Volume 1: Femme Fatale Chapter 54: The Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array

Hidden deep within the lush mountain forests, the forbidden grounds of Longmen Academy were surrounded by towering peaks and drifting mists, resembling a realm of immortals.

Stepping into the restricted area, the first sight to greet the eye was a quaint stone gate, carved with intricate runes that emitted a faint, pulsing glow, as if silently warning outsiders to keep away.

"Young Master Jiang, please." Sun Ping stepped forward and slowly pushed open the stone gate.

What welcomed them was a tranquil and mystical realm. A moss-paved path meandered forward, flanked by majestic pine trees and towering ancients. Rich spiritual energy saturated the air, refreshing the mind and spirit.

Within this serene domain, a dozen exquisite caves were scattered in an orderly fashion, like gifts from nature and natural sanctuaries.

The cave entrances were wreathed in vines, with the stone walls outside glowing softly. The air carried a dense concentration of spiritual Qi, silently nurturing every disciple in seclusion.

"Such a dense concentration of spiritual energy!" Jiang Hao could not help but show a look of astonishment.

At the very center of this forbidden zone stood a magnificent spiritual array. The formation was built upon the core of the Five Elements, cleverly arranged across an open clearing.

Within the array, five-colored lights intertwined: golden radiance flashed, wooden shadows swayed, water ripples danced, flames flickered, and earthy stone stood firm, forming a vivid and harmonious picture.

At the heart of the formation, spiritual Qi surged like a tidal wave, forming a brilliant sphere of light that twinkled like a star in the night sky, continuously drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy.

Following this, under the operation of the array, wave after wave of concentrated spiritual energy endlessly seeped into every single cave...

"Vice Dean Sun, what kind of spiritual array is this? It is actually capable of gathering the spiritual Qi of all directions?" Seeing this, Jiang Hao asked with intense curiosity.

"This array is called the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array," Sun Ping replied.

"The Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array?" Jiang Hao frowned, seeming never to have heard of it before.

Sun Ping stroked his beard and said slowly, "The Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array is a fourth-tier auxiliary spiritual array imbued with the Dao of Heaven and Earth. With the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth as its core, it is arranged sequentially so that they generate and restrict one another, forming a powerful force that gathers spiritual energy."

"Whenever the formation is activated, the Qi of the Five Elements surges like a tide, converging at the center of the array to transform into a surging torrent of spiritual power that nourishes all living things around it."

"This array not only restores the spiritual Qi consumed by cultivators, but it also helps them achieve twice the result with half the effort on their path of cultivation, rapidly elevating their realm," Sun Ping added.

"I never imagined there would still be a Fourth-Tier Array Master within Longmen Academy?" Jiang Hao muttered to himself, his mind already concluding that this spiritual array was the work of one of the academy's own array masters.

"Young Master Jiang, I'm afraid I must let you down. We have no fourth-tier array masters here at Longmen Academy. Moreover, this Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array was not laid down by any array master of our Southern Xia Kingdom," Sun Ping said, a hint of helplessness leaking into his tone.

"Oh? Vice Dean Sun, what do you mean by that?" Jiang Hao asked, slightly surprised and hurriedly seeking clarification.

"Young Master Jiang, you may not know this, but this array cost the royal family of Southern Xia a staggering sum of forty million silver coins. We had to hire a full five fourth-tier array masters from the Fufeng Kingdom just to successfully set it up!"

"Forty million silver coins? Those array masters from the Fufeng Kingdom are utterly heartless!" Jiang Hao sighed inwardly.

Although the might of the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array was astonishing, it was ultimately just a fourth-tier spiritual array. For any powerful fourth-tier array master, setting it up was not a difficult task, and its fair market value should not have exceeded two million silver coins.

Yet, in the hands of those array masters from Fufeng, the price of this fourth-tier array had been multiplied by a full twenty times!

"It seems that the profession of an array master is indeed a rare and precious thing in the Southern Xia Kingdom!"

Jiang Hao suddenly realized that among the six major immortal cultivation sects of Southern Xia, not a single one focused on the cultivation of spiritual arrays. No wonder Longmen Academy had to hire array masters from another country just to set up a fourth-tier array.

"Vice Dean Sun, does that mean the disciples who get to cultivate here must all be the absolute elites of Longmen Academy?" Jiang Hao suddenly asked.

Clearly, for the royal family to spend such an astronomical sum to set up the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array, they must have intended to focus heavily on nurturing elite disciples.

"Young Master Jiang speaks truly!" Sun Ping nodded slightly and replied, "In our Longmen Academy, there is a Longmen Ranking. Only the disciples whose strength ranks in the top ten of the entire academy are qualified to enter and cultivate here."

"The top ten? It seems the disciples who cultivate here possess extraordinary strength!" Jiang Hao exclaimed.

Stroke his beard, Sun Ping continued, "Young Master Jiang might not know, but this Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array is not active all the time. Only one month before the start of each Azure Cloud Tournament does Longmen Academy activate it so that the disciples on the Longmen Ranking may cultivate."

"Even for just this short month, the amount of spirit stones consumed to maintain such a fourth-tier array is an astronomical figure."

"Spirit stones?"

Hearing this, Jiang Hao looked back toward the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array and only then noticed that spirit stones were cleverly embedded in every corner of the formation, emitting a faint and steady glow.

