544: Chapter 544 The Formation Begins, the Joyous Union Formation

Everyone spent the entire morning sorting everything out before they finished classifying all the items.

Chen Ping walked over and handed Xu Ruyu a list.

The list only had a few lines of numbers on it, with no extra words.

High-Grade Spirit Stone: 87 pieces.

Mid-Grade Spirit Stone: 324 pieces.

Low-Grade Spirit Stone: 613 pieces.

Magical Artifact: 43 pieces.

Medicinal Pill: 126 bottles.

Jade Slip: 54 pieces.

Others: a few.

Xu Ruyu looked at the list and remained silent for a moment.

Eighty-seven High-Grade Spirit Stones, less than half of what he had anticipated.

He had originally needed at least two hundred High-Grade Spirit Stones to ensure the Formation would run normally; now, there were only eighty-seven.

The rest would have to be barely covered by Mid-Grade Spirit Stones; the Low-Grade Spirit Stones were completely useless.

He did not sigh, nor did he shake his head.

He folded the list, put it into his sleeve, turned around, and said to Chen Ping, "Take out all the High-Grade Spirit Stones and embed them one by one according to the Array Pattern node numbers, starting from the mountain gate."

"Use the Mid-Grade Spirit Stones on the secondary nodes, prioritizing those close to the main trunk, and use the Low-Grade Spirit Stones for those far from the main trunk."

Chen Ping paused for a moment, "Sect Master, can Low-Grade Spirit Stones be used? Is the energy sufficient?"

Xu Ruyu shook his head, "It is not enough. But there is no other way, it has to be this way."

Chen Ping did not ask further.

He nodded and turned to make arrangements.

The work of embedding the Spirit Stones was more tiring than carving the Array Pattern because one had to squat, kneel, and lie down.

Some nodes were in the cracks of rocks, requiring one to reach their hand in and stuff them in bit by bit.

Some nodes were on slopes, requiring one to brace with one foot while balancing to embed the Spirit Stone.

Chen Ping lay on the ground, reaching his hand into a rock crevice; his fingertips could barely reach the node.

He stretched hard, finally touched it, shoved the Spirit Stone in, and then pressed it down firmly with his fingers.

After doing this, his arm was scraped by the rock crevice, leaving two red marks that stung with a burning pain.

The leader of the second group knelt on the steps of the main hall, taking half an incense stick of time to embed a single node.

It was not that she was slow, but that the position of that node was too tricky; she tried to embed it several times but couldn't get it in.

Xu Ruyu passed by, squatted down to take a look, took the Spirit Stone from her hand, turned it half a circle, aligned the angle, gave it a gentle push, and it went in.

The group leader breathed a sigh of relief.

The third group followed behind Xu Ruyu; they were responsible for the most nodes, and they were the furthest away.

They had to go from the back mountain to the medicinal garden on the east side, then from the garden to the martial arts arena on the west side, embedding them node by node.

Xu Ruyu walked in the lead; whenever he reached a node, he would squat down, check the position, take a Spirit Stone from his cloth bag, and embed it.

His movements were fast and practiced, as if he had done it many times before.

By evening, the embedding of the Spirit Stones was complete.

Chen Ping was so tired that he sat on the steps in front of the mountain gate, gasping for air.

His hands were covered in dust, his fingernails were filled with dirt, and his sleeves were worn through.

But he didn't want to wash his hands or change his clothes; he just wanted to see what the Formation would look like after it was activated.

Xu Ruyu stood in the center of the mountain gate, closing his eyes to steady his breathing.

Then he raised his hands, interlaced his fingers, and formed a complex hand seal.

His fingers were nimble, and every movement was precise.

"Formation, activate."

His voice was low, but everyone present heard it.

The Array Pattern lit up.

A silvery-white light started from the mountain gate and spread rapidly to both sides along the first Array Pattern.

The light grew brighter and faster, surging into the distance like a tide.

In just a few breaths, the entire mountain gate was enveloped in silvery-white light.

Then, the light extended along the second Array Pattern toward the main hall, and then along the third Array Pattern toward the back mountain.

From the mountain gate to the main hall, from the main hall to the back mountain, from the back mountain to the medicinal garden, and from the medicinal garden to the martial arts arena, circle by circle, layer by layer, the entire Hehuan Sect ancestral grounds were wrapped in silvery-white light.

The light grew brighter and brighter, blindingly so.

Chen Ping squinted and used his hand to shield his eyes from the light.

Others also turned their faces away, not daring to look directly at it.

Then, all the light shrank inward simultaneously, as if being squeezed by an invisible hand.

They shrank into a line, then into a point, and then disappeared.

The area in front of the mountain gate returned to its original state.

The Array Pattern were gone, and the light of the Spirit Stones could no longer be seen.

Viewed from the outside, the Hehuan Sect ancestral grounds still looked dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, with tilting halls, as if no one had lived there for many years.

Chen Ping rubbed his eyes and looked into the distance.

The forests, roads, and sky outside the mountain gate were clearly visible, exactly the same as yesterday.

But he knew that if he walked out of the mountain gate now and looked back, he would see nothing.

The entire Hehuan Sect ancestral grounds would disappear from sight, as if it had been hidden.

Chen Ping stood up, walked to Xu Ruyu, and asked, "Sect Master, what is the name of this Formation?"

Xu Ruyu looked toward the direction outside the mountain gate and, after a while, replied, "Let's call it the Hehuan Mountain Protection Array."

He turned around, looked at the Disciples whose faces were full of exhaustion but whose eyes contained light, and said, "Rest well tonight."

"Starting tomorrow, I will complete the core part of the Formation."

"You don't need to do anything; just guard your respective positions."

Everyone lay down in the square and quickly fell asleep.

Xu Ruyu stood in front of the mountain gate, looking at the pitch-black forest in the distance.

The moon had not yet risen, and the sky was very dark, with only a few faint stars.

Xiao Nianyin walked out from inside and stood beside him. She did not make a sound, just stood there.

The two remained silent for a long time.

In the distance, within the mountain forest, there was the faint sound of birds calling.