Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye naturally wouldn't activate his Talent Tree here to draw power from the Earth Fire. After all, it would be quite inappropriate to do so when someone had kindly brought him here to forge array banners.

That would be like stealing someone's job.

The furnace quickly turned red-hot, and Veteran Bai tossed a metal ingot into it. At the same time, he tested Lu Ye, "What kind of materials do you generally choose for forging array banners and array bases?"

"You usually choose metals that are lightweight and sturdy, and at the same time, they must have a very high conductivity for spirit force. Beehive steel and black iron are the most commonly used materials. Additionally, if there is a need, demon beast hide can also be used to refine the banner surface..."

Lu Ye recounted the teachings of Bai Qian and spoke fluently.

Bai Qian nodded in satisfaction and asked a few more questions, to which Lu Ye quickly responded.

"Theory is, after all, just theory. Possessing this knowledge while also having the ability to apply it is crucial; otherwise, it will all just be armchair strategy."

The metal ingot that Veteran Bai had thrown into the furnace soon melted into a flowing liquid. With a surge of spirit force, he raised his hand and grabbed the glowing, scalding liquid, which under the control of his spirit force, started to reshape into the form of an array banner.

"Once you have sufficient control over your own spirit force, you can refine array banners without relying on external forces. If that's not the case, you can use molds," he said as he placed the searing liquid into a mold on the training platform, which was indeed for an array banner.

After letting it cool slightly, Veteran Bai took out the rough form of the array banner and began hammering it down with the hammer.

With every strike of the hammer, Lu Ye thought he heard a series of hammering sounds, but the many blows all merged together, making it difficult for him to distinguish between them.

"Whether it's forging array banners or Spiritual Artifacts, one needs to have strong control over their own strength. The primary reason why array banners and Spiritual Artifacts are effective is the restrictions imprinted within them. Without restrictions, no matter how precious the materials are, they are just empty shells. An exceptional Artifact Refiner can alter the inner structure of a Spiritual Artifact during the forging process, thus establishing those restrictions. Some Artifact Refiners can forge the weapon substrate from one material and establish the restrictions using another material; combining the two can enhance the power of the Spiritual Artifact. However, this requires a high level of skill, and I have no talent in this area, so I cannot do such a thing," Veteran Bai explained as he hammered away.

With each strike, the hammer vibrated violently, causing a dense sequence of sounds. With his Insight Spirit Runes enhancing his vision, Lu Ye could see more clearly. Indeed, as Bai Qian had said, each strike caused tiny changes within the substrate, forming a series of restrictions.

"That's why I say you, with your main element of the Five Elements being fire and having practiced a fire-type technique, have a natural advantage in the field of forging and refining. Once your skills become profound in the future, you won't need any tools and can freely refine what you desire in the air. Many techniques can also be utilized at will. However, for now, your cultivation is too low; don't worry about these things and focus on solidifying your foundation," Veteran Bai instructed.

"Understood."

The constant clinking sound ensued, and in no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a small array banner just the size of a palm was completed.

An array banner is just a carrier; the key lies in the restrictions within it. Depending on the restrictions, an array banner can exhibit different functions. However, a single array banner is useless on its own. Various array banners working together are what allow for array setup and destruction.

After watching the entire process from start to finish, Lu Ye realized that forging an array banner itself wasn't difficult. In fact, if one had a mold, anyone could create a rough form of an array banner, even if not perfectly, it was the integration of restrictions within the array banner that was challenging.

This process was different from his use of spirit force to construct spirit runes. He had high control over his own spirit force, and even constructing spirit runes he learned from books was not too difficult.

But to hammer out spirit runes and form restrictions, especially within an array banner, the difficulty was not ordinary.
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"You try it!" Veteran Bai instructed.

Lu Ye nodded. Seeing something ten times isn't as good as doing it yourself once. Veteran Bai had already demonstrated how to forge an array banner, and although Lu Ye didn't quite understand his technique, such things needed to be practiced personally for comprehension.

He took a metal ingot from Bai Qian, threw it into the furnace, waited for it to melt into liquid, wrapped it with spirit force, took it out, and placed it into a mold. After cooling it slightly, Lu Ye grabbed a nearby hammer, recalling Bai Qian's method, and hammered down.

Two distinct and rhythmic clinks sounded as Lu Ye hammered, causing his spirit force to surge.

"Don't rush, you've just started. First, you must learn how to use the hammering to drive your spirit force into the array banner, utilizing it to change the internal structure. Only then can you possibly build spirit runes and form restrictions within it," Veteran Bai patiently taught by his side.

"Understood."

Clink, clink, clank...

Lu Ye sweated profusely. Veteran Bai occasionally offered pointers, each hitting the nail on the head, allowing Lu Ye to clearly recognize his own shortcomings.

Failure after failure, repetition after repetition.

Fortunately, this practice didn't waste materials. If it turned out poorly, it could simply be thrown back into the furnace to be recast and then hammered again.

The Soul Cleansing Water he had previously given to Veteran Bai was undoubtedly effective; otherwise, as someone from outside the sect, Veteran Bai wouldn't have taught him so tirelessly.

