Modern World's Martial Dao Human Immortal

Chapter 171 Formation

"I have some matters to deal with, I'll contact you later,"

Alkaid hurriedly said and quickly left.

Zhao He, seeing that he seemed to genuinely have urgent issues, didn't stop him.

Alkaid now…

Especially the Alkaid who had demonstrated strong commanding abilities, had a status that even surpassed him, the Hall Master of the Campaign Hall.

There had already been several meetings about how to arrange his role.

Some believed that he should continue Artifact Refining, to become an Artifact Grandmaster sooner rather than later.

Others felt that, with his talents, coordinating the frontline battles would be far more valuable than acting as an Artifact Grandmaster.

The two sides were at an impasse.

But, no matter what the arrangement was, the treatment Alkaid would eventually receive...

Would definitely be on par with individuals like Zhao Siliang and Xu Quexing.

…

Once inside the car, he directly connected with Lei Yun, who took on the driving task, and said, "Let's go back, drive steadily, I need to rest my eyes."

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"Yes."

Lei Yun complied, the vehicle started promptly, and with two other cars carrying Qin Yi and others for protection, they drove away from the Hall of Heroes.

…

"Neither Qi Refinement nor Alchemy…"

Alkaid's expression was somewhat complex.

It was a complete waste of the time he had spent on reading so many books and cultivation techniques related to Alchemy and Qi Refinement during his free time.

However…

He could understand this new branch that had emerged.

Because, in recent times, the real effort he had put into it seemed...

Truly above that of Alchemy and Qi Refinement.

"Formation."

Alkaid thought to himself.

The direction pointed out by the sixth branch was strikingly that of Formation.

If it's come to pass, then so be it…

"Although it isn't the Alchemy I wanted the most, nor the urgently needed Qi Refinement path, but… If used well, the effect isn't much worse," he thought.

He recalled Purple Rose's assessment of his Spiritual Artifact refining.

The limitation of his Spiritual Artifacts to Third Generation was, on one hand, because his cultivation was insufficient at that time, and on the other hand…

It was due to his scant understanding of Formations.

Now, enhancing his Formation skills, he might just be able to refine Fourth Generation Spiritual Artifacts, or possibly even Fifth Generation Spiritual Artifacts, which had not yet appeared in the world.

"I was originally planning to max out Artifact Refining and Divine Path first, to unlock the 'talent'."

Alkaid regretted somewhat.

The sudden strike from the Limitless Star Palace had thrown all his calculations into disarray.

Had he been able to fill the order of three thousand six hundred Flying Swords from the Golden Temple, he could have elevated Artifact Refining to a realm beyond Grandmaster, and even brought Divine Path up to Dharma Phase Level.

However, the sanctions and suppression by the Limitless Star Palace had destabilized the precarious internal politics of the Golden Temple. The elders, fearing collateral damage, chose to play it safe.

Therefore, his Artifact Refining had only reached 81% progress towards Grandmaster.

The remaining Divine Path had also only advanced to 52% of the Primordial Spirit Realm.

After all, he had only completed half of the order for the Golden Temple.

And as for the Golden Temple's breach of contract, he didn't have much to say.

It's like running a shop and getting into a fight with some people; naturally, customers will hurry away to avoid trouble.

In this world, even if you want to do business honestly, if the profits you've made aren't protected by sufficient strength, they can attract others who will forcefully take what they want from you.

"Formation."

Alkaid glanced at the other branches on the ancient tree.

Artifact Refining, Divine Path, Martial Path, all needed improvement.

Plus Formation...

This increased the gap too much.

Especially since his cultivation had increased, and as his importance in the Nine Cauldrons Sect grew, the labor costs for gaining experience through "Businessman" kept rising, to max out a profession...

The consumption of Spirit Stones had skyrocketed several times over.

"In fact, when thinking carefully about the situation faced by the Nine Cauldrons Sect at the moment, an Array Master turns out to be the most suitable profession," he pondered.

Advancing from Star Master to Star God requires a massive investment of resources.

Unless I am willing to accumulate experience in this realm for a decade or even several decades, without sufficient resources, there's no way to quickly become a Star God.

And Dharma Phase...

A supporting profession.

Not only would it put him directly in the sight of the top circles, but he also would have no ability to protect himself.

Just one Golden Core wielder from the Nine Cauldrons Sect might not be enough to safeguard him.

Turning to Array Masters, this is the secondary occupation that can enhance the foundation of a sect second only to alchemists.

Not to mention defensive arrays, offensive arrays, and augmenting arrays, there is one type of array that is crucial—the Spirit Gathering Array.

How are the spirit stones in today's world produced?

They are formed through the absorption and condensation of a Spirit Gathering Array.

Spiritual energy pervades everywhere like dark energy, filling every corner of the world.

Especially in spirit nodes, the spiritual energy is even more concentrated.

Array Masters research and develop Spirit Gathering Arrays that can draw spiritual energy from the void and spirit nodes, condensing spirit stones for cultivators' practice and daily consumption.

The Energy Departments of the major sects recruit cultivators who have developed their divine sense to power the arrays and condense spirit stones.

The efficiency of a sect's spirit stone condensation depends on various aspects.

For example, the number and stability of spirit nodes, the number of cultivators with divine sense, the level of Array Masters, and so on.

But all these problems can be summarized as one issue—the arrays set up by the Array Masters.

If an Array Master is strong enough to optimize the array's absorption efficiency, they can draw spiritual energy directly from the void, independent of spirit nodes.

Similarly, if an Array Master is strong enough to optimize the operation of an array, the work efficiency of a hundred cultivators could be equivalent to that of a thousand.

