Chapter 145 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Grandmaster Peak
I looked at the two men in my shop warily. Something felt wrong about the situation.
"Senior Brother Pang." I bowed my head slightly. "How may I help you today?"
He smiled ingratiatingly.
"Please, we are entering into a business relationship. Sect matters can be put to the side for now. Just call me Manager Pang."
"Alright, Manager Pang, how may I help you?"
His assertion that we were entering into a relationship bothered me, but I was willing to refer to him however he pleased.
"Alchemist Su, Brother Mao here has brought us a sample of your pills. They are fantastic. We are only upset we didn't hear about you sooner. We have scouts looking for promising disciples on the Fire Peak, but who would have thought to look for such a skilled alchemist on the Earth Peak?"
He gave a hearty laugh at this, but my eyes narrowed on Mao. He took my pills to this PangBo Association? Why?
"Manager Pang, I appreciate your compliment, but maybe you could explain your offer?"
"Of course, of course." He spoke quickly and maintained a cheerful tone. "Our appraisers were impressed by your excellent work. When Brother Mao brought us samples, we were ashamed that you had been left to languish in this remote area of the city. From now on, you just need to pass your pills to us. We'll sell them for you at a premium location right next to the Gateway Plaza."
I tapped my fingers together in thought. This wasn't a terrible idea. Running my own store was working, but if they wanted to handle all the grunt work for me and take a cut of the profits, I could agree to that.
However, there was something I needed to know before we took this discussion any further.
"Brother Mao, Manager Pang says you took samples to them? Please, tell me, why?"
Mao chuckled. "Brother Su, don't look so serious. Running this store is a lot of effort, right? We need to focus on ascending to Yellow City. If Manager Pang and his associates handle distributing our pills, then we can focus on more important things."
His words bothered me. 'Our pills.' 'We can focus.' Before, he said that Manager Pang had an excellent offer for 'us.' Brother Mao had helped me run the shop for a couple of years now, and I was grateful for his help, but this seemed to be taking things too far. Beyond just the words he said, I felt the greed in his voice.
I looked at Manager Pang. "What is your offer?"
"90-10. Work with us, give us your pills, and when we sell them, you will get 90% of the purchase price. We will only keep 10."
That… was not what I was expecting. I had to reevaluate the situation. I had been feeling like that was a hostile takeover, but those margins were better than I could get anywhere else. Looking at Mao, I began to think they were suspiciously high.
"Manager Pang, that is a very generous offer. If I work with you, though, what work will there be for Brother Mao? He spends his days tending the shop. Will he be receiving any compensation from this deal?"
Mao waved his hands. "Brother Su, please, don't worry about me. I only care about taking care of you."
I didn't respond to him and just looked at Manager Pang. I could tell that the manager knew what I was thinking, but he wasn't willing to address it directly.
"Do not worry, Alchemist Su, we will take good care of Junior Brother Mao. He has brought the two of us together, so he deserves to be rewarded for that. We plan to train him as a guard for our stores in Yellow City."
Something was off about what he said. Something was off about all of this, but I didn't have enough context to understand what was happening. This was a trap of some kind. I was certain of it. I just needed to decide how I wanted to react.
The only loophole I found in his words was that my compensation would be based on the 'purchase price,' so he could theoretically sell them to allies at below market value. As long as there wasn't an oath between us, though, I could just back out of the deal later if he tried to pull something like that. What would be the point?
If I turned Manager Pang down, he couldn't do much to me here, but he could easily send someone to attack me when I left to ascend the mountain. If I agreed to his offer, I would be placing my neck in a noose. I was certain I'd be in an unpleasant situation of some kind, but I would gain knowledge about this potential danger for future lives.
I bow slightly. "Very well, Manager Pang, I accept your proposal. I will conduct my business through your association in the future. I look forward to our mutual success."
He cupped his fists in a martial salute. "Happy cooperation."
Arranging things through the PangBo Merchant Association was incredibly swift and easy. Manager Pang gave me a location to deliver my pills and assured me that as long as they were Perfect Rank 3 pills of at least 100% efficacy, the association would directly pay me 90% of their market value. If they were able to sell the pills at a premium, I would receive additional compensation during my next drop-off.
While he said that I could deliver as many pills of any type I desired, I made sure to enquire about which ones would be the most desirable or if they had any particular requests for the type of pills they received. I was going to take advantage of this situation to run up my contribution point total as high as possible, and there was no reason to offend my benefactors by giving them pills that wouldn't sell.
Selling pills in this manner, my contribution point count climbed quickly. I used these funds to take a few lessons from Rank 4 formation specialists and combat instructors, but my need for contribution points was limited.
I couldn't buy karmic energy in Mortal City, and while contribution points could purchase a slot in the Earth Peak Trial, only contribution points directly earned from completing missions were valid for such a purchase. Unable to permanently increase my affinities and lacking Grandmaster-level combat experience, I didn't bother wasting my time traveling to random towns to complete missions.
After a few months of this routine, I felt that my foundation as a Grandmaster was firming up, so I began planning my ascent to Yellow City. While I couldn't get much information about what the journey involved, it was clear that the trek was dangerous in some way.
The sect had set up a variety of challenges for anyone wishing to ascend. With my limited Grandmaster-level combat training, I wasn't in the best position to fight someone in a fair duel, so I stocked up on plenty of formations and pills that could help me pull off a sneak attack.
Everything was going smoothly, but that was when I received an unexpected visitor.
After leaving Earth Peak, I was returning to my workshop when someone walked in front of me and blocked my path. This was unusual in Mortal City. The rules were very strict, and no one would easily break them by starting an unprovoked fight.
I looked at the face of the person who stopped me, and it took me several moments to process it.
"Yan? Is that you?"
The Zhuge Yan before me looked haggard and weary. In the past, there was a sharpness about his appearance that made me think he was always calculating something. Now, all I saw was an air of sorrow and grief. His clothing was crumpled and stained. The ponytail that held his long hair in place was frayed and hairs were sticking out at odd angles. His once meticulous appearance had degraded to the point that he looked like a vagabond who had been wandering the woods for weeks without rest.
"Su Fang." He snorted and gave me a look bordering on disgust. "So, you do remember us after all this time."
"What? Yan, of course I do. What's going on? What's wrong?"
These questions only seemed to anger him. "What's going on? So, you remember us, but you haven't thought to take even a moment to collect the letters we've sent you over the years. It was your idea to keep in touch in the first place, but have you ever considered doing so?"
That… was fair. Once I separated from the group, I became focused on only my own improvement again. What happened during this false timeline didn't matter much to me. The letters were just a way to see if I could help them the next time around. I didn't think about actually staying in contact. Mentally, I no longer considered these versions of my classmates to be 'real.'
"Sorry." I dropped my eyes in shame. "I should have stayed in touch. What's… what's been going on with everyone?"
Yan gave me a long stare before breaking it with a sigh of despair. He seemed to want to collapse to the ground. Realizing that the middle of the street wasn't the best place for this conversation, I led him to a small tea house for a private discussion.
After the attendant poured our tea and left, we just sat there, staring at our glasses. Eventually, Yan broke the silence.
"It's probably a good thing that you ignored us. I… I'm just mad. Not at you. Just at… everything. I wanted you to help, but there was nothing you could have done."
"Yan, please, tell me what happened."
He picked up his cup and took a long sip.
"LiTing is dead. Officially, she died tragically in an accident during a duel at the Academy, but it was an assassination. YuLong's family has been slaughtered, and those few that remain alive have been exiled from their empire. Instead of killing JiaQi directly, they're hunting her for sport. She's been on the run in the wilderness for years now. Her deer LuLu was killed."
