"I agree."
Shui was the first to agree with Kate's suggestion. Mater was already giving them some trouble, so they obviously couldn't allow him to get whatever treasure was inside the palace. Although Shui had a feeling there was more to the matter than was explained, stopping Mater seemed like the only reasonable option.
"No objections here."
"Me neither."
"Same."
Seeing that there were no opposing opinions, Pon nodded.
"Very well. It's earlier than I expected, but let's go greet our eldest brother."
As there were made of energy, the elemental lakes couldn't be moved or stored using normal means, so the team decided to return if there was enough time after defeating Mater and exploring the palace. Pon took the lead in showing the way while everyone else kept their guards up in case of ambushes. During the journey, Shui noticed a pensive expression on the red spirit's face. He didn't want to needlessly interact with her, but this could be important, so he made an exception.
"What's wrong, Miss Spirit? Is something bothering you?"
"Oh, your concern is appreciated, boy. I'm just trying to remember something. Don't let it bother you."
"Okay."
His interest wasn't completely extinguished, but interrogating further wouldn't lead anywhere, so he gave up. Less than an hour later, Pon raised his hand as a signal and then slowed to a stop behind a tree of the forest they were in. Everyone else took similar actions and then looked out of the forest to verify what Pon had seen. At first there was nothing, but suddenly a giant image flickered into their sight before disappearing.
"So that's the grand palace."
"That's right. Though I don't know how it'll look once the array is down."
The unfamiliar voice put them on alert, but Pon and Shui quickly calmed down the others once they saw who it was.
"This is the retainer I told you about, Dean. He cultivates a special stealth art, so he could stay on Mater's tail and find this place."
Dean, who Pon had called 'Dee' the last time Shui met him, performed a slight bow.
"Mater's subordinates are closer to the site of the palace, but I believe it would be prudent to be cautious of them detecting us."
"I'll handle that part."
Shui narrowed the range of his spiritual sense to create a spiritual barrier that would cover them. Thanks to the training he had done since sneaking back to Silver City with Reinhart and Kate, this spiritual barrier would not only block spiritual sense, it would also fool the other five senses. Even if a stone was thrown at someone outside the barrier, it would be hard for that person to find where the stone came from. The focus required was also increased, but it wasn't enough to put Shui at a serious disadvantage.
"It's done."
Cassandra was the only one skilled enough in the spiritual arts to figure out what Shui did, but everyone trusted in Shui's concealment measures regardless.
"Thank you, Shui. Dean, summarize your report."
"Yes, young lord. When Mater and his party first arrived, there wasn't any sign of the palace, but the land was surprisingly empty in hindsight. After reaching the clearing, Mater ordered core disciples to set up an array in the area and once it was complete, the image of the palace began flickering in and out like a mirage."
"Do you think you could draw the array or give me an idea of what it looks like?"
As checking with his spiritual sense might affect the array or alert someone in Mater's camp, Shui asked Dean as an alternative. Fortunately, Dean prepared a jade slip with a copy of his memory of the completed array. After studying the memory, Shui quickly reached a conclusion.
"It's an anti-concealment array."
Just as there were offensive and defensive arrays, there were arrays specifically made to counter other arrays. These specialized arrays were called anti arrays and, while useless outside of their designed purpose, there were very effective in doing what they were meant to.
"I thought extensive knowledge of the original array was needed to make an anti array?" Pon commented.
"Not necessarily. It would be different if this was a rare or complicated array, but the general concept of concealment arrays is well understood so it's possible to create a general anti-concealment array that would have a significant effect on all concealment arrays of the same or lower tier. I'm not sure what tier the concealment array here is, but if it really was set up during an ancient era, then it might not have been set up with protections against anti arrays in mind."
Anti arrays first emerged as a means to decipher ancient arrays, so while modern arrays had extra features that made them harder to counter, this wasn't the case for ancient arrays.
"Then how long do you think it'll take before the concealment array is made ineffective?"
"Judging by the rate of flickering, I would say by nightfall."
The sky looked different inside the Spirit Nest, but there was a day and night cycle and time flowed at the same rate, so a few hours remained before Shui's predicted time.
"I see. I doubt they have information about the inside of the palace, but it would be best to stay on their tails once they head inside to ensure that they don't find any treasure that would make them more troublesome than they already are."
"Agreed."
"In the meantime, let's refine what we gained from soaking in the elemental lakes and optimize our conditions."
Everyone accepted Reinhart's suggestion. Shui used talismans to replace his spiritual barrier while Dean volunteered to keep watch in case anything happened. Shui noticed that the spirit kept a pensive expression on her face, but he didn't see the need to interrupt her thoughts. Though it was just her leftovers, Shui was able to gain some insights into the natural law of fire after absorbing the fire elemental energy lingering around the lake, so he spent his time combining them with what he already knew.
Time passed calmly, with no more surprises until the final flicker of the palace. At the same time as the palace entered reality, a powerful suppressive law was released on all in its vicinity. Even Shui found himself barely able to use power above the Mortal Realm, though his body's toughness was unchanged. Nonetheless, the amount of leeway he thought he had was severely reduced.
"What the hell?!"
Kate exclaimed, expressing the same feelings that everyone else had.
"Shui?"
"Let me think. Dean, can you check on how Mater's group is doing? Just a quick check to see if they expected this or not."
Dean grimaced, but he moved once Pon approved of Shui's order. The suppression didn't stop them from moving or interfere with the talismans he set up, but he couldn't be sure of what would happen if he got closer.
Dean soon returned with a complicated expression.
"They're in a panic. Mater is calming them down, but it doesn't look like he predicted this either."
"So it's either a trap or..."
"Shui?"
"We should make our next move based on what Mater's faction does. The suppression might be distance-limited, so we would be back to normal once we leave, but I have a bad feeling about allowing Mater to enter the palace. It might even be better if none of us gets to enter."
"Do you know something?"
"Nothing certain. But if I had to say then, worst cast scenario, none of us make it out of this alive."