Two-Person Array

In Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan's eyes, it was naturally best if the disciples did not request leave.

For one, the two of them valued punctuality and time management; if the disciples failed to show up on time for scheduled announcements, it would be impossible to implement future strategies effectively.

For another, having inner sect senior sisters and brothers who excelled in these fields teach them in person would yield far better results than having the stewards tutor them after the fact.

Moreover, if they encountered anything they did not understand while learning the spells, they could ask the inner sect disciples for guidance on the spot.

The second teaching assembly was led by the inner disciples of Baishou Peak, who taught spells related to nurturing spirit beasts.

It was scheduled to begin five days after the conclusion of the spirit plant cultivation classes, with subsequent arrangements mirroring the first phase.

The assemblies were scheduled five days apart to give the disciples sufficient time to digest and master what they had learned.

During this interval, they could write down any questions that arose and ask them at the next assembly.

After all, for a cultivator to truly master and proficiently cast a spell, they still required a great deal of practice.

Three months after both teaching assemblies concluded, the benefits of this initiative finally began to manifest.

The entire External Sect was completely refreshed, and the disciples carried themselves with an entirely new spirit.

They could cast auxiliary spells with ease, taking far less time to care for the spirit plants and spirit beasts while significantly improving the efficiency of their daily tasks.

According to the stewards' records, the harvests from the spirit fields and spirit beast gardens over the past two months were considerably higher than in previous years.

The greater the surplus from the spirit fields and spirit beast gardens, the more resources the disciples received.

With less time spent on daily chores, they had more time to cultivate and take on other missions.

The more resources they had, the longer they could cultivate, and the more missions they could complete, leading to a steady rise in their cultivation.

And with higher cultivation came even greater efficiency in completing missions, as well as a higher chance of winning various competitions.

From the completion of basic tasks to the subsequent distribution of surplus resources, Songyue Pavilion had established a perfect, virtuous cycle.

Over time, the overall strength of Songyue Pavilion would undoubtedly grow stronger and stronger.

While the disciples of Songyue Pavilion spent those three months practicing their spells, Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan were not idle either.

The set of Demon-Purifying Square Seals that Jiang Yao had previously discovered in the ancient texts was finally put on the agenda.

In truth, this set of Demon-Purifying Square Seals had already been forged six months after their reunion.

The five square seals had been handed over to them, and they had already refined and bound them to establish ownership.

However, over the next year and a half, Gu Ningyun was busy learning wind-attribute spells and arrays, leaving her with no spare time.

Wen Xuan and Jiang Yao had also only recently reached Foundation Establishment and had many pills and magic tools that required their research.

Furthermore, after obtaining the Demon-Purifying Square Seals, Jun Luo and Mu Chenze still had to study the accompanying arrays under Mu Chenze's master.

A year and a half later, they assumed the roles of Pavilion Masters, requiring them to learn how to manage a territory from scratch.

Thus, practicing the arrays associated with the Demon-Purifying Square Seals was put on hold.

It was not until they had managed the pavilion for six months that they finally found the time.

The Demon-Purifying Square Seals were accompanied by four arrays: the Two-Person Array, Three-Person Array, Four-Person Array, and Five-Person Array.

The power of the arrays increased with the number of participants, and naturally, the difficulty rose accordingly.

For arrays so closely tied to specific magic tools and the number of cultivators, theoretical study was fine, but actual deployment could not be done purely on paper.

The Demon-Purifying Square Seals, the cultivators, and the array itself—all three were indispensable.

Since Mu Chenze and Jun Luo were only two people, they had only managed to practice the Two-Person Array.

This was also the simplest and easiest to learn among the four arrays.

Naturally, Gu Ningyun, Wen Xuan, and Jiang Yao followed their lead to learn it.

During the first month, the five of them spent the first six days practicing how to use the Demon-Purifying Square Seals individually.

Once they were familiar with the basics, they began learning the Two-Person Array.

Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan paired up, with Mu Chenze taking full charge of their instruction.

Jun Luo and Jiang Yao formed the other pair, with Jun Luo responsible for teaching their group.

The array patterns for the accompanying arrays of the Demon-Purifying Square Seals were directly engraved on the seals themselves.

In terms of general array categories, these formations possessed qualities of both array plates and on-site arrays.

Strictly speaking, however, they did not fit perfectly into either standard category.

Mu Chenze explained that the Dao of Arrays was endlessly fluid and not nearly as rigid as most believed.

Once one reached Great Success in arrays and thoroughly mastered both array plates and on-site formations, setting up an array would no longer be restricted by categories or the environment.

As long as one could envision it, a single flower, a blade of grass, a tree, or even the disciple robes on one's body could be used to draw array patterns and deploy a formation.

It was just that he, she, and Jun Luo had not yet reached such a level of mastery.

The complexity of the arrays passed down in ancient texts was far beyond what they could comprehend at their current stage.

Fortunately, they did not need to construct the arrays from scratch. The most critical array patterns had already been engraved onto the Demon-Purifying Square Seals by the Peak Masters of Artifact Peak and Array Peak.

All the five of them had to do was follow the established positioning, hand seals, and incantations to activate the array.

In the first month of learning the Two-Person Array, Gu Ningyun, Wen Xuan, and Jiang Yao fully familiarized themselves with the positioning, hand seals, and incantations.

By the second month, both pairs—Gu Ningyun and Wen Xuan, and Jiang Yao and Jun Luo—could successfully activate the array.

By the third month, the five of them had achieved perfect synergy. No matter who paired up with whom, they could smoothly activate the array and unleash the full potential of the Two-Person Array.

According to the joint research of the Peak Masters of Array Peak and Artifact Peak, because the Demon-Purifying Square Seals were crafted using soul-nourishing wood, they could do more than just resist and counterattack the resentment of the demon race.

They could also withstand and counter the pressure of high-level powerhouses, illusions affecting the divine sense, and direct divine sense attacks.

Wearing them long-term would nourish the divine sense, guard against the invasion of resentment, and even provide early warnings if any demonic resentment appeared nearby.

If the five of them wished to use divine sense transmission, they only needed to manifest the Demon-Purifying Square Seals, and they would not have to worry about being eavesdropped upon by powerhouses with stronger divine senses.

Perhaps it was due to the unique nature of the Demon-Purifying Flower and the soul-nourishing wood, or perhaps because the accompanying ancient arrays were exceptionally special.

This set of Demon-Purifying Square Seals differed from ordinary magic tools as it had no specific rank.

Or rather, the Peak Master of Artifact Peak had done his absolute best to forge them as earth-rank top-grade magic tools.

Meanwhile, the Peak Master of Array Peak had engraved the corresponding array patterns of an earth-rank top-grade array.

Normally, earth-rank top-grade magic tools could only be borne and used by cultivators at the Soul Transformation stage.

Yet, this chasm-like restriction of the earth-rank top-grade level was completely ineffective against the Demon-Purifying Square Seals.

It was truly a mystery how the predecessor who left behind the ancient texts had designed such a marvel.

Even though Gu Ningyun and the other four were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, they could use them normally.

However, the effectiveness of the seals was still limited by their cultivation.

With their current cultivation, manifesting a single Demon-Purifying Square Seal could block eavesdropping from an early Golden Core stage cultivator's divine sense transmission.

With the Five-Person Array, not even an early Nascent Soul stage cultivator could eavesdrop on their transmissions.

Their resistance to divine sense attacks and resentment also grew with the number of people in the array.

Starting from the mid Foundation Establishment stage, they could resist divine sense and resentment attacks equivalent to the strength of a mid Golden Core stage cultivator at most.