I sat stunned. LiTing dying… I had been prepared for that after the last time. The others though? What had gone so wrong?
"It was my family. Once the others left the protection of the Academy, my family crushed them. I can't be sure about LiTing, but I think they were also responsible for that. If they found out she was a talented refiner, they would have done everything they could to prevent her from being able to support me. You might have been spared because you were holed up here, but you could have just been overlooked since we didn't contact each other."
"Why?" It was the only word I could manage.
"They wanted to force me to leave the Academy and return home. Becoming a Sovereign through the sect would…" He trailed off not wanting to say more.
"Yan, please, help me understand. I might be able to help, but only if I know."
He looked at his now empty cup as he calculated the worth of my words.
"There are rules about what people outside the clans can know. If I break my oath and tell you more than what is allowed, I will be punished by the Heavens, but I will tell you what I can. The Zhuge Clan is a minor branch of the Zhu Clan on the Central Continent. The most talented disciples from the Zhuge are raised up and brought into the Zhu Clan as low-level subordinates. We lack any freedom to control our future."
His voice was tinged with bitterness.
"I wanted to break that cycle of subservience. By becoming a Sovereign through the sect instead of the Zhu Clan, I might be allowed to forge an independent force under the protection of the Saint. I was doing this for the Zhuge Clan as a whole, but our patriarch is beholden to the Zhu Clan. He will not attack me directly, but he will do everything he can to force me to return. Only the protection of the Academy, the sect, and the Ning Clan can hold him back."
"That…" I tried to respond, but what could I say? "That is difficult. I don't know if I can help with something on that level."
He chuckled mirthlessly. Then, he took a thick book out of a storage bag. "Here. This is what you wanted. I don't know what good it will do you, but I knew it was important."
He slid the book to me. I took a quick look and saw it was a record of notable events for the past several years.
Yan stood up and walked toward the exit.
"Don't try to contact me again. I'm returning to the Zhuge Clan. Don't do anything that will alert them."
"Yan…"
He didn't look back at me as he vanished into the crowded street.
The meeting with Yan lit a fire in me. I needed to bring this timeline to a close. That meant I needed to hurry faster.
I contacted the PangBo Merchant Association and told them of my plans to ascend to Yellow City. When I arrived at the city's northern gate, Mao and a man I didn't recognize were waiting for me.
"Brother Su!" Mao hugged my shoulder and spoke with a bright tone. "This is Brother Wen. He is a powerful fighter from the Association. Senior Brother Pang personally chose him to escort us up the mountain."
I nodded toward the unknown man, but he paid me little attention.
"Well then, let's go."
Chapter 146 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Grandmaster Peak
As we walked out of Mortal City, the feeling that I got from Brother Wen was one of indifference. He didn't feel like a guard that was sent to safeguard my life. He felt like someone who wouldn't care if I lived or died.
On the other hand, Mao just seemed excited, like the day he had been waiting his whole life for had finally arrived.
This combination left me unnerved, but that was fine. If they decided to attack me for some reason, I was prepared. I didn't know how strong Wen was, but I believed I could hold my own. And anyway, if I couldn't, it just meant returning to try and fix everyone's problems earlier than I expected.
The walk to the base of Dragon Peak was calm and relaxing. It had been a long time since I had been outside in nature, and even though I was wary of my travel companions, I still took the time to enjoy the walk.
Near the mountain, the terrain became somewhat hilly, but the entire area was a wide-open grassland. I could see scattered temperate forests on the mountain itself, but out here, a few miles away, there were only rolling fields of green grass.
While we didn't rush, we did maintain a steady pace along the dirt road leading to the mountain's base. Having left the city, we were no longer under the protection of the sect, and anyone could strike at us at any time. I wasn't too worried since I doubted many would hang around this close to the city walls, but with the threat of the unknown lurking behind the surrounding hills and the danger of being betrayed by my companions, I didn't allow myself to relax too much.
About half an hour after leaving the city, we came upon a three-way fork in the road. There was a trail marker explaining things, but Wen didn't even look at it. He immediately took the rightmost path and urged us forward.
I didn't stop to study the marker closely, but I did see that the paths were labeled the 'Path of Body,' the 'Path of Mind,' and the 'Path of Soul.' Wen guided us down the Path of Soul.
If the Association had been studying me, they would have seen my combat training, limited though it was. They also knew that I was proficient in both alchemy and formations. Were we going down this path because it was seen as my weakness? I had never cultivated my soul, but at this point, it had to be strong enough to withstand a test intended for some run-of-the-mill Grandmaster.
While I had my guesses as to his motive, I wanted to sate my curiosity.
"Brother Wen, why did you choose this path?"
He grunted at me. "It's the easiest."
That didn't sound true at all, but I let it slide.
We continued walking along the trail until we reached a point where two stone plinths slightly taller than the top of my head stood on either side of the trail. They formed a type of gateway to the area beyond. Wen spoke up to explain the situation.
"Once we pass that line, the test will begin. You will feel a heavy pressure on your soul that will make it difficult to continue walking. There are several of these markers along the trail. Each time we pass one, the pressure will increase. That's all we have to do on this path, just bear with a little pressure. After about a day, we should arrive in Yellow City."
I doubted it would be so easy, but I decided not to question his claim directly. Instead, I wanted to know more about a few other details.
"What if we go around the markers instead of following the trail?"
"Won't work. There's a shield that stops you. That shield will also prevent you from going back after you pass through the markers. You can go off the trail to forage for food and water, but if you want to leave the path completely, the only way is forward, through the next set of markers."
"Do we need to worry about being attacked?"
I noticed Wen's hand twitch at this question, but it was only an involuntary reflex.
"Maybe. There are no beasts to attack us on this path, but cultivators who don't feel they can proceed past the next checkpoint will wait to let their souls grow under the pressure from the path. They may decide to attack, so we should be careful."
Finally, I asked the question that truly interested me. "How do you know all this? I tried to research the path to Yellow City a few times, but I could never get any solid information about it. I was convinced the sect was suppressing people from talking about it. How were you able to learn so much?"
He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again without saying anything. After a bit more thinking, he grunted. "There are benefits to working for a large organization instead of being a rogue cultivator."
I thought about asking more, but Wen stopped me.
"Let's move."
He did not put action to his words though. He waited for Mao and me to pass through the markers first. Deciding to follow his strategy, I looked at Mao, suggesting that he go first.
Mao just laughed and walked forward.
When he passed the barrier, it was like a massive weight slammed down on him. He fell to his knees groaning in pain. I paid close attention to his behavior and mannerisms, trying to understand how the soul pressure was making him act.
A few moments later, he shakily stood and nodded for me to follow.
When I passed the markers, I immediately fell to my knees and let out a moan, doing my best to mimic Mao's reaction. I felt a slight pressure in my head like I was about to have a headache, but nothing that would cause me to behave anywhere closer to as dramatically as Mao had acted.
Still, I did my best to mimic his reaction and shakily stood. Then, I looked at Wen who smoothly followed us and showed no reaction to the path's effects.
We continued down the path at a slightly slower pace. Under the path's pressure, Mao couldn't keep walking at the same speed he had previously, and I slowed down to match him. After two hours of slowly plodding along, we found the second set of marker stones. Wen stopped us before we could cross them. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out two pills, handing one to each of us.
"Take these, they'll temporarily strengthen your soul, making it easier to continue forward. If you cross first, you might get knocked unconscious."
