Chapter 118: The World of Tech Nerds
Chapter 118: The World of Tech Nerds
Having invested one hundred portions of White Fortune, Li Si naturally couldn’t treat this lightly.
His mental focus gathered like a comb, starting from this mountain-bend town, meticulously sweeping every inch of the surrounding hundred-mile area. He simultaneously compared the detailed scan with some scenes recorded within the Yunhua Law Seal.
He needed to ensure this place wasn’t hiding any great menace.
After half an hour, Li Si thoughtfully withdrew his focus. The surroundings were genuinely clean. There were no signs of the Evil God Cult lurking, nor any other ruined settlements. There wasn’t even a wandering Demon Man in sight.
It was excessively clean.
“Could it be related to the lack of a river here?”
That was Li Si’s initial thought. After all, even the powerful Floating Cloud Sect had chosen hiding places near rivers. Only the iron-headed blockhead Jiuxuanzi chose a desert and now regretted it daily, relying on other World Guardian True Immortals for water supplies.
However, soon after, while leafing through the cultivation manuals and texts left by the Yunhua Sect, he discovered that this sect once possessed a major formation known as the Dragon Vein Locking Heaven-Concealing Array. Its meaning implied it could lock the earth’s terrain and energy, confound heavenly secrets, and block spying or predictions. It possessed powers of concealment and shrouding.
In plain terms, it meant self-sufficiency, peaceful isolation, an invisible enclave.
This grand formation could lock the earth’s spiritual energy veins over a five-hundred-mile area, channeling that energy for the sect’s own use.
Therefore, the Yunhua Sect must have had such a formation back in the day and relied on it for several hundred years—no, closer to a thousand years! It seemed that over a millennium ago, this very sect had retreated here with several thousand disciples and followers, and they had prepared with remarkable thoroughness.
“This was the ultimate apocalypse survival nerd in the entire cultivation world!”
Li Si sighed in admiration. Perhaps the founding master of Yunhua Sect truly foresaw a great calamity descending upon the world, leading their disciples here for refuge and preparing for a millennium of seclusion.
After a thousand years went by, oceans could turn into mulberry fields; it might even be a different world outside. Emerging then would be, well, perfectly fine.
This plan wasn’t necessarily wrong. Li Si would have done the same. Everyone has the instinct for self-preservation. Yet, human plots rarely match heaven’s plans.
A millennium passed. The great calamity in the mortal realm didn’t fade; instead, it worsened fiercely. The world became akin to hell. This clever Yunhua Sect was ultimately destroyed by its very cleverness.
Of course, looking back, a thousand years ago, how prosperous and dazzling was the cultivation world! There had to be at least eight thousand cultivation sects, if not ten thousand. Now, apart from those belonging to the Twelve True Immortals, how many remained?
Most were annihilated or became ghosts; others surrendered and became hounds.
The Yunhua Sect’s fate could at least be considered passable.
Next, Li Si sorted through the Yunhua Sect’s core cultivation manuals, Dao Techniques, and Divine Ability scriptures.
The core cultivation art was the Jade Tome of Creation. Based on Ji Chang’s theories reflecting the mainstream cultivation views a millennium ago, the Yunhua Sect’s methods seemed rather unorthodox— definitely not mainstream.
The Jade Tome of Creation was also a nine-layer technique. The number nine mattered deeply. It didn’t just represent nine cultivation realms; it seemed intrinsically linked to the fundamental rules of existence within their world.
Its core philosophy: Take Heaven and Earth as the crucible; follow the path of creation.
Simply put: a bunch of tech-savvy nerds specializing in artifact crafting.
There was evidence for this. Take the Floating Cloud Sect as an example: their Dao Techniques and Divine Abilities numbered in the tens of thousands, with hundreds of distinct schools focusing on battle, defense, or safeguarding Dao traditions.
But this Yunhua Sect? They only possessed a total of six Dao Techniques.
First: Mountain Moving Art.
Second: Earth Probing Art.
Third: Energy Vein Observation Art.
Fourth: Flame Controlling Art.
Fifth: Spirit Channeling Art.
Sixth: Artifact Commanding Art.
Simple. Primal. Practical.
