"Grand Elder, you've come out of seclusion!" Zhang Hongguang stood up excitedly. He knew all too well what He Tai's emergence meant.
But the excitement in his heart quickly cooled when he remembered the current plight of the Lieyang Sect. So what if the Grand Elder had returned? They still had to face the Golden Crow Sect's conscription.
On the battlefield between these two great sects, even Purple Mansion cultivators weren't guaranteed to survive.
The others, including Yu Chengbo, realized this too. Their initial excitement slowly turned bitter. The Grand Elder was indeed powerful, but even he couldn't change the Golden Crow Sect's decision.
Perhaps sensing what they were thinking, He Tai let out a cold snort and walked directly to the seat of honor. Sitting down with a stern expression, he said coldly, "Hmph. Just a single conscription order, and all of you are already cowering in fear. No wonder the sect has fallen to this sorry state!"
The elders all present lowered their heads in shame. They couldn't refute He Tai's words. In recent years, the Lieyang Sect had suffered heavy losses, and it would take at least twenty years to recover.
Seeing them all so dejected only made He Tai even angrier. He felt like slapping them all on the spot.
After taking a moment to calm himself, He Tai turned to Zhang Hongguang and said, "Bring me the Golden Crow Sect's conscription order."
Zhang Hongguang didn't dare delay. He quickly presented the piece of beast hide parchment with both hands, then stood aside respectfully.
The Golden Crow Sect had a comprehensive system for conscripting subordinate forces. The conscription order listed the forces being summoned, as well as the rewards and punishments that would follow the war.
Though the Lieyang Sect was one of the "Seven Notables" and dominated an entire province, Yangzhou was poor and had lagged in development for years. Among the seven, they were clearly at the bottom.
The Golden Crow Sect understood this well. So this time, they only demanded eight Foundation Establishment cultivators and one Purple Mansion cultivator, a number carefully chosen.
Of course, if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it well.
The Golden Crow Sect, with its vast resources, had never been stingy in this regard. Over the centuries, it had developed a thorough system of rewards and punishments.
A Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivator would earn 100 merit points for slaying an enemy of the same rank, and 200 points for killing a mid-stage opponent, and so on.
However, if a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator killed a lower-stage or Qi Refining opponent, they earned nothing. This was to prevent Purple Mansion cultivators from slacking off while assigned to Foundation-level battlefields.
The Golden Crow Sect's merit points were extremely valuable. Just 1,000 points could be exchanged for materials to refine a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills. As long as the alchemist wasn't too incompetent, producing five or six pills from the batch wasn't a problem.
Of course, for the Lieyang Sect, which had already achieved self-sufficiency, Foundation Establishment Pills weren't all that enticing. What they truly lacked were rare resources like tier-three talismans, for example.
As for He Tai, his ambitions were far greater.
He set down the piece of beast-hide parchment in his hand and looked at everyone present. "This is a rare opportunity for our sect. Hongguang."
"Disciple is here," Zhang Hongguang responded, a bit confused.
"Mobilize the core strength of our sect. We must go all-in on this conscription," He Tai said sternly.
Zhang Hongguang froze for a moment, then his expression changed drastically. He quickly said, "Grand Elder, please reconsider!"
Yu Chengbo and the others also dropped to their knees, pleading in unison, "Please, Grand Elder, reconsider!"
Seeing these short-sighted disciples before him, He Tai's face showed a flicker of disappointment. He looked at Zhang Hongguang and asked, "Do you know how our sect's second Grand Elder broke through to the Purple Mansion realm?"
Although he didn't quite understand the question, Zhang Hongguang quickly replied, "It was with the help of the Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core."
He Tai's disappointment deepened as he saw that even now Zhang Hongguang still hadn't caught on. He scolded him with bitter frustration, "And have you never wondered where that Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core came from?"
Zhang Hongguang was taken aback. In truth, he had never thought about it. It had happened too long ago, and he could only shake his head awkwardly.
He Tai suddenly felt tired. If it were Wang Yuesong standing here, he wouldn't need to waste so many words.
"It came from merit, you fool!
This war between the Golden Crow Sect and the Heavenly Vein Sect is a golden opportunity for us. With just 3,000 merit points, we can exchange them for a piece of the Yin-Yang Purple Tree Core!"
Only now did the crowd in the hall realize his intention, so that's what the Grand Elder was aiming for.
