Chapter 85 - 82: Array Formed Overnight, First Contact with Array Dao

Chapter 85: Chapter 82: Array Formed Overnight, First Contact with Array Dao

Watching the white-clad youth walk into the depths of the nearby forest with a few Array Dao manuals in hand, the three brothers shook their heads helplessly, wearing expressions of exasperation.

"Brother, Brother Jiang couldn’t possibly be seriously thinking about studying arrays, right?"

One of the Array Masters couldn’t help but chuckle. In the look the youth had when he received the array manuals, one could clearly see a trace of longing.

However, as soon as these words were spoken, not only did the other two Array Masters feel it was a bit unrealistic, but even Ji Wufeng and the rest felt that the white-clad youth was engaging in flights of fancy.

"Could it be that he wants to cultivate Array Dao before we enter the Ancient Emperor Sect ruins?"

"Breaking through to Spirit Transformation in less than a month is already an earth-shattering feat. He is already a lofty Pill Master. Isn’t Brother Jiang being too greedy to want to step into Array Dao now?"

"Just let him tinker with it. After all, it’s also a path of cultivation. Who would give it up so easily? Didn’t we all try it once upon a time?"

Ji Wufeng and the others shook their heads one after another. The youth was not only a peerless freak of nature but also the representative of the new generation’s Peak of Pill Dao in the Eastern Domain. If he also possessed talent in Array Dao, how would anyone else have room to breathe?

Instead of harboring any expectations, the group was highly pessimistic. After all, the heavens were fair; if they granted you one terrifying talent, they wouldn’t possibly grant you another equally dreadful ability.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hao, having acquired a few array manuals, didn’t care about their opinions at all. He found a secluded spot in the forest and began his studies.

"If I want to establish a foothold in this world a few years from now, it seems that blindly cultivating isn’t enough," Jiang Hao muttered to himself. "If I can understand some arrays as well, it will be much safer."

His original intention was naturally not to major in Array Dao, and he didn’t even know what his own talent in it was like. However, it wouldn’t hurt to study it a little.

As a Cultivator, you could be ignorant of setting up arrays, but you at least had to understand the basics. At the very least, you had to know how to break simple arrays or have a rudimentary grasp of them. Otherwise, if you were unlucky enough to be trapped by a grand array one day, you might be stuck for a decade or eight years, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

"But what if I’m also an Array Dao genius?" he thought. Shaking his head, he began to read carefully.

He didn’t rush to read those array manuals. Instead, he first examined the method for sensing elemental power given to him by the three Array Masters.

"An Array Master draws upon the elemental powers of heaven and earth, gathering them into patterns to lay down as an array. By commanding the natural elemental powers of heaven and earth, one turns the gates of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. Using the Two Poles of Yin and Yang and the Four Symbols as the foundation, one seizes the countless transformations of the Five Elements as the standard..."

"To raise an array from the earth, elemental power is paramount. With the element as the guide, and operated through spirit, this is the natural way of arrays, the execution of order and rules..."

"The method of sensing: intent unites with thought, thought unites with qi, qi unites with spirit, spirit unites with mind, mind unites with the pattern. When the pattern is born, the array rises..."

As Jiang Hao read, he carefully pondered the profound meaning hidden within. Before he knew it, time slipped away, and it was already late at night.

"So that’s how it is. It doesn’t seem to be all that complicated."

After memorizing the sensing method and the formula for constructing Array Patterns by heart, Jiang Hao closed his eyes to rest his mind. Following the instructions, he began to sense the elemental powers of heaven and earth, attempting to outline his first Array Pattern.

The next moment, endless, invisible forces surfaced around Jiang Hao, resonating with him.

"I can sense it?" Jiang Hao was slightly startled at first, then became ecstatic.

Being able to sense the elemental powers of heaven and earth meant he had the talent to become an Array Master. How could he not be thrilled?

Even today, Jiang Hao still remembered when the Prodigy Supremacy Battle began, and those terrifying grand arrays that suddenly rose from the ground within the Earth Realm of Celestial City. If he could also set up world-shocking arrays in the future, then even when he wasn’t with the Ye Family, he would have no worries about their safety.