Conversely, regarding artifact crafting, the Yunhua Sect held exactly three thousand two hundred and seventy-eight volumes of True Artifact Crafting Analysis. These weren’t cultivation manuals or techniques. Instead, they were research notes by individual Cultivators— essentially academic papers within the cultivation world.
They couldn’t be used for actual cultivation. Understanding them wouldn’t help cultivation. Not understanding them? Same outcome.
Suffice to say, Li Si took one slightly deeper look and retreated. It wasn’t that he lacked talent to learn; it demanded immense amounts of time and energy. As for using Fortune to instantly gain insight— that level of luxury remained beyond him.
Besides artifact crafting, the Yunhua Sect also excelled in forging Array Control Disks (formation bases).
Most cultivation sects had their own unique approaches to formation arts. But Array Control Disks seemed to be monopolized by Yunhua Sect, holding perhaps eighty percent of the world’s supply. Li Si actually saw the Floating Cloud Sect’s Heaven-Simulating Array Control Disk listed in the Yunhua Sect’s formation catalog! Even transaction records existed, meticulously clear— clearly the work of someone with obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
“…In the year 9451 of the Grand Derivation Calendar, Jiuxuan Sword Sect disciple Zhao Qingxie crossed the great tribulation and attained the Mahayana stage, becoming a True Immortal. She created the Heaven-Turning Scripture. Accepting a higher decree, she founded the Floating Cloud Sect as a branch of the Jiuxuan Sword Sect. Fairy Zhao personally visited, requesting Array Control Disks compatible with the core principles of the Heaven-Turning Scripture art. Myself and thirty-five senior brothers secluded ourselves for three years, finally forging one Heaven-Simulating Array Control Disk and delivered it. Fairy Zhao was deeply satisfied; her fleeting immortal grace remains unforgettable.”
“The Old Madam is named Zhao? Zhao Qingxie? Fairy Zhao?”
Li Si blinked, quite taken aback. But he quickly noticed something else: so the Floating Cloud Sect branched off from the Jiuxuan Sword Sect, and it was done under ‘a higher order’.
“No wonder the Old Madam’s relationship with Jiuxuanzi was so close. She wanted me to call him martial uncle. That explains it. But… a higher command?”
Li Si was intensely curious. Zhao Qingxie had achieved True Immortal status and reached the pinnacle of the mortal world. Who could possibly command her?
“It feels like there’s a massive cultivation organization above.”
Li Si thought of the Land of Infinite Vastness. There must be many ascended Jiuxuan Sword Sect True Immortals dwelling there. Zhao Qingxie was meant to ascend too but chose to remain.
“The True Immortals guarding the world— it isn’t just about stabilizing Fortune. They seem tasked with protecting the ancestral home for that vast cultivation organization.”
“Yet, those who ascended from this world to the Land of Infinite Vastness probably aren’t faring well recently.” Li Si recalled the Seven Emotions Medicine Field and the Five-Tone Ruins falling from that realm. It had the ominous whiff of a purge.
Next, Li Si skimmed the contents and found out that the Yunhua Sect had forged Array Control Disks for at least hundreds of sects over the years. These disks were uniquely crafted to match each sect’s core cultivation art for maximum anti-theft and self-protection. Even the Yunhua Sect creators themselves couldn’t manipulate them.
“Seems the Yunhua Sect was rather famous a thousand years ago.”
After pondering, Li Si first laid down a Demon Sealing Domain and an Evil-Repelling Domain on the ground. Only then did he release his mental focus. Using the Yunhua Law Seal as a beacon, he first went to the frontier where the Illusory Realm met the Mortal Realm.
The moment he appeared, pitch darkness surrounded him. Countless Evil Entities and Evil Spirits gathered. Li Si hastily released all four Soul Lamps and fled back terrified. It truly was horrific; that place had become a demonic lair.
Even with four Soul Lamps, he doubted he could endure. Just moments ago, he had sensed an overwhelmingly intense feeling of dread.
Better steer clear. Far better to steer clear.
Next, Li Si followed the coordinate for the Idol of Fortune—which had automatically generated within the Hall of Fate—and his mind swayed, arriving at the slightly familiar Hall of Fate.
Li Si’s consciousness emerged, adopting Xu Changsheng’s appearance. He first glanced at his own Idol of Fortune. Behind it indeed loomed three large characters: Xu Changsheng.
