Courtyard Houses: From Bronze Compasses to Global Reach

Chapter 94 The Way of Runes and Arrays Begins at Your Feet—The Hunting Chronicles of Seven-Star Gras

Unable to pursue the second stage of body and soul refinement for the time being, Lin Yan did not allow himself to be idle. After improving his spell proficiency, he turned his attention to a more profound field that was closely related to future weapon crafting and array formation—talismans and arrays.

Both are treasures among the myriad arts of cultivation. Talismans are portable powers that can seal spells in advance and activate them instantly, while arrays are grand means of mobilizing the power of heaven and earth and changing the world. The two have much in common in terms of outlining spiritual patterns and guiding energy.

With a thought, he summoned two Golden Core stage puppets who were most accomplished in the art of talisman arrays. One was named "Talisman Elder" (a nickname Lin Yan made up on the spot), and the other was named "Array Elder".

After the two puppets bowed respectfully, Lin Yan got straight to the point and expressed his desire to learn the art of talisman arrays.

Master Fu and Master Zhen naturally shared their knowledge without reservation. However, when Lin Yan was about to begin practicing, he encountered an awkward problem—he had no tools.

The ancestor's legacy only contained knowledge jade slips. Not to mention finished talismans and array plates, he wasn't even left with a single basic talisman pen, talisman paper, cinnabar, or array base materials!

"Young Master, to do a good job, one must first have the right tools," Master Fu said methodically. "To draw talismans, one needs a specially made talisman brush to guide spiritual power, spiritual talisman paper to hold the runes, and spiritual blood or spiritual ink to outline the spiritual patterns. To set up an array, one also needs array flags, array plates, spiritual jade, and other items as energy nodes and carriers."

Lin Yan rubbed his temples; the old ancestor's laissez-faire approach was truly thorough. He looked at Elder Fu: "Could I borrow a talisman brush for now? I'll make my own after I learn how to refine weapons."

Master Fu naturally had no objection and respectfully took out one of his spare talisman brushes. The brush handle resembled jade but was not jade, and the brush hairs were the tail tips of some kind of third-tier spirit beast, emitting a soft spiritual light.

"What about the talisman paper and spirit ink?" Lin Yan asked again.

"Low-grade talismans are mostly made from plant pulp containing spiritual energy. Among them, 'Seven-Star Grass' has the best spiritual energy conductivity because its leaves have seven star-shaped spots, making it the best material for making basic talismans. Spirit ink can be made by mixing the essence blood of demon beasts with the juice of specific spiritual plants, or by directly using highly condensed spiritual power, but it requires extremely high levels of spiritual awareness and control," the talisman master explained in detail.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan was not discouraged at all; instead, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes. He never wanted to rely on others for everything, and being able to obtain materials himself was itself a form of cultivation.

"Alright! Then I'll start with making talisman paper!" He put away his talisman brush, his tone firm. "Talisman Elder, Array Elder, you two teach me the basic theory and talisman structure first. I'll handle the practical matters myself."

So, in the days that followed, Lin Yan spent his days in the Starshine Tower learning countless basic runes from the two puppet masters—their structure, stroke order, the varying degrees of spiritual energy infusion, and the ingenious uses of different rune combinations. The fundamentals of formations were even more complex, involving energy flow, directional calculations, material properties, and so on. With his Foundation Establishment stage divine sense, he learned the theory at an extremely fast pace, memorizing a vast amount of knowledge.

Having learned enough of the theory, he took Xiao Qi and once again headed towards the Myriad Destinies Mountains. However, this time their goal wasn't to fight or practice spells, but rather—"gathering herbs."

"Xiao Qi, let's go! Let's go into the mountains to find 'Seven-Star Grass'!" Lin Yan called out.

"Awoo! Shall we go play with those big guys?" Little Seven jumped up excitedly, thinking it was going to fight again.

"Not entirely. This time, the main purpose is to find a kind of grass called Seven Star Grass. Its leaves look like this..." Lin Yan used his spiritual power to conjure the shape of Seven Star Grass in the air. The leaves were long and narrow with seven silver spots on them, like stars. "However, I can also spar with my 'old friends' along the way."

The man and the beast once again entered the Wanyan Mountain Range. Lin Yan carefully scanned the forests, streamsides, cliffs, and other areas where spiritual herbs might grow. Xiao Qi also twitched its nose; its sense of smell was sensitive to spiritual energy and could also be of help.

