Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

Next, the Master of Xuandu paid a visit to the three from the Heavenly Craft Workshop, offering them his kind concerns and reminiscing about his deep friendship with Elder Shi Ding.

Shi Liuli's response was both brief and appropriate, leaving Luo Yan beside her with nothing to criticize, feeling that Miss Shi had matured far beyond her naive and childish former self—she seemed to have become a mature and intellectual older sister figure.

Elder Miaoling stood beside them, smiling awkwardly, wanting to say something but finding no opportunity to chime in, while the Master of Xuandu made no mention of the prior agreement with her, acting as if nothing had ever happened.

After bidding farewell to the Master of Xuandu, Luo Yan then took Shi Liuli and Liang Ruohua away.

No sooner had they left the Sect Leader's residence than Elder Miaoling caught up from behind, making some polite conversation with Luo Yan.

"...In any case, if the Heavenly Craft Workshop has any need for coating mirror-like magical treasures, please feel free to come to our Jade Light Pavilion," Elder Miaoling said with a sorrowful look, "Back in the day when Elder Shi Ding was still with us, he and I also shared a deep connection..."

Between the lines, it was as if the issue of siphoning traffic never existed.

All Luo Yan could do was agree repeatedly, while Shi Liuli, who was at the Foundation Establishment Realm, was utterly ignored by Elder Miaoling and peacefully observed the scenery.

Upon returning to the Heavenly Craft Workshop, everyone went their separate ways.

Luo Yan entered Shi Liuli's Sword Casting Chamber—originally Linghu Chu's workspace but now hers—and saw Shi Liuli sitting at a desk, focusing intently on a Sword Casting Chart.

"Liuli," Luo Yan sat down next to her, wrapping his arm affectionately around her shoulder, and probed, "How did you think of using the Protective Sect Array to turn the situation around? Did you anticipate that the Jade Light Pavilion would take action like this?"

"No," Shi Liuli replied calmly, "After father passed away, it was only a matter of time before competitors would emerge."

As to whether it was the Jade Light Pavilion or some other artifact crafting faction, it really wasn't important..." she paused, then turned to say, "Husband."

"What is it?" Luo Yan asked.

"The Tai Yi Escaping Armor Yin Yang Great Formation, you need to take control over it as soon as possible," Shi Liuli said earnestly, "After Lei Caiyan betrayed the sect, she was able to break the Protective Sect Array because she understood the core array's eye switch mechanism."

"Therefore, you must modify the core array's eye. This task will be incredibly laborious, taking at least seven to eight hundred years, and if it's not changed, there is a risk of being invaded or even controlled by demonic spies again... Husband, you understand, don't you?"

Luo Yan was flabbergasted.

Wow, Shi Liuli, this is... so sly, truly so sly! Who corrupted my Liuli like this!

He couldn't help but wail inwardly:

"Ah Jing, it was you who led her astray, wasn't it? It must be your illusion technique that turned her this sly!"

"That's enough," the Kunlun Mirror commented with disdain, "Keep it down; it's disgustingly smelly."

Luo Yan mournfully replied:

"Not only has she lost her naivety and zest, but she also no longer speaks of her diligent efforts. Now, she's started to be so cunning. I can't even begin to imagine what she'll become in the future!"

"Get a grip," the Kunlun Mirror said helplessly, "Wasn't Shi Liuli always intelligent? It's just that she never had to use her brain because Elder Shi Ding was there to take care of everything and she had no responsibilities to shoulder."

"Now that Elder Shi Ding is gone and the Heavenly Craft Workshop faces a crisis in its operations, she's finally roused herself to action. Is it really that hard to understand?"

"That's easy to say," Luo Yan continued to argue, "but doesn't her sudden cunning increase the likelihood that she'll see through my true nature?"

"Not at all," the Kunlun Mirror said with a smile, "When it comes to... wisdom, I believe you can outsmart her."

Hearing Ah Jing's completely irresponsible evasive nonsense, Luo Yan also sighed helplessly.

Alas, she was still the person by his side; he would just have to be more careful in the future.

"I understand," Luo Yan said dejectedly as he stood up, "I'll go take a look at that formation."

Shi Liuli cocked her head, watching him with puzzlement, and asked:

"Why is my husband so despondent?"

"It's nothing," Luo Yan said falsely, "I just feel that for Liuli to have changed so much, it must be because your sorrow is extreme, and as your husband, I am powerless to help, which makes me feel very guilty."

"There's no need to feel guilty," Shi Liuli said gently, taking his hand, "I didn't become like this out of great sorrow, but rather because I became your Daoist Companion, and I wanted to contribute to my husband's cause. Besides, the Heavenly Craft Workshop is also the foundation my father left behind; both emotionally and logically, I wouldn't just watch it decline."

"All right," Luo Yan said insincerely.

After watching him leave, Shi Liuli silently gazed at his retreating figure, then slowly sat back down in her chair.

Involuntarily, the warm memories of her past with her father, her junior brother, and her fellow senior brothers and sisters surfaced in her mind. After a long while, she came back to her senses, only to realize that her face was covered in tears.

"A hundred years of emptiness, and in a moment's turn, it's like waking from a great dream..."

"Father..."

After leaving the Heavenly Craft Workshop, Luo Yan headed to the central eye of the Protective Sect Array.

The Tai Yi Escaping Armor Yin Yang Great Formation was located deep beneath Penglai Immortal Island, with a Nascent Soul Elder on duty at all times.

It seemed that the Sect Leader of Xuandu had given prior notice, and the elder readily allowed passage, letting Luo Yan enter the spacious Array Chamber Hall.

Within the underground hall, runic script of the formation densely covered the floor, walls, and ceiling; the touch was clearly that of Elder Shi Ding, with very low levels of coupling between them, making it very easy for novice array masters to get a handle on it as well as to maintain and optimize later on. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

No wonder Lei Caiyan, after secretly studying for a while, found a way to switch off the great formation.

From the sect's perspective, such a formation was undoubtedly excellent, with relatively low dependency on formation masters... His teacher was still too honest. Look at Shi Liuli; she's so savvy.

Luo Yan smiled faintly, then began adjusting, shifting the formation toward ancient methods.

Firstly, he increased the coupling between different areas of the formation.

In this way, without an in-depth study of the formation, a formation master who adjusts one area incorrectly could cause other areas to malfunction or even fail.

Secondly, he optimized away all the explanatory runic annotations.

It was precisely because of too many explanations and annotations that traitors like Lei Caiyan could easily learn the secrets!

A formation that could be thoroughly studied was definitely not secure; not only would I delete some annotations, but I'd also add more nesting, more coupling, and more loops, making the runic script more intricate, more integrated, and more difficult to grasp.

This way, should another demon cult traitor attempt to learn the secrets of the formation, they would find it as incomprehensible as a celestial tome, greatly increasing its security!

Of course, since I'm personally setting up the formation, there would certainly be no problems with its maintenance!