Chapter 121: Honey March Seeds

Howard found a poorly lit room in the corner of the Unclaimed Shrines. Looking up at it, he noticed the grey walls and the strange flowers that looped in what seemed to be an endless curtain of vines. 

He felt a little bit terrified, but since he had to get stronger quicker opened the doors. Jenny followed after him into the dark space. Luckily, there was a small glowing light switch on the right side of the door. Turning it on, he watched the fluorescent lights on the ceiling slowly turn on, and the darkness be filled with light. 

A large garden with several statues of women holding swords manifested in front of his eyes. They had a verdant hue glistening against their marble bodies from all the greenery and looked like three angels. However, the strangest thing about the room had to be the mist. The room had a small little pond that seemed to be emitting a strange, blue miasma. 

It almost seemed like the silver blue miasma had consciousness as it surfed against the cobble stone pathway and cleared a way for Howard and Jenny. 

The two of them found a small bench with stone inscription that had been engraved with big black letters. He sat down and plopped Jenny down on his lap and let the warmth of her body invigorate him. At the same time, he turned to read the sign. 

"They will be here shortly. Shut the doors and put in three spoons full of Ki Coagulant, and two Honey March Seeds to activate the Lake of Sacred Chaos. Once activated, a single hour in this room will seem like fifteen days. Do not activate the lake more than twice every five years per person. Otherwise, only death will follow…" Howard finished reading note and quickly assembled the Ki Coagulant and the Honey March Seeds.

Jenny sighed and crossed her arms. The room had a mysterious feeling to it, but she also felt like someone was watching her from somewhere in the distance. 

She had been training the last few months, and had reached the peak of the C rank thanks to blood donations from her lab assistants. However, she didn't know how she felt being alone with Howard for five months! She hadn't brought enough pills to last five months, but if it was only a single day… Would the pill last the entire time.

"I'll just take three to be safe. It's a shame I only have one outfit." Jenny couldn't believe the thoughts that sometimes went through her mind when she was with Howard. Sometimes, she wanted to steal him away to a faraway land and force him to marry her, but other times she just wanted to escape from his grasp. He made her feel calm, which she didn't like. Around him, she felt like a newborn child without any way of protecting herself. Howard's strength was at least 100 times her own, and if he wanted to could crack her neck, or force her into any position he wanted to. She wouldn't be able to fight back.

However, he also made her feel intense cravings that probably came from her parents never being there for her when she was growing up. Her dad had been such a good litigator that he always had dozens of clients showering him with money and paying for expensive and lavish dinners. Her heart ached thinking about that her father was probably still working on a case right now, and probably forgot that she existed. She couldn't forget he'd called the cops on her. 

Even now, she felt her heart breaking to pieces. She watched Howard put in the two ingredients and begin to mix him with his feet.

Suddenly, it felt like the entire world around her slowed down. 

She could see Howard moving, but the entire space seemed frozen except for him. 

Boom!

The small pond exploded and thousands of tiny droplets of water shot into the air and formed a strange network of water droplets. Between the water droplets, a small blue light began to connect the dots, forming a strange network of lines floating in the air. 

It seemed to be some type of Ki Array. Jenny had read about them back at the lab in the West Branch. A Ki Array could strengthen the frequencies at which Ki was perceived by the person who created the Array, and also had an effect on the environment. Thus, she was instantly impressed by the complexity of the Ki Array. 

When she read about Ki Arrays', she saw patterns that reminded her of organic chemistry. They were extremely complicated and intricate depending on the level of the array. A 1st level array required 4 Ki Figures be formed, however, this seemed to have over 100 Ki Figures! Ki Figures were sort of like chains on a chain link, and increased the power of the array, but each new Ki Figure could cause the entire chain to explode! Looking at the Ki Array, though, this one seemed to have hundreds of connections!

It had to be an 8th level Array! Only a genius at arrays could make such a powerful array! She marveled at the flashing lights as the water remained floating in the air. Tiny droplets had been scattered throughout the room and looked like small little floating grapes made up of pure Ki. However, the strangest thing is when Jenny tried to move, she easily managed to walk through the space.

"This is pretty cool." Howard smiled. "It feels like we're in a magical wonderland! Everything around us seems frozen!"

"You have to train, Howard," Jenny blushed and held out her hands. Part of her wanted to kiss him, but she knew his responsibilities as the new leader of the East Branch came first. "This-this is amazing, though! The Ki Figures are so detailed! I wonder who made this."

"It reminds me of the Demon King, Earl," Howard nodded his head. "In fact, I'm sure of it. It's definitely his handiwork. I saw a similar array a few months ago when I went into the herbary to collect my reward. However, I don't get it? Why would he let the Varlen use this place if he could create such powerful arrays?" Howard simply meant that Arrays could also be used to keep people out, and with such knowledge of arrays he could easily have sealed off all of Jarlon Valley. "Anyways, what should we do?"

"There is another stone," Jenny pointed at a block in the middle of the water. "Let's read it and find out!"