Soon, they found several seven-star grass plants swaying in the wind beside a shady mountain stream, the star-shaped spots on their leaves shimmering softly in the dim light.

"Found it!" Lin Yan was overjoyed and was about to go forward to pick it.

"Roar!" A deep roar came from the cave next to it, and a black panther with one horn at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage suddenly rushed out and stood guard in front of the Seven Star Grass, clearly regarding it as its own.

"Perfect timing!" Lin Yan was more pleased than surprised. "Little Qi, watch from the side. It'll be a good opportunity to test the micro-management applications of the new rune structures you've learned in actual combat!"

He did not use any skillful spells, but instead pointed his fingers like a sword and used his own spiritual power as ink to quickly outline a simple [Sharp Metal Talisman] rune structure in mid-air!

The lines of spiritual energy instantly took shape in the air, and with a flash of light, a sharp, invisible blade of energy shot out!

The black panther nimbly dodged, its air blades slashing into the rock behind it, leaving deep marks.

"The condensation speed is acceptable, and the power is slightly weaker than directly casting Gengjin spells, but it has the advantage of being unexpected and saving spiritual energy." Lin Yan instantly assessed in his mind, while his feet flashed with the Wind Walk spell to dodge the black panther's pounce.

He drew a talisman in mid-air again, this time a [Slowing Talisman]. The talisman entered the black panther's body, and it immediately felt its body sink, its speed noticeably decreasing.

"It works great!"

Lin Yan, his playful nature piqued, began experimenting with various basic runes: [Great Strength Rune] empowered himself, unleashing a punch; [Protective Rune] instantly formed a small shield of spiritual light in front of him; [Disorientation Rune] interfered with the black panther's senses...

The black panther was completely disoriented from the beating. Despite sensing that its opponent's spiritual energy fluctuations weren't strong, a barrage of strange and unpredictable effects left it utterly frustrated. Finally, it was blasted to pieces by a fire rune with an "Explosion" structure, letting out a mournful howl before collapsing to the ground, glaring at Lin Yan with accusatory eyes—"You're doing it again!"

Lin Yan nodded in satisfaction. Although talismans drawn in mid-air could not be preserved for long, they were extremely effective for interference and assistance in actual combat. He walked to the few Seven Star Grasses, carefully dug them up with their roots and soil, and put them into a specially prepared jade box.

He glanced at the black panther, who looked utterly dejected, and tossed him a small piece of dried meat from his spatial storage: "Do me a favor. Find as much of this herb as possible in these mountains, including the seeds. Once you find it, I'll spar with you less often."

The black panther sniffed the jerky, which contained pure spiritual energy, then glanced at Lin Yan. After seemingly weighing its options, it finally picked up the jerky, growled softly in agreement, and darted into the forest. Helping find grass seemed much more worthwhile than being tortured by this human using all sorts of strange methods.

In the days that followed, a strange scene unfolded on the outskirts of the Wanyan Mountains: the "unfriendly guest" no longer simply sought out monsters to fight, but instead would first reveal the phantom of the Seven Star Grass upon meeting them, and then propose a "deal"—if he lost a fight or did not want to fight, he would help find this grass and its seeds.

Although the monsters weren't very intelligent, they knew how to weigh the pros and cons. They couldn't win in a fight, and running away wasn't guaranteed, so it was better to help find herbs, which would occasionally bring them some benefits, and most importantly, it would get rid of this menacing star!

Thus, under Lin Yan's "coercion" and "incentives," a "Seven Star Grass Search Team" composed of various demonic beasts spontaneously formed...

Every day, demonic beasts would bring varying amounts of Seven Star Grass or seeds to the places designated by Lin Yan. Lin Yan would happily inspect them, then take them back to the spirit herb garden, water them with spirit spring water, and stimulate wood-type spiritual energy to promote their growth.

Xiao Qi became the foreman, occasionally barking a few "woofs" at the monsters that brought the grass, enjoying the awe-inspiring gazes of the beasts.

During this process, Lin Yan's micro-management of spiritual power, precise application of divine sense, and understanding of various basic runes were constantly improving. He even began to try to mix spiritual ink using the blood of different demonic beasts. Although he failed most of the time, he still accumulated valuable experience.

When the Seven Star Grass in the herb garden had reached a considerable size and the first batch of mature plants was ready to be harvested, Lin Yan finally began his formal training in making talisman paper. He crushed the Seven Star Grass into a pulp, filtered out impurities, added a small amount of spiritual spring water and special tree sap, and then carefully used spiritual power to spread the pulp evenly, dry it, and cut it…

Failure, failure, yet another failure.

