Chapter Eighty-Eight: Dazzling Beauty

The idea of a formation of one’s own set Yue Qi’s blood surging with heat. He knew full well how difficult such a demand was; even the old master himself had never achieved it in a lifetime. But young people were always like this, brimming with passion and fervor.

“Oh, by the way, old man!” Yue Qi suddenly remembered something. “Is your formation the same as the protective grand formations used by our cultivation sects?”

“A formation from the cultivation world?” The old man could not help but chuckle. “Of course they are the same. It’s just that if you want to cast that sort of formation with overwhelming offensive power, all you need to do is pour spiritual power into it. Once the formation can be set up, those things are actually quite simple. Some formation masters who aren’t cultivators can even use the advantage of geography to create slaughter arrays no less terrifying than the high-level spells of your immortal cultivators!”

“So powerful?!” For an ordinary person to rely on nothing more than a simple formation and still reach such terrifying might was truly astonishing.

“That’s not even the best of it. But for you cultivators, formations are even more formidable...” The old man shook his head. “I once heard of a Core Formation cultivator who used eight active volcanoes as the formation eyes. With spiritual power driving it, tsk tsk... once that formation was awakened, it carried the air of heaven-shattering, earth-destroying devastation. They say it instantly killed a Spirit Transformation cultivator!”

“A Core Formation cultivator instantly killing a Spirit Transformation cultivator?!” Spirit Transformation? Such a realm was something Yue Qi did not even dare to imagine. He was still a long way from Core Formation himself, yet for a Core Formation cultivator to kill a Spirit Transformation one—how terrifying must that attack power be? It was probably already close to the full-force strike of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator!

“Yes, of course, if you work hard at cultivation, you may well reach that level too, Ah Qi!” Seeing Yue Qi’s expression, the old man could not help but comfort him. Yet he had never imagined that this offhand remark would one day come true.

Yue Qi and the others stayed there for a while. This place was indeed safe; although the old man knew the route out, no one was in a hurry to leave. They first cleared the surrounding area, then simply put up a tent, and at least had a temporary place to stay.

During that time, Yue Qi also told the old man about the disappearance of spiritual power among cultivators, and of course he also told him that their destination was Mount Sanqing. The old man was greatly astonished when he heard this. He had never expected that he had truly picked up a treasure: all cultivators’ spiritual power had vanished, yet his disciple still retained his own. That was indeed unexpected.

The weather gradually turned colder, and before long several of them showed signs of illness. The old man and Yuqi both came down with varying degrees of a chill, though fortunately Xin Zi’s medical skills were fairly good. Then again, Xin Zi really was skilled in everything; to think he even knew so much about medicine.

“Ah Qi, this won’t do. We really ought to build a better house. Winter is almost here, and the old man’s body is still weak. If he keeps forcing himself like this, it will drain him too much!” Bai Lian pulled Yue Qi aside, her expression somewhat troubled.

“True. There’s plenty of timber around here, so building a house isn’t really difficult. But I keep thinking we’ll be leaving soon, so there isn’t much point in building one...” Yue Qi said after thinking it over.

“No, I feel like the old man has no intention of leaving with us. I don’t know if my intuition is right...” Bai Lian frowned. A woman’s intuition was often the most accurate.

“Really? Qin Luo seems to like being with us very much. Surely the old man wouldn’t stay here alone...” Yue Qi frowned too, but when he thought about Bai Lian’s concern, it wasn’t without reason. Their master was already so old; naturally he would want stability. This place was remote, but on reflection it was indeed safe.

As for the zombies that had followed them in from the surrounding area, Yue Qi had already dealt with them one by one. Though there were many, under Yue Qi’s deliberate guidance they were scattered apart. With Yue Qi’s mid-Foundation Establishment strength, it took some effort, but killing them one at a time was no problem.

Bai Lian said nothing, as if leaving the decision to Yue Qi.

“Fine. Then I’ll go ask the old man now, and also about Qin Luo—whether she should leave with us or not...” Yue Qi thought it over and finally said.

The old man liked to sit by the stream and fish. Although he never caught anything, he enjoyed the feeling all the same. He said that when people grow old, they have no great ambitions left; they just want a bit of amusement.

By the stream, Qin Luo was nowhere to be seen. Presumably she had run into the woods again to play with small animals. She was still not very old, and Qin Luo was quite fond of that sort of thing.

“Oh? Ah Qi is here?” Without turning around, the old man guessed Yue Qi’s arrival. Yue Qi had long since grown used to that. The old man’s spiritual sense was no weak thing; it was only natural that he could do such a thing.

“The old man is in the mood to come fishing today...” Yue Qi smiled and sat down beside him, watching the way he held the rod. There was a quiet stillness to it, a kind of enjoyment that one could feel just by looking.

“Haha, you don’t come to the temple unless you’ve got business. With your talent, I’ve never even seen you come ask me about formations before. What brings you to this old fellow today?” The old man laughed. One could see that lately his mood had become better and better, and he seemed much younger as well.

