Array Formation

As the saying went: when joy came knocking, the spirit felt refreshed.

Ye Tong had unexpectedly come into a windfall, so naturally he was in exceptionally high spirits. With this money, not only could he rebuild the Precious Medicine Workshop, he could also buy medicinal ingredients to prolong his life.

And...

In Ye Tong's mind appeared the gleaming display cabinets of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, where pill after pill of crystal-clear Silver Crystals had been displayed. Back when he was on Earth, he had obtained crystals containing spiritual energy. Yet the Silver Crystals of this world were even purer than Earth's crystals, and they had no elemental distinction. So long as one was a cultivator, one could absorb the spiritual energy within them and speed up cultivation.

In Ye Tong's original memories, above Silver Crystals were Gold Crystals of even better quality. At the same time, Silver Crystals and Purple Crystals were also the currency used by those powerful cultivators.

One tael of blue gold could be exchanged for ten taels of blue silver.

One Silver Crystal could be exchanged for one thousand taels of blue gold.

"Looks like... I don't have enough money."

Thinking of the price of Silver Crystals, the light in Ye Tong's eyes dimmed again. After suppressing those thoughts he was powerless to act on, he ordered, "You, yes, you. Go wash all these medicinal ingredients clean, then sort them into three portions. What are you glaring at? Your father is already so old that he's even bought his coffin in advance. Do you still want him to personally work as my assistant? Go, now."

"Cough, cough..."

Hearing Ye Tong's words, Zhang Pinsou failed to catch his breath and coughed several times. Only then did he angrily glare at Ye Tong. If he did not need Ye Tong to prepare the medicine, and if he were not afraid of Poison Demon Huo Lanqiu, he truly would have liked to slap this brat who was cursing him to death.

Zhang Zhongying was even more furious, but she had no way to vent the evil fire in her chest. She could only grit her teeth, swear viciously to herself, and obediently follow Ye Tong's instructions.

Black obsidian.

It was a fuel needed by Pill Masters. Without cultivating true fire, one could only rely on it to burn while refining pills and brewing medicine. The Precious Medicine Workshop had stored plenty of black obsidian before, and Ye Tong casually searched around until he found more than a dozen pieces.

He lit them and tossed them into the stove.

Feeling the temperature inside the cauldron furnace rise higher and higher, Ye Tong immediately crushed the Purple Tea Fruit and another spirit fruit, then poured them into the cauldron furnace. Afterward, he tossed in the medicinal ingredients Zhang Zhongying had washed and sorted, one after another, at precisely demanding moments.

Fire control.

It was a technical craft.

Over the years, Ye Tong had long honed his fire-control techniques to perfection. As the pitifully small amount of vital energy within his body slowly flowed into the Fire Control Array Inscriptions beside the stove opening, the flames burning within the stove seemed to come alive. At times they blazed fiercely; at times they swayed as though about to go out.

Time passed.

Half an hour later, Ye Tong's face had turned pale as paper. Beads of sweat as large as beans rolled down his cheeks. The more precious the medicinal ingredients, the harder they were to dissolve during refinement, and the harder it was to discard the dross and retain the essence. This had nearly exhausted all of Ye Tong's strength.

Boom...

With a flick of Ye Tong's wrist, flames suddenly rose within the cauldron furnace. The refined spiritual liquid was like fuel oil, burning completely away within barely a dozen breaths, leaving behind only charred black ashes.

Not far away.

Zhang Pinsou revealed a trace of disappointment, but he also knew that preparing Hundred Solutions Liquid was difficult. Even pharmacists who had immersed themselves in this trade for decades found it hard to succeed in a single attempt. Yet the youth before him could no longer be said to be merely preparing it. The method he used was that of a Pill Master—he was refining Hundred Solutions Liquid!

Pharmacists!

Throughout Zifu County, they were as numerous as the hairs of an ox.

But Pill Masters were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!

Still, when Zhang Pinsou thought of Poison Demon Huo Lanqiu, he felt relieved. After all, that man was a true cultivator. Rumor had it that he had already touched the threshold of Foundation Establishment. Everyone knew that Huo Lanqiu was highly capable in pill refinement, though nearly ninety percent of the pills he refined were poison pills.

Failure was the mother of success.

Ye Tong had failed in his first attempt at refining Hundred Solutions Liquid, but he was not discouraged. With the wealthy local tyrant Zhang Pinsou here, even if the next two attempts failed as well, he had nothing to worry about. At most, Zhang Pinsou would lose a little more money.

"I need jade."

The vital energy in Ye Tong's body was nearly depleted. It truly was impossible for him to begin a second refinement now.

Zhang Zhongying was already deeply dissatisfied with Ye Tong. Hearing his request, she immediately retorted, "What do you need jade for when refining Hundred Solutions Liquid? Don't tell me you're adding jade to the ingredients for refining Hundred Solutions Liquid."

Ye Tong said, "With jade, I can make a second attempt today. Without it, I'll have to wait until tomorrow. The vital energy in my body is exhausted, and I need to recover."

Zhang Zhongying showed a scornful expression and said unhappily, "Are you trying to fool a three-year-old? Jade can help you recover vital energy faster? Don't think that just because we're asking you for medicine, we've truly become suckers for you to fleece."

"No!"

Mu Qianlan, who rarely spoke, stepped forward at this moment. She studied Ye Tong thoughtfully before saying to Zhang Zhongying, "As far as I know, pill refinement and array formation are closely intertwined. Truly brilliant Pill Masters are not weak in their attainments in arrays either, because array inscriptions must be constructed within the pills they refine. Jade is an excellent material for setting up arrays. I think I understand why he wants jade now."

