Chapter 14: Array Advancement

Everyone gasped; even before the array had taken shape, the Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi it summoned was already massive, making them even more eager for the fully formed Qi array.

While they were amazed, Ye Yun switched Dao seals back and forth in his hand, a variety of seals flashing; perhaps his technique was too swift, and the onlookers even saw afterimages.

It must be said that Ye Yun not only has an exceptionally high cultivation talent, but also an extraordinary talent for arrays; over the past several thousand years he has devoted almost all his time to sensing Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi and advancing his cultivation, and only when he sensed his cultivation had stalled did he begin to study arrays.

Through his own understanding of arrays, he even created several unique formations, but aside from functional arrays, his offensive arrays are not as comprehensive, since in the realm no one can let him test their power or shortcomings.

Thus Ye Yun's forte is functional arrays like the spiritual Qi array.

"Wow, is this the Qi you told us about, Ye Yun? It's so beautiful—why couldn't I see it before but can now? With this Qi, can we also start cultivating?"

Li Yan, seeing the never-before-seen Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi, was extremely curious, and also intrigued by the so‑called cultivation world; the novels she had read were thrilling—flying through the void, pills, relics—and now such things were happening to her, which seemed unbelievable, making her wonder if she could begin cultivating too.

"Master, your array is so useful—it can gather so much Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi; it seems my realm advancement will accelerate from now on."

In contrast to Li Yan's excitement, Liu Cheng's emotions were even more intense; as a cultivator he knows what Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi means—more Qi speeds up strength growth—but of course it still depends on talent, which is hard to describe, and with equal Qi, those with higher talent will advance realms faster than those with lower talent.

Moreover, talent is irreplaceable; some may work hard yet still cannot keep up with those of higher talent—perhaps that's fate, each person has different shining points. Clearly, Ye Yun's shining point is his handsomeness, not his cultivation talent.

After all, he was among the first generation of gods from the initial division of Heaven and Earth (a brag he could repeat forever); had his realm not been suppressed by the Great Way of Heaven and Earth, his current realm might already be on par with, or even surpass, the Three Purities, making him a being above ten thousand yet below only the Way itself. Unfortunately, his realm has been forcibly capped at the Human-God realm.

It's not merely a suppression of his realm; the level of a realm influences many factors, affecting both perception of Heaven-and-Earth spiritual Qi and the application of arrays—some arrays can only be deployed at higher realms. This leaves Ye Yun at a loss for other ways to boost his abilities, so he cherishes this opportunity and hopes it will let him break the restriction imposed by the Great Way.

After a brief deployment, the spiritual Qi array finally completed; the instant it finished, the Qi that had just been visible to the naked eye vanished. The crowd initially thought the array had failed, but soon realized that although the Qi was invisible, the sensation inside the array was far more pleasant than before.

Especially Liu Cheng, who noticed that Ye Yun had concealed the Qi's form; he deliberately sensed the surrounding Qi and found its concentration now stronger than before.

But the most excited person was likely Ye Yun; while he was setting up the spiritual Qi array, his Dao Heart pulsed, indicating a deeper insight into the array.

He hadn't felt this in a long time, reinforcing Ye Yun's belief that this opportunity could shatter his restriction; for centuries his cultivation and arrays had hit a bottleneck, his strength unable to improve—actually, it was not a bottleneck but the ultimate combat power attainable in the Human-God realm.

The highest combat power in the Human-God realm is thus fixed unless one advances beyond it; otherwise strength remains static. In fact, over the past century Ye Yun gave up resistance, believing his realm would never improve in this life, causing his Dao Heart to slumber. Unexpectedly, Li Yan's arrival triggered his opportunity, even reawakening a Dao Heart that had lain dormant for a hundred years.

And in just these few days, Ye Yun's strength has increased considerably; don't underestimate this modest gain—he hadn't improved in a hundred or even a thousand years, yet in these few days his power surged, making Ye Yun overjoyed, for who would dislike being stronger?

Realizing the array could boost him, Ye Yun immediately found an excuse to return to his chamber and begin meditation, contemplating the array's subtleties; after the insight, he felt a whole-body ease, rose, looked out the window, and saw Liu Cheng diligently cultivating outside.

"Although Liu Cheng has just brushed the gate of cultivation, he is indeed diligent; at his age, mortals would deem him near his end, yet in the Cultivation World he is merely an infant. With proper support and hard training, he will surely achieve, so he indeed deserves a helping hand."

Indeed, in Ye Yun's eyes this elderly man is still an infant; cultivation can infinitely extend lifespan, and each realm advancement lengthens it. For example, Ye Yun's lifespan now is virtually as boundless as Heaven and Earth's, making death itself perhaps impossible even if he wishes.

After the insight he felt somewhat weary; Ye Yun planned to rest a while before researching whether he could set up other arrays.

He fell asleep shortly after lying down, but this sleep revealed something amiss; since attaining the Dao, Ye Yun had never dreamed, yet this time he quickly entered a dream, giving him a strange feeling. For cultivators, sleep is merely for the flesh to rest while the Divine Perception remains awake, but dreaming is a different matter.