Chapter 20: Birth of an Array Prodigy

Inside the stone house, everyone stared wide-eyed at the old madam, who was still meditating with her eyes closed. No one dared make a sound. The scene was utterly bizarre.

After a long while, the old madam finally opened her eyes as if she just woke up. She looked very displeased.

“A mere demon man scared you like this? And you still call yourselves my true disciples?”

“Master, please be fair. This demon man is extremely powerful. We think it might be the calamity you predicted, so we didn’t dare act rashly,” Ji Chang quickly defended himself.

“Idiots! Fools! I have no stupid donkey disciples like you!” The old madam was so angry, her nose seemed crooked. “It’s just one demon man! With the formation array helping you and with greater numbers, crushing it should be easy. Such a small matter actually made you run away like scared rats!”

The old madam raged. Ji Chang shrank his head and didn’t dare speak. Then, Xu Shen cautiously spoke up.

“Master, please understand. It’s not that we disciples are cowardly, but our cultivation has dropped greatly. We can no longer maintain the Foundation Building True Cultivator level. Now we can barely cast Dao Techniques. We don’t even have strength for basic Divine Abilities. Among Dao Techniques, the strongest Palm Thunder can only be cast four times in a row.”

“Yes, Master. With my current magic power, at most I can only cast Palm Thunder five times,” Ji Chang also complained. Then he and Xu Shen glanced at Jiang Ying, but she said nothing. However, Li Si knew that Senior Sister Jiang could only cast Palm Thunder three times.

When first mastering Palm Thunder, the starting magic power required was 80 points.

But as the strongest attack Dao Technique in Floating Cloud Sect’s arsenal, Ji Chang, Xu Shen, and Jiang Ying would definitely have practiced and mastered it intensively. So they might have already reached the highest level.

At the highest level, Palm Thunder required at least 300 to 500 magic power points. Using 500 points as calculation basis:

Ji Chang’s current maximum magic power should be 2500 points.

Xu Shen’s maximum magic power was 2000 points.

Senior Sister Jiang’s maximum magic power was 1500 points.

So, they absolutely could not be considered Foundation Building True Cultivators anymore. Even if they once were, their cultivation had indeed dropped greatly. No wonder they were as timid as mice.

However, having said that, this world was invaded by the Evil God. Pollution was everywhere, and spirit energy was gone. Even powerful cultivators would naturally have their cultivation drop.

It was just unknown how high the old madam’s cultivation once was, or to what level it had dropped now.

This time, when Ji Chang and Xu Shen begged the old madam to take action, they likely had this intention.

Ah, Floating Cloud Sect had truly declined.

While Li Si pondered this, he heard the old madam speak again. “Wasn’t the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array set up outside the village? That demon man has no intelligence and acts on instinct. You take shifts day and night. Once the demon man suffers enough, it will retreat on its own.”

Seeing the old madam about to close her eyes and meditate again, Xu Shen had no choice but to urgently cry out, “Master, it’s not that your disciple is unwilling to work hard, but starting tomorrow, the calamity you predicted will arrive. I’m only worried it might ruin your important matters, Master.”

Hearing this, the old madam actually smiled, suddenly looking very kind. “Don’t panic. For some reason, my predicted calamity has been delayed by two days. So we can discuss this two days later.”

After speaking, the old madam closed her eyes and resumed meditating. She seemed to say: you handle it yourselves, I won’t die anyway.

This old rascal!

Ji Chang and Xu Shen were so shocked they couldn’t speak. Even Li Si felt the old madam’s so-called calamity might be an excuse. But he didn’t dare say such disrespectful words.

As for betraying the master and dishonoring ancestors, that really could only be thought about.

In short, the old madam stepped aside. The Four Heroes of Floating Cloud convened Floating Cloud Sect’s first internal strife meeting.

“Junior Brother Xu, Junior Sister Jiang, Junior Brother Li.”

Ji Chang spoke bitterly and with heavy heart. The current situation was harsh. He had strong reasons to suspect that old undying woman wanted to abandon them, or use them as cannon fodder. So they had to save themselves.

“Master told us to unite, help each other, and be friendly and close. I, Ji Chang, have always followed Master’s teachings. I’ve always treated you as my own brothers and sisters. Though I’m slightly older and have been here longest, I won’t act arrogantly today. If that demon man breaks through the formation array and enters our mountain gate, I will definitely charge ahead to buy you time to retreat. As long as you can live well, my spirit in heaven can rest smiling.”