Additionally, no matter how volatile a spirit node is, as long as the array is excellent enough, it can still draw sufficient spiritual energy to condense into spirit stones.

From this point, we can see the importance of Array Masters.

The Nine Cauldrons Sect is not skilled in formations and lacks notable Array Masters, so they must focus on their workforce instead.

Even though the total workforce in the Energy Hall of Nine Cauldrons Sect is close to one hundred million, its annual spirit stone output is still only around 50 million, with the average production per person being less than one spirit stone.

Out of these 50 million spirit stones, supporting Golden Core cultivators alone would take tens of millions, not to mention the massive expenditures required for the daily consumption and practice of numerous Great Cultivators, along with infrastructure construction...

Even the most crucial department, Campaign Hall, only gets about ten million spirit stones a year.

Seriously lacking spirit stones, the Nine Cauldrons Sect has set its sights on the spirit nodes of the East Sea Archipelago and the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

There are 14 spirit nodes in the East Sea Archipelago and even more, 22, in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

Recapturing these two territories, the Nine Cauldrons Sect could significantly increase its sources of income, with spirit stone production possibly soaring to 80 million.

"Formations..."

Alkaid pondered internally.

The entity with the most spirit nodes in today's world is the Golden Temple.

A total of 311.

But with these 311 spirit nodes, their spirit stone production is only about 200 million.

In comparison, the Supreme Yin Sect has only 71 spirit nodes, but its spirit stone production is not much less than that of the Golden Temple.

Of course, when it comes to spirit stone output, Limitless Star Palace is the highest.

The entire Limitless Star Palace occupies 246 spirit nodes, with a spirit stone production of an unparalleled 800 million, accounting for 27.11% of Cangwu's total spirit stone volume!

It is precisely because of such astonishing spirit stone production capacity, coupled with expanding their business around the world and continuously earning—and even seizing—spirit stones from other sects, that they can support a double-digit Patrol Heaven Warship fleet and establish their supreme reputation as the greatest sect in the world.

"The practice of formations in this world is extremely advanced. Through formations, not only can the elements be controlled so that a city's development is smooth and untroubled by disasters, but the environment for cultivation can also be improved. Some formations significantly aid in the practice of cultivation. Although not comparable to elixirs... the area of effect of formations is vast…"

High-level formations are often seen as strategic weapons of a nation.

"This is feasible."

Alkaid contemplated, "I want to know... do the spirit stones condensed by the Spirit Gathering Array count as profit? Or in other words, if I help the Nine Cauldrons Sect set up Spirit Gathering Arrays everywhere and then ensure I hold a share of the profits, could I earn 'Businessman' experience?"

If that's possible...

His speed of earning spirit stones would undoubtedly skyrocket from doing business to essentially printing money, ascending to a whole new level.

By that time, even if he no longer had orders for Flying Swords to earn spirit stones, he could still rapidly max out 'Artifact Refining', 'Divine Path', and 'Martial Path'.

With this thought, his gaze fell back onto the 'Artifact Refining' profession.

A progress of 81% not only allowed him to refine superior grade treasure-level Flying Swords but even Flying Swords at the Third Generation and a half level.

That is, exerting the power of Fourth Generation Flying Swords when the Primordial Spirit Realm has the advantage.

"Patrol Heaven Warships have great power but are also big targets. Once they invade the territory of another sect, even Golden Cores would take action. However, skirmishes between small teams of Great Cultivators are not worth the effort for Golden Cores to intervene... because it's not worth it."

A Golden Core killing a team of Great Cultivators requires activating the Golden Core, consuming millions of spirit stones.

When all is said and done, it might only be barely cost-effective for returns involving tens of millions of spirit stones.

Not to mention that frequent intervention would affect the Golden Core's state.

Under such circumstances, there have been no known incidents in nearly a century where a Golden Core has taken action against a small team of Great Cultivators.

Therefore, if the Nine Cauldrons Sect's Sword Cultivator teams were also equipped with Third Generation and a half Flying Swords and operated in small teams across various regions, the Nine Cauldrons Sect's deterrent power would undoubtedly climb several rungs.

"First, use treasures to gain certain benefits from the Nine Cauldrons Sect, then raise the level of my formations. When I can set up and optimize better Spirit Gathering Arrays, I will comprehensively improve the Spirit Gathering Arrays at the 43 spirit nodes within the sect..."

Alkaid made his decision.

The information obtained from "High-Dimensional Cognition" was always extremely comprehensive.

If successful, once all the Spirit Gathering Arrays of the Nine Cauldrons Sect are optimized, it's not to say that the spirit stone production will reach a level comparable to the Six Great Immortal Sects, but...

If the efficiency of the arrays catches up with the Supreme Yin Sect, the production from each spirit node doubling is not out of the question.

Having set his goal, he arrived at Purple Cloud Courtyard.

However, as soon as Alkaid got out of the vehicle, Qin Yi approached him with a surprised and somewhat complex look, "The Patrol Heaven Warships from Limitless Star Palace... are likely to be withdrawn from the Eastern Sea."

"Hmm?"

Alkaid frowned, "What happened?"

"Just now, one of the level 7 Spirit Gathering Arrays outside the Limitless Star Palace, which produces 10 million spirit stones annually, was struck a devastating blow by a Great Technique Cultivator from the Quicksand Sect when the array was shut down..."

Qin Yi took a deep breath, "Sun Moon Peak collapsed, the large-scale energy facility atop the peak was completely destroyed, and over a hundred thousand cultivators with developed divine sense died."