Chen Li carefully examined the demon corpse, his gaze sharp and focused. Despite its name, the "demon" seemed more like a twisted, deformed beast in his eyes. After a moment, he sliced off a small piece of flesh and began refining it with his cultivation technique.
Before long, Chen Li frowned—not because he couldn't refine it, but because the flesh contained an overwhelming amount of impurities. The sheer density of the contaminants made the process far more laborious than he expected.
Undeterred, Chen Li continued refining. Gradually, the piece of flesh began to change. Yet, instead of feeling relieved, his frown deepened. Beneath the impurities, he sensed an astonishingly violent energy—far more chaotic than the energy found in a spirit crystal.
"This doesn't make sense," Chen Li muttered. "How could a body like this withstand such destructive energy and such an absurd level of impurities?"
He paused, contemplating. "Wait... The impurities—they must act as a shield, suppressing the violent energy. And the body... it must have an inherent resistance to these impurities. That's why it didn't collapse under the strain."
Realizing this, Chen Li stopped refining the flesh and tossed it into his space ring. "I'll deal with this later. Using a formation to refine it will save time and effort," he decided.
Next, Chen Li took out the jade pieces King Qi had gifted him. These were no ordinary jewels; they were spirit treasures, naturally nourished over a century. He shook his head in mild disbelief. "How could cultivators here overlook such valuable treasures? Either they lack the knowledge or the understanding of their true worth. Either way, it works in my favor."
With practiced precision, Chen Li began carving runes onto the jade pieces. One by one, he engraved the symbols until he had prepared 12 pieces. