High School Student with Immortal Race System

As a craft that required deep study, Arrays were not picky about one’s physique or Spiritual Root, but they were extremely demanding on the mind.

If there were ten thousand types of Magic in the world, there were likely a million types of Arrays.

The very purpose of an Array was to expand the range of a Magic spell and sustain it without the caster’s constant attention. Therefore, the study of "encryption" was also of the utmost importance.

When setting up an Array, every Cultivator would intentionally make adjustments and variations based on their personal habits to avoid "common structures."

A functional Array was just the bare minimum; one that was difficult to crack was what truly counted as acceptable.

This was to prevent it from being cracked in an instant.

Otherwise, a Cultivator might go out for a while, only to return and find their cavern estate now belonged to someone else!

Even their concubines would belong to someone else!

Therefore, a powerful Array Master was someone who relied on their own research, unlike with "Runes," which could simply be copied from a template.

The best approach was to modify it beyond recognition, disassembling, combining, and altering it in all sorts of crazy ways.

Life is like an Array—a grand Array enveloping smaller ones!

According to the basic knowledge from the Array Inheritance rewarded by the system, as long as his intelligence was sufficient, Yang Shen could attempt to modify, encrypt, and combine Arrays himself. He could even deduce new Arrays from the Magic he had already mastered.

But the inheritance stated that this was very difficult... and required an extremely high level of talent.

Furthermore, this practice was different from Cultivation itself. It required a great deal of mental effort for deductions, during which a Cultivator’s own realm wouldn’t benefit. Their combat effectiveness and survival rate became highly dependent on "preparation."

That was why very few of the Cultivators who managed to survive long enough to become "experts" had specialized in Arrays. Conversely, many who did specialize in Arrays saw their realm progression slow to a crawl and ended up dying of old age due to their limited lifespans.

To truly delve deep into the path of Arrays, one often needed the backing of a Sect or family to provide a stable environment and cultivation resources.

But if they didn’t know the first thing about Arrays, even a high-level Cultivator would be nothing more than a "brute," easily manipulated by others.

"Arrays" held a very special status among the Four Great Forbidden Techniques of Cultivation.

It was acceptable to know nothing about the other three—Pills, Artifacts, and Runes. As long as you could fight for them, snatch them, or buy them, you were set.

But with Arrays, you had to know at least a little something.

It was the mark of a "scholar" on the Cultivation Side.

As a reward from the system, Yang Shen had also obtained several ready-made, basic Arrays.

Considering that Cyan Blue had no Cultivation Realm to speak of, no one could break an Array with "intelligence"—only through brute force. This meant the basic Arrays were perfectly usable, and he didn’t need to worry about encryption for the time being.

"Spirit Gathering Array": An essential for Cultivation. It was more effective than a simple Gathering Spirit Technique, distributed Spiritual Qi concentration more evenly, and could even be manually set to absorb only Spiritual Qi of specific attributes.

"Alarm Array": Hailed as the cheapest and most practical Array. It sends out a warning when someone enters, making it a must-have for a Cultivator whether at home, on the road, or out for a bit of murder and plunder.

"Three Talents Spirit Trapping Array": A basic combat Array. It had no killing power but could suppress the Spiritual Qi flow of enemies within it while enhancing that of the Array’s master.

"Illusionary Array": Used in conjunction with terrain to make those who enter lose their sense of direction, as if trapped by a ghost wall. However, without the advantage of natural terrain, it was extremely difficult to set up, and its effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

Compared to the Fertilizer Fermentation Technique and Seed Screening Technique from his Spirit Plant Magic, the basic abilities granted by the Array Inheritance were packed with real value!

Although setting up these Arrays required not only skill but also many external materials, it was enough to demonstrate the immense value of the Four Great Forbidden Techniques of Cultivation: Pill, Artifact, Rune, and Array.

Powerful Arrays required external objects and even treasures to deploy, but a "crude" Array could also be very simple...

’Anyway, no one on Cyan Blue understands this stuff... I don’t have to worry about it being cracked.’

Yang Shen glanced around, and a mischievous idea suddenly popped into his head. He placed his hands on the armrests of his recliner.

As if he had practiced it without physical objects millions of times, Spiritual Qi was drawn from his Qi Sea, coiling in a peculiar way around the recliner itself.

The process of modifying Array Materials involved imbuing them with Spiritual Power that circulated continuously "according to specific rules."

The recliner showed no outward signs of change, but... after he expended an amount of Spiritual Power equivalent to 5 points of his Qi and Blood Value, it could now be considered a crude "Array Material."

With this new ability, and emboldened by his brimming Qi Sea, Yang Shen was naturally eager to experiment.

His first experiment was to set up a Spirit Gathering Array for the Celestial Platform Spirit Field.

Given its size and strength, it could also be called a Small Spirit Gathering Array.

As the name suggested, it was inextricably linked to the Gathering Spirit Technique. The four Spirit Gathering Eye Stones he had placed earlier could also be used to support the Array.

