Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 367 Senior Brother Sun has reached Foundation Establishment?

The Pagoda was originally intended by Zhang Chengdao to store some extremely rare items.

But then he thought about it carefully and realized that it was no safe to put such precious things anywhere, so he might as well keep them in his backpack.

Therefore, the [Pagoda of Floating Pagoda] has been temporarily left idle. After all, it's hard to say when his disciples will be able to refine any Heaven-rank or Earth-rank magic weapons and artifacts.

It wasn't until after the cheat system was upgraded that Zhang Chengdao was surprised to find that he could create buildings based on the cheat system at will; in other words, he could freely "model".

The buildings created using this function, like those in the Golden Finger area, are themselves products of "refinement." Not only are they warm in winter and cool in summer, but they are also very sturdy and not easily damaged. This greatly facilitates Zhang Chengdao's construction of the sect. For example, some of the newly added buildings on each spiritual peak were created by Zhang Chengdao bit by bit.

However, Zhang Chengdao had too many affairs to attend to. He had to cultivate, handle the political affairs under the White Stone Immortal Sect, and occasionally consider matters of the Underworld. He was also busy turmoil in Liaodi recently. He really didn't have much time to play real-life Minecraft. So he could only make do with some all-purpose buildings and modify them slightly each time he needed them.

As Zhang Chengdao's workload increased over time, the various building requests submitted by the sect's various peaks also left him somewhat overwhelmed. Therefore, Zhang Chengdao finally came up with a solution—

That is, to modify various jack-of-all-trades buildings and turn them into true "spiritual artifacts" that can be put away and put away at will, similar to the reward for second place in the sect competition, the "Heaven and Earth Pavilion in a Pot".

Unfortunately, this type of architectural "spiritual artifact" cannot be freely deployed or controlled at will. Unlike the [Gourd-in-Heaven Pavilion], it is almost a self-contained world with its own independent spiritual energy circulation. Even its attributes in terms of lifespan, experience, and reduction of internal diseases are far inferior to the buildings that come with the cheat code's blueprints.

Overall, however, it is sufficient for environmental construction.

As long as these versatile spiritual artifacts are archived in the [Pagoda of Floating Pagoda], any disciple, manager, or sect leader who needs them can simply exchange them for a certain amount of contribution points and spirit stones. This not only greatly saves Zhang Chengdao's time but also gives everyone more choices, making it extremely convenient.

As for why these items aren't sold in sect shops or markets...

The main point is that no matter how small or simple a building is, it is still a building. The amount of spiritual materials it consumes is not small. It is impossible to sell it to the public in the market, and even if it is only put in the sect's shops, probably not many people can afford it.

Besides, rubbing this thing definitely can't affect the total amount of various spiritual materials in his backpack too much. After all, Zhang Chengdao is a hoarder, and he feels like there's going to be a famine if any spiritual material he piles up is less than a near-integer number based on the average of all types...

In short, bulk sales are definitely not realistic, but in order to reduce my workload and take advantage of the [Floating Pagoda], throwing this kind of architectural artifact into the [Floating Pagoda] and making it available for exchange is a brilliant idea.

This is why Zhang Chengdao gave Chang Ping'an such instructions.

After settling Chang Ping'an in, Zhang Chengdao threw himself into the complicated task of rearranging the sect's protective array.

The protective formation that Zhang Chengdao learned from He Yu is also known as the "Sky-Supporting Formation". Depending on the specific design of the formation, it will have different names, such as the "Four Extremes Sky-Supporting Formation" and the "Thirty-Six Pillars Sky-Supporting Formation".

Although this formation sounds complicated, it doesn't require learning the Eight Trigrams and connecting mountains or mastering numerology like other formations, which is why he was able to learn it in a haphazard way.

Otherwise, he might not have been able to learn other formations.

More importantly, once this formation is set up, it can not only resist the invasion of foreign enemies, but also gather spiritual energy from all directions, regulate the earth's veins, and nurture the environment, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Furthermore, this formation is called the "Sky-Supporting Formation" because it can use objects to lift the ground and suspend it in the sky, just like the current White Stone Mountain. It is as if it was a formation carefully selected for the White Stone Immortal Sect!
The first step in setting up an array is to determine the "array base".

The main peak of White Stone Mountain, which is also the cluster of peaks connected to the largest flat area on the mountainside where Lingxiao Palace is located, is naturally the core array point.

As for the "Stone Dwelling Cave Heaven" chosen by Chang Ping'an, it can serve as the auxiliary peak of the northwest formation.

