Chapter 232 - 224: 3 Arrays
Early the next morning, Li Yuan returned to the Ghost Mist Forest.
The two Loose Cultivators practicing an Evil Qi cultivation technique were still cultivating behind the dead trees at the edge of the clearing. When they saw Li Yuan return, they cupped their hands in greeting from a distance, not wanting to disturb him.
Li Yuan took the array materials out of his storage pouch and laid them out in the clearing.
Three sets of Array Foundation Stones, with five stones in each set. Three portions of Conductive Spirit Sand. Three Array Hub materials: a Sensing Jade, a Spirit Gathering Stone, and a Golden Light Stone.
First, he would set up the Early Warning Array.
Following the steps from his inheritance, he buried the five Array Foundation Stones at five evenly spaced points around the clearing, forming a regular pentagon.
After burying the Array Foundation Stones, he used the Conductive Spirit Sand to draw connecting lines between them. The scattering of the sand required precise control over its thickness and density; too thick, and the Spiritual Power would conduct too quickly and become unstable, while too thin would result in insufficient conduction efficiency.
The permanent trait for Array Dao comprehension increased the growth rate of his array-setting proficiency by fifty percent. The feel of each step became smoother much faster than he had anticipated.
Once the Spiritual Sand lines were drawn, he embedded the Sensing Jade in the center of the array and infused it with Spiritual Power to activate it.
A faint golden luster appeared on the surface of the Sensing Jade as Spiritual Power spread along the Conductive Spirit Sand toward the five Array Foundation Stones. The stones lit up in sequence with a faint glow, which then faded as the array entered a dormant state.
The Early Warning Array was successfully activated.
Its coverage area was approximately eighty zhang. The Sensing Jade would issue a warning if any Cultivator or Demon Beast at the Qi Refining Third Level or higher entered this range.
Next was the Spirit Gathering Array.
The method for setting up the Spirit Gathering Array was different from the Early Warning Array. The Array Foundation Stones were arranged not in a regular pentagon, but in a spiral that tightened inward. The flow of Spiritual Power was directed from the outer ring toward the center.
The path of the Conductive Spirit Sand also changed from straight lines to arcs, with each arc having strict curvature requirements.
Li Yuan followed the steps from his inheritance one by one. The spiral arrangement was much more complex than the pentagon; he had to adjust the spacing of the first two Array Foundation Stones three times before finding the optimal positions.
He buried the Array Foundation Stones, drew the lines of Spiritual Sand, embedded the Spirit Gathering Stone in the center, and infused it with Spiritual Power to activate it.
A faint blue luster surfaced on the Spirit Gathering Stone, and the surrounding Spiritual Qi began to slowly converge at the center. Within a few breaths, the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the middle of the clearing had noticeably increased.
The Spirit Gathering Array was successfully activated.
Finally, the Golden Light Array.
The Golden Light Array was a Defensive Array. Its Array Foundation Stones were arranged in a hexagon, using one more stone than the previous two arrays. The path of the Conductive Spirit Sand was two-layered: an inner layer connected the foundation stones, and an outer layer formed a closed loop. The two layers intersected at six nodes.
This was the most complex of the three arrays.
It took Li Yuan about two hours to complete all the steps. He embedded the Golden Light Stone in the center and infused it with Spiritual Power.
A golden luster shone from the Golden Light Stone’s surface for three breaths before the light receded, and the array entered a standby state.
When triggered, it would form a golden Spiritual Power shield within its coverage area.
The Golden Light Array was successfully activated.
All three arrays were now set up.
The panel popped up.
[Array Dao: Tier One Array Dao—Proficient (0/400)]
He had jumped directly from Entry-level to Proficient. The permanent trait for Array Dao comprehension had accelerated his progress by fifty percent. The proficiency points accumulated from setting up three arrays from scratch had pushed his Array Dao skill directly past the upper limit of the Entry level.
Li Yuan stood in the center of the clearing, sensing the combined effect of the three arrays operating simultaneously.
The Early Warning Array’s sensory network covered a radius of eighty zhang, capable of detecting any fluctuation in aura. The Spirit Gathering Array converged Spiritual Qi at the center, making the concentration under his feet more than thirty percent higher than the surroundings. The Golden Light Array was on standby, ready to be activated at any moment.
With the three arrays running in tandem, this clearing had transformed from an ordinary cultivation spot into a small, fortified encampment with protection, early warnings, and Spiritual Qi enhancement.
Li Yuan turned his attention to the three Array Hubs.
The Sensing Jade, the Spirit Gathering Stone, and the Golden Light Stone.
All three Array Hubs had changed after the arrays were activated.
It wasn’t a change in the arrays themselves, but a change in their traits.
Li Yuan walked to the center of the Early Warning Array and removed the Sensing Jade.
Without its Array Hub, the array automatically ceased to function, and the warning network dissipated.
He placed his finger on the Sensing Jade.
A panel popped up.
[Equippable Item Detected: Warning Stone (Intact)]
[Equipment Trait Preview: Spiritual Mechanism Sense (White)—Perception is enhanced]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Independently set up and successfully activate three different types of arrays (0/3)]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace currently equipped item?]
