Chapter 118: Pest-Killing Formation

Returning to the pile of soil behind the sect hall, Lin Xiao finally had all the materials ready to begin synthesizing the Artifact Forging Hall and the Array Formation Hall!

Since Ironhead wasn't around to help, Lin Xiao had to load the soil into his storage by himself before opening the Building Synthesizer. He carefully measured out the materials, calculating the required amounts.

Given that artifact forging required more space due to the large movements involved, Lin Xiao added extra soil and wood to ensure a larger workspace. After placing these materials into the synthesizer, he also added the Star-Moon Hammer and Purple Gold Cauldron that he had purchased from the system store.

Then came the waiting period for the synthesis process.

At that moment, a system prompt suddenly popped up:

[Would you like to share the Red Lotus Lava used as the fire source for the Alchemy Room with the Artifact Forging Hall?]

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then decisively selected "Yes."

The system's attentiveness never ceased to amaze him.

After a while, the Artifact Forging Hall was ready.

[Ding—Artifact Forging Hall synthesis complete. Please choose the placement location.]

A tall building, about ten square meters larger than the Talisman Crafting Room, appeared before Lin Xiao.

He placed it next to the Talisman Crafting Room, leaving about five meters of space between them. He figured that later on, he could plant some flowers and plants to beautify the area.

[Congratulations! The Artifact Forging Hall has been successfully constructed. The sect construction task (5) is complete. Rewards have been issued to your storage. Please check them carefully.]

Without immediately checking his rewards, Lin Xiao moved on to synthesizing the Array Formation Hall.

Following the same process, he placed the materials into the synthesizer.

After a short while, the system chimed in once again:

[Ding—Array Formation Hall synthesis complete. Please choose the placement location.]

Not one to get hung up on details, Lin Xiao quickly placed the Array Formation Hall five meters away from the Artifact Forging Hall, lining it up with the Talisman Crafting Room.

With that, the three crafting spaces—Talisman Crafting, Artifact Forging, and Array Formation—stood in a neat row, facing the Alchemy Room across the sect's courtyard.

[Congratulations! The Array Formation Hall has been successfully constructed. The sect construction task (6) is complete. Rewards have been issued to your storage. Please check them carefully.]

And then, the system's busy chime sounded in Lin Xiao's mind once again:

[Ding—Congratulations! You have successfully completed the basic construction of your sect's facilities. Now that your sect has the foundational spaces for Alchemy, Talisman Crafting, Artifact Forging, and Array Formation, it is time to cultivate technical talents. A sect cannot thrive without skilled professionals to support its growth. Please train specialized personnel for the sect. Each skill must have at least one practitioner with a rating of First Grade. Friendly reminder: Ratings are divided into nine grades, from low to high, ranging from First Grade to Ninth Grade.]

No sooner had Lin Xiao completed three tasks than the diligent system assigned him a new one.

However, now that he wasn't lacking spirit stones, Lin Xiao wasn't too eager to tackle more tasks. He glanced at the details briefly before closing the task prompt. There wasn't a time limit on the task anyway, so he could take his time.

He still had a lot on his plate—cultivating, planting seeds, and even mining. He was quite busy.

Ah, being the head of a fledgling sect was no easy job.

With all three buildings finally completed, Lin Xiao decided against heading to the cultivation room just yet. Instead, he opened his storage to check the rewards from his recent tasks. His storage now contained several new items:

[Basic Artifact Forging Techniques x1, Basic Array Formation Engraving Techniques x1, 100 kilograms of Black Iron, 10 Heavenly Grade Superior Array Stones]

Oh, and his spirit stones had increased by two hundred.

Curious about the contents of the Basic Array Formation Engraving Techniques, Lin Xiao took out the manual. Though it had seemed like a small booklet in his storage, it was surprisingly heavy in his hands.

Flipping through a few pages, he couldn't help but admire the book's thoroughness. As a "basic guide," it indeed covered the essentials.

The pages he skimmed through included information on formations like the Minor Heating Formation and the Small Cooling Formation, practical arrays perfect for daily life.

With these formations, comfort during both winter and summer wouldn't just be a dream. While temperature didn't bother Lin Xiao much now that he was in the Foundation Establishment stage, these formations would be great for his grandparents and others without cultivation.

As he continued flipping through the book, something caught his eye: Pest-Killing Formation.

Intrigued, Lin Xiao carefully read through the description.

Moments later, he lifted his head from the book, filled with excitement.

The Pest-Killing Formation could eliminate all insects within its range—exactly what they needed for farming!

In a world where farming depended heavily on favorable conditions, pests were one of the biggest headaches, aside from irrigation and fertilization. If this formation could be placed in the fields, it would alleviate a lot of the worries that farmers faced.

He was confident that if his father saw this array, he'd be grinning from ear to ear.

Caught between wanting to try engraving the formation immediately and going to cultivate, Lin Xiao hesitated for a moment.

In the end, he decided to go cultivate first. After all, everyone was already in the cultivation room.

As the sect leader, he wanted to join his fellow disciples in cultivation!

With that decision made, Lin Xiao temporarily set aside his eagerness to try out the array and headed to the cultivation room. There, he began focusing on cultivating his newly upgraded Origin Heart Sutra.

Since the Origin Heart Sutra had upgraded to a Heavenly Grade Medium-tier technique, Lin Xiao no longer needed to refer to the original text while cultivating. The technique seemed to have taken root in his heart, and as soon as he entered a meditative state, his spiritual energy naturally followed the path outlined by the sutra.

Speaking of the sutra's upgrade, Lin Xiao had previously used the Appraisal function to investigate.

It turned out that his S-rated, Heavenly Grade Low-tier technique was actually a growth-type technique—one that could evolve based on the practitioner's comprehension during cultivation.

In other words, although the technique started at Heavenly Grade Low-tier, it had the potential to grow (or even degrade) depending on the individual's insights, eventually reaching different grades for different practitioners.

Since the upgrade, Lin Xiao had noticed that his cultivation speed had significantly increased.

Even though he had already sensed this improvement while in the county town with the assistance of the Peach Blossom Gathering Array, the effect hadn't been as pronounced.

But last night, while cultivating at home, he had distinctly felt the change.

Now, sitting in the sect's cultivation room with the added benefit of the Initial-Stage Spirit Gathering Array, Lin Xiao's cultivation speed was on a whole new level compared to before!