"There shouldn't be much difficulty in learning illusion arrays. The Fairy-Trance Divine Seal talent originated from the Fairy-Trance Spirit Fox, whose very foundation is illusion magic."
"Then there is the Hundred-Eyed Demon Realm, which is also an illusion-type talent. So, I should be quite gifted when it comes to learning illusion arrays."
Illusion arrays were a crucial component when building a private territory. Only by making the false appear real could one deceive the eyes of others.
One had to reach a level where normal animals, beasts, and even cultivators would feel nothing unusual even if they touched or brushed against the area.
Fortunately, Qi Ping had two animal companions who specialized in illusions, who could help him find and fix any flaws in his array placements.
"Aside from illusion arrays, there are breath-concealing arrays."
"According to the manual, the difficulty of setting up these arrays is relatively low. However, if I want to set up a truly formidable concealment array, I will need to study hard."
Qi Ping practiced both the Breath-Concealing Art and the Fetal Breath Art, so he had some experience with hiding his presence. Since basic concealment arrays were generally simpler to set up, he felt a certain degree of confidence—as long as it didn't involve the truly profound, high-level formations.
"So, once I complete the study of these two types of arrays, and after the Druid class reaches level five and advances to a Shepherd of Trees, I can select a location and set up my private territory. I can have the swarm start looking for a spot first..."
Thinking of this, Qi Ping immediately ordered the swarm to send out a group of bees to scout for a location within the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range.
"Bzz bzz... (Understood, Boss! The bees guarantee the mission's success!)"
After arranging this, Qi Ping turned his attention back to his studies.
"With illusion and concealment arrays, I can take my time with defensive and offensive formations. My territory will be guarded by the swarm anyway, so safety is basically guaranteed as long as we aren't discovered."
"Finally, for the specialized study of formations, I can start with fire-based arrays."
"The Way of Formations is incredibly difficult, so starting with the fire attribute, which I am most proficient in, will make things much easier. Once I succeed with fire-based arrays, I can apply those principles to others. Setting up illusion and concealment arrays will become simpler by association..."
Qi Ping's current talent in the Path of Fire was beyond doubt, especially since Fire True Meaning was a manifestation of the first level of universal laws.
Initial fire-based arrays relied on the array foundations to communicate with the power of Fire True Meaning. General fire arrays only required a basic perception of that meaning to be set up relatively easily.
And Qi Ping could already directly control Fire True Meaning using spiritual energy as a medium, making him stronger than many primary-level formation masters already.
However, this wasn't useless knowledge. Because arrays borrowed the power of the world, the deeper one's understanding of those laws, the more power they could leverage.
"In other words, as long as my formation skills improve and my Spirit-Soul strength keeps up, the power of Fire True Meaning I can leverage through arrays and foundations will be far greater than what I can control directly..."
From this, one could see the value an array held when possessing the advantage of terrain.
Qi Ping guessed that a major reason the Qingyuan Sect could withstand the pressure of so many rival sects at once was likely their formations.
With a powerful array, a sect might not fall even if several rival sects of the same grade exhausted their entire strength to attack. Or even if they did win, they would suffer such heavy losses that they would be vulnerable to others waiting in the wings.
This was likely why the Qingyuan Sect had signed various combat agreements with its enemies, limiting the scale, number, and strength of participants to an acceptable range. This way, no matter how they fought, the foundation of the sect would not be shaken.
Having decided on his direction, Qi Ping poured most of his energy into studying arrays.
He started from basic theory and moved on to practical exercises, studying with absolute focus.
Unbeknownst to him, over a month passed by.
At around forty days, Qi Ping finally used spirit stones to set up his first array: the Sky-Fire Array!
(TN: Sky-Fire Array: A First-Rank Low-Grade array. Once active, it can condense fireballs to launch attacks.)
The Sky-Fire Array Qi Ping had set up covered an area of about a hundred square meters. Once he stepped inside, he immediately activated it, ordering the array to attack him.
As Qi Ping triggered it, the array began to hum. A dozen fireballs condensed from all directions, launching toward him simultaneously.
In the next moment, the fireballs slammed into Qi Ping, erupting in massive booms and explosions.
"Each fireball actually matches the speed and power of a fireball spell cast by a fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator..."
"If an early-stage Qi Refinement cultivator were hit by a dozen of these, they would likely be reduced to ash. Even those at the fourth or fifth level would still face the risk of heavy injury or death."
After testing the power of the Sky-Fire Array, Qi Ping was very satisfied.
A First-Rank Low-Grade array, corresponding to the early stages of Qi Refinement, was capable of threatening mid-stage cultivators. It was undeniably powerful.
However, Qi Ping noted that it only reached this level because of his high mastery of Fire True Meaning. If a normal First-Rank Low-Grade formation master were to set this up, they could never exert this much power.
"But the Way of Formations is truly difficult. Even with my conditions and talent, it took me a month just to successfully set up my first low-grade fire array..."
This level of difficulty could no longer be described as merely 'hard.'
Qi Ping truly couldn't imagine how long it would take to successfully set up an array if he didn't have Fire True Meaning, the Druid identity, the Blessing of Heaven and Earth, his Spirit-Soul talent, and his level nine Qi Refinement cultivation.
"It would probably take a year or more. No wonder there aren't many formation masters. Without talent, it's far less rewarding than standard cultivation, and making talismans is simpler and better for earning money..."
In reality, if other formation masters knew that Qi Ping had gone from a complete novice to a First-Rank Low-Grade master capable of setting up a Sky-Fire Array in just over a month, their jaws would likely hit the floor.
This speed was terrifyingly fast!
"The hurdle of entry has been crossed. I believe the path ahead will be much smoother..."
After all, most of his time this month had been spent on basic theory and fundamental skills. The time spent actually setting up the array wasn't long. With his unique advantages, Qi Ping had succeeded shortly after he began his trials.
Given his current conditions, learning First-Rank Low-Grade arrays was essentially a form of dimensional suppression.
It was worth mentioning that during this time, with an ample supply of honey, Qi Ping's cultivation naturally broke through to the ninth level of Qi Refinement, meeting no obstacles along the way.