Han De did not cancel Through the Starlight and instead continued walking across the top deck. The celestial ship trembled once again, but this ti it was far too subtle. Far away, a faint energy signature appeared, similar to that of Xin ilis, but weaker. Han De couldnt tell at this distance, but it was as if he knew that this new energy signature had sothing missing.
He could feel it in his bones (probably), that they were close to their objective. Soon, they would land.
[Current Realm: Heavens Gate Realm]
[Fa: Calculating]
[Status: Eligible]
Heavens Gate? Han De cursed in his mind. Sounds ominous.
A bad feeling entered his spine and slowly crawled upward. Was it panic born out of the unknown, or sothing more substantial? Han De didnt even give it so thought. It was panic. It had to be panic. There was no such thing as a cultivators intuition. Everything inside his head, all of his techniques, were covered with cold, scientific facts.
Everything was just a transformation of energy, not so para-normal mumbo-jumbo!
Superstition was just superstition.
While still pacing around (but very Profoundly, thanks to his footwork technique), Han De thought about the logistics.
Food should be easy. Herbs too. Ill gradually recruit mortals for mass production, but a small herb garden should be enough in the beginning. Illusions can be used for basic infrastructure, but buildings or abodes should be made with real materials.
'Hmm I can use lackeys to set up a few thousand bunker formations around the sect. But
Grand Array? All sects needed one. Without exception. It was the Xianxia staple. It was non-negotiable.
Han De the Array Master, felt indignant. Shouldnt a sects Grand Array, be made by its founder?!
The council of Han Des assembled at once. The most passionate was obviously the Array Master, but a few unexpected voices also spoke. The most surprising being, Han De the Survivor.
Wouldnt ten thousand bunker formations catch unwanted attention? The survivor asked with narrowed eyes.
No one was able to et his gaze, even the Array Master averted his eyes.
Its not really that big of a deal to catch attention, especially with so many experts behind my back Han De tried to think about it from a logical standpoint. But, catching the attention of high cultivation experts, would cause encounters with those experts. I need encounters at the level of my disciples. They should be the ones running around and getting an authentic Xianxia experience!
This made sense to Han De. As such, he realized it was better to make a single Grand Array, preferably at Nascent Soul level. Or maybe one realm higher at most.
He could always place a few hundred thousand arrays and keep them hidden. Sohow. He didnt know how, but he could always figure it out. Probably.
Actually Formations, or Arrays, or whatever the locals call them, dont seem to affect as much as Herbalism. Should I Grandmaster them?
Han De the Array Master secretly held his breath.
Recently, Han De had been indulging in many activities to keep himself busy. The busier his mind was, the less he would think about the connection of certain stuff.
Another Black Chrysanthemum blood a few feet away.
Yes, it makes sense to grandmaster them. Yep.
Han De ignored the second flower that appeared and concentrated on the System panels.
[Starfall Mountain Standard Formation Scripture (Mortal I)]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Comprehension: Master]
Wait, now that its completed, it has a quality? Mortal I?
None of the other Standard Scriptures in the Utility category were completed, Han De had only comprehended all Formation Scriptures volus in a mont of panic. Then he forgot to check the System description until that very mont.
Should I?
A third flower blood. Han De decided to throw caution to the wind.
Besides, if he didnt test the effects of the scriptures, he wouldnt be able to do anything out of fear. Formation scriptures were a good testbed in that regard.
[Starfall Mountain Standard Formation Scripture requires 137 Profound Points to reach the Grandmaster level]
[Redeeming 8x thod Upgrade Token for 1600 Profound Points]
[Upgrade Complete]
[Profound Points: 497767 -> 495430 (-2137)]
[Starfall Mountain Standard Formation Scripture (Heaven-Defying III)]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Comprehension: Grandmaster]
Han De the Array Grandmaster imdiately frowned. The difference between now and just a few seconds earlier, was truly akin to the difference between heaven and earth!
