Chapter 499

Chapter 499: Unaware of Its Grandeur

When Xu Fan mentioned the destruction of cities, the elder let out a soft sigh.

"Currently, the human and demon realms are locked in a tense standoff, each fighting independently."

"Just as I thought. I wonder how much longer Snow Spirit Star can remain hidden here?" the elder said.

"Friend, your aura is quite weak. It’s fine if you encounter a human warship, but if a giant beast race warship comes by, any one of them could easily slaughter this star," Spirit Cut stated bluntly. He sensed that the elder was subtly seeking their help.

"How can we assist you, respected elder?" Xu Fan asked.

"I would like to invite an array master to reconfigure the grand formation of my star."

"Of course, we can’t let the array master work for free. You can take half of the spirit ore from the treasure vault of my Snow Spirit Sect," the elder replied.

At that moment, everyone present turned to look at Xu Fan.

The elder noticed their reaction and then took out an item to project its contents into the air.

"Perhaps you don’t know how much spirit ore we have collected over the years from Snow Spirit Star?"

The crowd looked up at the light curtain, which displayed various details and quantities.

"Please don’t be surprised, my friends. This is the result of thousands of years of work on Snow Spirit Star."

Everyone overlooked the elder’s words, mouths agape as they gazed at the quantities of spirit ore recorded on the light curtain.

The amount was more than a hundred times that of the Hidden Spirit Sect’s treasury.

Xu Fan nearly let his drool escape; a phrase popped into his mind.

"Rabbit and deer, unaware of each other’s grandeur."

"It’s a shame the types are a bit mixed; otherwise, we could craft a Star Ship," Xu Fan lamented.

"Now, let me formally introduce you," Spirit Cut said to the Snow Spirit Respected Elder.

"Grand Elder of the Hidden Spirit Sect, a top-tier master craftsman and alchemist."

"When it comes to the formations discipline, he is deeply profound," Spirit Cut smiled and added.

Hearing Spirit Cut’s words, the Snow Spirit Respected Elder’s eyes lit up. She exclaimed to Xu Fan, "Can you help me set up the grand formation for Snow Spirit Star?"

"Switching to a simple concealment formation is definitely doable."

"As long as a giant beast race warship doesn’t come charging directly at Snow Spirit Star, it’ll ensure we remain undetected," Xu Fan promised.

"Is there a more profound formation?" the Snow Spirit Respected Elder asked, rubbing her hands.

"A more profound one would gather the power of the entire ancient star to defend against the giant cannon attacks of the beast race warships. At critical moments, the formation could unleash all its power, allowing Snow Spirit Star to collide with those giant beast race warships," Xu Fan contemplated.

"Snow Spirit Star crashing into the giant beast race warships?"

"What does that mean?" The Snow Spirit Respected Elder looked puzzled, not fully understanding.

"It means exactly what it says," Xu Fan replied, projecting a light animation showing Snow Spirit Star colliding with the beast warship.

The protective formation of Snow Spirit Star extended countless tendrils of spiritual energy, wrapping around the beast warship and pulling it toward the star as Snow Spirit Star charged at it.

"As long as you don’t send ten giant beast race warships at once, Snow Spirit Star can handle it," Xu Fan said with a smile.

Xu Fan’s final words struck the Snow Spirit Respected Elder’s soul.

“Grand Elder, how long will it take to set up such a protective grand formation for the star?”

“One year, but the required spirit ore, heavenly treasures, and the effort involved are immense,” Xu Fan hesitated to say. He was not pretending; the consumption really was quite great.

Xu Fan only suggested this package after seeing the sincerity of the Snow Spirit Respected Elder’s initial offer.

“I understand,” the Snow Spirit Respected Elder replied as she took out a jade slip and projected its contents into the air.

“This is our Snow Spirit Sect’s treasury; you may take thirty percent.”

"Since the Snow Spirit Respected Elder is so sincere, I will also give you two giant cannons capable of killing a typical beast king," Xu Fan clapped his hands as he spoke.

The reason he did this was that he had seen the types of artifact-level spirit ore required to upgrade the grapes into celestial tools.

