Chapter 199: 192 Sword Momentum Forms an Array

"Force Array Eye: Vast Fertile Fields. Base material: Living Soil Fragments."

Tang Zhao stood before this inconspicuous lump of soil, his heart surging with emotion.

This was actually a Force Array Eye.

A Force Array is of a higher level than a Dharma Artifact; it is a great array that reproduces the sword momentum of a Sword Immortal. Under the sword momentum, a new domain is formed in all directions, as if the heavens and earth have been transformed. Those who enter the sword momentum have their life and death decided by the Sword Immortal's single thought.

Just as Art Tools have the distinction between Origin Art Tools and Talisman Art Tools, theoretically, a Force Array can also be constructed purely through Rune Formulas and materials without the help of a Sword Immortal.

But Tang Zhao had never seen a real Force Array, just as he had never seen a living Sword Immortal. The so-called "Sword Immortals in the heavens," once they reach that level, seem to belong to a world separate from the mundane; mortals cannot see them.

Once seen, although it might not be impossible to look upon as the stories say, I fear it would entail a great catastrophe.

Tang Zhao could not even imagine how high a level of attainment is required to create a Force Array out of thin air; that is something even Xue Xianyun would not dare claim to fathom. Perhaps only among the Seven Great Factions are there such experts. And even they would expend much energy to make one Force Array, making it almost impossible for it to be passed to the outside. It is easier for a Sword Immortal to create an Origin Force Array, but since they themselves can form momentum with a single sword strike, why would they need to create a Force Array? Only in very special circumstances, such as the mountain-protecting arrays of ancient factions, would a Force Array be used, which is why Force Arrays are more than a hundred or a thousand times rarer than Dharma Artifacts.

Of course, ordinary Sword Guests also combine their own Sword Arts and Sword Techniques to form Art Arrays or Law Arrays, such as Xing Ji's Prison Gate Array. Although they can be called "arrays," they are merely a game of combining Sword Arts and Sword Techniques, covering no more than a mere hundred zhang, no larger than ten li, neither connecting to the sky nor covering the earth, and unable to affect the environment or living beings; calling them "arrays" is just for fun.

Tang Zhao only knew that a Force Array is different from a Dharma Artifact; it is not a single object, but rather a certain number of materials forming an Array Eye, with several Array Eyes connecting to form a domain, and an Array Diagram loading the power of Rune Formulas, only then does the array momentum arise from within. Let alone manufacturing, even setting up the array requires a great deal of effort.

A single Force Array Eye is indeed made of incomparably precious materials, but without quantity and without an Array Diagram, it can be said to be a hundred percent useless. It is not even as useful as a Dharma Artifact. Only by reaching the minimum number required to start the array and matching it with an Array Diagram can it take effect.

This rare Force Array Eye was placed in an inconspicuous spot, not even on the large Jade Plate in the innermost area where the most precious items were kept. This was not because Longyuan did not know its value and left it here for Tang Zhao to pick up a bargain, but because it was truly a "chicken rib"—tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard.

But Tang Zhao had taken a fancy to this Array Eye. "Vast Fertile Fields"—this is the sword momentum of the Kun Sword, so it must undoubtedly be a Force Array created by the Kun Sword. He wanted a Dharma Artifact to simulate the Kun Sword, and although he did not find one in this hall, he had found this. Since a Dharma Artifact can be used for simulation, there is no reason a higher-level Force Array Eye cannot. Even if it is just a single Array Eye.

He wanted to take it in his hand to try it out, but all the materials had a layer of transparent film on them, allowing only one-way entry; once taken out, it could not be exchanged. If it could not be used for simulation, he would have wasted an opportunity.

"I'll gamble on it!"

Tang Zhao could not resist the temptation of the Kun Sword; he reached out and took the lump of soil.

His Glasses flashed with a ray of light, and the corners of Tang Zhao's mouth curled up uncontrollably, then he struggled to flatten them.

At this moment, his expression was not the steady one he always displayed; it was as if he had picked up a gold ingot out of thin air, wanting to stuff it away and sneak off, yet fearing someone would discover it, so he had to secretly step on it, acting as if nothing had happened, even looking left and right.

Immediately after, he found it funny, thinking: What am I panicking for? Who is going to snatch it from me?

Thinking this, he truly calmed down and went to pick other good things.

The others were, of course, Sword Casting materials; he had already collected more than half, and if there were suitable ones, he would take them; if not, he would rather go without than settle for inferior ones.

It seemed he needed to check some information before coming.

This did not need to be chosen here; he still had the Youxian Pillow in hand, and the Library could still be borrowed from for a few months—what information could he not check? Even Jianzhou had a specially established Library for the young people attending the meeting to borrow from; why waste the opportunity? Souvenirs are naturally better chosen as physical objects.

He scanned along the way, having his eye on two or three materials in his heart, all of which were rare Treasures; how to choose depended on his own development plan for his sword. Then he saw the five materials held on the Jade Plate in the top cabinet.

Judging by the decoration, these five were the most precious.

