Chapter 355: The Core Pivot of the Demon-Slaying Array

Before official construction began, the great array needed a site selected.

Zhou Zhangsi and Elder Yu specifically sought out Mo Hua to ask for his opinion.

The great array was drawn by Mo Hua and designed and constructed by him; naturally, the site selection was his to decide.

After deep deliberation, Mo Hua ultimately fixed the great array's location at Great Heishan Shanzhai.

The Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array was a containment-and-kill array, not a defensive sect-protection array, so it could not be placed within Xiancheng, and must be kept far from Xiancheng.

Otherwise, once the array activated, Xiancheng would be affected by its killing spiritual energy.

The most suitable location was Shenshan.

To directly suppress and kill the Fengxi in Shenshan, preventing it from entering the city, was the best choice.

Within Shenshan, the most suitable place was naturally Great Heishan Shanzhai.

Great Heishan Shanzhai sat nestled between two mountains, easy to defend and hard to attack—in other words, its interior was relatively enclosed, making it ideal for array-based containment and killing.

The Qian family's ancestral patriarch built Great Heishan Shanzhai there precisely because the location was suitable for constructing arrays.

Moreover, although Great Heishan Shanzhai had been destroyed, it still retained some array foundations; building the great array atop these foundations would save much effort.

Though surprised, Zhou Zhangsi and Elder Yu both nodded in agreement.

Mo Hua then said to Commander Yang: "Uncle Yang, we must find a way to distract the Fengxi and buy some time."

The array's minimum construction time was two months, but if any accident delayed progress and the Fengxi began feeding before completion, disaster would follow.

So we must do everything possible to prevent the Fengxi from absorbing blood qi and gain as much time as we can.

Commander Yang nodded: "Rest assured—I've used my Yang family connections to petition the Dao Troop Office and requested two additional Dao Troop units. In the coming days, we'll harass the Fengxi to slow its blood qi absorption."

Afterward, responsibilities were clearly divided: Zhou Zhangsi allocated spiritual stones and materials, Elder Yu coordinated manpower, and Mo Hua took full charge of the array.

The Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array officially began construction.

The master blueprint of the array was designed by Mo Hua, based on the array's core pivot, referencing records of other great arrays, and incorporating the opinions of Master Ban the Artisan.

First, the damaged structures of Great Heishan Shanzhai were cleared away, and the array's foundation and framework were rebuilt—this portion was handled by the Artisans.

Meanwhile, the Nancheng Armory worked day and night, its furnaces never ceasing, forging the array's components: array discs, array locks, array gates, and other array media.

The alchemists brewed pills to dispel heat, neutralize poison, remove miasma, and restore physical strength and spiritual energy, supplying them to the construction artisans.

Fushan Restaurant in the city and the An family's dining hall provided meals for everyone.

The demon hunters, led by Yu Chengyi and Seeing Mo Shan, carved a mountain path from Xiancheng, through the inner and outer mountains, straight to the former site of Great Heishan Shanzhai in Shenshan.

The path wound along the mountain terrain, wide and level, facilitating the transport of the array's many materials.

Meanwhile, the demon hunters also drove away demonic beasts along both sides of the path to prevent them from attacking cultivators.

After several days, some cultivators from Qingxuan City came to help; cultivators from nearby Xianchengs, hearing that Xiancheng was building a great array to fight a great demon, also gathered, eager to lend their strength.

The number of cultivators building the array grew steadily, and the entire cultivation project became increasingly grand.

Mo Hua stood atop a peak of Great Heishan Shanzhai.

Looking down, he could see a winding mountain path stretching from the foot of Great Heishan Shanzhai, following the contours of Sun Dahei Mountain all the way to Xiancheng.

The path teemed with people—dense ranks of cultivators moved methodically, transporting construction materials and various supplies.

The ground beneath his feet, once Great Heishan Shanzhai, had been dismantled and its foundation rebuilt; basic framework components of the array's media had already been erected.

Master Ban and numerous artisans moved busily among them; the array's rudimentary form had begun to take shape.

In the distance, Xiancheng's Armory blazed with activity, its Alchemy Hall's furnaces burned fiercely, and Fushan Restaurant sent up waves of cooking smoke.

Prepared meal boxes, pills, and spiritual artifacts were either delivered directly to cultivators or carried along the winding mountain path into Shenshan…

Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of cultivators united as one, building the great cultivation array—the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array.

This scene stirred an inexplicable awe within Mo Hua.

"This is the great array…"

A single array was not strong enough—so gather enough individual arrays and bind them together through a core pivot to form a great array.

A single cultivator was not strong enough—so gather enough cultivators, uniting their wills toward a common goal.

Human strength has limits, but if enough people unite, their power becomes boundless.

In a moment of absent-mindedness, Mo Hua gained sudden clarity.

He could draw the great array, kill the Fengxi, and save the cultivators of the city.

But in truth, he was not saving others—everyone was saving themselves.

Without him, no one could draw the great array; yet without these countless cultivators united as one, he could never have built it.