In business, he still had a bit of a conscience.

“Grand Elder, you are so generous,” the Snow Spirit Respected Elder beamed.

“No, no, no, it’s the Snow Spirit Respected Elder who is magnanimous,” Xu Fan quickly replied humbly.

The reward for Xu Fan to set up this star formation was enough to match the harvest from Spirit Cut making multiple trips to the Extreme Void Domain on the Serpent Spirit Ship.

He hadn’t expected the negotiation to go so smoothly; initially, he thought he would just modify the star formation to earn some artifact-level spirit ore.

To his surprise, the Snow Spirit Respected Elder started with a big offer, instantly expanding Xu Fan’s perspective.

“Then in a few days, I will pay the thirty percent deposit, and after you finish the work, I will give you the remaining spirit ore,” the Snow Spirit Respected Elder inquired.

“Deal,” Xu Fan agreed.

Saying this, Xu Fan also conjured a jade slip, infused it with his thoughts, and quickly wrote down the required materials and spirit ore, handing it over to the Snow Spirit Respected Elder.

“These are all common materials and spirit ore. The artifact-level spirit ore and celestial tool-level spirit ore are available in your treasury,” Xu Fan mentioned.

The Snow Spirit Respected Elder looked at the contents of the jade slip and nodded, indicating that she would need a day to gather things.

She then instructed the nearby cultivators to arrange resting places for everyone and left to prepare the materials.

“Have the grapes dismantle two railguns for me; you all continue mining and don’t waste this time,” Xu Fan thought for a moment and said.

“Tell the disciples on the Star Ship that those who wish to rest on Snow Spirit Star can come over.”

“Understood,” the grapes responded.

Thus, Xu Fan began his long journey of work.

During this time, he also brought along the formation master sent by the Snow Spirit Respected Elder.

With the help of hundreds of thousands of Controlled Puppets, under the grapes’ coordination, they quickly set up formation nodes across Snow Spirit Star. Xu Fan then carved the corresponding formations based on the local environment and connected them to the central formation.

“Little Cao, you have quite a talent for formations; you just lack a systematic inheritance,” Xu Fan said while setting up the formations, addressing the formation master beside him.

After spending some time together, he discovered that the little Cao following him was a very talented formation master, so he wanted to nurture this talent by starting from the basics and teaching him slowly.

“Senior is right,” Cao Jun said respectfully, bowing his head with gratitude in his eyes.

Xu Fan then taught Cao Jun while also setting up the formations.

The formations Xu Fan set up were too profound for someone of Cao Jun’s level to grasp, so teaching from the basics suited him better.

This was also why Cao Jun held Xu Fan in such high regard.

In the blink of an eye, ten months had passed, and the star formation was nearing completion.

The Snow Spirit Respected Elder gave Xu Fan the agreed-upon spirit ore reward ahead of time.

Xu Fan retrieved a massive compass and handed it to the Snow Spirit Respected Elder.

“Snow Spirit Respected Elder, this compass is the core for controlling the formation. I have already taught little Cao how to operate it,” Xu Fan explained.

Although there were still some finishing touches needed, Xu Fan no longer needed to intervene; the grapes could control the Controlled Puppets to handle it.

The Snow Spirit Respected Elder casually handed the compass to little Cao, indicating that he would be responsible for controlling the grand formation of Snow Spirit Star in the future.

“Grand Elder, is there a star formation even more powerful than this one?” the Snow Spirit Respected Elder casually asked.

“There are such formations, but with my current cultivation level, I cannot set one up,” Xu Fan replied, his eyes flashing with an indescribable expression. You’ve already dug a pit before I’ve even planted this seed.

“Oh, what kind of power does that formation have?” the Snow Spirit Respected Elder inquired curiously.

"When the star formation is set to its limits, it can absorb the power of disasters to provide energy for the celestial battle of the star, while also storing disasters for use against enemies at critical moments."

"There are numerous benefits that cannot be easily summarized," Xu Fan smiled and said.

"However, to set up such a formation, relying solely on Snow Spirit Star and your sect’s treasury will not be enough."

The seed has been planted; now we just wait for it to take root and sprout.