The campaigns in the Thousand Peak Forest and the battle against the Lord of Wangchuan allowed Ning Zhuo to accumulate over a hundred Golden Cores.
Most came from the Black Cloud Battlefield.
Luo Si’s surprise attack determined the outcome of that battle. After the fall of two Nascent Soul level leaders, many Golden Core level cultivators in the Forbidden Army also met their defeat.
Therefore, most of the Golden Cores in Ning Zhuo’s possession were formed using Ghost Path and Soul Path cultivation techniques.
In response to Shen Xi’s doubt, Ning Zhuo smiled and said, "The Five Elements Technique is the most popular. So, there won’t be a shortage of Five Elements Golden Cores, which suits my needs."
In his mind, he planned: Golden Cores formed through Ghost Path and Soul Path techniques aren’t suitable for the Five Elements Golden Core Wheel. Perhaps he could trade them in exchange for Five Elements attribute Golden Cores.
In this regard, the Commerce Hall of the Myriad Images Sect should be able to meet Ning Zhuo’s needs.
"Of course, I won’t be making the exchange anytime soon."
"Even if I exchange them in the future, I’d prefer to do it under a pseudonym and disguise, or let Boss Sun help me."
"I just arrived here and can’t afford to draw attention recklessly."
Su Lingkou stole a glance at Ning Zhuo, feeling his tone was somewhat boastful, thinking to herself, "You’re only at the Foundation Establishment cultivation, yet you treat Golden Cores like they’re nothing. Still, my cousin is humble and grounded..."
Ning Zhuo looked at Shen Xi, pursuing the latter’s opinion on the Five Elements Golden Core Wheel.
"Interesting," Shen Xi responded with keen interest, sharing his thoughts.
Ning Zhuo considered carefully, then asked about the doubts and obstacles within.
Shen Xi answered them one by one.
Their discussion became increasingly close.
Shen Xi developed more understanding of Ning Zhuo: "Ning Zhuo’s proficiency in the Dao of Array isn’t deep, inferior to mine, but his foundation in Array Dao is extremely solid. Indeed, as a descendent of a major family, his foundation in the four major skills of cultivation would not be lacking."
This understanding did not lower Shen Xi’s evaluation of Ning Zhuo in the slightest.
"It seems that Daoist Fellow Ning Zhuo has invested decades of cultivation energy into the aspect of the Five Elements."
"As a result, he is currently only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment cultivation."
"It’s perfectly normal for it to be the same in the field of Arrays."
If Ning Zhuo also showed notable proficiency in Arrays, Shen Xi would begin to suspect whether Ning Zhuo was an old cultivator who retained his youthful appearance.
Yu Heye found it curious.
During the exchanges, Ning Zhuo adopted a very modest stance, showing no arrogance, and was always open to learning.
This allowed Yu Heye to discover another side of Ning Zhuo.
Su Lingkou felt all of this was as it should be. During her time with her cousin, she had seen numerous instances of cultivators seeking guidance and discussion with Shen Xi.
Shen Xi became increasingly engaged in the conversation.
He no longer merely answered questions, but began to elaborate on his understanding of the Dao of Array.
"Among the ten classic static arrays, I’m most adept at the Nine Palace Formation."
"In my humble opinion, the Nine Palace Formation is extraordinarily unique, and its differences from the other nine formations are quite substantial!"
In the matter of Arrays, broadly speaking, there are Static Arrays and Dynamic Arrays.
Static Arrays include ten formations, classics among classics, whose status is unshakable. Dynamic Arrays come in various types and have a far shorter development history compared to Static Arrays, often seen in battle formation formats. For example, the Iron Bucket Formation, Red Flower Formation, Sun Lingtong’s Thief Light Wind Formation—all belong to this category.
The ten static arrays are: Primordial Array, Unified Qi Array, Yin Yang Array, Three Talents Formation, Four Phases Array, Five Elements Array, Six Harmonies Array, Seven Stars Array, Eight Trigrams Array, Nine Palace Formation.
Shen Xi explained his reasoning: "Yin Yang Array and Three Talents Formation mostly focus on mutual engendering and restraint, using positioning to establish a cycle. The Array Heart generally acts as a focal point for mana and divine power accumulation."
"The Nine Palace Formation emphasizes mathematical computations! The positions within the nine palaces respond to one another and revolve. Each palace has a gathering of mana or divine power, so they are relatively independent. The Array Heart of the nine palaces must handle the function of calculations and deductions."
Knowing that Ning Zhuo excelled in the Five Elements, Shen Xi avoided mentioning the Five Elements Formation in the discussion.
Ning Zhuo nodded, "Among the hundred skills of cultivation, Array Arrangement is one of the four major skills. In the top ten static array formations, the Nine Palace Formation indeed can amplify battle power the most."
Shen Xi delicately avoided mentioning the Five Elements Array to spare Ning Zhuo’s pride, but Ning Zhuo, being humble and eager to learn by nature, never minded this at all.
With a solid foundation in array formations, Ning Zhuo clearly understood the advantages of the Nine Palace Formation.
He proceeded to illustrate, "Starting with the basic prototypes of the ten static arrays, the Five Elements Array only increases strength by three to five times, while the Eight Trigrams Array’s hexagrams increase power by about six to eight times. Yet, the Nine Palace Formation has an increase of nine to twelve times."
"And this is merely in the basic form of the array."
After a pause, Ning Zhuo continued, "I’ve previously done some calculations during my lessons."
"If one uses the Five Elements prototype array to project a Light Shield, enduring a single attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator would require at least fifty thousand spirit stones."
"However, if the Nine Palace Formation is used, repositioning the Nascent Soul cultivator to the Xun position to absorb the attack, it would require only over nine thousand spirit stones, saving roughly eighty percent of the cost!"
"Moreover, using the Eight Trigrams Array to trap three Golden Core cultivators would consume three thousand spirit stones. Yet to entrap enemies for a similar duration, the Nine Palace Formation can save seventy-five percent of the spirit stones."
Su Lingkou inwardly grumbled once more, "Why does Ning Zhuo always use Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators as examples? Has he forgotten that he’s merely in the Foundation Establishment stage?"
Why can’t lower-level cultivators use higher cultivation levels as examples?
Ning Zhuo never harbored such a thought pattern.
Even during his time in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, his imagined adversaries were the City Lord’s Mansion, Nascent Soul-level cultivators like Meng Kui, and his Golden Core-level subordinates.
He had been contemplating from a young age how to win against stronger foes. Such a spirit of inquiry had already deeply embedded itself within him.
Ning Zhuo’s illustrative explanation allowed Shen Xi to understand directly: Ning Zhuo wasn’t merely trying to flatter him, but genuinely held such views.