At this moment, the activation of the spirit stones was like the beating of a heart, endlessly pumping energy into the gathering array and keeping it operational every second. The fluctuations of spiritual Qi rippled outward, permeating the entire forbidden area.

"Aren't spirit stones one of the materials my master needs to reconstruct his physical body?" Jiang Hao's eyes suddenly lit up at the thought, and he stepped forward to press the matter: "Vice Dean Sun, are spirit stones exceptionally expensive in the Southern Xia Kingdom?"

Earlier, Jiang Hao had privately asked Qin Yumeng if the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had any spirit stones for sale, and her reply was that perhaps only the royal family possessed them in the entire Southern Xia Kingdom.

Now, asking this question was actually a roundabout way for Jiang Hao to probe Sun Ping, hoping to gauge the quantity of spirit stones in the hands of the royal family.

" Alas!" Hearing this, Sun Ping shook his head and sighed, "If Southern Xia had spirit stones available for sale, our academy wouldn't have to go through such arduous lengths to purchase them at exorbitant prices from the Fufeng Kingdom."

"You must know that every time Fufeng sells us spirit stones, they charge a staggering fifty thousand gold coins per catty! Therefore, all the spirit stones purchased by the royal family are used entirely for this Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array, without a single sliver being wasted," Sun Ping continued.

"Fifty thousand gold coins? The Fufeng Kingdom is truly merciless!" Jiang Hao exclaimed in shock.

Fifty thousand gold coins were equivalent to five million silver coins. In other words, the price of a single catty of spirit stones had reached a full five million silver coins.

Normally, maintaining a fourth-tier spiritual array consumed about one catty of spirit stones every three days.

This meant that to keep the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array running for a month, the required amount of spirit stones would be around ten catties, bringing the total cost to a staggering five hundred thousand gold coins!

"There is nothing we can do; who can blame us for not producing spirit stones in Southern Xia?" Sun Ping sighed.

"Could the spiritual energy of this land have withered to such an extent?" Jiang Hao's face showed deep shock.

He had once heard his father mention that spirit stones were formed when ordinary rocks were saturated with the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth over centuries, gradually absorbing the essence until spirit stones were born.

Spirit stones could be used for healing, cultivation, alchemy, artifact forging, and setting up spiritual arrays; they were indispensable resources for cultivators on their journey.

Of course, spirit stones could also serve as currency to purchase medicinal pills, spiritual artifacts, spell manuals, and mounts.

Jiang Hao could hardly imagine that this vast Southern Xia Kingdom produced no spirit stones of its own and had to purchase them from other nations.

"This old man is not entirely clear on the details either, but I have heard from past monarchs that tens of thousands of years ago, a world-shaking battle apparently took place upon the lands of our Southern Xia."

"Ever since then, no more spirit stones have been produced in our territory," Sun Ping said slowly.

"A world-shaking battle from tens of thousands of years ago? I wonder if it has anything to do with the Dragon Burial Valley?" Jiang Hao muttered in a trance.

"Let us put that aside for now, Young Master Jiang. You may choose a cave as your place of cultivation," Sun Ping waved his hand and motioned. "There are a total of twelve caves in this back-mountain restricted area, and right now, only the two northernmost ones remain for you to choose from."

Jiang Hao looked in that direction and found that the two remaining caves in the north, though furthest from the Five Elements Qi-Gathering Array, were the most tranquil spots.

"Reporting to Vice Dean Sun, I will choose that one." Jiang Hao pointed to the furthest cave.

"Very well!" Sun Ping replied softly, then retrieved a wooden tablet from his storage ring, swiftly carved Jiang Hao's name onto it, handed it over, and instructed, "Young Master Jiang, this is the plaque for that cave. You need only hang it outside the cave door."

"Cave Number Twelve, Jiang Hao." Jiang Hao looked at the five large characters inscribed on the plaque and let out a soft sigh.

"Young Master Jiang, this plaque only serves to signal that this cave has an owner, but it is inevitable that some disciples will come looking for trouble. After all, the disciples on the Dragon Ranking are all combative."

"Please keep this in mind, Young Master Jiang. If you encounter any matters you cannot resolve, you may come to this old man at any time," Sun Ping repeatedly admonished.

"This junior thanks Vice Dean Sun!" Jiang Hao bowed respectfully with cupped hands.

"In that case, this old man will no longer disturb your cultivation. A month from now, I will personally come to escort you to the imperial palace for the Azure Cloud Tournament." With those words, Sun Ping turned and walked away.

"Safe travels, Vice Dean Sun," Jiang Hao said respectfully.

"My cultivation at Longmen Academy is finally about to begin!" Passion surged endlessly within Jiang Hao's heart!

Elsewhere, after stepping out of the forbidden grounds, Sun Ping turned back to speak to a shadowy figure behind the stone gate: "Elder Lin Feng, please keep a close eye on the restricted area. In particular, Young Master Jiang is someone personally appointed by Her Majesty the Queen."

"This subordinate understands!" Lin Feng stammered, "Only..."

"Elder Lin Feng, if you have any concerns, speak freely," Sun Ping prompted.

"Reporting to Vice Dean Sun, if Her Royal Highness the Princess comes to provoke Young Master Jiang, how should this subordinate handle it?" Lin Feng asked cautiously.

"That will no longer be a matter this old man can interfere with. As for you, just pretend you saw nothing," Sun Ping chuckled lightly, then strode away.

"This subordinate obeys!" Immediately after, the stone gate slowly closed...