Tang Zhao counted silently in his heart: the Seven Great Factions, excluding the Ouye Clan who did not come, plus Longyuan themselves, left five families; I fear these were prepared for the five families, as according to common sense, the five families should be ranked in the top five, exactly one item each.

Since he came first, he could naturally pick, but it was best to pick only one; there was no hard rule, this was something everyone understood without saying.

Among the five items were two materials, two Dharma Artifacts, and one Scroll.

A Scroll?

Is it knowledge?

Shouldn't knowledge be placed in the Library?

If it can be placed here, it must be very precious.

Once curiosity arose in Tang Zhao's heart, he became restless, suppressing the urge to act, and looked at the other two types.

Of the two materials, one was a mass of transparent light and shadow, looking a bit like a Phantom, and the other was a drop of water. Neither of these was urgently needed by Tang Zhao; he was determined to cast an Ancient Sword, using his own Qi to cast the sword, and only needed soil-type materials for the sword body. Naturally, he set them aside.

Of the other two Dharma Artifacts, one was a sword, and one was a Body Protection talisman. Tang Zhao did not lack Body Protection methods, and after glancing at the sword, he also rejected it—among Longyuan's swords, I fear the heaviest is the Dragon Tooth. He already had a Dragon Tooth in his hand; he only needed one of any sword-related Dharma Artifact, and he could just record it in the Sword Manual, so there was no need to take another.

Although the Dharma Artifact sword was good, one could only use one at a time; having more would not only be a handful, but they would also clash with each other. His standards were high, and he only wanted a sword for simulation, so he abandoned the Dharma Artifact and chose the Scroll.

In the end, once his heart was set, there were always various reasons not to choose the others; for such a trivial matter, it was better to follow his heart.

Once chosen, Tang Zhao reached out to take it, eager to open it, only to find that there was a lock on the Scroll; he figured he must need to go out to get the key, which made him feel even more that he had chosen correctly—if it were not an extremely precious treasure, why would it be locked layer by layer?

After choosing, Tang Zhao took another material, the "Heavenly Flower Gourd Vine," and left.

Qi Yuheng was waiting behind, and seeing Tang Zhao come out with the materials, he gave a thumbs-up and said, "Brother Tang, good eye, you picked the most precious one right away."

Tang Zhao exchanged a few polite words and asked, "This Scroll is..."

Qi Yuheng said, "This is a Force Array Map, it was left behind by the Dragon Ancestor." After saying this, he took a delicate key from his sleeve and opened the Subduing Demon Record scroll.

Tang Zhao said in surprise, "A Force Array Map..."

He had just been thinking about Force Arrays; it couldn't be the array map for "Vast Fertile Fields," could it?

He thought not; if there were both an array map and an Array Eye, and if they happened to be a set, Longyuan would have to sell blood to replicate a few more Array Eyes to build the Kun Sword's great array, rather than wasting it here for nothing.

Qi Yuheng was responsible for the explanation, so he wouldn't leave the after-sales service undone: "The Dragon Ancestor was the old mentor of the founder of our Longyuan... He passed down one personal disciple and seven named disciples. The personal disciple was the Beichen Hall Master, and the named disciples were the first generation of Seven Stars. His old self not only had a Sword Casting Art that was unprecedented, but his attainments in Rune Formulas were also earth-shattering. It's just that there are few records left by him; Longyuan only worships one portrait of his back and two classics. This scroll is a Force Array Map he left behind; with this map and the Array Eye, one can set up an array on the spot, sweeping across a hundred li in an instant; it is truly miraculous."

Tang Zhao immediately felt it was a bit hot to handle and said, "Since it was left by your sect's ancestor, having passed through thousands of years, how can it flow to the outside?"

Qi Yuheng sighed and said, "What can one say? This was the Hall Master's instruction. We don't know why either, but since we put it out and Brother Tang chose it, it is reasonable and legal, with absolutely no future trouble. You need not worry."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "What kind of array is it? And what Array Eye does it need?"

Qi Yuheng said, "You will know when you look at the map later; the map explains it, I actually don't know. I only heard it is a complex Force Array formed by the fusion of several great arrays, with dozens of Array Eyes; you can fill in all of them to start the full array, or fill in a few of the Array Eyes to start a small array. Do you remember the final teleportation array in the Maze City?"

Tang Zhao said in shock, "A teleportation great array? That is too..."

Qi Yuheng said, "A small array. For a sword momentum array, what is a teleportation array? It's just because it is used often and there are many array maps left behind. The Array Eyes for a great array are precious and have high requirements; Brother Tang will have to find them yourself. I fear it will be difficult to use for a while. But as long as you gather a set of Array Eyes, you will have one more supreme trump card."

Tang Zhao nodded; the Array Diagram was already very precious, so he should not expect Longyuan to help gather the Array Eyes.

Qi Yuheng glanced at the map again, seemingly reluctant, then looked at the other materials he had chosen, and said, "Brother Tang, that... is not a material." He pointed to the Force Array Eye, the Living Soil Fragments.

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "I know what I'm doing."

Qi Yuheng said no more; he still had other people to receive. There were about twenty people in the Heaven District alone, and everyone had to choose; by the time they finished, it would be dark.

