Maze Array

At this moment, the spiritual Qi in President Song's dantian and sea of Qi was exceptionally dense. Triggered by the opportunity for breakthrough, it showed faint signs of slipping out of control. The surging spiritual Qi rushed like crashing waves, threatening to burst free from his dantian as it slammed repeatedly against his insides, causing his robes to billow violently.

He exchanged glances with Master Ji and Shi Yu, gave a slight nod, and sank his focus inward to begin his breakthrough.

Having swallowed the Ailment-Clearing Pill and cut off his six senses from the outside world, President Song threw himself entirely into breaking through to the Golden Core Realm. With a clear mind and the accumulated pill toxicity in his body cleansed, he was in peak condition.

This was Shi Yu's first opportunity to observe such a process up close. Watching President Song, she saw a layer of mist enveloping his form. Aided by the Spirit-Gathering Array she had set up, the surrounding spiritual Qi surged toward him even more rapidly. The dense mist swallowing President Song was none other than extraordinarily concentrated spiritual Qi.

Sitting cross-legged with her elbows resting on her knees and her chin propped in her hands, Shi Yu gazed at the sight and couldn't help but reflect: Although a Foundation Establishment cultivator in these parts is honored as a Master and held in great respect, one only truly sheds their mortal coil upon reaching the Golden Core Realm... Furthermore, gaining another five hundred years of lifespan grants a truly long existence, only then making one qualified to pursue immortality.

The road of cultivation was long. She wondered what kind of spectacle it would be when her own day to break through to the Golden Core Realm arrived.

Nearby, after erecting a defensive barrier, Master Ji stood guard at the side. He carefully inspected the Water Curtain Celestial Canopy Shi Yu had cast, noting its pale blue sheen and the shimmering ripples flowing across its surface—clearly a water-attribute barrier.

Seeing that this barrier was not the slightest bit inferior to the one he had set, astonishment flashed in his eyes. He thought to himself, Little Yu'er's divine ability... looks quite extraordinary. But she practices a water-attribute divine ability—how has it not conflicted with the Fire-attribute Spiritual Meridian inside her? How strange.

Little did Master Ji know that this was no technique she had cultivated herself; she was merely utilizing her life scale to unleash Qingzhou's innate divine ability.

After observing for a while, Shi Yu saw that the spiritual Qi completely obscured President Song's figure, leaving nothing more to see. She withdrew her gaze and looked around.

If someone harboring ill intentions decided to take advantage of the situation and fish in troubled waters, causing a conflict would be a minor issue, but if they disturbed President Song's breakthrough, that would be disastrous.

Disturbance of the mind during a breakthrough was the ultimate taboo; if this attempt failed, succeeding in the future would be far more difficult.

After some thought, she set up another barrier centered on herself. Sitting inside it, she pulled out various spiritual materials, arranged them on the spot, and began refining array plates and flags, intending to set up a Maze Array.

Since arriving in Hengze Prefecture, between concocting pills and refining artifacts, her reserves of spiritual plants and materials had dwindled significantly. Fortunately, inside the spiritual realm, Pei Yanji had provided timely help, generously replenishing her stash, so she now used them without the slightest hesitation.

...

Though the Dao of Formations also required certain artifact refinement techniques, it was actually closer to talisman crafting than artifact refining.

Refining these array flags was not particularly difficult, requiring only rudimentary refinement techniques. The array plate was considerably more complex, but still nowhere near as difficult as forging a proper artifact. Thus, it took Shi Yu just half a day to refine one array plate and thirty-six array flags.

Furthermore, because she was a weapon refiner with skilled, adept techniques, the quality of her array plates and flags was naturally far superior to those crafted by ordinary array masters.

With the array plate and flags forged, the crucial step lay in drawing the array runes.

This was where the Dao of Formations shared its similarity with talisman making.

Shi Yu retrieved a high-grade spirit stone, ground it together with spirit beast blood and several spiritual plants, and added Five-Elements Sand into the mix. Once ground down until smooth and free of grit, reflecting a soft sheen of spiritual light, she dipped her pen into the spiritual ink.

Moving her pen like lightning, she drew rapidly upon the array plate and thirty-six array flags.