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Hao became completely engrossed in sketching Array Patterns. He even pulled out an array manual and began practicing it in earnest.

Time ticked away minute by minute. In just two hours, Jiang Hao had outlined countless Array Patterns.

"Strange... why does it feel so easy?"

The more familiar the process became, the more confident Jiang Hao grew, and his speed at outlining Array Patterns gradually increased. As for sensing the elemental powers, it shared similarities with controlling the Fire of Heaven and Earth, so it wasn’t a difficult task at all. He even felt it was a bit too simple, and initially suspected that he was heading in the wrong direction.

Of course, when setting up a grand array, sensing the elemental power and sketching Array Patterns was merely the first step. The most crucial part was to combine these Array Patterns to form array foundations, linking them together to create a cohesive whole that supported the operation of the grand array.

And the hardest aspect of an array wasn’t the construction of Array Patterns and foundations, but the deduction of the grand array. Only by deducing its massive and intricate operation methods could one raise the array in any location.

Jiang Hao simultaneously sketched Array Patterns and deduced a grand array. Having no array flags, he substituted them with leaves; lacking array foundations, he established them himself.

As Jiang Hao busied himself, the time unknowingly arrived at dawn.

"Is he really tinkering with arrays?"

"He’s been busy all night and still hasn’t given up."

Watching the faintly visible, busy silhouette deep in the forest, Ji Qingxue and the others secretly shook their heads, though they didn’t pay it too much mind. In everyone’s eyes, the white-clad youth was merely doing useless work; it was impossible for him to achieve anything. After all, if he truly possessed talent in Array Dao, he wouldn’t have waited until today to step into it.

Little did they know, over the past few years, Jiang Hao had either been on the run, in hiding, or cultivating madly. He simply hadn’t had the time or opportunity to study Array Dao. Moreover, he had never had the chance to come into contact with it.

But today was different. He had interacted with three Array Masters and learned from Ji Qingxue that the role of an Array Master wasn’t just to protect a region’s peace, but was sometimes an essential skill for exploring ancient ruins.

Even those who weren’t Array Masters would set aside time to study arrays. You might lack the talent to become an Array Master, but you couldn’t be completely ignorant of the world’s arrays. After all, setting up an array and breaking one were different. Only Array Masters could set up arrays, but breaking them was something anyone could do—or at the very least, one had to know how to dismantle some simple grand arrays.

At the same time Ji Qingxue and her group looked at the silhouette, the three Array Masters also couldn’t help but gaze over.

"Brother, Brother Jiang couldn’t have actually figured something out, could he?" one of them asked with some anticipation.

However, as soon as he spoke, the other two shook their heads and smiled. "Array Dao demands talent. Even if he can truly sense the elemental powers, how could it be so easy to set up an array?"

"I’m afraid just outlining a single Array Pattern would take Brother Jiang ten days to half a month to figure out. It’s only been one night; what could he have managed to produce? He probably hasn’t even finished outlining a single Array Pattern.

"Of course, that’s assuming he can even sense the elemental powers in the first place."

After the two finished speaking, the first Array Master nodded slightly, strongly agreeing with his two brothers’ reasoning.

However, just as the three finished their conversation, a sudden shout rang out.

"Rise!"

BOOM!!!

Accompanied by this light shout, fierce winds instantly whipped through that part of the forest, and an invisible force spread in all directions. Not only that, everyone sensed something and uniformly looked up. They saw a moderately sized array abruptly rise from the ground, with waves of killing intent rushing at them.

In an instant.

"What—?!"

RUSTLE!!!

Everyone sprang to their feet, their faces draining of color in shock.

Even though Ji Qingxue and her group weren’t Array Masters, they were no strangers to arrays. That aura and the semi-transparent array barrier were reminding everyone that it was an array.

A grand array that had appeared out of thin air.

The three Array Masters shuddered violently, looking as if they had been struck by lightning. They stared blankly at the array light soaring into the sky from within the forest.

Although the array Jiang Hao had set up wasn’t earth-shatteringly massive, its mere existence struck like a thunderbolt, ruthlessly slamming into the hearts of everyone present.

"A wood-attribute Killing Array... the Myriad Leaf Slaughtering Grand Array?"

