Chapter 203 - 197: Returning to the Ghost Mist Forest
Early the next morning, Li Yuan packed his storage pouch and set out.
Array Materials, talisman-crafting tools, pills, and dried rations—he brought everything.
He left through the south gate of Yunyang Market and followed the main road southwest. Activating the Divine Movement Step, his speed was nearly double that of a normal person walking.
After walking for the better part of a day, the familiar gray-white wall of mist appeared on the distant horizon.
The Ghost Mist Forest.
Thick mist rose from the ground, forming a low wall that stretched out before him. A few Loose Cultivators were scattered across the open ground outside the wall of mist. Some were organizing their gear, while others rested against tree trunks.
Li Yuan didn’t linger, walking straight toward the wall of mist.
The moment he stepped into the dense fog, his vision was consumed by a grayish-white haze. The soil underfoot gave way to a soft layer of decaying leaves. The air turned damp and chilling, and the aura of Evil Qi seeped in from all directions.
His Evil Qi Affinity automatically activated, suppressing the negative effects of the Evil Qi to a minimum.
Li Yuan walked deeper into the forest for about a quarter of an hour before finding a flat clearing.
The clearing wasn’t large, about twenty zhang in radius, and was surrounded by dead, ancient trees. A thick layer of decaying leaves covered the ground, muffling his footsteps.
The concentration of Evil Qi was significantly higher here than at the edge, and a cold, decaying smell permeated the air.
Li Yuan took out the Array Materials from his storage pouch one by one.
Eight Array Foundation Stones were placed on the ground, the grayish-white stones faintly glowing with a cold light in the dense mist. There was a bag of Conductive Spirit Sand, a dark gray powder. The Nascent Soul Stone was set in the very center; it was the size of a fist and its surface shimmered with a dark red luster.
Li Yuan reviewed the Array Map for the Gathering Evil Array in his mind, then began to set it up.
Step one: establish the positions.
The eight Array Foundation Stones were arranged according to the positions and distances marked on the Array Map. One was placed in each of the cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—and one in each of the intercardinal directions—southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest—forming an octagon.
The distance between the Array Foundation Stones had to be precise, with a deviation of no more than an inch. Li Yuan used his Spiritual Power to mark eight points on the ground, placing each stone in its designated spot.
His permanent trait, Array Dao Basics, was working subtly, increasing his proficiency in array setup by fifty percent. Pinpointing the locations went more smoothly than he had anticipated, and the precision with which his Spiritual Power marked the positions on the ground was extremely high.
Step two: lay the conductive lines.
He poured the Conductive Spirit Sand from its bag, spreading it along the routes marked on the Array Map between the eight Array Foundation Stones. The Spiritual Sand started from the first Array Foundation Stone, was laid on the ground to the second, then from the second to the third, connecting all the nodes in sequence.
The key to this process was ensuring the Spiritual Sand was laid with uniform thickness and width. If it was too thick, the Spiritual Power’s conduction would be obstructed; if it was too thin, the Spiritual Power would weaken midway.
The precision of his Spiritual Power control, honed by his mastery of the Micro-Control Spiritual Skill, proved invaluable here. Li Yuan laid the Spiritual Sand bit by bit, keeping the thickness and width of each line within an extremely small margin of error.
Step three: place the Array Hub.
The Nascent Soul Stone was placed in the exact center of the octagon.
The Array Hub was the core node of the entire Array, the point where all flows of Spiritual Power would ultimately converge. Once the Nascent Soul Stone was embedded in the ground, it formed a star-shaped connection with the eight conductive lines.
Step four: infuse Spiritual Power.
Li Yuan squatted at the edge of the Array, placed his palm on the first Array Foundation Stone, and infused it with Spiritual Power.
The Spiritual Power flowed along the lines of Conductive Spirit Sand from the first Array Foundation Stone to the second. Upon reaching the second stone, it split; one stream continued toward the third stone, while the other turned back, forming a circuit.
The transfer of Spiritual Power between the eight nodes had to form a stable, closed circuit. Spiritual Power starting from any node had to be able to return to its origin after traveling the full path along the conductive lines, connecting the beginning and the end.
The principle was the same as the closed structure of a Spirit Gathering Array Talisman, only on a much larger scale.