Mao grabbed a pill and swallowed it without a thought. Within seconds, a grin returned to his face.
"That's some great stuff. Wish you had given it to us earlier."
He nearly danced past the markers and only showed a slight wince at the increased pressure on the other side.
I studied the pill in my hand, trying to analyze it. I was completely unfamiliar with its ingredients. It had an odd combination of wind and thunder energies mixed with a small amount of light and dark. I had no idea what this pill was or how it worked.
I considered upgrading my pill analysis ability, but this wasn't the time. I could worry about studying it later. With Wen staring at me, I needed to hurry and consume it.
I raised it to my lips, and the moment right before I released it into my mouth, I shoved it into my storage space and replaced it with a basic Rank 3 healing pill that was a similar shade of dark green.
Judging by Mao's reaction, the pill clearly had an effect on the soul, and there was no way I was going to consume such a thing without understanding exactly what it did first.
When the pill entered my mouth, the tension in Wen's shoulders relaxed.
With my soul definitely strengthened from the pill, I crossed the marker line and showed the same slight wince that Mao had. Wen followed after us and again showed no reaction to the increased pressure.
At the third set of marker stones, this same pantomime repeated itself. I was given a pill, I studied it, pocketed it in my storage space, and ate a healing pill.
At the fourth set of markers, I didn't bother studying the pill anymore. I just quickly 'consumed' it.
While the soul pressure was beginning to build, and I was starting to feel it, I was thankfully not hindered by it in any way. This let me continue my show of easy compliance up until we reached the fifth set of marker stones.
As we approached, I noticed a tension settle over Wen's shoulders once more.
He handed me a pill, and I quickly 'swallowed' it for him to see. Then, passed through the marker stones once more.
As Wen passed through the stones, he let out a hearty chuckle.
"Damn, you alchemists are so annoying. Do you know that? Suspicious of anything you're given, but once you're convinced you know what it is, you swallow it down without question."
I raised my eyebrow as he continued to rant.
"I got in a lot of trouble with the boss over you. Letting a skilled alchemist slip through the cracks. He wasn't too happy about that. Not at all. Not my fault you're an idiot who went to the Earth Peak for some damn reason. Can't believe I'm forced to ascend because of you. Should have been able to just shove that damn pill down your throat on the Fire Peak like normal. At least I got a promotion out of it, so I'll have to thank you."
He gave me a mock bow to conclude his little soliloquy.
I had no idea what he thought was going on. Those pills must have had some additional effect, but without spending time studying them, I had no clue what it could be.
"Care to explain?" He was being nice and forthcoming about his plans, so I was willing to let him just tell me anything I needed to know.
Mao started laughing. "Master Wen, let me, please. This fool has no idea what's going to happen to him."
Wen gestured magnanimously to Brother Mao who gave me a mocking glare.
"You think I'm some idiot. Someone willing to be your pet slave for a pittance while you sell mountains of pills, right?" He laughed crazily. "That's why I contacted Master Pang. He doesn't like alchies ruining his business. Now, you are going to be nothing but his slave, and I will be rewarded handsomely for helping capture you."
His words made it sound like he was burning with resentment and anger, but all I sensed from the man was naked greed. I had known Mao was a bit greedy, but I didn't expect it to push him this far. I would need to be more sensitive to this in the future.
I turned to Wen.
"Are you serious? You're going to reward him for this? That seems like a strange business decision."
Mao laughed. "What do you know about business? You—"
His words immediately cut off as Wen flicked his hand and an invisible blade of wind slashed out at Mao. Completely unprepared, Mao could only gape in horror as the blade sliced through his neck.
I nodded at the scene then looked back to Wen.
"That makes more sense. I'm confused though. How, exactly, am I your slave now? I mean, I get that you can attack me. You might even be able to easily kill me, but how does that make me a slave?"
Wen grinned. "Not familiar with wind cultivators, I see. Not a surprise. The civilized regions don't appreciate us too much. The Nine Rivers Sect is one of the few places on this damn continent where we can freely practice our craft."
I cocked my head to the side. I remembered thinking about the profession connected to wind cultivators in the past, but I had never heard anything about it. Even in the Yellow Orchid Academy, they had wind techniques, but there wasn't a library dedicated to its elusive profession.
"And what craft is that?"
Wen, believing I was completely under his control, was more than happy to monologue.
He reached into his storage bag and pulled something out. It took me a long moment to understand what I was looking at.
"A centipede?"
"A gu worm. This is a soul gu. After it enters your body, it crawls its way into your very soul. As a Gu Grandmaster, it is under my complete control. If you don't follow my commands, it will release a potent toxin that will cause you unbearable agony until you comply."
"I see. So, this insect, this 'gu,' is under your control. You tell it to hurt me, and it does?"
Wen smirked in confirmation.
"And… you want me to put that thing inside my body… I don't think I will do that."
"Don't worry, that's already been taken care of. You were kind enough to not only willingly consume several Soul Numbing Pills, but you also swallowed the egg of a soul gu. Your assistance is no longer required."
"I see. Well, that is unfortunate."
My calm reaction was beginning to make Wen slightly nervous. I needed to act.
I reached into my storage space and made several potent exploding formations appear directly in my right hand. I charged and threw them at Wen in a single fluid motion.
He was surprised, but not completely.
He was a trained Grandmaster combatant, and I had no experience fighting against someone with his element. I needed to take him out before he could respond. I couldn't allow him to do anything that would affect my soul.
Following up the formations, I took out half a dozen Rank 4 exploding pills and threw them.
Then, I pulled out a shielding formation to protect myself from the blast.
A firestorm erupted only a few meters in front of me. When it cleared, I saw Wen lying on the ground.
He might have been dead, but I wasn't willing to take any chances.
I threw out a formation that had a Rank 3 metal attack technique inscribed into it.
Metal qi burst out and stabbed Wen in the heart.
Now confident of my opponent's death, I quickly looked for his storage bag, but it was destroyed in the bombardment.
I didn't want to stick around in case anyone else was nearby, so I ran off the path and into the forests that comprised the area past the fifth set of marker stones.
Chapter 147 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Grandmaster Peak
Once I was a good distance away from the site of the battle, I hid in the woods as well as I could manage. I needed a moment to catch my breath and figure out what to do next.
Wen's talk about gu had me worried. I had zero understanding of what such insects might be capable of, and if inadvertently ingesting such things could cause severe soul damage, I would have to be far more careful in the future.
I reached into my storage space and pulled out all of the pills that he had given me. Looking at the last one, I noticed that it was slightly different, but without knowing more about what I was looking at, there was no way I would be able to understand it as anything but a Low-Purity pill. Using energy vision, all I could see was a tight bundle of what looked like wind-based toxins bound up in its core. If I saw this without knowing what it was, I would be suspicious, but there was nothing that suggested it was an insect egg.
Learning how a normal alchemist might identify pills that had been tampered with in such a way would be a valuable skill, but this was too urgent of a problem to push off until a later date.
"System, how much to raise my pill analysis ability high enough to analyze these pills?"
Cost 50 million credits.
I debated whether that price was worth it. The appraisal ability I bought in the past only gave a pill's name and efficacy. It didn't list its effects. It might be better to try and find a cheaper, more direct way to handle this situation. Still, the cost was well within my means, and I didn't have any better ideas that were both effective and affordable, so I decided to go ahead and buy it.
Purchase confirmed. Cost 50 million credits. 659,799,004 credits remaining.
I returned my focus to the pills and analyzed them.
Mid-Purity Rank 3 Soul Numbing Pill, 73% Medicinal Efficacy. Value: 8,000 gold.
Staring at the pill, I wasn't sure what to be more offended by, the fact that they tried to enslave me with these things, or that they wanted to use such low-quality pills to do it. Mid-Purity was one thing, but only 73% efficacy?
I turned my attention to the pill that contained the gu egg.
Low-Purity Rank 3 Soul Numbing Pill (tainted), 19% Medicinal Efficacy. Value: 390,000 gold.
The analysis didn't tell me anything about the insect inside or what it would do, but at least I could use it to know if there was a problem with any pills in the future. I considered buying a more detailed analysis ability, but the cost was too much. I wasn't willing to spend hundreds of millions of credits on such a thing at the moment.
I returned the normal Soul Numbing Pills to my storage space. I would never consume them myself, but I might find some way to use them in the future. If nothing else, I could study them to try to understand their recipe.
As for the pill with the egg inside, I crushed it into a fine powder. It might be somewhat valuable, and I doubted that the gu egg would be able to harm me while locked away in my storage space and trapped within a pill, but I wasn't going to take any chances with something like that.
With my evaluation of the pills complete, I needed to start looking toward the future. Wen was dead, and entering Yellow City without him would only cause me trouble. There was little I could do to change the information connected to my jade identity badge, so if the Association had a way to somehow track those, I would be in trouble no matter what. However, there was something I could do to give myself a little bit of protection.
"System, change my outward appearance to make me look like Chen WuJing from the Blue Wind Pavilion."
Purchase confirmed. Cost 100,000 credits. 659,699,004 credits remaining.
I felt the bones and skin of my face twist as they shifted. My height dropped a few centimeters, and my waistline expanded. Without a mirror, I wouldn't be able to see how accurate the System's alteration was, but I could feel that significant changes had taken place.
I pulled a small knife out of my storage bag and hacked at my hair. I usually kept it long in the fashion of most of the locals, but people who followed a martial path tended to keep their hair quite short. I wrapped the blade in a wisp of qi to make the cutting easier, and I did my best to style my hair to look like a regular martial cultivator.
Since my first life in this world, I had nearly always grown a small, tight beard. I didn't have the skill needed to shave it clean using only a knife, but I trimmed it down as close to my face as I could manage.
Finally, I took a pale blue outfit out of my storage bag and changed into it. It was designed for martial cultivators and had leather straps around the forearms and shins to keep the cloth tight against the skin.
I hadn't been able to get any information about what the path to Yellow City would involve, but I had been convinced the trip would involve some kind of betrayal by my traveling companions. So, before I left Mortal City, I had made a few purchases of such items to prepare for different eventualities.
My change of dress might not have fooled anyone, but with the comprehensive changes to my face and skeletal structure, there was no chance anyone would recognize me. The identity attached to the jade badge was a problem, and I asked the System for a solution, but there was nothing within my price range.
Prepared as I could be, I returned to the path toward Yellow City.
The fifth section was the final part of the Path of Soul.
Unlike the previous areas, the pressure in the fifth section was not constant. The closer I got to the exit of the path, the more it increased.
I was able to walk through this entire section without too much difficulty, but as I did, I wondered if staying in such a place would be an effective way to train my soul. Performing complex tasks such as alchemy under the pressure of the path would definitely be a strain.
Two things stopped me from testing this. First, I wasn't at all sure if it was a good idea. I had no understanding of how to improve a soul, so randomly trying things out was not on my to-do list. Second, I wasn't willing to spend time here. I could study soul cultivation back at the Academy. For the moment, I was content to press forward.
However, even though I was personally against the idea, I did spot several people cultivating by the side of the path. They were those who had reached their limits and needed to strengthen themselves if they wanted to proceed any further.
Because of what Wen had said, I was worried they might try to attack me, but as I passed by, no one so much as moved a finger. I considered this as I walked and came to a realization. There was no way such people would try to attack me. It would be completely foolish. I was able to waltz right past them while they were under immense strain just to stay conscious. If they tried to attack, it would be a death sentence.
On other paths, I might need to be more careful, but on the Path of Soul, anyone who had the ability to attack me also had the ability to complete the path, so I had no reason to be overly afraid.
After the sixth and final set of marker stones, I exited the path, and the pressure on my soul disappeared.
Only a short distance away, a rather small city with tall yellow walls was built into the mountainside.
Straightening myself and remembering my new WuJing persona, I calmly walked toward Yellow City.
My understanding of Yellow City was shallow, but I wasn't willing to spend any time understanding it better. The one thing that I did know was that the PangBo Merchant Association had a large presence here, and I didn't want to risk being around them any more than I had to.
As soon as I entered the city, I found a servant disciple on the weaker end of Grandmaster and asked him where to find the sect-run stores. Following his guidance, I quickly made my way to the place where I could purchase karmic energy.
The place I had been directed to was a large temple-like structure in the middle of the city. It was a bit too high-profile for my liking, but I didn't let that stop me. I walked in and saw an elderly man in orange robes kneeling and burning incense before an altar.
I didn't want to disturb him, so I waited anxiously for him to finish, tapping my finger against the side of my leg the entire time. As soon as he stood, I approached.
"Excuse me, elder. Is this where I can purchase karmic energy?"
He stood silently and inspected me for a long while before responding.
"Yes."
That less-than-helpful response made me somewhat annoyed. I was on edge from being so close to the Association's base of operation, and this guy's terse response wasn't helping the situation.
To prevent myself from snapping, I stepped back, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I needed to center myself. Yes, I was in a hurry, and yes, if the Association knew I was here after killing Wen, I would only have moments left to live. They might even have a way to permanently kill me. However, for the moment, I was safe.
A few long, deep breaths later, I opened my eyes to look at the elder again. I was grateful that he had waited patiently while I got my emotions under control.
"Apologies, elder, I have been under a bit of strain recently."
I gave him a deep bow which he returned with a slight dip of his head.
"If possible, I would like to purchase karmic energy sufficient to advance to Martial Lord. Could you help me with this?"
His face softened a bit as I spoke.
"Hand me your identity jade."
I did so, and he studied it.
"An impressive amount of contribution points for one so young. Especially one who has yet to complete any missions." He taped the jade badge a few times. "We don't like that, you know? It's better to complete the missions to better understand your role in the sect. But since it seems you earned your points through your own ability instead of selling family treasures, we can let it slide for now."
That… How much information were they recording about me? I could understand them knowing that I didn't complete any missions, but recording that I had earned my points through alchemy was slightly concerning. Not because of that information specifically, but because if it was recorded, then other things I didn't know about would be recorded as well.
The elder handed my badge back to me.
"I will allow you to advance to Lord, but before you advance to King, you must travel to Profound City and complete a total of at least one hundred missions for the sect. After every ten you complete, you will be allowed access to an allotment of enough karmic energy to advance to the next stage of the Lord realm. Is that understood?"
I bowed once more. "Yes, elder."
He tapped his wrist, and a small wave of energy entered my dantian. The feeling was nowhere near as powerful as when the Ning Clan's servant had done something similar.
"Thank you, elder. I understand the need for missions. However, my ability with formations is somewhat lacking. Would it be possible for me to gain access to alchemy missions even though I am a member of the Earth Peak?"
He closed his eyes in thought.
"It is unusual, but special dispensation has been granted for such a thing in the past. I will pass along your request. Take the Path of Mind on your way to Profound City. When you arrive there, you will have your answer."
"Thank you, elder."
Knowing that it was time, I bowed and left.
