On the golden barrier enveloping the island, there was a small circular gap.
He Zhenghao led Li Fan through this opening into the interior of the Island-Protecting Grand Formation.
"When we see the formation masters in a moment, don't mention the contribution points in front of them," He Zhenghao quietly instructed. "Play it by ear. Once the matter is settled, just transfer the points to me, and I'll pass them on to Zhang Zhiliang."
Li Fan smiled faintly, indicating his understanding.
"Haha! Fellow Daoist He, you've arrived just in time!"
Right then, Gong Boyu's laughter carried over from the distance.
Li Fan looked toward the sound and saw that several formation masters from the Formation Planning Hall were gathered here.
Before them stood a gigantic vertical light screen.
Across the screen, countless tiny formation units flickered past in rapid succession.
From time to time, the formation masters pointed at the screen and discussed among themselves, their expressions varied.
"This is..." Li Fan's eyes flashed as he looked up toward the golden array in the sky.
Sure enough, he could faintly make out numerous small discs clinging like insects to the surface of the formation barrier.
While drawing upon the array's power, they transmitted the data of the grand array's most minute components to the central light screen.
"Array-breaking discs."
Back in his twelfth lifetime, Zhang Zhiliang's posthumous writings had mentioned this magical treasure.
Without damaging a formation's structure, it could analyze the formation's architectural data, providing reference plans for unraveling the array.
A complete set consisted of one thousand and eighty array-breaking discs and was immensely valuable.
Li Fan had never had the chance to see them before and had not expected to run into them today.
"Come, come, Fellow Daoist He! Quickly, take a look at the latest analysis data! Could this island resurfacing from the seabed be related to shifts in the earth veins?" Gong Boyu called out warmly.
Although He Zhenghao was eager to indulge his craft, he had not forgotten the main task at hand. Turning first to Zhang Zhiliang, he said, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, this is Fellow Daoist Li Fan, whom I mentioned earlier. He's keen to work under you as an array repairer. He has a Foundation Establishment cultivation and knows a thing or two about formations."
Zhang Zhiliang merely cast a casual glance over Li Fan before tossing a spirit testing orb toward him. "Take a test first. As long as you aren't completely clueless about formations, there shouldn't be any problem."
Li Fan caught the spirit testing orb. He sent his divine sense into it for a brief sweep, completing the test in no time.
Zhang Zhiliang looked at the number of glowing points lit up on the orb and showed a hint of surprise.
"I hear you've only ever self-studied formations? To achieve this score is quite remarkable. Serving as an array repairer is more than within your capabilities!"
Zhang Zhiliang was well aware of the difficulty of the questions inside his spirit testing orb; some could even be considered rather tricky. Far from an ordinary self-taught student, even common apprentices within the Formation Planning Hall might not have done as well as the man standing before him.
"Grandmaster flatters me! This junior is dull of aptitude. All I rely upon is a single word: diligence!" Li Fan responded with a calm demeanor.
Zhang Zhiliang nodded, growing increasingly pleased, and handed Li Fan a jade plaque.
Carved into the plaque was an oblique metallic cube, the very symbol of the Formation Planning Hall's main building.
Zhang Zhiliang instructed, "Take this jade plaque to the Administration Hall first to register your identity, then proceed to the Wanxuan Mirror to collect your relevant supplies. Once your access privileges are activated, any questions you have can also be answered by searching the Heavenly Profound Mirror."
Li Fan nodded to indicate he understood, put away the jade plaque, and bowed in thanks.
Seeing how smoothly everything had gone, He Zhenghao also beamed with delight.
With business settled, He Zhenghao immediately turned his full attention to the light screen of the array-breaking discs. His expression grew focused, and his temperament abruptly shifted—in an instant, he seemed like an entirely different person.
Watching this, Li Fan could not help but marvel silently.
On the light screen, the flickering images accelerated continuously.
He Zhenghao appeared to find it increasingly strenuous, droplets of sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
Above his head, a scroll slowly unfurled.
Within the scroll, one could vaguely see continuous mountain ranges and a dense tapestry of waterways.
Mountains and waters merged into one, stretching unbroken for tens of thousands of li.
Magnificent and imposing, it was a truly breathtaking sight.
*That must be Fellow Daoist He's Foundation Establishment wonder, the Mountains and Rivers Hundred Meridians Array Chart. Judging by its imposing aura, it seems far more than just a simple wonder of Man,* Li Fan thought to himself as he observed carefully.
After about the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, He Zhenghao finally let out a long breath and retracted the wonder's manifestation.
"Fellow Daoist Gong has remarkable insight! One word: spot-on!" he praised first.
Only then did he speak slowly: "Indeed, this island sits squarely atop an earth vein. A major shift must have occurred at some other node along this vein, causing this island—which had been submerged beneath the seabed for three thousand years—to resurface."
"However, that location seems to be exceptionally far from the Congyun Sea. With my Foundation Establishment cultivation, I am unable to sense its exact position," He Zhenghao said with regret.
He Zhenghao's words immediately sparked an animated discussion among the formation masters.
"It really was caused by a shift in the earth veins? Just how massive an upheaval must that have been?"
"If Fellow Daoist He couldn't pinpoint it, the site must be quite distant. To exert such influence from so far away, it would take at least a catastrophic event like 'a hundred mountains leveling into plains.'"
"Once we head back and ask around, we'll know which province it happened in."
"Not necessarily. The earth vein shift might have occurred only deep underground, leaving the surface with merely a slight tremor."
...
While the debate grew heated, Zhang Zhiliang, who had not joined in, suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist He, what do you think of this golden Island-Protecting Grand Formation?"
He Zhenghao narrowed his eyes slightly and mused for a moment before answering, "This golden array is connected to the earth veins. If I'm not mistaken, it should be based upon the Mountains and Rivers Grand Array."
"As long as the earth veins remain intact, this protective grand array will replenish itself endlessly. Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Immortals Grand Array can condense the earth veins of an entire province; its defense is so formidable that even if three or four Dao Integration masters arrived in person, they likely could not breach it."
"It is more than a tier above the defense schemes implemented nowadays."
Zhang Zhiliang nodded slowly. "Though this formation's defense is powerful, if it were breached, it would inflict collateral damage upon the earth veins. One wonders what they encountered back then to choose such an extreme design as the Mountains and Rivers Grand Array."
Gong Boyu leaned in as well. "Why worry about all that? A free Mountains and Rivers Grand Array lies right before our eyes, available to study without spending a single contribution point. Such good fortune doesn't come once in a century!"
He Zhenghao agreed repeatedly. "Fellow Daoist Gong speaks the truth. Such an opportunity cannot be missed; we must study it thoroughly."
With that, several of them immersed their minds in the flickering images on the array-breaking discs' light screen.
Li Fan watched for a while as well. Unfortunately, with his current foundation in formations, he was unable to glean any comprehension from it.
Seeing that the formation masters would not be stirring anytime soon, Li Fan did not linger.
After bidding them farewell, he quietly returned to Wanxian Island.
He headed straight for the Administration Hall at the center of the island.
Chapter 180