This was the true name registered by the Heaven and Earth Decree, preventing enemy spies from infiltrating.
Had Li Si not been one of the Twelve Major Deities, even possessing Xu Changsheng’s Yunhua Law Seal wouldn’t have worked. He wouldn’t have cleared the identity verification.
Feeling slightly reassured, Li Si looked around. Evidently, all other World Guardian True Immortals had already claimed their spots. Thus, the entire Hall of Fate was grand and majestic. Twelve towering Idols of Fortune stood like mountains upholding heaven and earth. Complex divine patterns and restraints glided across the vaulted ceiling, radiating profound security.
None of the Twelve True Immortals were currently present online.
But Li Si knew where they all were. Aside from Kaoshan Patriarch, they were basically all at the front line of the war between the Illusory Realm and the Mortal Realm.
Everyone was working against time—building strength, making various plans—preparing for the greater disaster due in three months.
Currently, only junior disciples occupied the Hall of Fate—five males and two females. They weren’t conversing; all were using the precious time to rest. Clearly, they’d recently completed an excursion into the Palace Ruins Secret Realm and returned quite rewarded, each possessing one Soul Lamp on average.
A far better start than Li Si’s first time.
After circling the hall, Li Si returned to Xu Changsheng’s Idol of Fortune. A moment later, his consciousness shifted and he was back within his own idol. Immediately, he logged his consciousness off and directly descended upon a Statue Avatar in Kaoshan City.
Incredibly swift and convenient.
From now on, he could remotely command the Yunhua Law Seal.
Wait, the functionality extended far beyond that.
Li Si issued a Divine Decree, instructing Wang Wu to gather supplies and place them before the Statue Avatar. Then, with a mere thought, divine light flashed, and all the supplies vanished, teleported to the Qi Luck Hall.
Glancing at the resting junior disciples, Li Si sent the supplies straight to Xu Changsheng’s Idol of Fortune. Divine patterns flashed again, and the supplies disappeared entirely.
This transport method was breathtakingly efficient.
Li Si was profoundly satisfied. Shifting his focus back to Xu Changsheng’s idol within the Hall of Fate, he then logged out, returning to the Yunhua Sect sanctuary without any hitch.
“This place still needs a protective formation.”
Li Si reflected, then summoned the Yunhua Law Seal. From within, he selected the most basic True Formation Analysis, since it was the introductory textbook for Yunhua Sect disciples—the equivalent of first-grade primers.
Consuming one hundred portions of Gray Fortune, Li Si fully grasped its contents. He also mastered three of Yunhua Sect’s fundamental formation setups.
Labeled ‘fundamental’ implied simplicity, yet they were certainly not foolish. In truth, they represented generations of Yunhua Sect formation geniuses boiling down complexity into pure essence.
Three formations: Concealment and Breath Suppression.
Illusory Mirroring and Misdirection.
Force Dispersion and Transfer.
All designed for protection, akin to a handbook teaching self-preservation to grade school students…
Yet to Li Si, they were genuinely concise, powerful, and incredibly portable with simple deployment.
Indeed, his Yunhua Law Seal came pre-loaded with these three fundamental formations, much like solitaire pre-installed on computers…
However, the effectiveness of these formations was truly beyond question—a testament to the depth of a formation-specializing sect.
Take the Concealment and Breath Suppression formation. It materialized as a pendant-sized Array Control Disk. Once activated, it instantly formed a three-meter-radius zone of concealment, potentially eluding detection by enemies up to the Golden Core Realm.
Then there was Illusory Mirroring and Misdirection. Another pendant-sized item. Upon activation, it instantly generated a phantom mirroring your exact energy signature, simultaneously teleporting it twelve miles away. Should an enemy capture that phantom, a second phantom would instantly emerge twelve miles further out.
Think that was all?
Ha! There’s more. This Illusory Mirroring formation could generate twelve phantoms consecutively. Meaning it could potentially trick enemies a staggering 144 miles away.
Incredible! Combined with the Concealment formation, it was downright impervious.
Finally, the Force Dispersion and Transfer formation.
If the first two formations failed, this was your final life-saving measure. Astonishingly, it could withstand a full-force strike from a Nascent Soul expert.
All you could say was: The world of tech nerds operates on a level ordinary people just cannot grasp.