NIP Chapter 76 Zhou Tian Star Array
Chapter 76 Zhou Tian Star Array
Northern Star Region, Gera Star.
Since Zhao Chen created the cultivation techniques for the army using the Hetu and Luoshu, he discovered that while there was a way to become stronger, the cultivation speed was somewhat slow.
Cultivation techniques are only the first step to becoming stronger. What the demon lairs need is not an army that grows stronger slowly, but a system that can support the rapid growth of the race.
The lack of spiritual energy in the Super God Universe is the biggest challenge right now. Zhao Chen can directly become stronger by absorbing his talent, but ordinary people cannot.
Therefore, he needed to find a method, or rather, a formation. Not a small-scale operation, but a super formation capable of covering the entire demon lair's territory, supporting the cultivation of millions of his clansmen.
Then Zhao Chen remembered the research he had done at the Super God Academy: how to gather a large amount of stellar power to make ordinary people quickly become stronger.
Zhao Chen initially planned to complete this research using an array formation. Furthermore, he had already increased the energy conversion efficiency to 50%, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the research was delayed and did not continue.
Now, with the aid of the Hetu and Luoshu, he could continue his research. Zhao Chen began to work day and night on his calculations, with countless data streams flowing through the Hetu and Luoshu.
Zhao Chen retrieved his previous research findings on the method of gathering the power of stars, added the cultivation data from the Battle Canon and Heart Sutra during this period, and finally input all of them into the Hetu Luoshu, along with the energy conversion theory of the Divine River Civilization.
With the Hetu and Luoshu calculations running at full power, countless deductions were initiated. Zhao Chen derived a solution in just three years.
This formation was created by Zhao Chen based on the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Formation, a top-tier formation from the prehistoric era, which he remembered from his previous life.
The principle is to use 365 main stars as the array eyes, drawing the power of the stars in the sky and converging it into the array, transforming it into spiritual energy that cultivators can use for cultivation.
As the number of main stars increases, the formation gradually becomes stronger, and the spiritual energy becomes denser. Three hundred and sixty-five stars are just the beginning, not the end.
Zhao Chen separated a blank page from the Hetu Luoshu and used his divine sense to inscribe the array diagram. The core of the array diagram consisted of 365 star array flags, each flag corresponding to a main star.
The flag must be woven from spiritual materials tempered by the power of stars, the flagpole must be cast from dark copper and refined gold, and array patterns must be engraved on the flag.
After being refined, the array flag must be bound to a demon general as its natal magic weapon so that the array flag can slowly evolve. As the demon general's cultivation level increases, the power that the array flag can unleash also increases. The array flag is rooted in the main star, with the demon general sitting on it. When the great array is set up, the power of the stars and the array flag nourish each other. As the core of the array, the demon general's own cultivation speed will also advance by leaps and bounds.
Zhao Chen named this formation the Zhou Tian Star Array. He had to thank others for enabling him to create the array so quickly;
First, he had already researched this area before and had a foundation in it. Second, Zhao Chen had been directly copying the answers, following the path that the top experts in the primordial world had already verified over countless years.
Zhao Chen didn't feel embarrassed about it; what he did was a way of making the cultivation system of the prehistoric world famous in this other world, allowing these renowned figures from the prehistoric world to resound throughout the entire universe. As for whether these legends would still exist on Earth in the future, Zhao Chen didn't care.
He handed the array diagram to Goron and instructed him, "A total of 365 array flags will be created. 365 demon generals will need to refine the array flags into their natal magic weapons to guard the planet."
You should start preparing manpower now.
Goron took the array diagram and probed it with his mind. He was somewhat shocked by Zhao Chen's skill.
"Your Majesty, you need 365 demon generals, but we currently only have less than 500 who can cultivate the Heart Sutra. And we probably don't have a single one who can forge a natal magic weapon."
"So I'll refine the array flags first, and you can start training people from now on."
Goron carefully tucked the array diagram into his robes. "What about the materials, Your Majesty?"
"Don't worry about the materials, I'll take care of that."
Zhao Chen recalled the Hetu Luoshu and probed it with his divine sense, retrieving the resource data from the demon's lair. He had enough dark copper and meteorite iron, but spiritual materials tempered with the power of stars were completely lacking. A material from the primordial era named "Starry Silk" was entirely absent.
This material requires Zhao Chen to personally collect stellar energy from the void, repeatedly refine it, condense it into threads, and then weave it into cloth. The workload is enormous, and currently only he can do it.
Zhao Chen spent a full year in outer space.
The Pure Yang True Fire began to burn day and night, drawing countless strands of starlight from the void and condensing into a dark golden thread in Zhao Chen's palm.
Zhao Chen wove them one by one into bolts of cloth. Each time he wove a bolt of star-patterned yarn, he stored it in his storage ring and then continued.
A year later, all the materials for the 365 Star Array Banners were finally ready.
Zhao Chen began the refining process: a flagpole forged from dark copper and refined gold, a flag surface woven from starry gauze, and half of the array patterns were engraved. The other half would have to be engraved by the demon generals themselves, as that was the process of them establishing a connection with the array flag.
When Zhao Chen handed over the 365 array flags to Goron, he couldn't help but feel a little tired. "Distribute them. One flag for each demon general. I've already uploaded the method to the Luo Shu; look it up yourself. No one is allowed to leave seclusion until they've refined them into their natal magic weapon."
