Chapter 58: Tier 4 Array Master

To summarize.

Currently, Ye Qingxuan's Tianfu Shop brings him an average daily income of approximately 5,300 mid-grade spirit stones.

This rate of profit has already far surpassed that of the Ye Family, the Golden Core clan from which Ye Qingxuan originated.

According to the contract, the Ye Family claims a thirty percent share of the spiritual plants produced by Ye Qingxuan's Blessed Land, but this only applies to the spiritual plants themselves and does not include the profits from Ye Qingxuan's Tianfu Shop.

Based on the calculation of a first-tier Blessed Land cultivating 3,000 first-tier spiritual plants per year, even if Ye Qingxuan assumed a 100% survival rate, he would only need to deliver 333 first-tier spiritual plants to the Ye Family annually.

If calculated entirely at the price of Earth Spirit Flowers, the value would be roughly 1,500 low-grade spirit stones—a mere drop in the bucket compared to Ye Qingxuan's current earnings.

However, his Blessed Land now grows many second- and third-tier spiritual plants, meaning the actual value produced far exceeds normal circumstances.

When the time comes to deliver the thirty percent share, its value will inevitably far exceed expectations. To maintain his cover, Ye Qingxuan will have to come up with a plausible excuse.

Nevertheless, according to his original agreement with the Clan Leader, Ye Yuhong, the profit sharing for the Blessed Land is settled once every hundred years, so that time is still far off.

***

The third year after contracting the Blessed Land.

Ye Qingxuan successfully refined a mid-grade True Artifact, leaving him only one step away from becoming a fourth-tier Alchemist capable of refining high-grade True Artifacts.

The same applied to his status as an Alchemist.

With his true cultivation at the Purple Mansion Realm, supplemented by the assistance of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, he was fully capable of pushing for the realms of a fourth-tier Alchemist and a fourth-tier Artifact Refiner.

But!

"I'll wait. There's no rush."

He was in no hurry to break through to the fourth tier in alchemy or artifact refining.

The price of fourth-tier medicinal herbs and spirit ores was nothing to him now.

Even if he could refine fourth-tier pills and high-grade True Artifacts, he would not choose to sell them within the Xuantian Sect.

Some things must be done in moderation; one cannot risk exposing their unique nature for the sake of mere profit.

If the Xuantian Sect truly decided to investigate, even with the constraints of a Dao Oath, they could eventually trace everything back to him through various clues.

Currently, on the surface, he possessed a Foundation Establishment cultivation. With the help of his Blessed Land, refining third-tier pills and mid-to-low grade True Artifacts—which were one tier higher than his cultivation—could be explained away, at most exposing his heaven-defying comprehension.

But if he were to refine fourth-tier pills that were two tiers higher than his cultivation, there would be no reasonable way to explain it.

The resources he currently obtained from occupying a portion of the third-tier market within the Xuantian Sect were barely sufficient for his needs.

As for the rest, he would wait until his cultivation broke through to the Golden Core stage and he could condense an avatar!

Instead of choosing to break through to the fourth tier in alchemy or artifact refining, Ye Qingxuan began purchasing large quantities of spiritual materials required for talisman making and array formation, preparing to study the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Arrays.

Under the influence of his heaven-defying comprehension, Ye Qingxuan's mastery of both the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Arrays began to advance by leaps and bounds.

The Tianfu Shop gradually began to sell various talismans and array plates.

Starting from the first and second tiers, and eventually reaching the third tier.

Once Ye Qingxuan had raised his own cultivation in the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Arrays to the third tier, he outsourced the production of talismans and arrays.

Talisman making required high volume, and Ye Qingxuan did not have the time.

He earned spirit stones to assist his cultivation; he could not invert the priority and allow the pursuit of wealth to delay his personal progress.

As for the Dao of Arrays, the profit from array plates alone was not significant.

One could only gain massive profits by being invited to set up large-scale formations, which clearly did not fit Ye Qingxuan's development path.

However, Ye Qingxuan did not stop his contemplation of the Dao of Arrays.

***

The fourth year after contracting the Blessed Land!

