Chapter 320: Little Receiver Creates Spiritual Formation

Duo Ling Inn.

This was the name of the inn Xu Xiaoshou found after Dunjin Inn. Its environment was beautiful, the service was attentive, and its protective barrier was incredibly sturdy. Although, practically speaking, it was about the same quality as Dunjin Inn, it might have benefited from better feng shui. In recent days, there had been some minor tremors, but thankfully, no major explosions had occurred.

*Boom*—

The protective barrier of a certain VIP room on the second floor trembled again. Downstairs, the restless attendant jolted up, but seeing no further movement, he reluctantly sat back down. Still, he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

"When is this Mr. Xu going to leave?" the attendant fretted.

Seven days ago, he had welcomed a wealthy male and female guest, who immediately requested two premium suites. They stayed peacefully for two days, went out, and when they returned, everything changed. The young woman's room was fine, just like a normal person's room. But the man... he was too destructive! The protective barrier seemed to explode three or four times every hour. The attendant truly couldn't fathom how that young man alone in his room could create such a commotion. He never even saw him invite anyone in.

The attendant was very distressed. After the most severe explosion, the protective barrier nearly shattered, and even guests in the adjacent rooms came out to complain. However, the young man was simply too rich. A casual "It's fine, I'll pay" immediately extinguished any thought the attendant had of sending him away. The intermittent explosions over the past five days had almost made him suspect that the previous Danta explosion might have been connected to this young man. After all, the timing of their departure and the explosion perfectly coincided. This incident was still widely discussed and savored even today!

Propping his face in his hand, the attendant pondered when this god of destruction would finally leave, yet simultaneously hoped this god of wealth would stay a little longer. "Alas, if it weren't for a living, who would be willing to be so conflicted?" he sighed. Suddenly, he saw three young men dressed as swordsmen approach the entrance, and his eyes lit up. "Hey!" he called out. "Sirs, please come this way."

Inside the room.

Xu Xiaoshou's eyes were bloodshot as he meticulously stared at two palm-sized array disks in his hand, a carving knife nearby. He lay sprawled on the floor without a care for his image, surrounded by a mess of array disk fragments, and the air was thick with the smell of char and grime. Within his line of sight, with just a slight turn of his head, lay a thick, ancient book, its pages dog-eared and crumpled. It was currently stacked, with a large title on its cover: "Basic Spiritual Arrays: From Novice to Master (Li Qi)."

Yes, Xu Xiaoshou had developed an interest in the path of spiritual arrays. Strictly speaking, this interest had arisen seven days prior. At that time, when he saw the terrifying array disks in the assassin Li Qi's ring, he had already conceived of a "one-and-done" combat strategy. That plan was very "Xu Xiaoshou"! All he needed was to pre-make array disks, then during a fight, throw them all at once. Who could withstand that?

As for whether practicing spiritual arrays was more expensive than practicing alchemy? Heh. The day Xu Xiaoshou received his alchemist badge, he had sold off his various ill-gotten gains at a fair price, directly obtaining a "Supreme Gold Card" from Dunjin Trading House. Anyone with this card was worth at least tens of millions! Were tens of millions of spiritual crystals a lot? Not really. Xiao Shiliu's ring alone was worth tens of millions. That fellow didn't dabble in any side professions; he was a traditional spiritual refiner. As an assassin, his ring contained almost every category of spiritual skill imaginable, how he acquired them went without saying. There were innate, master-level, and Xu Xiaoshou even saw a King-level assassination spiritual skill. That single skill, if put up for auction, could be worth more than ten million spiritual crystals. Xu Xiaoshou didn't have the energy to deal with all that; he handed everything over to Dunjin Trading House, because Xu Xiaoshou... needed none of it! Selling that ring transformed him directly from a millionaire to a tens-of-millions-aire.

Zhang Xinxiong's ring, by comparison, was already worthless. Someone with a family, not adventuring alone, wouldn't carry so many spiritual skills on them. All his knowledge and techniques were with the Zhang family. That ring couldn't fetch much, and Li Qi's was the same. The truly valuable items were all held in Xu Xiaoshou's hands.

"Spiritual arrays..." This was an extremely expensive profession, and truthfully, it was indeed more costly than alchemy. Alchemy required herbs and technique; technique could be learned, and herbs could be gathered. Generally, ten-year or hundred-year spiritual herbs were sufficient. Truly ancient, thousand-year or ten-thousand-year herbs were priceless and rare. Spiritual arrays were different. To create an array disk, even the lowest grade, required "Azure Netherite." This rock was extremely precious; without a mineral vein starting at ten thousand years, it simply couldn't be excavated. It had the effect of gathering spiritual energy and solidifying spiritual纹. It was the most suitable material for making array disks.

Of course, although this substance used to seal spiritual energy was incredibly hard, if it exploded, its power was absolutely no less than that of a common furnace explosion.

*Boom!*

A loud explosion resounded, blackening Xu Xiaoshou's face. The debris that struck his face was so forceful it embedded itself in the floor. Blocked by his face, the shockwave could only expand outwards, laterally, violently striking the walls. Immediately, the room's barrier flickered violently again.

"Damn it! As expected, without 'Spiritual Array Mastery,' with my current ability, I can't even carve a tenth-grade spiritual array!" Xu Xiaoshou cursed, putting down his carving knife and cracking his knuckles. He wasn't learning spiritual arrays out of boredom. Nor was it because he suddenly lost his laziness and wanted to strive for self-improvement. The main reason was...

"The previous 'Cooking Mastery' appeared during the process of alchemy. That darn system probably needs to sense that I'm heading in that direction before it opens up a new path..." Xu Xiaoshou mumbled. He had never truly delved into spiritual arrays, or rather, if he had, it was only to blow some up. Relying solely on the system's lottery probability to get "Spiritual Array Mastery" was too difficult; he hadn't gotten it last time, only "Resilience." Therefore, he needed some external assistance! As long as he got a little bit of a foothold, with one foot on this path, the system would know, and perhaps "Spiritual Array Mastery" would appear later. That way, he could just rely on leveling up to handle this troublesome thing.

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the array disk fragments on the floor, a headache throbbing. "Just a 'Minor Spirit Gathering Array' is this hard to make. If I really want to create an array disk that can store the 'Great Fireball Technique,' I don't know how long it'll take on my own!" He lay back on the large bed, when a sudden premonition sent shivers down his spine.

"Again?" Xu Xiaoshou frowned. This was the eighteenth premonition in five days. The death warning function of his "Perception" ability had been proven effective in previous battles. However, back then, it manifested as sneezes. This time... Xu Xiaoshou clutched his chest, his expression turning gloomy. "Who wants to kill me?" He looked at the information panel, and sure enough, it displayed the same message for the eighteenth time:

"Being watched, Passive Value, 1."