Chapter Fifty-Four: The Spirit Gathering Array

"Brother Ao Xuan, apologies for being late," Chen Yi called out as he soared through the air, landing before Fu Ao Xuan and the others.

"Brother Chen Yi, it’s no trouble. You’re not late; we simply arrived early. Now that you’re here, let’s set out," Fu Ao Xuan replied, ceasing his cultivation and preparing to depart for the Heavenly Dragon Mountains.

"Very well," Chen Yi agreed. Though he was curious about Fu Ao Xuan’s eagerness, he had no objections; after all, he too wished to obtain the Elephant Blood Fruit as soon as possible, so his body could break through its current limits.

Fu Ao Xuan drew a palm-sized, flying boat-shaped artifact from his spatial ring and tossed it forcefully into the air. Instantly, the artifact expanded with the wind.

"Let’s get on! This is a flying treasure I happened upon by chance. With it, our journey to the Heavenly Dragon Mountains will be much quicker," Fu Ao Xuan said, stepping onto the boat and beckoning Chen Yi to follow.

Chen Yi hadn’t expected to see another flying boat artifact so soon. The last time had been after the Outer Sect Grand Competition, when Elder Li Jian summoned a flying boat to take them to a small world. However, Elder Li Jian’s flying boat was far more imposing than Fu Ao Xuan’s.

After all, Elder Li Jian’s was a spiritual artifact, while Fu Ao Xuan’s was merely a low-grade magic tool. Still, even a low-grade flying artifact was out of reach for most cultivators.

Flying treasures were incredibly rare, as their creation was exceedingly intricate—crafting one was said to be as laborious as forging two artifacts of the same level. This complexity made flying artifacts precious and scarce. It was no surprise that someone of Elder Li Jian’s status and cultivation possessed a spiritual flying artifact. But for Fu Ao Xuan to have one, even a low-grade version, was astonishing. The value of a flying artifact was nearly ten times that of a normal artifact of the same grade. Even a low-grade flying artifact like Fu Ao Xuan’s could be exchanged for ten other low-grade magic tools. Such an extravagant possession hinted that Fu Ao Xuan was far from ordinary, despite his unassuming appearance.

Although these thoughts raced through Chen Yi’s mind, only a moment had passed in the outside world. He saw that Wang Haochen and Yu Ming had already boarded the boat and seemed unsurprised by Fu Ao Xuan’s treasure. It made sense; after spending so much time together as sworn brothers, they would surely know about each other’s possessions.

Shaking off his distraction, Chen Yi gathered his spiritual power, took to the air, and landed on the flying boat.

As soon as he set foot on the boat, he sensed a protective barrier enveloping its exterior—a feature he’d noticed on Elder Li Jian’s vessel as well. This shield would protect them from the harsh winds of the upper atmosphere as they traveled.

The gales high above were fierce; without at least Foundation Establishment cultivation, flying so high was tantamount to courting death.

For safety, as soon as Chen Yi boarded, Fu Ao Xuan placed several hundred low-grade spirit stones into the boat’s core, activating the defensive barrier.

Wang Haochen and Yu Ming, seeing the barrier come to life, immediately sat cross-legged, absorbing the rich spiritual energy permeating the boat. If not for their cultivation, Chen Yi might not have noticed how dense the energy inside truly was.

Intrigued, Chen Yi observed carefully, scanning the boat from top to bottom. Finally, he discovered the reason: intricate patterns etched on the boat’s surface formed a mysterious formation, which voraciously drew in spiritual energy from the surrounding area, funneling it into the boat’s interior—hence the abundance.

Though Chen Yi now understood the cause, he furrowed his brow, pondering the identity of this formation. Its power was astonishing, absorbing all spiritual energy within a radius of several miles, rivaling even a Golden Core cultivator’s speed.

The formation seemed familiar, but its name eluded him. A formation related to spiritual energy… Suddenly, inspiration struck. He remembered: the Spirit Gathering Array. He had read about it in the library records. The book described it thus: The Spirit Gathering Array is a miraculous formation that gathers the energy of heaven and earth. It comes in several grades: Low, Middle, High, Supreme, and the legendary Immortal-grade.

A low-grade Spirit Gathering Array is formed with three hundred sixty low-grade spirit stones; a middle-grade with one hundred eight middle-grade stones; a high-grade with seventy-two high-grade stones; a supreme-grade with thirty-six supreme-grade stones. As for the legendary Immortal-grade, it requires only a single Immortal Spirit Stone.

Though the number of stones decreases with each higher grade, the resources needed become ever more precious. One hundred low-grade stones could be exchanged for one middle-grade, a hundred middle-grades for a high-grade, and a hundred high-grades for a supreme. Yet even ten thousand supreme-grade stones might not suffice to obtain a single Immortal Spirit Stone.

Immortal Spirit Stones were used by immortals themselves. They contained dense immortal energy, which was highly coveted by cultivators in the mortal realm, for their ultimate goal was always ascension. To achieve this, one had to convert their internal power into immortal force.

While it was possible to transform one’s power upon surviving the heavenly tribulation and ascending to the Immortal Realm—by bathing in the Ascension Pool and receiving the laws of that higher world—if one could make the transformation beforehand, their immortal force would be further refined during the process, enhancing their strength.

Moreover, converting one’s power in advance greatly increased the chances of surviving the tribulation.

All this made Immortal Spirit Stones exceedingly rare in the mortal realm. Most were relics handed down from the Immortal Realm, and each one used was one less in existence. Many sects treated them as ancestral treasures, hidden away and only brought forth in dire need.