It's either that uneven infusion of spiritual energy causes the talisman paper to lose its spiritual power, or that its thickness is unsuitable and cannot support the runes, or it simply spontaneously combusts during the drying process.

But Lin Yan was not discouraged. Every failure was an opportunity to gain experience. He calmed down and repeatedly adjusted every detail of the proportions, the heat, and the output of spiritual energy.

Finally, after wasting countless materials, the first pale yellow talisman paper, which shimmered with a faint spiritual light, had a uniform texture, and was soft to the touch, was successfully created in his hands!

Looking at the rough but meaningful talisman, Lin Yan breathed a long sigh of relief, a smile of satisfaction spreading across his face.

The path of talisman arrays is a long and arduous journey, and he has finally taken the crucial first step on his own. The subsequent drawing of talismans and setting up of arrays no longer seem so unattainable. And the demonic beasts of the Myriad Evolution Mountains have also temporarily gained a rare period of peace without the disturbance of "unwelcome guests."

Having successfully produced qualified talismans and mastered the basics of drawing several offensive and defensive talismans, Lin Yan was not satisfied. He turned his attention to the far more vast and complex realm of formations. Compared to the one-time consumption of talismans, once a formation is set up, it can operate continuously, mobilizing the power of heaven and earth over a larger area. Whether used to protect a cave dwelling, trap and kill enemies, gather spiritual energy, or assist in cultivation, it has an irreplaceable role.

He found the old man again.

"Young Master wishes to learn array formations, and this old servant will do his utmost to help." The Array Master stroked his non-existent beard, his expression solemn. "However, the foundation of array formations lies in the 'vessels that carry the Dao.' Without array flags as nodes, array plates as hubs, and spirit jade as energy sources, even the most powerful array formations are like rootless duckweed."

Lin Yan understood: "I understand. Materials are fundamental. This time, I'm afraid we can't rely on demonic beasts to do it like we did with the Seven Star Grass." The poles and flags of the array flags, the base material of the array plate, and the spirit jade that serves as the energy source all require specific minerals and spiritual materials, which require a professional eye to identify and mine.

"Exactly." The old man nodded. "If it is convenient for you, young master, I can lead you deep into the Myriad Evolution Mountains to identify various spiritual minerals and precious materials that can be used for refining weapons and setting up formations."

"I couldn't be happier!" Lin Yan immediately agreed. No matter how much theoretical knowledge one learns, it can't compare to seeing and feeling it firsthand.

The next day, Lin Yan followed the old man and entered the Wanyan Mountain Range again. This time, they did not linger on the outer perimeter, but headed deeper into the mountain range, towards areas where the spiritual energy was increasingly dense and the demonic beasts were even more powerful.

As expected of a Golden Core True Monarch specializing in this field, Zhen Sou seemed to have an innate intuition about the geological structure and mineral distribution of mountains. He led Lin Yan through deep canyons, dry caves, dried-up riverbeds, and even the unique landforms formed by the cooling of lava flows.

"Young master, please look," the old man pointed to a piece of ore on a rock wall that shimmered with silver stars, "This is 'Star Iron,' which is hard in texture, has excellent spiritual conductivity, and is especially compatible with star power. It is a commonly used material for refining array flagpoles and flying swords."

He brushed aside a patch of soil, revealing several white stones that were as smooth and warm as jade, with what appeared to be flowing clouds inside. "These are 'Cloud Stones,' which are mild in nature and can stabilize and channel spiritual energy. They are excellent materials for making the base of array plates."

Near a scorching cave, they found a "fire crystal" that was entirely crimson and had scorching hot tentacles. It contained pure fire elemental power and was an excellent alternative energy source for setting up fire-based formations.

Lin Yan absorbed this knowledge like a sponge, carefully sensing the unique energy fluctuations and physical properties of each type of ore with his divine sense.

However, as the old man's explanation went on, Lin Yan's expression gradually changed from eager to learn to surprise, and then to disbelief and deep shock!

When they found a strange metal called "Void Mithril," which shimmered with a spatial ripple-like luster, the Array Master explained, "This substance contains a trace of spatial properties and is extremely difficult to refine. However, if it can be successfully integrated into array flags or array plates, it can greatly enhance the stability of the array and even open up micro-spatial nodes for transmitting spiritual power or information over extremely long distances..."

Lin Yan: "!!!" This...this property sounds so much like what is theoretically used for quantum communication...?

