Chapter 344: The Great Array

Mo Hua decided: he would build a Great Array and kill Feng Xi!

He had his own way out, but he also wanted to give every scattered cultivator a way out, so none would be forced to abandon their homeland and wander in misery.

With his mind made up, Mo Hua began to consider how to proceed.

The Great Array's formation is immensely complex, an enormous cultivation undertaking.

It is hard to learn, and even harder to build.

Mr. Zhuang told him all the difficulties of building the array—not to discourage him, but to make him think more carefully and plan more thoroughly.

The Great Array requires manpower and material resources, but before all that, it most needs time.

Building the Great Array takes time; learning it himself also takes time.

Without time, nothing is possible.

Mo Hua first went to find Commander Yang and asked:

An array master who builds small arrays is a bad array master.

Mo Hua didn't feel any headache.

Those conditions all relate to Mo Hua.

Commander Yang watched Mo Hua's back and muttered under his breath: "That kid is up to something again…"

Mr. Zhuang explained: "Spiritual awareness cannot be precisely quantified; it can only be roughly estimated."

And yet it sounds so simple…

Usually, the choice of chief array master is made with great care and extreme caution.

Commander Yang blinked. "What's good about it?"

Mo Hua's eyes lit up—he had guessed right; Wang Lanwan had indeed prepared in advance.

A Dao-turbulence born of facing death to attain life—I've never seen one before, never even heard of one.

"What exactly are the difficulties?"

"Its internal blood qi is extremely impure—not its own, and never before refined, so refining it now takes much longer."

"Not spiritual awareness again…"

"But once it finishes refining and regains vitality, stops feeding, the trouble will grow."

Mo Hua sat upright, listening intently.

Seeing Mr. Zhuang's expression, Mo Hua exhaled slightly and whispered quietly:

That leaves two months and eight days—time should be barely enough.

"Not simpler, but a larger composite array."

Mr. Zhuang paused. "How do you know that?"

Mo Hua felt relieved—thankfully, his spiritual awareness is adequate.

"Master, you can actually learn the Great Array, can't you?"

Commander Yang, leading the Dao soldiers stationed at the edge of Shenshan, constantly monitoring the great beast's movements, thought for a moment, then spoke slowly:

Not only that—I intend to be the chief array master of the Great Array.

As long as one has experience building a first-rank Great Array, one can gradually attain insight and eventually lead the construction of lower-rank Great Arrays.

Mr. Zhuang had explained this to me, and Mo Hua remembered it well.

Learning the Great Array and successfully building it—this time should not be enough.

"Where exactly is the difficulty?" Mo Hua asked without hesitation.

"Master, I want to learn the Great Array!"

"After learning the Great Array, there are some things I must explain to you clearly," said Mr. Zhuang.

The chief array master who leads the design and construction of the array—not merely a specialized array master who participates in its construction.

This is the prerequisite; without it, all talk is empty.

But no matter what, it's already too late to do anything…

"Do all great beasts take this long to refine blood qi?"

"A composite array formed by linking individual arrays through an array pivot."

"How much delay can it cause?"

"What's the essential difference between a composite array and an individual array?"

"That is the Jade Slip of the Great Array!"

Commander Yang sighed, his expression growing even more solemn.

Mr. Zhuang nodded. "Sort of."

Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly. "The pivot of an individual array is complex; the pivot of a composite array is simpler; the pivot of the Great Array is even simpler."

"Really want to learn?" Mr. Zhuang's expression held deep meaning.

"The Great Array is very hard to learn."

Either one must be virtuous and respected, or come from a lineage steeped in array arts, or have outstanding array knowledge, or be widely acclaimed.

The Qian family's ancestral elder consumed the Transferring Lifespan to Golden Core Pill, and within less than half an hour, his cultivation began to rise gradually.

Two months and eight days, though very tight, are enough to attempt it.

Mo Hua explained: "If you truly can't learn it, Master will agree to you right away—not ask you to go think it over."

"The Great Array belongs to the category that requires ten-stripe spiritual awareness as a starting point, but because it is too simple, it demands even less spiritual awareness."

"Uncle Yang, how long will it take this pig to refine the blood qi?"

"Foundation Establishment spiritual awareness is enough, but barely."

"So the core of the Great Array is still the pivot—if you master the pivot, allowing spiritual energy to flow smoothly and the individual arrays to harmonize, isn't that enough to master the Great Array?"

Mo Hua frowned.

