49: The Five Elements Concept and the Emergence of "Cooperatives"

Carrying the precious clues unearthed from the dusty archives of the Myriad Phenomena Tower, Wen Youyi returned to the D-7 Courtyard.

He shared the records regarding the "star core" and the "Shackles of the Heavenly Dao" from the "miscellaneous records of starfall," along with other fragmented information about ancient Formations and the balance of the Five Elements, with Zhao Iron Pillar and the other three without reservation.

Everyone listened with surging emotions, yet felt a pressure as heavy as a mountain.

"Damn, it turns out the fragment in our hands has such a huge background!" Zhao Iron Pillar rubbed his chin, looking at the star core fragment that Wen Youyi had solemnly taken out; his gaze had completely changed.

Wang Wu focused more on the practical side: "Junior Brother Wen, according to these clues, that 'Primal Array' needs multiple cores, and one also needs to understand things like the balance of the Five Elements and rune guidance... We only have one fragment right now, and we know almost nothing about the Five Elements or runes. This... where do we even start?"

This was exactly the crux of the problem. They had a blueprint but no Materials or engineers.

Wen Youyi, however, appeared to have a plan ready: "One bite at a time. We indeed cannot create a complete 'Primal Array' right now, but we can first try to build a... 'mini version,' or solve one part of it first."

He pointed to the records about the balance of the Five Elements: "For example, this balance of the Five Elements. Although we don't have Five Elements Spiritual Roots and cannot directly harness the power of the world's Five Elements, we can use external objects!"

A bold concept took shape in his mind.

"We can try to refine five types of 'basic Formation Bases' with different attributes to simulate the power of the Five Elements. Then, using our fragment—whose primary attribute is 'Star' (which can be seen as a special type of Earth or something beyond the Five Elements)—as the core, we'll attempt to construct a miniature, stable Five Elements circulation field! This field might not have offensive or defensive capabilities, but as long as it can exist stably, it can greatly optimize the Spiritual Qi environment within our 'Star Domain,' and might even... produce some unexpected changes!"

This idea made everyone's eyes light up. Indeed, if you can't build a car, you can build a scooter to get around first!

"But refining Formation Bases of five attributes requires corresponding Materials, and we're dirt poor right now." Senior Brother Li raised a practical issue. Most of the gains from killing Chen Jian and completing tasks had been spent on Cultivation supplies.

Wen Youyi laughed, his gaze sweeping outside the courtyard: "We don't have money, but some people do."

The "some people" he referred to were the Low-level Disciples who had started practicing the "Youyi Collaboration Method"!

"Our 'Collaboration Method' gave them a taste of success, but if they want to go deeper—like obtaining more stable 'environment formation plates' or more efficient 'synchronization techniques'—wouldn't they need... a little 'technical support' and 'specific Materials'?" A light like that of a devious merchant flickered in Wen Youyi's eyes.

Zhao Iron Pillar suddenly understood: "I get it! Little Wen, you want to charge tuition?"

"No, it's not simply charging tuition." Wen Youyi shook his head. "We'll establish a... 'Mutual Aid Cooperative'."

He elaborated on the concept of this "Cooperative" in detail:

Their D-7 Courtyard would serve as the technical core, providing "limited" technical consultation and "custom versions" of simple Formation Plates (which would be slightly better than the open-source version but far inferior to what they used themselves). Other Disciples who wanted these wouldn't need to pay Spirit Stones; instead, they would exchange specific attribute Materials obtained during their tasks or explorations!

This way, they could continuously collect various basic Materials needed to refine the Five Elements Formation Bases at an extremely low cost! At the same time, they could unite more Low-level Disciples around a loose Alliance based on the concepts of "collaboration" and "mutual aid."

"Brilliant!" Wang Wu clapped his hands in praise. "This is equivalent to using 'knowledge' we don't need to trade for 'Materials' we urgently need, and we're building a network too! Killing multiple birds with one stone!"

No sooner said than done.

Wen Youyi immediately set to work, improving the refining method of that terrible "environment stabilization Formation Plate" to create a "Cooperative Special Edition." Its effectiveness was 30% higher than the open-source version and its stability was slightly better, but the core synchronization, harmony, and material processing techniques remained in his own hands.

At the same time, he listed the first batch of basic Materials needed for refining the Five Elements Formation Bases, covering the attributes of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Then, through the network of contacts Wang Wu and Senior Brother Li had gradually built among the Outer Sect's Low-level Disciples, he quietly released the news of the establishment of the "D-7 Courtyard Mutual Aid Cooperative" and the "Materials for technology" exchange.

As soon as the news broke, it immediately caused quite a stir among the Low-level Disciples.

Many Disciples who had tasted success with the "Collaboration Method" were struggling with the difficulty of further improvement. Upon learning they could exchange Materials they couldn't use for "official" guidance and better Formation Plates, they were all moved.

Especially those teams that frequently formed groups for gathering or hunting tasks; they often accumulated many attribute Materials that they couldn't use themselves and couldn't sell for a good price. This was the perfect time to trade them for tangible assistance.

Thus, Disciples began to cautiously bring Materials to the outside of the Ding Zi Courtyard for "trading."

Wen Youyi received them personally, giving corresponding "technical guidance" or exchanging special edition Formation Plates based on the value and attributes of the Materials. He was kind, explained things clearly, and never held back (within defined limits), quickly earning a good reputation.

In front of the Ding Zi Courtyard's gate, a bit of a crowd gradually began to form.

The collected Materials were sorted and stored. Wen Youyi began to research how to refine these different attribute Materials into "basic Formation Bases" capable of stably outputting the corresponding elemental energy.

This was a brand-new field, full of unknowns and challenges.

But Wen Youyi enjoyed it. He knew that with every Formation Base successfully refined, they were one step closer to that grand goal.

And the flapping wings of this tiny "butterfly" were quietly stirring a breeze of collaboration, mutual aid, and resistance among the Low-level Disciples of the Outer Sect.

(End of Chapter)