Xiao Fei and the Cai clan chief chatted and laughed, settling Zhu Yu's marriage.
He believed that Zhu Yu, upon receiving this good news from millions of miles away, would surely be deeply moved.
With the engagement now set, their relationship had visibly strengthened, and their conversation became more intimate.
"To be frank, I have a secret mission to complete during my travels, and I hope to receive some assistance from your esteemed clan."
Now that they were so familiar and even related, Xiao Fei began to state his humble request.
"May I ask what Xiao Gongzi requires?"
Although Cai Jingjing had consumed a considerable amount of spiritual wine, she had seen much of the world and was not yet muddled. She did not agree directly.
"Do you all know of the great prison formation to the east of the West Sea?"
From this point on, Xiao Fei entered his phase of probing.
Since he was still under the guise of a young master from a noble family, he could not inquire directly, lest his true intentions be revealed.
"Are you referring to the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array that encircles the Eastern Continent and the East Sea?"
Cai Jingjing indeed knew of it and immediately spoke the name of the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array.
"Yes! That is precisely the array the junior is referring to."
Xiao Fei was surprised that his first question successfully elicited the name of this great array.
"Has there been any recent issue with the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array?" Cai Jingjing asked with a hint of confusion.
"Our clan elders, through some unknown channel, learned that a large number of demons have invaded the Eastern Continent.
They specifically dispatched me to investigate and understand the situation."
"Oh! So that's how it is. It's not a major matter."
Upon hearing this, Cai Jingjing remained nonchalant, not taking it to heart. She felt it was merely a matter of a prominent family sending their younger generation on a trial to gain experience.
"But I heard that all the humans on the Eastern Continent have been annihilated by the demons, and the demons intend to invade the Heavenly Origin Realm through the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array."
Seeing no reaction from Cai Jingjing, Xiao Fei released a slightly more potent piece of information to test her.
However, Cai Jingjing's expression remained largely unchanged, as if the complete annihilation of humans on the Eastern Continent had little bearing on her.
"The Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array was originally established to resist the demons. For the demons to attempt to open this array from within is simply wishful thinking.
As for the humans of the Eastern Continent, their ancestors were originally offenders, bearing the responsibility of guarding the land and resisting the demons. Their deaths were fitting."
Xiao Fei was displeased with Cai Jingjing's disregard for the humans of the Eastern Continent, treating them as mere ants.
Even if the ancestors of the Eastern Continent humans had committed some offense countless eons ago, they should not have stood by and watched the entire human population of the Eastern Continent be slaughtered by demons.
However, he still wished to extract more information, so he could not voice his displeasure at this moment.
"However, according to unreliable sources, the demons might deploy top-tier powerhouses to find a way to invade the Heavenly Origin Realm in large numbers to search for a certain treasure."
At this moment, Cai Jingjing's expression finally underwent a significant change.
"What treasure? It would actually cause the demons to mobilize such a large force?"
Others might not know, but Cai Jingjing was aware that the primary reason the Heavenly Origin Realm used a great array to confine a vast territory was that humanity's current strength was no match for the demons, leading to this drastic measure.
If the demons were truly determined to break through at all costs, the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array alone would not be enough to stop them.
If the demons were to attack, the West Sea would be the first to bear the brunt, and her Cai clan would need to make preparations accordingly.
"I do not yet know the specific details. I still need to investigate thoroughly."
Seeing that Cai Jingjing had finally shown concern, Xiao Fei had achieved his objective and extracted much useful intelligence.
He certainly would not reveal the subsequent information now; he wanted to keep her in suspense.
"I have a humble request. I hope that after Gongzi Xiao investigates the demons' specific movements, you will share the information with our Cai clan."
"No problem. However, our clan has some missing information regarding the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array. I hope Clan Chief Cai can lend me some relevant materials for perusal."
"That is naturally no problem. Cai Xian, go to the library and make copies of all the materials concerning the Eastern Continent and the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array, and present them to Gongzi Xiao."
A woman in the main hall heard this, immediately stood up, bowed, and took her leave.
After a while, the woman returned with dozens of jade slips and placed them on Xiao Fei's table.
Although such information was precious, it was not something like forbidden cultivation techniques or secret arts that could not be disseminated. Clan Chief Cai was more than willing to part with it to foster goodwill.
"Thank you, Senior Cai!"
Xiao Fei accepted the jade slips, put them into his embrace, and bowed gratefully to Cai Jingjing.
Afterward, everyone continued drinking and chatting in the main hall for a long time before dispersing.
When Xiao Fei departed from the Cai clan, Cai Jian still accompanied him.
Cai Jian was regretful that Xiao Fei did not become his father, as he was quite fond of the idea.
At least, among the hundreds of fathers he had encountered, Xiao Fei appeared to be the most manly.
Unfortunately, his aesthetic preferences did not align with his mother's, and he had no authority to make decisions for her.
As a male disciple of the Cai clan, he did not even have the right to freely choose his own father.
Upon returning to Thousand Crane City, Xiao Fei brought the information obtained from the Cai clan into his spatial realm.
Last time, he had invested the ten billion spirit stones from selling spiritual herbs into the realm, which now possessed a time dilation of 60 times.
Tasks like reading and studying could be done in the realm, saving a significant amount of time.
The jade slips that Cai Jingjing had given him contained extremely rich content, far exceeding Xiao Fei's expectations.
It turned out that in ancient times, humanity's strength far surpassed that of the demons, and they would often cross the inter-dimensional passages to attack and hunt demons.
However, for some unknown reason, humanity's strength suddenly declined, and they could no longer defeat their former subordinates.
Therefore, before the demons discovered this secret and reacted, humanity sealed all passages leading to the demon realm.
But this type of passage sealing could only block demons of weaker cultivation. Truly powerful demons could not be stopped by such a blockade.
To this end, some ingenious individuals among humanity devised an excellent plan.
They possessed a Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array, which sealed off a vast area, including the Eastern Continent and the East Sea.
This Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array continuously drew spiritual energy from the Eastern Continent and the East Sea to supplement its own consumption.
As time passed, this array would gradually drain all the spiritual energy within the entire formation, turning the large area within the array into a spirit-severed land.
In this way, even if powerful demons crossed dimensions, they would be exhausted and powerless.
However, they would only face an Eastern Continent devoid of spiritual energy.
They would be unable to absorb spiritual energy to replenish their own consumption, nor would they have the ability to damage the Spirit Severing Sky Locking Array.
Upon reading this, Xiao Fei could not help but sigh in admiration. The cultivator who designed this array was undoubtedly a genius.
However, they had used the entire human population of the Eastern Continent as cannon fodder.