(TN: EXTRA CHAPTER 2 please vote with powerstones and I'll publish extra chaps thanks)
The rich spiritual energy around Liu Ping began to manifest as mist, swirling through the air, its density increasing by the second. Thanks to the small-scale concealment formation, no one could detect the surge in spiritual energy that was now engulfing him.
This was the most critical moment.
Liu Ping quickly picked up the Technique Borrowing Talisman and pressed it onto his left arm. Despite his Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, which limited his energy, he knew he had to rely on the abundant spirit stones to complete his task. With a deep breath, he activated the talisman.
The talisman shimmered, and the mist in the air seemed to come alive, swirling and condensing around him, slowly absorbing into his body. The process was swift, and before long, Liu Ping, moving like lightning, tapped the formation plate with rapid precision.
A stream of powerful spiritual energy surged from the plate, creating special marks one by one that hovered in the air, forming the foundational structure of a formation.
As the seventh mark was completed, a resonance reverberated through the Void.
The formation was beginning to take shape.
As a master of the Six Arts, Liu Ping's skills were unparalleled in his ability to draw upon spirit stones to control formations. With the Technique Borrowing Talisman in full effect, he could now interact with the grand defense formation controlling the Western Desolate Great Camp.
But this was just the beginning.
With a steady hand, Liu Ping continued working, his fingers moving in a blur as he completed a series of complex gestures on the formation plate. In an instant, the rays of spiritual energy surrounding the formation plate dimmed, and the formation began to pulse.
The Void around him hummed, sending a long, shrill sound into the air before it slowly faded away. Liu Ping exhaled deeply—success. He had gained control of the war defense grand formation of the Western Desolate Great Camp.
The Technique Borrowing Talisman on his arm burned out quickly, and the spirit stones that had powered the formation turned into gray stones, their energy fully expended.
Liu Ping took a moment to catch his breath, then carefully stowed the formation plate into his sleeve and donned the bamboo hat, carefully returning the remaining spirit stones to his Storage Bags. He walked toward the tent's exit.
The outside world was still dark, the sun hidden behind clouds, though Liu Ping knew it was long past noon. As he surveyed the empty road for a moment, he began walking, heading towards the northern side of the Western Desolate Great Camp. His steps were deliberate as he moved along the edge of the formation.
Unsurprisingly, his actions drew the attention of two law enforcement cultivators.
"Who are you? Why are you wandering along the formation edge?" one of them shouted.
Liu Ping removed his bamboo hat and handed over his token. "I am Liu Ping from the Grand Profundity Palace. I've come to study the Dao of Formation, and I was observing the formation here. Please excuse my intrusion."
The law enforcement cultivators studied his token and, after a brief moment of consideration, their attitudes softened. Those who mastered the Six Arts humanities exam were rare, and Grand Profundity Palace disciples were typically bound for greatness.
One of the cultivators said, "Ah, so you're a Formation Master from Grand Profundity Palace."
Liu Ping shook his head. "I am only a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, just beginning to study formation. I came here to observe and understand the defense grand formation. I ask for your forgiveness."
He then quickly retrieved two small bags of spirit stones from his sleeve and handed them to the law enforcement cultivators.
"Your...this..." they began to protest, but Liu Ping interrupted.
The two were about to speak, but Liu Ping quickly interjected, "Please, don't worry. I'm just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and I won't interfere with the formation. I'm only here to observe and would never do anything out of line."
The two law enforcement cultivators exchanged glances. Even if a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage wanted to disrupt the defensive formation, it would be impossible.
The entire Western Wilderness camp was protected by a large defensive array, and any disturbance would trigger an immediate alarm.
—This was the defensive array personally researched by Gua Saint and his apprentice!
Moreover, this young man was from Profundity Palace. He seemed very astute and surely understood what he could and couldn't do.
"Elder Wang has issued an order. Everyone is to remain within the camp and not act recklessly. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed," one cultivator said.
"Don't wander around; we won't be able to protect you," another warned.
"That's right. Your situation is special, which is why we'll allow you to stay, but others must follow the rules" the first cultivator added.
"Thank you" Liu Ping replied, clasping his hands.
The two nodded slightly before turning and leaving.
Liu Ping watched them until they disappeared from view, then began walking slowly along the edge of the camp, now free from anyone's oversight.
He wandered through the night, occasionally stopping, sometimes strolling, as if truly immersed in studying the defensive array he had designed himself.
In the Void, lines of burning characters continued to appear:
[You are manipulating the formation plate and re-weaving the twelve-layer defensive formation.]
[You are manipulating the array and rearranging the sixteen-fold attack array, making it more powerful than before.]
After a moment, a faint sound of a zither drifted from the woods nearby.
Liu Ping paused.