I sohow dont have the urge to make arrays/formations?
Was the effect too weak, or was he not suited for the Dao of Arrays, and therefore subconsciously ignored them? Or could it be that he was overly cautious, and blew his expectations out of proportion?
Probably just not suited for arrays. Yeah, that should be it.
In any case, Han De had gained quite a bit of insight. Hiding, nesting, building all kinds of arrays, he knew he could do it in a heartbeat. Such was the intuition and the accumulated experience of a Grandmaster.
Actually A flash of ingenuity caused Han De to narrow his eyes. I dont need to rely on mortals, do I? Cant I just make an automated garden?
Han De the Grandmaster Herbalist shook from his core! Of course! Why rely on unreliable things such as living beings?! Wouldnt an intricate array be able to provide the utmost care for any and all herbs?!
The potential consequences of this collaboration were far-reaching. It wasnt just herbs; the Dao of Arrays was infinitely flexible. Mass production of anything was possible!
As long as Han De was willing to spend so ti on it.
A plan started to take shape in Han Des mind. The Black Chrysanthemums disappeared into nothingness in the anti, but he was the wiser.
Han De asked.
The Patriarch could only an his grandfather in this context. The old Vegeta always liked to be over the top. Han De couldnt help but smile at his grandfathers style.
A sect, naturally needed an archive! Han De had given it so thought on how to fill one, but with this gift, he didnt need to do anything!
Han De ordered and closed the voice transmission.
In the anti, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced. Automation. That was the key. Probably.
Not industrialization. Not creating a rigged economy. Xianxia Automation.
Well, I suppose I would still want internet at so point. Sooo I should still try to increase the level of technology. Just in case!
Old Peng arrived on the outskirts of his spiritual sense much earlier than he expected. It was as if the trusty lackey was expecting the order!
Han De gave another 1 to Peng. And decided to tally the score one of these days.
Young master. Old Peng bowed as he presented a storage ring. The design and insignia were similar to Han Des ring, but the two had so strange differences. Han De noticed his personal storage ring looked much more solid, and once he realized it was his Reality Sense doing that, he ignored the discrepancy as best he could.
Lets see, yes, thats the building, miniature-sized, but it really is the sect archives!
Han De internally sighed as he took the building out. Just as he was wondering where to put it, the archive seed to have sensed his presence. The energy within first swelled up, then receded, opening up an invisible path in its wake.
Oh sh*t, does this thing have intelligence?
Imdiately, Han De consulted his AI Containnt and Eradication Protocol In Xianxia series of plans. Though the established plans werent as polished as he wouldve liked, it was enough for this circumstance, he decided.
Ok, I can later either destroy it, or give it to one of my disciples, or preemptively free it before the intelligence fully established itself.
Han De inwardly nodded and sent his spiritual sense inside. The proto-intelligence led him to the top floor of the archive, inside a room dimly lit by candlelight. Though for Han Des spiritual sense, the room was filled with complex energy lines.
As he began refinent of the archives, he deliberately used nurturing energies. The response was almost joyful, rather than what Han De feared.
Perhaps the archives didnt rember the cultivation idiot, after all. Or perhaps it was faking it! Either way, Han De tentatively put the building on his watch list!
Once the refinent was complete, Han De gained access to the inner workings of the archives.
Theres a search function!?
Han De truly didnt know whether to feel relieved or angry. Thankfully, he didnt waste too much ti in the archives, and was able to find what he wanted thanks to (Xianxia) common sense, and secondhand MC luck.
But what about the disciples?!
Archive hours was a reward for them! It wasnt even a common reward! Even spending 2 hours inside was difficult for a Foundation Establishnt disciple!
And they spent that ti blindly looking around!
Han De made another ntal note to expose the search function to his disciples, then started browsing.
Though the building didnt look big from the outside, the spatial formations within were nothing to scoff at. As a newly minted Nascent Soul expert, with System certified Reality Sense cheat, Han De could already feel the vastness of the archives.