Once outside, I rented a cheap room and used the Water Groom technique to advance to Lord. I considered looking for other cultivation techniques in the city, but I didn't want to spend the time that buying and studying a new technique would require. I had no wish to stay so near where the PangBo Association would be looking for me any longer than I had to. This technique had served me well in the past, so I saw no need to replace it for the moment. When I reached Profound City, I could look for new techniques to use in my next life.
I didn't have a Rank 4 formation to boost my advancement, but I did have a Rank 3 formation and several Rank 4 pills. In less than a week, I stepped into the Martial Lord realm once more.
Chapter 148 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Lord 1
My time in Yellow City proceeded smoothly, and I didn't encounter any of the problems that I had expected. Based on the description of there being no rules on Dragon Peak, I had thought that there might be rampant theft and murder everywhere. However, reality did not comport with these expectations.
From what little I saw of it, Yellow City seemed like it was just a smaller version of Mortal City. In retrospect, this shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise. If there were unbridled chaos, people wouldn't have any opportunity to learn or grow. The reality was that the lack of sect rules simply led to local powers establishing their own authority over territories within the city.
This information could be useful for any future lives that I would be spending within the Nine Rivers Sect, but it didn't change my plans for the rest of this one. Even if the city was safer than I had imagined, I wasn't willing to stick around for any surprises from the PangBo Merchants. Besides, I would have to reach Profound City before I could continue advancing anyway.
Walking the path to the next city might be dangerous for the unprepared, but I much preferred the uncertain dangers of the path to being within the reach of people who could infect my soul with demonic insects. So, the day after I advanced to Martial Lord, I left Yellow City through the eastern gate and began heading further up the mountain.
This path was similar to the one that I had used to leave Mortal City. The main difference was that I was climbing the mountain instead of merely heading toward its base.
After several minutes of walking, I reached a fork in the road that led to three different tests, just like last time. The Path of Soul continued around the mountain, remaining at the same elevation. The Path of Body was a steep climb up the mountain. The Path of Mind led to a cave opening a few dozen meters away.
I was told to take the Path of Mind, but I wanted to check something before I did.
I followed the Path of Soul and found the marker stones that signified its entrance. I approached the stones and tried to pass an arm through the opening. A barrier appeared and blocked my hand before it could cross the test's threshold.
The Nine Rivers Sect had shown multiple times that they valued diversity in a cultivator's abilities. This barrier demonstrated that sentiment yet again. While one was able to advance to Yellow City with only a single area of expertise, if they wanted to reach Profound City, they would need to be proficient in at least two different disciplines. To proceed to Earth City, they would almost certainly need to be masters of all three. The only lingering question was what tests existed after that point.
Gaining this insight was valuable, but it wasn't what I had come for. I returned to the fork and headed down the Path of Mind.
I entered the cave opening and walked carefully through the tunnel beyond.
The passageway appeared to be a natural opening created by water seeping through the mountain over several millennia. The stones had a dampness about them that indicated an ongoing process of erosion. However, there was an artificiality about everything. The passage was too flat. It didn't slope in any direction like a normal cave would. If this place had ever been natural, then it had been carefully modified by cultivators from the sect to better suit their needs.
This first tunnel was not very long. It ended in an atrium with eight stone arches. Beyond each arch, tunnels continued into the mountain and curved out of sight. Across the top of each arch was a label for each of the different professions I had become familiar with such as alchemist, refiner, and illusionist. I spent a long moment staring at the archway labeled 'Gu Keeper.' That was not a path I had any desire to explore.
I naturally walked towards the arch for alchemists, but only a few steps away, I halted in my tracks. I felt a twinge from my spatial affinity. Staring deep into the arch, I understood what it was trying to tell me. This wasn't a simple passage into the mountain. It was a portal to somewhere else.
Knowing that walking through the arch would teleport me somewhere didn't change what I needed to do, so I stepped through confidently. However, as I walked, I mentally noted that this wasn't simply a tunnel into the mountain. I might not even be on Dragon Peak anymore. I wasn't sure what I could do with that knowledge, but it was something to keep in mind.
The next cavern I entered was a large square room hewn out of the surrounding stone. Across from me was a closed wooden doorway. To my right was an alchemy workbench that held a small cauldron and several herbs. To my left was another stone arch.
Before investigating the workbench, I wanted to examine the archway.
Again, my spatial affinity indicated that this was a portal to somewhere else. Beyond the opening was an immense cavern that was overgrown with vegetation. Through this passage, I could hear countless insects and other animals that lived in the subterranean jungle as well as the sounds of running water in the distance. I could also hear what sounded like the chaos of a battle hidden within the dense foliage.
I turned back to the workbench to try to understand what I was supposed to do. A scrap of paper laid out my mission succinctly.
Create one Rank 4 Basic Healing Pill and place it on the formation stone to be graded. If it is of sufficient quality, the path to the next test will open. You have three chances. If you fail, you must enter the holding area for 48 hours before trying again.
The herbs on the workbench were precisely three sets of the ingredients needed to concoct such a pill. This was a simple task, so I picked up the first set of herbs and moved to the cauldron to begin my work.
As I did, a voice sounded through the passage to the holding area.
"Hey guys, look, we got some fresh meat!"
I whipped around and looked out the stone archway and into the cavern beyond. Standing near the opening was a large, well-built man wearing combat robes and holding a long spear. Along the shaft of the weapon, I saw specks of blood that he had failed to properly clean off.
The man stared at me with an evil chuckle and a smirk on his face. Moments later, four more men in similar attire walked out from behind the foliage.
One of the newcomers laughed and turned to his companions.
"Well, look what we have here. He looks like little more than a child. Must be a bit touched in the head to attempt a test meant for Lords at his age. We should do the honorable thing and help him on his way."
He gave me an unfriendly look. "What do you say, boy, come on out here and we'll take good care of you."
That last statement had been a mistake. He gave me too much information. He needed me to go out there which should mean they couldn't come in here. I took a formation stone out of my bag and placed it next to the archway just to be cautious. Since it was only a Rank 3 formation, it wouldn't do much to stop a Lord, but it would give me a moment's warning if they moved to attack. Once it was set up, I turned back to the workbench.
The process of making a Basic Healing Pill was simple enough, so as I worked, I kept an ear out for anything my new 'friends' might be doing.
They spent a few moments taunting me, but when they saw that it wasn't having any effect, they stopped. Unfortunately, instead of giving up, they were just getting started.
One of the men pulled out a formation and put it right next to the opening to my room. When he activated it, it let out an intense, high-pitched sound that was nearly enough to make my ears bleed. This burst of sound then repeated at irregular intervals.
Still, the pill was simple enough to make, and even though I had been surprised at first and let my concentration slip, I maintained a solid lock on everything. After roughly a half hour of work, the pill was complete.
I picked it up out of the cauldron and placed it on the formation stone to be graded. The formation lit up with a faint light, and the wooden door leading to the next test opened. I had planned to take the extra two sets of ingredients with me, but as I moved to grab them, they vanished. It seemed like I would need to pocket any spoils before I had my pill graded.
As I moved to the wooden doorway, the men who had been pestering me shouted.
"See you soon!"
When I passed through the tunnel and entered another similar stone room, I groaned as taunting laughter echoed out of the arch to my left. I began to fully grasp the intent behind the 'Path of Mind.' It wasn't simply a test of one's skills. It was a test of skill while under pressure from idiots intent on robbing and killing.
The second test was to make a slightly harder pill with only a single set of ingredients provided. It wasn't clear what quality of pill would be considered good enough for a pass, but I couldn't allow myself to slip up even once. It had only taken me a single glance to know that there was no way I would survive in the 'holding area' for 48 hours against that group of bandits.