The zither sound grew louder, and soon a woman descended from the woods, landing not far from him.
—It was the woman from Resonance Pavilion.
Liu Ping frowned and smiled, "Fellow Daoist from Resonance Pavilion, it seems we've met before."
Hadn't the two law enforcement cultivators just said they wouldn't allow anyone else to come here? What was going on now? Had they been paid off again?
He wondered to himself.
The woman placed her hand on the zither, a faint blush appearing on her pale face.
It was a pity that the label [Monster, Gold Core Stage] was visible above her head. Liu Ping had no desire to be deceived.
"We meet again. I never expected to run into you when I came out I go for a walk" the woman said.
"Perhaps you and I are destined" Liu Ping smiled.
The woman shot him a glance and asked, "Fellow Daoist, what are you doing here?"
"Studying the formation," Liu Ping replied.
"You understand formations?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course. I'm a disciple of Profundity Palace."
"If you don't mind, I could study this array with you," the woman suggested.
Liu Ping looked at her beautiful face, then glanced at the "monster" title hovering above her head. Thoughts raced through his mind.
'Yes!
This monster doesn't realize that I know it's a monster.
—Should I kill it here?
No.
I can't do that.'
She's at the golden core stage, and if I engage her, it will certainly attract the patrolling law enforcement cultivators. Even if I do manage to kill her, it would be seen as killing a comrade in arms, which would be the worst outcome.
I would lose my current identity and my life.
Her situation is different, though. After all, to the monster, the cultivator's body is nothing more than a foreign object, so there's no need to fear death.
Then, the only reason it hadn't made a move yet was likely because it wanted to capture him and uncover the reason behind the collapse of the plot.
Liu Ping smiled gently and asked, "Do you understand formations?"
The woman smiled in return. "I know a little."
Liu Ping asked, "Do you really want to learn?"
The woman swayed her waist as she stepped forward, speaking softly, "I'm a bit slow, would you be willing to teach me?"
Liu Ping took out the formation plate from his pocket and said softly, "Of course, I'd be happy to teach. Come, let's start with a test."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings changed abruptly.
The woman found herself standing in a valley full of peach blossoms.
Then Liu Ping's voice echoed:
"This is the simplest Illusion Formation. If you can break it, it will prove you have some talent in formations. If so, come find me in the Market, and I'll be there waiting to discuss formations with you."
The voice faded, and Liu Ping was gone.
After listening in silence for a moment, the woman smiled lightly and said, "There's no need to go to Market. I'll break the formation right now."
She extended her fingers and gently plucked the strings.
A few notes, full of charm, rang out, and the brilliant mountain flowers around her began to slowly dissipate.
On the other side, Liu Ping rotated the formation plate, opening a slit in the defensive formation, and gently slipped through.
In the blink of an eye, he passed through the 28-layer military formation and appeared in the wilderness outside the Western Desolate Great Camp.
It was dark.
Liu Ping gripped the formation plate, exhaling deeply in exhaustion.
It was too difficult.
At the Foundation Establishment stage, his abilities were far from sufficient.
Right now, he had successfully taken control of the entire war defense formation for the Western Desolate Great Camp, but to manipulate it as easily as moving his arm took about 20% of his spiritual power. The formation flickered, briefly avoiding the monster.
—Spirit stones could also work, but they would be far too costly and unnecessary.
For now, it seemed that he was safe.
Even if the monster wanted to break through, it would never have expected that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could break the formation and escape the camp.
After resting briefly, Liu Ping took out a bamboo hat and placed it on his head.
He glanced toward the Demon Subduing Pole embedded in the mountain peak, its two ends glowing gradually.
This powerful weapon from the Upper Realm, even by simply observing it, could offer a wealth of insights into cultivation.
Not to mention, Liu Ping was skilled in the six arts and had his own school in Artifact Refining, so his desire to study and emulate this item was immense.
Liu Ping was about to take a step toward the mountain peak when suddenly, something flew toward him from a distance.
Boom!
With a loud impact, two entangled figures appeared in front of him.
Almost instantly, one of the figures collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"Hee hee, you think you can compete with me for territory?" An innocent voice rang out.
It was a little girl, her back adorned with dozens of sharp, thorn-like tails. She was stepping on the body of a gray monster.
With a wave of her hand, one of the tails shot up, stabbing into the monster's body.
The gray monster let out a pitiful scream.
Its body withered at an alarming rate, almost visibly shrinking, leaving nothing but a layer of skin behind.
"Boring..." The little girl frowned and turned her gaze toward Liu Ping.
"I've been waiting for you for a while," she said.
Two lines of small text appeared above her head:
[Crimson Lord]
[An existence with this title is someone who feeds on all Evil creatures and controls all poisons in the world.]