"Array Dao Scripture?"
Lu Yan raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a bit surprised inside.
Regardless of whether it is first-tier or second-tier, any scripture related to arrays is undoubtedly high-end material.
The four major cultivation arts of talismans, artifacts, alchemy, and arrays are goals pursued by countless loose cultivators.
The biggest drawback of loose cultivators is that they do not have a stable source of Spirit Stones and can only rely on the dangerous mountainous regions where demon beasts lurk to hunt and gather Spirit Grass.
This method is immensely risky, with the slightest carelessness leading to potential death at the jaws of demon beasts.
Mastering any one of the four major cultivation arts is enough to sustain their own cultivation, and even accumulate a considerable fortune.
However, there is a hierarchy in the cultivation arts, related to their difficulty of transmission, with Array Masters being undoubtedly at the top.
Among the loose cultivators wandering the various markets, there are many Talismans Makers, Alchemists, and Artifact Refiners, but genuine loose cultivator Array Masters are few and far between.
Due to the complexity of arrays, an ordinary cultivator cannot comprehend their mysteries with just a single scripture.
A true Array Master requires systematic training, extensive reading of array scriptures, and numerous practical operations to become competent.
Such an Array Master can deconstruct the underlying framework of arrays, even modifying them with the environment; this is a combination of massive resources and talent, whereas a cultivator who only learns a couple of arrays and applies them rigidly is not truly an Array Master.
Lu Yan knew he was no genius, but he was quite curious about arrays, so he opened "Array Profound Mystery" to start reading.
An hour later, Lu Yan put down the scripture in his hand expressionlessly.
"Array Profound Mystery" is not an introductory array scripture but a second-tier inheritance involving eleven first-tier arrays and three second-tier arrays.
Lu Yan had no foundation in arrays; the explanations of array patterns, array forms, array eyes, and Spirit Veins in the scripture were like a Heavenly Book to him.
He often gleaned a bit of understanding on one page, only to be completely confused on the next.
Apart from that, the word Lu Yan saw most in "Array Profound Mystery" was "calculation."
The use of any array pattern required complex calculations, and Lu Yan even saw traces of advanced mathematics in it; unfortunately, he had long left that knowledge behind in school.
After an hour of research, apart from figuring out that one of the three second-tier arrays was a Spirit Gathering Array, he knew nothing further.
Thankfully, the Array Plate he got earlier was foolproof to operate; otherwise, Lu Yan wouldn’t stand a chance at setting up arrays.
"The path of arrays truly isn’t suited for me,"
Lu Yan muttered to himself but still kept his copy of "Array Profound Mystery" close to him.
After several version updates, Lu Yan realized that the most valuable asset in each version is knowledge.
Right now, "Array Profound Mystery" was of no use to Lu Yan, but who knows, in some future version, it might become extremely useful.
The ever-changing updates in the world’s versions make such things unpredictable.
He picked up another scripture, which seemed quite worn and aged compared to "Array Profound Mystery."
He reached out and immediately sensed something was off upon touching it.
The scripture seemed to be made of some kind of demon beast leather; though it appeared tattered and devoid of any spirituality, Lu Yan could still sense the toughness of the beast leather.
Even using the Spirit Fire Technique to burn it or a low-grade Magical Artifact to chop it might not damage the scripture.
Yet, its worn exterior was entirely due to the normal passage of time, leading Lu Yan to wonder how long this book has been passed down.
Looking at the cover, the name on it took Lu Yan by surprise.
"Could this book be related to the Daoist Sect?"
Lu Yan immediately focused and began to read this scripture.
Lu Yan’s guess was soon confirmed; "Morality Journal" indeed originated from the Daoist Sect.
Regrettably, "Morality Journal" was not a cultivation scripture but a diary written by an Inner Sect Disciple of the Daoist Sect.
[Year 75,613 of the Celestial Dao Calendar, July 8th:
Finally started training down the mountain, first to a mortal town to find demons and accumulate merit.]
Today saw a bully oppressing the people in a mortal town, intervened secretly to teach him a lesson, but somehow lost some merit.]
Passed through the mortal town again, learned the bully settled down for a few days after the lesson, but in front of a crowd, unable to maintain face, he bore grudges against the people, burning a family of seven at night and fleeing secretly.]
Finally found the bully, captured and took him back to the town, and beheaded him at the cemetery of the family he burned. This time, merit wasn’t deducted, and I seem to understand something.]
Most of the records in "Morality Journal" are similar accounts of experiences during training, with some insights into accumulating merit mixed in.
For others, "Morality Journal" holds no value; even if it mentions scraps about cultivation or the Daoist Sect, the information is too scant to be worth the trouble.
But for Lu Yan, who holds immense merit, many insights in "Morality Journal" offer significant reference value, with some mere mentions of merit application techniques providing plenty of inspiration.
Especially in one entry, the author mentioned supreme spells.
He claimed that almost all supreme spells are spells handed down after weakening some Divine Power Techniques.
Though supreme spells are challenging to cultivate, they are much simpler compared to Divine Power Techniques. If one can cultivate a supreme spell to its peak, there’s hope to deduce the embryonic form of a Divine Technique.
It is precisely because the foundation of supreme spells lies in Divine Techniques that they can unleash power far beyond other spells, irrespective of rank.
Only then did Lu Yan realize that the Red Lotus Karma Fire might be the Profound Yellow Merit Fire’s weakened modified method; with the modified "Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture" and his own immense merit, Lu Yan forcibly reproduced this Divine Technique.
Flipping through the "Morality Journal", Lu Yan felt like he was witnessing a lifetime of a Daoist Sect disciple from thousands of years ago.
Turning the page again, some text came into Lu Yan’s view.
[Year 75,807 of the Celestial Dao Calendar, September 8th:
Our Daoist Sect’s top disciple, known as the Innate Saint, Senior Brother Qinglian, has advanced to Nascent Soul; heard the sect is preparing to use the power of the whole sect and the merit in the Merit Pool to craft a Merit Treasure for him.
With a Merit Treasure, one can kill without incurring karmic consequences, and even death won’t lead to endless suffering. With Senior Brother Qinglian’s aptitude, once the Merit Treasure is crafted, he could retreat unscathed even from a Demonic Divinity Transformation. When will I have such cultivation!]
The four words "Merit Treasure" echoed continuously in Lu Yan’s mind.
All of a sudden, a bold idea flashed in his heart.
"Could I attempt to refine a Soul Banner into a Merit Treasure?"