Chapter 352: Hardships in Establishing the Formation

Ji Hongdao spoke as if he hadn't noticed the other party vanish, continuing to talk to himself. "What you, Young Master, should be concerned about is merely your lack of freedom within the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array. As for safety, there's no need to worry. As the Myriad Immortals Alliance has always claimed, cultivators who have achieved Dao Integration are already beyond the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array's capabilities. With your strength, Young Master, you surely wouldn't be afraid of a mere array, would you? If a little freedom can be exchanged for substantial benefits, I believe you, Young Master, would be quite willing. Are you, Young Master, truly not curious about what lies beneath the abyss and beyond the mist?"

As soon as Ji Hongdao finished speaking, Shaojun's distorted figure reappeared on the Dust-Crossing Boat. He remained silent, merely staring coldly at Ji Hongdao, waiting for him to continue.

Ji Hongdao showed no surprise at his return. "Once the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array is fully constructed, the Heavenly Profound Mirror will also complete its next sublimation. At that time, there's a strong chance that the unfinished business from two hundred years ago can finally be brought to fruition. Furthermore, if the sublimated Heavenly Profound Mirror seeks further advancement, besides encroaching on the Council of Five Elders' territory, its only other option is to explore beyond this realm. The Essence-Devouring White Mist serves as a breakthrough point, which it naturally won't abandon easily. As long as it allocates its energy, the Essence-Devouring White Mist certainly won't be able to stop it. It's just a matter of how much time it takes. All you need to do, Young Master, is wait patiently. So many years have already passed; does this moment truly matter?"

Shaojun seemed unfazed by Ji Hongdao's persuasion, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Ji Hongdao, you truly haven't changed at all." Without waiting for a reply, his figure vanished once more.

Ji Hongdao slowly turned his head, looking back at the busy cultivators within the distant Immortal Fortress, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The next day, Li Fan's arduous work at Chizha Abyss officially began. Besides Xue Mu, five other cultivators from the Array Planning Hall of Tianyu Province were responsible for assisting in the construction of the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array. Unlike in ordinary provinces, where only array construction needs to be considered without worrying about safety, building the Spirit Lock Array outside Chizha Abyss was incredibly difficult, requiring the combined efforts of many departments.

First, the garrison stationed at the Eternal Immortal Fortress, known as the Azure Profound Guards, painstakingly carved out clear passages in the white mist, under layers of protection, where arrays could be set up. Then, cultivators from the Heavenly Mechanisms Hall came forward to select suitable locations within these passages. Cultivators from the Martial Arts Hall, in cooperation with the Azure Profound Guards, quickly built dozens of strongpoints before the white mist could reclaim the cleared areas. These strongpoints served as resting places for Li Fan and his team after each array deployment.

To improve construction efficiency, based on the suggestion of an experienced array master, Dou Xingsi, the Spirit Lock Array covering Chizha Abyss was built using a multi-point, simultaneous construction method. Seven array masters each began expanding outwards from a different direction, and once the outer array formations converged, they would then construct the central core array inwards. Finally, when everything was complete, the core array pivot would be installed for final adjustments.

The plan itself had no major flaws, but the actual construction proved immensely challenging. Even a resilient person like Li Fan was almost exhausted by the array construction process.

For example, to set up an array node within the white mist, the Essence-Devouring White Mist first had to be expelled. The clear zones created by the Azure Profound Guards were not permanent. Before the mist returned, Li Fan had to race against time to complete the creation of a small array node, so it could later connect with other array structures. If an error or accident resulted in only a half-finished product within the allotted time, Li Fan had no choice but to temporarily retreat in the face of the rapidly returning Essence-Devouring White Mist. This meant all previous efforts were wasted, and he would have to start over next time.

As for array nodes already completed, they were now submerged in the dense white mist. If any problems arose and required inspection, Li Fan would again have to risk his life, accompanied by several cultivators, to venture deep into the mist for investigation.

Not to mention, throughout the entire process, they had to constantly be wary of the abyss's demonic sounds. The outbreaks of demonic sounds, for the most part, resembled tides and followed a discernible pattern. The Azure Profound Guards would provide the timing for each sound tide, allowing Li Fan and his team to avoid it. However, there were also sudden situations where a great tide of demonic sounds would strike unexpectedly. Although Li Fan's construction site was outside Chizha Abyss, and most of the demonic sounds' power was absorbed by the Eternal Immortal Fortress, it was only when directly facing the onslaught of demonic sounds that Li Fan truly understood what it meant to be a flame that could be extinguished at any moment in a storm. Resentful, sharp, and terrifying sounds enveloped him, threatening to make him lose his sanity. One time, the danger was so severe that even his protective energy, which was still charging, plummeted by several percentage points.

Fortunately, the Azure Profound Guards were also experts in dealing with the abyss's demonic sounds. In every such critical moment, they remained calm despite the danger. They protected Li Fan in the center while each taking out peculiar treasures that devoured sound: a strange black stone covered in holes; a faceless human head with only two pairs of ears; small green grass blades that danced with sound. There were many varieties of such items. Li Fan had even seen the red-furred beasts from Myriad Sounds Island several times. Their effects were remarkably significant. Once deployed, the demonic sounds that had been like roaring mountains and surging seas moments before would instantly vanish.

However, Li Fan keenly noticed that after absorbing a certain amount of demonic sounds, these strange beasts and treasures seemed to undergo some kind of transformation. The strange beasts became more agitated and difficult to control, while the peculiar treasures would occasionally spontaneously emit eerie sounds outwards. For this reason, the Azure Profound Guards generally replaced these peculiar treasures at regular intervals. Once their current supply was exhausted, they would need to go to the Eternal Immortal Fortress for resupply.

Besides the sound-devouring treasures, the Black Death Talismans, which sustained the strongpoints and allowed cultivators to survive in the Essence-Devouring White Mist, were also consumables. If for some reason the allocation of supplies was delayed, construction would also be forced to halt. In summary, constructing the Heavenly Profound Spirit Lock Array in the vast white mist was undoubtedly many times more difficult than in ordinary provinces.

Perhaps for this reason, even with the slow progress, Li Fan's ranking on the Grand Competition Gold List didn't fall too far behind. He generally maintained a stable position around the top hundred. The current point difference wasn't significant, and the top ten list was constantly changing.

What was more eye-catching than the top contenders, however, was the very last position among the 783 participants: Core Formation cultivator Guo Yezhong. Nearly a year had passed since the Grand Competition officially began, yet his points remained at zero, completely unchanged. He was the only one on the entire list like this, making him much more noticeable than even the first-place contender. Cultivators speculated that Guo Yezhong was either missing and trapped somewhere, or had directly defected.