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Seven wooden boxes, a jade slip, and a storage bag.

He first picked up the jade slip, examined it carefully, and after finding nothing unusual, slowly probed it with his divine sense.

In an instant, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind. It was not a jumble of information, but a clearly organized inheritance of the Dao of Arrays. The first line of small print entered his mind: "Detailed Explanation of the Essentials of the Dao of Arrays".

Li Shen was startled, suppressed his excitement, and continued reading.

The content is divided into three main parts.

The first part covers the basics of array formations, but it is several times clearer and more profound than Zhou Wei's "An Introduction to Array Formations".

It not only covers basic array patterns, the construction of spiritual energy nodes, and the attraction and solidification of the five elements of spiritual energy, but also explains in more depth the various forms and concealment methods of the "array eye", as well as how to fine-tune the array according to the environment and the flow of spiritual energy to make it more powerful or more concealed.

Some of its concepts and techniques are similar to those of the Dao of Talismans.

Li Shen suddenly understood, and his vague understanding of formations became much clearer in an instant.

The second part is the "Thirty-Six Formations Diagram".

As the name suggests, it records the detailed arrangement methods of thirty-six different battle formations.

There are thirty types of first-order formations and six types of second-order formations.

The Azure Wood Spirit Absorption Array and the Illusion Array that Li Shen encountered were both contained within it.

What allowed the remnant soul of that Foundation Establishment old ghost to be preserved was a second-tier formation called the [Yin-Sucking Soul-Locking Formation].

The effect is quite simple: after a cultivator dies, their soul is sealed in place, and the formation needs to be maintained by absorbing the yin energy of the local spirits.

If placed in a place where the energy of yin spirits is abundant, it can even help cultivators transform into ghost cultivators and start cultivating anew.

Li Shen took a deep breath and continued reading.

There are also "Qi Gathering Array" to assist in cultivation, and the second-tier killing array [Small Five Elements Forbidden Array] which includes the changes of the five elements... It is all-encompassing and each type comes with detailed array pattern inscription requirements, material list, array setup steps, control incantations and key points for breaking it.

In particular, the [Minor Five Elements Forbidden Array] left Li Shen in awe.

It includes detailed explanations of the arrangement of five formations corresponding to the five elements: [Thick Earth Formation], [Sharp Metal Formation], [Green Wood Formation], [Azure Wave Formation], and [Fire Formation].

It also explains how to initially combine and connect these five single-attribute formations to form a formation with certain effects of trapping, confusing, and weakening enemies.

Although its power is far from comparable to the true third-tier array [Five Elements Forbidden Array], and its setup requirements are relatively high, requiring a certain understanding of the Five Elements array and array flags made from spiritual materials of the corresponding attributes.

But for Li Shen now, its value is also enormous.

The third part is this Foundation Establishment old ghost's insights on formations.

It records his many insights while practicing the art of array formations, his attempts to improve array formations, including both successes and failures.

This undoubtedly opened a new door for Li Shen.

This jade slip alone is enough for any family in Yunhe Mountain Market to regard as a treasure.

Li Shen took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, and carefully put the jade slip away.

Then, he looked expectantly at the gray storage bag.

Li Shen scanned the area with his divine sense, and the result surprised him somewhat.

There was only a thick yellow book, a bottle of elixirs, and a tattered silk scroll.

Li Shen flipped through the thick yellow book and glanced at it, discovering it was the old Foundation Establishment cultivator's diary.

He wrote about his experiences in the sixty years before his death.

"It turns out that this Dao Sect has joined an organization called the Seven Alliance in the northern part of the Southern Wilderness. However, this organization actually has both righteous and demonic members, which is quite different from the situation here where people turn pale at the mention of the demonic path..."

Li Shen muttered under his breath as he quickly flipped through the pages.

It's basically a diary, mostly filled with the complaints of this old Foundation Establishment cultivator.

It wasn't until the last few pages that Li Shen slowed down his reading speed.

The old man who wrote this unexpectedly obtained a piece of information about an ancient secret realm. It came from Chu Kuangge, the number one Golden Core cultivator born in the Southern Wilderness.

This person had been to that secret realm and left behind the spiritual artifacts and various treasures he used during his Foundation Establishment stage.

This old ghost who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage traveled thousands of miles to Laoshan for this very reason.

However, the opening time of this secret realm seems somewhat familiar.

It opens once every three hundred years, just like that ancient silk book, doesn't it?

Li Shen had a certain guess in his mind, and continued to scroll down, and suddenly realized.

Unexpectedly, the ancient silk scroll originally belonged to this Foundation Establishment old ghost. However, he leaked the secret while drunk in a brothel, and was attacked by several groups of Foundation Establishment cultivators. He then fled to Prison Mountain and hid there.

The ancient silk manuscript containing the map was also lost, leaving only the key to open it.

Li Shen took a deep breath, feeling a pang of sadness.

After many years and many twists and turns, the map and the key finally ended up in Li Shen's hands.

Li Shen closed the notebook and his gaze fell on the tattered pages of the silk scroll.

This must be the key to that secret realm.

Li Shen picked up the tattered page and then took out the ancient silk book he owned.

The two are identical in material and handwriting.

The fragment of this silk scroll likely records the method for making the key.

The conditions aren't demanding; with Li Shen's current strength, he can gather them even if he spends more time.

This puzzled Li Shen.

The secret realm key, a relic of a Golden Core cultivator, can actually be crafted by someone in the Qi Refining stage.

Unable to figure it out for a moment, Li Shen had no choice but to put away the two silk scrolls and pick up the bottle of pills.

The label above reads "Yin Soul Pill," clearly indicating that the old ghost prepared it for himself to become a ghost cultivator.

The effect is quite suitable for feeding to soul slaves.

Li Shen put it down and looked at the seven wooden boxes.

He carefully picked one up.

There are no restrictions on it, and it can be opened at will.

Inside lay a small, crimson triangular flag, its surface adorned with intricate patterns. With a slight infusion of spiritual energy, faint crimson fluctuations could be seen emanating from its top.

"Fire Array Flag!"

Li Shen immediately recognized the item by comparing it with the description of the array flags in the [Minor Five Elements Forbidden Array] in the newly obtained "Detailed Explanation of the Essentials of Array Formation".

This is a core array flag specifically designed for setting up the Fire Array or similar basic fire-attribute arrays. It can greatly enhance the power and stability of the array, and its value is immeasurable.

The second wooden box was empty.

The third one is a small flag, tan in color, with a shield painted on it.

"Thick Earth Banner!"

Having just seen it, Li Shen recognized it at a glance and was immediately stunned. A bold idea popped into his head:

"Could it be that this old ghost has already collected all the flags?"

The fourth wooden box contained a small blue flag.

It really is the [Blue Wood Banner].

The fifth one is the blue "Azure Wave Banner".

The sixth one is the golden [Sharp Gold Banner].

"The Five Elements Array Flags are finally complete!"

Li Shen was deeply moved and found it difficult to calm down.

It seems that the old Foundation Establishment cultivator has invested a great deal in his bid to seize Chu Kuangge's legacy, even preparing such a complete set of precious array flags.

With these, the difficulty for Li Shen in researching and even attempting to set up the [Minor Five Elements Forbidden Array] will be greatly reduced.

The last wooden box did not contain array flags, but a piece of ore containing pure spiritual energy.

It looks exactly like a regular spirit stone, only a few sizes bigger.

"Could this be a mid-grade spirit stone?"