Chapter 394: The Thick Earth Array
Chapter 394: The Thick Earth Array
The elders had decided to reconstruct the Spirit Paddy Fields, and Mo Hua had begun planning the array formations.
For ordinary arrays, the array patterns are drawn onto an array medium, with both elements working in harmony yet independently, with little interdependence. The medium is merely a conduit.
However, the Thick Earth Array was different; it involved reshaping the land itself with natural features and inscribed array patterns, creating a cohesive whole where the array and nature became one.
Cultivators derived their understanding of arrays from the heavens, the earth, and all things in between. And now, they were about to build an array within this very fabric.
Mo Hua was deep in thought, inspired by this realization, and he looked up at the sky.
The Grand Heavenly Array above must follow the same principle. By understanding the heavens, one could comprehend the array, and by merging the array with the heavens, they become inseparable.
That was what Mo Hua aimed to achieve with the Thick Earth Array—a unity of the array and nature.
However, the array was only a first-grade array, and the Spirit Paddy Fields spanned just a hundred acres.
A hundred acres of good paddy fields seemed vast, but compared to the boundless earth and infinite sky, it was insignificant.
Nevertheless, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
The Grand Heavenly Array that reached towards the heavens was also built one array pattern at a time.
Mo Hua's gaze hardened with determination. He would take it one step at a time, learning and gaining insight little by little. One day, he would fathom the secrets of that Grand Heavenly Array that loomed above, reaching towards the nine heavens.
With his own power and supreme spiritual sense, he would merge arrays with the heavens and the earth, creating an array that spanned the cosmos.
Beside him, Bai Zi Sheng noticed Mo Hua's steadfast gaze towards the sky, and his own expression took on a strange resoluteness. He, too, looked up, curious about what had captured Mo Hua's attention.
But he saw nothing out of the ordinary...
"What are you looking at?" Bai Zi Sheng asked, his voice laced with confusion.
"An array!" Mo Hua replied.
"Where's the array?"
"It's there!"
"Really?"
"Yes," Mo Hua nodded. "My master mentioned it."
And indeed, he had seen it himself.
Bai Zi Sheng's expression was a mix of belief and skepticism. "Can you see it now?"
"Not at the moment," Mo Hua admitted.
"Then why are you looking...?" Bai Zi Sheng muttered, but a strange competitive streak arose within him, and he, too, stared fixedly at the sky, unblinking.
Bai Zi Xi walked by, her brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you all looking at?"
"An array!" Mo Hua and Bai Zi Sheng replied in unison.
Bai Zi Xi tilted her head back, but she couldn't see anything unusual. However, seeing the serious expressions on Mo Hua and Bai Zi Sheng's faces, she, too, joined them in their upward gaze.
The sky stretched infinitely, and the clouds drifted and morphed.
On the ground, the verdant spirit rice swayed gently in the wind, creating a sea of rippling waves.
Mo Hua and his companions stood there, their gazes skyward. Their figures seemed insignificant against the vastness above, yet their aspirations soared far beyond.
...
The reconstruction of the Spirit Paddy Fields proceeded in an orderly manner.
It took Mo Hua two days to design the array for the fields. Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi had lent their assistance as well.
In the redesigned array, the Spirit Paddy Fields no longer resembled neat tofu blocks. Instead, they took on a more natural shape, flowing with the contours of the land.
The field bunds crisscrossed, dividing and reconnecting the fields. Near these bunds were annotations for the inscribed arrays.
These arrays were primarily Nourishing Earth Arrays, designed to support the Thick Earth Array by nurturing the soil and providing spiritual energy.
The bunds served as the array patterns, and the layout became the array's pivot. Together, they formed a complete, first-grade, eleven-pattern Thick Earth Supreme Array.
Both Bai Zi Sheng and Bai Zi Xi were left in awe.
Mo Hua then showed the array design to Mr. Zhuang, who nodded in approval.
Only then did Mo Hua approach the elders of Dongshan Village to discuss how to construct this array.