Even after his mastery of the Dao of Arrays reached the limit of the third tier, Ye Qingxuan did not stop his studies. Instead, he purchased a large amount of fourth-tier array materials, preparing to break through to become a fourth-tier Array Master.

Unlike the three paths of Alchemy, Talismans, and Artifact Refining, the Dao of Arrays could provide massive auxiliary support for the growth of a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

Therefore, in the fourth year, Ye Qingxuan shifted his focus to breaking through in the Dao of Arrays.

Among the four paths—Alchemy, Talismans, Artifact Refining, and Arrays—the Dao of Arrays and the Dao of Talismans were actually the most difficult to comprehend in the early stages.

This was because, from the very beginning, both required the comprehension of various Dao patterns, meridians, and the subtle patterns of elemental mysteries within heaven and earth.

Only in this way could an Array Master or a Talisman Master use their creations to leverage the power of the world for their own use.

However, in the later stages, the four paths converged, and the difficulty of comprehension became roughly equal.

Ye Qingxuan was currently only at the Purple Mansion Realm.

Even with the assistance of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, which allowed him to enter a state of harmony between heaven and earth without worrying about spiritual energy depletion, it still took him a full three months to break through to the realm of a fourth-tier Array Master.

During the process of comprehension, Ye Qingxuan entered a state of epiphany, achieving a unity of man and heaven with the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

His junior-level spell, the "Spring Breeze and Rain Technique," unexpectedly advanced during this epiphany, reaching the level of a mid-tier spell.

This unexpected gain brought Ye Qingxuan immense joy.

Although the Earth Immortal inheritance contained countless mid-tier spells, the "Spring Breeze and Rain Technique" was the first mid-tier spell he had personally comprehended and advanced, making it feel uniquely special.

Furthermore, the unity with the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land caused the growth rate of his spiritual roots to skyrocket. In just three days, the progress toward the birth of his second spiritual root reached 50%.

The second spiritual root, which would have originally taken 200 years to manifest, had its progress halved instantly. Now, he would only need another hundred years to successfully condense it.

***

The fifth year after contracting the Blessed Land.

Within the Qingxuan Grotto-Heaven.

Ye Qingxuan stood in mid-air, casting large quantities of various first-tier spirit ores into a massive furnace below him.

This furnace was formed by a fourth-tier Smelting Grand Array that Ye Qingxuan had deployed.

Through the fourth-tier Smelting Grand Array, spirit ores below the fourth tier could be smelted into spirit ore essences, which were then absorbed and analyzed by the Grotto-Heaven, thereby promoting the growth of the Qingxuan Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

Once the spirit ores were absorbed and analyzed by the Blessed Land, it would not only promote its growth but also allow the Blessed Land to derive corresponding mineral veins.

However, this process would take a very long time.

Of course, if Ye Qingxuan actively intervened by consuming a vast amount of the Blessed Land's energy, he could significantly reduce this time.

But for Ye Qingxuan, there was currently no need; the Qingxuan Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land was just beginning, and doing so would be akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

In addition to this fourth-tier Smelting Grand Array, Ye Qingxuan had also deployed a fourth-tier Energy Conversion Grand Array and a fourth-tier Earth Vein Grand Array within both the Grotto-Heaven and the Blessed Land.

The fourth-tier Energy Conversion Grand Array helped the Grotto-Heaven and the Blessed Land accelerate the conversion efficiency of Chaos energy and Void energy.

The fourth-tier Earth Vein Grand Array accelerated the condensation of the Earth's essence within the Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land, as well as the growth of spiritual plants.

Both provided significant auxiliary effects for the growth of the Qingxuan Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

The deployment of these five fourth-tier arrays alone had cost Ye Qingxuan 1,500 high-grade spirit stones in materials.

But for the current Ye Qingxuan, this was nothing. Relying on the Tianfu Shop, his accumulated assets had already reached over 100,000 high-grade spirit stones.

This was even after he had purchased a large amount of first-tier spirit ores; otherwise, his wealth would be even greater.

It could be said that in just a few short years, Ye Qingxuan's net worth had already surpassed that of an average Nascent Soul cultivator.