Qinghu sensed Qu Jianlei's displeasure, but expecting her to apologize was impossible.

"Have you ever thought about going to the military's cultivation room to break through?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head without hesitation, "Never thought about it, I don't want to be on the military's supreme list."

Apart from the issue of having no identity, being on the military's list isn't good either, it guarantees restrictions.

Qinghu had quite solid connections within the military, and she also heard from Yuanyuan that Ran Bingluan was using a false identity.

However, for her, this was not an issue; as long as she was willing, arrangements could be made.

But after advancing to supreme, not wanting to be registered, that posed a problem for her.

Curiously, she could understand the desire to avoid constraints, so the matter had to be dropped.

So she brought up another topic, "Have you two considered some other situations?"

The most important thing is the issue of guards, which in Daoist Sect terms is "Dharma Protector."

Breaking through is never a small matter, especially advancing to supreme, which involves a life extension of one hundred fifty years, making it necessary to have a Dharma Protector.

In the cultivation room, there is no such issue, the military may have this and that flaw, but they won't mess around in this regard.

But if Qu Jianlei and the others want to break through on their own, they must consider this matter and cannot be without a guard.

Moreover, the Qi Gathering Array set up on Half-Star Island is not just a matter of being illegal; once exposed, even Qinghu Supreme can't handle it.

During the long-term seclusion, how do you ensure not being discovered?

Qinghu had already noticed that the two youngsters had repaired the defense network and added many early warning devices.

But is that enough? Once the Qi Gathering Array is continuously activated, someone with intentions might discover the anomaly.

Qu Jianlei admitted she was right, however, he had no choice but to do this.

Finally Qinghu suggested having the four people brought by Yuanyuan's grandmother act as guards, not going on the island, but patrolling around.

She wasn't familiar with these four people, but the grandmother said they were absolutely trustworthy.

In the end, she stated, "We haven't come for nothing, and you shouldn't complain, your original plan really had too many hidden dangers."

Qu Jianlei pondered for a bit and had to admit that the female supreme's words indeed made sense.

He had been hesitating whether to change to another place, but hearing the other say that, this place really was suitable.

"Then I won't change," he nodded, "Thank you for the reminder, when will you two leave?"

"You're rushing us away already?" Qinghu widened her eyes, "I still plan to stay a few more days!"

Then she issued an invitation, "After you successfully advance to supreme, if there's a chance, how about visiting the Maiden Star Realm together?"

Qu Jianlei nodded agreement, "That's no problem, but even if I successfully advance, I need a few years to adapt before I can act."

Qinghu understood this and then asked, "When you went to Celestial Hook Enigma Mansion, did you get any Elemental Crystals?"

"Yes," Qu Jianlei nodded readily, "but not many."

He was worried the other party might ask for them, but Qinghu was not thinking about that.

"If you gather all Five Major Attribute Crystals, it's best to set up a Five Elements Array, it'll be of great help for your supreme breakthrough."

"I know that," Qu Jianlei nodded, "I understand, the problem is I don't know how to set up the Five Elements Array,"

He had a certain understanding of the Five Elements Crystal and had heard Luo Hanshuang explain quite a bit.

This stuff is of great help to superpower warriors with corresponding attributes, not only helping with cultivation but also with healing.

Though the threshold for use is quite high, only A-level and supreme can use it.

Qu Jianlei saying he didn't know the Five Elements Array was true, but it was also an excuse.

In fact, he had already planned the use of the attribute crystals, but that was something for after advancing to supreme.

He felt using them now was really unnecessary, a waste of resources.

Qinghu, upon hearing this, unhesitatingly said, "The Five Elements Array is very simple, I can help you with an array map."

"Thank you then," Qu Jianlei agreed directly, he couldn't be polite about such things, "Are there any other arrays?"

"I'll arrange for someone to send them as soon as possible," Qinghu's decisions were always so nonchalant, "There are no other arrays."

"No rush," Qu Jianlei waved a hand, "I'm about to enter seclusion, let's talk after I come out."

Qinghu reacted instantly, "You're breaking through without using the Five Elements Array? Do you have any theoretical basis?"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "Not exactly a theoretical basis, but I think this thing is better used after advancing to supreme."

Qinghu looked at him helplessly, "Are you lacking Gold Crystals? I have one I can lend you."

She was originally of the sand attribute, so purposefully collecting Gold Crystals was normal since it's a mutation of the gold attribute.

But being willing to lend one was very rare.

Qu Jianlei understood this well, he shook his head, "I am not lacking any, but emphasizing the gold attribute will make elemental unity harder."

Qinghu thought for a moment and decisively shook her head, "The Five Elements Array actually helps with elemental unity, your concept is flawed."

Indeed, this was the way the two communicated.