Ye Tong shot Zhang Zhongying a glance and snorted coldly. "If you're ignorant, don't talk so much. Look at someone who knows what she's talking about. If I hadn't explained it to you, she wouldn't have doubted me."

"You..."

Zhang Zhongying felt her face burn, but she truly found it difficult to believe that this fellow, who looked only sixteen or seventeen, not only knew how to refine medicine but actually understood arrays as well. One had to know that successfully setting up an array required a cultivator to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and evolve true qi into True Essence!

Besides.

Even if all the Foundation Establishment stage experts in Zifu County were counted together, there were probably fewer than three. In the entire Sky Net Empire, there were likely fewer than ten. And those capable of setting up arrays were even fewer, so few that they could be counted on one's fingers.

Him...

Could a little brat whose feathers had not even fully grown set up an array?

Zhang Zhongying dearly wanted to mock Ye Tong again, but considering that every time she questioned him, she was the one who ended up slapped in the face, her sharp and venomous words ultimately never left her mouth.

"I'll go buy it myself."

Zhang Zhongying wanted to see exactly what trick Ye Tong was trying to pull by asking for jade.

In less than half an hour, Zhang Zhongying returned carrying a hemp-rope sack. Inside were more than a dozen raw jade stones the size of fists, which she tossed before Ye Tong.

Ye Tong said nothing. Taking out one raw jade stone, he began carving according to what he had in mind. He wanted to set up a Spirit Gathering Array. It could allow him to rapidly recover vital energy, and while refining Hundred Solutions Liquid, denser heaven and earth spiritual energy would also extend the time he could sustain his input of vital energy into the stove.

A century on Earth.

Especially during the years he spent accompanying his wife, he had devoted much of his time to carving. Thus, his jade-carving skill had long reached master level. In merely a quarter of an hour, he carved a dragon-shaped jade sculpture. It was so lifelike and vivid that it seemed alive.

"This jade carving..."

Zhang Pinsou and Mu Qianlan revealed incredulous expressions, their minds wholly drawn to the jade carving. Even Zhang Zhongying widened her eyes in disbelief.

This speed...

This craftsmanship...

They had watched many Master Sculptors at work, but they had never seen such terrifying speed, nor had they ever seen anyone carve with such exquisite life. It was clearly a sculpture, an inanimate object, yet in their eyes, that rather strange dragon... seemed as if it had come alive.

Ye Tong had no time to ponder their thoughts. He focused fully on carving, and soon carved a tiger-shaped jade sculpture, a sparrow-shaped jade sculpture, and a turtle-shaped jade sculpture.

What Ye Tong intended to set up was the Four Saints Spirit Gathering Array. It was also an array he had developed during the latter century of his life on Earth. Its power was greater than the Three Powers Array, Four Symbols Array, and Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array. However, he was no longer as powerful as before, so the Four Saints Spirit Gathering Array he set up would be far weaker in effect.

But...

For the present, it was enough.

Afterward, Ye Tong had the three of them leave the side courtyard, then set up the Four Saints Spirit Gathering Array at astonishing speed. The instant he successfully activated the array, the heaven and earth spiritual energy within several kilometers seemed to receive some kind of summons, surging toward the side courtyard where Ye Tong stood.

"What a pity. My strength is too weak. This Four Saints Spirit Gathering Array does not even possess one percent of its true power from my peak." Ye Tong felt faint regret.

However.

Outside the array, Zhang Pinsou and Mu Qianlan were both seized by a wave of shock. After exchanging a glance, they looked at Ye Tong again as though they were looking at a monster. Given their cultivation, they had already keenly sensed the direction in which the heaven and earth spiritual energy was flowing. This meant the array Ye Tong had set up had succeeded.

But!

Ye Tong's cultivation was clearly only at the Qi Refining Third Level, so weak it could practically be ignored. How had he managed to set up an array?

The cultivation world.

The cultivation realms were clearly divided: Qi Refining Eighteen Levels, Houtian Nine Levels, Xiantian Nine Levels. Above them came the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Core Formation Stage. At present, Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Sky Net Empire were few enough to count on one's fingers, while there was only one person in the Core Formation Stage: that ancestor of the Sky Net Empire's imperial family, an old monster rumored to have lived for more than four hundred years.

"Pretending to be a god or ghost."

Zhang Zhongying's cultivation talent was actually not poor, but she had wasted much of her time on business in the past. Thus, her cultivation was not very high, and she had yet to break through into the Innate Realm. Therefore, she could not sense the faint movement of heaven and earth spiritual energy.

"Shut up."

Zhang Pinsou's expression changed as he shouted sternly, "Little Brother Ye is right. If you have no knowledge, don't talk so much. Don't humiliate yourself and make a spectacle of yourself."

"Father..."

Zhang Zhongying wore a dumbfounded expression, as though she could not believe her ears. When had her always gentle father ever reprimanded her like this?

Pointing at the side courtyard, Zhang Pinsou said sternly, "You have yet to enter the Innate Realm, so you cannot sense the movement of heaven and earth spiritual energy. But I can tell you clearly that Little Brother Ye has successfully set up an array, and it can draw in the heaven and earth spiritual energy nearby. If you step into the array's range, you should be able to feel it. The concentration of heaven and earth spiritual energy in that area will grow higher and higher."

Succeeded?

That little brat whose feathers had not even... could set up an array?

Zhang Zhongying stood dumbstruck, her entire mind thrown into a fog.