I once more set up a barrier formation in front of the stone archway, took a deep breath, and mentally blocked out everything around me as I got to work.
The next three tests were all similar. One set of herbs and one pill I had to make. After I made it, the door to the next area would open. Once I passed the third test, my 'friends' outside gave up on taunting me personally and simply relied on their sound formation to provide a distraction.
When I arrived at the sixth test, things changed slightly. Instead of a set of herbs prepared and waiting for me on the workbench, there were two large chests stuffed with various ingredients.
The instructions told me what I needed to make, but I would have to personally sort through the multitude of herbs to find exactly what I needed.
This change would mean a sharp rise in difficulty for a normal alchemist. Not only would they have to already know the pill's recipe, but they would also have to be able to identify the correct herbs from within an assortment of similar-looking ingredients. However, this wasn't enough to cause me any problems. My Rank 4 alchemy knowledge was solid enough that I was able to quickly find what I needed and make the pill.
Before I turned it in, I turned to the bounty of extra ingredients remaining in the two chests. I picked up one of the herbs and stuffed it into my storage space then looked around to see if this caused any problems. When nothing lit up and no buzzer sounded, I felt I was free to continue plundering.
As I reached to swipe a few more handfuls, I froze. I had noticed that the first herb had never appeared in my storage space.
I carefully picked up a second one and tried to place it inside. The herb disappeared from my hand, but it did not appear in my storage space.
I didn't believe for a second that the sect had a way to prevent me from putting things into the space or stealing things from within it. My storage space was supposed to be shielded from the Heavenly Dao. There was no way the sect had an automated system in place that was more powerful than the Heavenly Dao.
I stared at the box of herbs and looked closely at them using energy vision. The more I stared, the more I began to notice a faint sheen covering everything. It wasn't just on the herbs. It was on the chest, the workbench, and even the walls. Everything looked normal. It just had a faint tinge of something overlaying it.
"An illusion?"
That would explain why the herbs couldn't enter my storage space. They didn't really exist. I tested this by placing a few of them into a normal storage bag. They went in and came out without any problem.
"A normal person might waste time trying to steal everything in here, but the moment they leave, it all disappears because it never existed in the first place."
As I muttered my thoughts aloud, the idiots outside laughed and taunted me even more. I didn't pay attention to what they said, so I didn't know if they had already known this or not, but I didn't care.
I turned to the formation plate and placed the pill I had made atop it. It lit up, and I proceeded to the next test.
Chapter 149 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Lord 1
The final few caves in the Path of Mind increased in difficulty slightly, but there was nothing too challenging. As long as one knew the recipes and could correctly identify the necessary herbs among those that had been provided, most trained alchemists wouldn't have any problems walking this path.
While there were many difficult-to-make Rank 4 pills, they all required strong will-locks, powerful spirit flames, and a mixture of high affinities. As this test was intentionally designed so that it was possible to complete as a Martial Lord 1, no such pill was required.
Instead, the challenge mostly came from the environment. With bandits ready to attack if one made the slightest error and only a single opportunity for success, the mental pressure of the test would be intense for those not confident in their abilities.
For me, the test was as simple as walking. I had made these low-level Rank 4 pills more times than I could count. Even after getting distracted by the idiots in the holding area a few times, my lock on the ingredients never faltered.
Once I completed the tenth and final pill, I expected to leave the cave system and appear near Profound City. To my surprise, the stone arch instead led to a small sitting room where an older man in orange robes was waiting for me.
I quickly checked in energy vision and noted that everything, including the man, was an illusion. Even so, I needed to be careful with how I acted here.
The old man gestured to a seat across from him.
I gave a slight bow and sat down. I stayed quiet and let him direct the flow of the conversation.
"Earth Peak Disciple Su Fang. You have requested to be allowed access to alchemy missions. This has caused a few… difficulties."
The man steepled his fingers and clenched his jaw slightly.
"Moments after your peak elders received this request, your master appeared and exhorted them to accept it. Of course, due to his station, the elders were no longer in a position to make such a decision. That was when the Master of the Earth Peak had to get involved."
My eyes widened in fear. My 'master.' Who was my master? Someone from the Ning or Zhuge clans? Possible because of my connections with their scions, but that didn't make much sense… The only possibility that seemed even plausible was… Emperor Li.
Why did he get involved? What did he want?
I needed to go back to the beginning and just pay the damn teleportation cost to come to the Nine Rivers Sect and avoid any complications caused by using that coin of his.
The only thing that stopped me from doing so was the thought of my classmates. If I returned to the beginning, anything I was building with them would vanish. This thought struck me as foolish and sentimental. My time with them would disappear eventually no matter what. Still… I wanted to let it last as long as I could.
Unwilling to pursue that train of thought, I put my existential crisis on hold and returned my attention to the elder who had been patiently watching my deliberations. He cleared his throat and resumed.
"Peak Master Shen decided that you have shown both an interest and a talent in formations. As you are a member of his peak, he is adamant that you must not be allowed to advance based solely on your talent in alchemy. After a lengthy discussion, he and your master came to an agreement. Of the ten missions you are required to complete for each step of advancement, five will be related to alchemy. The other five must either by formation or combat missions."
That was… good news? It would help but…
The elder continued.
"As you have advanced to Lord and are now entering Profound City, your position in the inner sect must be re-evaluated. Your performance on the Path of Mind has demonstrated sufficient ability in alchemy. However, as you are a member of the Earth Peak and have not demonstrated any ability in Rank 4 formations, you will be demoted to the outer sect. If you wish to reclaim a place in the inner sect, you must prove yourself in the Exam."
Before I could react, the elder whipped out a hand, pulled my identity jade from where it had been hanging on my waistband, and replaced it with one for the outer sect. I wanted to look carefully at the new badge which didn't have the sheen of an illusion covering it, but the elder didn't allow me to do so.
"By order of Peak Master Shen, you are to report to Earth Peak directly upon your arrival in Profound City." He breathed out heavily and gave me a stern look. "Finally, on behalf of the elders, I must tell you this. We do not appreciate being placed in this kind of position. In the future, do not involve your master in sect affairs. Is that understood?"
I gave a half bow from my seated position. "Yes, elder."
With a final glare, the elder disappeared along with everything in the room, including the chair I had been sitting in. Unable to react in time, I crashed to the floor.
After the elder disappeared, I continued down the cave until I reached the exit. Stepping out of its opening, I found myself on a bluff overlooking Profound City.
The city was over twice as large as Yellow City and had tall black walls surrounding it. Peak Grandmasters ready to ascend to Lord would venture to Yellow City, but they would only stay there until they had enough confidence to continue further up the mountain. Profound City, on the other hand, had everything from low-level Lords to those who had already advanced to King and were preparing themselves for the road ahead.
To be fair, the number of cultivators who could reach this point was only a fraction of those who began the journey in Mortal City, but many of those who came here would end up staying here for the rest of their lives.
Still, the size of the city wasn't just a reflection of the number of cultivators living here. Numerous mortals also called the city home. As descendants of Lords and Kings, they had the privilege of living in the city until they started cultivating. Given that they were born with no affinities, that would only happen if someone decided to bestow them with essence.
The path forward was clear and open, so I had no difficulty making my way to the city gate. There were only a few pedestrians walking the streets, and I did my best to avoid catching anyone's eye. I was one of the weakest cultivators in the area, and if someone decided to attack me, there would be nothing I could do.
I hurried to the center of the city where I found the Gateway Plaza. Following the elder's directions, I stepped through and returned to the Earth Peak.
