NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 18 - Array
Chapter 18: Array
“Even the royal family arranged a marriage between the fairy and the ancestor of the Li family. I heard the fairy is young, beautiful, and also a princess. The Li family’s ancestor is truly fortunate.”
“What’s the matter with the royal family? The ancestor of the Li family is an immortal who even pleases many other immortals!”
“Speaking of which, it would be amazing if the patriarch of the Li family became the emperor, but unfortunately, as an immortal, he probably doesn’t care about the throne at all.”
“Yes, we can’t even become a local magistrate in this lifetime, but the Li family’s patriarch doesn’t want to be an emperor. That’s the privilege of being an immortal.”
“…”
The news of Li Su marrying the royal princess caused a lot of discussions in Luo City. In the eyes of ordinary people in the Wu Kingdom, the royal family still held a high status. The royal family even had their own “immortals.” However, it was unexpected that they would send one of their “immortals” to marry the ancestor of the Li family. Rumor had it that she entered the Li family as a concubine, which indicated the immense power of the Li family’s “immortal” ancestor. Among the “immortals,” they were all highly powerful beings. Being such a powerful immortal, Li Su was adored and praised by everyone for his kindness and influence in Luocheng.
The candlelight cast a red glow in a warmly lit room. Sitting on the edge of the bed was a beautiful woman dressed in a magnificent red robe—the royal princess. Li Su gently removed her red veil. She was indeed young, just coming of age. Despite having spiritual roots, she had not even reached the Qi refining stage due to her young age.
Nonetheless, she possessed a striking appearance with enchanting phoenix eyes and delicate willow eyebrows—a classical beauty. She was known as the “Pearl” in the imperial city. Initially, she had some reservations, but after meeting Li Su, her doubts vanished swiftly. With her inability to cultivate foundations in her lifetime, she saw no reason to hesitate when presented with a chance to spend her life with a good man. Li Su fulfilled almost every woman’s fantasy—powerful, handsome, and exceptionally devoted. It was love at first sight for her. Li Su extinguished the candle.
“Husband, why are you doing this again?” the little royal princess expressed her concern. Within three years of marrying Li Su, she had already given birth to two children, and now she was pregnant with another one after only a few months. Li Su hadn’t left her side for the past few years, always staying with her. After over half a year, the little royal princess gave birth to a child with spiritual roots for Li Su, making a total of twenty descendants with spiritual roots. This marked a significant milestone for Li Su.
The quality of spiritual roots was highly unpredictable. Sometimes, even ordinary couples could have offspring with sixth-ranked or higher spiritual roots. Spiritual roots above the sixth rank were considered rare within the Three Great Immortal Gates. Whenever one appeared, they were accepted as core disciples by the three major immortal sects, gaining access to concentrated cultivation resources. Despite Li Su’s amicable relationship with the head of the Flying Immortal Sect, the resources he received were not comparable to those enjoyed by core disciples. The twenty descendants with spiritual roots provided Li Su with an additional hundred years of cultivation and formation experience, pushing him to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Finally, after this cultivation breakthrough, Li Su stood at the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment stage. Although the gap between the ninth and tenth levels of the Foundation Establishment stage was significant, the past hundred years of cultivation enhanced Li Su’s spiritual roots, providing an even better foundation for advancement. Now, he stood only one step away from the Golden Core stage.
However, this step was not an easy one. In normal circumstances, after reaching the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, breaking through to the Golden Core stage required accumulating strength and continuously condensing true energy. This process took a considerable amount of time, and for individuals with poor aptitude, even with abundant spiritual stones, their lifetime might not be enough. After all, reaching the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage itself took a significant amount of time. The gap between the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and the Golden Core stage was much greater than the distance between ordinary people and the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.
Once a cultivator broke through to the Golden Core stage, there was a world of difference compared to the Foundation Establishment stage. A cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage typically lives around 200 years, whereas a cultivator in the Golden Core stage had a lifespan of at least five hundred years, more than doubling their years. Furthermore, the strength of a cultivator also undergoes a qualitative change.
Li Su’s cultivation breakthrough and the presence of twenty descendants with spiritual roots had set the stage for his next challenge—the Golden Core stage.
Li Su’s path was different from that of others.
Relying on the cultivation base rewarded by the system, I wonder if I can break through to the Golden Core stage, Li Su thought.
In terms of cultivation alone, considering his current level of spiritual roots, he might need to accumulate another thousand years, or even longer, to meet the requirements for reaching the Golden Core stage. This was despite his spiritual roots having significantly improved over the years. If it were his original spiritual roots, even 10,000 years of cultivation might not be sufficient.
However, Li Su was not in a hurry. He had plenty of time.
Formation, he thought.
Li Su absorbed the 100 years of formation experience he had gained. In addition to enhancing his cultivation, the increase in the number of descendants with spiritual roots also provided Li Su with other cultivation opportunities. Moreover, formation experience, to some extent, was independent of spiritual roots. While spiritual roots were necessary for cultivation and the arrangement of formations, experience played a crucial role in arrays and weapon refining. It also contributed to one’s understanding of these practices.
Therefore, the 100 years of refining experience he previously obtained, as well as the 100 years of formation experience this time, did not heavily rely on Li Su’s spiritual roots. This allowed him to excel in refining weapons and formations. The formation experience he gained contained numerous basic formation methods. However, when it came to more powerful formations, Li Su still needed to learn.
Of course, grasping the basics wasn’t difficult, given the available experience. Li Su occasionally tinkered with formations, setting up some around the Li family’s mansion. Unlike refining equipment, which required materials and posed some difficulties in collection, formations were simpler. Li Su dissolved some of the magic tools he had previously refined, separated certain materials, made some array flags, and then arranged the formations. It was a perfect fit. With the formations in place, the security of the Li mansion was enhanced.
Although the current area where the three major immortal sects were located was generally peaceful, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred, nobody would dare provoke Li Su without good reason. While Li Su possessed various means to handle such situations, it was always better to be cautious and prepared for unexpected events.
“My lord, where is the mansion?” On a particular day, Li Su brought his women outside the villa and activated the mountain guard formation. Then, the women witnessed the villa disappearing.
“Your formation is incredibly powerful, husband!” The female cultivators immediately recognized it as a formation. Ning Xiaoyu flew over but couldn’t locate the villa’s original position no matter how hard she searched.
“Ning Xiaoyu, I’m giving you this formation disk. If I’m not around and you encounter danger, you can activate the large formation,” Li Su handed Ning Xiaoyu a formation plate. She was the first female cultivator he had taken under his wing, and Li Su entrusted many responsibilities to her without any worry.