“What do you mean? I come to chat with you every day, don’t I?” Yue Qi scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly.

“All right, if you’ve got something to say, then say it. Don’t go all fidgety like a woman...” The old man had no interest in Yue Qi’s manner and spoke bluntly, without the slightest regard for his face.

“Uh... no, nothing like that...” Thinking of the reason he had come, Yue Qi straightened his expression. “Old man, you know what we’re here for, so in a little while, I’m afraid we’ll have to leave.”

“You’re leaving? That’s fine. After all, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Since you’ve got spiritual power, make good use of it. Maybe this calamity will truly have to be saved by the likes of you...” Though he said this, a faint sense of loss still slipped unknowingly into the old man’s voice.

“Old man, I was thinking... why don’t you and Qin Luo come with us?” Yue Qi had been holding it in for a long time, but in the end he said it.

“Me? Aren’t you afraid this old fellow will slow you down?” The old man smiled, seeming somewhat surprised by Yue Qi’s words.

“A teacher for a day is a father for life. As long as I’m here, I’ll definitely protect you, old man!” Yue Qi said solemnly, his eyes fixed on the old man with unwavering resolve.

“Forget it! You should just take Qin Luo with you. She’s spent her whole life hiding in these woods with me; I’ve already wronged her enough. Just take her out of here. As for me, I don’t know how much longer I’ve got left anyway. I may as well enjoy what little peace I have. Go out into the world with you lot? This old skeleton of mine can’t wander around anymore!” The old man smiled, a trace of emotion showing in his eyes. His one and only disciple still remembered him at a time like this—how could he not be moved?

“This...” Yue Qi looked deeply at the old man and said, “All right, then...”

“Oh, right, Ah Qi. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you practice formations. Today, give me a demonstration. If you haven’t made any progress, hmph—then you’ll get the family discipline!” The old man suddenly set down the fishing rod, patted Yue Qi on the shoulder, and stepped back.

“Master, then your disciple will make a fool of himself!” Yue Qi smiled strangely, then stood around the old man and began arranging something unknown.

“Wait...!” A sudden ominous feeling rose in the old man’s heart, and he quickly stopped Yue Qi. “Ahem, looking at you like this, I won’t personally break the formation. No sense in bruising your pride...”

“Huh? Then what should I do?” Yue Qi froze in place. He had originally wanted to use everything he had learned recently and, no matter what, surprise his master a little. He had never expected his master not to test the formation at all.

“Ahem, what else? Just dispel the effects of that illusion formation. We can still see the inside from outside. Don’t tell me you don’t even know how to remove the effects of an illusion formation...” The old man coughed twice more and said to Yue Qi.

“Well... all right then...” Yue Qi certainly knew how to do it. It was just that this would make the formation somewhat weaker. After all, without that hint of hallucination, enemies could easily find its weak points and force their way through.

Finding several formation eyes, Yue Qi quickly set everything in place. In general, a formation required something called formation flags, but many times the one arranging the formation could use all things between heaven and earth as flags. For example, the Eight Trigrams formation outside the little house had used eight trees as its formation flags.

“Mmm, the movements are fairly practiced...” Watching Yue Qi work, the master nodded. He still could not see through the formation Yue Qi had set up; after all, even the slightest difference could create two completely different formations. One could only tell after it had been completed.

“All set, Master...” Yue Qi finished with satisfaction, but the scene before him seemed unchanged from before, if anything even more harmonious.

Then Yue Qi walked to one of the formation flags and gently pulled it out. Suddenly, everything before his eyes turned hazy gray, and not far away, within the formation he had set, a mass of dark thunderclouds churned in midair. It was as if the moment one stepped into the formation, one would be blessed with the “favor” of thousands upon thousands of bolts of lightning!

“Good!” The old man could not help but exclaim. He recognized the formation Yue Qi had used as the Four Symbols Formation. There was nothing especially remarkable about it. Aside from some illusionary effects, it could produce phantom images.

This formation had clearly been reinforced by Yue Qi’s spiritual power, making it even more powerful, and it was precisely the right choice for this place. Imagine if a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down from the sky and you could not even tell whether it was real or fake—how could you possibly resist it?

“Good, good, good!” The master said good three times in a row. The Four Symbols Formation was not especially powerful among the formations he had taught, but it was highly practical. He had not expected Yue Qi to be able to set it up in such a short time.

“All right, Ah Qi...” The master broke Yue Qi’s formation. “Your talent truly is extraordinary, and I have nothing more I can teach you. At this rate, I’m afraid that within ten years, your achievements will absolutely surpass mine by a great margin!”

“It’s all thanks to Master’s excellent guidance...” Yue Qi bowed to the master. Though the master had never spoken to him in any great detail, everything was written very clearly in that book, and that was what had allowed Yue Qi to comprehend so much in such a short time.

P.S. Lately, the recommendation votes have been rising. Many thanks to the book friends who have voted. I myself haven’t voted in a long time, so I hadn’t noticed the increase... what great encouragement! First, my deepest thanks!