Li Yuan infused Spiritual Power into each node in the sequence marked on the Array Map.
The first, the second, the third.
The Spiritual Power flowed through the conductive lines faster than he expected. The bonus from his Array Dao Basics trait increased the efficiency of the infusion by fifty percent, making the activation of each node exceptionally smooth.
The fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh.
After all seven nodes were activated, the Spiritual Power had already formed a nearly complete circuit within the conductive lines. Only the final node was needed to close it.
The eighth.
The instant Spiritual Power was infused into the last Array Foundation Stone, the entire Array lit up.
All eight Array Foundation Stones simultaneously emitted a dark red halo. Thin bands of light illuminated the lines of Conductive Spirit Sand, converging on the Array Hub from each node.
The Nascent Soul Stone in the center of the Array flashed brightly. A dark red glow spread out from the stone’s surface, forming a translucent barrier of light that enveloped the entire Array.
Once the light barrier stabilized, Li Yuan felt a change.
The surrounding Evil Qi was moving.
It wasn’t a natural flow; it was being drawn. The Evil Qi within a hundred-zhang radius seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand, slowly gathering toward the center of the Array.
The Gathering Evil Array was successfully established.
A panel popped up.
[Tier One Array Dao - Novice (87/200)]
His Array Dao proficiency had increased by a large margin. The techniques used during the setup—connecting Spiritual Power, linking nodes, and closing circuits—were all fundamental skills of the Array Dao. The experience of setting up a complete Array one time was worth more than crafting ten Spirit Gathering Array Talismans.
Immediately after, a second panel appeared.
[Permanence Condition for Array Dao Comprehension (White) has been met]
[Make Permanent?]
’Set up an array entirely on my own.’ The condition was met.
With a thought, Li Yuan unequipped the Hundred Veins Returning to Origin Skill.
He took the Array Dao Basics bamboo slips from his storage pouch and equipped them.
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful]
[Array Dao Comprehension (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipment consumed]
The bamboo slips dissolved into a faint white light between his fingers and merged into his body.
His understanding of arrays became a level clearer in his mind. The flow of Spirit Patterns, the methods of interconnecting nodes, the logic for constructing closed circuits—all this previously fragmented knowledge was integrated into a more complete framework.
From now on, the speed at which he gained proficiency in setting up and breaking arrays would be permanently increased by fifty percent.
Then he stood up and looked at the Gathering Evil Array operating before him.
The eight Array Foundation Stones glowed with a dark red halo, the bands of light on the conductive lines flowed slowly, and the Nascent Soul Stone in the center continuously emitted a dark red radiance. The surrounding Evil Qi was being drawn over ceaselessly, and the concentration of Evil Qi near the Array Hub was already much higher than before.
The Array was operating normally.
Li Yuan raised his right hand.
Fireball Technique.
A Fireball smashed into one of the Array Foundation Stones at the edge of the Array.
BOOM.
The shockwave from the Fireball cracked the Array Foundation Stone. The conductive line broke at the crack, and the Spiritual Power circuit was severed.
The chain reaction was extremely fast. Having lost the support of this node, the Spiritual Power balance of the entire closed circuit was shattered. The halos on the other seven Array Foundation Stones flickered violently a few times, then dimmed one by one.
The bands of light on the conductive lines extinguished outward from the break point, like a burnt-out string of lights.
Finally, the Nascent Soul Stone in the center also went dark. The dark red light retracted into the stone, and the light barrier dissipated.
The Array was broken.
A panel popped up.
[Permanence Condition for Breaking Charm Penetration (White) has been met]
[Make Permanent?]
’Destroy an array once.’ The condition was met.
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful]
[Breaking Charm Penetration (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipment consumed]
The Breaking Charm dissolved into a dark silver light between his fingers and merged into his body.
His penetration effect against Spiritual Power defenses was permanently increased by thirty percent. From now on, whether against spiritual shields, Protective Spirit Light, or array barriers, his penetration ability would be thirty percent stronger.
The Nascent Soul Stone was still in its original spot. After the Array was broken, the Array Foundation Stones and conductive lines were all disabled, but the Nascent Soul Stone itself was undamaged, merely no longer driven by the Array.
