"Retreat? Why bother?" Zhu Yanyi glanced faintly at Yan Aohan. "I will set up an array here to hide the valley entrance. If people cannot see it, the problem disappears."
She did not mention that this array was passed down by the Azure Sovereign Qingdi. Its effect was not only visually realistic but also physically deceptive. Unless one took specific steps, no one could find the entrance, even if they walked right past it.
Yan Aohan did not fully understand the array's mechanics, but he grasped her intent. "You mean you are setting up a visual illusion array."
Zhu Yanyi nodded. "This is the fastest method and has the best effect. Human thinking is simple; what they see first is what they believe."
She then added, "Let’s talk while we work. You help me find small stones."
Using small stones was the simplest method. Zhu Yanyi had considered using plants, but decided against it. Stones were easily overlooked. In this place, stones were everywhere. Mixing them in would hide the array’s secrets perfectly.
Yan Aohan and Gu Jun cooperated immediately. They quickly gathered a batch of similarly sized small stones. Zhu Yanyi began measuring distances according to specific steps, burying the stones into the ground.
"I am burying the stones underground to create a hidden array," she explained. "A hidden array can confuse everything within five hundred li above and below. To see the truth from above, one must be five hundred li in the air. To escape the effect from below, one must dig five hundred li deep."
"What if someone comes in an airplane? Won’t they discover the truth?" Gu Jun asked casually.
"Gu Brother, did you not hear me clearly?" Zhu Yanyi said softly, slightly helpless. "Five hundred li is two hundred fifty kilometers. Most airplanes fly at about ten thousand meters, which is only ten kilometers. So, there is no need to worry. Unless that madman wants to discover the secret, she must travel around the universe first. Otherwise, she will never see the truth here."
Gu Jun realized his mistake. "I see. I thought wrongly."
Zhu Yanyi continued burying stones. Then, as if remembering something, she buried a seed at the last spot. Gu Jun and Yan Aohan exchanged glances. "What kind of seed is that?"
"Ivy," Zhu Yanyi said with a smile. "Ivy grows well without special care. When the ivy here grows, a phantom of ivy will appear on every stone. The phantom is hard to distinguish from reality. People can even pick it, but generally, no one picks ivy."
Ivy was too common. No one would come to Shennongjia just to pick ivy.
"I don’t think you plant ivy randomly," Yan Aohan said, knowing her well. "Are you planning something?"
Zhu Yanyi looked at Yan Aohan and smiled lightly. "Ivy is useless to humans, but useful to spirit beasts. They can use the ivy to find the exact path and enter the valley. Humans cannot."
Yan Aohan understood. With the illusion array active, spirit beasts might get lost and unable to return. Spirit beasts had their own way of remembering paths. By letting them know where the ivy was, they could always find the correct entrance. Yan Aohan admired Zhu Yanyi’s thoroughness.
Once the positions were correct, Zhu Yanyi activated the array. Instantly, even Yan Aohan saw the valley entrance disappear. Only a forest remained, with some ivy缠绕 (wrapped) around one tree.
Yan Aohan smiled. "It is done. We should leave. Based on their speed, they should arrive soon."
Zhu Yanyi raised an eyebrow. "Let’s go. We will hide somewhere. I want to see the effect too." It would be a pity not to witness her own array’s success.
Not only Zhu Yanyi, but Yan Aohan and Gu Jun also wanted to see the result. If it failed, they could think of other ways. Regardless, they had to protect the spirit beasts here.
About forty minutes later, just as Zhu Yanyi wondered if anyone would really come, they heard human voices. The people had arrived.
These people showed no suspicion. They searched carefully and found some poisonous herbs for grave offerings, which they picked and took.
"Didn’t they say there were spirit beasts here?" one man said impatiently. "I caught and ate several wild rabbits, but I haven’t seen any spirit beasts." He had been in Shennongjia for a while. If not for the wild game, who would want to stay in this desolate place?
"The professor said there are spirit beasts here. We can only search slowly," another shorter man replied. "Ahuo, let’s not eat wild rabbits today. Let’s eat wild boar."
Ahuo looked at the shorter man. "Amu, you are like a block of wood. Did you come here just to pick wild game?"
"What else?" Amu looked innocent. "We cannot go back until we search all of Shennongjia. Since we are here, we might as well enjoy good food."
Amu seemed more open-minded than Ahuo.
After wandering around again without finding any spirit beasts, Ahuo said, "Let’s go that way. It seems there are no spirit beasts here."
"Ahuo, do you think these spirit beasts are as smart as humans?" Amu asked curiously.
Ahuo shook his head. "I don’t know. The professor said such animals exist and asked us to find them. So we came."
"If they were as smart as humans, would they wait for us to find them?" Amu asked, confused. "Besides, spirit beasts are still beasts. Even if we find them, can we beat them?"
Ahuo remained calm. "We are only here to find traces. If we find them, the professor will bring people to catch them directly. With the professor there, what is there to fear? Besides, there are people with special abilities around the professor."
Ahuo looked admiring. "It is a pity I do not have superpowers. Otherwise, I could also become someone the professor trusts." He truly envied those with special abilities.