I'll make you the furnace and the cauldron, so you can refine Yin and Yang and prove the Great

The outline of the central mountain range on the island resembled the back of a sleeping giant in the night fog, with the undulating ridgeline gleaming with a dark blue-green light under the moonlight.

Elder Gong walked ahead, his steps steady and quick, passing through three stone gates sealed by Void Refinement level restrictions. Each gate required him to use his Elder Token in conjunction with the infusion of spiritual power to open.

Li Hanshan followed behind, and could feel that with each stone gate they passed through, the concentration of spiritual energy in the air increased, and the subtle pressure swirling around the edges of their meridians continued to intensify. It seemed as if they were approaching the center of a treasure trove that had been buried for thousands of years.

As the third stone door opened, an aura completely different from any spiritual energy fluctuations he had ever sensed before surged out from behind it. That aura was neither scorching nor cold, carrying an ancient quality as if it had been repeatedly imbued with something. It didn't deliberately release its pressure; its mere presence caused the pure Yang primordial spirit within Li Hanshan's sea of ​​consciousness to tremble slightly.

As he stepped through the stone gate, the sight before him made his breath catch involuntarily for a moment.

It was a huge rock chamber that had been expanded after being hollowed out of the mountain. The dome was tens of feet high and inlaid with hundreds of luminous pearls. The light refracted into a warm color in the spiritual mist, enveloping the entire rock chamber in a halo of light as if it were daytime.

On the floor in the center of the rock chamber, twelve silver-white array flags, each about half a person tall, are arranged in a circle, with fine rune patterns flowing across the surface of each flag.

The movement of those runes was exactly the same as the ancient formation techniques that Li Hanshan had learned from Luo Li. Each array flag had a fist-sized spirit stone embedded in its base. The spirit stone's color was a nearly transparent silver-white as it continuously output spiritual power, and the spiritual power channels inside were as clearly visible as a frozen river.

Elder Gong stood at the perimeter of the array flags, his voice neither too loud nor too soft: "These are the main array flags of the twelve sets of array flags for the Flowing Light Array. Each flag corresponds to a specific direction, and the resonance of their spiritual energy forms the core of the entire array. Changing the tilt angle or height of any flag will affect the entire array, thereby altering the proportion of time flow."

Li Hanshan took a few steps closer, squatted down, and his gaze fell on the battle flag that was facing him.

The runes on the surface of the array flags were like an unfolding scroll in his eyes. The direction of each arc and the way each turn was handled were quite consistent with the ancient array theories that Luo Li had taught him in his dream.

He silently compared the positions of the runes with the knowledge Luo Li had taught him—the core "gathering" technique remained unchanged, but the outer auxiliary lines had been extended by a line, and the angle at the convergence point was about three degrees different from the common method. Such a subtle deviation would be completely imperceptible without a deep understanding of ancient formations.

"The construction of these array flags is quite different from the mainstream array techniques of the Immortal Alliance today," Li Hanshan said, his tone carrying just the right amount of curiosity.

Elder Gong stood beside him, his gaze also fixed on the array flags. After a moment of silence, he spoke: "These twelve sets of array flags were unearthed from an ancient ruin deep within the core immortal island. That ruin is extremely ancient, predating the establishment of the Immortal Alliance. The ancient array formations recorded in ancient texts are indeed different from our current array system. The construction method of these array flags is a relic from that time."

His voice carried a familiarity born from years of interaction with these arrays. "After the establishment of the Immortal Alliance, generations of array masters have studied these array flags, attempting to reconstruct the complete logic of the array formation, but none have been able to fully comprehend it. I have been responsible for maintaining the Flowing Light Array for hundreds of years, and through continuous study and contemplation, I have only managed to repair a portion of the array flags."

Li Hanshan stood up and glanced at the arrangement of the array flags. Among the twelve array flags, there were indeed fine cracks on the surface of four flagpoles. The cracks extended along the gaps in the runes, and in several places, they were clearly misaligned.

Although the misaligned parts do not affect the basic operation of the formation, the flow of spiritual energy will be slightly turbulent when passing through those areas, like a section of a river that is partially blocked. Although the speed of the water flow can be maintained, additional losses will occur every time it passes through.

He pointed to a faintly glowing crack at the base of one of the array flags: "The spiritual energy circulation path at the base of that flag has shifted. Although spiritual energy can still pass through, the flow rate is about 10% slower than normal. If this continues, the shift will become more and more pronounced, eventually causing an irreversible decrease in the spiritual energy output of the entire flag."

Elder Gong's gaze followed his fingertip to the crack, and after a moment of silence, he nodded: "The fact that you could see this shows that your understanding of ancient formations is indeed much deeper than that of ordinary cultivators."

