Chapter 386: Hidden Array

These hundred qing of spiritual fields, connected together, perhaps are an array in themselves! Mo Hua suddenly had a revelation.

Before, he was confined to the array's form, limited to partial array patterns, only seeing the surface array patterns. Thus, a single leaf blocked his eye, preventing him from seeing the full picture.

Whether it was the Nurturing Soil Array or other arrays, they were merely minor branches and leaves, not the core body of the absolute array. The core body of this absolute array was precisely the spiritual fields.

Mo Hua then had some doubts. If the spiritual fields were the array, then what were the array medium, array patterns, array hub, and array eye, which served as the benchmarks?

Mo Hua sat back down on the ground and began to ponder carefully. If the spiritual fields were the array, then the array medium wouldn't be the stone field ridges, but rather the land where the spiritual rice was planted. Land is generally difficult to use as an array medium. This is because its texture is either loose or moist, and it changes with the dry wind and flowers, leading to loss. It's difficult to maintain a fixed shape and not easy to bear array patterns.

"Why would this absolute array use land as the array medium?" "Or is this in itself a profound wonder of the absolute array?"

Mo Hua thought for a while, finding no clue, so he temporarily skipped it and continued to think. If land was the array medium, then the array patterns of this array should be the field ridges interspersed throughout the spiritual fields. The array hub would be the overall layout of the entire spiritual fields. Then, what was the array eye? How was the operation of the entire array maintained?

In the spiritual fields, there was no special place that could be used as the array eye. Mo Hua raised his head, looking at the green waves of spiritual fields and the crisscrossing field ridges, and was suddenly startled. This wasn't a large array or a composite array, but only a single array. There was no special spirit-gathering array or composite spirit-gathering array to provide spiritual power. The spiritual power source of a single array is its own array patterns. The natural absorption of spiritual power by the array patterns provides spiritual power for the operation of the single array. In other words, these crisscrossing field ridges were both array patterns and also the array eye.

Then how was spiritual power supplied? Mo Hua furrowed his brows, thought slightly, and then understood. It was the Nurturing Soil Array! The function of a single array is relatively simple. Even if it's an absolute array with extremely strong effects, it's impossible to cover all aspects. Therefore, some arrays are needed to enhance the effect. The Nurturing Soil Array is this kind of supplementary array, used to assist the absolute array and nourish the soil.

But if the Nurturing Soil Array and the absolute array were built together, then it would become a composite array containing the absolute array. This kind of array requires high divine sense strength and complex array patterns. Once damaged, except for the Sun Family Old Ancestor himself, basically no one could repair it, and no one would repair it. So the Sun Family Old Ancestor had a unique inspiration, separating the two kinds of arrays, yet keeping them related. The Nurturing Soil Array and these other arrays were drawn separately, not connected to the composite array, making them easy to draw and easy to repair. Even the later generations of half-baked array masters in the Sun Family could repair them.

But at the same time, it was also related to the absolute array. Every time the spirit farmers provided spiritual power to the Nurturing Soil Array, a part of the spiritual power would naturally overflow and flow into the large absolute array. So this Nurturing Soil Array was both a supplementary array and could also be said to be another kind of "absolute array eye." The spiritual power provided by the Nurturing Soil Array was actually very little. But this absolute array was an earth-element nourishing array, not for heavy killing or trapping powerful enemies. Therefore, it needed a slow and steady flow of spiritual power; a trace of long-term spiritual power supply was sufficient. From another perspective, the Sun Family Old Ancestor's purpose in doing this was also to help the spirit farmers save spirit stones.

Mo Hua involuntarily felt admiration in his heart. The Sun Family Old Ancestor's understanding of arrays was thorough, his application clever, and his mind and heart were all extremely extraordinary. It was no wonder that for hundreds of years, the scattered cultivators of Thousand Families Town all felt grateful for his benevolence. Comprehending the heavenly way and benefiting the common people. Perhaps this was a true array master... Mo Hua sighed in his heart.

Ding Miao'er, who was by his side, saw Mo Hua lost in thought, and after a long time without speaking, couldn't help but softly call out: "Brother?"

Mo Hua came back to his senses, smiled and touched Miao'er's head, saying: "Thank you." Without Miao'er's simple diagram, he wouldn't have discovered the clue. A great person retains their childlike heart. Children are more innocent, their gaze is more natural, without artificial colors, and it's easier to see the true appearance.

Miao'er tilted his small head, a little doubtful: "I helped?"

Mo Hua praised: "You helped a great deal." Miao'er immediately became happy, although he still didn't know what he had helped with.

Mo Hua gave him another piece of pastry. Miao'er held it in both hands and ate it with contentment. "Brother said, I've made a great contribution, so this time it doesn't count as eating for free." Miao'er nodded, silently thinking in his heart.

Knowing the essence of the array, he must find a way to restore the array diagram. Mo Hua instructed Miao'er not to run around and walked to the high mountain peak to take in all the spiritual fields. Then, according to the layout of the spiritual fields, with the thinking of an array master and the brushwork of array patterns, he began to re-calculate this piece of spiritual fields constructed according to the array as the original array.

Calculating, calculating, Mo Hua stopped again. Something was wrong. He couldn't calculate it... Mo Hua furrowed his brow. The structure of many spiritual fields was too square and orderly, but not according to the array. The array calculated in this way was intermittent and fragmented. Mo Hua sighed. Problems really followed one after another...

He ran back to the foot of the mountain and asked Ding Miao'er: "Miao'er, who in your village lives the longest and knows the most?" Miao'er wrinkled his small brows, his eyes suddenly brightened and he said: "The elder!"

