Chapter 38: The Eight Arrays Diagram
"This is the Eight Arrays Diagram." Under the guidance of Du Yuejiao, Lin Tian soon arrived at the very center of the Array Peak. Before him stood a massive stone tablet, engraved with complex and intricate diagrams of formations. Just one glance at it made him feel dizzy.
In front of the stone tablet, two towering stone pillars stood. Names continually emerged upon them. On one pillar, the name at the very top was Luo Qing, followed by the shining number thirty-seven, which seemed to be etched with great intensity. Du Yuejiao's name appeared in fourth place, with the number thirty-two following hers.
"What is this?" Lin Tian asked, puzzled, as he gazed at the stone tablet before him.
"This is our Array Peak's Array Comprehension Stele," Du Yuejiao explained. "There are two such steles. One records the formation comprehension progress of outer sect disciples, and the other records that of inner sect disciples." She continued, "The number following a disciple's name represents how many formations they have comprehended. Currently, Luo Qing holds the top rank on our outer sect stele."
"It seems that Luo Qing is quite impressive after all." Lin Tian couldn't help but comment as he glanced up. Though he had no affection for Luo Qing, he had to admit that his understanding of formations was indeed unique. His current rank of first in the outer sect seemed well-deserved.
"By the way, since I'm a disciple of the Weapon Peak, am I allowed to use this Array Comprehension Stele?" Lin Tian suddenly asked.
"The Eight Arrays Diagram is open to all outer sect disciples," Du Yuejiao replied. "As long as you have the token of an outer sect disciple, you can enter the Eight Arrays Diagram to study."
Upon hearing this, Lin Tian immediately took out his outer sect disciple token. As he approached the Eight Arrays Diagram, an inexplicable pulling force emerged, seemingly asking if he wished to enter.
With a thought, Lin Tian stepped into the diagram. The world before him flashed white, and when the light faded, he found himself in a barren, desert-like place.
At this moment, his outer sect token flickered, seemingly reminding him to inscribe his name.
"Right, since this is Array Peak's domain, I should avoid using my real name." Just as Lin Tian was about to inscribe his name, he paused. After a brief moment of contemplation, he wrote the name "Wu Xuan."
As soon as the name was written, the characters "Wu Xuan" gradually floated up and eventually vanished, and an array diagram appeared before him. Although it was still a basic formation, it was far more difficult than the ones Du Yuejiao had previously given him.
If it had been anyone else, they might have hesitated for a moment upon seeing such a diagram. But for Lin Tian, this array presented no real challenge. With a casual glance, his spiritual seals rapidly stacked, and within moments, the formation was drawn out. Remarkably, after completing the formation, Lin Tian felt little to no energy loss in his spiritual power, aside from a slight drain on his mental energy. This meant that arranging formations within the Eight Arrays Diagram didn't consume any spiritual power.
The instant the formation was set, Lin Tian distinctly heard a faint sound from his token. He pulled it out to check and was stunned to find that his points had increased by twenty. This was an unexpected gain. After all, Du Yuejiao hadn't mentioned that successful formation setups in the Eight Arrays Diagram would yield bonus points.
Although he had already accumulated quite a few points, Lin Tian understood that crafting weapons required vast amounts of rare metals, and these could only be exchanged using points. Especially with the spirit weapon he intended to craft, the number of rare metals required would be enormous. With this in mind, Lin Tian seized the opportunity to earn more points.
Over the next hour, Lin Tian completed the remaining thirty-two basic formations at a terrifying speed, steadily climbing the rankings in the Eight Arrays Diagram. Wu Xuan's name surged upwards.
Upon seeing this, the outer sect disciples of the Array Peak were completely dumbfounded. This was the first time they had witnessed someone advancing so rapidly in the rankings of the Eight Arrays Diagram.
Du Yuejiao, who was standing near the Eight Arrays Diagram, couldn't help but twitch her mouth. While others might not know who Wu Xuan truly was, she knew all too well. Wu Xuan's true identity was Lin Tian. Though she had known Lin Tian was talented, she hadn't expected his skills to be so formidable. In just one hour, he had completed thirty-two formations.
Although the first-order formations in the Eight Arrays Diagram were basic, when Du Yuejiao herself completed them, it had taken her a full twenty days. That pace had made her one of the best in the entire Array Peak. Even Luo Qing, now ranked first in the Array Peak, had taken thirteen days. Yet Lin Tian had done it in just one hour! She could hardly believe it, and began to question whether she or he was truly the disciple of the Array Peak.
As she struggled with her thoughts, she noticed the number after Lin Tian's name change once again. From thirty-two, it jumped to thirty-three. Shortly after, it changed to thirty-four, and then to thirty-five, thirty-six, and finally, thirty-seven.
Seeing this, Du Yuejiao's breath quickened. The current outer sect leader, Luo Qing, had only managed to complete thirty-seven formations. If Lin Tian succeeded in one more formation, he would surpass Luo Qing and become the new outer sect leader of the Array Peak.
Just as Du Yuejiao eagerly anticipated this, she saw Lin Tian weakly step out of the Eight Arrays Diagram. Since entering the diagram, all his mental energy had been focused on setting up formations. Having completed thirty-seven in a row, the mental strain was immense. Simply standing now was already an accomplishment.
"Are you alright?" Du Yuejiao quickly rushed over to support Lin Tian, looking around in concern.
"I'm fine. It's just that my mental energy has been overexerted. I'll recover after a short rest." Lin Tian waved his hand, indicating that it wasn't a serious issue. Meanwhile, an outer sect disciple of the Array Peak hurriedly ran toward Luo Qing's residence.