Chapter 1172: Forging the Array

Han Li swept his gaze over the surrounding area, then flew over to a vacant area near the spirit medicine garden, where he began constructing a giant, golden platform that was thousands of feet in size.

He then summoned a collection of materials and began refining a series of array instruments.

He had already begun planning for this quite some time ago, so he had made sure to keep all of the materials required to set up the array as opposed to selling them.

A long list of materials was required to set up the Celestial Time Array, but thankfully, Han Li had gathered everything that he needed after looting the Tai Sui Immortal Manor.

Meanwhile, in the palace on the summit of Eight Plains Mountain.

Bai Ze was standing in front of the dark red brazier, observing the golden flames that were burning inside.

Right at this moment, Lekima stepped into the room, and he reported, "Father, I've just received word that Han Li has agreed to stay."

"Good. Make sure to fulfill all of his requests, as long as they're within reason, and ensure that he stays until the conclusion of the blood inheritance ceremony," Bai Ze said, and Lekima gave an affirmative response.

"Alright, you can go now," Bai Zi said with a dismissive wave as he turned back to the brazier.

However, Lekima didn't immediately depart. Instead, a hesitant look appeared on his face as he asked, "Father, why do you seem so intent on keeping Han Li on Eight Plains Mountain? If it becomes known by all of the tribes that we're harboring a human, won't that spell trouble for everyone?"

"Are you worried that I'm plotting against this friend of yours?" Bai Ze asked with a faint smile.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"I wouldn't dare," Lekima hurriedly replied as he lowered his head.

"It's very good that you care so much for your friends. That's one of the qualities that a king should possess, but before becoming a True Spirit King, you must also learn the importance of making sacrifices. As a True Spirit King, you must prioritize the welfare of the primordial tribes above all else, and friendships must be sacrificed where necessary," Bai Ze continued.

Lekima's expression instantly changed slightly upon hearing this, but Bai Ze patted him on the shoulder with a smile as he said, "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to make that sacrifice now, and I can assure you that I harbor no ill will toward Han Li. Instead, I'm going to bestow an opportunity upon him, but I must spare you the details for now."

All of a sudden, Bai Ze was looking very distant and unfamiliar to Lekima, like an enigmatic mirage on the horizon.

"You can go now, there are still many preparations that have to be made for the blood inheritance ceremony," Bai Ze said with a dismissive wave, and Lekima extended a parting salute before exiting the palace.

......

Half a year flew by in a flash.

At this moment, the golden platform in the Flower Branch domain was riddled with countless array patterns, and there was also a series of array tools installed upon it to form the Celestial Time Array.

After slotting the final Immortal Origin Stones into the array, Han Li rose to his feet before making a hand seal, and the array instantly began to operate amid a burst of faint buzzing.

Thick pillars of golden light rose up from the array, presenting a spectacular sight to behold, and the flow of time in the nearby area began to speed up.

A hint of elation appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this. After half a year of toil, he had finally managed to set up the incredibly complex array.

After taking a moment to admire his own handiwork, he swept a sleeve through to release a series of array flags and array plates, which instantly formed an azure array.

With another sweep of his sleeve, a large pile of Immortal Origin Stones appeared within the azure array.

The array then sprang into action, conjuring up bursts of azure light that carried Immortal Origin Stones into the Celestial Time Array in a steady stream.

As soon as the Immortal Origin Stones entered the array, they immediately disintegrated into bursts of pure energy to power it.

The golden light radiating from the Celestial Time Array instantly brightened even further, as did the pillars of golden light rising up from it, and countless golden runes had also emerged within the pillars of golden light.

Han Li gave a pleased nod upon seeing this, then brought out the Heavenly Wheel Sundial, which flew into the array before hovering in the air above it.

A hint of anticipation appeared in Han Li's eyes as he stared intently at the sundial, which was drawing in all of the golden runes swirling within the array.

The sundial shuddered slightly, as if it had just awoken from a long slumber, and a layer of faint, golden light appeared over its surface.

An elated look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he immediately began making a rapid string of hand seals to operate the Celestial Time Array.

All of the golden runes within the array instantly converged toward the Heavenly Wheel Sundial, but despite Han Li's best efforts, the golden light emanating from the sundial didn't brighten any further, nor did it display any time-altering effects.

Han Li heaved a forlorn sigh upon seeing this.

