To comprehend all laws and attain immortality

Unable to persuade Gu Fan, Meng Wei had no choice but to leave.

After Meng Wei, some outer disciples who usually visited him also came to visit, all to dissuade Gu Fan. Even Long Ying personally came to the courtyard.

Despite everyone's attempts to dissuade him, Gu Fan responded to each of their suggestions, feeling quite gratified by their good intentions.

At the same time, his anger towards Liu Qin intensified.

Selling magical artifacts was her prerogative, but she couldn't possibly be unaware of the Bai family's intention to gather information about Gu Fan, yet she still chose to betray Gu Fan for the sake of spirit stones.

Gu Fan could only deal with this grudge later, because he had more important things to do.

It must be said that Bai Ziming's guess was not unfounded.

Gu Fan did indeed expend a great deal of energy in comprehending the Dao of talismans, artifacts, and formations. The spells he focused on practicing were still only the few he had exchanged when he first entered the sect, and his offensive spells were limited to only two: Fireball and Dragonfire.

In previous battles, they mostly used talismans. If they were fighting against ordinary disciples, talismans would be enough, but against the foundation of aristocratic families, they would probably be insufficient.

Even though Qi Yan was in the hands of the Bai family, Gu Fan was absolutely unwilling to be led by the nose. The reason he decided to hold the decisive battle six months later was to seize the time to strengthen himself.

To enhance one's combat abilities, whether through elixirs, magical artifacts, or spells, one needs resources for cultivation.

Therefore, Gu Fan devoted all his energy to repairing the Yuan Chen Formation.

Once the array diagram is fully repaired, you will receive 400 merit points. Moreover, there are secrets hidden behind the Yuan Chen Array. If I'm not mistaken, you can at least get Zhou Furui's support.

Before Zhou Furui's strength is sufficient to engage in equal dialogue with the Bai family, his status as a Foundation Establishment cultivator is enough to deter the Bai family from easily retaliating.

As for asking Chen Suzhen for help, as Meng Wei said, that would be a last resort. Gu Fan didn't want to involve Chen Suzhen unless absolutely necessary.

Under the pressure of the impending battle, Gu Fan abandoned all other matters and devoted himself entirely to repairing the array.

Previously, the Yuan Chen Formation had been 70% repaired. Gu Fan originally expected the remaining part to take three months, but under the pressure of the life-or-death crisis, it was completed a month ahead of schedule.

Two months later, Gu Fan carved the last rune on the stone slab and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He placed spirit stones into the twelve pivots of the Yuan Chen Formation, sat cross-legged in the formation, and activated the formation with a thought.

A dazzling light erupted from the dark gray stone slab, enveloping Gu Fan like clouds and mist.

Gu Fan was surrounded by a vast expanse of white, unable to distinguish between heaven and earth, and time seemed to stand still.

But he knew that this was just an illusion created by the Yuan Chen Formation.

Fifteen minutes later, Gu Fan deactivated the formation.

As the fog dissipated, Gu Fan looked up and saw the afterglow of the setting sun. He clearly remembered that the formation was activated at noon!

After calculating incredulously, Gu Fan finally confirmed that two hours had quietly passed.

He only felt it for a moment within the Yuan Chen Formation!

"A day in heaven is a year on earth?" Gu Fan recalled the legend from his previous life, shook his head and sighed, "Unfortunately, it's just an illusion."

The Yuan Chen Formation can only reduce the sense of time for those within it, but it does not change the passage of lifespan. This is why the Yuan Chen Formation is classified as an illusion formation.

But in any case, the formation diagram has been completed!

Gu Fan was immediately overjoyed. He casually wiped away the array patterns on the stone slab, then took the jade slip with the complete array diagram in his hand and rode the Sky-Breaking Shuttle toward Wendao Peak.

He had a premonition that the truth hidden behind the scenes was about to be revealed!

......

Wendao Peak, in front of Chenxing Pavilion.

Zhou Furui sat cross-legged on the futon, seemingly never having left.

But Gu Fan was surprised to find that Zhou Furui was not reading a secular storybook!

At this moment, what Zhou Furui was holding in his hand was a piece of grayish-white tortoise shell, on which were engraved dense Daoist characters, as well as several array patterns.

Zhou Furui frowned, his gaze unfocused. He only looked up when Gu Fan was within a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) of him. Like a wild beast on high alert, the cold glint in his eyes stung Gu Fan, and the pressure from the Foundation Establishment cultivator made it difficult for him to breathe.

"Hmm? It's you, kid." Zhou Furui relaxed after recognizing the person.

The pressure around him vanished instantly. Gu Fan took a few deep breaths, stepped forward, and cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, Senior Uncle. I saw that Senior Uncle was comprehending the Dao, so I dared not disturb you."

"No need for formalities." Zhou Furui put away the tortoise shell and asked hopefully, "Did you complete the array diagram this time?"

"That's true." Gu Fan nodded in agreement and took out a jade slip from his sleeve.

Zhou Furui snatched the jade slip as if grabbing it, and immediately pressed it to his forehead to examine it.

After a moment, Zhou Furui slowly put down the jade slip, first sighed with a sense of loss, and then clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"Good, good, good! You really did it!" Zhou Furui stood up and patted Gu Fan's shoulder hard.

"hiss--"

Gu Fan felt a sharp pain and couldn't help but grimace.

Zhou Furui then realized that he was too strong. He suppressed his smile, coughed lightly, touched his nose, and said, "You repaired the Yuan Chen Array Diagram in less than a year. Your talent in array formation is truly the best I have ever seen in my life."

"Senior Uncle, you flatter me," Gu Fan said modestly, rubbing his shoulder. Then he reminded him, "After repairing the Yuan Chen Formation, what else should this disciple do?"

Zhou Furui smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out soon enough. Come with me!"

After saying this, Zhou Furui took the lead and walked into the Chenxing Pavilion.

The long-awaited secret was about to be revealed, and Gu Fan was also very excited, so he quickly followed Zhou Furui's footsteps.

The two went straight up to the third floor and arrived at the dark stone door.

Zhou Furui placed the purple jade ring on the stone door, and after a moment the stone door slowly opened.

When Gu Fan stepped through the stone gate, he saw a sky full of stars shining brightly, leaving behind mysterious traces as they turned, seemingly explaining the principles of array formations, which dazzled him.

"Stop looking!" Zhou Furui called out as he turned around.

Gu Fan suddenly realized, "This disciple has lost his composure."

"It's alright, I was just like you when I first came here," Zhou Furui said with a smile.

The two continued forward, and Gu Fan also noticed the white jade altar at the end of his field of vision.

Upon arriving at the foot of the altar, Zhou Furui bowed deeply: "Greetings, Master! This disciple has brought the person as instructed!"

Gu Fan was startled!

Zhou Furui has already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so wouldn't his master be a Golden Core True Person?

"Disciple Gu Fan greets Grandmaster!"

Gu Fan immediately followed Zhou Furui's example and bowed respectfully.

An aged voice came from the altar: "Come up, all of you."

"Yes!" Zhou Furui stood up first, followed closely by Gu Fan.

The white jade altar was a hundred feet high. Gu Fan thought it would take a long time to climb, but after taking a step, his vision blurred, and when he came to his senses, he was already on a wide cloud platform.

At the center of the cloud platform, a white-haired, youthful-looking, gaunt Taoist priest in a silver robe sat suspended in mid-air, holding a whisk and scrutinizing Gu Fan before slowly speaking.

"I am Xuanji."