At this moment, Yang Yan was indeed using the five Exotic Beasts as free hired thugs, but what he wanted even more was for them to truly become a great source of strength for him, to follow him in sweeping across the world and stand with him at the very peak of power.

Yang Yan knew very well that, leaving aside the strength of these five Exotic Beasts right now, even in the future they would absolutely be stocks with terrifying potential.

After all, the fact that they could stand out in a Demon Cave with such harsh conditions was enough to prove their extraordinariness.

This extraordinariness manifested in their physical constitution, talent, and perseverance.

If they were carefully nurtured, they would definitely become a great help to him in the future.

After they finished their discussion, Yang Yan turned around, intending to leave.

He had only walked a few steps when he suddenly thought of something again, turned back, and said:

"Cold Flood Dragon, I’ll take this Dragon Lotus as a temporary loan. In the future, once I have a treasure of equal value, as long as you like it, I’ll return it to you."

The Cold Flood Dragon was slightly stunned, as if not quite used to Yang Yan’s politeness, and immediately replied, "The Dragon Lotus is of no great use to this little one anymore. If my lord has taken a liking to it, please do accept it!"

This time it was Yang Yan’s turn to be a little surprised.

He naturally did not know that, from the power he had displayed, the Cold Flood Dragon had long since dispelled any thought of taking back the Dragon Lotus.

Besides, although it had come this time specifically for the Dragon Lotus, with the improvements of these past few days, the Dragon Lotus was no longer as indispensable to it as before.

Even without the Dragon Lotus, it could still advance by leaps and bounds, breaking through again and again.

It even had the confidence that it did not need to suffer the pain of having all its bones shattered and its true body remolded, but could directly transform into a true dragon.

If one were to be strict about it, it actually ought to be thanking Yang Yan.

If he had not stolen its Dragon Lotus, it would never have led the other four Exotic Beasts to break through the restraints, escape with their lives, and gain the terrifying strength they now possessed.

At this moment, Yang Yan was also secretly overjoyed.

The change in the Cold Flood Dragon’s expression just now had been clearly captured by him.

He had not expected that a Flood Dragon that had lived for several thousand years would be this simple-minded, submitting to him so completely and so easily.

The ten Sect Leaders of the Ten Sects had expended a great deal of strength in their battle with the five Exotic Beasts.

Even with the Pill Sect’s assistance, they still needed some time to adjust and recover.

Fortunately, with Yang Yan now sitting in town here, they no longer had to worry about any more foreign enemies invading, and could finally calm their hearts and properly recuperate.

During these ten-odd days, Yang Yan had not been idle either.

Last time when he ran into the Snow Demon, Elder Dugu just happened to be away and could not set up the third-level Devouring Spirit Array, so he had no choice but to expend quite a few precious Evil Qi Pearls to finally escape.

After that encounter, he truly realized the importance of Spirit Arrays.

After the pain came reflection, and Yang Yan resolved to study Spirit Arrays, just in case.

Thus, whenever he had any free time, Yang Yan would practically run over to Lin An to ask for advice on Spirit Array-related questions.

This really did make Lin An somewhat surprised.

Had the sun risen from the west?

The always completely uninterested Yang Yan was now so eager to learn Spirit Arrays.

Lin An could not be more satisfied with this change in Yang Yan.

Right now, Yang Yan’s momentum completely crushed Lin An’s, yet he never showed off his strength or stepped on others.

He remained neither arrogant nor impetuous when things happened, calm and composed, something that very few people could achieve.

Lin An always felt that Yang Yan was bound to become the most dazzling existence on this planet.

What he, this Sect Leader, needed to do now was simply to fulfill him as much as possible and give him a helping hand.

For several days in a row, Yang Yan followed Lin An in studying knowledge related to Spirit Arrays.

It had to be said, Yang Yan indeed had talent in Spirit Arrays.

In just a few short days, Yang Yan had already attained quite a solid understanding of Spirit Arrays.

