Chapter 719: Grand Opening

Chapter 719: Chapter 151: Grand Opening

Zhang Deming looked at the assembled formation, then turned to Gan Zili beside him and said, “This formation process should be like it is on the Cyan Feather Green Ship, with numbered circles on the floor. It would make lining up much simpler.”

Gan Zili smiled and shook his head. “That’s a more recent innovation,” he said. “It used to always be done this way, with the corresponding Array Runes appearing so everyone could find their designated node.”

“While creating the numbers is simple—you just cover the nodes with a very basic Illusion Array—it also has the added benefit of protecting the Grand Array. It’s a decent improvement.”

“However, this method would require fundamentally altering the Array. You’d have to create a massive Illusion Array, embedding it within the Sect’s Grand Array and ensuring it’s fully integrated and synchronized.”

“And no one in the Sect dares to tamper with a Six-Star Grand Array. After all, our strongest Array Cultivators are only at the Three Talents level. The one from the Fang Family barely even qualifies as a Four-Star Array Master.”

“If each peak were to set up its own Illusion Array without interfacing with the Sect Protection Array, they would never be perfectly synchronized. The moment the Sect Protection Array was slightly adjusted, everything would be thrown out of alignment, causing even greater chaos.”

“That’s why, even though there are better ways to form up, we have to stick to the old method for the Sect Protection Array. Besides, we hardly ever have to use it, so a little inconvenience is no big deal.”

Zhang Deming nodded in understanding.

Just then, the Spiritual Power lines beneath his feet flashed, and Zhang Deming felt the surrounding Spiritual Power fluctuations intensify.

“Get ready. This is the final warm-up. It’s about to start!” Gan Zili said, and the Spiritual Power throughout his body began to surge.

After a brief pause, Zhang Deming’s Spiritual Power also began to surge.

…

They waited for only a moment before the entire plaza suddenly trembled. The Sect Protection Array materialized, Spiritual Power surging through its lines. The node where Zhang Deming stood began to draw a faint trickle of his Spiritual Power.

The drain was incredibly faint—not enough to tax even an Advanced Apprentice. But with hundreds of thousands of Inner Sect Disciples, plus the Outer Sect Disciples, the total number of contributors was in the millions. When all that Spiritual Power fused together, the amount was astronomical.

As the Array materialized, three ancient figures appeared atop the vast, canopy-like Light Curtain overhead. They were none other than the three public-facing Supreme Elders of the Celestial Spirit Sect.

The patriarch of the Yang Family, Yang Guizhong; the patriarch of the Dang Family, Dang Xiangjun; and the patriarch of the Zhou Family, Zhou Liao.

The three stood atop the dome-like Light Curtain in a triangular formation. Looking down, they could clearly see countless lines and runes of Spiritual Power beginning to flash rapidly with Spiritual Light across the entire Celestial Spirit Sect.

The light began at Celestial Spirit Peak, spreading like lightning throughout the Sect. It then traveled up the translucent, dome-like Light Curtain, finally converging at the feet of the three Elders and forming a circle within their triangular stance.

At that moment, the entire Celestial Spirit Sect surged with Spiritual Power, transforming it into a world seemingly built from runes. The Six-Star Array was now revealing its majesty to all.

The three exchanged a glance. Dang Xiangjun and Zhou Liao nodded, then furiously poured their Spiritual Power downwards.

Yang Guizhong took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that was not loud, “The Celestial Spirit Two Realms Exchange Conference begins!”

His voice was not loud, yet it echoed throughout the entire Sect. As he spoke, he raised his Identity Jade high with both hands.

As he finished speaking, a towering pillar of light erupted from the main plaza of each of the Inner Sect’s Fifteen Peaks, and all fifteen plazas trembled in unison.

On Spirit Nurturing Peak, Zhang Deming felt the Sect Protection Array gently touch his Heart Spirit. He took a deep breath, and following the rhythm, his hands flashed through a series of gestures as he chanted, “The Celestial Spirit Two Realms Exchange Conference begins!”

At their chant, the towering pillars of light on the fifteen peaks shattered, showering the sky in Spiritual Light. The entire Celestial Spirit Sect was submerged in an ocean of Spiritual Power.

A moment later, a tremor ran through Zhang Deming as he transformed into a sphere of light and soared into the sky. With him leading the charge, all the disciples of Spirit Nurturing Peak also transformed into spheres of light and ascended.

From the Inner Sect’s Fifteen Peaks, millions of light spheres formed fifteen massive vortexes, like whirlpools in an inverted ocean, stretching from the earth to the heavens.

The spheres of light in the sky, forming fifteen inverted whirlpools, slowly bent their tips inward to converge at the center.

The moment the fifteen vortex tips gently touched, they parted. The whirlpools instantly shattered, and the countless spheres of light scattered across half the sky, like a galaxy of stars.

Their dazzling brilliance illuminated half the sky and startled half of Hongmeng Star. In that instant, everyone knew: the Celestial Spirit Sect’s Two Realms Exchange Conference had begun!

…

“So this is an Upper Sect…”

“It’s truly something to behold.”

“It’s a shame the requirements to become a Celestial Spirit Sect disciple get stricter every year.”

“Yeah. Spirit Nurturing Masters have changed the entire dynamic on Hongmeng.”

“Sigh… The glory of the Sect, the Sect’s glory… It’s a shame this Upper Sect has nothing to do with me.”

On Guest Welcoming Peak, countless visiting disciples from other sects gazed in awe at the sky full of star-like spheres. Disciples from minor Noble Families and small sects watched with envy, longing to be one of those brilliant lights in the sky.

It wasn’t just the minor sects. Most of the Celestial Spirit Sect’s own Outer Sect Disciples were on leave today. Those not qualified to participate in the ceremony stood at the highest vantage points they could find, looking up at the sky full of shining, star-like spheres.

Awe mingled with a bitter resentment that they could not be one of them.

As the spheres of light swirled across the sky, they swept up the motes of light left from the shattered pillars. This formed a powerful tide of Spiritual Power that radiated outward, far beyond the borders of the Celestial Spirit Sect.