’A white trait. Spiritual Mechanism Sense.’
’A trait has been generated on the Array Hub after setting up the array.’
Li Yuan put away the Sensing Jade, walked to the center of the Spirit Gathering Array, and took out the Spirit Gathering Stone.
[Equippable Item Detected: Spirit Gathering Stone (Intact)]
[Equipment Trait Preview: Gather Essence and Condense Meridians (White)—Actively absorb and gather Spiritual Qi within a ten-zhang radius, centered on yourself]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Accumulate over thirty-six hours of cultivation within an array you have set up (0/36)]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace currently equipped item?]
Finally, the Golden Light Stone from the center of the Golden Light Array.
[Equippable Item Detected: Golden Light Stone (Intact)]
[Equipment Trait Preview: Array Pattern Fortification (White)—Skin defense increased by thirty percent]
[Permanence Condition Preview: Array Dao proficiency reaches Tier One Great Success (0/1)]
[Current equipment slots are full (5/5). Replace currently equipped item?]
’Three Array Hubs, three traits.’
Li Yuan put all three Array Hubs into his storage pouch, then took out three new hub materials from his reserves. He embedded them into the centers of the three arrays and infused them with Spiritual Power to reactivate them.
The arrays resumed operation.
’I’ll keep the hubs with traits for equipping and making permanent. The arrays can be maintained with ordinary hub materials.’
Li Yuan sat down in the center of the clearing and took out the three Array Hubs to examine them one by one.
The permanence condition for Spiritual Mechanism Sense was to independently set up and successfully activate three different types of arrays. He had just set up and activated the Early Warning Array, Spirit Gathering Array, and Golden Light Array all by himself, so the condition should have been met.
Li Yuan equipped the Sensing Jade.
[Permanence condition for Spiritual Mechanism Sense (White) has been met]
[Make permanent?]
’Yes.’
[Permanence successful]
[Spiritual Mechanism Sense (White) has become a permanent trait]
[Equipped item has been consumed]
The Sensing Jade in his palm dissolved into a flash of white light that entered his body. He could immediately feel the effect of his enhanced perception; the clarity of his Divine Sense had improved by a sliver.
The panel immediately displayed a second prompt.
[Fusable Trait Combination Detected]
[Spiritual Sense Boost (White) + Spiritual Sense Expansion (Green) + Spiritual Mechanism Sense (White)]
The three perception-type 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 blending from white and green into a deeper green, which stabilized after a few breaths.
[Fusion Complete]
[Permanent Trait Acquired: Spiritual Sense Clarity (Green)]
[Spiritual Sense Clarity (Green)—Greatly enhances perception range and precision; passively sense aura fluctuations within fifty zhang, with a penetrating effect against concealment; perception effect increases with Divine Soul strength]
The three separate perception traits had merged into one, resulting in a comprehensive upgrade.
His passive perception range had expanded from thirty zhang to fifty zhang, and its precision and penetration had also been enhanced. Combined with the range of his Divine Sense, Li Yuan’s sensory abilities had reached a whole new level.
Li Yuan put away the two remaining Array Hubs.
’Gather Essence and Condense Meridians requires accumulating thirty-six hours of cultivation in an array I set up myself. It’s not a short time, but it’s not hard to achieve. I’ll naturally accrue enough time if I cultivate in the Ghost Mist Forest long-term.’
’Array Pattern Fortification requires my Array Dao proficiency to reach Tier One Great Success. I’m only at Proficient right now, so there’s still a ways to go.’
’I’ll equip these two traits for now and slowly make progress on them.’
Li Yuan organized his equipment slots, then sat down cross-legged to cultivate.
The Spirit Gathering Array converged Spiritual Qi at the center, making the concentration under his feet more than thirty percent higher than the surroundings. Evil Essence Unity operated in sync, pulling Evil Qi from all directions.
The Cyan Wood Longevity Skill activated, and liquefied Spiritual Power flowed through his meridians.
After cultivating for several cycles, Li Yuan noticed a change.
The operation of his Cyan Wood Longevity Skill was becoming increasingly smooth. The conversion of Wood Spiritual Power no longer required any conscious guidance; the Spiritual Power automatically switched its attribute upon reaching a conversion node, turning the circulatory cycle from semi-automatic to fully automatic.
The nourishing effect of the Wood Spiritual Power in his meridians continued to accumulate. The flexibility of his meridians, the resilience of his organs, and his body’s vitality were all slowly and steadily increasing.
The panel popped up.
[Cultivation Technique: Cyan Wood Longevity Skill—Proficient (0/400)]
His Cyan Wood Longevity Skill had reached the Proficient level.
The absorption and conversion efficiency of Wood Spiritual Power had both risen to a new level. His utilization rate of Spiritual Qi during cultivation was higher, and the amount of Spiritual Power accumulated with each cycle was nearly thirty percent greater than at the Entry level.
The increase in his life force was even more pronounced. The gentle, persistent vitality within him was further nourished at the Proficient stage, and his aging process slowed by another fraction.
Li Yuan continued his cultivation. Guarded by the three arrays, his encampment deep within the Ghost Mist Forest was quiet and efficient.