Upon discovering the "Dark Mystic Stone," which was as black as ink yet could absorb all light and divine sense, the Array Master said, "This stone can be used to set up concealment formations, perfectly isolating all detection. Unless one's cultivation level is overwhelmingly superior, it will be difficult to detect..."

Lin Yan's heart pounded: Perfect radar-absorbing material?! If this were used on stealth fighters...

What sent chills down his spine was a type of "Nine Nether Cold Iron" buried deep beside a spiritual vein that emitted an extremely faint chill. The old man carefully picked off a small sample and handed it to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan felt a bone-chilling cold upon touching it, but what shocked him even more was its properties: at such a low temperature, its spiritual energy conductivity not only did not decrease, but instead exhibited an unimaginable superconducting state with almost zero loss! Moreover, its critical temperature... seemed to be... room temperature?! Or even higher?!

"This 'Nine Nether Cold Iron'," the old man explained, "is extremely cold in nature, making it a supreme treasure for setting up ice-type and yin-attribute formations. Its spiritual conductivity is perfect at low temperatures, with almost no loss of spiritual energy, which can greatly enhance the effectiveness of formations, making it especially suitable for constructing large-scale, long-lasting formations..."

"Room...room temperature superconductivity?! Near-zero loss energy transmission?!" Lin Yan almost shouted out loud! As a Wall Street elite in his previous life, he was extremely sensitive to investment trends in cutting-edge technologies and knew what "room temperature superconductivity" meant! It would be a disruptive revolution in almost all fields, including energy, transportation, medicine, and computing! It was the holy grail that could instantly steer the global technology tree astray...no, it would instantly propel it several generations forward!

He looked at the inconspicuous black ore in his hand, which exuded a cold aura, and then at the other ores around him that either shimmered with spiritual light or contained strange power. His heart pounded like a drum.

These things... even just taking a small piece out, analyzing its structure, or even just its existence, could probably cause a magnitude 10 earthquake in Earth's materials science and physics! One of the biggest obstacles to controlled nuclear fusion might be easily solved! Chip manufacturing processes, energy crises... all become minor problems in the face of these "rule-of-law" materials!

"Ancestor... your Myriad Derivations Mountain Range... is simply a super treasure trove of technology..." Lin Yan murmured to himself, experiencing for the first time the sheer incredible power of the resources possessed by the cultivation civilization. This was no longer just about "cultivation"; the physical properties inherent in these materials alone were enough to overturn the understanding of modern science!

Seeing his young master's shocked expression, the old man was somewhat puzzled: "Young master, although these are decent spiritual materials, according to the records left by our old master, they are only considered mid-to-low-grade materials. Deep within the mountains, it is said that there are innate divine materials that can spontaneously generate spiritual patterns and nurture artifact spirits..."

Lin Yan: "..." Well, poverty (scientific perspective) has limited my imagination.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. Now was not the time to consider how to use these materials to change the world's technology; the most urgent task was to learn how to use them to improve his own array formation skills.

He composed himself and earnestly asked the old man about the key points for identifying each type of ore, the methods of mining, the preliminary processing techniques, and their specific applications in the formation.

"The array flags must be made of different main materials depending on the attributes of different arrays. The flagpole must be sturdy and able to guide spiritual energy, and the flag surface must be able to resonate with specific spiritual energy..."

"The array plate is the central hub of the array, and it has the highest requirements for the stability and compatibility of the materials used..."

"Spirit stones are the best and most universal energy source, but for certain special attribute formations, specific attribute ores are more effective, such as fire-melting crystals for the Blazing Flame Formation..."

The old man patiently explained, and Lin Yan focused on memorizing. He also used his storage ring to collect a small number of various mineral samples, which he planned to take back to his courtyard for research.

This journey to identify mineral veins not only gave Lin Yan a direct understanding of the basic materials for formations, but also provided him with an unprecedented and shocking "scientific" education. For the first time, he clearly realized that cultivating immortality was not just a personal path to ascension, but rather relied on a completely different, yet equally vast, precise, and even more advanced, system based on spiritual energy and the laws of the Great Dao... another form of "technology".

Back in his space, Lin Yan looked at the collected ores with burning desire.

"We have to take it one step at a time. Let's first learn how to use these 'room temperature superconducting' and 'perfectly absorbing' materials to create the most basic array flags and array plates."

His journey of learning array formations officially began amidst immense awe and anticipation. A leap forward that Earth's modern technology might have missed seemed to be within his reach, yet also as distant as if it were in another dimension.