It is not that array-swapping is weak; rather, array-swapping differs from offensive and defensive formations, which require engraving on a fixed turntable or other stationary apparatus.
Array-swapping emphasizes that every blade of grass and every tree can become a formation; the more unexpected it is, the better the effect.
To return to the matter at hand.
Meng Luoluo searched the upper levels for a long time until she finally found a Mysterious-tier soul power manual. Rather than a manual of techniques, it was a guide on training soul power to prevent attacks from others; the book did not introduce any specific main offensive methods.
In her past life, she had been a university student, and it took her less than an hour to memorize the entire book. There was not much content, and coupled with her strong memory, she had it down quickly.
Though she had memorized it, that did not mean she had truly cultivated it. She had simply retained the contents without fully comprehending their deeper meaning.
Returning to the first floor, she saw He Manting sitting at an empty spot reading a book on talismans, with quite a few books arranged around her.
Seeing Meng Luoluo return empty-handed, He Manting assumed she had found nothing.
"It's fine. If all else fails, go find your master, senior brothers, or senior sisters, and have them find you some books on soul power."
Meng Luoluo replied, "Put your mind at ease, Sister. I found what I needed, except most of them are listed as forbidden books. The one I found is solely for training soul power, and I've already memorized it."
He Manting fell silent.
*Such memory—incredible!*
Meng Luoluo suggested, "Since Sister likes books on talismans so much, why not go upstairs and look for some to copy?"
He Manting shook her head. "No. After all, these are the sect's treasures, and I am an outsider. I'm already fortunate that the senior allowed me in without a fuss."
The two walked to the entrance and informed the elder about the books they wanted to copy.
Copying books required merit points, with the required points varying based on the grade and the floor level.
Each floor higher added ten points, and each grade higher also added ten points.
Seeing that the illusion array manual she took was from the first floor, the old man only charged a little over fifty points for all five books.
Meng Luoluo sighed with relief. *Good, good. Direct disciples receive one hundred merit points per month.*
...
The two returned to their quarters, and Meng Luoluo could not wait to begin cultivating.
Due to her mental cultivation method, the illusion array was not difficult for Meng Luoluo. She read for a while, fell asleep, woke up, and continued reading, repeating the cycle countless times.
She discovered a major problem: surely she couldn't draw the array directly onto her own body.
So Meng Luoluo scampered over to He Manting and asked, "Sister, do you have any blank talisman paper? Lend me some."
Without thinking much of it, He Manting took out a sheet of blank talisman paper and handed it to Luoluo.
Taking the paper, Meng Luoluo picked up a brush and outlined a hand seal on it, added a few more strokes to the seal, and then looked at He Manting.
She stepped back and sat down on a chair, then quickly pressed the talisman paper onto the back of her hand and cast an illusion spell directly at He Manting.
She relied entirely on catching her off guard. He Manting never expected Meng Luoluo to pull such a stunt; after spending so much time together, she had dropped all her guard against her.
In the illusion.
He Manting saw a scene similar to her past life, but what was different this time was that Meng Luoluo was standing beside Kong Qianqian. That ferocious smile and hypocritical, false face filled He Manting with intense anger, though it lasted only a flash.
After all, Meng Luoluo was still a child, lacking both such malicious expressions and such deep scheming.
Therefore, He Manting quickly deduced that Meng Luoluo was simply using her to test out an illusion array. It was both exasperating and amusing.
He Manting shouted directly, "Meng Luoluo!"
She infused the shout with spiritual power, using sound to break the array.
The hastily deployed illusion array shattered instantly.
The shout startled Meng Luoluo. Seeing that He Manting looked somewhat angry, Meng Luoluo's eyes instantly welled up with tears, looking as if she were about to cry. She hurriedly stepped forward to pour tea, massage shoulders, and thump legs, occasionally wiping away tears.
Seeing this, He Manting's remaining anger dissipated entirely, and she pulled Meng Luoluo straight into her arms.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Sister startled you. Next time, give Sister a heads-up, be a good girl."
Meng Luoluo steadied her emotions and looked at He Manting. "Sister, what did you see in the illusion to make you so angry?"
She had even inadvertently revealed a sliver of killing intent.
He Manting did not hide anything and told her everything she had seen in the illusion.
Hearing this, Meng Luoluo said, "I really don't want to draw the array on my body; it just feels weird. Sister, help me think of a way."
He Manting fell silent. *So that's how it is. No wonder she asked for blank talisman paper.*
After pondering for a moment, she said, "I can craft a special kind of talisman paper and ink. You draw the illusion array on the talisman paper—as many sheets as you like—and then wrap the talisman paper around your arm."