Sure enough, without a supply of time law powers, there was no way to activate the sundial's power.

The problem was that materials that contained time law powers were extremely precious, and Han Li couldn't even find ones for his own cultivation, let alone to power the Heavenly Wheel Sundial.

It was only thanks to the Xumi Golden Mountain, which contained virtually limitless time law powers, that the True Mantra Sect was able to create and maintain that enormous space of accelerated time.

All of a sudden, his eyes lit up as a thought occurred to him.

Perhaps...

Han Li flipped a hand over to summon a certain item, and it was none other than the Eon Divine Lamp.

The golden flame within the lamp was flickering gently while giving off bursts of formidable time law power fluctuations.

Han Li set the lamp down beside the Celestial Time Array, then chanted an incantation before pointing a finger at it, and the flame within the lamp instantly rose up to form a thick pillar of fire that surged into the array.

After tirelessly refining the Eon Divine Lamp for so many years, he was now able to control it with a far higher level of proficiency.

The Celestial Time Array instantly lit up, and it also began operating several times faster than before while releasing a burst of suction force that began devouring the golden flame within the Eon Divine Lamp.

At the same time, balls of golden light flew out of the array, giving off formidable time law power fluctuations as they surged into the Heavenly Wheel Sundial up above.

The sundial instantly began to glow radiantly, while its golden needle also began to rapidly spin.

Waves of golden light surged out of the Heavenly Wheel Sundial before spreading throughout the entire Flower Branch domain, and the flow of time within the domain was instantly accelerated by over five hundredfold, even faster than in the secret area in the True Mantra Sect.

Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this, then abruptly burst into triumphant laughter.

He didn't have high hopes that the Eon Divine Lamp would be able to power the Heavenly Wheel Sundial, but it had worked even better than he could've ever imagined.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Han Li began chanting an incantation while releasing a dense barrage of incantation seals into the Celestial Time Array.

The array instantly began operating far slower than before, and the rate at which the flame within the Eon Divine Lamp was being devoured was also slowed down significantly, as was the rate at which Immortal Origin Stones were being sucked into the array.

The needle on the Heavenly Wheel Sundial also began to spin around ten times slower than before, reducing the rate of flow of time to be only roughly fiftyfold that of the outside world.

The Eon Divine Lamp was a third tier immortal treasure, so it definitely contained a tremendous amount of time law powers. However, Han Li didn't know exactly how much time law powers it contained, so he had to use it sparingly.

On top of that, the lamp was the most powerful immortal treasure that he was currently capable of using, so he couldn't allow it to be sucked dry by the Celestial Time Array.

On top of that, accelerating time by around fiftyfold was already more than enough.

A pained look appeared on Han Li's face as he turned his gaze to the ever-dwindling pile of Immortal Origin Stones in the azure array.

He had thought that seventy million Immortal Origin Stones would've been enough to last him a very long time, but the Celestial Time Array was essentially an insatiable pit that could never be filled.

Thankfully, it seemed that both the time law powers in the Eon Divine Lamp and his supply of Immortal Origin Stones would be able to last quite some time.

Han Li quickly banished these errant thoughts from his mind as he sat down with his legs crossed, then began to study the Almighty Sword Array.

Two years flew by in a flash, and that was the equivalent of over a hundred years passing in the Flower Branch domain.

The Almighty Sword Array Diagram was hovering above Han Li's head, giving off bursts of gentle light that encompassed his entire body.

A series of sword projections of different shapes and sizes had appeared over the array diagram, and they were constantly flashing and changing, presenting a mesmerizing sight to behold.

Right at this moment, Han Li's eyes abruptly sprang open, and two beams of radiant light shot out of his pupils and into the array diagram.

All of the sword projections on the array diagram instantly began to flash erratically before rapidly fusing together.

In the blink of an eye, the countless sword projections on the sword array had been reduced to only thirty-six, and an elated look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.

After a century of tireless effort, he had finally begun to grasp the secrets of the Almighty Sword Array Diagram.

He took a deep breath to suppress his own elation, then swept a sleeve through the air to release thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords were glowing radiantly, as if they were being affected by the Almighty Sword Array Diagram, and thick arcs of golden lightning sprang out of them in all directions.

Han Li paid no heed to these arcs of lightning as he made a hand seal, and the thirty-six Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords flew onto the Almighty Sword Array Diagram at his behest to fuse with the thirty-six sword projections there.