Chapter 387: Unveiling the Array
Chapter 387: Unveiling the Array
These hundred acres of spirit fields, connected as one, might just be an array in themselves!
Mo Hua had a sudden realization.
Previously, he had been fixated on the formalities of arrays, limited to interpreting only a portion of the array patterns, and had only seen the superficial patterns, thus missing the full picture.
Whether it was the Nurturing Soil Array or other arrays, they were all just trivial branches and leaves, not the core of the ultimate array.
The core of this ultimate array was the spirit fields themselves.
Mo Hua then had some doubts.
If the spirit fields were indeed an array, what then were the array mediums, patterns, pivots, and eyes that formed its foundation?
Mo Hua sat back down on the ground and began to ponder carefully.
If the spirit fields were the array, then the array medium wouldn't be the stone ridges but the soil in which the spirit rice was planted.
Soil was usually not used as an array medium.
Due to its soft or moist nature, and the fact that it could be eroded by wind and rain, making it unstable and difficult to imprint with array patterns.
"Why would this ultimate array use soil as its medium?"
"Or perhaps, is this also the subtle wonder of the array?"
Mo Hua thought about it but couldn't come up with an answer, so he temporarily set it aside and continued his train of thought.
If the soil was the array medium, then the array patterns should be the ridges that divided and intersected the spirit fields.
The array pivot would be the overall layout of the spirit fields.
But what about the array eye?
How would the array be maintained and powered?
There didn't seem to be any particular area within the spirit fields that could serve as the array eye.
Mo Hua looked up at the vast spirit fields, with their rippling waves and crisscrossing ridges, and suddenly paused.
This wasn't a grand array or a composite array, but a single array.
There was no specialized spirit-gathering array or composite spirit-gathering array to provide spiritual power.
The source of spiritual power for a single array came from its own array patterns.
The array patterns naturally absorbed spiritual power, providing the energy needed for the array to function.
In other words, these intersecting ridges were both the array patterns and the array eye.
But how was spiritual power supplied to them?
Mo Hua furrowed his brows and thought for a moment before understanding.
It was the Nurturing Soil Array!
The function of a single array was relatively singular.
Even if it was an ultimate array with extremely powerful effects, it couldn't cover every aspect.
Therefore, supplementary arrays were needed to enhance its effects.
The Nurturing Soil Array was one such supplementary array, used to assist the ultimate array and nourish the soil.
However, if the Nurturing Soil Array and the ultimate array were constructed together, they would form a composite array that incorporated the ultimate array.
Such arrays required high spiritual consciousness and complex array patterns. Once damaged, no one but the elder of the Sun family could repair them, and even then, it would be a challenging task.
Thus, the elder of the Sun family had cleverly separated the two types of arrays while also keeping them interconnected.
The Nurturing Soil Array and other similar arrays were drawn separately, not connected to the composite array, making them easier to create and repair.
Even the half-baked array masters among the younger generations of the Sun family could handle their maintenance.
However, at the same time, they were also related to the ultimate array.
Whenever the spirit farmers provided spiritual power to the Nurturing Soil Array, a portion of that spiritual power would naturally overflow and be diverted to the large ultimate array.
So, the Nurturing Soil Array served both as a supplementary array and an alternative "ultimate array eye."
The amount of spiritual power provided by the Nurturing Soil Array was actually very small.
But this ultimate array was a soil-based nurturing array, not meant for combat or trapping powerful enemies.
Therefore, it required a steady, long-term supply of small amounts of spiritual power.
From another perspective, the elder of the Sun family had designed it this way to help the spirit farmers save on spirit stones.
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel admiration.
The elder of the Sun family had an extraordinarily profound understanding and ingenious application of arrays, and his benevolence and magnanimity were equally remarkable.
No wonder the rogue cultivators of Qianjia Town had been grateful for his kindness for hundreds of years.
To comprehend the Dao and bring benefit to all living beings—perhaps this was what a true array master strived for.
Mo Hua marveled at this realization.
Beside him, Ding Miaoer saw that Mo Hua was lost in thought and hadn't spoken for a while. She called out softly, "Brother?"
Mo Hua snapped out of his reverie and smiled as he ruffled Miaoer's hair, saying, "Thank you."
If it weren't for Miaoer's simple sketch, he wouldn't have been able to uncover this secret.
A mature person does not lose their childlike heart.
The more innocent and pure a child's gaze is, the more naturally they see things without bias, making it easier to discern the truth.
Miaoer tilted her head, looking confused, "Did I help?"
"You helped a lot," Mo Hua praised her.
Miaoer immediately brightened up, even though she didn't understand how she had helped.
Mo Hua gave her another piece of cake.
Miaoer held it with both hands and happily ate it, feeling justified.
"Brother said that I did a great job, so this time I'm not freeloading," Miaoer thought to herself.
...
Now that he understood the nature of the array, Mo Hua needed to find a way to reconstruct the array diagram.
He instructed Miaoer not to wander off and then climbed to a higher peak to get a panoramic view of the spirit fields.
Using the layout of the spirit fields and thinking like an array master, he began to reinterpret the fields, which had been constructed according to array principles, back into their original array form.
As he calculated, Mo Hua paused, frowning.
Something wasn't right.
The calculations weren't working...
Many of the spirit fields' layouts were too rectangular and orderly, not following the principles of arrays.
As a result, the calculated array patterns were disjointed and fragmented.