When I arrived, I looked around at my surroundings and found that I had come through the same arch that had previously led to Mortal City. Somehow, this single arch detected where a traveler was supposed to go and sent them to the appropriate place. The arch had to be reading the information from the jade identity badges, but I didn't see any formations that could have accomplished this.
Dismissing these thoughts, I turned and headed toward the small village that served disciples of the peak. As I did, a man who looked to be a couple of decades older than me approached.
"Su Fang?"
I nodded.
"I'm Tie Yang. I've accepted the mission to assist you in improving your skills with formations and entering the inner sect. Please come with me."
Did the elders and the peak master arrange this? That wasn't great. I wouldn't be able to stay under the radar here at all if I had gotten so much of their attention. I would have just done the damn combat missions if I had known asking about alchemy would have led to this.
"Thank you, senior brother." I gave the older man a slight bow. As I did, I quickly analyzed him. He was a high-level Martial Lord, and the badge at his waist indicated he was an inner sect disciple. So, not someone who completely outclassed me. He was closer to a peer.
Tie Yang led me to the Mission Hall.
"When you are ready to do your alchemy missions, you can speak to a receptionist. They will assign you one directly. Today, however, we are going to be doing a formation mission."
We walked to the area of the hall where the missions for Lords were posted.
"Senior Tie, when I looked in the past, I was unable to find any formation-related missions open to outer sect disciples."
He gestured to a different section of the room.
"You were a Grandmaster, so you were looking for outer sect missions over there. Those are mostly going to be combat missions. You might find the occasional one to teach a servant disciple or create a Qi Gathering Formation for a Grandmaster of another peak, but you can't expect much else. The people hiring us are typically all Lords and above. For them, the difference in cost between an inner and outer sect Grandmaster is meaningless, so they usually just default to sending their formation missions to inner sect disciples. Doing so doesn't alwaysresult in higher quality work, but it usually does."
He pointed to the nearby boards.
"As a Lord, you'll find more options available for outer sect members. Being a city lord earns a decent amount of contribution points, but purchasing the services of any Formation Lord is expensive, and many are unwilling to pay a premium to hire someone from the inner sect."
He took me to another section of the room.
"This is where we're looking for something today. These are missions that require a team to accomplish." He placed his identity badge on top of one of the missions, accepting it. "This mission is to build a defensive formation around Black Sun City. It calls for a team of five outer sect disciples led by someone from the inner sect. I was told that you're new to grand formations, so this time, I'll have someone on my regular team show you the ropes. Just follow along with him and you'll learn what you need to learn."
Tie Yang led me back through the portal to Profound City. Once there, we followed the road back to the gate I entered from and found four outer sect Lords waiting for us. Tie Yang introduced me to the group and then headed out the gate.
I considered speaking up at this point since, as I understood it, the one rule of Dragon Peak was that you couldn't go back down the mountain, but these guys knew what they were doing, so I simply followed behind.
The moment Tie Yang and the others stepped through the gate, they vanished, and my space affinity indicated some form of teleportation at work. When I followed, the moment I stepped through the gate, the mountain around me was replaced with the area outside of the gate to Mortal City.
The others acted like nothing had happened. They were used to this, so I did my best to blend in.
On the hill where the portal to the Academy and the Exam site were located, Tie Yang pointed out three other arches.
"These go to the North, East, and West Empires. Sometimes, the Emperors in charge like to change their names, but just remember them as North, East, and West. Black Sun City is in the Green Hill Kingdom of the West Empire. Just follow me."
The portal to the West Empire took us to a plaza with several more arches. We walked through the one to Green Hill, and then from there, took another portal to Black Sun City.
When we arrived, Tie Yang gave me a pensive look. "You might already know this but seems like the portal network is new to you, so I'll give you the rules. Only sect members are allowed to pass through. Anyone else will be killed by the formations on the gateways. You are only allowed to use the portals for assigned missions. You cannot use them for vacations, and you definitely cannot use them as a way to assault a city. If you are found to have done so, you will probably be killed by one of the elders."
I nodded in understanding.
"Alright, well, we have to set up a new city defense formation. For now, just follow Lu and do what he tells you. He knows what to do."
Chapter 150 – Life 66, Age 30, Martial Lord 1
The time I spent with Tie Yang's group was all about learning to be a participant in the creation of grand formations. He didn't teach me their underlying principles since that was beyond the scope of his mission. His goal wasn't to teach me how and why grand formations worked. It was to teach me how to be a participant in their creation.
A grand formation was capable of covering an entire city. To accomplish this, instead of using a single formation stone, grand formations consisted of a series of formation nodes scattered throughout and around the area they were designed to affect.
As the group leader, Tie Yang was responsible for designing the overall structure of the formation and adjusting it to fit the unique geography of each city. After he developed a blueprint, he then assigned us outer disciples specific tasks without explaining all of the intricacies of the formation as a whole.
As a member of his team, I only needed to go to marked points in the city and create a formation node following the instructions I was given. Each node was composed of at least 10 different inscriptions. This meant that each individual node was usually more complex than most of the complete formations I had created in the past. Despite their complexity, these outer nodes were incapable of functioning on their own. They only worked when connected to a control node that was placed in the Lord's compound in the center of the city.
At first, learning all of the new inscriptions and how to place them properly was a bit of a challenge. However, thanks to my boosted formation comprehension, I was able to function as an independent team member by the time we were setting up our third formation together.
With some ability to assist with grand formations, I had a method for completing the missions required for my advancement. Sadly, as I was working under the direction of an inner sect disciple, I didn't receive full credit for missions.
Originally, I had been told I needed to complete five formation-related missions before I would be allowed to purchase a portion of karmic energy. Working under Tie Yang, I would need to complete at least twenty of these team missions for every stage of advancement. This delayed me, but my progression was only a matter of time. As long as I could complete missions, I would be able to advance.
As soon as he decided that I had a solid handle on the basic knowledge I needed to meet my requirements for advancing, Tie Yang moved on to the second condition of his mission. He needed to help me gain a solid enough grasp on general Rank 4 formation knowledge so that I could re-enter the inner sect as a Martial Lord.
To do this, I needed a high level of proficiency with at least one sub-class of Rank 4 formations. When I told him how I had specialized in disposable formations in the Academy, he was extremely dismissive.
According to him, disposable formations might provide me with an advantage in the Trials where there were limitations on what items I could take with me, but they were worthless for earning contribution points. People's first option for such things would always be talismans, and if that were not possible, they would purchase pills. Disposable formations were generally considered a last resort, so there would rarely be any missions concerning them.
That being the case, he began teaching me a variety of what he considered the most important formations to master. These included the Rank 4 Qi Gathering Formation, a basic shielding formation, and a combination healing-rejuvenation formation. According to Yang, these were the most frequently requested formations for one's personal use.
Crafting Rank 4 formations was somewhat strange. Like Rank 4 pills, a Lord's spatial lock was an integral part of the process. Where Rank 1 to 3 formations used hard stones like granite and marble, the stones used for Rank 4 formations were closer to the consistency of chalk. For higher-level formations, the minerals were more like sand.
While carving the formations, I had to maintain a will-lock on the entire stone so that it wouldn't crumble to pieces while I worked. If I faltered for even a moment, it was possible for all of my work to instantly turn to dust.
Once the entire formation was in place, I could then infuse the stone with earth qi, solidifying it in place. While these stones were incredibly brittle and couldn't withstand any physical punishment, once empowered, their qi resistance was more than enough to survive excessive qi contained within a Rank 4 formation.