As he spoke, Ji Chang choked up, his eyes red, full of deep emotion.

“Senior Brother, what are you saying!” Xu Shen angrily scolded, instantly tears in his eyes, his face sorrowful. “We four senior and junior brothers and sister are as close as siblings. How could we bear to leave you alone? If someone must stay behind to hold off the enemy, let it be me…”

“Enough! Master told us to take turns guarding the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array, not to go die. Let’s first decide a plan.” Senior Sister Jiang said impatiently. She knew what kind of people Ji Chang and Xu Shen were. Hypocrites, who did they think they could fool?

But Ji Chang and Xu Shen weren’t embarrassed. Ji Chang even solemnly cupped his hands and said, “Junior Sister is absolutely right. We do need a plan. The Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array is only strongest when someone controls it. So the four of us can take turns, exactly three hours each. Since I’m the senior brother, I’ll go control it first.”

“Good. In three hours, Senior Brother, come call me.” Xu Shen also said straightforwardly. After speaking, Ji Chang took the array control disk and left the stone house. Xu Shen directly closed his eyes to meditate.

“Hey, you two! Junior Brother Li doesn’t know how to control the array control disk at all!”

Senior Sister Jiang urgently said, but Ji Chang and Xu Shen ignored her.

For a moment, Senior Sister Jiang was dumbfounded. Did those two scoundrels want her to guard for six hours?

“Senior Sister, please teach me.”

Li Si spoke quietly now. He wasn’t afraid of Ji Chang and Xu Shen’s tricks. Since their cultivation had dropped from the Foundation Building True Cultivator level and they could still control the array control disk, then he could too.

“Ah, Junior Brother, the way of formation arrays is extremely complex. Especially this Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array—it’s a killing array. Even I only know a little about it.” Jiang Ying smiled bitterly. But just thinking she might have to guard for six hours made her unable to even manage a bitter smile.

“Alright then. Since you managed to master both Heart Cleansing Curse and Iron Prison Discipline in very short time, maybe you have talent.”

“You don’t need to worry about the Five Tribulations Thunderlight Array’s deployment. After this formation array is properly set up, it can be remotely controlled using the array control disk. But to operate the array control disk, you need to master a small Dao Technique—the Artifact-Control Incantation.”

“In the next nine hours, try to master this Artifact-Control Incantation thoroughly. If you can master it, I’ll teach you how to control the array control disk. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”

After speaking, Senior Sister Jiang went to the old madam’s side. There was a black iron chest there. Senior Sister Jiang had a key. Opening it, inside were packed full of bamboo scrolls and small booklets.

Senior Sister Jiang took out a thin booklet from inside and handed it to Li Si.

Though shocked, Li Si asked nothing. Asking would definitely expose him.

But he could confirm: what was stored inside should be all of Floating Cloud Sect’s techniques, Dao Techniques, and Divine Abilities.

He just didn’t know why dignified cultivators used such low-end recording methods. Was it because heaven and earth changed drastically, spirit energy disappeared, previous methods for storing techniques and Dao Techniques failed, forcing use of this most primitive method?

Li Si took the booklet and quietly went to a corner of the stone house.

His original body was literate. Because Junior Brother Zhu and Junior Brother Shan were literate. Even Little Girl, Little Bean, and Little Vegetable Root were currently learning to read with Senior Sister Jiang.

Illiteracy didn’t exist in Floating Cloud Sect.

“Junior Brother!”

Senior Sister Jiang called out again. She casually waved her hand, and a Heart Cleansing Curse fell upon Li Si. It seemed she was truly anxious, actually giving Li Si special treatment.

Based on this mind-cleansing aura’s effect, Li Si estimated it was only equivalent to basic Heart Cleansing Curse plus four times amplification. Not even reaching the highest level.

But even so, such a mind-clearing aura could still create an excellent learning environment for him, increasing learning efficiency by at least half.

Immediately, he stopped being distracted. Focusing his mind, he started reading the technique recorded in this booklet. Anyway, he wasn’t in a hurry. If really necessary, he could still use fate/luck as a shortcut. After all, this opportunity was rare. If he could accidentally reveal that he was actually an array prodigy, it wouldn’t just help raise his status in Floating Cloud Sect, but also provide better cover for future actions.

Otherwise, that old madam who slacked off every day put too much pressure on him.