But, seeing, was believing.
36 million scriptures? 410 million martial arts?! What the hell? Did those guys add 3 zeros to make it seem more impressive?!
Thanks to his grandfather, Han De knew the truth of the Starfall Mountain Sects origins. There wasnt any lofty history; the sect was only there because his grandfather liked the na. As such, the ridiculous number of scriptures looked highly suspect.
He concentrated on a random scripture na, and the archive imdiately led his spiritual sense to its location. On the 6th floor, near the balcony, just above the Dao symbol that one could see from the 1st floor.
Oh So the space folds in on itself? Thats actually neat. Huh Is it safe though?
Since this was concerning not only his own, but his disciples safety as well, Han De narrowed his eyes and inspected the spatial structure. Though, even with his Reality Sense and Grandmaster Formation knowledge, it was virtually impossible to decipher what was happening.
I guess it should be safe. Yeah, people have been using it for a long ti. What could possibly go wrong? Its not like spatial curve could snap without warning, right?
Although he was trying to reason, power of space, appeared to be increasingly more alien, which only served to heighten the danger factor in his mind. It didnt help that the Nascent Soul realm had limited access to it!
Well, whatever. I can choose from here, and send soone in to copy the scripture, and comprehend through the copy. Easy-peasy. What was the na of that thing anyway? I wish I could statu-
[Stone Fist of the Earth Dragon]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Roots: Earth]
[Notes: Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to comprehend at Grandmaster level.]
-s check from this distance What?
Han De was only habitually using the status check function, knowing that it wouldnt work.
Truly, if one had a status function, why wouldnt they use it? Why would anyone not use it on everything?
It was a sha that Han Des status function had distance limits. And it was even more sha that it only displayed the status of people that had eligible cultivation realms to beco his disciples. But Han De tried anyway.
Oh System ignores spatial formations? Wait, System, did you always do that? Is this sothing new?
Unfortunately, there was no response.
I guess I was never on the threshold of so load-bearing spatial formations? I always acted as if I was reading the scripture when I was in the archives, maybe thats why I didnt notice it?
Han De stopped speculating about the status function, and started speculating on the scripture instead.
The cost of comprehension does reduce when the scripture contains overlapping information with sothing I already know. But is it to this extent already? I dont know any martial art involving fists, and yet it still costs 1 point to Grandmaster the entire scripture.
Was it sothing truly worthless? Han De wondered.
Starfall Mountain Standard scriptures also costs 1 profound points, though they do have multiple volus.
Han De inwardly shook his head. This wasnt the ti to investigate, idle speculation had to be enough.
After all, in a matter of hours, he was supposed to establish a sect!
F#$%, I hope there isnt so sort of cerem- Actually, you know what. Lets not plant a flag.
Han Des thoughts went back to his sub-objective, which was finding an MMO-Grade healing scripture. A (potentially) crucial power for leaving a lasting impact on his disciples. Especially on Yu Xian.
The ex-god-king may have beco a disciple, but Han De was well aware of how he was being perceived. A(n arrogant) young master, relying on his familys power!
And that was 100% true! Why wouldnt Han De rely on his family for everything?! A Xianxia universe was a dangerous place!
The fact that Yu Xians inner thoughts were so on point, made the Harem MC all the more dangerous. If the ex-god-king were to start hinting at this fact to the other disciples, the facade Han De worked so hard for would crumble, even if he kept up his act perfectly!
A show of power was warranted. Probably.
Well, if the new sect needs to be an average Xianxia sect, so showmanship might be a good thing too. Lets look at it positively for a change
Han De imdiately went into crisis evaluation mode. Many Xianxia scenarios entered his mind. What would a sect master do? How would they behave? He had given this extensive thought to such matters before, albeit from a different angle. But now that Han De decided to let his disciples experience the world of Xianxia, he had to be flexible.
