In the following days, Mu Jinyu led Gu Xiyan and the others in quietly cultivating their skills within Yinlong Mountain.
Occasionally, Mu Hongchen would find the materials he needed for setting up formations, and he would cease cultivation to start setting up the array.
Half a month passed.
Mu Hongchen had gradually brought him quite a few materials, and to Mu Jinyu's delight, all of the essential materials needed for one particular formation that he currently needed had been provided by Mu Hongchen.
The Mountain Protection Array that Mu Jinyu was planning to set up was not comprised of a single formation. Rather, it was a combination of various arrays, arranged in conjunction with the terrain of the mountain. The key point was those nine peaks, the location of the Dragon Vein.
However, one of the Dragon Veins was now fractured. He could not rashly incorporate the Dragon Vein into the formation. On the contrary, he had to isolate the massive Evil Qi contained within that Dragon Vein.
For that purpose, they needed a "Silent Qi Array" that could isolate harmful gases such as miasma, poison, evil qi, resentful qi, and deadly qi, in addition to the Spiritual Energy.
Thankfully, Mu Hongchen had first found the various materials needed to set up the "Silent Qi Array," which eased Mu Jinyu's mind, as they could now stay in Yinlong Mountain for a much longer time.
After setting up the Silent Qi Array, the progress of the Mountain Protection Array that Mu Jinyu wanted to set up was about one-tenth complete.
Once they finished setting up the Spirit Attraction Formation, Spirit Gathering Array, Spirit-Sealing Formation, Illusion Array, defensive formation, and so on, a complete Mountain Protection Array could be completed.
Watching Mu Hongchen leave, Mu Jinyu held a stone in his hands that was quite oddly shaped, which under the sunlight's reflection, emitted many peculiar scenes. He muttered to himself:
"Now that the 'Sea Mirage Stone' has been found, the core material for the 'Illusion Array' is here. The remaining materials should be quickly gathered. It's just the core materials for the Spirit Gathering Array and a few other arrays that are missing."
The Spirit Gathering Array and Spirit Attraction Formation that he was talking about were not comparable to the arrays that had been set up in the past for the Beauty Pill assembly line.
Back then, the Spirit Gathering Array and Spirit Attraction Formation were small in scale and could be set up with ordinary jade, but the Spirit Gathering Array that was now to be integrated into the Mountain Protection Array needed to be set up across the entire mountain range.
This was like comparing a small bamboo house to a skyscraper several dozen stories high—the scale of the project was completely different.
Ordinary jade simply could not sustain the Spirit Gathering Array and Spirit Attraction Formation needed for the Mountain Protection Array!
The scale of the Mountain Protection Array project was enormous. The spiritual materials and treasures needed were vast. In the past, when Earth's Spiritual Energy was scarce, the many paths and sects that wanted to set up a small-scale Mountain Protection Array needed several generations, decades, or even over a hundred years to complete.
The Mountain Protection Array of Yinlong Mountain also took Young Master Mu fifty years to set up.
But now, with the revival of Spiritual Energy, all sorts of Spirit Grasses, Spirit Plants, Spiritual Objects, and Spiritual Materials were appearing frequently. Mu Jinyu believed the Mountain Protection Array he wanted to set up shouldn't take too long.
Shaking his head slightly, Mu Jinyu stopped dwelling on these troubles and, holding the "Sea Mirage Stone," he began to walk through the Secluded Valley, observing the terrain most suitable for placing it, then waited for the arrival of the other materials needed for the "Illusion Array."
Once they arrived, he could promptly set up the "Illusion Array." By then, anyone who arrived at the outskirts of Yinlong Mountain without a token of passage would not be able to see this valley, and they would be confused by the various scenes that appeared within it, losing their way!
Soon, Mu Jinyu found the most suitable location and began to squat down, busily carving numerous inscriptions on the "Sea Mirage Stone." After about half an hour,
Mu Jinyu finally completed the engraving of the relevant talismans for the "Illusion Array" on the "Sea Mirage Stone." Then, he abruptly opened his mouth and exhaled a long stream of white breath, which struck the "Sea Mirage Stone" like a shooting ribbon.
"Buzzing!!!"
The "Sea Mirage Stone," refined by Mu Jinyu's True Primordial Essence, immediately began to tremble and then burst forth with splendid Huaguang, with a nine-colored radiance rotating along with it.
In that moment, Mu Jinyu saw an endless number of scenes within it, including desert oasis, ocean monsters, and resplendent palaces… and so on.
"Wow, what is this? It's so pretty!"
At that moment, several pleasant female voices came from behind him.
Without turning his head, Mu Jinyu knew it was Gu Xiyan and the others.
"'Sea Mirage Stone,' used to set up an Illusion Array. Don't be fooled by its beauty; once the Illusion Array is activated, with your current strength levels, you're likely to starve to death in here,"
Mu Jinyu said without looking back.
During this period, although the women had been cultivating diligently, except for Jian Ruyan, who had successfully broken through to the God Realm,
Gu Xiyan, Mei Yinxue, and Su Zijin were still stuck at the Half-Step Divine Realm.
As for Yu Linglong and the others who started cultivating later, they had just barely crossed the threshold and were far from comparable to Gu Xiyan and her group.
Thus, Mu Jinyu wasn't joking; he was serious.
"Hmph!"
At that moment, a disdainful sneer sounded from behind.
It was Jian Ruyan.
Mu Jinyu, while digging a pit to bury the "Sea Mirage Stone" that had been refined, and waiting for the other spiritual materials needed to activate the Illusion Array to be found, said,
"Little Yanzi, don't think that just because you've stepped into the God Realm, you can get arrogant. The moment my Mountain Protection Array is set up, even if you are a mighty figure in the God Realm and can absorb nature's spiritual energy to sustain yourself, once you enter my Mountain Protection Array, I can cut off the spiritual energy you need and have you starve to death!"
Mu Jinyu didn't call Jian Ruyan Ah-Xiu anymore because she wouldn't let him use that intimate name. She believed that Xiang Yinxui, her former name, and Ah-Xiu, the affectionate nickname, should only be called by her brother, Xiang Mantang.
He didn't deserve it!
The worsening of her attitude towards him was due to the fact that half a month ago, Mu Jinyu tricked her into washing his dirty clothes, including his underwear—the truth of which was finally exposed.
When Jian Ruyan realized that they weren't Xiang Mantang's clothes at all but Mu Jinyu's dirty laundry, she almost went mad and chased Mu Jinyu for an entire day and night.
If it weren't for Su Zijin and the others trying to mediate, and because her strength ultimately couldn't match Mu Jinyu's, she probably wouldn't have given up so easily.
Though that incident had passed for the time being, Jian Ruyan's attitude towards Mu Jinyu had naturally become very nasty.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Jian Ruyan sneered again but didn't rebut anything.
After all, she came from a different background and was aware of cultivation, formations, talismans, alchemy, etc. She naturally understood the power of the Array that Mu Jinyu was setting up and knew that if she fell into it, it would truly be a life and death situation!
"Dinglingling!!"
After Mu Jinyu filled up the pit and brushed off his hands to stand up, ready to bicker with Jian Ruyan some more, his phone suddenly rang.
He took out his phone and saw it was a call from Yao Liangbi.
A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes; unclear why Yao Liangbi would call him, Mu Jinyu still immediately answered it.
"Hello, master..."
As soon as the call connected, an excited, elderly voice came through from Yao Liangbi.
"What is it?"
Mu Jinyu asked indifferently.
Yao Liangbi spoke respectfully, "News about alchemy has arrived..."