Li Fan couldn't help but express his curiosity, "I once undertook a mission with Jiang Zhengji. If I recall correctly, both of them were only at the mid-stage Golden Core realm. How could they possibly escape pursuit from a Nascent Soul cultivator and so many Golden Core cultivators?"
Zhang Zhiliang frowned slightly and explained slowly, "Although their cultivation level is only at the mid-stage Golden Core realm, these two share a deep mental connection and cooperate flawlessly. They have also mastered the art of joint attacks.
"Their Golden Core Law Manifestations are of drifting white snow and frost-covered red plum blossoms respectively.
"When combined, they can create a Glazed World similar to a Nascent Soul Law Domain.
"When these two join forces, even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators find it difficult to match them.
Li Fan recalled the scene of slaying the red-haired exotic beast on the island back then and couldn't help but nod in agreement.
As if remembering something, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Zhiliang's face as he continued, "After causing trouble deep in enemy territory, these two Golden Core cultivators actually managed to retreat completely unscathed. Thus, the Five Elders Council likely sought revenge over the loss of face.
"However, they didn't dare take responsibility for deploying a Spirit Transformation cultivator and initiating open warfare. So they secretly sent a Nascent Soul cultivator to infiltrate the Congyun Sea and vent their anger by wreaking havoc on Haitong Island.
"Hmph, that's all the Five Elders Council amounts to," Zhang Zhiliang said disdainfully.
After speaking, his expression turned serious. "Let's go. Although their actions were rather petty, Haitong Island has indeed suffered significant losses due to that Nascent Soul cultivator.
"The island protection array's structure was completely destroyed, and even the teleportation array is unusable. We'll need to teleport to the neighboring Youmen Island and fly from there."
With Zhang Zhiliang leading the way, it took them nearly a day to reach the vicinity of Haitong Island.
The island guardian had already been notified and was waiting here.
"Greetings, Master Zhang!"
Perhaps due to its proximity to Five Elders Council territory, this island's guardian was actually a Golden Core cultivator.
He had the appearance of a burly man, but his face was pale, and he looked seriously injured.
"This is Pei Tuo, the guardian of Haitong Island." Zhang Zhiliang introduced him to Li Fan and the others.
"Fellow Daoist Pei Tuo has now reached the final-stage Golden Core realm, with one foot already in the Nascent Soul realm. If not for Fellow Daoist Pei exhausting his energy to activate the island protection array’s defenses, Haitong Island would likely have been reduced to ruins when the Five Elders Council's Nascent Soul cultivator attacked."
Pei Tuo waved his hand, somewhat ashamed. "I am incompetent and unworthy of such praise."
Zhang Zhiliang laughed heartily and didn't force the topic further.
"Fellow Daoist Pei, are the mortals on the island mostly evacuated?" he asked instead.
Pei Tuo nodded. "They've all been relocated to other islands. You can begin the repair work at any time."
Zhang Zhiliang scanned the island below. After a moment, he said, "The damage is more severe than expected. Rather than slowly repairing it, it would be better to rebuild it from scratch."
As he spoke, the sky above Haitong Island suddenly darkened without warning. Dark clouds appeared from nowhere, and a massive eye emerged from the clouds, staring directly down at Haitong Island below.
Though not directly targeted by its gaze, just being within the giant eye's field of vision caused Li Fan’s spiritual qi to stagnate, and it became far more difficult to circulate it. At the same time, it felt as if all his secrets were being laid bare, and a sense of panic surged through him.
Fortunately, Li Fan now possessed considerable mental fortitude after having previously faced top-tier powerhouses like the white-haired Heavenly Physician. By comparison, the pressure from a Nascent Soul being was a pale imitation.
Li Fan quickly returned to normal. Still, to avoid drawing attention, he pretended to tremble like the other array maintenance technicians.
Thankfully, the giant eye in the sky didn't linger for long.
A silver streak of light flashed across the surface of Haitong Island, and in Li Fan's perception, the remaining array structure above the island completely dissolved and disintegrated within that silver radiance.
In a single instant, all traces of arrays vanished from Haitong Island. The sky cleared, returning to serene clouds and gentle winds.
Pei Tuo's eyes flashed with envy as he remarked, "Master Zhang's All-Seeing Eye Grotto-Heaven grows increasingly formidable."
This was Li Fan's first time witnessing Zhang Zhiliang employing his grotto-heaven domain. Compared to the Nascent Soul cultivator with a volcano domain that Li Fan had slain before, Zhang Zhiliang’s All-Seeing Eye Grotto-Heaven was clearly on a whole different level.
"I’ve cleared all the arrays on the island," Zhang Zhiliang addressed Li Fan and the others. "We will now reconstruct the arrays. Follow me.
"The latest island protection array of our Myriad Immortals Alliance is the Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array. The outer structure alone contains 367,800 nodes, each comprising over a hundred superimposed array units.
"Your task is to rebuild the external structure of the Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array.
"As for the core and internal structures, your current array proficiency is insufficient. I will personally construct that portion."
As Zhang Zhiliang spoke, he pointed toward the empty space ahead.
A light screen displaying hundreds of detailed array structure diagrams unfolded before the group.
"Li Fan, explain which basic arrays are contained within this diagram," Zhang Zhiliang suddenly asked.
After briefly examining it, Li Fan calmly replied, "Spirit Gathering Array, Fortification Array, Unified Qi Array..."
After hearing Li Fan's answer, Zhang Zhiliang nodded with satisfaction. He then proceeded to meticulously explain the construction methods of each node.
To avoid any appearance of wrongdoing, Pei Tuo withdrew from the vicinity, sharpening his focus and assuming a defensive stance.
A full three days and nights passed before Zhang Zhiliang finished explaining the external nodes of the Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array.
Although Li Fan hadn't fully comprehended everything, the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind technique allowed him to firmly memorize all the details.
"Master Zhang, I once came across a text mentioning an ancient array called the Life Conversion Array. I wonder if it bears any relation to our Myriad Immortals Alliance's Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array?" Li Fan seized the opportunity to inquire.
Zhang Zhiliang paused momentarily, seemingly surprised by Li Fan's question.
"You are quite knowledgeable, to know of such an obscure array," Zhang Zhiliang praised before explaining, "The transformation function within the Heavenly Vitality Transformation Array is derived from the ancient Life Conversion Array.
"However, since modern mortals all carry the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, the array needed to be modified to remain functional. Its actual effectiveness has diminished significantly compared to the past. It's said the original Life Conversion Array could convert mortal vital essence into longevity fruits consumable by cultivators.
"Now it only retains minor functions like increasing spiritual qi concentration within the array and nourishing physical bodies." Zhang Zhiliang spoke with noticeable regret.
He then proceeded to distribute the array construction materials and commanded everyone to construct their own array nodes independently.
Li Fan naturally wouldn't pass up this free opportunity to practice his skills and immediately immersed himself in the construction of arrays.
Up until now, Li Fan had mostly studied array theory with relatively little practical experience in actually setting them up. Consequently, he felt somewhat clumsy at first and his error rate was initially quite high.
But soon enough, Li Fan discovered the monstrous advantage of the Unity of Dao Transformation and Mind.