His thoughts ultimately converged on power. A sect master had to have power. Though Han De did have power, courtesy of the System, if it was up to him, he would never show it. He would go to extensive, beyond unreasonable lengths to avoid any personal intervention.
If I display overwhelming power, once Just once Han De reasoned with himself. I wont need to show it ever again.
In the end, he had to take action after all. Not for himself, but for (because of) his disciples! Han De sighed with resignation, but a tiny, infinitesimally tiny part of him, was secretly excited. This strange enthusiasm had to be hidden from Han De the Survivor, of course. Hence no one in the council of Han Des could notice it.
Another ominous flower blood near, and Han De diverted his thoughts in an instant.
Lets see, can I just sort by healing scriptures? The list in Han Des mind changed, hundreds of thousands of scriptures appeared. Elent of a scripture no longer mattered, thanks to the modification feature of the System. But Han De still narrowed the list further by the Light elent. There was no reason not to, since the Light elent itself already had various healing properties, more so than other elents. Any difference at the level of Extrely Weak would be tiny.
The scripture count though, remained largely the sa. Maybe 1/5th of it was gone at most. Han De started doubting whether the filter function was working correctly. Soon though, he noticed the vast majority of the scriptures resided in the sections with the heaviest defensive formations.
Did the old man give the Han family inheritance? A thought appeared in Han Des mind. Yes, it would make sense for grandfather to grab whatever he could to preserve the familys legacy.
A cursory look confird his suspicions. The majority of all scriptures in the archive were in similarly restricted and hidden sections. They all shared a different script than what Han De was used to as well.
These scriptures were perhaps the only remaining written evidence of an entire universe, let alone the grandeur of the Han family. That made Han De fall into deep thought, with complex feelings that were difficult -if not impossible- to untangle. An entire universe was destroyed(?). Why couldn't it happen again?
With a sigh, he brought himself back. Then inspected the hidden sections layout, and decided on starting at the deepest vault. He felt as if he were to give in to his desire to mull over, sooner or later his mind would go back to forbidden places.
A black chrysanthemum blood as Han De started the inspection then faded away as if it was never there.
Thankfully, the inherent physical properties of the Nascent Soul realm allowed him to finish in a matter of hours, rather than days. Close to ten thousand scriptures, Han De took just over two hours to evaluate.
Of course, Han De could not read them since they were written in an alien script with an alien language. But even if he could, he wouldnt. To Han De, his only gauge of power was the Profound Point cost!
There had to be so reason that one scripture would be more expensive than the other, right? Even if the cost itself had no direct relation to the scriptures power, Han De would still learn the most expensive scripture he could!
[Nine Void Illuminating Star Scripture (Mortal III)]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Stage: Up to Transcendent Realm]
[Roots: Light Elent]
[Notes: Primitive body, soul, and vital essence restoration scripture. Requires 46 Profound Point(s) to learn.]
Huh, this is the only one with quality above Mortal I, and it is the most expensive one.
Han De rembered his grandfather ntioning his illusion scripture, and how it was a more simplified version of what his grandmother used. Considering the Han family history, this scripture could have so history too. That felt fitting. Sohow.
[Nine Void Illuminating Star Scripture (Heaven-Defying III)]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Comprehension: Grandmaster]
[Stage: Nascent Soul (1/3)]
[Profound Points: 495430 -> 493584 (-1846)]
I kinda want to test this, but I also dont want to test it
To test a healing scripture, one had to heal sothing. Obviously. Han De wasnt willing to hurt himself, or others, just to test!
Alright, Ill do it live. I still have a one-trick healing spell anyway. I can rely on that if anything goes wrong.
Han De the Healer -who was just upgraded- felt the urge to get into a heated argunt. But he realized he would have to perform in a short ti anyway, and wisely stayed silent. His anticipation was contagious, and almost palpable.
