Chapter 26

The process of making ink not only consumes soul power and true essence, but also places a tremendous strain on the spirit, energy, and vitality of an array master. Lin Tian stared intently at the liquid in front of his chest, his mind highly focused as he controlled his true essence and soul power, gradually adjusting the liquid.

Rumble!

The liquid, about the size of a fist, began to shrink as Lin Tian infused it with true essence and soul power, and some black, viscous substances started to fall off. These viscous substances were impurities that inevitably appeared during the ink-making process, equivalent to the waste produced after refining several materials.

Lin Tian carefully infused true essence while simultaneously running the Heavenly Unity Soul Technique, maintaining the liquid. This process involved blending the liquid with true essence and soul power in the right proportions, a highly precise operation where even a small mistake could lead to failure.

Gradually, the sweat on Lin Tian's forehead became more profuse, and the consumption of his spirit, energy, and vitality was severe. At this moment, the proportion of true essence and soul power he was infusing began to become chaotic.

"Bad!"

Lin Tian realized the situation was not good.

Maintaining the liquid, Lin Tian quickly tried to correct the proportion of true essence and soul power. Unfortunately, once a mistake was made, it was extremely difficult to correct, and as a result, he made several more errors.

Sizzle!

With a light sound, the liquid in front of his chest shattered, splattering everywhere.

Looking at the liquid splattered on the floor, Lin Tian felt a pain in his heart. This was eighty spirit coins, enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for seven years. But now, in his hands, eighty spirit coins were gone in an instant. This made him realize once again how expensive the cultivation of an array master was, and how few ordinary people could afford it.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Tian closed his eyes and simultaneously ran the Four Extremes Scripture and the Heavenly Unity Soul Technique to recover his true essence and soul power. At the same time, he recalled the process of making the ink, summarizing the reasons for the errors. Learning from failure was a lesson he had learned in his previous life, so he did not feel discouraged at all.

The sky had turned completely dark, and night had fallen.

Lin Tian did not rest. Using the candle he had bought, he continued to practice making ink in the attic. After summarizing the reasons for his first failure, the second attempt went somewhat more smoothly, but it was only slightly better than the first, and it still ended in failure.

"One hundred and sixty spirit coins."

Lin Tian smiled bitterly.

After the second failure, Lin Tian did not continue to use materials to make the ink. Instead, he mentally rehearsed the process of making the ink, repeatedly summarizing and correcting the errors from the first two attempts.

Soon, more than half an hour had passed.

Opening his eyes, a glint of determination flashed in Lin Tian's eyes.

"Again!"

He said in a low voice.

He quickly crushed the roots of the Hundred Grass and the Spirit Soaring Sulfur to extract their juices, then mixed these juices with the prepared Black Demon Wolf bone marrow. He infused true essence and soul power, blending them in a specific proportion. Gradually, small droplets of black, viscous substances began to fall to the ground.

Lin Tian was fully focused, his mind more concentrated than ever, staring intently at the fist-sized liquid in front of his chest. After summarizing the reasons for the first two failures, this time he felt more at ease, and everything went smoothly. After about fifteen minutes, the liquid in front of his chest, originally the size of a fist, had shrunk by half.

At this moment, a faint glow appeared.

"Success!"

Lin Tian's face lit up with joy.

He used true essence to control the ink and carefully placed it in a glass container he had prepared. Looking at the liquid in the container, which shimmered with a faint three-color light, he felt a sense of wonder.

"This is the ink, truly extraordinary."

Lin Tian was slightly excited.

The third attempt was finally successful!

Putting aside his excitement, Lin Tian carefully stored the container with the ink and began a new round of ink-making. He had purchased ten sets of materials, and now he had used three, leaving seven more to be refined.

Time passed, and soon the stars disappeared, and the dawn light spread across the earth.

In the attic, Lin Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead, a satisfied look on his face. In front of him were six containers, each containing the same three-color liquid, which was the ink. In one night, he had successfully made six sets of ink.

"Phew!"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Lin Tian exhaled a deep breath and carefully stored the six containers.

After a whole night of ink-making, Lin Tian was somewhat tired. After putting away the initial scroll and the ink, he went down from the attic to rest for a while.

Time was precious to him now, and he hoped to make the finished fusion martial pattern as soon as possible. However, he also knew the principle of "haste makes waste." If he forced himself to practice as an array master while tired, the failure rate would be very high, and a lot of materials would be wasted.

After breathing in the morning sun, Lin Tian entered the house and took a short nap.

He slept for three hours.

Three hours later, Lin Tian woke up and found some simple but fragrant food on a wooden table by his bed.

Looking at the food, Lin Tian's eyes softened. He was very familiar with this food; just one glance told him it was made by Lin Xi. She must have come to wake him up after finishing the food but found him sleeping and thought he was very tired, so she did not disturb him and just placed the food by his bed.

