Volume One: Femme Fatale Chapter 55: Successful Formation Setup

"Master, you can come out now."

At this moment, Jiang Hao was already inside cave number twelve, and the plaque given by Sun Ping was neatly hung above the cave entrance.

"Master? Master..."

However, no matter how Jiang Hao called out in his heart, Feng Ling'er never responded, which left him extremely puzzled.

In Jiang Hao's understanding, his master Feng Ling'er would only stay silent when someone whose cultivation surpassed hers was nearby.

"That shouldn't be the case. Vice Dean Sun has already left," Jiang Hao muttered to himself, feeling deeply surprised. "Could there be a disciple on the Dragon Gate Ranking whose cultivation surpasses Master?"

One must know that Feng Ling'er's strength had currently recovered to the peak of the Spirit Sea Realm. If there truly were a disciple whose cultivation surpassed hers, that person's cultivation talent would undoubtedly be astonishingly monstrous.

However, Jiang Hao quickly dismissed the thought. If that were true, wouldn't the Dragon Gate Academy have long since become the pinnacle of immortal-cultivation sects in the Southern Xia Kingdom?

Since he could not contact his master for the moment, Jiang Hao stopped overthinking and directly retrieved a spell manual and a spirit array diagram from his Universe Ring, placing them carefully on the table.

"Should I practice the spell first, or set up the spirit array first?"

Gazing at the third-rank spell, Sky-Shattering Slash, and the two-talisman spirit array, the Rock Array, Jiang Hao fell into deep contemplation.

With only a month remaining until the Azure Cloud Assembly, and without knowing when his master would wake up, Jiang Hao found it difficult to make a decision on the spur of the moment. If he chose the wrong sequence of cultivation, he might inadvertently waste a significant amount of precious time.

"I'll choose this one!" After some inner struggle, Jiang Hao finally picked up the spell manual, *Sky-Shattering Slash*.

Jiang Hao firmly believed that although he could not cultivate this spell to its peak realm within a mere month, combined with the might of the Immortal-Slaying Sword, it would surely burst forth with unexpected effects.

Just as Jiang Hao made up his mind and prepared to pick up the Immortal-Slaying Sword to begin cultivation, Feng Ling'er's voice finally sounded by his ear: "Brat, practice the Rock Array first."

"Master?" Jiang Hao immediately stopped, turned around, and said excitedly, "Master, you've finally woken up!"

"Master, why did you take so long to wake up?" Jiang Hao asked impatiently.

"A powerful expert was observing from outside the cave just now, so it was inconvenient for me to speak," Feng Ling'er replied.

"Could Vice Dean Sun have returned?" Jiang Hao guessed inwardly.

"It's fine now. That person has already gone far away. Hurry up and set up the Rock Array," Feng Ling'er reminded him.

"Yes, Master!" Jiang Hao nodded in acknowledgment, his tone brimming with joy.

Having accumulated rich experience from setting up the Bewildering Array earlier, Jiang Hao condensed two spirit talismans before long.

"As expected of the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array. The spiritual energy consumed while condensing the talismans just now was replenished at such a rapid pace," Jiang Hao thought with astonishment.

Subsequently, following the steps recorded in the spirit array diagram, Jiang Hao began attempting to connect the two talismans in series.

To Jiang Hao's surprise, without any obstacles this time, the two talismans quickly began to link together under his manipulation. Immediately afterward, a faint glow gradually emanated between the talismans, and the surrounding air seemed to grow even heavier due to the formation of the spirit array.

Seeing that the timing was right, Jiang Hao swiftly executed the final step of setting up the spirit array.

"Rock Array! Gather for me!"

Under Jiang Hao's fluid and effortless manipulation, a two-talisman spirit array, the Rock Array, was successfully set up in an instant.

"Master, I did it!" Jiang Hao cheered, overwhelmed with excitement. "Master, this time I didn't even need to take a Spirit Energy Pill."

