I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Chapter 117 Meeting old friends again

Spiritual practice knows no time.

For ordinary people, three years is enough for a child to learn to run and for a middle-aged person to show wrinkles on their face.

But for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it's just a period of seclusion.

After three years, Xu Zhou's cultivation level remained at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

He has made some progress in both array formation and alchemy, but it can't be described as rapid advancement; it can only be considered steady progress.

Xu Zhou was not surprised by this.

The Foundation Establishment realm is fundamentally different from the Qi Refining realm. Let alone three years, it's common for there to be no significant change even after ten years.

Compared to his cultivation level, something else occasionally evoked some feelings in him.

He recently celebrated his 100th birthday.

100 years old.

Looking back to when he first transmigrated, all he wanted was to pass the imperial examinations, get married, and have children.

Looking back now, those things seem as distant as a past life.

The scholar who once longed to die peacefully in his old age has now lived past a hundred years.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhou couldn't help but chuckle.

However, this is something I can only think about myself.

Over the years, he has always concealed his true age from the public.

The deviation in the bone age measurement when he entered the sect led both the sect and outside cultivators to believe that he was six years younger than his actual age.

Xu Zhou is now only in his nineties in the eyes of others, so he can hardly be considered a senior.

Another six months passed.

As agreed, Xu Zhou reorganized his alchemy insights and sent them to Senior Brother Gu of Baicaotang.

This review is fairly standard, and it's about the same as the last one.

But this was the best he could do.

The Miscellaneous Elixir Manual is inherently complex, and although he cultivates both alchemy and array formations, he hardly practices them. Overall, he spends no less time on alchemy than his fellow alchemists.

I only hope that this experience will satisfy Senior Brother Gu.

Several days later.

A letter from a sect arrived from afar.

Xu Zhou felt a surge of nervousness upon seeing the familiar markings.

I wonder what Senior Brother Gu's comments will be this time.

After a brief pause, Xu Zhou reached out and opened the letter, reading it carefully.

However, his expression suddenly changed the next moment.

On the letter was a name he had never expected at all.

Juan's fate.

Seven days later.

A figure appeared outside Red Maple Valley.

The newcomer was thin and had an ordinary face; he looked like just a typical middle-aged cultivator.

However, when he approached within a hundred feet of Red Maple Valley, Xu Zhou scanned him with his divine sense and still recognized his identity.

The disguise technique suggests a fairly high level of skill.

If he hadn't known in advance who the visitor was, even he might not have been able to detect anything unusual.

Xu Zhou immediately opened a gap in the formation and welcomed him into the valley.

The two walked to the Star-Picking Spirit Tree. He casually waved his hand, and the Abyss Mist Array took effect, instantly completely covering the area.

Only then did he invite the other person to sit down under the tree.

The newcomer casually waved his sleeve, and the disguise on his face instantly disappeared, revealing a face that Xu Zhou was quite familiar with.

It was Juan's fate.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Xu Zhou would probably still find it hard to believe that this prodigy from the Imperial Array Hall would specifically seek him out at this time.

Although he had interacted with him before, the two were not very familiar with each other.

At that moment, he didn't know how to respond, so he simply cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"I never expected Junior Brother Hu to come in this way."

Juanming glanced around: "There's nothing I can do, the Hu family is keeping a close eye on me."

If they were to leave the sect unnoticed, they would immediately discover it, and there would likely be endless trouble.

His tone was tinged with disgust, as if he were talking not of his own clan, but of some formidable enemy.

Xu Zhou had a sudden thought.

He had long suspected that Juan's relationship with the Juan family was not good.

But judging from the other party's tone at this moment, the relationship was probably even worse than he imagined.

He was pondering how to subtly inquire about the matter.

Suddenly, Juan looked at him, his gaze now scrutinizing him.

"But it's my senior brother."

I originally thought you were just an old alchemist with no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

"I never expected that after all these years, you would have quietly and successfully established your foundation, and now you've even learned the art of formations."

Xu Zhou was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this.

This tone did indeed reflect his understanding of Juan's life.

If someone else said it, it would sound somewhat sarcastic. But when this person says it, it sounds like a statement of fact.

Then, as if he had noticed something interesting, Juanming suddenly opened his divine sense and swept across the entire Red Maple Valley in an instant.

He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly: "Did you set up this formation?"

Xu Zhou nodded: "I've gradually perfected it over the years when I had nothing else to do."

Juan did not answer.

He looked into the valley, his gaze sweeping across the area as if he were examining it.

After a moment, he turned around, a look of approval on his face.

"Not bad, using spirit wood to form an array. I hadn't thought of this before. It's quite interesting."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou couldn't help but feel delighted.

