Chapter 12: Learning Formations

Liang Yan selected a room in the right-hand corner of the courtyard, where thick dust had accumulated. After a quick cleaning, he set down his luggage and was about to sit in meditation to circulate his energy when he suddenly caught sight of two figures approaching from a distance on the small path. One was fat and the other thin, both wearing identical grey robes.

With a slight exertion of his cultivation to probe them, Liang Yan discovered that both were only at the first level of Qi Refinement. Furthermore, their internal spiritual power was meager, making them only slightly more physically robust than ordinary martial artists.

When the two arrived in the courtyard and saw an extra person, they seemed quite surprised. Liang Yan stepped out of his room, bowed first, and said, "I am Liang Yan, a newly joined miscellaneous disciple. I look forward to your guidance, Senior Brothers."

The fat senior brother gave a kind smile. "So you are a new junior brother. Haha, no need for such formalities. My name is Li Dali, and he is Sun Qianli. You can just call us Brother Li and Brother Sun; that is how we usually address each other."

Before Liang Yan could respond, Sun Qianli immediately interjected, "You two can chat slowly. I'm heading back." With that, he walked toward his own room and slammed the door shut with a loud *thud*.

Li Dali laughed somewhat awkwardly. "Brother Liang, don't mind him. Brother Sun has a weak constitution. Our work as miscellaneous disciples is heavy, and he usually looks exhausted; he just goes straight to sleep as soon as he returns from work."

Liang Yan smiled slightly to indicate he didn't mind. After a few more words with Li Dali, they each returned to their respective rooms.

After a night of meditation, Liang Yan was fully dressed by the first light of dawn the next day. Following the map provided by Uncle Zhou, he reported to the Ritual Pavilion and the Law Pavilion, receiving the sect's regulations and a set of grey miscellaneous disciple uniforms.

By the time he hurried back to the pavilion in the middle of the Apricot Grove, Li Dali and Sun Qianli had already arrived, but Wang Yuan was still missing. Liang Yan stepped forward to stand side-by-side with them. Li Dali gave him a friendly smile, while Sun Qianli maintained his indifferent attitude.

The three waited for the duration of an incense stick before Wang Yuan appeared on the path, yawning and strolling toward them unhurriedly. Li Dali and Sun Qianli seemed long accustomed to this and showed no surprise.

Wang Yuan gave Liang Yan a lazy glance and said, "You: Southern Spiritual Wood Zone, fifty bundles of spiritual firewood, and ten vats of water from the Jinxiu Peak spiritual spring. Remember to transport these to the storage area and register them under my Array Vein's name. Once finished, come to the Library to clean."

He then turned to Li Dali and Sun Qianli. "As for you two, the usual spot. If you understand, get to work."

The three accepted their tasks, collected their tools from the storage area, and split up toward their respective work zones.

Following the map, Liang Yan headed toward the Spiritual Wood Zone. Before long, he saw a lush forest of verdant trees, all standing over five zhang tall.

He picked a relatively small spiritual tree and swung his axe. With a *crack*, the axe only bit seven inches into the wood.

Seeing this, Liang Yan couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. "My own cultivation technique focuses on physical strength, yet cutting this spiritual wood is still this difficult. Given the cultivation levels of those two, they probably take a whole day to finish. It seems the life of a miscellaneous disciple is truly hard."

Thinking this, Liang Yan silently circulated the nameless technique passed down by the old monk. Putting all his strength into a single swing, the axe bit deep this time, nearly reaching the middle of the trunk. Only then did Liang Yan show a satisfied expression before resetting his axe to strike again.

By the time he finally finished cutting the fifty bundles of spiritual wood, it was nearly noon. Without a moment's rest, he rushed to Jinxiu Peak to fetch the water from the spiritual spring. Once everything was completed, Liang Yan returned to the Library, enduring the aching soreness throughout his body.

Wang Yuan seemed not to have expected him to finish so quickly. He gave Liang Yan a meaningful look, and his attitude seemed to shift slightly; he merely instructed him to clean the first floor of the pavilion and said nothing more.

Liang Yan nodded and complied. In less than an hour, he had cleaned the entire first floor. At this time, Li Dali and Sun Qianli had not yet returned to report; clearly, for them, the tasks of a miscellaneous disciple could not be completed as swiftly as Liang Yan had done.

"The tasks are done; I must hurry to the Library to study the Way of Arrays," Liang Yan thought to himself.

The reason he worked so hard was actually to save time so he could read the books in the Array Vein's Library. After all, he had a six-year pact to uphold; if he had made no progress in the Way of Arrays by then, it would all have been in vain.

Liang Yan entered the Library. Although it looked like a small pavilion from the outside, the interior was surprisingly vast, with various classics organized by category on rattan bookshelves.

Liang Yan had already identified his target while cleaning. He walked to the outer section on the left, reached out, and pulled a book with a yellowish-brown cover. On it were written four large characters: *Introduction to Arrays*. Liang Yan sat on the floor and began to read with great interest.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was evening. Only then did Liang Yan take a deep breath and lift his head from the book.

"The Way of Arrays is indeed profound and vast," Liang Yan murmured to himself. "Ultimately, arrays are the application of a cultivator's understanding of the Great Dao to the control of spiritual energy. Aside from some absolute arrays from the primordial era, the arrays created by later masters can generally be divided into Killing Arrays, Illusion Arrays, Trapping Arrays, Restriction Arrays, and Sealing Arrays."

"However, all things possess spirit. Since the various races began cultivating for immortality, countless eons have passed. Among them, many brilliant geniuses have improved upon primitive arrays or even created their own. This has led to a complex web of countless mutated arrays with exquisite functions that are no longer limited to the five major categories."