Every line upon the array plate and flags followed an extraordinarily profound trajectory. Whenever she finished a set of runes, one could vaguely sense the faint, flickering connections between them.

Master Ji couldn't help but look over. He knew Shi Yu possessed talent in the Dao of Formations as well; otherwise, why would President Cui of the Array Association—a man renowned for his rigid, wooden disposition—personally come to the Alchemist Association eager to recruit her?

However, watching her set up an array for the first time, he found himself mesmerized, his gaze fixed intently on her every movement.

Those array runes were so obscure and intricate that even with his sight as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he felt dizzy and overwhelmed. His mind was entirely captivated, unable to tear his eyes away, yet he could memorize nothing at all, as if the runes carried far too much information.

After a long moment, Master Ji sighed inwardly. I wonder where Little Yu'er received her heritage. It must be a place of profound foundation; her accomplishments across so many fields put others to shame...

He had already assumed Shi Yu to be a disciple sent out for worldly experience from some reclusive, powerful sect with deep heritage and background, never dreaming she was merely a princess from the Mortal Realm.

Over the next two days, Shi Yu drew array runes without a moment's rest. When every flag was completed, spiritual light flowed across all thirty-six array flags one by one, ultimately converging onto the array plate in a misty glow. The subtle connection grew distinctly clear and pronounced; the thirty-six array flags seemed to unite as one, echoing each other in harmony.

Whether because she had reached the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm or due to her soul being honed and strengthened in the void of the Yanyang Xuancang Flame, she did not feel overly fatigued even after two days and nights without sleep.

During these two days, no other cultivators had come near the area.

Shi Yu decided to strike while the iron was hot and finish setting up the array so she could put her mind fully at ease.

This was a Tier-3 Maze Array. Holding the array plate and flags in her arms, she walked a short distance down the mountain and began deployment.

In Master Ji's eyes, her footwork seemed to conceal profound mystery, though unfortunately, knowing absolutely nothing about formations, he couldn't decipher any of its secrets.

He watched as Shi Yu took a few steps and planted a small flag. When she had placed all thirty-six flags, Master Ji realized her final flag was planted right in the absolute center of the area. At that moment, a quiet, profound aura gradually pervaded the air, making it feel as if one had stepped into an entirely different realm.

By leveraging the terrain and contours of the mountain to place the flags accordingly, the resulting array's power would be significantly enhanced.

A true array master needed to master more than just refining array plates, flags, and runes; deployment itself was a major test of deep comprehension. Her footwork had been precise and deliberate, carrying subtle implications impossible for anyone outside the Dao of Formations to appreciate.

Noticing Master Ji's gaze, Shi Yu explained softly, “This is a Maze Array.”

“As long as they aren't a Golden Core Realm cultivator, this Maze Array can hold them off for a while.”

The Tier-3 Maze Array used the spiritual energy connecting its flags to form an obscured space, disrupting the senses of outsiders. From the outside, the area appeared as nothing more than an ordinary mountain forest without a single anomaly. From the inside, however, one could clearly observe every movement outside.

Beyond its concealment, its secondary function was disorientation.

Cultivators of ordinary cultivation stepping inside would easily be guided elsewhere without realizing it. Even those with higher cultivation who detected something amiss would lose their sense of direction once trapped inside, buying precious time if anyone with ill intent entered.

Hearing this, Master Ji said joyfully, “Wonderful! That adds another layer of protection.”

Otherwise, relying solely on a single Foundation Establishment cultivator like him for defense left him feeling anxious and lacking confidence.

Seeing that President Song would not finish anytime soon, and with two layers of barriers plus the Maze Array in place making the surroundings reasonably safe, Shi Yu rested for an hour or so. Once she had recovered her peak condition, she sat cross-legged with her palms facing upward and began refining the Yanyang Xuancang Flame.

A crimson flame danced in her palm.

Having comprehended a portion of its origin, she had already gained the recognition of the Yanyang Xuancang Flame itself. Refining this strand of origin flame was not particularly difficult, meeting with no resistance or hindrance. All she needed to do was integrate it into her spiritual meridians and dantian, fusing it into one with herself in shared existence and glory.