Chapter 203: Chapter 202: The Mountain Protection Array’s New Line of Defense: All Heaven Star Lamp

Instead of facing retaliation from the Yellow Heaven Altar in Shanglin County, Taoist Yan Song was met by several Mages who had come to join him.

One was a fisherman who had entered a Harmony pact with the ghost of a drowned woman, taking her as his wife. He had offended a Snake Demon from Green Water Pool in Bai Shi Prefecture and fled to Changping Prefecture. Taoist Yan Song casually lifted the curse on him, and out of gratitude, the fisherman joined the sect.

Another was a man who had fallen for a roe deer that wandered into his home to play. The deer brought him into the Cultivation Realm through a Harmony pact. Together, they stumbled along for several years, constantly getting injured but miraculously surviving. Just as an Evil Ghost was about to devour their souls, Taoist Yan Song rescued them, and so they, too, joined Daluo Palace.

Two others were freelance Mages of the "Wild Lone Zen" type—not the strongest, but better than most. They helped where they could and fled when outmatched. Upon arriving in Shanglin County, they ran into Wu Ming and Duan Yang, whom they knew from before. Since being captured by the Golden Wind Sect, Wu Ming and Duan Yang had joined Daluo Palace, so they introduced the two Mages to become temporary Registered Disciples.

These people didn’t have profound Dao Practice or deep Magical Power, and frankly, they showed little potential. They were certainly not qualified to serve as Daluo Palace’s main fighting force. However, assigned to the towns and villages as low-level disciples, they were perfect for dealing with wandering spirits and keeping the peace.

...

「Cuiluo Mountain. Daluo Palace.」

Gu Zhao found that while his own life grew increasingly idle, Daluo Palace was developing at a stunning pace, visibly growing stronger by the day.

He opened his fan and cooled himself for a moment. He then picked up the cup of tea the Silk Embroideress had just poured, took a sip, and leaned back in his lounge chair. Through the gaps in the branches of the old zitan tree overhead, he gazed at the warm sun.

"It’s gotten warm so quickly," Gu Zhao remarked, turning to the Silk Embroideress beside him. "Any news from town recently?"

The Silk Embroideress shook her head. "Nothing new."

Bai Ke chimed in from the side, "Everyone in Daluo Palace is working hard on their cultivation. But you, the Palace Master, spend your days either going on nature walks with Sister Zhuo or just lying here sunbathing. Don’t you feel the least bit ashamed?"

Gu Zhao nodded and said to the Silk Embroideress, "Let’s have a light dinner tonight. And no need to cut up the chilled watermelon from the cellar."

Bai Ke was so mad that three strands of hair shot straight up from the top of her head. "I’m telling the truth, and you’re actually getting petty revenge!"

Gu Zhao shook his head. "This isn’t petty revenge. This is a penalty for your slander."

Bai Ke’s eyes went wide. "How did I slander you?"

Gu Zhao extended his hand and drew a circle in the air. He then traced a serpentine S-curve through its center and, with a final dot and flick, channeled the transformation of water and fire within his body. A surge of Yin Yang True Qi flowed out, forming a complete Tai Chi Diagram in the empty space.

One side of the Tai Chi Diagram blazed with fiery Yang Qi, while the other radiated a chilling Yin Qi. Each side contained the seed of the other, intertwined and fused, simultaneously demonstrating the principles of extreme yang giving birth to yin and extreme yin giving birth to yang.

Merely looking at it evoked a sense of profound and unfathomable mystery.

But the important part wasn’t the Tai Chi Diagram itself, but the level of Dao Practice and Magical Power Gu Zhao demonstrated in creating it.

As Bai Ke carefully sensed the diagram, she could feel that Gu Zhao had advanced even further since the New Year. His Dao Practice was higher, his Magical Power deeper.

The little fox was stunned. "All this time, you’ve either been on nature walks with Sister Zhuo, reading and painting, or just lying here drinking tea and sunbathing. How is your cultivation progressing so fast?"

Bai Ke and the Silk Embroideress were already cultivating at a rapid pace through their Harmony pact. They had achieved Transformation in just over half a year and now possessed the equivalent of several decades, nearly a century, of Dao Practice. This was already several times faster than a Celestial Fox with her bloodline could cultivate on their own.

