My Substitute CEO Bride
Chapter 1462

"Exercise? Did I gain weight?" Tatiana panicked, checking her arms and then pulling out her phone to look at her face. Having indulged in delicious and spicy foods recently without much exercise, she wondered if she had gained weight. Nash smiled and added, "Not that kind of exercise."

Only then did Tatiana realize what he meant. Blushing, she retorted, "Who'd want to exercise with you?" Despite saying that, her body betrayed her. Just thinking about that night made her mouth salivate uncontrollably.

After eating her fill, Tatiana got up to clean the dishes. Next to the stone house was a sink. A cartoon water bottle was hung upside down from the eaves. When she opened the cap, clear water came pouring out.

Tatiana washed the dishes absentmindedly when she caught sight of the 'wolf' staring at her legs in the corner of her eye. Had things gone too far? As she was washing the last dish, the 'wolf' had already approached and embraced her from behind.

His low, magnetic voice sounded in her ear. "Time for some exercise." With Nash's warm breath on her face, she melted instantly into his arms. Nash carried Tatiana into the stone house. This time, Tatiana did not resist. Nash had been studying hard for the past three days. It was time he got his reward.

Three hours passed swiftly. Nash covered the blushing Tatiana with a silk quilt, then returned to his study of array patterns by the window until the next morning. By that time, he had reached the 45th page.

On the windowsill sat eight stones now bearing carved array patterns. With the others done from previous days, there was now a total of 24 stones. Nash took these stones deep into the bamboo forest to test the array's effectiveness.

Of the 24 array patterns, the Thunder and Fire Patterns were etched on eight each while three bore the Wind Pattern. Another three were etched with the Detect Pattern, and finally, two with the Earth Pattern. Combined, they formed an integrated defense and offense array.

Following the instructions from the tome, Nash arranged the stones according to the 12 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches. As he placed the last stone, visible ripples appeared in the air.

He wryly noted the absence of the Hidden Pattern, essential for concealing the array's fluctuations.

After searching for over 2,000 meters, he found a suitable stone and added it to the array. Instantly, the area was engulfed in lightning, thunder, and flames, charring the tough stone with its power. Pleased with the array's offensive capabilities, Nash decided to further test its defenses.

The array's defenses were designed to activate upon receiving damage. The Detect Pattern was critical for targeting as it acted like a sensor. As Nash reached out for a detecting stone, it sensed his movement and emitted a ripple, reacting to his approach. Following this, several bolts of lightning and flames charged Nash with a destructive force that moved beyond the boundaries of the array at the speed of lightning. They were capable of hitting the target in the blink of an eye.

Anticipating this, Nash swiftly dodged the attack with a quick sidestep. He was very pleased with the power of this small-scale array. He imagined that a large-scale array made up of thousands of patterns could potentially force back a cultivator in the Profound Oriental Realm.

However, engraving such a large number of patterns would be an immense task.

Large arrays required special patterns that connected with the terrain and the forces of heaven and earth. These special patterns needed to be carved on spirit stones.

Meanwhile, from the window of a distant stone cottage, Tatiana, wrapped in a silk quilt, peeked out to watch Nash. Seeing the power of the array filled her eyes with excitement and thrill. She finally understood why Nash could fly with his sword at such a young age. With his cultivation talent and perceptiveness, she suspected that he might even be the reincarnation of some ancient great being.

Seeing Nash turn around and head back, she quickly retreated to the bed and pretended to be asleep.