"Yet, no matter how they change, they always revolve around the four essentials of an array: the Array Eye, the Array Tool, the Array Pattern, and the Array Source. The Array Eye refers to the core of the array, much like a person's dantian; it is usually a dharma treasure or spiritual tool, and once the eye is broken, the array becomes difficult to maintain. The Array Tool refers to the specialized instruments used to assist in the formation, analogous to a person's acupoints; these are typically array plates, array flags, or array beads, varying depending on the array. The Array Pattern refers to the Dao patterns carved by the practitioner, much like a person's meridians. As for the Array Source, it is usually provided by spirit stones or other treasures with abundant spiritual energy, acting like the spiritual power within a human body. If one has a dantian, acupoints, and meridians but no spiritual power flowing through them, they are useless."

This *Introduction to Arrays* could be described as exhaustive, detailing the fundamental knowledge of the Way of Arrays and serving as Liang Yan's gateway into the field.

Liang Yan possessed an incredible memory. Reading ten lines at a single glance, he spent only one afternoon forcibly committing the book's outlines to memory before pushing the door open to exit.

Standing outside were the three: Sun Qianli, Li Dali, and Wang Yuan.

Sun and Li had clearly just returned from their work. They had not expected a newcomer like Liang Yan to finish his tasks before them and were momentarily stunned.

What was even stranger to them was that Liang Yan was actually spending his time in the Library studying arrays.

One must understand that cultivators of this era prioritize their own cultivation above all else. If one spent time on alchemy, it would be understandable, as certain pills possess the power to seize the essence of heaven and earth, greatly assisting cultivation or even breaking through bottlenecks—which is why the world is obsessed with alchemy.

But the Way of Arrays is ethereal and elusive. Aside from specific needs in certain times or places, its help in immediate combat is minimal, so few are willing to delve into it.

Even Sun, Li, and Li Dali, despite being members of the Array Vein, rarely practiced arrays. They spent almost all their free time meditating to attempt a breakthrough to the second level of Qi Refinement; moreover, their choice of the Array Vein had not been by their own original intent.

Unaware of their confusion, Liang Yan assumed they were merely curious about how he had finished his tasks so quickly. He bid Wang Yuan farewell and left.

Liang Yan returned to his dormitory, meditated through the night, and completed his tasks early again the next day, diving straight back into the Library.

The Array Vein's Library was filled entirely with array-related books and contained no manuals for cultivation techniques. Even the outer disciples of the Array Vein rarely visited; perhaps only one person would come to consult books every ten days or half a month. This worked in Liang Yan's favor, allowing him to read in the tranquility of the Library alone.

And so, Liang Yan spent his mornings using woodcutting to practice his physical strength, his afternoons studying the Way of Arrays, and his evenings circulating his energy to refine his Qi. In this manner, three months passed in a flash.

One afternoon, inside the Array Vein's Library, Liang Yan was holding a black volume, nodding his head as he read with great relish. On the cover, written in gold-leafed outlines, were the words: *Illustrated Explanations of the Eight Formations of Feng Hou*.

As he read, Liang Yan's brow suddenly furrowed. He flipped to the last page, channeled spiritual energy through his fingertip, hesitated for a moment, and then wrote

"In the transformation of the Eight Formations, 'Heavenly Cover' is the vanguard. The master of the array, if too hasty in its use, shall suffer internal ruin; it should be hidden like a crouching dragon, to be used only when life and death are at stake."

After a moment's thought, he wrote again: "'Earthly Load' moves forward as the vanguard; it is difficult for enemies to withstand and possesses infinite momentum. However, a trapped beast cannot fight long; 'Cloud Hanging' can be used as a support. 'Earthly Load' is upright and square, while 'Cloud' governs the four corners; striking it will cause a collapse."

He continued: "'Wind Yang' is formless, attached to the heavens; 'Cloud Hanging' is with the earth. Initially formless, 'Wind' transforms into a serpent and 'Cloud' into a bird; striking the stars of the constellations to shoot the Heavenly Wolf. These four transformations create a living array. As for 'Dragon Flight,' 'Tiger Wing,' 'Bird Soaring,' and 'Serpent Coiling'..."

Liang Yan had been somewhat hesitant at first, but as he progressed, he became more and more absorbed. At the height of his inspiration, his expression was animated and his handwriting became bold and sweeping. He had actually combined the eight variations of the Feng Hou Eight Formations in pairs, deriving infinite new transformations.

If a senior expert in arrays were present at this moment, their jaw would surely drop in shock.

While the "Feng Hou Eight Formations" were not particularly profound arrays, they were certainly not simple introductory material. They contained eight variations: Heavenly Cover, Earthly Load, Wind Yang, Cloud Hanging, Dragon Flight, Tiger Wing, Bird Soaring, and Serpent Coiling.

An ordinary person would not make much progress without studying them for a month or more, yet Liang Yan had managed to deconstruct the book and conceive of improvements in just three months. To call him a genius of the Way of Arrays would not be an exaggeration.

Of course, Liang Yan himself was unaware of this. To fulfill his six-year pact with the Pavilion Master, he had studied arrays with obsessive fervor from his very first day. Aside from working and cultivating, he did nothing but read and research, reaching a near-manic state.

Liang Yan wrote his improved methods for the Eight Formations across the final page of the book. Suddenly, he felt that as a mere apprentice of the Way of Arrays, it was somewhat ridiculous to be making such grand proclamations in the Library using a pen as his voice.

His face flushed at the thought, so he added a final line at the end of his text: "The Mad Scholar's Delusions."

Having finished, he closed the book and looked out the window. It was already dusk. He rose, swept the Library, and headed back to his dormitory.

(End of Chapter)