Hmm. Not bad, the rest of the healing scriptures cost got reduced to almost nothing. The next most expensive one costs only 2 now.
'The only thing remaining now is a sealing scripture.
There were many things to learn, many gaps in his Xianxia scripture repertoire, but Han De focused on the essentials. And since he only needed a sealing scripture to show off, and hide to the involvent of his lackeys (if need be), he didnt need to search far and wide.
[Starfall Mountain Standard Sealing Scripture Volu 1]
[Notes: Contains extrely limited knowledge about basic sealing techniques. Includes surface-level knowledge of 17173 combinations of restriction algorithms, 9108 combinations of counter-restriction algorithms, 339 combinations of counter-counter restriction algorithms, 56 combinations of counter-counter-counter restriction algorithms, 49 fundantal theorems of restrictions. Requires 1 Profound Point(s) to comprehend at Grandmaster level.]
The numbers and their contents made Han Des eyes glaze over. If he were to really evaluate the scripture itself, Han De knew he would probably never comprehend it. Rather than suffering self-inflicted anxiety, he chose to soldier on with ignorance. Sealing techniques were fundantal to hiding the involvent of his more powerful lackeys. And thus, essential to his Powerful Sect Leader persona.
[Starfall Mountain Standard Sealing Scripture (Heaven-Defying III)]
[Power: Extrely Weak]
[Comprehension: Grandmaster]
[Profound Points: 493584 -> 490575 (-3009)]
The result was satisfactory, though it still left Han De dissatisfied!
F#$% this. I really should just get my lackeys to compile all volus into one. I dont want to comprehend 618 individual volus ever again. This is the last ti!
After shaking his head, Han De tentatively reviewed both healing and sealing scriptures, wondering what kind of effect they would have on him in the future. For now though, he felt content not getting sudden urges to heal or seal!
For the next 5 hours, Han De reviewed, re-reviewed, and made alternate versions of his Sect Establishnt in a Cinch series of plans. Then he re-re-reviewed them once more. But Han De realized that wasnt enough. More contingency plans were necessary, clearly.
Personal intervention was a possibility that he had considering months ago, when he faced the random MC during Ning Bis tournant event. Only now, Han De realized how unprepared he was.
He called the scout and got detailed descriptions of the landscape once more. Then he dived into the cultivation levels of the locals once again. Double and triple checking he had already done, but quintuple or sextuple checking, those would never prove to be harmful, right?
After two hours of intense debriefing (definitely not an interrogation), he felt reasonably convinced. And another two hours of fierce deliberations later, the council of Han Des felt reasonably satisfied. Reasonably, was the operative word of course.
This In a mont of self-awareness induced by his strong survival instincts, Han De felt stunned at his own recklessness. No, it makes sense, yeah. If I dont do this, there wont be any opportunities to teach them common sense. Han De took a deep breath, using every bit of his sensibility to convince himself. Yes, I have a bunch of nuclear weapons with ; everything will be fine. If not, I will make it fine, one way or another.
The plan was a rush job still, but it would have to do! Han De couldnt lock his disciples up until he ca up with a perfect plan, after all.
Wait, what if I enter a cultivation realm? Wouldnt I have even more ti then?!
The thought was difficult to ignore.
But. That would be seen as Han De entering closed-door seclusion, without a doubt! If Han De was the cultivation idiot, his grandfather would be a seclusion maniac. The connection was just too strong, there would be no other way to spin it.
Even worse, if anybody asked in the presence of Liang Cuifen the Lie Detector, could Han Des reputation co out unscathed?
Everyone would simply think that he made a last-second breakthrough. Which was a reasonable assumption, since Han De really did make last second breakthrough via the System. But the truth would certainly lessen the impact of his plans! He had to appear to be casually fighting to protect his Profound Master (A through G) image.
Han De closed his eyes and reviewed his plans one last ti, hoping that he wouldnt do or say anything that would tip Liang Cuifen off about how many plans he made.
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