During one of our sessions, I asked Tie Yang an important question that had started to bother me.
"How are formations graded? Pills are graded on their purity and efficacy. Is there any system like this in place for formations?"
It took him a great deal of thought to decide how to respond.
"A pill's purity has a defined maximum limit that it can be measured against. It is possible to create a completely pure, or Perfect, pill. With efficacy, alchemists have established a standard value for each pill type, so a pill's efficacy can be graded against this known value. Formations are significantly more complex. It is not so easy to appraise their quality."
He took two large stone blocks out of his storage bag. They were squares with a length and width of one meter and were about ten centimeters thick. These were standard formation plates used for Rank 3 formations. One was partially covered in the initial inscriptions for a Qi Gathering Formation. The other was completely blank.
Tie Yang took the blank formation plate and started quickly inscribing it with the same design as the partially finished stone. Instead of spending the hours that it would normally require, he completed the entire formation in only twenty minutes.
When he was finished, he gestured at both plates.
"Look at these two examples. What are the differences between them?"
I didn't have to look too closely to notice problems.
"The pattern of the one you just made has several errors in its design. Not all of the lines are placed exactly where they should be."
"Yes, there is a standard layout for the Rank 3 Qi Gathering Formation. One way to grade someone's work is by looking at how closely they matched their inscriptions to this standard design."
He didn't continue and only looked at me, so I turned my attention back to the formations.
"With the formation you just created, the inner walls of the inscriptions are a bit rough. Also, with the half-finished formation, beyond just smoothing the walls, it looks like you spent time strengthening them."
He nodded. "The quality of a formation is not only based on accuracy but also on the amount of care you spend when carving out the inscriptions. Smoothing the walls allows qi to flow easily, making a formation more powerful. By hardening the walls, you can either increase the amount of qi the formation can contain or simply increase its durability while keeping the power level constant."
Again, he stopped talking and looked for me to point out more differences. After several minutes of study, I shook my head, unsure of what more to say. As I couldn't provide any more insights, he continued his lecture.
"When you create a formation, you have to be conscious of the inclusions within a stone's structure. You are no doubt familiar with this based on your work with explosive formations."
He pointed to a few spots on both stones where deep inclusions existed beneath the surface.
"What novices try to do is to take the standard layout for the formation they wish to create and position it within the stone such that it avoids these inclusions. More seasoned professionals will attempt to manipulate the stone to mend these areas so they can be used without worry. The most advanced artisans will adapt a formation's design to accommodate such imperfections. This leads to the best formation specialists creating unique designs every time so that their work always best suits their materials."
He showed me where he had tried to make such modifications in his formation design to better accommodate the stone he had been working with.
"That is why I am still practicing with Rank 3 formations. There are still countless ways I can improve my work. And with all these variables, it's hard to appraise a formation and give it an easily understandable rating. I can look at two formations and know which one is smoother, but saying that it's 92% smooth doesn't make too much sense."
I looked at the formations on the table. "But there has to be some way of comparing the quality of two different formations, right?"
"Yes. It just isn't easy. With everything taken into account, the two most meaningful variables are the total qi throughput of the formation and the efficiency at which it uses that energy. Most standard formations have an expected maximum sustainable qi rating, and you can compare formations based on how well they meet or exceed that mark. As there is a clear limit of 100% efficiency, this can also be measured when comparing formations."
He shook his head and sighed.
"It can be done, but this way of rating formations is difficult. Even Formation Emperors would find it hard to correctly evaluate such things. Therefore, we formation specialists usually have to simply rely on our reputations as our mark of quality. If you get a reputation for making solid, reliable formations, people will want to hire you."
I wanted to be able to judge my progress in formations. It wasn't enough for me to say that I was making a better formation than I had the previous year. I wanted a way to quantify that growth. If such a thing was too hard for regular formation specialists to do, I would have to look at purchasing an ability to do so from the System.
Over the next several years, I met with Tie Yang once a week. He pointed out where I could improve, and when he was satisfied with what I produced, he provided me with new inscriptions to master. With his help, my skills with formations quickly grew, and I was able to complete ever more difficult formation-related missions.
When I had extra time away from lessons, I went to the Mission Hall and picked up my alchemy-related missions. Unlike normal, I didn't get to choose which one I wanted to do. The receptionist just gave me a list of pills and a spatial bag with the required ingredients. After I finished an order, I just had to bring everything back to the receptionist.
These missions were odd. They weren't for the normal pills that I would expect to be in high demand. Instead, they were somewhat rare pills, and the order of the missions had a clear, deliberate difficulty curve to them. This reminded me all too much of last time when the Ning Clan had me produce pills for them.
This once again made me want to travel back to the beginning and start over, but I continued to hesitate. It was clear that Emperor Li was involved in things, but he didn't seem to be antagonistic toward me. The situation might still be salvageable.
So instead of freaking out, I simply did the missions I was assigned and collected my contribution points. This earned me more than enough points to pay for my advancements in the Lord realm, and over the course of five years, I climbed all the way to Peak Lord. Then, I began saving up the points needed to purchase the energy for breaking through to Martial King.
As my mission count was no longer a bottleneck, I researched several merchant companies that did business in Profound City. I found one that had a good reputation for not trying to enslave their suppliers and came to an agreement with them. After that, I was able to offload hundreds of Rank 4 pills and rapidly accrued the points I needed.
Beyond just paying for karmic energy, I also needed points for a special purchase that I had my eye on.
In Profound City, the sect ran a Treasure Pavilion where a number of valuable items could be purchased with contribution points. There were quality refined weapons, rare herbs, and eggs of powerful beasts. These treasures would draw the eye of countless cultivators both in the sect and outside of it.
I did purchase an assortment of seeds for some of the rarer herb varieties, but weapons and beast eggs didn't hold much appeal to me. They had their uses, but the most important combat I expected to face in the near future was in the Trials. If I was still a member of an established group, if my classmates were still with me, I would be able to use items they crafted, but I wasn't allowed to bring in anything I simply purchased. So, since I wouldn't be able to use these weapons in the Trials, they held little appeal.
Instead, the part of the Treasure Pavilion that captured my attention was their small collection of spirit fire seeds.
I was somewhat shocked that they would sell such a thing, but the restrictions on them helped me understand. A cultivator was only allowed to purchase one seed, and it could not be taken out of sect territories, though this did include the three empires directly under the sect's control. Additionally, when the owner died, the seed would revert to the property of the sect. If someone tried to lay claim to it, they would face the wrath of the Nine Rivers Sect.
These restrictions, the prohibitive cost, and the fact that they were only seeds of Yellow-Rank spirit fires which were not very useful to Ruler Tier crafters meant that they had remained on the shelf and available for me to purchase.
After careful consideration, I decided to buy the seed of the Flowing Metal Spirit Fire, a dual-element water and metal spirit fire. If I combined it with a triple-element wood-fire-earth cultivation technique, I could have easy access to energies from all five of the basic elements.
Of course, I didn't absorb the seed immediately. I left it in its jade box and stowed it securely in my storage space for the future.
With my goals for the Lord realm complete, I was ready to advance to Martial King. After purchasing the necessary karmic energy, I rented a cultivation cave on the Earth Peak and secluded myself. Thanks to the abundant qi available on the peak and a cave that possessed a Rank 5 formation, I was able to smoothly complete my breakthrough.
As I was examining my new cultivation level, the door of my cave opened unexpectedly, and an elderly man walked inside.
"So, you are the disciple I've heard so much about. It seems that it's time we had a little chat."