Chapter 356: The Core of the Demon-Slaying Array
Chapter 356: The Core of the Demon-Slaying Array
Before the official construction began, a site had to be chosen for the grand array.
Zhou Zhangsi and Elder Yu specifically sought out Mo Hua to ask for his opinion on the matter.
As Mo Hua was the one who painted and designed the grand array, it was only natural that he would also decide on its location.
After careful consideration, Mo Hua finally decided to set up the grand array at Hei Mountain Village.
The Five Elemental Demon-Slaying Grand Array was a confinement and killing array rather than a defensive one meant to protect the sect, hence it couldn't be placed in Tongxian City, and it even had to be far away from the city.
Otherwise, once the grand array was activated, the city would be affected by its murderous spiritual power.
The most suitable location was deep in the mountains.
Being able to directly suppress and kill Feng Xi in the mountains, preventing it from entering the city, would be the best option.
And the most suitable place in the depths of the mountains was naturally Hei Mountain Village.
Hei Mountain Village was nestled between two mountains, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. In other words, it was relatively closed off, which was also suitable for the array's confining and killing nature.
The Qian family's ancestor had built Hei Mountain Village there precisely because the location was conducive to the construction of arrays.
Moreover, although Hei Mountain Village had been destroyed, there were still remnants of array foundations that could be used, which would save a lot of effort in building the grand array.
Zhou Zhangsi and Elder Yu were a little surprised but nodded in agreement.
Mo Hua then said to Commander Yang, "Uncle Yang, we also need to find a way to restrain Feng Xi and delay it for some time."
It would take at least two months to build the grand array, but if there were any delays and it wasn't completed before Feng Xi started foraging, then disaster would strike.
Therefore, they needed to do their best to stop Feng Xi from refining its blood energy and buy as much time as possible.
Commander Yang nodded. "Rest assured, I've used the Yang family's connections to submit a request to the Daobing Office, and I've also requested the deployment of two additional Daobing squads. In the coming days, we will find ways to harass Feng Xi and slow down its blood energy refinement."
From then on, everyone had clear tasks: Zhou Zhangsi was in charge of allocating spiritual stones and resources, Elder Yu was responsible for manpower deployment, and Mo Hua had full authority over the array.
Thus, the construction of the Five Elemental Demon-Slaying Grand Array officially commenced.
The overall design of the grand array was created by Mo Hua based on the array's core, with references to other grand array records and the input of Master Ban, the master craftsman.
First, they had to clear the damaged buildings of Hei Mountain Village and reconstruct the foundation and framework of the grand array, a task overseen by the craftsmen.
At the same time, the refiners in the southern city worked day and night, keeping the furnaces burning continuously to forge the array plates, locks, gates, and other components that served as array media.
Alchemists also refined pills to dispel heat, detoxify, dispel miasma, and restore physical and spiritual energy, supplying them to the craftsmen building the grand array.
Catering was provided by the city's Fushen Tower and the An family's canteen.
Led by Yu Chengyi, Mo Shan, and others, the demon hunters opened up a mountain path from Tongxian City, through the inner and outer mountains, straight into the depths of the Great Black Mountain, leading to the site of the former Hei Mountain Village.
The path twisted and turned with the contours of the mountains, wide and flat, making it convenient for transporting the various materials needed for the grand array.
At the same time, the demon hunters were also responsible for driving away the beasts on both sides of the path to prevent them from attacking the cultivators.
A few days later, some loose cultivators from Qingxuan City came to help, and cultivators from nearby immortal cities, upon hearing that Tongxian City was building a grand array to counter a great demon, gathered as well, wanting to contribute their strength.
The number of cultivators involved in the construction of the grand array grew, and the entire project became increasingly grand.
Mo Hua stood on a mountaintop overlooking Hei Mountain Village.
Below, he could see a winding mountain road stretching from the foot of Hei Mountain Village, snaking along the contours of the Great Black Mountain all the way to Tongxian City.
The road was bustling with cultivators busily transporting construction materials and various supplies.
At his feet, Hei Mountain Village had been dismantled and rebuilt with a new foundation, and the framework for some of the basic array media had already been set up.
Master Ban and his team of craftsmen were busy shuttling back and forth, and the grand array was beginning to take shape.
In the distance, Tongxian City was a hub of activity, with the refiners working fervently and the alchemists' furnaces blazing. Smoke rose from the Fushen Tower.
Food boxes, pills, and spiritual tools were either delivered directly to the cultivators or sent along the winding mountain road to the depths of the mountains...
Tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of cultivators worked together in unity to build this grand cultivation array—the Five Elemental Demon-Slaying Grand Array.
The sight deeply moved Mo Hua.
"So, this is a grand array..."
If a single array wasn't strong enough, then enough single arrays would be gathered, and through a core pivot, they would form a grand array.
If a single cultivator wasn't strong enough, then enough cultivators would gather, uniting their hearts and minds for a common goal.
Human effort might sometimes falter, but as long as there were enough people, their strength would be boundless.
In a moment of enlightenment, Mo Hua suddenly understood.
He could paint the grand array, kill Feng Xi, and save the cultivators of the city.
But in truth, it wasn't just him saving others—everyone was saving themselves.