Until a day later, a somewhat crude array banner was finally made.

Bai Qian gave it a cursory inspection and nodded slightly, "Not bad, but there are many areas that need improvement. Continue."

With the experience of the first successful attempt, crafting other array banners became easier.

Time passed, and one array banner after another was crafted.

According to Bai Qian's previous guidance, the most basic set of array banners consisted of thirty-six. For Lu Ye at his current stage of cultivation, crafting these thirty-six array banners would generally suffice.

There was no rush to craft more advanced array banners; he could consider that when his cultivation and proficiency in the Array Path improved in the future.

At first, Lu Ye could only craft one array banner per day, mainly because the difficulty was too great. It was easy to change the internal structure of an array banner with a single hammer strike, but transforming that structure into the unique pattern of spirit runes was difficult. Any mistakes meant the banner had to be recast from scratch.

According to Bai Qian, a true Artifact Crafting Master could directly hammer out spirit runes with a single strike, thus greatly improving the efficiency and tolerance for error in Artifact Refining.

For cultivators like Lu Ye, whose main element was fire and who practiced a fire-type technique, once their cultivation was profound enough, it would be entirely possible to directly manipulate spirit force to change the internal structure of an array banner, thus eliminating the need for hammering.

By the time Lu Ye had completed crafting the most basic set of array banners, half a month had already gone by.

As Lu Ye followed Bai Qian out of the training square, the blinding sunlight poured down, and Lu Ye couldn't help feeling as if he had been transported to a different era.

"Rest today, and I will take you to the Hundred Arrays Pagoda tomorrow," Bai Qian said as he took Lu Ye back to his residence, and after giving instructions, he left.

Once Bai Qian was gone, Lu Ye lay straight down on the bed, not wanting to move at all, and fell into a deep sleep.

Having spent half a month crafting array banners with hardly any rest, he was truly fatigued.

When he awoke, Yiyi had already prepared a sumptuous meal. Lu Ye ate his fill voraciously, only then feeling his vital energy restored.

Bai Qian arrived as promised and, activating his spirit force, he wrapped up Lu Ye and flew in a certain direction.

Before long, the two descended into a valley where a stone tower, dozens of feet tall, stood imposingly. The base of the tower was almost several dozen feet in diameter, radiating a rich sense of antiquity.

This was the purpose of Lu Ye's coming to Tianyan Sect, the Hundred Arrays Pagoda.

However, his initial thoughts were too simplistic, believing that by coming to Tianyan Sect, he could enter the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, yet just following Bai Qian to learn the Array Path and crafting array banners had taken a month and a half.

Still, it was ultimately worth it, for as the saying goes, sharpening your axe will not delay the chopping of firewood.

Just as the Tianyan Sect had previously evacuated the personnel of the training square to prevent the news of Lu Ye being alive from leaking, today they had also cleared out everyone here, completely sealing off the valley where the Hundred Arrays Pagoda was located.

Therefore, when Bai Qian brought Lu Ye here, there was not a soul in sight.

The Hundred Arrays Pagoda was not complete. From the outside, the stone tower seemed to be cut off in the middle, with only the lower half of the tower body remaining, the upper half nowhere in sight.

Zhao Li had told Lu Ye before that the Hundred Arrays Pagoda was divided into three parts: one part was with Tianyan Sect, another at the Cloud River battlefield, and as for the last part, no one knew where it was, as it had never appeared.

At the very bottom of the stone tower, there was also a stele, upon which spirit light flowed, occasionally emitting a mishmash of patterns.

Lu Ye stared at it for a while but couldn't understand what these patterns meant.

"It is said to be a ranking," Bai Qian explained from the side. "Those who excel in the Hundred Arrays Pagoda are entitled to leave their names on this ranking for future generations to admire. However, since the pagoda itself is incomplete, this ranking cannot be revealed. Perhaps only when the Hundred Arrays Pagoda is made whole again will this stele regain its function."

He turned his head and looked seriously at Lu Ye, "Some information about the Hundred Arrays Pagoda you must have learned over these days. There are opportunities inside, but there are also dangers. When entering the pagoda, remember one thing, you must act within your abilities."

"Understood."

In his days at the Tianyan Sect, he had naturally learned about the Hundred Arrays Pagoda through various sources and knew Bai Qian was not exaggerating. Challenging the Hundred Arrays Pagoda was greatly beneficial for the cultivation of the Array Path. Indeed, every Array Cultivator in the Nine Provinces of the Haotian Alliance sought to challenge the Hundred Arrays Pagoda; the Tianyan Sect was welcoming to this and did not selfishly keep it for themselves, nor had they ever sought any profit from it.

But it was undeniable that the Hundred Arrays Pagoda brought many connections to the Tianyan Sect, an intangible benefit.

Inside the Hundred Arrays Pagoda was very dangerous, not only because of the inherent dangers of the formations within but also due to the benefits awarded after passing each level's challenge. These benefits themselves carried risks.

The number of Array Cultivators who had died challenging the Hundred Arrays Pagoda was substantial, including quite a few talented Array Cultivators from big sects.