East Mountain Village indeed had an elder, but he was old and didn't manage affairs, and his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining stage, not Foundation Building. The villagers recommended him as the elder because of his age, seniority, and ability to persuade the villagers. Although called an elder, he was actually more like a "village head."

Little Miao'er brought Mo Hua to find the elder. Mo Hua stated his intention, saying he wanted to ask for guidance on a few questions. The elder saw Mo Hua, his face showing gratitude, and then said: "Little mister has been kind to us. If you have anything to ask, feel free. This old man will speak tirelessly."

"Elder, you are too kind." Mo Hua exchanged greetings for a couple of sentences, then politely asked: "Elder, has the layout of these spiritual fields changed over the past hundreds of years?"

The elder pondered slightly, then slowly nodded: "It has changed."

"Why did it change?" Mo Hua asked.

The elder said: "Ancestral land, generally we wouldn't change it. The pattern of these spiritual fields has also been maintained for over a hundred years..." "But later, the Sun Family, in order to regularize the fields and make it convenient for them to draw arrays, rearranged some of the original fields a bit." "Now many fields have become well-shaped, in blocks, looking neat and tidy."

"After regularization, have the spiritual fields changed?" Mo Hua asked.

"No big changes, it's just that the land gets more barren each year." The elder sighed, "I'm old and can still feel these changes. The children born later in the village basically don't know anything." "I still remember, when I was young, my grandfather told me that the soil several hundred years ago was much more fertile than now." After he finished speaking, the elder's eyes showed longing, "At that time, everyone could eat full meals as long as they farmed steadily..."

Mo Hua's mood was complex, then his gaze slightly sank, and he gradually thought clearly. This absolute array's function should be to make the soil fertile and the spiritual fields rich. The layout of the spiritual fields itself is the array's array hub. After the Sun Family Old Ancestor passed away, a group of useless later generations of the Sun Family, in order to make it convenient for themselves to draw arrays, regularized the spiritual fields and changed the layout of the fields. This affected the array hub, causing the absolute array to gradually become invalid. Later, the later generations of the Sun Family, in order to exploit the spirit farmers, drew some inferior arrays on the field ridges, which were often broken and needed repair. Because the arrays were often broken and repaired, the spiritual power provided by the spirit farmers to the Nurturing Soil Array was intermittent. This led to the entire absolute array's spiritual power supply also being difficult to sustain. After several decades or even hundreds of years, the absolute array was completely invalid.

Mo Hua sighed. The Sun Family Old Ancestor once set a family rule: Any child of the Sun Family shall not invade an area of spiritual fields in Thousand Families Town during their lifetime, otherwise their surname will be removed, their genealogy will be cancelled, and they will be expelled from the family! This family rule was to ensure that the spirit farmers had a means of livelihood. Second, it was to restrain later generations, preventing them from invading the spiritual fields and moving the spiritual fields' pattern, thereby destroying the array's array hub. But he should not have thought that the later generations of the Sun Family would be so mediocre. Because of greed, they did so many stupid things, cutting off the blessing of the array and also cutting off the inheritance of the array.

The spiritual fields changed, and the array hub was easily displaced. Therefore, it was impossible to deduce the complete array diagram. Mo Hua furrowed his brow, and suddenly inspiration flashed, and he asked again: "Elder, do you have any acre maps of the spiritual fields from several hundred years ago?"

The elder hesitated for a moment, nodded, "Yes, we do indeed have..."

"Can I look at them?" The elder was a little hesitant. These things were quite confidential and generally not shown to outsiders. Mo Hua then said: "I want to find out the array that the Sun Family Old Ancestor drew that year."

The elder was startled upon hearing this, and his voice trembled: "Sun Family Old Ancestor's... array?"

Mo Hua nodded.

The elder trembled and said: "But the Sun Family Old Ancestor, he was a second-grade array master..." He looked at Mo Hua, his eyes full of disbelief. This little mister could comprehend an array drawn by a second-grade array master?

Mo Hua said: "The Sun Family Old Ancestor was second-grade, but the array he left behind is actually first-grade, just a bit difficult to draw."

The elder didn't understand what he was saying, but he was quite shocked. Being able to comprehend this kind of array was already very extraordinary. He pondered for a long time, his gaze firm, and said: "Good, I will give you the acre maps!" If this little mister could really find out the array that the Sun Family Old Ancestor drew that year, it would be a great thing for them as spirit farmers, and naturally a great favor. A few acre maps alone couldn't fill their stomachs, and they could barely survive, so what was there to cherish?

The elder walked into the inner room, opened the bottom box in the corner of the wall, then from the very bottom of the box, he took out a stack of yellowed paper and handed it to Mo Hua. Mo Hua took a look. On each piece of paper, blocks of spiritual fields were drawn, like fish scales. The spiritual fields were distributed naturally, and the field ridges were crisscrossing in an orderly manner. Besides, the paper also recorded the years. The spiritual farmers' household registration, land allocation, the fertility or barrenness of the spiritual fields, etc., were all clearly recorded. This was indeed confidential information. No wonder the elder hesitated before.

Mo Hua flipped through a few more pages, compared the acre maps, and according to the layout of the spiritual fields from the old days, he slightly deduced in his heart. Mo Hua's eyes gradually brightened. He hadn't guessed wrong. The true absolute array was hidden here, among these acre maps that had weathered hundreds of years!

Thanks to book friends Jin Qin, Yaming Peinan Xisi Tadingna, 20220104120108461, Lin Bai Xian, and I want to ride the wind and return for their rewards.