543: Chapter 543 Time was tight and the task was heavy, but no one complained.

Time was tight and the task was heavy, but no one complained.

The sun moved slowly, shifting from the roof to the treetops, and from the treetops to behind the mountain.

The light dimmed, and someone lit a torch, stuck it into the ground, and continued carving.

Chen Ping could no longer straighten his back; he had been squatting for too long, and his knees ached.

But he did not stop; he didn't even ask for a break.

The skin on his fingers was worn raw, and blood seeped out, dripping onto the stone surface. He paid no mind, wiped the blood away with his sleeve, and continued carving.

His team members were no better off; some had blisters on their palms, others had finger cramps, but not a single person said they wanted to stop.

The progress of the second group was fast; they had already carved up to the entrance of the main hall.

The team leader checked it once, discovered that the spacing between two nodes was incorrect, and ordered the team members to redo it.

Those two Disciples had no complaints; they squatted there and re-carved until it was satisfactory.

By the time Xu Ruyu led the third group back around from the back mountain, the sky was completely dark.

The light from the torches shone on the stone surface, stretching the shadows of the Array Pattern long.

Xu Ruyu squatted down, touched the Array Pattern carved by the third group, and nodded.

He did not say much, just led them to continue walking forward.

The night deepened, and the moon rose.

Moonlight shone on the Array Pattern, and the silvery-white lines lay quietly on the ground like glowing snakes.

Chen Ping finally finished carving the last Array Pattern.

He straightened his body, and his lumbar spine made a clicking sound.

He braced his knees and stood for a while, waiting until he had loosened up his stiff body before turning around to look at the Array Pattern he had carved.

The silvery-white lines started from the mountain gate, circled in a large loop, and returned to the mountain gate.

The lines were very straight, the grooves were deep, and the distance between the nodes was as precise as if measured with a ruler.

He let out a breath of satisfaction and sat on the ground.

The second group also finished their part.

The team leader led two team members and checked from the mountain gate to the main hall twice, confirming there were no broken points or misalignments, before announcing that work was done.

The last person of the third group returned to the mountain gate.

Xu Ruyu had walked all day, but he did not sit. He squatted in front of the Array Pattern Chen Ping had carved, touched the depth of the lines with his finger, measured the distance between the nodes again, and nodded.

He then walked to the Array Pattern carved by the second group, squatted down, looked for a long time, pointed to a spot, and said: "Here, it is two hair-widths too shallow. Re-carve it."

That Disciple walked over, squatted down, and re-carved it by hand.

His hands were trembling, and the dust made him want to cough, but he did not stop, one stroke at a time, unhurried and calm.

After he finished carving, Xu Ruyu touched it again and nodded, saying: "That will do."

He stood up and looked at everyone: "That is all for tonight. Tomorrow we begin embedding the Spirit Stones. Everyone go rest."

Everyone found a place to lie down on the plaza in front of the mountain gate and quickly fell asleep.

They were too tired; some even fell sound asleep without blowing out their torches.

The moonlight shone on those exhausted faces; some had smiles on their lips, while others still had furrowed brows.

Xu Ruyu did not sleep.

He sat on a rock in front of the mountain gate, looking at the pitch-black mountain forest in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Xiao Nianyin walked out from inside and stood beside him.

"Are you not resting?" she asked.

Xu Ruyu shook his head: "I cannot sleep."

Xiao Nianyin did not speak and sat down beside him.

The stone was not large, and it was a bit crowded for two people to sit, but she did not move away.

After a long silence, Xiao Nianyin asked: "When do you think those people from the Righteous Path will come?"

Xu Ruyu thought for a moment and said: "Soon. At most five days. Once the news that the Tianshu Sword Sect has been destroyed spreads, it will take less than three days for the people of the Demon Slaying Alliance to set out.

From their respective mountain gates to here, it takes seven or eight days for those far away, and two or three days for the nearby ones.

The fastest batch will be able to arrive in four or five days."

Xiao Nianyin nodded: "Will there be enough time?"

Xu Ruyu looked at the Disciples lying on the ground, then looked at the already carved Array Pattern, and said: "There is enough time; three days is enough.

Although the amount of Spirit Stones is not enough, it can barely hold up.

Once we get through this period, we will deal with whatever comes next later."

Xiao Nianyin did not speak again.

She leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

Her body was very light, and she had almost no weight leaning against Xu Ruyu.

The moon moved slowly, shifting from the east to the west.

When the sky was about to brighten, Xu Ruyu finally closed his eyes for a while.

Early the next morning, just as the sun revealed half its face from behind the mountain, Xu Ruyu woke up.

He gently moved Xiao Nianyin's head off his shoulder, let her lean against the stone to continue sleeping, then stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and walked toward the Disciples who were still sleeping.

"Wake up."

His voice was not loud, but everyone woke up.

Chen Ping rubbed his eyes and stood up; his hands were swollen, and his fingers could neither straighten nor clench, but he did not complain.

Others also stood up one after another; some limped, some rubbed their waists, and some yawned.

Xu Ruyu pointed to the small mountain piled in the center of the main hall and said: "Pick out the Spirit Stones and sort them by grade.

Put the High-Grade Spirit Stones separately, and put the Medium Grade and Low Grade separately.

Other treasures, Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and Jade Slips, should also be sorted and put away.

I need the Magical Artifacts to use as Formation Eyes, the Medicinal Pills are for those setting up the formation to replenish their Qi, and put the Jade Slips aside for now; we will deal with them later."

Everyone started to get busy.

They squatted beside the small mountain pile and searched through it piece by piece.

They rubbed the dust off the Spirit Stones by hand, checked their quality, and threw them into the corresponding positions.

They wiped the dust off the Magical Artifacts with their sleeves, checked their functions and grades, and sorted them into several categories.

They opened the bottle caps of the Medicinal Pills to smell them, checked their efficacy, and sorted them.

No one spoke; there was only the sound of Spirit Stones colliding and the occasional sound of coughing.

This work was not heavy, but it was hard on the eyes.

Some felt their eyes sore from looking and rubbed them before continuing. Some were choked by the dust and coughed continuously, taking a sip of water to suppress it.

No one complained, and no one slacked off.