Chapter 288 - A Finished Array and an Exposed Name

Chapter 288: Chapter 288 - A Finished Array and an Exposed Name

The work on the Sect Suppression Array continued through the night.

Once Huo Yan finished assigning the first anchor positions, Radiant Sky Sect moved with an efficiency rarely seen outside times of genuine crisis.

Formation elders spread across the inner peaks while disciples transported prepared materials from Heavenly Forge Peak.

Spirit-conducting ores were buried beneath predetermined locations, ancient components were incorporated wherever their properties matched the design, and formation plates were connected gradually rather than activated all at once.

Li Xuanzong and Jian Wushuang personally assisted with the most difficult portions.

With two Void-Shattering cultivators stabilizing the larger circulation routes, several steps that would normally have required repeated adjustments became considerably easier.

Huo Yan remained at the center of the construction, comparing every completed section against Su Bai’s blueprint before allowing the next connection to proceed.

By the time the first sunlight appeared beyond the mountains, the final anchor had been placed.

Huo Yan stood above Heavenly Forge Peak and looked across the inner region of Radiant Sky Sect.

"Activate it."

Spiritual energy entered the first anchor.

A faint ripple spread beneath the mountain before reaching the neighboring nodes. One section responded, followed by another, until the entire formation quietly linked together beneath the inner peaks.

There was no enormous barrier rising into the sky. There was barely anything visible at all. Yet everyone capable of sensing formations felt the change.

The space surrounding the inner peaks had become heavier.

Huo Yan raised one hand and activated a small portion of the array.

Several elders standing inside the selected section immediately felt resistance settle over their bodies. Their movements slowed slightly, while their Qi circulation became noticeably more difficult.

The effect vanished a moment later.

Another section was isolated.

Its connection to the surrounding formation disappeared cleanly without disturbing anything beyond its boundary.

Huo Yan finally relaxed.

"It works."

The exhaustion around him became much easier to tolerate after that.

The Large-Scale Sect Suppression Array was complete.

Its current coverage included the most important inner areas of Radiant Sky Sect and the routes connecting them. If enemies reached the formation, individual regions could be suppressed, reinforced, or sealed away without forcing the entire array to respond in the same manner.

It was already far better than what they had possessed yesterday.

Still, its limits were obvious.

The Outer Sect remained beyond its full coverage, while the mortal city below the mountains was even farther away.

If a genuine disaster reached Radiant Sky Sect before the larger formation was completed, those outside the protected region would have to retreat into the inner sect.

No one considered that ideal.

For now, however, it was enough.

Li Xuanzong examined the formation one last time before looking toward Shen Youran.

"The main authority should remain with you."

No one objected.

Shen Youran’s expression barely changed.

The formation could suppress movement, disturb Qi circulation, reinforce selected regions, and seal compromised areas. Whoever controlled it might eventually have to decide whether an entire section should be isolated while allies were still inside.

Sentiment could not be allowed to delay such a decision.

Shen Youran was unlikely to hesitate merely because the person causing the problem happened to be someone she knew.

Lu Canghai stroked his beard.

"If one of us becomes troublesome, Old Witch will probably suppress us before the enemy."

Shen Youran looked at him.

"That can be arranged."

Lu Canghai immediately found somewhere else to look.

The others concealed their amusement and returned to the matter at hand.

They spent some time discussing evacuation routes, secondary controllers, and what should happen if Shen Youran herself became unable to command the array. The formation could not be allowed to depend entirely upon a single person, especially during an attack.

By the time everything immediate had been settled, exhaustion had begun catching up with even the senior cultivators.

There was little else they could do until Su Bai completed the larger design.

They separated soon afterward.

For once, all they could do was wait for him.

...

Lu Canghai returned to Clear Cloud Peak alone.

The courtyard was quiet when he arrived.

His gaze naturally moved toward Su Bai’s hut.

There had been no disturbance from inside since the previous day.

Lu Canghai considered checking on his disciple, but the thought disappeared almost immediately.

Su Bai was designing something that might determine whether Radiant Sky Sect could survive the attention gathering around it. Interrupting him simply because his master was curious would be ridiculous.

Instead, Lu Canghai sat beneath the familiar tree and closed his eyes.

The night of formation construction had left him tired, but meditation came easily.

Morning passed gradually.

The sun climbed higher.

By the time afternoon approached, the door to Su Bai’s hut finally opened.

Lu Canghai’s eyes opened at the same moment.

Su Bai stepped outside carrying a small stack of parchment.

His face looked slightly more exhausted than usual, but there was satisfaction in his eyes.

Before Lu Canghai could ask anything, Su Bai spoke.

"Master, I’m finished."

Lu Canghai stared at him.

Several breaths passed.

"Finished with what?"

Su Bai lifted the parchments slightly.

"The Sect-Scale Formation."

Lu Canghai continued staring.

Yesterday, when the senior figures discussed Su Bai’s larger formation, even the most optimistic estimate had not been measured in hours.

A month had sounded reasonable.

A week had already sounded absurdly fast.

Lu Canghai slowly stood.

"Brat."

Su Bai blinked.

"You said you needed time."

"I did."

"This is what you call time?"

Su Bai glanced toward the sky as if checking how long he had actually spent inside.

Lu Canghai’s beard twitched.

"For cultivators like us, this is barely enough time to complain properly. You are going to shake your master’s Dao Heart one of these days."

