It seemed the spirit fish had understood Song Changsheng's words, as it started blowing bubbles even more enthusiastically.
Song Changsheng shook his head and said, "Though this tea leaf isn't of much use to me right now, it's still extremely precious. I have important plans for it in the future I can't give it to you."
With that, he turned around, ready to leave.
Seeing this, the spirit fish became anxious. It blew out a flurry of bubbles. Although Song Changsheng couldn't understand "bubble speech," he could roughly guess that it was trying to communicate something.
This piqued Song Changsheng's interest. The intelligence this spirit fish was showing far exceeded what was typical for its current level.
"Could it be… it's approaching Tier Two?" he wondered to himself.
If that were the case, it would be excellent news for the clan. A Tier Two spirit fish could breed higher-quality offspring in greater numbers.
It would also benefit Song Changsheng. Most importantly, Tier Two spirit fish were still relatively weak even after evolving, he'd still be able to keep it under control.
"In that case, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you try. But you only get one chance." Song took a single tea shoot from the jade vial and tossed it into the fish's mouth.
Having gotten what it wanted, the spirit fish spun joyfully in the water, then swam down to the lake bed.
At that moment, Song Changsheng realized that the places on the island requiring spiritual energy were growing in number. The spiritual plants needed copious amounts of energy to grow, and the Mistveil Tea Tree was one of the biggest consumers.
And his cultivation demanded even more.
But now, the spiritual energy on Mirror Lake Island was no longer sufficient.
"My array of skills have reached the verge of a breakthrough. It's time to take the next step by setting up a Spirit Gathering Array," he murmured to himself.
Staying calm and composed, Song took out the necessary array of components from his storage pouch and arranged them around him for easy access.
To construct this array, he needed a set of top-grade Tier One array flags. Since the Spirit Gathering Array was meant to be permanent, it also required a supreme-grade array core.
Given his current artifact crafting abilities, he still couldn't forge a top-grade Tier One artifact himself. The array core he was using was a legacy item left behind by his father, Song Luyan.
Perhaps it was a matter of bloodline inheritance Song Xianming, Song Luyan, and now Song Changsheng, all three generations of the Song family had displayed impressive talent in the Dao of Arrays.
Still, since Song hadn't crafted the core himself, the array's effectiveness wouldn't reach its full potential. But for now, his artifact crafting had hit a bottleneck this was the best he could do.
"Array core rise." At his command, the disc-shaped core rapidly expanded before his eyes, stopping only when it reached about ten feet in diameter.
"Descend."
Under the control of his spiritual power, the array core slowly sank into the earth in front of him. At that moment, Song Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and twelve triangular array flags shot out.
Holding his breath and focusing his energy, he controlled the flags with his qi. They quickly sank into the ground, each following a specific and intricate pattern. Under his spiritual guidance, the flags and core seamlessly integrated.
"Now!"
Song's eyes snapped open. With a leap, he entered the array. Each step he took triggered a faint array pattern beneath his feet. As he moved through the formation with the ease of a casual stroll, the complex web of array lines began to take shape.
The patterns grew denser and more intricate. The connection between the flags and the core became stronger until they functioned as one unified structure.
Standing at the center of the array, Song Changsheng dropped the final spirit stone into place and took the last step.
With that step, the entire formation seemed to come alive. The patterns on the ground pulsed with energy, as though they had a life of their own.
"Array, activate!" Song shouted, stomping his foot. All at once, the array of patterns burst into radiant light. He formed a series of complex hand seals, and the ground beneath began to tremble.
He was linking the array to the spirit vein underground. Permanent arrays had to be anchored to a spirit vein to achieve a state of unending operation.
A defensive array created this way would remain active as long as the spirit vein remained intact. Even if the flags or core were damaged, the array could automatically draw energy from the vein to repair itself.
Even if an enemy broke through the array, as long as enough spiritual energy was replenished, the breach would heal swiftly. It was a staggeringly powerful system.
This was why, in this world, the ability of a sect or clan to endure long-term depended heavily on whether they possessed a powerful array. If the Song Clan hadn't had a mid-grade Tier Three protective array during the last war, they would have been annihilated by the Lieyang Sect…
As the trembling intensified, the array of patterns extended outward from the core and successfully linked with the spiritual vein beneath Little Azure Mountain. As long as the spirit vein remained, the Spirit Gathering Array would continue to function indefinitely.
"Hoo…"
Song Changsheng let out a long breath the array was finally complete.
Yet in just this short period, his face had gone pale as paper, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his face in waves, soaking the soil in front of him.
He quickly sat down cross-legged, pulled out his treasured gourd, and took several gulps of spirit wine before beginning to circulate his cultivation technique to restore his depleted spiritual and mental energy.
It wasn't until the next morning, around the hour of Si (9–11 AM), that he finally finished regulating his breath. Some color had returned to his previously ashen face.
"A top-grade Tier One array is a major leap in difficulty. If I hadn't rehearsed it in my mind every day, this wouldn't have gone so smoothly." Looking at the Spirit Gathering Array before him, Song Changsheng felt a surge of satisfaction.
According to the standards of array masters, the fact that he had independently and completely set up a top-grade Tier One array meant that from that moment on, he had officially become a Top-Grade Tier One Array Master.
"Let's test its effects."
Song Changsheng took out the control token and activated the array. The previously dormant array patterns immediately lit up and began expanding outward, only stopping once they reached their maximum range.
After activation, the array's effective area had grown significantly, now covering not only Song Changsheng's thatched hut but also part of the spirit fields and several green plum trees.
He could feel the spiritual energy in the surrounding environment rising rapidly eventually reaching nearly three times the average concentration of a Tier Two spirit vein.
However, the downside was also apparent: the spiritual energy within several hundred meters of Mirror Lake Island had dropped to less than half the normal level.
The Spirit Gathering Array, though powerful, wasn't suited for widespread deployment especially not in areas with many cultivators. That's because it worked by siphoning ambient spiritual energy into its core area, leaving the surroundings depleted.
A single array like this could at most support two or three people in cultivation, but the cost was making the area for hundreds of meters around nearly unusable for others.
This setup was only possible because Little Azure Mountain had so few cultivators. Had it been in a crowded region, such a move would've gotten Song Changsheng beaten to death…
Time in cultivation passed quickly, and before he knew it, the end of the year had arrived. The family sent an officer to harvest the spirit fish, and after collecting the required 200, there were still more than 20 adult spirit fish left over.
Naturally, these went straight into Song Changsheng's own pockets. At a value of two spirit stones per fish, this was a considerable income for him.
As for the fish king after swallowing the Mistveil Tea it had gone completely quiet. Whether it had succeeded or failed… he still had no idea.