"The ink will transfer from the talisman paper to your skin. To outsiders, it will just look like you drew a few circles on your arm with ink. You will only need to channel soul power into the ink."
Hearing her sister's suggestion, Meng Luoluo was overjoyed. She excitedly hugged He Manting and kissed her twice on the cheek. "Thank you, Sister! It's so good to have a sister."
"I truly don't know how I can ever repay you."
He Manting replied, "You're still young; talk of repaying me can wait, there's no rush."
The corners of He Manting's lips curled upward, and she was inwardly over the moon. *Just make sure you don't regret it when the time comes.*
For several days straight, after finishing her sword practice, she would head straight to her quarters to study the illusion array. She even added elements of fear and confusion into the illusion array, entirely dedicated to tormenting people.
After a month of effort, she finally covered her arms and calves with arrays. Nowadays, whenever anyone approached her while she was asleep, the arrays would trigger automatically. The only way to prevent them from triggering was for Meng Luoluo not to drop her guard against you.
As the illusion array gradually took shape, Meng Luoluo also advanced the Great Dream Spring and Autumn Art to the second layer: Entering Dreams. At the same time, the drawback gradually surfaced—she began to grow increasingly prone to drowsiness.
...
Ever since Meng Luoluo learned the illusion array, she kept running over to the Scripture Pavilion from time to time. Originally, she was supposed to attend general lectures, but her master told her to play and study on her own for two years, after which she would join the newly initiated disciples for general lectures.
This worked out too well, turning into an unstoppable habit, and she frequently ran off to play in the Scripture Pavilion.
One day, while reading on the second floor of the Scripture Pavilion, Meng Luoluo discovered two interesting books.
One was called Repel, and the other was called Pull.
Why were these two books interesting? Because these two techniques bore a striking resemblance to knock-up and pull-in skills from a certain video game.
The drawback was that they dealt almost zero damage. The distance of the knock-up and pull was determined by one's personal cultivation level.
Although they inflicted virtually no damage, they would come in handy sooner or later, making them just right for showing off and frightening people when the time came. The more Meng Luoluo thought about it, the happier she became, and she immediately began learning them.
That evening, He Manting did not see Meng Luoluo and figured that surely no one would harm her, so she turned and flew toward the Scripture Pavilion.
Upon arriving at the Scripture Pavilion, she found it lacked its usual bustle, appearing eerie and calm. The old man guarding the gate was not at his post, and several elders had even gathered around.
Seeing the Scripture Pavilion elder come out, He Manting hurried forward, bowed, and asked, "What has happened here? Have you seen my younger sister?"
The old man shook his head, sighed, and walked away without saying a word.
This left He Manting even more perplexed.
She wanted to go inside to find her, but several practitioners with high cultivation levels blocked her outside.
Inside the Scripture Pavilion.
After finishing the Repel and Pull techniques, Meng Luoluo had naturally fallen fast asleep.
As fellow disciples, everyone assumed she had passed out, and how could they stand by and not offer help?
As a result, someone stepped forward and very unluckily stumbled straight into the illusion array. Seeing their friend motionless, other onlookers stepped forward to check.
Splendid—they fell right in as well.
Much like the classic trope of rescuing a grandfather one by one, more and more people entered the array.
Suddenly, someone broke through the illusion array, bolted out in a crazed frenzy, and screamed at the top of their lungs, "Monsters! Madman! Don't kill me!"
Because more and more people were drawing close, Meng Luoluo released increasingly massive amounts of soul power. Ordinarily, when an illusion array was broken, retrieving the soul power would allow one to wake up for a brief moment, but due to the excessive amount released, the returning fraction was not enough to wake Meng Luoluo up.
This caused the people who managed to escape to run amok in madness, frightening even more people. Panic spread through the ranks, eventually alerting the elders. The Scripture Pavilion elder had also gone inside to inspect before coming back out.
He had not dared to approach; it wasn't that his cultivation was insufficient, but rather that it was rare to find such a promising talent with such powerful soul power, and he feared that forcefully breaking the array would ruin the child.
He had no choice but to call for more reinforcements.
Just then, He Manting had returned to her quarters, discovered Meng Luoluo was not home, and come to the Scripture Pavilion to look for her, only to find the pavilion surrounded impenetrably, with people continually bolting out in terror, despair, or madness.
Eventually, after making inquiries through several people and asking around extensively, He Manting finally understood that a young girl had deployed an illusion array, rumored to be a direct disciple of Fan Peak.
Finally, the master of Fan Peak, along with four disciples, all arrived at the scene.