Chapter 313: Heavenly Profound Secondary Organism

As Zhang Zhiliang had mentioned, after extensive study at the Universe Villa, Li Fan had gained a good understanding of how to construct the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array.

However, Li Fan was not entirely clear about the actual power of this constructed array, lacking a clear, quantifiable understanding of its capabilities. It was akin to workers on a weapon production line, who aren't necessarily fully aware of the lethality of the objects they produce.

Li Fan had initially believed that the primary purpose of constructing the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array was simply to identify and mark the Five Elders' Society cultivators who infiltrated the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance territory. But with Zhang Zhiliang's prompting, Li Fan realized that its true purpose might be far more extensive than he had imagined.

The Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array was indeed highly effective for identifying allied and enemy cultivators. But if its sole purpose was this, it would be a considerable overkill. It should be noted that, according to the current construction plan, every prefecture within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance would have a Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array built. The amount of materials required was immeasurable. Even if the number of Five Elders' Society spies doubled, the combined damage they inflicted might not be as significant as the cost of these materials. Furthermore, in the remote areas of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, infiltration held almost no strategic value. Yet, without exception, the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array was to be built everywhere, implementing a saturation defense.

While clearing out and preventing spies was one aspect, more importantly, it was about achieving a high degree of control over their own territory. Under the coverage of the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array, any Five Elders' Society cultivator who entered would be immediately marked. This, in essence, meant that everything within the array was constantly under surveillance.

Li Fan had conducted a test when he first encountered the Sky-Profound Mirror. After learning about the extinction of the Glazed Fish on Glazed Island, he first bought a batch of Glazed Pearls at their original price, and only then sold this information to the Sky-Profound Mirror. Afterwards, the price of Glazed Pearls skyrocketed, and he made a modest profit. This further confirmed that the Sky-Profound Mirror was not omniscient; it could not know everything that happened outside the Ten Thousand Immortals Island. As a True Cultivator, Li Fan had also deliberately avoided the Sky-Profound Mirror on multiple occasions to ensure his secrets remained undetected.

But once the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array was established, the Sky-Profound Mirror would compensate for this weakness. It was likely that none of Li Fan's minor maneuvers would escape its scrutiny. The thought that his every move from now on would always be under the Sky-Profound Mirror's surveillance sent a chill down Li Fan's spine.

He further speculated, more maliciously, whether the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance would establish a special organization. Once they detected any unusual behavior in a cultivator, they would dispatch members of this organization to deal with it. If so, it was likely that all unstable elements would be stifled.

"It seems I need to reconsider whether to profit from the Spirit Mist Grass in my next life," he mused. "Although I could get rich overnight, the impact and changes brought by a war are too great. Especially with this Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array, once it's completed, I'm afraid I'll find it difficult to act freely, and it will be even harder to keep my secrets."

At this point, for the first time in this life, Li Fan finally felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

"No wonder the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is so determined to build the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array this time," he mused, "to ensure enough array constructors, they even brought back those like me who had already been eliminated..."

"However, the widespread implementation of the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array in this era is an unstoppable trend," he thought. "From now on, I can only act more carefully and absolutely must not expose my abnormalities."

"If worst comes to worst, I'll just return to reality immediately," he decided. "Anyway, I've already broken through to the Golden Core stage, and I can retain my cultivation after transforming into nothingness."

Li Fan sighed inwardly and continued to read the jade slip left by Zhang Zhiliang.

As soon as Zhang Zhiliang saw the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array, he instantly understood its power and was filled with fear. At the same time, he also found inspiration. The combination of array formations and the Sky-Profound Mirror was indeed feasible. To possess the Sky-Profound Mirror for oneself was clearly absurd. So, what kind of exotic treasure could serve as a lower-tier substitute for the Sky-Profound Mirror, acting as the core of the Infinite Method?

After a period of searching, Zhang Zhiliang found the answer: the secondary bodies of the Sky-Profound Mirror.

If the newly formed mirror surfaces were newly created clones of the Sky-Profound Mirror, then the secondary bodies were entirely new sub-entities that the Sky-Profound Mirror would occasionally create. As clones of the Sky-Profound Mirror, the newly formed mirror surfaces constantly maintained a connection with the main body. The secondary bodies, however, could be regarded as completely independent, newly born entities. From their birth, they had no connection to the Sky-Profound Mirror, yet they would inherit some of its characteristics. As a lower-tier substitute for the Sky-Profound Mirror, nothing could be more suitable. The Sky-Profound Mirror was beyond reach, but its secondary bodies could be strategically pursued.

Over the long years, the Sky-Profound Mirror had given birth to dozens of secondary bodies. Their actual functions varied in strength, and they were often bestowed upon cultivators who had made outstanding contributions to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance. For example, there was one type of secondary body called the Profound Azure Mirror. The Profound Azure Mirror contained a replicated copy of all the knowledge and information that existed within the Sky-Profound Mirror before it detached from it. Although new information generated in the Sky-Profound Mirror after its birth could not be synchronized, it was still absolutely all-encompassing—a vast repository that a cultivator could not fully comprehend in a lifetime.

In Zhang Zhiliang's conjecture, there must be one or even several secondary bodies that inherited the Sky-Profound Mirror's formidable computational power. As long as one could acquire it, the birth of the true Infinite Method would not be far off. Even if one had to settle for something less, just any secondary body would be enough to support the rudimentary form of the Infinite Method.

"Sky-Profound Mirror secondary bodies..." Li Fan's eyes flickered slightly. "With dozens in existence," Li Fan mused, "if one diligently inquired, they might not be unobtainable."

After this, came Zhang Zhiliang's specific insights into the Infinite Method. They were indeed much more profound than before. He optimized the program for the array's self-evolution, significantly improving its efficiency.

Li Fan practiced cultivation, reviewed the construction of the Sky-Profound Spirit-Locking Array, and continued to study the Infinite Method. Time quietly passed, and soon it was the day for Li Fan's group's assessment.

Following Ji Hongdao's guidance, Li Fan was teleported to an immense, empty space. A black storage ring landed in his palm, filled with array-laying materials. Not far away, the array nexus, which encased the newly formed mirror surface, floated quietly in the air. At the same time, a red pointer suddenly appeared overhead, indicating the assessment time.

Li Fan took a deep breath, composed himself, took out the materials from the storage ring, and began laying the array. Aided by the secret art of Dao Transformation and Unity, Li Fan's array-laying technique was incredibly precise. His speed was also astonishingly fast; after an initial period of adjustment, his efficiency soared. In just two and a half days, he completed the construction of the array's central core area. Next, he had to perfectly embed the array nexus into the core array region. At this step, however, Li Fan encountered difficulties.