Of course, this also benefited from Yang Yan’s photographic memory.

Although studying Arrays depended more on comprehension, memory was also a crucial link.

Only by memorizing first could one later truly integrate and understand, and actually construct an Array.

At the moment, Yang Yan still could not independently control and set up a Spirit Array, but he could now barely construct the nodes.

In the end, a Spirit Array was nothing more than using special methods to cause Spiritual Power to resonate, thereby achieving the effect of using little strength to move great weight.

A Spirit Array could often borrow the Power of Heaven and Earth, pushing Spiritual Power to its utmost.

Yang Yan had pondered for a long time over the Yin Yang Five Elements Array Map he had obtained in the Underground Hall of the Demon Cave, yet had never managed to glean even the slightest gain.

After thinking it over, he felt it might as well be better to show it to Lin An, who was proficient in Spirit Arrays; perhaps something could be researched from it.

He had originally thought of showing it to the Cold Flood Dragon, hoping to get some answers from its mouth.

Not only had it come from the Demon Cave and thus knew more about the situation inside, it had also lived for several thousand years, so its experience was surely much broader than that of Lin An and the others.

But after thinking it through carefully, he still rejected that idea.

Yang Yan knew very well that this thing was anything but simple, and he had not been with the Cold Flood Dragon for long; he actually did not have much confidence in its loyalty.

What was more, the Cold Flood Dragon had submitted to him purely because of the Nascent Void; it might not have many thoughts now, but as time passed, resentment would inevitably arise.

So better be safe than sorry; for something like this, Yang Yan did not plan to share it with him for the time being.

"Th-this... where did you get this thing?!"

As soon as Lin An saw the Yin Yang Five Elements Array Map, he immediately became incomparably excited, his whole body trembling.

He stared wide-eyed, locking his gaze on the Yin Yang Five Elements Array Map as if he were looking at a peerless treasure.

"Sect Leader, what exactly is this?"

Seeing how excited Lin An was, Yang Yan became even more certain of his own suspicions.

It seemed this thing was really not simple.

Otherwise, with Lin An’s composure, even if it were a treasure, he should not have lost his bearing like this.

"If I’ve guessed correctly, this Array Map comes from the hands of that person of the Ancient Times." As Lin An spoke to this point, worship filled his expression.

Yang Yan was deeply puzzled and hurriedly asked, "That person?"

"Yes! That person. Yang Yan, where did you get this thing from?" Lin An slightly calmed himself and looked at Yang Yan with anticipation all over his face.

Well!

That was as good as not saying anything.

Yang Yan thought for a moment, then immediately brushed it off. "I obtained it by accident in the Demon Cave."

He naturally could not tell Lin An the truth.

As for the matter of the Underground Hall in the Demon Cave, the fewer who knew, the better.

Lin An was no exception.

There is a saying that there is no wall that does not leak wind; if he was not careful, it could bring about a catastrophe of annihilation for him.

Moreover, he definitely would not reveal any information related to the Mysterious Key.

"Sect Leader, forgive me for being presumptuous, but who exactly is that person?" Yang Yan could not help but ask further.

Lin An let out a heavy sigh and spoke in a faint voice, "In the Ancient Times, the Star Universe was in turmoil, dark and evil forces invaded, the gods could not hold them back and were forced to retreat again and again, and vast stretches of the Star Universe in the cosmos fell."

"Just as Wandering Dragon Star was about to fall, at the last critical moment, a Spirit Array Grandmaster of the Hidden World on Wandering Dragon Star, Zhao Heng, stepped forward. With his peerless mastery of Spirit Arrays, he barely held back the advance of the dark and evil forces, waiting silently for the Immortal Realm’s rescue."

"But one by one, the other Star Universes fell, and wherever the darkness passed, all life was wiped out. Fear grew in the Immortal Realm’s heart, and they were forced to close the Star Sect, severing this stretch of the Star Universe."

Speaking of this, Lin An let out another heavy sigh.