He crouched down, adjusting something beside the array flags. Under his spiritual power, the angle of one flag shifted slightly. The spiritual energy fluctuations throughout the cave trembled briefly with that shift before stabilizing again.

"The acceleration rate of the Flowing Light Array is increasing." Elder Gong didn't turn around. "Those array flags have been operating continuously for far too many years, and the spirit stones supporting their operation are being consumed faster than expected. If there isn't enough spiritual power to maintain the stable output of the array flags, the acceleration rate of the array will fluctuate. Over the years, I've been trying to adjust the angle of the array flags to balance the spiritual power consumption, but each adjustment brings new deviations, like repeatedly patching a leaky roof—fix one spot, and another starts leaking."

Li Hanshan sensed the composure in Elder Gong's voice, a result of his long-term dealings with complex formations. This veteran Void Refinement cultivator, who oversaw the Flowing Light Formation, possessed a far deeper understanding of formations than had been demonstrated in their brief conversation.

"How much faster is the spirit stone consumption rate of the Flowing Light Array than expected?" Li Hanshan asked.

Elder Gong stood up, dusted off his hands, and turned to him with a solemn look in his eyes: "If the original design had been followed, the spirit stone reserves supporting the array's operation could have lasted at least two hundred years. But at the current rate of consumption, they will be depleted in at most fifty years. If the acceleration ratio continues to increase, the consumption rate will be even faster."

He walked to a stone platform supporting a diagram at the edge of the cave, pointing to the area marked "Core of the Array Foundation" in the center of the carefully annotated diagram: "The Immortal Alliance has been trying to find alternatives, including developing higher-grade spirit stones and optimizing the rune structure of the array flags—but the ancient techniques used for these twelve sets of array flags are too intricate. Every adjustment requires extremely profound array knowledge to ensure that the overall balance is not disrupted. Not just anyone is qualified to touch them."

Li Hanshan stood before the array diagram, his gaze fixed on the area marked "Array Core". His Void Refinement level divine sense had already quietly spread out, slowly moving along the patterns at the bottom of the array flags. He could sense the spiritual energy output path of each array flag and could identify the turbulent flow of spiritual energy slowly accumulating in the gaps between the misaligned runes.

In his mind's eye, Xiao An's voice seeped in like a gently suppressed breeze: "Senior, I can sense some extremely subtle anomalies in the flow of spiritual energy at the bottom of the array flags. Those parts that deviate from the normal flow don't seem to be caused by natural aging; it's more like someone deliberately adjusted the angles of a few array flags, and those adjustments don't conform to the original design of the ancient array."

Li Hanshan's expression remained unchanged as he responded with his divine sense: "Are you sure?"

"I'm certain." Xiao An's voice was firm. "The Netherworld Record Technique is more sensitive to the flow of spiritual energy than other techniques. I can distinguish which deviations are caused by natural depletion and which are the result of external intervention. Among those misaligned array flags, at least two of the angle deviations were not caused by the consumption of spirit stones, but were actively adjusted by someone over the past few hundred years."

Li Hanshan withdrew his divine sense, his expression remaining impassive. He mentally reviewed the information repeatedly, revealing no unusual reaction on his face. He simply clasped his hands in a fist salute to Elder Gong and said, "This disciple's judgment is consistent with Elder Gong's. The increased acceleration rate of the Flowing Light Array is the result of the accumulated spiritual energy consumption after the array flags have been continuously operating. Those misaligned array flags need to be thoroughly repaired to maintain the current acceleration rate without further inducing inner demons."

Elder Gong remained silent for a moment, as if comparing his judgment with the data he had observed over the years. Finally, he nodded slightly: "You just said you could sense the deviation in the spiritual energy circulation of the array flag's base, which shows that your understanding of ancient arrays is indeed profound. I can make an exception and give you a chance to assist in repairing those array flags. However, you must swear an oath to your inner demons, promising not to reveal any details of the Flowing Light Array to anyone, and not to touch the array's core without my permission."

Li Hanshan straightened up, raised his right hand, and joined three fingers together: "Disciple Li Hanshan swears by his inner demons that he will never reveal any detail of the Flowing Light Array he witnessed today. Without Elder Gong's permission, he will not touch the very core of the array. If he disobeys, may his inner demons devour his body and his soul be scattered."

Elder Gong sensed that the power of the oath had taken effect, nodded slightly, and stepped aside to clear the passage between the array flags: "Then let's begin. You are responsible for repairing the base of the array flag that has shifted, and I will supervise from the side. If there are any anomalies beyond your capabilities, stop immediately."