Without him, no one could complete the grand array, but without the collective effort of these countless cultivators, he would never have been able to build it in the first place.
Fate was never changed by a single person; it was only through the united efforts of all these cultivators that they could truly defy the heavens and alter their destiny!
In that instant, Mo Hua's sea of consciousness trembled, his divine sense clear and bright, and he felt as if he had a sudden, profound understanding of the grand array's concept.
He truly could construct the grand array and wield it with effortless control!
Following closely behind Mo Hua, Master Luo marveled at the complexity of the array when he suddenly looked up and saw Mo Hua standing there, as if enlightened, exuding an enigmatic aura that was beyond his comprehension.
As if understanding some profound principle, Mo Hua's mastery of the array deepened.
He even emanated a hint of the aura of an array grandmaster.
For a moment, Master Luo thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again, only to find that the profound aura surrounding Mo Hua had vanished, leaving behind the same innocent young cultivator.
As it was already noon, someone shouted, "Lunch is ready!" Mo Hua, with a cheerful spring in his step, used the Flowing Water Step to happily run off to get his chicken leg...
Master Luo stood there, dumbfounded for a while, before finally sighing with a complicated expression, muttering to himself,
"Did I just see things...?"
...
Ten days later, the foundational framework of the grand array's array media was completed.
Thanks to the concerted efforts of all the cultivators, the progress was much faster than Mo Hua had anticipated.
The next step was to draw the formal array.
The Five Elemental Demon-Slaying Grand Array relied on the array eye as its source, the array core as its coordinator, the individual arrays for its layout, and the array media as its foundation.
The array eye of the grand array was composed of multiple first-grade Spirit Gathering Composite Arrays, which were used to refine spirit stones, absorb spiritual energy, and condense the array's spiritual power, thus providing the source of spiritual power for the entire grand array to operate.
The core of the grand array was the array core, which served as the central controller for regulating the flow of spiritual power, its activation and cessation, direction, and intensity.
Only by drawing the array core first could the individual arrays be arranged sequentially based on the array core.
Similarly, the array core was the most challenging and crucial part of the entire grand array, and it had to be drawn personally by the master array designer.
In other words, only those who could draw the array core were qualified to become the master array designer, leading the construction of the grand array.
Mo Hua chose a high peak as the location for the array core.
This spot offered a strategic vantage point with a good line of sight and was relatively far from the central area where the demon would be trapped and killed, making it ideal for overseeing the entire grand array while minimizing the risk of being affected by the spiritual power during the confinement and elimination of the demon.
The array media for the array core was an enormous array plate made of refined iron, making it extremely durable and resistant to damage.
Before Mo Hua began drawing, Master Luo led all the array designers away from the site.
As the array core was the heart of the grand array and a closely guarded secret, it was only natural that privacy and confidentiality were ensured during its creation.
At the same time, Master Luo also understood that this array core might not be drawn by Mo Hua himself but by his master, so he took all the array designers out to prevent this secret from being exposed.
Master Luo was very "considerate" in his arrangements for Mo Hua.
However, he didn't know that Mo Hua was indeed personally drawing the array core of this grand array.
Drawing the array core was no easy task.
Even with Mo Hua's profound enlightenment, he still faced challenges in executing it.
Using the refined iron array plate as the array media required more spiritual consciousness when drawing the array patterns.
Due to his limited spiritual consciousness, Mo Hua failed twice and had to erase the array patterns with Spirit Erasing Liquid before trying again.
There were also a couple of mistakes in the intricate lines, necessitating further retries.
...
Despite failing five or six times in a row, Mo Hua remained undeterred.
Thanks to his earlier epiphany, the array core's patterns were vividly imprinted in his mind.
He knew he could do it; he just needed more practice and a few more attempts.
Five days later, after countless attempts by Mo Hua, the array core of the Five Elemental Demon-Slaying Grand Array was finally completed.
Mo Hua infused his spiritual consciousness into the array core, and the intricate patterns came to life, perfectly matching the pathways of different spiritual powers described in the grand array jade slip.
To ensure nothing was amiss, Mo Hua inspected the array core several times from start to finish before finally letting out a soft sigh of relief.
Success! Mo Hua looked at the profound and intricate array core before him, and a sense of joy filled his heart.
The array core was meticulously structured, with fine lines converging to form a formidable whole, exuding a complex and profound beauty.
The only slight imperfection was that, as it was Mo Hua's first attempt at drawing an array core on an array plate, his brushwork was somewhat clumsy, and he had to erase and redo it multiple times, resulting in a less aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Although it wasn't the most visually appealing, it worked, and that's what mattered to Mo Hua! He believed that practicality was more important than aesthetics for cultivators.
After Mo Hua finished drawing the array core, Master Luo led the other array designers back in, and they were all awe-struck by the sight before them.
This was the array core of the grand array...
The intricate patterns were daunting, clearly beyond their current capabilities...
After a moment of awe, Master Luo continued to study the array core, his emotions a mix of admiration and confusion.
On the one hand, he was amazed by the array grandmaster's exceptional skill in successfully creating the array core.
On the other hand, he was puzzled by the "grandmaster's" seemingly clumsy brushwork, resembling a child's scribbles, requiring multiple layers of corrections...
(End of Chapter)
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