The Core
Autumn Moon Mountain Market.
"Lü Bu greets the Master of the Workshop. It has been several years since we last met. Your cultivation has become even more profound!"
"Hehe! If the Array Master Zong knew that Guest Elder Lü had come to help, he would be overjoyed!"
"There's no time to lose. Please, Guest Elder Chen, take Guest Elder Lü to see Array Master Zong!"
"Guest Minister Lü, please come with me!"
Fang Yu arrived at Autumn Moon Mountain Market and paid his respects to the market owner, "Jin Guizi," where he saw some familiar Foundation Establishment. He then left with Chen Cheng.
The two reminisced along the way and arrived at a formation eye being built on the edge of the market, where they met the Array Master Zong.
After a few polite exchanges, the Array Master Zong spread out a blueprint for the array base and said, "The city lord has ordered me to complete the construction of the grand array within three years. This timeframe is rather tight, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. Take a look; this is the blueprint for the array base. Can you build it? How many days would it take?"
Fang Yu's gaze swept over the blueprints, and his eyes gleamed. The array base resembled a honeycomb in appearance, with densely packed honeycomb cells and numerous array patterns inside and out, many of which he had never seen before. At the same time, the ingenious design of these array patterns caught his eye. However, the design of the array base Spirit Artifact had significant flaws.
"If there are enough materials, this array base can be completed in just ten days, but..."
When the Array Master Zong first heard that Fang Yu only needed ten days, a look of surprise appeared on his face. Seeing that Fang Yu seemed to have doubts about the array foundation, he immediately said, "Fellow Daoist, please speak frankly. Is there a problem with this array foundation?"
Fang Yu nodded and said, "The design of this array pattern is very ingenious, but there are some flaws in the design of the array base. If it can be slightly modified, it can not only increase its power, but also save a lot of materials. However, this array pattern may need to be redesigned by Array Master Zong."
"Hmm!" Upon hearing this, the Array Master Zong immediately asked, "Where is the flaw?"
Fang Yu's Divine Sense fluctuated, and streaks of dotted lines appeared in the air, transforming the array base blueprints into three-dimensional lines, making them clearer. He explained as he constructed the array base structure...
The Array Master Zong standing nearby nodded repeatedly. After Fang Yu finished constructing the new array base, his gaze towards Fang Yu changed. "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Lü to have such high attainments in the art of weapon crafting. This array base will be modified according to your suggestion. I will redesign the array patterns now. You build an array base first and see how it actually works. If it's really as you say, then the cost of setting up the entire grand array can be reduced by 30%."
Setting up a third-tier grand array requires an astronomical amount of spiritual materials. If the cost could be reduced by 30%, the city lord's mansion would certainly be pleased, which would also be extremely beneficial for Array Master Zong.
"Alright, I'll begin now!"
Fang Yu responded and then, under the arrangement of the Array Master Zong, moved into the location of the core array eye.
This place not only hoards a large amount of various materials, but also gathers many disciples and grand-disciples of Array Master Zong, as well as some auxiliary personnel like Fang Yu.
Ten days later.
The Array Master Zong, his eyes gleaming, examined the array base Fang Yu had constructed and nodded repeatedly.
"I never imagined that this insect nest could be designed like this. With the addition of my array patterns, its power has increased by more than 20%. If all of them were replaced with this insect nest, I might be able to break through the level of the array to the middle grade of the third rank."
He slapped his palm on the beast-taming pouch at his waist, and a crimson cloud immediately flew out, buzzing as it surged toward the insect nest, quickly burrowing into it and filling each and every insect cell.
Fang Yu watched as the Array Master Zong tested the array base, his eyes flickered, and he exclaimed in shock, "That's the city lord's Red-Beaked Mosquito Demon!"
The Array Master Zong laughed upon hearing this, "That's right, it's the Red-Beaked Mosquito Demon. Although this demonic insect is only of the first rank, its sheer numbers make it fearless even for Golden Core cultivators. The core of the 'Minor Lesser Thousand-Needle Nether River Formation ' I've set up this time is this Red-Beaked Mosquito Demon."
With your modified insect nest, it can directly accommodate 20% more Red-Beaked Mosquito Demon, greatly increasing the power of the formation. Although it's still not as powerful as the Thousand-Needle Nether River Formation, it will be more than enough to deal with Golden Core Early Stage cultivator.
He said excitedly, "Fellow Daoist Lü helped me enhance the power of the formation, so I naturally cannot treat you unfairly. Once the formation is completed, I will definitely report to the City Lord's Mansion and award you two, no, three, contribution points."
"Thank you very much Array Master Zong!" Fang Yu immediately bowed and expressed his gratitude.
He didn't care about the extra contribution, which meant he wouldn't have to do any more missions for ten years. What he cared about was being able to take advantage of the Array Master Zong. Now that he had gained the Array Master Zong's trust upon arrival, he was sure he could learn more about third-tier grand arrays before the array was completed. These were the core inheritances that even Spirit Stone couldn't buy.
*****
Cultivating immortality knows no time limits.
As the days went by, Fang Yu spent his days building the array foundations needed by the Array Master Zong, occasionally praising the ingenuity of the array formations and casually inquiring about array patterns.
The Array Master Zong was initially somewhat wary, but Fang Yu was only asking about the fusion of array patterns and array base Spirit Artifact, he lowered his guard and answered Fang Yu's questions.
As different array bases were constructed, Fang Yu gained a deeper understanding of the "Lesser Thousand-Needle Nether River Formation," and his expertise in Dao of Arrays formation steadily improved.
Besides participating in the construction of the grand formation, Fang Yu spent his spare time cultivating and refining his plans in the Dao of Qi Ingestion.
His Spirit Root also received a significant boost after achieving the ' Phoenix Sets the Plains Ablaze ' Dao Foundation, and upon self-testing, it was surprisingly upgraded to a ' Fire Element Mid-Grade Spirit Root '.
Although he only improved from Low-Grade Spirit Root to Mid-Grade Spirit Root, his cultivation speed of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire also increased significantly.
More than two years have passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Fang Yu had just arrived at the construction site when he was summoned by the Array Master Zong.
"Thanks to Fellow Daoist Lü's help, all the array nodes have been completed ahead of schedule. Now only the central array base needs to be constructed. Originally, I wanted to use the one crafted by the city lord for this array base, but after thinking it over, I still feel it's not quite suitable."
The previously designed central array base had significant flaws and could not fully unleash the array's power. Therefore, I redesigned it and would like to ask Fellow Daoist Lü for help in rebuilding the central array base.
Fang Yu was secretly delighted upon hearing this, but hesitated on the surface. "This... this is a bit inappropriate. The central array base concerns the core of the great array. How can I possibly access it? No, no, no, the Array Master Zong would be better off asking the City Lord to reforge it!"
"Hahaha!" The Array Master Zong laughed upon hearing this. "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to worry. Although this central array base involves the core array patterns of the grand array, cough cough... to be frank, even if I taught you step by step, you might not understand it, let alone just inscribing it. You only need to swear an oath to your inner demons that you will never leak these array patterns."
"This..." Fang Yu hesitated for a moment, then agreed, "Since the Array Master Zong trusts me so much, I will not refuse and will certainly do my best!"