After his experience with being marked, Sage was far more careful with his spoils of war. At the time he’d gotten advice from Peak Master Zhen in order to better protect against such things happening again in the future. It was pretty costly to use such measures, but given how vicious and powerful Hei Bai had been he didn’t want to chance it. There were a couple methods to leave such marks. Some of them activated as soon as an object was touched, some activated when any Qi was inserted into the item, and others even required a special pattern of Qi to be inserted or they would activate, like an alarm with a keycode. The most difficult of them could only be used by specific people, keying to not just a secret code, but individual traits in the user’s energy. If anyone else tried to use the item, they would suffer. Those very rare and expensive items would usually do more than just mark the aggressor, they were likely to severely injure them as well.

The Steelsilk Centipede had already touched each of the objects so that triggering method should be safe. Unfortunately, most Spirit Insects weren’t very intelligent and their bodies were quite unrefined. Most of them were unable to control their Qi well enough to use magical devices. Sage deactivated the defensive formation and sent the centipede into his Inner World. He broke the link and then tried to think of a method to test the objects. Certainly, he could ask for a volunteer among the Hoplites to take the job of a poison taster, but when he succeeded at his job, he’d be dead. There was also the idea of getting Tao Ba to check the items, but the idea of sucking up to him for hours every time he got a new piece of loot was not attractive.

He wracked his brain trying to think of another method, but the only idea he had involved inventing a new style of array to activate magic devices remotely. A promising idea, but he certainly didn’t have time for it right now! Instead, he could only follow Peak Master Zhen’s instructions. Since this sort of thing was likely to happen again, Sage chose to set up an item checking array. The neighboring area of the storehouse was designated for keeping new booty, so this one should be fine to use for checking it. Each area had its own defensive array, so there was no sense in taking it upstairs where he’d have to build a new one.

Sage sent out his consciousness and a few items appeared from the other side of the storehouse. He gathered his Spirit Power and carefully used the Anima Print technique to carve a new array into the stone of the floor. His Spirit Power formed into a sort of invisible form or pattern, then he slowly filled it with Qi before smashing it down against the ground like a stamp. The stone was simultaneously inscribed and charged with energy, each use of the technique forming a full array symbol. It was quite a bit faster than the most basic Spirit Carving technique that slowly cut every line individually. Then he used a mortar and pestle to grind up a mixture of a dozen different dried plants and the ink of a sea squid to form a special sort of paste. After that he carved a series of large squares and circles around and among the array symbols he’d printed. Next, using a small brush, he painted the paste into the channels formed by those large shapes. Lastly, he placed a dozen Spirit Stones at certain spots on the formation in an unusual arrangement. The Spirit Stones didn’t seem to follow any order, instead looking more like a constellation. He checked his work and wiped his hands on a towel with a satisfied smile.

Sage activated the array, watching Qi pour into the large lines where the paste had been applied before the many symbols finally came to life. The air suddenly seemed to feel unusual and Sage reached out his Spiritual Sense to test if things had worked. His smile returned and he deactivated the array. Then he moved the items from Hei Bai over and placed them within the Formation Array, carefully activating it again and reaching out with his Spiritual Sense.

The array was called ‘Disarray of Heaven and Earth’, and it created a sort of distortion in the natural energy of heaven and earth within its radius. Within the formation it was much more difficult to draw upon and use the natural energy of the world. Theoretically, if a cultivator was trapped inside, they would have a very hard time restoring their energy or cultivating. That said, there were far better methods to keep a cultivator captive, especially considering the Disarray of Heaven and Earth did nothing to their actual fighting capability, it only affected recovery and training time. That said, there was another use for it that Peak Master Zhen had told him about.

Within the Disarray of Heaven and Earth, the natural energy of the world was disrupted and distorted, but other energies, like those contained within objects, would not be. Secret marks or traps left behind on items would be concealed by having their energies concealed, matching them to the outside world and the item they were placed upon. So, by introducing them into an area of distorted energy those marks would stand out. Sort of like putting a tire into water to find a slow leak, without a change in medium it would be impossible to find.

With the formation active, Sage reached out with his Spirit Sense and very carefully scoured every inch of them. Half an hour later he finished, letting out a loud sigh, “Thank you Peak Master Zhen!”

He was so relieved that he spoke out loud to himself. Those items that Hei Bai had left were covered in secret marks. Well, two of them were. The little bit of fingerbone that had a chain like a necklace was subtly marked, probably a sort of tracking or tracing method like he’d suffered before. The scary part was actually the Storage Ring. Even though it looked to be of a standard type with a large capacity, it actually carried a terrifyingly powerful mark, one which Sage was pretty sure was a deadly trap.

Heh, I bet she was making sure that if anyone tried to rob her they’d pay for it.

If there were any other marks, they were beyond his capacity to find and so he deactivated the array and collected up the items. He left the two marked ones alone and started to study the others. The dragon belt buckle, a sort of jade sash hook, had seemed very intriguing, but upon closer inspection it was far less exciting. It was in fact a magic device, but it was a magic device related to cleanliness. It was a sort of magical perfume tool. It didn’t actually clean the body, but it removed all scents and replaced it with a soothing floral fragrance. The triple edged dagger was pretty impressive, the shape as well as the formations on it were made to spill blood. The triangular shape caused wounds that were hard to treat, and the formation was a sort of magical anticoagulant. Being stabbed by it would be like poking a hole in a water tank.

The last unmarked item was definitely the most interesting. Sage examined it for array symbols to try and get a clue about its purpose. There were no markings on the sides or inner edge of the ring band, nor on the back of the round face. Eventually, he got brave and inserted his Qi. His consciousness was sucked inside, just like when using a Storage Ring, but he was startled because he wasn’t expecting it. Worse yet, the space within wasn’t the black emptiness with a small pile of goods that he was expecting. Instead, he was met with a violently swirling pool of yellow liquid. It looked like water, but it was tainted with swirls of choppy whitewater like the curling edges of an ocean tide.

What in the world is going on here?