To hear such praise from this person is quite remarkable.

However, Juan immediately changed the subject.

The other person continued, "Unfortunately, there are still quite a few problems."

Xu Zhou's smile froze instantly.

Juanming seemed oblivious, raising his hand to point to a spot in the valley.

"That array point, which uses the mountain's terrain to accumulate spiritual energy, was a rather ingenious idea."

But the terrain changes too slowly.

Once the spiritual energy is exhausted, the formation will be hindered, its power will be affected, and the formation itself will be endangered.

"If I were you, I would rather abandon this array point and replace it with a smaller protective array, which would actually increase the power of the main array."

Before Xu Zhou could speak, he pointed to the other side.

"The formation patterns in this bamboo forest are too shallow and do not match the formations in other places at all."

Normally, there's nothing wrong with it, but if it's subjected to an upheaval, the spiritual energy here will definitely be blocked, disrupting the overall formation.

He then pointed out several more instances.

At first, Xu Zhou subconsciously tried to explain.

After all, this grand formation had taken him many years of hard work, and many parts of it were only finalized after repeated simulations.

But as Juan continued speaking, Xu Zhou's expression gradually became serious.

This is because most of the problems pointed out by the other party do indeed exist.

I had previously performed numerous simulations and felt that I was close to perfect. I never expected that the other party would point out so many flaws with just a casual glance.

After a while, a strange thought began to arise in Xu Zhou's mind.

Over the years, I have made considerable progress in array formation, which is quite good among Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Mu Kingdom.

Unexpectedly, Juan's arrival made him truly realize the vast difference in the two sides' understanding of array formations.

Looking back, the person before him was no ordinary array master. The other party's cultivation method was based on the Dao of Arrays, and to establish a foundation, he had to advance to the second-tier array master level.

The thought of advancing to the second-tier array path with Qi cultivation made him secretly shake his head.

At that moment, he put aside the last vestiges of pride in his heart and carefully noted down the many problems pointed out by the other party.

After an unknown amount of time, Juan's life finally came to a stop.

He seemed to finally realize something, and his expression turned rather strange.

After a moment of silence, the other party coughed lightly: "Senior brother, please forgive me. I can't help but say a few more words when I see formations."

He paused, then, as if sensing something amiss, added, "Actually, Senior Brother Xu's ability to achieve this level after switching to array cultivation halfway through his career is already quite remarkable."

Finding the problem here has been much more difficult than I anticipated.

His words were somewhat harsh, but they were still a rare occurrence.

Xu Zhou pondered for a long time but did not reply immediately.

After a moment, he suddenly spoke up: "Actually, most of what my junior brother said is indeed correct. I am still far behind my junior brother in the art of array formations."

However, there are a few points in which my thinking differs from what my junior colleague suggested.

He pointed to the direction of the bamboo forest that the other party had just pointed to: "Junior Brother just said that the array patterns here are too shallow and do not match the surrounding array formations."

However, what my junior brother didn't know was that the Jade Bamboo grew much faster than the surrounding spiritual trees.

In just a few years, as the bamboo forest grows, the shallow array patterns will naturally be filled in. At that time, the ethereal nature of the Jade Bamboo will add considerable resilience to the surrounding array.

In addition, there is Zhi Momu on the other side...

In an instant, Xu Zhou explained his several ideas to the other party in detail.

Juan was taken aback for a moment, seemingly not expecting such a formation strategy.

After listening for a moment, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly.

"I see."

Juanming nodded and said, "The spirit wood array is indeed quite interesting; at least it's not just a rigid copy of the sect's array manual."

It seems that after I finish this matter, I might really have to stay a few more days to have a proper chat with Senior Brother Xu about the key aspects of formations.”

Xu Zhou felt a slight sense of relief.

If Juan could agree with his thinking, then all his hard work over the years would not have been in vain.

However, he only touched on the topic briefly and did not dwell on it further.

He poured Juan a cup of spiritual tea, then asked, "Junior Brother Hu, you didn't come all this way just to check the formation for me, did you?"

Juan took the teacup, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

"Of course not."

I've come to see my senior brother because I have a favor to ask of him."

"What is it?" Xu Zhou asked.

Juanming pondered for a long time before finally looking at him and saying, "I would like to ask my senior brother to help me go to the Hu family and steal some things back."

Xu Zhou paused slightly in his teacup, and his gaze towards the other person changed.

I thought the other party had come all this way for an exchange on array formations, or perhaps something had happened in their sect that they needed to discuss with me.

But I never expected that what I would say would be this.

He was at a loss for words.

After a long while, Xu Zhou slowly put down his teacup.

His thoughts raced, and he tentatively asked, "Junior brother, what do you intend to take from the Hu family?"