Su Bai smiled awkwardly.

Lu Canghai sighed, although the corners of his mouth were already lifting.

Apparently, all the discussions they had held about surviving the coming weeks had been unnecessarily pessimistic.

He decided this was acceptable.

A fine disciple naturally benefited from having a fine master.

Lu Canghai stroked his beard with renewed dignity.

"Show me."

Su Bai spread the parchments across the courtyard table.

What appeared before Lu Canghai was far more complicated than the Large-Scale Sect Suppression Array.

The earlier array was still visible within the design, but now it occupied only part of a much greater network.

Lines spread outward across representations of the inner peaks, Outer Sect, surrounding mountain paths, entrances, and terrain far beyond the current formation boundary.

Lu Canghai’s amusement slowly disappeared.

"This covers all of it?"

Su Bai nodded.

"The entire sect territory."

His finger moved farther outward.

"And several miles beyond the main perimeter."

Lu Canghai looked at him.

Su Bai continued explaining before his master could interrupt.

"The formation already being constructed does not need to be removed. It becomes one of the inner suppression layers."

That immediately eased one of Lu Canghai’s concerns.

Su Bai traced the surrounding networks.

"The Sect-Scale version adds more suppression sections outside it, but I couldn’t simply connect all of them to one central point. If that point were destroyed, the entire formation could fail."

That had been the problem he discovered at the end of the previous day.

His solution filled several of the new sheets.

Instead of creating one central formation core, Su Bai had divided the coordinating function among multiple command nodes distributed through the major regions of the sect.

Each one could communicate with the surrounding sections.

If one command node failed, the others could temporarily take over its responsibilities while isolating the damaged region.

The larger formation therefore retained the same principle as the original.

Damage to one part would not be allowed to kill the whole structure.

Lu Canghai’s gaze slowly followed the pattern.

"And these outer sections?"

"They remain dormant unless needed."

Su Bai tapped the perimeter.

"Anyone entering normally would only encounter Radiant Sky Sect’s existing defenses. The suppression network does not need to reveal itself until activated."

Once activated, however, the surrounding regions could be divided immediately.

Movement could be restricted. Qi circulation could be disrupted. Selected routes could remain open for Radiant Sky Sect’s own people while hostile regions were isolated.

If attackers attempted to retreat after reaching too deeply into the sect’s territory, the outer suppression sections could close behind them.

Lu Canghai became very quiet.

The Large-Scale formation made defending the inner sect easier.

This was something else entirely.

With enough preparation, the Sect-Scale version could turn the entire surrounding territory into a battlefield designed around Radiant Sky Sect’s advantage before an invader even realized the formation had activated.

Lu Canghai released a long breath.

"It seems we may actually be safe after all."

Su Bai tilted his head.

The wording caught his attention.

"Master?"

Lu Canghai’s expression changed slightly.

He had intended to tell his disciple sooner or later.

Considering what Su Bai had just finished, there was little reason to delay any further.

"There is something you should know."

Su Bai became attentive.

Lu Canghai sat across from him.

"The identity of the person who returned from Fallen-Star Sanctuary is no longer a complete mystery."

Su Bai’s expression froze.

Lu Canghai continued calmly.

"The Void-Shattering demonic cultivator who saw you after you returned has connected that person to Su Bai of Radiant Sky Sect."

For several moments, Su Bai said nothing.

He had known this possibility existed from the beginning.

Too many younger cultivators knew he had remained trapped inside after everyone else was expelled. Once someone confirmed that a young cultivator had later emerged from the Sanctuary, the number of possible identities became painfully small.

Lu Canghai sighed.

"It was never going to remain hidden forever. The younger generation already knew you were the one left behind. Once the timing of your return spread, anyone willing to compare the stories had somewhere to start."

Su Bai looked toward the parchments between them.

"So people will come."

"Almost certainly."

Some would want information. Others would want to know what remained inside Fallen-Star Sanctuary. The more dangerous ones would be interested in what Su Bai had brought out with him.

Whether anyone possessed proof hardly mattered once enough treasure was involved.

Lu Canghai watched his disciple’s expression grow increasingly serious and waved a hand.

"Do not look like that."

Su Bai looked at him.

"We already expected trouble. The only difference is that it may arrive sooner than we hoped."

He tapped the Sect-Scale blueprint.

"And now you have conveniently given us this."

A laugh escaped him.

"Let them come and discover whether Radiant Sky Sect is as easy to enter as they imagine."

Su Bai’s expression eased slightly.

He looked again at the formation he had spent the entire night completing.

Perhaps the timing was not entirely terrible.

Lu Canghai stood and gathered the parchments carefully.

"Come."

Su Bai looked up.

"We are going back to Heavenly Forge Peak."

"Right now?"

"Old Huo spent the entire night building your first formation. It would be cruel to let him rest before showing him that you already finished the next one."

Su Bai stared at his master.

Lu Canghai’s expression remained perfectly sincere.

After a moment, Su Bai picked up the remaining parchments.

For some reason, he suddenly felt slightly sorry for Huo Yan.

That feeling lasted until Lu Canghai grabbed his shoulder.

A moment later, master and disciple disappeared from Clear Cloud Peak, carrying the blueprint that might soon turn the whole of Radiant Sky Sect into one enormous suppression formation.