The oldest Array Master breathed heavily, having recognized what array it was at a single glance.

At once, everyone flew over and stared dumbly at the scene in the forest. Amidst the trees, the white-clad youth stood in the center of the grand array, looking it up and down with genuine curiosity and novelty in his eyes.

However, inside the array, it was surprisingly quiet. Other than the array light slowly absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to operate, indicating a grand array was set up here, one couldn’t see any other anomalies.

But the moment the group attempted to step into the grand array...

BOOM!!!

The entire grand array suddenly turned chaotic. Terrifying killing intent lunged straight at them as countless green leaves materialized within the array, slashing toward the group like falling rain.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!!!

In an instant, an overwhelming swarm of leaves blanketed the grand array, forming an airtight barrage that sliced through the void to strike at Ji Qingxue’s group.

At first, the group paid no mind to the seemingly chaotic flurry of flying leaves. But when the leaves brushed past the edges of their clothes...

RIP!!!

The sound of fabric being torn rang out. Those leaves had transformed into incomparably sharp swords, smoothly slicing off the corners of their garments.

"Not good! It’s a Killing Array! Be careful!" Ji Wufeng reacted immediately, hurriedly shouting for everyone to circulate their Spirit Transformation power to defend themselves.

In a flash, the thirty-odd people condensed suits of Spiritual Power armor, fiercely guarding themselves.

"Relax, this is just a Tier 1, Rank 2 Killing Array. It might be able to slice through clothing, but to actually harm all of you is practically impossible," Jiang Hao’s calm voice echoed from the center of the array. With that said, he held up a giant leaf and abruptly swung it toward the group.

They saw that the giant leaf was covered in Array Patterns. It was impressively the main flag controlling this Killing Array, or rather, one of its array cores. Whoever held that leaf could control the Killing Array.

This was indeed the case. The instant Jiang Hao waved the array flag, the overwhelming swarm of leaves—like a torrential flood or a plague of locusts—instantly engulfed everyone, brushing harmlessly past them. A few leaves crashed into their Spiritual Power armor and shattered into pieces, but the group could clearly feel the jarring force behind them.

"Hahaha! Not bad, not bad! This is fun!"

In the dead center of the grand array, Jiang Hao continuously waved the leaf—or rather, the array flag—exclaiming in sheer exhilaration. After a whole night of effort, he finally experienced the sense of accomplishment from successfully forming an array.

At this moment, Jiang Hao felt that practicing Array Dao was much more fun than blindly undergoing bitter cultivation to raise his realm.

However, just as he was basking in his smugness...

POOF!!!

The sound of bursting flames rang out. The leaf in his hand, unable to bear the heavy load of the grand array’s operation, spontaneously combusted with a poof. As the main flag burned, the leaf rapidly withered, and the Array Patterns on it were scorched to ashes. The entire grand array instantly paralyzed and collapsed.

Watching the endless stream of green leaves fall limply and lose their lethality one after another, Jiang Hao couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment. If this array had been laid down using real array flags, and if its foundations weren’t just some stone fragments engraved with Array Patterns, its power would have multiplied, and the grand array wouldn’t have overloaded and crumbled.

However, in contrast to Jiang Hao’s disappointment, Ji Qingxue and the others were utterly dumbfounded. The three Array Masters, in particular, were petrified on the spot, staring slack-jawed.

"Bro... Brother Jiang, have... have you studied Array Dao before?" one of the Array Masters spoke up subconsciously.

At that moment, everyone’s gaze involuntarily fixed onto Jiang Hao.

Hearing this, Jiang Hao finally snapped out of his self-accomplishment. Without thinking much of it, he blurted out, "No, this is my first time coming into contact with Array Dao. The path of Array Dao seems even more fearsome than I imagined."

When those words were spoken, everyone shuddered violently once again. The three Array Masters looked as if they had been struck by lightning, and monstrous waves of shock surged within their eyes.

First time coming into contact with Array Dao?

You set up a grand array in a single night, and you’re telling us this is your first time coming into contact with Array Dao?

In a single night!

And what you set up was a damn Killing Array!

"How... how is this possible?"

For a moment, everyone was completely dumbfounded!