The Daughters' Thoughts!

Lin Xuan nodded.

In his eyes, this Spirit Gathering Array wasn't anything particularly profound.

From Feng Jinfan's expression, it seemed he was confident he could fix it. In that case, Lin Xuan would let him handle it.

With Lin Xuan's permission, Feng Jinfan turned and hurried toward the Spirit Gathering Array.

At that moment, the spiritual energy that had gathered in the center of the Spirit Gathering Array was surging chaotically in every direction.

It looked like a pot riddled with holes, spraying out all the water it was meant to hold.

"Good thing I know a little about the mysteries of formations. Otherwise, if I fail to resolve this today, His Majesty will surely punish me!"

Feng Jinfan thought to himself as he circulated his true essence.

He held back the surging spiritual energy while making his way toward the center of the Spirit Gathering Array.

Drawing on the formation principles he had studied, he formed a seal with both hands, and a pure golden light took shape.

Whoosh!

The seal was like an enormous membrane, spreading across a radius of two li in the blink of an eye.

That area completely encompassed the Spirit Gathering Array.

Xuanzhu, Xuanxi, and Xuanhan watched Feng Jinfan with their big eyes blinking.

Before long, Xuanzhu clenched her little fists. "Don't fix it! Don't fix it!"

Xuanxi and Xuanhan echoed her, their faces full of hope. "That's right! Don't fix it!"

Only Xuanyou shook her little head like a rattle. "No! I want Uncle Feng to fix it!"

Lin Xuan looked curious. "Xuanzhu, why don't you want the Spirit Gathering Array fixed?"

Xuanzhu, Xuanxi, and Xuanhan exchanged glances, then all looked timid.

They seemed afraid Lin Xuan would scold them.

Lin Xuan smiled. "Go ahead and tell me. Your father won't blame you."

Xuanzhu nodded. "Father, practicing swordsmanship is so boring!"

Xuanxi chimed in. "Yeah, it's really dull!"

Xuanhan said, "Mm!"

Xuanyou put her hands on her hips and tilted her head, looking unconvinced. "It's not boring at all! Practicing swordsmanship is the most fun!"

"You don't like practicing swordsmanship?" Lin Xuan continued.

Xuanzhu shook her head. "It's not that. It's just that the four of us have to practice the same moves every time. It's really boring."

"I see." Lin Xuan finally understood what the girls were thinking.

Since Donghuang Ziyou had taught them their sword moves, they could only practice on their own whenever she was away.

And without anyone to keep them company, all they could do was repeat the few stances Donghuang Ziyou had taught them.

Thinking about it, it really was dull.

Of course, with Donghuang Ziyou's ability, even a few simple moves would bring the little girls endless benefits once they mastered them.

But to children, repeating the same thing over and over was terribly tedious.

After all, they were nowhere near as mature as adults.

Xuanyou, on the other hand, was naturally lively and active. To this little troublemaker, as long as there was something to play with, it was fun.

Lin Xuan smiled. "You still have to practice your swordsmanship, but starting today, Father will always be with you."

Xuanzhu and the others thought it over. If Father was with them, then it would be fine!

"Okay, Father. Then let's keep practicing!"

The little girls' faces brightened with joy again.

Boom!

While Lin Xuan was chatting with the girls, a sudden blast came from Feng Jinfan's direction.

All the golden light abruptly gathered into a single beam and shot out from the center of the Spirit Gathering Array like lightning.

Feng Jinfan couldn't dodge in time and took a heavy blow from the beam.

He grunted and staggered back a full ten steps.

"Damn it, I failed!" Feng Jinfan looked thoroughly frustrated.

With his Spirit Soul Realm cultivation, he simply couldn't repair the Spirit Gathering Array.

And now it seemed that insufficient cultivation wasn't the only problem.

He had a vague feeling that the array was even more complicated than he'd imagined.

"Looks like we'll have to call in the person who created it."