In addition, suitable peaks must be selected in other directions as auxiliary peaks for the formation to balance the spiritual energy circulation of the entire formation.

There must be at least four auxiliary peaks, and there is no upper limit—as long as the main array is operating well, it can support as many as needed.

Zhang Chengdao stood on white clouds, suspended above Baishi Mountain, his divine sense like an invisible giant net, covering the entire Baishi Mountain and its surrounding area.

He carefully sensed the direction of each mountain ridge and the density of spiritual energy, and slowly cut apart the Spirit Cultivation Peak, Spirit Mine Peak, Spirit Medicine Peak, Spirit Food Peak, Spirit Cultivation Peak, Spirit Beast Peak, and Heavenly Craft Peak, gradually separating them from the main peak of White Stone Mountain.

This process took him several days. The meticulous control of his consciousness was extremely taxing on his mind, but he dared not relax in the slightest.

The so-called separation of mountain peaks is not a simple cutting, but a precise process along the natural boundary between the earth's veins and spiritual energy. It is necessary to ensure that each peak can form its own cycle after separation, while not damaging the spiritual veins of the main peak and the auxiliary peaks.

Indeed, after nearly a year of nurturing, the entire White Stone Mountain has developed spiritual veins, and even the flowers, trees, and rocks on the mountain have gained spiritual energy and are no longer ordinary objects.

This is a good sign, but it also makes Zhang Chengdao increasingly hesitant in his actions.

He first selected Linggeng Peak, which was the most spiritually active and had cultivated countless spiritual crops. He then carefully "pushed" it out along the weakest point connecting it to the base of the main peak.

Linggeng Peak trembled slightly for a while, and then a lot of soil and rocks rolled off the mountain. However, its main structure remained intact. The moment it separated from the main peak, it was enveloped by a layer of soft white light and slowly floated next to the main peak.

Next is Lingkuang Peak, which is rich in mineral veins.

To be precise, it is a mountain peak where Zhang Chengdao specially built more than a dozen mine shafts.

Lingkuang Peak is not only the peak with the most disciples visiting it, but also the peak with the most questions from the disciples.

Not only the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect, but even Zhang Chengdao himself couldn't understand why he could obtain a continuous supply of spiritual mineral resources just by setting up a dozen or so mines. If it weren't for the fact that there was a limit to the construction of mines, Zhang Chengdao could probably turn this world into a world where mineral resources are so abundant that they are cheaper than rice.

Whether it's "the code is written this way" or "the cheat code is awesome", in short, Spirit Mine Peak is now one of Zhang Chengdao's most important industries and resources in the White Stone Immortal Sect. Therefore, Zhang Chengdao became even more cautious when separating this peak.

After dividing the Spirit Mine Peak, the next peaks are Spirit Medicine Peak, Spirit Food Peak, Spirit Cultivation Peak, Spirit Beast Peak, and Heavenly Craft Peak.

Soon, Zhang Chengdao used a similar method to separate these spiritual peaks one by one from the main peak and placed them near the main peak, forming a pattern of stars surrounding the moon.

With the auxiliary peak in place, we can now officially begin setting up the Sky-Supporting Formation.

However, what Zhang Chengdao didn't know was that whether it was when he carried the "Stone Dwelling Cave Heaven" back to Baishi Mountain, or when he separated the various spirit peaks from the main peak one by one, the commotion was not small. In fact, each separation caused a fluctuation in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the surrounding clouds and sky around Baishi Mountain changed color, creating a magnificent scene.

This caused the disciples within the sect to spread the word, and in twos and threes, they all rushed over to observe.

As the familiar spiritual peaks transformed into floating immortal islands surrounding the main peak, the disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect were all dumbfounded, deeply shocked and filled with pride.

"This is much more spectacular than when the sect leader refined the entire square in front of Lingxiao Palace last time!" an older disciple muttered.

"Yes, yes, I wonder what level of cultivation one must reach to be able to move mountains and fill seas, split mountains and cleave rivers like the sect leader..."

"Moving mountains and filling seas...splitting mountains and splitting rivers..."

As everyone was discussing, Sun Ping, who was also watching from a distance in the square, suddenly felt a surge of emotion.

Then, he murmured a couple of words, sat down to meditate, and a powerful vortex of spiritual energy instantly erupted from his body—

"Look, Senior Brother Sun!"

"Oh my god! What happened to Senior Brother Sun!?"

"Is he about to break through?"

"Holy crap! Is Senior Brother Sun about to reach Foundation Establishment?!"