Lin Tian smiled gently. What a considerate little girl.

After getting up and tidying up, Lin Tian quickly ate the food Lin Xi had prepared for him, cleaned the dishes, and returned to the attic.

The first two steps of array master practice, making the initial scroll and the ink, were already completed. Now, only the final step remained. The final step involved using true essence and soul power to imprint the thoroughly understood array pattern onto the initial scroll using the ink, creating a finished fusion martial pattern, and then infusing martial technique power into it.

The strength of the martial technique power determined the final value of the fusion martial pattern scroll. In simple terms, infusing a lower-grade body-strengthening martial technique into the fusion martial pattern would result in a lower-grade body-strengthening fusion martial pattern scroll, and infusing a middle-grade body-strengthening martial technique would result in a middle-grade body-strengthening fusion martial pattern scroll, and so on.

Of course, the level of martial technique power that could be infused was also related to the quality of the fusion martial pattern drawn by the array master. If the quality of the drawn fusion martial pattern was average, the infused martial technique power would not be too strong, and the value of the final fusion martial pattern scroll would naturally be low.

Sitting cross-legged in the attic, Lin Tian closed his eyes and recalled the fusion martial pattern in his mind. He used his mind to comprehend this array pattern, and in his mind, the small fusion martial pattern was magnified countless times. Every basic line, every curve and angle, everything became clear.

This fusion martial pattern was composed of six lines, interconnected to form a whole, both beautiful and possessing a special aura. Lin Tian's soul power was very strong, and the fusion martial pattern was the simplest basic array pattern, so it only took him one day to thoroughly understand it.

"The next step is the final engraving."

Lin Tian muttered to himself.

Understanding the array pattern did not mean he could easily engrave it; these were two different things. Compared to making the initial scroll and the ink, the third step of engraving the array pattern was undoubtedly more difficult, several times harder than making the ink.

After a brief rest, Lin Tian did not immediately use the prepared ink and initial scroll to engrave. Instead, he took out simple paper and ink and began practicing drawing the fusion martial pattern. The initial scroll was fine, but the ink was extremely expensive and difficult to make, so Lin Tian did not dare to use the ink directly.

Lin Tian thought that he should first practice engraving the fusion martial pattern using simple paper and ink. Once he could draw the fusion martial pattern with ease, he would then proceed to the final step, engraving the array pattern on the initial scroll using the ink. This way, he could at least minimize the failure rate.

Thinking this, Lin Tian mobilized his true essence and soul power and began to practice.

The engraving of the array pattern did not use a pen but was done entirely using true essence and soul power, drawing the array pattern on the initial scroll with the ink to create the finished product. Lin Tian bought a thick stack of white paper and ordinary ink. He used true essence to draw a ball of ink, infused it with soul power, and began practicing seriously.

Days passed, and soon five days had gone by.

During these five days, Lin Tian practiced engraving the fusion martial pattern using ordinary paper and ink, except for necessary rest and meals. He used up nearly a thousand sheets of white paper. Lin Tian did not feel the least bit regretful about this; the white paper cost only two spirit coins in total, which was nothing compared to the cost of other materials.

On this day, Lin Tian was ready to begin the final step.

"Hum!"

A faint glow enveloped his body. Sitting cross-legged in the attic, Lin Tian simultaneously ran the Four Extremes Scripture and the Heavenly Unity Soul Technique, adjusting his true essence and soul power to their best levels before stopping.

"Begin!"

Taking a deep breath, a sharp glint flashed in Lin Tian's eyes.

Unfolding the initial scroll, Lin Tian's right hand moved slightly, and his true essence and soul power began to flow. Instantly, the ink in a nearby container flew out and gathered in his right hand. Looking at the ink in his hand, Lin Tian carefully recalled the feeling of drawing the fusion martial pattern with ordinary paper and ink, and his right hand slowly lowered.

At this moment, various hand seals and array pattern lines appeared in his mind. With a sizzle, a sharp, eagle-claw-like line appeared on the initial scroll, extending slowly as Lin Tian's arm moved. After thousands of ordinary practice sessions, Lin Tian was extremely familiar with drawing the fusion martial pattern, and it came naturally to him.

Soon, the first basic line of the fusion martial pattern was completed. Lin Tian did not stop; he lightly flicked his fingers, and the line on the initial scroll suddenly changed direction. A new line began to appear, connecting to the first line and extending in a different curve.

"Very good!"

Lin Tian could not help but feel satisfied with his performance.

Five days of repeated practice had finally paid off.

Without being careless, Lin Tian focused intently and continued to engrave the fusion martial pattern. After half an hour, he had completed five-sixths of the fusion martial pattern.

At this moment, Lin Tian's expression changed slightly; his true essence was almost depleted!