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "If you want a Gold Crystal, I can give you one."

"That's enough," Qinghu said impatiently, "I'll leave after a couple more days of chatting."

"In the name of Supreme, I guarantee not to disclose your secret... This place is still my property, I won't bring trouble upon myself."

Humans can be so pretentious. If Qu Jianlei had asked her to promise, she definitely wouldn't have agreed, likely feeling quite proud.

But since Qu Jianlei didn't ask, Qinghu showed her sincerity on her own instead.

"Alright," Qu Jianlei thought for a moment and still nodded, because he could sense the straightforwardness opposite him.

His sense of security wasn't great, but his intuition was rather sharp.

Moreover, he wasn't cowardly, so-called cautiousness was merely respect for the unknown.

If he truly feared dying, how could he have committed so many taboos?

As long as he could basically determine the other person's character, he wasn't afraid to gamble, at worst... he might just misjudge.

In fact, even if he changed to another place, would there really be no danger?

In the ongoing days, Qu Jianlei chatted with Qinghu while continuously checking the defenses of Half-Star Island.

Defense is like planning a wedding, things are never fully done, and when the day comes, it will just be what it is.

Two days later, Qinghu and the grandmother left, while the four people indeed stayed behind.

When the grandmother left, she told Yuanyuan that she'd arrange for twenty or thirty people to come by later.

These twenty or thirty people were also guards, not entering Half-Star Island but would spread around the surrounding area.

The grandmother clearly realized that with Yuanyuan's current cultivation level and foundation, achieving advancement to Supreme in three to five years seemed unlikely.

But since they had chosen sides, they could only increase the stakes.

With her influence, including Lonely Leaf Lake and the surrounding areas under family jurisdiction was no problem at all.

However, that would be too conspicuous, and surely someone would ponder what really happened.

Thus, overt protection was impossible, just more secret posts could be set.

It's fortunate that Yuanyuan's grandmother's family was wealthy, an average family wouldn't even find a few trustworthy secret posts.

Then Qinghu left, and before departing, she said something.

"The two of you use the Qi Gathering Array; it's different from the cultivation rooms of the military, and the Energy Block loss will be minimal."

"When the military uses the Qi Gathering Array like this, the efficiency is very high, but you will cause wastage, the fewer people using it, the more waste there is."

"The greatest loss is at the beginning of use; once it stabilizes, it's fine."

It wasn't until then that Qu Jianlei and Yuanyuan realized their worry over insufficient Energy Blocks was somewhat unnecessary.

Once Qinghu and the grandmother left, they rested for a day and then activated the Qi Gathering Array.

Sure enough, three days later, energy filled the space, and percolation into the ground stabilized.

Corresponding energy shocks and leaks gradually decreased, the Energy Block consumption averaged around ten thousand pieces daily.

At this point, the two officially began their cultivation.

On one particular midday three months later, the energy within the Qi Gathering Array suddenly fluctuated intensely.

Yuanyuan, who was diligently cultivating, immediately sensed something wrong, so she slowly finished her practice, stood up, and walked out of the Defense Array.

She didn't release her perception; instead, she went to the doorway of Qu Jianlei's cultivation room to sense the energy fluctuation.

Sure enough, a large amount of energy surged into the room as if there were a bottomless pit inside.

"Has it started?" Yuanyuan muttered softly, then shook her head, "This guy... is truly a freak."

Having cultivated together for three months, she had deeply felt Ran Bingluan's power.

The first few days were fine, as both were adapting to the issue of "Drunken Energy."

Once Ran Bingluan adapted two days before her, he was like an off-road vehicle with full fuel, speeding ahead.

Aside from cooking, eating, and sleeping once every three days, he never stopped cultivating, as disciplined as a robot.

Yuanyuan was a lot less rigorous in this aspect.

Although she also spent most of her time cultivating, she would often take brief breaks when feeling bored.

In fact, her approach made more sense, as cultivation requires courage and progress but also attention to balancing work and rest.

Being like Ran Bingluan, who only rested one night every three days, could easily cause physical and mental fatigue due to overwork.

Yuanyuan's competitive spirit was strong; at first, she was a bit unwilling and wanted to be as diligent and progressive as him.

However, after persisting for ten days, which was three cycles of three days, she had to give up.

She already realized continuing like this would not only greatly diminish the effect of cultivation but also impact her body and mind.

Upon making this decision, she had to admit that while she was indeed a genius, some people... weren't even human!

There's no need to compare with such inhumans; following her own path was most correct.

With this understanding, Yuanyuan finally completely relaxed herself.

She rested one night every two days and also took several hours off daily at irregular intervals to chat or play games.

For those who didn't understand, it might seem like she wasn't striving to improve.

However, she knew her cultivation progress was good and the foundation was solid.