Chapter 238 - 230: A Gathering of Loose Cultivators
Once his talisman crafting was done for the time being, Li Yuan took out the two jade slips on arrays that the Wang family had given him. He poured his Divine Sense into them and began a systematic study.
The subject of compound arrays was more profound than he had anticipated.
The core concept behind compound arrays was to break the isolated nature of individual arrays, allowing multiple arrays to share Array Base nodes and form a single, interlinked system.
The key to this interlinking was signal transmission between the Array Bases.
In an ordinary array, the Array Foundation Stones only connect to other stones within the same array. A compound array, however, requires certain Array Foundation Stones to belong to two or even three arrays simultaneously, serving as linkage nodes. When the state of one array changes, a signal is transmitted through these shared nodes to the next array, triggering a corresponding response.
The entire system was seamlessly interconnected, requiring no manual intervention.
The records detailed the methods for arranging the linkage nodes, the techniques for guiding Spiritual Power to transmit signals, and the skills for balancing Spiritual Power distribution when multiple arrays operated simultaneously.
The Spirit Pattern structure of the Fire Element Attack Array in the second jade slip was a level more complex than that of the Golden Light Array, but it shared common principles with the Fireball Technique and Fire Python Skill. The array’s attack mechanism involved extracting and condensing the Fire Attribute components from the surrounding Spiritual Qi, either creating a high-temperature flame zone or launching a directional Fire Element Spiritual Power blast within its effective range.
After fully absorbing the contents of both jade slips, Li Yuan began to plan the modifications for his encampment’s arrays.
Li Yuan walked around the clearing and used the Earth Transporting Skill to dig up all the original Array Foundation Stones, clearing away the Conductive Spirit Sand at the same time.
He then replanned their positions, following the layout method for a compound array.
He spent the better part of the day reburying all the Array Foundation Stones in their new locations. The pathways for the Conductive Spirit Sand were also altered, changing from a single layer to a dual-layered, crisscrossing structure. The inner layer connected the Array Foundation Stones of the same array, while the outer layer linked the different arrays’ linkage nodes.
First, he activated the interlinked system connecting the Early Warning Array, the Spirit Gathering Array, and the Golden Light Array.
He tested the linkage effect. After tossing a stone to the edge of the Early Warning Array’s coverage area, the array detected the ripple of presence. A signal was sent along the linkage nodes, and within two breaths, the Golden Light Array activated automatically, its shield unfolding above the clearing.
The linkage was a success.
Next up was deploying the Fire Element Attack Array.
The Array Hub required a high-quality, Fire Attribute ore. From the materials he had purchased, Li Yuan retrieved a Fire Sun Stone of superior quality, its Spiritual Power fluctuations pure and clean.
He buried the eight Array Foundation Stones one by one, laid the pathways of Conductive Spirit Sand, and ensured the linkage nodes were properly connected.
Finally, he embedded the Fire Sun Stone in the center of the array and infused it with Spiritual Power to activate it.
The surface of the Fire Sun Stone pulsed with a crimson luster as Spiritual Power spread along the Conductive Spirit Sand toward the eight Array Foundation Stones. The foundation stones lit up in sequence with a faint, fiery light, then the glow receded, and the array entered standby mode.
The Fire Element Attack Array was successfully activated.
The compound, interlinked system composed of four arrays was now fully operational.
Li Yuan walked to the center of the Fire Array and removed the Fire Sun Stone from the Array Hub to examine it.
The instant his fingers touched it, the panel appeared.
[Detectable Equippable Item: Fire Element Stone (Complete)]
[Equip Trait Preview: Fire Element Condensation Effect (White) — Reduces the Spiritual Power consumption of Fire Element Magic by 10%.]
[Permanence Condition Preview: One Fire Element Magic must reach the Perfected Realm (0/1).]
[Equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace a currently equipped item?]
’A White-tier trait. Fire Element Condensation Effect.’
’Reduces the Spiritual Power cost of Fire Element Magic by ten percent.’
’The condition to make it permanent is to have one Fire Element Magic reach the Perfected Realm. The Fireball Technique already satisfies that condition.’
The condition was met on the spot.