Since Tang Zhao had finished choosing, he left first and went to Jiang Shenyi's place to chat with him about the souvenir collection. Those souvenirs had no labels, and one had to judge their value entirely on one's own. Jiang Shenyi did not have Glasses to distinguish the materials, so he might not be able to tell the quality for a while. Tang Zhao picked the ones he felt were precious to discuss with him.

Then, he returned to his own lodging.

From afar, he saw a basket hanging on his door at some point, with a stack of red paper inside.

Tang Zhao was startled; he was first surprised, and then his heart tightened—in these troubled times, an alien object suddenly appearing on the door, could there be a trap? If it were a bomb... what should he do about poisonous things?

Fortunately, he had his Glasses; he took a glance, and the Glasses said those were paper.

As for what words were written on the paper, the Glasses could not manage that.

He took one out at random and discovered it was a calling card. On it was written, "Li Qiongsheng of Kun Yu Lower Court pays his respects."

Tang Zhao was full of doubt. Who was this? He did not know any Li Qiongsheng at all. Could it be some other Talisman Sword Master?

Was Kun Yu Lower Court the name of a Talisman Sword Master faction?

His memory was quite good; when he had checked Bixi Villa and Iron Furnace Castle earlier, he had scanned the Heaven, Earth, and Human Districts. Although he could not remember every single one, he had some impression of them. He did not remember Kun Yu Lower Court among them. Besides, if it were a Talisman Sword Master, since they were staying in the same guesthouse, the person could just walk over; why go to such great lengths to deliver a calling card?

He skipped this one and opened the next; it was actually another calling card: "Gao Shujing of Nanjia Sect."

Another person he did not know.

He looked through them one by one and discovered they were all unfamiliar names, most of them carrying a sect name, such as Nine Links Ring Sect, Fire Crow Gang, Green Lotus Island, Suxin Sect...

There were several dozen calling cards in total. As he looked through them, he gradually realized in his heart that these sects were clearly sects from the martial arts world, and those who came to deliver them were all Martial Artists!

"It seems they want to befriend me?"

At the Talisman Assembly, besides the Host, the Libationer, the guests, and the many Talisman Sword Masters, there was another group of people: the Martial Artists.

Or rather, Martial Artists who aspired to become Sword Guests.

They came to the Talisman Assembly to seek out future Talisman Sword Masters to collaborate with. When a Martial Artist is at the Knight-Errant realm, they do not really need the help of any Art Tools, or perhaps they only need one or two for self-defense at critical moments; an ordinary person's Inspiration cannot handle more than that. But once they become a Loose Practitioner and refine their Gang Qi, their Inspiration will certainly increase, and at that time, they will need more Art Tools. A Loose Practitioner with average Inspiration can hardly contend with experts of the same realm without three or five handy Art Tools in their possession.

Art Tools are treasures; they are already hard to come by for ordinary people, and those that can complement oneself perfectly are even more impossible to find, so it is best to find a Talisman Sword Master to tailor-make them. However, good Talisman Sword Masters are already hard to find, and they are mostly busy and extremely aloof. Even if they make one high-quality item, there are so many people scrambling for it; how could they tailor-make items for everyone? And those Talisman Sword Masters who have free time are mostly of mediocre skill, yet they are just as arrogant; even if their skill is poor, they would rather not sell their work than be at the beck and call of a mere Martial Artist.

If one could befriend a Talisman Sword Master who has superb skill, deep loyalty, and is willing to tailor-make Art Tools for them at any time, that would truly be of infinite benefit. It is just that, except for the direct descendants of high-ranking families, most people do not have that kind of fortune; they can only find a promising talent, provide support from a young age, and wait for them to succeed in the future to reap rich rewards. And if one's judgment is poor and they invest in someone who does not succeed, all the resources spent will inevitably be lost, so one must be exceptionally cautious. This kind of Talisman Assembly, gathering so many young Talisman Sword Masters with promising futures, is the time for Martial Artists to hold their capital and choose their future.

It is just that usually, this kind of befriending is done face-to-face at the Talisman Assembly. Tang Zhao did not expect that before he had even shown his face, these calling cards had already come knocking. A person's name is like a tree's shadow; he had obtained the top spot on the Heaven District ranking, which was enough to make the attending Martial Artists scramble to get to know him. These calling cards were just a vanguard, showing that the etiquette was grand and leaving an impression in his heart. They would only truly meet in person when the Talisman Assembly arrived.

Having flipped through all the calling cards, Tang Zhao saw the last one and felt slightly strange.

This card was very thin, its format could not be considered a calling card at all, and there was no sect, only a name.

"Wei Se."

This name... was quite unique, giving him a sharp and dangerous feeling, just like a sword hidden in a sleeve.

Just looking at the name, he became interested for the first time and wanted to meet this person.

"I'll just accept it for now and talk when we meet later."

Tang Zhao put away the calling cards and returned to his room.

As soon as he entered the room, Tang Zhao saw the quilt on the bed slightly raised. He was startled, and before he could be on guard, a familiar head poked out from under the quilt and called out, "Xiao Tang, Gui Ye has come to rely on you."