Fate is never changed by one person alone—it is only through the united effort of all cultivators that true defiance of heaven and alteration of destiny become possible!

In an instant, Mo Hua's consciousness trembled slightly, his spiritual sense became crystal clear, and the concept of the great array suddenly unlocked within him.

The once slightly obscure pivot patterns now seemed clearly carved into his consciousness.

A thread of insight arose; Mo Hua felt something profound.

He truly could build it—and control the entire Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array as effortlessly as his own limbs!

Behind Mo Hua, Master Luo, marveling at the array's complexity, suddenly looked up and saw Mo Hua seemingly in a state of sudden enlightenment, radiating an unfathomably profound aura.

As if he had grasped some truth, the array had advanced further.

He even faintly bore the bearing of an Array Master.

For that instant, Master Luo thought he had imagined it.

He rubbed his eyes and looked again—Mo Hua's body now held no profound aura at all; he was still just that simple young cultivator.

Because noon had arrived and someone shouted, "Lunch is ready!" Mo Hua activated his Flowing Water Step and happily ran off to get a chicken leg…

Master Luo stood frozen in place for a long while, then sighed with a complex expression, muttering to himself:

"Did I just imagine that…?"

…

Ten days later, the foundational framework of the great array was completed.

Thanks to all the cultivators working in unison, this pace was much faster than Mo Hua had expected.

Next came the task of painting the formal array.

The Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array draws its source from the array's eye, is coordinated by the array's pivot, is laid out through individual sub-arrays, and rests upon the array media as its foundation.

The array's eye consists of multiple Grade-One Spirit-Collecting Reversal Arrays, used to refine spirit stones, absorb spiritual energy, and condense the array's spiritual power, thereby providing the operational spiritual source for the entire array.

The array's core is the pivot, the central mechanism that controls the opening and closing, initiation and cessation, forward and reverse, strengthening and suppression of spiritual energy.

Only after the pivot is properly painted can the sub-arrays beyond it be laid out in sequence according to the pivot.

Likewise, within the entire great array, the pivot is the most difficult to paint, and also the most core and most secretive part—it must be painted personally by the chief array master.

Or rather, only one who can paint the pivot is qualified to become the chief array master and oversee the array's completion.

Mo Hua chose a high peak as the location for the pivot.

Here, the terrain is elevated, the view is excellent, and the distance from the central trapping zone is great—ideal for overseeing the entire array, and unlikely to be affected by spiritual energy surges during the trapping and slaying of the Boar Demon.

The pivot's array media is a massive array disc cast from refined iron, extremely sturdy and resistant to damage.

Before Mo Hua began painting, Master Luo led all the array masters out.

The pivot is the core of the array and an array master's secret—naturally, it must be kept confidential during painting.

Master Luo also knew this pivot might not be painted by Mo Hua himself, but possibly by his Mr. —so he took all the array masters out, to prevent this secret from being exposed.

Master Luo had thought very "thoroughly" for Mo Hua.

But he did not know that the great array's pivot was indeed being painted by Mo Hua himself.

The pivot was hard to paint.

Even though Mo Hua had fully comprehended it, painting this pivot was still arduous.

Using a refined iron array disc as the array media consumed more spiritual insight during painting.

Mo Hua failed twice due to insufficient spiritual insight, then wiped away the array lines with Spirit-Dissolving Fluid and painted anew.

He also made two errors due to the excessive complexity of the lines, and painted again.

……

After five or six consecutive failures, Mo Hua did not lose heart.

Because of his recent insight, the pivot's lines were clearly revealed in his mind.

He knew he could paint it—he simply needed more familiarity and some opportunities for trial and error.

Five days later, after countless attempts by Mo Hua, the pivot of the Five Elements Demon-Slaying Array was finally completed.

Mo Hua channeled his spiritual insight through the pivot; every line was crystal clear, and the pathways of all spiritual energies matched exactly what was recorded in the array jade slip.

Still uneasy, Mo Hua inspected it from beginning to end several more times, then let out a quiet breath.

Success!

Mo Hua looked at the profound and intricate pivot before him, and joy welled up within him.

The pivot's structure was rigorous, built from fine strokes into a formidable peak, possessing a complex and profound beauty.

The only flaw was that, as this was Mo Hua's first time painting a pivot on an array disc, his brushwork was unfamiliar—he had daubed too many times, making it look unattractive.

Though unattractive, it was functional—that was enough!

Mo Hua believed cultivators valued practicality above all; utility mattered more than appearance.

After the pivot was finished, Master Luo led the other array masters in. Seeing the scene before them, all were stunned.

This is the great array's pivot…

The intricate lines inspired awe—it was clearly something they could never learn…

After his initial awe, Master Luo studied the pivot for a long time.

On one hand, he was astonished by this master's extraordinary array skill—he had truly painted the great array's pivot;

on the other hand, he felt puzzled: how could this "master's" brushwork appear so clumsy, like a child's scribbles, daubed over so many times…