Generally, Array Masters would deliberately choose "counter-intuitive" items when setting up an Array.

Think of a big, glowing orb in a video game—anyone could tell it was the key to breaking the Array. Whether it was or not, you’d just punch it first and ask questions later.

A skilled Array Master, however, preferred the element of surprise. The Array’s core might be a dead tree, a small pebble, or even half a shoe insert by the door.

It was a method specifically designed to vex brutes who knew nothing of Arrays.

Yang Shen decided to try a little subversion himself. The entire Small Spirit Gathering Array used a total of three Array Materials: the recliner, a small pebble, and a flowerpot.

And the most critical component, the "Array Heart," was that tattered old doll.

After converting each item, Yang Shen stood a short distance away and formed four distinct Finger Techniques with his right hand.

The next moment, the Array was complete.

There were no dazzling special effects like a Light Shield, only a subtle flow of Spiritual Qi linking the Array Materials to the Array Heart.

You could move these objects, as long as their general positions remained the same and they didn’t leave the Array’s effective range.

With that, the Spiritual Qi concentration in the Celestial Platform Spirit Field rose another notch.

As a crude version of a basic Array, it didn’t need Spirit Stones for power. The Spirit Gathering Array itself drew in Spiritual Qi from the air; its only drawback was a relatively short duration due to the simple materials used.

Of course, that was only in comparison to the standards of the Cultivation Side.

A Cultivation master might enter seclusion for decades or even centuries at a time, so a short-lived Array would be useless. But for Yang Shen, performing maintenance once every month or two was no trouble at all.

Besides, it was uncertain if he would even still be living here in a month or two. If necessary, as the one who set the Array, he could adjust it at any time.

Yang Shen struck while the iron was hot, setting up two Alarm Arrays—one covering the entire Celestial Platform area and another inside his home. The former was simpler, as the space was open and wide.

The one for his home was more troublesome. Not only was the space irregular, but he also had to find suitable objects to use.

He mainly chose items that wouldn’t be frequently moved or carried away, so furniture was the top choice.

Once it was complete, Yang Shen tested it. When someone was in the house, a clear sensation would appear in his mind, and he could even vaguely determine their position within the Array.

The only slight problem was that the basic Alarm Array couldn’t distinguish identities—it couldn’t tell an outsider from a member of the household.

He could only make judgments based on experience—for example, knowing how many people should be home at a certain time, and then noticing an extra presence.

Yang Shen rubbed his chin. ’Isn’t this worse than just installing a security camera?’ he thought.

A moment later, he dismissed the thought.

’First, setting up an Array doesn’t preclude me from also having a camera. As a technique that is "uncrackable" and even "incomprehensible" on Cyan Blue, it’s already extremely valuable in its own right.’

’Besides, a camera can be detected beforehand, avoided, or even hacked, but an Array has no such weaknesses.’

’I still need to do more research... The Alarm Array is just the most basic, standard-issue model. On the Cultivation Side, probably no one would even bother using it.’

’As long as I can fully grasp the system’s basic knowledge and add a few creative ideas of my own, I should be able to improve it in the future...’

And as it happened, the Yang Family had two children with a Hidden Talent for "Arrays."

Yang Mo and Yang Man.

However, to study Arrays, one needed to be at least at the second level of Qi Cultivation. Without Qi Sensitivity, it would be like a blind person trying to learn how to paint.

For instance, Yang Shen had been busy for quite a while now, but the four little ones had no idea what had just happened.

Yang Shen sensed the new Array in his home. A faint flow of Spiritual Qi, hidden between objects, snaked from concealed spots along the floor, weaving itself into a web...

’Hmm... This is still too cumbersome...’

Yang Shen thought that since the Spirit Gathering Array and Alarm Array were the most basic types, they could surely be combined into a single Array.

It would be like geometry in mathematics—overlapping multiple structures...

’Just as I suspected, mathematical talent and talent for Arrays are highly correlated,’ he mused. Yang Shen had always been good at math, but Yang Mo and Yang Man were much stronger than he had been back in elementary and middle school.

’Also... if I don’t have to worry about it "being cracked," given Cyan Blue’s complete lack of knowledge about Arrays...’

’...couldn’t I find a way to apply this in actual combat?’

’For instance, I could toss out a few small pebbles before a fight... casually setting up a crude little Array.’

’My opponent wouldn’t even realize what I was doing.’

A moment later, Yang Shen subconsciously touched his chest, where the half-piece of Jade was tightly bound by a red cord...

’Maybe... it doesn’t have to be pebbles. It could be something else?’

’Could Black Engraving, my special ability to materialize Spiritual Qi, also serve as a temporary Array Material?’

’Speaking of which... that strange fellow... according to the system, he’s been hanging around the rivers and coastal areas of Jianghuai recently.’

’He hasn’t taken a single step into Jinshui District...’

’Is he ever coming home for dinner?’