Three thousand li from Yang Capital, the Hao Clan's capital, above a broad mountain plain, Zhang Yu's avatar hovered in midair, spreading Heartlight Seal in every direction as he combed through the earth veins and laid out an array.
Over an even wider expanse, Creation refiners were also bustling about, burying array pillars deep underground according to a set pattern.
This was an exceedingly powerful array he had selected from the Heaven-Training Dao Canon. Though not especially complex, its might was truly considerable, and it was one of the measures he had prepared to deal with someone suspected of being the "Upper Self."
The advantage of an array was that it could make up for many deficiencies, allowing those of shallow cultivation to withstand those of profound attainments.
Yet the cost of setting up this array was likewise immense. For now, however, he need not concern himself with that, for everything needed for the array was being provided by the Xi Emperor. Even certain precious materials from ancient times could be supplied by the Hao Clan.
After all, the Hao Clan had destroyed quite a few major sects in the past and seized many fine things. The Hao Clan used spiritual power to construct defensive works and rarely trusted cultivators' arrays, so these items had remained untouched. Now they were all being used for his array. Should anything prove insufficient, with the Hao Sovereign's decree in hand, it could be requisitioned from throughout the Hao Clan's territory.
Under the Xi Emperor's orders, a great deal of Upper Layer power had been mobilized to assist him in setting up the array. However, the stated reason was to establish another guard capital outside Yang Capital, so those taking part in the array's construction did not know whom they were truly meant to