The Path of the Array Spirit, Saints Join Forces

Ancestor Minghe's words were like a basin of ice water, dousing the burning hearts of all the great powers.

That's right, no matter how good the technology or how strong the network, who holds the control?

If this "Primordial Heavenly Net" were controlled by the Human Race, wouldn't that mean all their communications and all the movements of their forces would be monitored by the Human Race? This was even more terrifying than having no Heavenly Net at all. At that time, everyone would be naked in front of them, with no secrets left.

For a moment, the atmosphere of cooperation that had just risen in the hall became strange again. Suspicious and vigilant gazes turned towards Chen Ran once more.

Facing the direct and core question, Chen Ran showed no surprise on his face. He seemed to have expected someone to raise this issue long ago.

He bowed slightly in the direction of Ancestor Minghe, showing respect.

"Ancestor's concerns are reasonable and logical. In fact, this is the question I thought about the most when I first conceived the 'Heavenly Net'."

"A powerful tool, without corresponding constraints, will inevitably bring disaster."

Chen Ran's frankness caused many great powers to nod in agreement.

"Therefore, the 'Primordial Heavenly Net' I designed was never intended to be a system centrally controlled by our Human Race from the beginning."

He turned and operated the light screen again.

The massive structural diagram of the Primordial network changed. The lines that originally connected to the Human Race's ancestral land, the "City of Origin," began to reorganize. Finally, they formed relatively independent "local area networks," each centered around a major power.

Mount Kunlun was a core, Golden Ao Island was a core, Mount Sumeru was a core, the Heavenly Court, Wuzhuang Temple, the Netherworld Blood Sea... All forces with Quasi-Saint great powers as their leaders were marked as main nodes. These main nodes were then connected to each other by thicker lines, forming a decentralized, vast network.

"Everyone, please look. In my design, the structure of the 'Primordial Heavenly Net' is distributed."

"Each major power will own and independently control its own main node. Your internal communications will only flow within your own 'local area network' and will not pass through any other node. This fundamentally guarantees your privacy."

"Information sharing between nodes will require both parties to simultaneously enable a 'channel' to proceed."

This design made the great powers present's eyes light up. In this way, the security was indeed greatly improved.

But Ancestor Minghe still pressed on, "That sounds good. But what about the core hub that maintains the operation of the entire Heavenly Net? There must be something like a 'central control,' right? Who will manage that?"

"Well asked." Chen Ran snapped his fingers.

The image on the light screen switched again, revealing an incredibly complex sphere composed of countless runes and array lines, yet emanating a strange, harmonious Dao rhythm.

"This is the core that maintains the operation of the entire Heavenly Net. I call it—the 'Array Spirit'."

"Array Spirit?" This term made everyone feel curious.

"Yes, the Array Spirit." Chen Ran's tone carried a touch of the passion of a creator. "You can understand it as an 'Artifact Spirit' that we jointly created, without self-awareness, only following the rules we set to manage the Heavenly Net."

"This 'Array Spirit' is not a physical entity, but a piece of... 'logic'. A core program based on the Primordial Great Dao, with the highest directive of protecting the Primordial Era."

"Its behavioral guidelines will be jointly formulated by all of us. For example, 'do not eavesdrop on any unauthorized communication,' 'do not interfere with the internal operations of each node,' 'automatically issue the highest level alert to all nodes when detecting an invasion from the Outer Domain,' and so on."

"And the one who creates and supervises this 'Array Spirit' is not our Human Race, nor any one of you present."

Chen Ran's gaze slowly swept over the six Saints at the highest seat.

"It is... you Heavenly Dao Saints."

This proposal was earth-shattering!

To have the Saints join forces to create a "program" to manage the Heavenly Net?

This was no longer a technical issue; it was the creation of an entirely new "Dao"!

Primordial Heavenly Venerate and Lord of the Heavens, the two Saints with the deepest attainments in formations and artifact refining, simultaneously erupted with astonishing divine light in their eyes.

From the "Array Spirit" structure diagram Chen Ran displayed, they saw a new possibility of perfectly combining "artifact," "Dao," and "Law"!

It was not simply refining an artifact spirit, but using laws and logic to "create" an absolutely rational, absolutely fair, and eternally loyal "manager"!

"You mean..." Grand Supreme Elder's voice carried a barely perceptible tremor, "the 'Dao' of this 'Array Spirit' will be jointly inscribed by us Saints?"

"Precisely," Chen Ran replied respectfully. "Your Dao of Non-Action, Grand Supreme Elder, can become the balance law for the 'Array Spirit.' Your Heavenly Origin Sect's teachings, Primordial Heavenly Venerate, can become the order law. Your Intercepting Sect's philosophy, Lord of the Heavens, can become the operational law. The Dao of Compassion of the two Western Saints can become the guardian law. And Empress Nuwa's Dao of Creation can bestow upon the 'Array Spirit' an ever-lasting 'life'."

"An 'Array Spirit' jointly created by six Saints will have its fairness and security surpass any magical treasure or any living being in the history of the Primordial Era."

"In its presence, all schemes and tricks will be exposed, for it is, in itself, a manifestation of the 'Great Dao'."

His words made everyone's blood boil.

A super-intelligence jointly created by six Saints, guided by the Great Dao!

Who would dare not trust this? Who could possibly not trust it?

Chen Ran's proposal not only perfectly resolved the issue of trust but also pulled all the Saints onto his chariot, deeply binding their interests to the "Primordial Heavenly Net" project.

"Wonderful! Truly wonderful!" Grand Supreme Elder clapped his hands in admiration. His heart of non-action was stirred by this entirely new "Dao of the Array Spirit."

"In that case, it is indeed a foolproof plan." Although Primordial Heavenly Venerate still had a stern face, his tone had softened considerably. He was an extremely proud Saint, and his interest in this creative work that could open up a new field even surpassed his prejudice against Chen Ran.

"Hmph, sounds interesting enough." Lord of the Heavens was more direct. "Just tell us what to do and draw up the plans!"

Chen Ran knew that the most difficult hurdle had been overcome.

"It's very simple," he said with a smile. "Our Human Race is willing to establish a 'Heavenly Net Technology Committee' and open up all related 'Rune Technology' to all of you. I invite all the Saints to send their disciples most proficient in formations and artifact refining to work with our Human Race engineers to research and develop together."

"This is both a collaboration and an exchange. I believe that the combination of our Human Race's 'technology' and your 'immortal methods' will undoubtedly ignite even more brilliant sparks of civilization."

As soon as he said this, Primordial Heavenly Venerate's eyes lit up.

He had been worrying about not having an opportunity to understand the principles behind the Human Race's peculiar "Rune Technology." Now, they were actively inviting him to send people to learn?

This was like someone sending a pillow just when you were falling asleep!

"Good," Primordial Heavenly Venerate immediately decided. "Among my Heavenly Origin Sect disciples, Guang Chengzi and Chi Jingzi are both proficient in this art. Let them join this committee."

He was calculating in his heart that once he learned this technology, his Heavenly Origin Sect could build an even better "Heavenly Net" on its own. At that time, who would need to look at the Human Race's faces?