In his hands, Mo Hua held two drawings. One was the Thick Earth Array diagram, and the other was a map of the current Spirit Paddy Fields.
The task for the cultivators of Dongshan Village was to alter the layout of the Spirit Paddy Fields to match the design of the Thick Earth Array.
This undertaking involved several considerations.
Which fields would remain unchanged, and which would need modifications?
While the layout of the Spirit Paddy Fields would change, the total area allocated to each household had to remain the same...
The elders consulted with others, planned carefully, and then instructed each household on what they needed to do. Afterward, they conducted a unified inspection to ensure everything was in order.
Additionally, they needed to purchase spirit ink.
And spirit ink required spirit stones.
So, the cultivators of Dongshan Village contributed a small number of spirit stones from each household, pooling their resources to gather the required amount.
A dozen robust cultivators, including Mo Hua, set out for Shangtai City with the spirit stones. They purchased the spirit ink and safely transported it back to the village.
Mo Hua had accompanied them for two reasons. Firstly, this spirit ink was of utmost importance, having depleted half of Dongshan Village's wealth. They could not afford any mishaps.
Secondly, the quality of spirit ink varied greatly, and its price differed accordingly. Since the cultivators were unfamiliar with arrays, they might not be able to discern the quality and end up being cheated into buying inferior spirit ink.
The third reason was the Sun family.
Mo Hua knew they wouldn't let the matter rest.
And indeed, as he had anticipated, they encountered Sun family cultivators during this trip.
As the group of cultivators from Dongshan Village left the village and ventured away from Qianjia Town, they were soon tailed by several sneaky Sun family cultivators.
These pursuers wore cultivator clothing, thinking they were well-disguised.
But their efforts were futile against Mo Hua's eleven-pattern spiritual sense, which rivaled that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Trying to follow Mo Hua was like trying to steal something while holding a lit lantern—an impossible task.
Mo Hua didn't bother engaging them; he simply led his group down a few detours, easily shaking off their pursuers.
On their way back, the Sun family sent even more cultivators to block their path.
However, Mo Hua guided his companions along obscure mountain paths, and they returned to the village without incident.
This left the accompanying cultivators amazed.
Ding Dachuan even asked in a hushed voice, "Young Master, do you know fortune-telling?"
How else could he have known exactly where the Sun family cultivators would be?
Mo Hua couldn't help but find the question amusing. "I just have a slightly stronger spiritual sense, so I detected them in advance."
He felt that the fortune-telling reason was more plausible...
Soon, they began the formal construction of the array.
As they worked on the array, some Ling Farmers patrolled the nearby area to prevent any trouble from the Sun family cultivators.
The most enthusiastic among them was Bai Zi Sheng.
Initially, Mo Hua had asked him to help with drawing the array.
And he did try.
But before long, when he heard that people were needed to patrol and guard against the Sun family, he looked at Mo Hua with eager anticipation and said:
"I want to fight... no, I mean, patrol!"
Mo Hua disagreed: "Drawing the array is the priority."
Bai Zi Sheng sighed.
As the senior disciple, if it had been any other matter, he wouldn't have asked Mo Hua, his junior disciple, for his opinion, and would have made the decision himself.
But when it came to drawing arrays, even as the senior disciple, he had to listen to Mo Hua.
Bai Zi Sheng stayed to help with the array, but his expression was somewhat dejected, and he kept sighing and couldn't seem to focus.
Seeing this, Mo Hua felt helpless and said:
"Why don't you go on patrol? The cultivators from Dongshan Village might not be a match for the Sun family cultivators."
Bai Zi Sheng's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Really."
Bai Zi Sheng felt a bit guilty and hesitated, "Do you... not want me to help you with the array anymore?"
Mo Hua rolled his eyes at him, "That's fine too. Or do you want to stay and help with the array?"
Bai Zi Sheng immediately jumped up, "Never mind, my drawing skills aren't as good as yours. You handle the array, and I'll go on patrol to make sure those scoundrels from the Sun family don't bother you!"
