Chapter 155: Renewing the Old, Establishing the New

"Congratulations!"

The old man rarely lay on his chair; he stood beneath the ancient tree.

The ancient tree stood tall!

Yet the old man's body was hunched, and from afar, he looked like some insect shedding its shell.

"What does it feel like to break through to Foundation Establishment?"

He turned his head gently and asked He Pingsheng.

He Pingsheng's face broke into a simple smile as he rubbed his hair hard. "I can't quite describe it, but my lifespan increased—I'm delighted!"

"Good that you're delighted!" Tai Xu said. "Isn't fighting heaven for life the whole point?"

"Hehe, longevity is good!"

"When you reach Golden Core, you'll have five hundred years. When you reach my Nascent Soul, you'll enjoy a thousand!"

"Come here, come here—I ask you, you're a Spirit Refiner. Now that you've broken through to Foundation Establishment, is your spiritual sense three hundred zhang?"

He Pingsheng startled, saying: "Master, your divine insight is uncanny—it's exactly three hundred zhang!"

"Enough!" The old man nodded, pulled out a talisman material, and tossed it to He Pingsheng. "Remember the second-rank 【Spirit Gathering Array】 I gave you earlier? Carve out its array disc for me!"

"Let me see your skill!"

"Yes!"

He Pingsheng didn't dare delay—he immediately sat cross-legged and began meticulously carving the array disc.

The array disc is the core of the entire array.

Once carved, combined with the array focal point, spirit stones, other materials, and array flags, it forms a perfect Spirit Gathering Array.

Carving the array disc accounts for over eighty percent of the entire process.

To carve the disc, one uses spiritual sense as the guide and engraved runes as the medium, etching into the material.

When the runes form a complete cycle and spiritual power flows autonomously along them, the carving is complete.

He Pingsheng sat in the spirit plant garden, trying again and again.

After about seven or eight days, the array disc suddenly hummed, and a flash of light shot out.

Done.

"Good!" The Ancestor's face lit up. "Excellent, excellent… Now that you have the disc, you can set up some simple second-rank arrays!"

"Not bad—your talent far surpasses mine. Five-element Spirit Root cultivators may be slow in cultivation speed, but they hold every advantage in heaven and earth!"

"Come with me!"

The old man, hands behind his back, slowly shuffled toward the massive hall.

He Pingsheng followed closely, clutching a two-foot-wide array disc.

Inside the Tai Xu Divine Hall, the old man waved his hand, and layer upon layer of light membranes appeared outside the hall.

"My hall has seventeen arrays in total!"

"But most are third-rank arrays—useless."

"There are three fourth-rank arrays—pay close attention!"

Tai Xu Ancestor pulled out three tokens: "One is a fourth-rank defense array, one a fourth-rank Spirit-Sealing Array, and one a fourth-rank Illusion Array!"

"The defense array blocks Nascent Soul cultivators from entering the hall. The Spirit-Sealing Array keeps their spiritual sense outside the hall!"

"As for the Illusion Array, I rarely activate it—but once triggered, it hides the entire Tai Xu Hall from sight, making it invisible and untouchable from outside!"

He Pingsheng was stunned. "So it's that miraculous?"

"Hehe…" Tai Xu Ancestor chuckled. "What's miraculous? Just tricks to deceive people."

"Now that you've entered the second-rank array master rank, though you still can't set up or break these fourth-rank arrays, controlling them will be effortless!"

"Look at these three tokens—they contain the key points for array control!"

"From now on, you may enter and leave the Tai Xu Divine Hall freely!"

"Oh…" Tai Xu Ancestor waved again. "Also… whoever you want to let in, let in. Whoever you want to keep out, keep out."

"Yes, Master!" He Pingsheng took the three tokens.

Tai Xu Ancestor continued: "Don't leave yet—I have another urgent task for you."

"This is my token!" He tossed a black iron token into He Pingsheng's hand. "Take this to Xuan Yang, gather all Golden Core disciples, and announce this…"

…

"Come here, come here, little brother!"

"This is my long-hoarded immortal brew—try a sip!"

"It'll help your cultivation!"

He Pingsheng reached out, picked up the cup, and took a sip.

Sssss…

So spicy.

I thought it was spirit tea—you gave me liquor, you bastard.

Xuan Yang burst out laughing at He Pingsheng's expression. "Drink it—it's fine. I've already sent disciples to notify everyone. They'll arrive shortly."

As he spoke, a streak of pink light shot through the clouds from the horizon and landed at the entrance of Xuan Yang's hall.

It was Jian Zhu.

A few breaths later, Chongyang Daoist, Hong Elder, and Wuwei Daoist each landed at the hall's entrance.

They entered and took their seats in order of seniority.

"What's this about?" Wuwei's face was sour, his tone harsh. "Third brother, why the rush to summon us?"

Among Tai Xu Ancestor's disciples, Wuwei was the eldest, Hong Elder second, Xuan Yang third, Chongyang fourth, and Jian Zhu the youngest.

Of course, if counted properly, He Pingsheng was the sixth.

But Tai Xu Ancestor didn't have only these six disciples.

Legend says there were over a dozen before Wuwei.

Altogether, seventy or eighty disciples.

But eighty to ninety percent perished from depleted lifespan while still at Qi Refining.

Some reached Foundation Establishment, yet still vanished under time's erosion.

Only these few remained.

Heaven's Dao is merciless—this is how it is.

Xuan Yang said: "I don't know either. Master has something to say. Little brother, what is it?"

"Announce it to everyone!"

"Yes!" He Pingsheng stood, held up the black iron token Tai Xu Ancestor gave him, and said: "Master says I'm to inform you, my senior brothers and sisters—the sect will make minor adjustments to certain areas!"

All bowed. "Yes!"

Jian Zhu asked: "What adjustments?"

He Pingsheng said: "Starting today, your monthly stipends and resources will be cut by eighty percent!"

"What?"

"Nonsense!"

"Are you dreaming?"

"Cut by eighty percent? How are we supposed to live?"

"Damn…"

Each Golden Core disciple rose from their seat.

Without exception.

Yet He Pingsheng remained calm. "Senior brothers and sisters, please calm down. Master says Tai Xu Gate has long oppressed its lower disciples—now is the time for renewal!"

Wuwei roared: "That old bastard! This isn't renewal—it's cutting my throat! Don't even bother cutting eighty percent—I'll go find him right now and let him slap me dead!"