Just as Feng Jinfan was about to explain the situation to Lin Xuan, a gust of wind swept past.

A flicker of light.

A white-haired old man in a gray Daoist robe appeared beside Feng Jinfan.

"Senior Rong, you're here!"

Feng Jinfan immediately greeted him with a broad smile.

The white-haired old man was the creator of the Spirit Gathering Array.

He was Rong Hui, an artifact and formation grandmaster, and the Profound Ice Palace's resident formation master.

Rong Hui had lived for more than thirteen hundred years. Although his cultivation was only at the Spirit Soul Realm, he had studied more formations than anyone else in the Northern Profound Heaven.

For that reason, the late emperor had greatly valued his skill in creating formations.

After Empress Donghuang Ziyou ascended the throne, she, too, held Rong Hui in high regard.

This Spirit Gathering Array had been built by Rong Hui at the Empress's request, especially for the children.

Rong Hui nodded at Feng Jinfan, then turned his gaze to the Spirit Gathering Array.

"I was passing the Crystal Palace just now when I sensed the spiritual energy here in chaos. I didn't expect the Spirit Gathering Array to be the cause."

Rong Hui frowned and muttered to himself.

Feng Jinfan asked, "Senior Rong, do you know why the array suddenly became unstable?"

Rong Hui studied it carefully for a few moments. "Building an array is like building a house. Once the foundation shifts, trouble is bound to follow."

"This Spirit Gathering Array was created to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, according to the numbers of the Five Elements and Seven Stars."

"The sudden problem means that the numbers of the Five Elements and Seven Stars have changed."

Feng Jinfan was surprised. "The numbers of the Five Elements and Seven Stars can change, too?"

"Of course." Rong Hui nodded.

"The Supreme Ultimate gives rise to the Two Forms, and the Two Forms give rise to the Four Images. Everything is constantly changing and developing."

"The Five Elements of heaven and earth and the seven stars of the Big Dipper also change gradually with time."

Feng Jinfan fell silent for a moment, then asked, "In that case, does that mean this array can never last forever?"

"Not at all." Rong Hui took out four square golden seals.

"These Four Symbols Sacred Seals are spiritual treasures."

"I thought I'd never need to use them, but for the princesses, I'll make an exception!"

After speaking, he silently recited a spell and tossed the Four Symbols Sacred Seals toward the Spirit Gathering Array.

In an instant, golden light burst forth.

The four golden seals fell in the four directions around the Spirit Gathering Array.

Like the four piles driven into the ground when building a house, they firmly anchored the array in place.

As the golden light began to fade, the spiritual energy that had been wildly spreading in every direction was quickly forced back by tremendous pressure.

Seeing this, Feng Jinfan couldn't help exclaiming, "As expected of innate spiritual treasures. The Four Symbols Sacred Seals are truly powerful."

Boom!

He had barely finished speaking when something unexpected happened.

The spiritual energy that had just been forced back erupted again, surging more violently than before.

Under the powerful impact, Rong Hui and Feng Jinfan were both forced to retreat dozens of steps.

"How could this happen?" Rong Hui frowned.

"Trying to block it is worse than letting it flow. The Spirit Gathering Array is already damaged. Forcing the energy back will only make things worse."

A voice came from behind them, and Rong Hui's eyes lit up.

Lin Xuan stood behind them with his four daughters.

He had thought that Feng Jinfan and Rong Hui could solve the problem one after the other.

But now, it seemed that a problem he'd thought simple wasn't so simple for them.

Rong Hui hurriedly turned around. "And you are?"

Feng Jinfan said with deep respect, "He is the Emperor Consort!"

"Greetings, Emperor Consort!" Rong Hui quickly saluted, then said, "Your words just now seem to hold profound meaning. Might I ask you to enlighten me?"

Lin Xuan had said only one sentence, yet Rong Hui already felt as if he were in the presence of a true master.