But even so, their rate of cultivation couldn’t compare to Gu Zhao’s. In fact, the gap between them seemed to be widening.

"Even if the Daluo Palace’s Cultivation Technique allows one to accumulate merit by eradicating evil, you haven’t left the mountain to perform any heroic deeds!" Bai Ke found this hard to swallow.

Gu Zhao shot Bai Ke a sidelong glance. "This is talent. You can’t just get it by being jealous."

’Yeah, right,’ he thought. ’I’ve got eight Daoists helping me collect Evil Qi.’

’Even when I’m just lazing around Daluo Palace acting as a living Two Realms Gate, my cultivation still skyrockets. A second Thunder Seed is even slowly taking shape.’

Bai Ke tilted her head, studying Gu Zhao. She couldn’t see what was so special about his "talent." Aside from the occasional closed-door session, he barely spent any time on his cultivation, yet the growth in his Dao Practice was undeniable.

With a retort stuck in her throat, Bai Ke could only turn to face the approaching Zhuo Qingyan and change the subject. "Sister Zhuo, where have you been?"

"Testing out an array," Zhuo Qingyan said with a faint smile before turning to Gu Zhao. "I’ve adjusted the orientation of the Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array. It’s compatible with the All Heaven Star Lamp now."

"So the All Heaven Star Lamp is functional now?" Gu Zhao asked.

Zhuo Qingyan nodded. "The common folk are devout, and the incense offerings to the palace are flourishing. Taoist Ming Yu and Taoist Ming Chong have condensed Fragrant Fire Star Soldiers, gathering them upon the wick of the main lamp. They’ve placed that main lamp in the Three Pristine Hall, and it can now control all three hundred and sixty-five Star Lamps.

"Furthermore, the Star Soldiers within the lamps have keen senses and even a rudimentary intellect, enabling them to fight independently. This makes up for the main drawback of the Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array, which can only be activated all at once."

At this, Zhuo Qingyan sounded a little wistful. "The incense offerings to the palace are exceptionally strong. The main lamp absorbs the power of the incense and distributes it to the other Star Lamps, allowing those Star Soldiers to fight for a long time. Their combined might may not be weaker than the Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array."

Bai Ke snorted. "Hmph. I’ve never seen a sect like Daluo Palace, one that upholds righteousness and enacts heaven’s will. They don’t just take on the bandits ruling the mountains; they even deal with the unscrupulously wealthy.

"The lives of the common folk in Changping Prefecture are incredibly good now. If they weren’t even willing to contribute a little Power of Incense and Candlelight in return, it would just be wrong."

Hearing this, the Silk Embroideress nodded emphatically. "Exactly!"

"Good. Now we have two layers of security."

Gu Zhao was also very pleased. "Daluo Palace is our home base, and it can’t be moved. The Mountain Protection Array has to be able to defend against opponents much stronger than us. Otherwise, what would be the point of calling it a Mountain Protection Array?"

Zhuo Qingyan couldn’t help but smile. "With the power of the Five Thunders Dragon-Catching Array and the All Heaven Star Lamp, I doubt even the White Bone God Monarch himself would get off easy if he came here."

She had said he "wouldn’t get off easy," not that he "couldn’t escape," which showed that she was still quite wary of the White Bone God Monarch.

Gu Zhao didn’t reply, simply gesturing for Zhuo Qingyan to sit down and have some tea.

Zhuo Qingyan took a sip of tea and sat down with the Silk Embroideress, then asked Gu Zhao, "Is there any news about the Yellow Heaven Altar?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Those weasels are indeed cautious. Martial Uncle Yan Song waited in Shanglin County, but they never showed," Gu Zhao replied. "Things in Changping Prefecture haven’t completely settled down yet, so I don’t plan on going after them for the time being."

"They will never let this go," Zhuo Qingyan reminded him. "Be careful they don’t form an alliance with White Bone Mountain and Green Water Pool."

Gu Zhao also took a sip of tea, then said coolly, "As long as our rear is secure, time is on our side. If they do ally with White Bone Mountain and Green Water Pool, then we’ll just eliminate all of them at once."