"Even if it's hard to learn, you still have to learn it!" Mo Hua insisted.

"The pivot of a single array requires linking array patterns; the pivot of a compound array requires linking Wang Lan; and the pivot of a small array requires linking a vast number of single arrays."

But Mo Hua sighed in relief.

So whether for my own pursuit under array theory, or for the cultivators of Xiancheng, I must take that step.

Mo Hua frowned and asked, "Can't we delay it even a little?"

Mo Hua nodded. "I've thought it over."

The first step is always the hardest.

Mo Hua pondered, then said:

But constructing a small array is difficult; it consumes enormous manpower and Xi Wuli.

Since I want to become an array master, there will inevitably come a day when I must comprehend and construct a small array.

"The most objective criterion is based on the array master's reference standard: the number of array patterns drawn when the spiritual sense is exhausted determines the strength of the spiritual sense."

One or two months…

Mo Hua's expression hesitated; Mr. Zhuang felt a faint sense of relief inside, but he still reminded him:

"Yes!"

"Moreover, that beast, Feng Xi, has died once before—this makes it even more necessary to digest blood qi to sustain its vitality."

"That means the pivot of a small array requires even stronger spiritual sense, links fewer Wang Lan, has more complex spiritual force trajectories, and must also account for compatibility between the small array's pivot and single arrays."

Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly, his expression showing opposition.

That pig demon had clearly died—yet it came back to life…

Mo Hua said frankly: "If I don't learn it, that's because my ability is insufficient—what's wrong with that? But if I refuse to learn, that's fear of array theory, a weak Dao heart—I'll never go far in array theory."

"That means, on the surface, both arrays demand ten-wen spiritual sense—but the complex array, when actually drawn, requires far more than ten wen, while the simple array, though normally easy, when actually drawn, consumes far more than ten wen, yet still falls short of eleven wen."

At the same time, one must inevitably have experience in leading the construction of small arrays.

Mr. Zhuang asked first: "What is a small array?"

"And what is a compound array?"

"But even so, this reference standard is very difficult to refine precisely."

Mo Hua immediately ran to find Mr. Zhuang, his face solemn:

"You've thought it over?"

Colonel Yang glanced at the blood qi of Shenshan and looked solemn:

"About a month."

"A first-rank small array is fundamentally not meant for first-rank array masters to learn."

"Starting at ten wen spiritual sense…" Mo Hua murmured to himself.

Then Mo Hua added forcefully: "Is Foundation Establishment spiritual sense enough?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded. "All problems of an array master, at their root, are problems of insufficient spiritual sense."

That aura was also deepening gradually.

"Spiritual sense."

A small array is the ultimate goal of an array master.

Yet Mo Hua also felt some doubt, and asked:

"About one to two months."

Even if it succeeds, one must do one's utmost.

Colonel Yang nodded. "In a while, the Dao Soldier Office will send more Foundation Establishment commandants here; you will work together to harass Feng Xi, delay its refinement progress, and buy time for the cultivators of Xiancheng to relocate."

Colonel Yang turned his head, gazing at the deep red blood qi of Shenshan—within it lurked Wu Xiaoyao, hiding an aura that sent shivers down the spine.

Colonel Yang mused: "Normally, it wouldn't take this long. But this Feng Xi is unusual—it didn't become a Wu Xiaoyao by eating on its own, but was forcibly fed into one."

"The pivots are different."

Outside Xiancheng, no faction would risk such great danger to hire me, a cultivator of scattered origin, to lead the construction of a vast, colossal small array.

"What if I can't learn it?"

"Since you've asked me to consider it, that means it's within my capability."

"Don't worry, Uncle Yang, you're busy."

"So as I said," Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and said urgently:

Could this pig be digesting poorly?

This is my first opportunity—not theoretical discussion, but a chance to personally learn and attempt to construct a small array.

Mr. Zhuang sighed helplessly, then took out a set of ten jade slips and placed them on the table, his expression serious:

If I miss this first opportunity, it may well be the only one I ever get in this lifetime.

But if I don't take that first step, lacking experience leading the construction of small arrays, I may never have anything to do with small arrays for the rest of my life.

First, I must learn small arrays.

Though my only real strength is just this spiritual sense…

Mo Hua received the news, waved his hand, and then dashed off.

Mo Hua nodded slightly. "That's good."

Mr. Zhuang was surprised—what surprised him wasn't that Mo Hua wanted to learn small arrays, but that Mo Hua had made his decision so quickly.

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