"I know," Feng Ling'er replied indifferently.

"Master, looking at your expression, you don't seem happy for your disciple at all?" Jiang Hao asked, his face full of puzzlement. He had expected his current success to win his master's praise, but he hadn't anticipated such a lukewarm reaction.

Feng Ling'er glanced at Jiang Hao and slowly said, "What is there to be happy about over a mere two-talisman spirit array? When you were setting up the Bewildering Array back then, your attainment was already comparable to that of a two-talisman spirit array master."

Hearing Feng Ling'er's words, Jiang Hao suddenly understood. "No wonder setting up this Rock Array was so effortless today. Come to think of it, I was already able to successfully condense three talismans back then, and was only one final step away from successfully setting up the Bewildering Array."

Suddenly recalling something, Jiang Hao blurted out, "Right! Master, since the spiritual energy inside the cave is continuous and endless right now, why don't you let me try setting up the Bewildering Array again?"

"As you wish," Feng Ling'er replied.

"I didn't expect Master to agree. It seems I might really be able to set up the Bewildering Array," Jiang Hao thought with secret delight.

Back then, due to his spiritual power consumption failing to keep up, Jiang Hao ultimately failed to set up the three-talisman Bewildering Array. Now, with the spiritual energy blessing of the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array, he naturally wanted to try again.

"If I can successfully set up the Bewildering Array before the Azure Cloud Assembly, I'll undoubtedly have one more trump card," Jiang Hao calculated inwardly, and immediately began setting up the Bewildering Array.

Relying on his previous experience, the three spirit talismans were successfully condensed by Jiang Hao once more within just a short moment.

Indeed, just as Jiang Hao had expected, while condensing the three talismans, he did not even need to consume a single Spirit Energy Pill, relying entirely on the spiritual energy of the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array to sustain himself.

This time, when Jiang Hao prepared to connect the three talismans in series, although he still felt dizzy and the spiritual power in his body began to deplete rapidly, bolstered by the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array, he was still able to barely hold on. This allowed the spiritual power consumed during the array setup to just barely keep pace with the rate at which spiritual power was draining from his body.

"Just the last step left!" Jiang Hao clenched his teeth tightly, fine beads of sweat already covering his forehead.

Clearly, even with the assistance of the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array, with Jiang Hao's current cultivation level, successfully setting up a three-talisman spirit array still presented no small difficulty.

As Jiang Hao continuously channeled his spiritual power, the spiritual energy that had gathered inside the cave due to the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array had already been completely depleted.

At this moment, the spiritual energy outside the cave began to slowly converge toward this direction.

Gradually, the spiritual energy outside the cave stirred violently, and then surged like a tidal wave into Jiang Hao's cave.

"Gather for me!"

With a loud shout from Jiang Hao, a spirit array containing powerful spiritual energy instantly manifested inside the cave. The aura within the array swirled, as if an invisible charm was tugging at Jiang Hao's soul, making him feel a sense of trance and inability to extricate himself.

"Such a strong spiritual energy aura!"

Jiang Hao felt that every inch of space within the spirit array seemed to exude a bizarre charm. That feeling was as though any intruder would lose their direction in the endless illusions and find it difficult to escape.

"Not bad. I didn't expect you to actually succeed in setting up this Bewildering Array." Feng Ling'er's voice of praise came from beside his ear.

Jiang Hao shook his head, snapped back to reality, and with a modest expression, smiled and explained, "Master, you flatter me! The reason your disciple was able to set up this Bewildering Array right now is entirely thanks to the spiritual energy blessing of the Five Elements Spirit-Gathering Array."

"Mhm," Feng Ling'er responded softly, then reminded him, "Brat, someone has come looking for trouble."

"Master, what did you say?"

Before Jiang Hao could react, a clamor came from outside the cave: "Which ungrateful bastard is it that dares to steal the spiritual energy inside my cave!"