After saying this, he looked excited and left with a proud and confident stride.
Mo Hua couldn't help but find the whole situation amusing.
From then on, Bai Zi Sheng patrolled the area near the Spirit Paddy Fields, keeping watch for any Sun family cultivators who might cause trouble.
One evening, a few Sun family cultivators indeed sneaked over to snoop around.
Without a word, Bai Zi Sheng rushed towards them with agile movements.
These cultivators were no match for Bai Zi Sheng, and they were quickly dealt with. Their faces were bruised and swollen as they fled with their tails between their legs.
Bai Zi Sheng remembered Mo Hua's instructions to avoid escalating the situation, so he held back and didn't take their lives.
The Sun family cultivators, beaten and bruised by Bai Zi Sheng, fled back to their family and met with their patriarch, Sun Yi.
Sun Yi asked, "Did you find out anything?"
But before they could answer, he already knew the outcome from their injuries.
It was obvious that they hadn't discovered anything and had only gotten themselves beaten up.
Sun Yi could only wave his hand helplessly and say, "Go and rest your injuries."
As the Sun family cultivators left, Sun Ze walked in and asked his father, "Father, do you think they really found our Sun family's ancestral array?"
Sun Yi's expression turned solemn. "It's not impossible... That little brat is not simple, and there's a lot of commotion going on with the Spirit Paddy Fields. I suspect they've discovered something..."
"What should we do now? Should we make a move?" Sun Ze asked, "Our Sun family's legacy must not fall into the hands of outsiders."
Sun Yi remained silent.
Sun Ze said, "Father, you're not going to wait anymore, are you?"
Sun Yi frowned. "I'm not sure what they're up to right now."
"Could it be that the kid has learned our ancestor's array and wants to redraw it?" Sun Ze speculated.
Sun Yi gave his son a cold look. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Sun Ze was confused. "Isn't that what's happening?"
Sun Yi coldly huffed, "You have no idea how profound the array left by our Sun family ancestor is..."
"How could that brat learn it so easily?"
"Forget about that kid, he's only about ten years old. Even if you count his entire life, he's only studied arrays for a decade at most."
"Even if he studies for a few more decades, the level of his arrays will never come close to one-tenth of the level of our ancestor's arrays."
Sun Ze was shocked. "Our ancestor was that amazing?"
Sun Yi looked at his son with disdain. "You're ignorant and unskilled. You've only learned the basics of arrays and have no idea how deep this field of study goes."
"There's a huge gap even between first-rate array masters, let alone second-rate ones."
"Whether it's spiritual sense, understanding of arrays, or mastery of array techniques, there's an immense difference."
Sun Ze nodded involuntarily.
He had always thought that the Sun family's legacy had declined and that their ancestors might not have been that impressive.
But now he realized that he had overestimated others and underestimated their own ancestor.
"But what is that brat doing now? What kind of array is he drawing?"
Sun Yi thought for a moment and shook his head.
"I don't know. Let's wait until they're finished."
Sun Ze was a bit anxious. "Are we just going to let them be?"
"You don't understand."
"What don't I understand?"
Sun Yi's eyes narrowed as he said calmly, "No matter what they do, it will ultimately benefit our Sun family."
Sun Ze was taken aback and fell into deep thought.
Sun Yi continued, "These people are ultimately outsiders. No matter what they do, they will eventually leave."
"Once they're gone, the Ling Farmers will still be under our control."
"Any benefits they give to the Ling Farmers will eventually end up in our Sun family's hands."
"This Thousand-House Town belongs to our Sun family, and everything in it is ours!"
"Moreover, the array in the Spirit Paddy Fields, in the end, is meant to make the land more fertile."
Sun Yi smiled coldly, "We just need to be patient. In the end, we will recover our ancestral array, and with the abundant Spirit Paddy Fields, we can ensure that our Sun family's descendants will live a life free from worry..."
(End of Chapter)
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