ATPnovel Chapter 12 Net Yuan Formation Pattern
Chapter 12 Net Yuan Formation Pattern
"One hundred spirit pills per month."
"As for the method of assessment, those spirit-locking arrays, you've lived in Qiyuan Town for so many years, you can all handle them with your eyes closed, that won't test your true abilities. I will test you with a new array, one that I've never seen before. Whoever recognizes it quickly, understands it deeply, and uses it accurately will be selected."
The atmosphere in the hall changed instantly upon hearing this.
Even if a rogue cultivator in Qiyuan Town works himself to death drawing talismans, collecting herbs, and doing odd jobs for a month without cultivating at all, he can only earn about a hundred pills.
Can the formation be repaired?
One hundred spirit fragments directly.
More importantly, it does not strain the meridians or delay cultivation.
It is a profession that independent practitioners dream of.
Higher-income independent practitioners do exist.
But those people either live on the edge of the Great Wilderness or in other towns with richer spiritual energy, not in Qiyuan Town.
Immediately, a rogue cultivator stepped forward and asked, "Immortal Master, is this truly the case?"
Fang swore he recognized this person.
His surname was Chen, his given name was Santai, and he had the cultivation level of the second level of Qi Refining. He was one of the acquaintances that the other party had vowed to greet before.
Having lived in Qiyuan Town for over ten years, he is a well-known array master in the town, known as "Chen the Quick-Hand".
This person is quick and efficient, and can repair formations extremely fast. What would take others half a day to figure out the problems of spirit-locking formations, he can find the crux of the matter in half an hour.
Even with his skills, he didn't dare to openly accept business.
He could only secretly take on small jobs in the neighborhood. In a month, the income from repairing the array was only about ten spirit fragments. His main livelihood depended on other businesses.
Zhou Yan smiled faintly and said, "I am a disciple of the Three Plates Temple, sent here by Elder Xuanmu to clarify the order. I always keep my word and never lie. One hundred spirit fragments will be paid monthly, without a penny deducted."
Upon hearing this, Chen Santai's lean face flushed with excitement. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Thank you, Immortal Master! I, Chen Santai, will do my utmost to live up to your expectations."
After saying that, he retreated back into the crowd, but the light in his eyes was even brighter than before.
The other independent cultivators also became excited after hearing Zhou Yan's guarantee.
They didn't believe in Zhou Yan as a person, but rather in his identity as a disciple of the Sanpan Temple.
Besides, it's just a test anyway.
Being selected is like winning the lottery.
Even if you don't get selected, it just means your energy channels will be a little tired, and you'll miss out on making money today.
The independent cultivators exchanged glances; the previous amicable atmosphere had vanished, replaced by a fierce competitive spirit.
Some lowered their heads in thought, some clenched their fists, and some silently observed the people around them.
Many eyes were fixed on Fang Shi.
Of the nine independent cultivators present, Fang Shi was the youngest, appearing to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.
The skill of repairing formations has always been something that takes years to master; being young means you've seen fewer formations and handled fewer problems.
But Fang Shi was reported by Steward Tian and invited here by Zhou Yan.
What does this mean?
This means he has exceptional talent, learns quickly, and has excellent comprehension.
Especially since today's test is on a new formation, everyone is starting from scratch, so those with high talent have the biggest advantage.
Those veterans who have been cultivating spirit-locking arrays for over a decade may not be as good as a young upstart.
Even Chen Santai's gaze lingered on Fang Shi for a moment.
He became acquainted with Fang Shi because his children needed protective talismans. As for array formations, he always thought of Fang Shi as a junior who knew how to cultivate arrays.
But now, standing in the same arena, he realized that this young man might be his most formidable competitor.
"Slap, slap!"
Zhou Yan clapped his hands, and two young Taoist disciples filed in through the side door, each carrying a stack of books and several bundles of materials, which they laid out on the long table.
Zhou Yan said, "This is a book on formations I brought. It describes a small formation called the 'Purifying Yuan Formation,' which purifies spiritual energy, removes impurities, and makes impure energy pure."
"You've lived in Qiyuan Town for so many years, have you ever thought about why the spiritual energy in the Sanpan Mountain area is so pure, while the spiritual energy in the Dahuang direction is so mixed? Actually, the root of the problem lies underground."
"The Sanpan Mountain where the Sanpan Temple is located has a huge spiritual vein buried underground, which is full of spiritual energy. However, when the spiritual energy of the vein surges out from the ground, it is mixed with the impure energy of the earth vein, making it mottled and impure, like muddy water."
"The ancestors of Sanpan Temple set up a huge 'Tianyuan Jiuyue Jingyuan Grand Array' deep in Sanpan Mountain to filter and repeatedly wash the surging spiritual energy, removing impurities and retaining its essence."