"No way, Senior Brother Sun is clearly not even at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining yet!"

"But I heard that Senior Brother also broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage after witnessing the Sect Master's sword strike. Even if he didn't reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, he should have been able to directly establish the Foundation Establishment stage, right?"

"No, unless you break through several minor realms in one go, it's impossible to directly reach the Foundation Establishment stage!"

After a period of speculation and debate, dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky.

No, they're not dark clouds, they're calamity clouds!

"Senior Brother Sun is really about to reach Foundation Establishment!?"

"When did he reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining?!"

The sounds around him seemed to come from near and far, and Sun Ping felt as if he were a leaf on the sea, rising and falling with the waves, unable to stop.

In fact, he had already reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, but due to past experiences and out of caution, he deliberately suppressed his cultivation level, making himself appear to be only at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Refining.

Sun Ping couldn't help but sigh softly.

This was actually just a subconscious habit of his for self-preservation, but he never expected that this sudden tribulation would tear away his disguise today...

After an unknown amount of time, a muffled rumble of thunder sounded first, followed by a sharp, intense pain—

The first bolt of lightning struck him directly!

The excruciating pain, which nearly eroded his very soul, caused Sun Ping to immediately break out in a cold sweat. His body convulsed uncontrollably, curling up slightly, making it difficult for him to maintain a normal meditation posture.

It wouldn't have been long; even an hour ago, this lightning bolt wouldn't have hit him.

Because Zhang Chengdao wanted to rearrange the real mountain-protecting formation, he put all the bamboo fences that he had secretly buried in the ground back into his backpack!

Fortunately, the tribulation lightning for breaking through from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment was limited in power and had a small impact range. The disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect had already cleared a space of about ten feet around Sun Ping, watching him undergo the tribulation with either curiosity or envy.

Even Zhang Chengdao, who was setting up the sect's protective array, stopped what he was doing and watched with satisfaction.

This is the first ordinary outer disciple to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. I never expected that a disciple with blue-grade aptitude would suddenly reach the Foundation Establishment stage even earlier than He Shilie, who has purple-grade aptitude!
Before long, Sun Ping had survived the lightning tribulation. Although he looked like he had been given a full-body spa treatment by coal dust and his clothes were torn to shreds, he still looked to be in pretty good shape.

Even after he survived the tribulation, when he looked up, he saw his sect leader looking at him. He even grinned happily, revealing a set of white teeth between his dark upper and lower lips, which looked quite comical. This made Zhang Chengdao also curl the corners of his lips.

Seeing that Sun Ping had successfully overcome his tribulation, Zhang Chengdao gave him a slight nod as a greeting, and then turned back to continue setting up the mountain-protecting formation.

When the last Tiangong Peak successfully separated and hovered due east of the main peak, Zhang Chengdao breathed a long sigh of relief.

With the base of the formation set, the basic framework of the "Sky-Supporting Formation" has been established. The pressure of the Xunmu supporting the mountain has been reduced, making the flow of spiritual energy in the entire area more orderly and active. This also caused the Xunmu to take root even more firmly into the ground with a thud.

"The foundation of the array is complete. The next step is to refine the 'array core' and construct a complete spiritual energy circuit..."

Zhang Chengdao muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping over the seven auxiliary peaks surrounding the main peak, and further away, Chang Ping'an's "Stone Dwelling Cave Heaven," which was still being nurtured in the spiritual light.

The "array eye" is the core of the array and holds a crucial position within the entire protective array.

The choice of the array's core will greatly affect the power and effectiveness of the protective array.

Zhang Chengdao hovered atop the main peak, riding a cloud, looking down at the eight auxiliary peaks that had separated and surrounded the moon like stars. His gaze finally settled on his feet—

This main peak, which houses the Lingxiao Palace and is supported by Xunmu, serves as the original foundation of the entire Baishi Immortal Sect.

The main peak is the core of the sect, with the most abundant and profound spiritual energy and the most solid foundation of the earth veins, making it the most suitable place to be the array eye.

Zhang Chengdao thought to himself.

However, the array eye is not simply a designated location, but requires a 'core array artifact' that can bear and control the flow of spiritual energy throughout the entire array.

This core array device must be robust and stable enough to withstand the immense spiritual energy of the earth veins and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that may converge from the eight auxiliary peaks and possibly more nodes in the future, and to distribute it in an orderly manner to support the operation of the entire mountain-protecting array...

After thinking about this, Zhang Chengdao hesitated for a moment, then decisively opened his backpack and started rummaging through it.

(End of this chapter)