Li Yuan crouched down and reached out to pick up the Nascent Soul Stone from the ground.
The moment his fingertips touched the stone’s surface, a panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Gathering Evil Stone (Complete)]
[Equipment Trait Preview: Evil Qi Attraction (White) - Automatically gathers surrounding Evil Qi during cultivation]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Accumulate one hundred cycles of cultivation in an environment rich with Evil Qi (0/100)]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a current item?]
Li Yuan stared at the panel for two breaths.
’Arrays can trigger the panel too.’
’Not the array itself, but the Array Hub.’
’The name just changed, becoming the same as the array’s name.’
’This proves that the core of an array equipment is the array itself, not the material of the Array Hub.’
The Array Hub is the core item of the entire array. The Array Hub of the Gathering Evil Array was this very Nascent Soul Stone. When he touched the Array Hub, the panel identified it as an equippable item.
’In other words, an array can be equipped through its Array Hub.’
The trait’s effect was to automatically gather surrounding Evil Qi during cultivation. It was similar to the function of the Gathering Evil Array, but it was a passive effect that didn’t require setting up an array.
The permanence condition was to cultivate for one hundred cycles in an environment rich with Evil Qi.
The Evil Qi concentration in the Ghost Mist Forest definitely counted as "rich."
One hundred cycles wasn’t a lot. At Li Yuan’s current cultivation speed, he could complete about ten cycles in one shichen, meaning he could finish in ten shichen.
Li Yuan didn’t hesitate. He equipped the Gathering Evil Stone.
[Equipment Successful]
[Trait Acquired: Evil Qi Attraction (White)]
[Permanence Condition: Accumulate one hundred cycles of cultivation in an environment rich with Evil Qi (0/100)]
The moment the trait took effect, Li Yuan felt a change.
The surrounding Evil Qi began to gather toward him.
It wasn’t a large-scale attraction like the Gathering Evil Array, but rather a slow pull on the Evil Qi within a few zhang of himself. The speed wasn’t fast, but it was continuous.
His Evil Qi Affinity automatically suppressed the negative effects of the surging Evil Qi to a minimum, while his Evil Qi Body Tempering simultaneously drew the Evil Qi to seep into his fascia and bones.
It was equivalent to automatically collecting Evil Qi while cultivating.
Li Yuan sat cross-legged in the original location of the Array.
Although the Array was broken, the concentration of Evil Qi in this area was already very high. Coupled with the passive gathering effect from the Gathering Evil Stone’s trait, the concentration of Evil Qi around him was sufficient.
He began circulating the Spirit-Introducing Skill.
Spiritual Qi surged into his body, and his Spiritual Power began to circulate through his meridians. Simultaneously, Evil Qi gathered from the outside, and his Evil Qi Body Tempering drew it into his muscles and bones.
The first cycle was complete.
[Evil Qi Attraction (White) Permanence Progress: 1/100]
The second cycle.
[Evil Qi Attraction (White) Permanence Progress: 2/100]
Li Yuan closed his eyes and sank into his cultivation.
Spiritual Power and Qi Blood flowed alternately through his meridians. Evil Qi continuously gathered from all directions, and his Evil Qi Body Tempering and Iron Wall Body Refining Skill operated in tandem.
He pushed forward, one cycle after another.
The depths of the Ghost Mist Forest were extremely quiet. The dense mist insulated him from all sound, save for the occasional low beast roar from the distance, which was quickly swallowed by the fog.
Ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine.
The one-hundredth cycle was complete.
[Permanence Condition for Evil Qi Attraction (White) has been met]
[Make Permanent?]
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful]
[Evil Qi Attraction (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipment consumed]
From now on, no matter where he cultivated, as long as there was Evil Qi nearby, it would automatically gather toward him. There was no need to set up an array or deliberately collect it.
Li Yuan stood up and stretched his muscles and bones.
The long hours of continuous cultivation had left his body a bit stiff, but his Spiritual Power and Qi Blood were in good condition. His Evil Qi Body Tempering had been working throughout the cultivation process, refining his muscles and bones once again.
The dense mist in the depths of the Ghost Mist Forest was as thick as ever, the grayish-white vapor flowing slowly all around.