"But… 3,000 merit points… that would require killing at least three Purple Mansion cultivators…" Zhang Hongguang said hesitantly.
"I've just come out of seclusion from refining a secret treasure. I originally prepared it for that brat Song Xianming; it's extremely powerful. With proper planning, it's more than enough to kill a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator.
I'm still only an early-stage Purple Mansion myself. If I manage to slay a mid-stage cultivator, that alone would earn me 2,000 merit points. As for the remaining 1,000, if you have to sacrifice your lives to get them, then so be it," He Tai said coldly, his killing intent palpable.
After all, even dying earns merit points!
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, but they couldn't deny that He Tai's plan had a high chance of success. Over the years, Lieyang Sect had accumulated a fair amount of resources. If they were willing to go all out, getting 3,000 merit points wasn't impossible.
Especially since He Tai had already prepared his trump card.
The thought of gaining the opportunity to forge a Purple Mansion stirred a burning desire in the hearts of Zhang Hongguang, Yu Chengbo, and the other peak Foundation Establishment cultivators…
Meanwhile, Song Changsheng had no idea that, because of the Golden Crow Sect's recruitment order, the Song Clan had narrowly escaped annihilation. At this moment, he was handing over his duties to the Grand Elder.
Several months had passed since the ambush. With Song Changsheng's help, Song Xianyun had recovered from his injuries.
Song Changsheng, who had been overwhelmed by administrative affairs these past few days, was overjoyed. He immediately handed over all responsibilities to Song Xianyun and was now doing the final handoff.
After reviewing all the tasks Song Changsheng had handled, Song Xianyun found no errors or omissions. Satisfied, he nodded and said, "Not bad. You've improved quite a bit compared to before."
"I finally understand why your cultivation has been progressing so slowly all these years," Song Changsheng said with a wry smile, shaking his head.
Since taking over the administrative affairs, he had been constantly bogged down by endless duties, severely delaying his cultivation.
Stroking his beard, Song Xianyun chuckled, "Do you think the family rule that requires the clan head to have peak Foundation Establishment cultivation is just for show?
Managing the clan eats up a lot of cultivation time. But once you reach peak Foundation Establishment, you no longer need to bury yourself in bitter cultivation, because breaking through to the Purple Mansion depends on insight and talent.
That way, more time can be devoted to the clan's development."
Song Changsheng suddenly understood that's what the rule was really about.
To him, that was good news. At least until he reached peak Foundation Establishment, he wouldn't have to stay buried under mountains of paperwork.
"Granduncle Twenty-One, since there are no issues, I'll go into seclusion now."
"Go on, go on. I can handle the rest myself," Song Xianyun said with a dismissive wave, as if swatting away a fly when he saw how eager Song Changsheng was.
Song Changsheng wasn't making an excuse; he truly planned to go into seclusion. Back in the Qiantian Secret Realm, he had gained deep insights into the Three Mountains, Three Talents Grand Formation.
He simply hadn't had a chance to process those insights until now. Finally free from administrative duties, he was eager to make progress in his long-stagnant study of formation techniques.
....
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Free from daily responsibilities, Song Changsheng successfully finished refining the gains he had made that day, and his formation skills had advanced to mid-tier Grade Two.
"As my cultivation improves, the Yin-Yang Duality Array is becoming more and more inadequate. Looks like it's time to switch to a new formation," he murmured in the secluded chamber.
The Yin-Yang Duality Array within his body had been inscribed when he first became a Grade Two formation master. Balanced in both offense and defense, it had provided significant support in his early battles and was a key reason he was able to fight above his level.
But as his strength grew, the low-tier Grade Two array was now of little to no help.
Now that he had become a mid-tier Grade Two formation master and could construct stronger formations, the old one could finally be retired.
What made him hesitate, though, was that even if he replaced it with a mid-tier Grade Two array, it would only serve him for a while. At the pace his strength was growing, it wouldn't be long before that too became useless.
Of course, he could continue upgrading to stronger arrays, but doing so repeatedly would be too much of a hassle. What he wanted was a permanent solution.
"Is there any kind of formation that could benefit me for a lifetime…" Song Changsheng frowned slightly, sinking deep into thought.
Having studied countless formation manuals, he knew hundreds of arrays, but none truly satisfied him.
