, and the runes vanished in an instant.
Looking up at the sky, Jared understood that only when the full moon was at its zenith did the array runes appear. And even then, the window of time was so short that deciphering the formation was almost impossible.
Jared realized that even after all these years, Bernard likely had no idea that such a formation existed in the courtyard. It was highly probable that the spirit beasts’ illness was connected to whatever lay beneath this hidden arcane array.
But without the array runes visible, there was little Jared could do, despite his spiritual sense. If the array runes couldn’t be deciphered, its purpose would remain a mystery, and without understanding it, he couldn’t treat the spirit beasts’ illness.
Jared considered his options. If he couldn’t uncover the secrets of the formation, the only solution might be to move the spirit beasts to another location. In a different environment, their health might gradually improve.