Mo Hua sighed.
Troubles just kept coming one after another...
He ran down the mountain and asked Miaoer, "Miaoer, who in your village has lived the longest and knows the most?"
Miaoer furrowed her tiny brows, and her eyes lit up as she replied, "The Elder!"
Indeed, there was an elder in Dongshan Village, but he was elderly and no longer involved in village affairs. Moreover, his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining stage, not the Foundation Establishment stage.
Little Miao'er led Mo Hua to meet the elder.
Mo Hua expressed his intention to seek guidance and inquired about a few matters.
Upon seeing Mo Hua, the elder's face lit up with gratitude, and he said:
"You've done us a great service, young master. Please ask away, and I, an old man, will answer to the best of my ability."
"Thank you, Elder," Mo Hua replied politely.
After some pleasantries, Mo Hua asked, "Elder, has the layout of these spirit fields been changed at any point in the last few hundred years?"
The elder pondered for a moment before slowly nodding.
"Yes, it has been modified."
"Why was it changed?" Mo Hua inquired.
The elder explained, "We usually don't alter land passed down from our ancestors, and the layout of these spirit fields has been maintained for over a hundred years..."
"But later, the Sun family wanted to straighten out the fields to make it easier for them to draw their array. So they rearranged some of the original fields."
"Now, many of the fields are in a grid pattern, looking neat and tidy."
"Were there any significant changes to the spirit fields after the rearrangement?" Mo Hua asked.
"No major changes, but the soil has become more barren year after year," the elder replied with a sigh. "I'm old, but I can still sense these things. The younger generations born in the village are oblivious to all of this."
"I remember when I was a child, my grandfather told me that the soil several hundred years ago was much more fertile than it is now."
The elder's eyes shone with nostalgia as he finished, "Back then, as long as we farmed peacefully, everyone could have their fill..."
Mo Hua's emotions were stirred, and his gaze turned somber as he gradually pieced things together.
This ultimate array was likely meant to keep the soil fertile and the spirit fields prosperous.
The layout of the spirit fields themselves was the array's pivotal point.
After the passing of the Sun family's elder, the incompetent descendants rearranged the spirit fields for their convenience, altering the layout and inadvertently affecting the pivotal point, causing the ultimate array to gradually lose its effectiveness.
Furthermore, the later generations of the Sun family, in their greed to exploit the spirit farmers, drew inferior arrays on the field ridges, which frequently required repairs.
As the spirit farmers' spiritual power supply to the Nurturing Soil Array became intermittent due to the constant need for repairs, the entire ultimate array's power supply also became unsustainable.
Decades or even a century later, the ultimate array had completely lost its efficacy.
Mo Hua sighed.
The Sun family's elder had established a strict rule: any member of the Sun family who dares to occupy even a single field in Qianjia Town shall have their surname removed, their lineage erased from the family tree, and be expelled from the family!
This rule served two purposes: to ensure the spirit farmers' livelihood and to restrain later generations from tampering with the spirit fields, thus preventing any disruption to the array's pivotal point.
However, he probably never imagined that his descendants would be so foolish.
Driven by greed, they made so many blunders, squandering the array's blessings and severing its legacy.
With the changes in the spirit fields, the pivotal point of the array shifted.
As a result, it became impossible to reconstruct the complete array diagram.
Mo Hua frowned, and a moment later, a spark of inspiration struck, and he asked, "Elder, do you have the field maps from a few hundred years ago?"
The elder hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Yes, I do..."
"May I take a look?"
The elder was hesitant as such information was confidential and not usually shared with outsiders.
Mo Hua explained, "I want to try to find the array drawn by the Sun family's elder."
Upon hearing this, the elder was astonished, and his voice trembled as he asked, "The array of the Sun family's elder...?"
Mo Hua nodded.
The elder, unsteady on his feet, said, "But the Sun family's elder was a second-rate array master..."
He looked at Mo Hua with disbelief.
Could this young master decipher the array of a second-rate array master?
Mo Hua replied, "The Sun family's elder was indeed a second-rate master, but the array he left behind is actually first-rate. It's just a bit challenging to draw."
The elder didn't understand but was deeply impressed.
Being able to decipher such an array was truly remarkable.
After some thought, the elder's gaze turned determined, and he said, "Very well, I'll give you the field maps!"
If this young master could indeed uncover the array drawn by the Sun family's elder, it would be an immense blessing for the spirit farmers, and they would be forever indebted to him.
What were a few field maps compared to going hungry and struggling to survive? There was no need to be stingy with such information.
The elder walked into the inner room and opened a box at the bottom of the wall. From the very bottom of the box, he retrieved a stack of yellowed parchment and handed it to Mo Hua.
Mo Hua examined the parchments and saw that each one was covered with diagrams of the spirit fields, laid out like fish scales.
The natural distribution of the spirit fields, with their intersecting ridges, was carefully depicted.
Additionally, the parchments included records of the Dao calendar years, spirit farmer registers, land allocation, and the fertility of the spirit fields, among other confidential information.
No wonder the elder had hesitated earlier.
Mo Hua flipped through the parchments, comparing the old field layouts and performing mental calculations based on the previous spirit field arrangement. As he did so, his eyes gradually lit up.
He hadn't guessed wrong.
The true ultimate array was hidden within these centuries-old field maps, bearing the marks of time!
(End of Chapter)
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