Li Yuan equipped the Fire Formation Stone.
[Permanence condition for Fire Element Condensation Effect (White) has been met.]
[Make permanent?]
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful.]
[Fire Element Condensation Effect (White) has become a permanent trait.]
[Equipped item has been consumed.]
The Fire Formation Stone in his palm dissolved into a flash of white light that sank into his body.
The Spiritual Power consumption of his Fire Element Magic was now reduced by ten percent. Combined with the faster casting speed from "Fire Magic Rapid Cast" and the reduced attribute conversion loss from "Fire Element Conversion," the overall efficiency of his Fire Element Magic had reached a new level.
The panel immediately displayed a second notification.
[Fusable Trait Combination Detected]
[Fire Magic Rapid Cast (White) + Fire Element Conversion (White) + Fire Element Condensation Effect (White)]
The three Fire Element-related traits had met the conditions for fusion.
Li Yuan didn’t hesitate.
’Fuse.’
The icons for the three traits overlapped on the panel, their light mixing from white to green. After several breaths, the glow stabilized, settling into a deeper shade of green.
[Fusion Complete]
[Obtained Permanent Trait: Law of the Blazing Sun (Green)]
[Law of the Blazing Sun (Green) — Greatly increases the casting speed of Fire Element Magic; greatly reduces attribute conversion loss for Fire Spiritual Power; reduces the Spiritual Power consumption of Fire Element Magic by 20%.]
The three previously separate traits had now merged into one.
None of the individual effects had been weakened; on the contrary, the fusion made them more synergistic.
Li Yuan took a new Fire Sun Stone from his storage bag and embedded it in the center of the Fire Array, replacing the consumed Array Hub. He then infused it with Spiritual Power to reactivate the array.
The array resumed operation.
With the interlinked system of four arrays fully operational, the encampment’s defensive capabilities had risen by more than a single tier.
Li Yuan stood in the center of the clearing and surveyed his surroundings.
The encampment’s appearance was now vastly different from what it once was. Seven stone houses had been built in the clearing. A linked defensive system, comprising three support arrays and one attack array, was now in place, and the Spirit Gathering Array continuously gathered Spiritual Qi toward the center.
Furthermore, because he had been cultivating here for so long, the passive effect of his ’Evil Essence Unification’ ability had continuously absorbed the surrounding Evil Qi. Consequently, the Evil Qi concentration within a hundred-zhang radius of the encampment had dropped to a very low level.
While the Evil Qi in other parts of the Ghost Mist Forest was still dense, he had absorbed the majority of it around his encampment, making the environment here far more temperate than in the outer regions.
Low Evil Qi, abundant Spiritual Qi, array protection, and ready-made shelter.
For Loose Cultivators, such conditions were already excellent.
In the days that followed, the number of people at the encampment began to grow.
The first to arrive were Loose Cultivators from the nearby mines. In the past, these cultivators would return to the outskirts of Yunyang Market to rest after finishing their work, a round trip that took a considerable amount of time.
But now, the encampment had ready-made stone houses to live in, low Evil Qi concentration, abundant Spiritual Qi, no city entrance fee to worry about, and it was close to the mines.
The first group was a trio of Loose Cultivators from the mines who hesitantly came over to ask if they could stay for a while. Li Yuan told them to each pick a stone house and that the rent would be one Spirit Stone per person every two months.
As for the two Loose Cultivators who had arrived earlier, Li Yuan refunded them the excess Spirit Stones to match the new rate.
Once word got out, several more Loose Cultivators trickled in.
Some came from the mines, while others came from the outskirts of the Ghost Mist Forest. They were a mix of herb-gathering and beast-hunting Loose Cultivators, all of whom were active in the area. They had never had a fixed place to rest before, but now a proper settlement was available.
When they ran out of stone houses, Li Yuan simply used the Earth Transporting Skill to build several more on the outskirts of the encampment.
By the end of the month, the encampment had over a dozen permanent residents. Most of them were at the mid-to-late stages of the Qi Refining realm, making them the backbone of the Loose Cultivator community active around the Ghost Mist Forest.
And just like that, a small settlement of Loose Cultivators had taken shape.