Goron nodded in acknowledgment, then took the battle flag and turned to leave.
In the following years, the Demon Cave's army began to expand. This wasn't a aimless invasion. Rather, the Demon Cave needed 365 stars to form its array, and these stars couldn't be dead stars. Dead stars didn't have enough stellar power to provide feedback.
What Zhao Chen needs are stars with abundant and active stellar power, and these planets are often inhabited.
Goron led 100,000 demon warriors to the front lines. Each time a planet was captured, Zhao Chen planted a marker at its core, which would be replaced with array flags when the formal formation was deployed. The expansion was slow, but stable.
The army of the Demon Cave has been fighting for more than a hundred years. It has rich combat experience and is well-equipped, making it more than capable of dealing with these small civilizations in the border star field.
Another major task Zhao Chen undertook during this expedition was to relocate planets. Not all planets are suitable to serve as the core of the formation; some are too small, some are too remote, and some have too weak stellar energy.
Zhao Chen used the light curtain of the Chaos Bell to envelop the potential asteroids, guiding them into their designated orbits, and then shattered them to gather them together with nearby planets.
Two, three, five—smaller ones coalesced into larger ones, larger ones devoured smaller ones, the planets began to expand in size, their mass slowly increased, and the concentration of stellar energy also rose accordingly. When Goron first saw Zhao Chen melting planets, his mouth gaped open, and he stood in front of the warship's porthole, looking completely dumbfounded.
Forging planets became a regular task for Zhao Chen during his conquests. After conquering each star system, he would spend several months organizing the local celestial structure, fusing the scattered asteroids into the array's core to enhance its power.
And so Goron led his army forward, while Zhao Chen cleaned up the mess behind him.
This journey lasted for nearly fifty years.
All 365 main stars are now in place. They are evenly and orderly distributed across the vast starry sky of this border star region, each one having been personally selected and modified by Zhao Chen.
The 365 demon generals selected by Zhao Chen were also in place. Goron chose a total of 364 demon generals, and with himself, they made a total of 365.
Each person has at least fifty years of cultivation experience and has refined the array flags and patterns. The only thing missing is the final step: to firmly bind the array flags to their primordial spirit.
Zhao Chen convened his final meeting on Gela Star. Three hundred and sixty-five demon generals stood neatly in the square, each holding a star array flag, the star patterns on the flags gleaming faintly under the starlight.
Zhao Chen began his lecture, "Once the Zhou Tian Star Array is activated, the stellar power of the three hundred and sixty-five main stars will all converge into the array and be transformed into spiritual energy."
Each of you is responsible for guarding a star. As long as the array flags remain intact, the spiritual energy will continue. If the array flags are destroyed, the spiritual energy will cease.
Although Zhao Chen's voice wasn't loud, every word he uttered pierced the ears of everyone present like nails.
"From this moment on, your lives are tied to the battle flag."
"As long as the flag lives, so do we; if the flag falls, so do we."
Goron stood at the front of the line, bowing deeply. "Your Majesty, when shall we begin?"
"Right now."
With that, Zhao Chen flew towards the starry sky. The Hetu Luoshu began to emerge from his sea of consciousness, its dark golden pages unfurling, with countless characters flowing through them.
Three hundred and sixty-five demon generals also took off at the same time, each flying towards the main star they were responsible for.
Zhao Chen hovered above the planet Gela, his divine sense spreading out to cover every one of the 365 main stars. The Hetu Luoshu unfolded, and light and shadow began to appear in the void. The position of each array flag and the state of each node were clearly presented in his perception.
After everyone had arrived, Zhao Chen issued instructions using the Luo Shu.
"Fall down."
In an instant, all 365 Star Flags began to fall simultaneously. The flagpoles pierced the core of the planets, the flags unfurled in the void, the array patterns slowly lit up, and dark golden light began to shoot up from each main star, weaving a huge net of light in the universe.
Countless stellar powers surged from the void, converging along the light net before flowing into the array flags, transforming into spiritual energy, and then spreading out from the flags, permeating every inch of land on the 365 main stars.
The Zhou Tian Star Array is complete.
Zhao Chen stood in the center of the starry sky, feeling the spiritual energy surging from it. The concentration of spiritual energy on the 365 main stars was rapidly increasing, from nothing to something, from thin to dense.
Those orcs who had never cultivated were now sitting in their own stone houses, sensing an energy in the air they had never experienced before. It wasn't dark energy, nor was it the power of stars; it was spiritual energy.
It was something Zhao Chen brought from the cultivation system, something that had never existed in the Super God Universe.
Goron sent back a message through his clone in the Book of Lokestra, his voice trembling. "Your Majesty, the spiritual energy you spoke of has arrived. The warriors are absorbing it and growing stronger three times faster than before."
Zhao Chen did not answer. He closed his eyes, and the Hetu Luoshu swirled in his sea of consciousness, while the data stream of the Zhou Tian Star Array surged in like a tide.
The stellar power of the 365 main stars still has considerable room for improvement, and the conversion efficiency of spiritual energy is far from reaching its limit. The grand formation is currently only in its initial stages and requires continuous adjustments, optimizations, and expansion.