"Ah, what's the difference? Aren't they the same?"
Chen Mobai's knowledge of formations is only limited to what he learned in class. As for the Azure Water Formation, he just thought it was a slightly more advanced than what they usually discussed in class, with no essential differences.
How could this be two different systems?
"On Earth Star, resources for immortal cultivation have been nationalized, and all the Spirit Veins of the Thirty-Six Celestial Caverns and the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands have been consolidated by the Ancestor God of Divinity Transformation with supreme legal treasures."
"So, on Earth Star now, nobody usually researches formations that require the insertion of Array Flags into the Spirit Veins. But this knowledge forms the foundation of formation studies, so we, as formation teachers, will explain it in high school classes."
"But in fact, formations above Rank-2 that need to extract the power of the spiritual veins have become dust in history. The direction of formation studies, supported by the Immortal Sect and guided by various Daoist Academies, is to utilize the power of natural phenomena and the forces of the sun, moon, and stars."
After Chan's explanation, Chen Mobai realized that the Azure Water Formation, which needs to be rooted on the water veins, is extremely rare in the entire Immortal Sect.
It's not that the formation is difficult, but that it's quite hard to get permission from the Immortal Sect's National Natural Resources Department allowing the use of the power of the spiritual veins within the Immortal Sect's territory for formation arrangement.
"Maybe the private tutor my mother hired has been part of the sea territory development, so he's quite insistent on formations that require the setup of water veins."
Chen Mobai tried to explain, Chan gave him a suspicious look, but didn't delve deep into it.
"Give me your phone number."
"Huh?"
Chen Mobai was caught off guard by Chan's sudden request, a bit taken aback.
"I only know a little about formations myself. It's only in recent years through teaching at your school that I have laid a foundation in this area. This Azure Water Formation is a bit beyond my abilities, so I need to go back and consult. There's a senior professor specializing in formations who just arrived at the Cinnabarite Institute for an exchange visit. I can consult with him. Give me your phone number; we can add each other as contacts, and I'll text you the answer as soon as I have it."
Chen Mobai didn't expect Chan to be so humble, considering she's a teacher of formations, claiming only to know a little.
"Thanks a lot, Teacher Chan."
After saying this, Chen Mobai immediately took out his phone and added Chan as a contact.
Just as he was about to leave, he felt a bit embarrassed and pulled out a scanned document of the thirty-page Detailed Explanation of Azure Aquatic Formation that he had saved on his phone. He sent it to Chan, saying it was reference material given to him by his private tutor.
"Yes, with this, I should be able to give you an answer in a couple of days. After all, the art of formations has a common source despite myriad changes."
Chan's eyes lit up when she saw the document that Chen Mobai had sent over, and she immediately took out her paper and pen to start calculating and simulating the operation of the Azure Water Formation. It seemed that she was trying to infer the secrets of the formation with her own abilities.
Seeing her immersed in it, Chen Mobai didn't dare to disturb her and withdrew, closing the door for her.
Chen Mobai originally wanted to give Chan the original copy of Detailed Explanation of Azure Aquatic Formation for reference, but considering that the book might have come from outside the Immortal Sect and that it might provide evidence implicating him as a murderer, he decided it would be better to be cautious.
So, thinking twice about it, he decided that when he got home, he would scan the entire book onto his computer as a text document, eliminating any traces that might reveal its origin before sending it to Chan.
After leaving the office, Chen Mobai decided to go straight home.
With a Rank-2 intermediate-grade Spiritual Vein Treasure Land at his disposal, he looked down a little on the school's Rank-1 spiritual power cultivation room.
But on second thought, it's better not to attract attention.
The Fifth High School of the Immortal Sect is a national school, and the students who are enrolled here are all from ordinary families. Even talents like Song Zheng and Yan Bingxuan, who are in the late stage of Qi Cultivation, cherish the two hours of free time they get every afternoon.
There are some who don't use the school's cultivation room. Three students, who are already at the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, find the Rank-1 spiritual power insufficient for them. Their parents have rented Rank-2 lower-grade private cultivation rooms for them outside the school. They leave school immediately after morning classes.
Thus, if Chen Mobai didn't use the school's cultivation room, it would certainly attract attention when people found out.
Qi Practitioners can't cultivate for more than eight hours a day without straining their meridians and Dantian, so Chen Mobai didn't intend to waste any time here.
Therefore, in the school's cultivation room, he started to flip through the Flying Needle Sect's disciple manual that the brown-robed teenager had dropped.
It was only twelve pages thick.
A large portion of the manual detailed the origin of the Flying Needle Sect. The Sect's founder came from the Flying Sand Sect within the Ten Direction Palace. After he successfully established his foundation, he left his sect due to the hopelessness of Core Formation.
The last few pages were full of praises for the Sect's founder and how he established a 300-year foundation in the Eastern Wilderness and shook the eight directions with his might.
Then, there were the usual prohibitions found in all major sects—never betray the master, never do anything evil, etc.
None of these were of any use to Chen Mobai. Only the page about the sect's benefits gave him a rough idea of how spirit stones originated.
Membership to the Flying Needle Sect offered more than just responsibilities—it also offered a yearly distribution of spirit stones.
Early-stage Qi Practitioners can receive five spirit stones per year; mid-stage Practitioners receive ten; late-stage Practitioners receive twenty.
The brown-robed boy was a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Cultivation, the peak of mid-stage Qi Cultivation. Ten spirit stones were barely enough for his cultivation. He must have conspired with the old man to open this Water Mansion to earn some extra money.
The boy probably didn't expect that he would be killed by the old man inside the Water Mansion before even getting a chance to show off his skills after leaving his sect.
The last page of the manual held the signatures of the brown-robed boy and the seal of the Flying Needle Sect.
The manual was printed and issued in the year 6478 of Yuan Era.
Yuan Era?
It must be the local calendar of Eastern Wilderness!
At this point, Chen Mobai had a vague understanding of the location of the Water Mansion.
In this place called Eastern Wilderness, there should be no shortage of spirit stones.
If he ever advanced his cultivation level, he would definitely need to leave the Water Mansion and explore the world above the seabed.
After finishing reading the Flying Needle Sect's disciple manual, Chen Mobai took out the needle box, lightly opened it, and attempted to refine it.
Twelve earthy-yellow flying needles were neatly lined up inside. He poured his spiritual power into them, and one by one, the flying needles rose. Eventually, after doing his utmost, ten of the flying needles bonded with his spiritual power and slowly levitated.
Could a Qi Practitioner of the sixth stage control all the flying needles?
That's what Chen Mobai thought. He had reached the fifth stage of Qi Cultivation and could control ten. If he fully refined them, it would be just right to use.
However, he had never controlled a magic artifact before and only managed to maintain control for three minutes before he ran out of most of his spiritual power and the ten needles fell uncontrollably.
"No wonder he shot them three by three when he was using them."
Recalling the brown-robed boy's spell casting, Chen Mobai realized how absurd he was. Even if a Qi Practitioner of the sixth stage could lift all twelve needles, but to be proficient and smooth, probably the minimum requirement would be the seventh stage or higher.
After recovering his spiritual power through meditation, he attempted again to control just three needles. Although he extended the time to a quarter of an hour, the earthy-yellow long needles that he managed to levitate were extremely stiff and uncontrollable.
Wouldn't it be nice if he had the suitable refining methodology?