The problem was that formations weren't like a cultivator's life-bound spiritual weapon; once set, their grade was fixed and couldn't grow alongside his cultivation.
"Sigh, I've been overthinking it… Isn't the answer right in front of me?" Song Changsheng suddenly smacked his forehead, a bit annoyed with himself.
A sudden flash of inspiration had led him to a type of formation that matched his needs.
He had encountered this kind of formation twice and even managed to break through it both times. But because it was so unusual, he hadn't considered it earlier.
It was the natural formation, the kind he had come across in the Qiantian Secret Realm and the Ten-Thousand Mountains.
The grade of a natural formation wasn't fixed. It changed based on the surrounding environment. For example, the Three Mountains and Three Talents Array in the Qiantian Secret Realm lay somewhere between a second and third-grade formation.
This was because it hadn't existed long enough. Given more time, it would likely evolve into a low-tier third-grade formation, and over many years, it could continue to grow stronger until it reached the limits of a small world.
Wasn't that exactly what he had been looking for?
With that realization, Song Changsheng leapt to his feet in excitement. Having been immersed in the study of formations since childhood, he naturally understood why natural formations grew stronger over time.
These formations didn't rely on formation bases or flags. Instead, they were formed by the natural evolution of primordial formation patterns.
In their initial stages, these patterns were extremely simple and could only give rise to low-grade formations like the Misty Maze Array he had encountered in the bamboo forest of the Ten-Thousand Mountains, which was only a low-tier Grade Two formation.
But as they continuously operated, drawing on the laws of nature, these patterns became increasingly profound and complex. Once they reached a certain threshold, the formation would evolve to a higher grade.
Although formation masters also engraved patterns when constructing arrays, their patterns were simplified versions derived from the ten original primordial formation patterns; in essence, inferior copies that could not absorb and evolve with natural laws.
In other words, even if Song Changsheng racked his brain, he would never find a suitable formation among conventional techniques, because they were all inherently flawed.
Now that he had figured this out, he placed all his hopes on those primordial formation patterns. If he could inscribe one within his body and allow it to evolve into a formation over time, wouldn't that be exactly what he needed?
For most people, comprehending a primordial formation pattern would be incredibly difficult, but not for Song Changsheng. After all, he had studied two natural formations in the past and had grasped their formation patterns, something most formation masters could only dream of.
He retrieved two jade slips and carefully inscribed the formation patterns of both formations into them.
The formation of the Qiantian Secret Realm was more intricate, as it belonged to a higher grade. The other one, merely a lower-tier second-rank formation, appeared much simpler.
But Song Changsheng had no intention of copying either formation as they were. One was a Misty Maze Array, and the other was a Three Mountains and Three Talents Array, neither of which suited him. However, by analyzing the formation patterns, he could derive entirely new ones.
For him, this wasn't difficult; it was simply a matter of drawing inferences from what he already knew.
With that thought, Song Changsheng quickly immersed himself in the world of formations...
Two months flew by in the blink of an eye. Song Changsheng slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing across them. He extended a finger and began tracing in the air before him. Soon, he sketched out a primitive formation pattern so simple it looked like an ugly earthworm at first glance.
Looking at the pattern, a genuine smile spread across his face. This was a brand-new pattern, unique and one of a kind.
"Whether this works or not… It's all up to you now."
He slowly closed his eyes again, his body gradually enveloped in a soft, hazy glow, the light of the newly inscribed pattern within him.
Gazing at the intricate network of formation lines inside his body, Song Changsheng felt a tinge of reluctance. After all, those patterns had once helped him slay many powerful foes.
Moments later, the glow around him faded, and the old patterns within him were completely erased; only the newly comprehended primordial pattern remained, shining brilliantly.
He stepped out of the secluded chamber, squinting slightly as the brilliant sunlight met his eyes.
Arriving at his usual cultivation spot, he began circulating his cultivation method.
As threads of solar essence flowed into his body, the formation pattern began to transform like a drop of ink on white paper; it rapidly spread outward.
Feeling the change, a smile flickered in Song Changsheng's eyes. His theory had worked. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the pattern evolved into a full formation.
More importantly, this evolution was controllable, which meant he could direct it to evolve into the Yin-Yang Duality Array. But he had something better in mind.
The Yin-Yang Duality Array balanced offense and defense, but it didn't excel in either.
This time, he would focus on one thing only: pure offensive power!
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