"Once you cross the edge of the Great Wilderness, the effectiveness of the formation weakens, and the spiritual energy loses its cleansing properties, becoming muddy and turbid."
"The 'Pure Yuan Array' is a miniature version of that grand array. The principles are the same, and the patterns are similar, only the scale is millions of times smaller."
"However, the scriptures provided for you only contain one of the Qi-guiding patterns of the 'Purifying Yuan Array,' and the materials for attempting to build it are only enough for one set. Make the most of it."
The independent cultivators listened intently, many of them showing a look of sudden understanding, but most of them were excited.
They provide the books and materials, and then let them set it up on-site?
Although it's not a complete formation, the fact that I might learn the secrets of the Three Plates Observation is already an incredible opportunity.
The independent cultivators looked at Zhou Yan with even more admiration.
Such generosity and honesty—if one isn't genuinely looking to select the right people, why bother?
Even those who once dismissed it now put aside their contempt.
Zhou Yan said, "You have half an hour to study the classics and ponder the formations. After half an hour, you can begin setting it up. Let's begin."
The independent cultivators stepped forward one after another, each taking a book and a set of materials, and stepped aside, eagerly flipping through them.
Fang Shi also stepped forward and took a book.
The book cover had the words "Pure Yuan Formation - Part 1" on it.
Turning to the first page, one is greeted by a diagram of Qi-guiding patterns. The patterns are intricate, spreading out like tree roots, and are more than ten times more complex than the diagram of the Spirit-Locking Array.
Turn the pages one by one.
The text is obscure and difficult to read, the accompanying illustrations are complex and chaotic, and some parts are even contradictory, as if they were pieced together from notes by multiple authors.
Fang Shi frowned slightly as he read, but dared not be distracted, and continued to read word by word.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency -1]
Fang Shi was taken aback, his gaze falling on the panel—the brightly lit [Purifying Yuan Array (Beginner): -1/100].
-1?
He followed the explanations in the book and tried to understand them, so how could he be wrong?
Fang Shi felt a chill run down his spine.
This assessment was indeed not as simple as it seemed.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and cleared his mind of all the ideas he had just formed based on the books.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency +1]
When I opened my eyes again, I turned back to the first page and started from the very first word, chewing over each word repeatedly.
He no longer insisted on resolving those contradictions.
He simply discarded those obscure and difficult sentences.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency +1]
Fang Shi was overjoyed and continued along this line of thought.
I felt that things were going better and better as I walked, and I was happier and happier as I went.
Until all obstacles are resolved and all contradictions and entanglements melt away like ice meeting the sun in spring.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency -1]
Fang Shi frowned. This line of thinking was clearly adding to the previous one, so how did it turn into subtraction as he went along?
He paused to think, then changed his approach and started anew.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency -1]
It was still a reduction.
Fang Shi felt anxious, so he suppressed those distracting thoughts, cleared his mind again, and returned to the starting point.
He tried different approaches, adding and subtracting, going back and forth, but he could never find a path that he could continue down.
He raised his head and glanced at the surrounding rogue cultivators, noticing their varied expressions.
Some people looked worried, holding a book and repeatedly looking at the same page, with veins bulging on their foreheads.
Some people are so engrossed in their books that they are oblivious to everyone else.
Chen Santai sat cross-legged in the corner, a hint of joy on his face. He drew something on the brick floor with his fingers, the speed increasing and the movements becoming more fluid.
Fang Shi thought to himself: What has Chen Santai realized? His joy clearly indicates that he has gained something.
Is it because he has poor comprehension?
The thought flashed through Fang Shi's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.
wrong.
He relied on the panel to correct the direction and kept trying and making mistakes. Although he avoided many detours, he was able to find the right path.
It is itself a kind of enlightenment.
Wait a minute, perhaps those rogue cultivators who are still reading the classics literally are probably going down the wrong path, just like he did at the beginning.
Was Chen Santai's joy genuine, or just a self-righteous belief that he had grasped the truth?
Fang Shi's heart stirred.
If it's the latter, then he's in the bag.
Chen Santai had been practicing formations for over a decade and was very experienced, but experience is not necessarily an advantage in the face of new formations; sometimes it can even be a shackle.
He would habitually try to understand the Purification Array using the same approach he used to learn the Spirit Locking Array, which is precisely where he is most likely to go astray.
But Fang Shi dared not let his guard down, after all, these were all just guesses, and who knew what the truth was?
Therefore, he continued to immerse himself in his studies.
Half an hour is neither a long nor a short time.
Zhou Yan put down the teacup offered by the young Taoist and said, "The time has come."
The independent cultivators closed their books one after another, some confident, some uneasy, and some bewildered.
Fang Shi glanced at the panel—
【Pure Yuan Formation (Beginner): 0/100】
Still zero.
After struggling for half an hour, adding and subtracting, going back and forth, in the end, I got nothing.
However, he did not gain nothing.
He at least knows what's wrong.
Zhou Yan glanced at everyone, his face expressionless, and said, "Let's begin. To ensure everyone is convinced, we will all be tested together, without any order of priority, for a time limit of half an hour."
Upon hearing this, the rogue cultivators opened the material package, and cinnabar, array brushes, and array pivot stones were laid out in a row on a patch of blue bricks in front of them.
Chen Santai was the fastest to act.
He placed the array pivot stone beside him, picked up the array brush, dipped it in cinnabar, and aimed the tip at the blue brick floor.
The moment the brush touched the paper, a pale blue light seeped into the cracks in the brickwork, flowing like water and meandering through the cracks.
His hands were steady, the lines were even, and his spirit flowed smoothly, giving him an air of confidence and composure.
Other independent cultivators also displayed their unique abilities.
Some simply read from the book, drawing as they looked at the pictures.
Some repeatedly tried, drawing a stroke and then pausing, afraid of going down the wrong path.
Some were so anxious that they were sweating profusely, their fingers trembling, and they smeared the cinnabar into a blob of ink.
A soft "poof" sound could be heard from time to time in the hall.
With each sound, a rogue cultivator turned pale and slumped to the ground.
Fang Shi, however, did not make a move for a long time.
He simply closed his eyes and mentally reviewed every road, every fork in the road, and every trap he had encountered in the past half hour.
Seeing that he remained motionless, the onlookers assumed he had exhausted all his tricks and had simply given up.
Chen Santai glanced at him, feeling a slight sense of relief, and then focused intently on continuing to work on the lines on his hands.
After a long while, Fang Shi opened his eyes, glanced down at the materials, and frowned slightly.
Chen Santai had already drawn most of the Qi-guiding pattern, with only a few strokes left to finish it off.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his fingers remained as steady as a rock, continuously channeling magical power into the tip of his pen.
The patterns on the blue brick floor lit up one after another, with blue light flowing outwards like a spider web, even and orderly.
Chen Santai finished writing and withdrew his magic power. The Qi-guiding patterns on the ground suddenly lit up, emitting a bright blue light that flowed through the array pivot stone placed at the center before slowly receding.
He let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and a smile appeared on his lips.
Two more rogue cultivators completed their array diagrams. Although the patterns were rough and the flow of spiritual energy was not smooth, they were still considered successful and did not collapse.
Time flies, and before they knew it, four people in the hall had completed the array diagram. Three of them broke down halfway through, and the remaining two were still struggling to hold on—one of them being Fang Shi.
And Fang Shi finally made a move.
He picked up the brush and moved slowly, stroke by stroke, as if he were embroidering.
With each step, the patterns would steadily light up, and the spiritual energy would flow smoothly without any stagnation or fluctuation.
The rogue cultivators stood aside, watching Fang Shi's movements, and couldn't help but marvel inwardly—although this young man drew slowly, the patterns were more even than anyone they had ever seen, and the flow of spiritual energy was smoother than anyone else's.
Chen Santai stood to the side, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
He thought he had the victory in his grasp, but seeing Fang Shi's actions, a sense of unease resurfaced in his heart.
Suddenly, a soft "poof" sound was heard—the last rogue cultivator besides Fang Shi also had his array patterns collapse.
The man slumped down, his face ashen, threw down the writing brush in his hand, and let out a long sigh.
At this moment, only Fang Shi remained in the hall, still drawing.
But he continued to paint at a leisurely pace.
The Qi-guiding patterns spread outwards from the location of the array pivot stone, one branch, two branches, three branches... each stroke as steady as a rock.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his fingers remained motionless, his magical power flowing continuously as he pushed forward stroke by stroke.
Zhou Yan suddenly said, "The time has come."
Fang Shi finished drawing the last stroke with the array brush in his hand.
[Purifying Yuan Formation Proficiency +1]
【Pure Yuan Formation (Beginner): 1/100】
The patterns on the ground suddenly lit up—blue light flowed, evenly and intermittently, even brighter than Chen Santai's, with the patterns echoing each other in an orderly manner, forming a unified whole.
The rogue cultivators stared in disbelief, and those whose patterns had crumbled were even more speechless.
Chen Santai's expression changed slightly. He stared at the bright patterns under Fang Shi's feet, then looked down at his own. The light in his eyes dimmed a little, then suddenly brightened again.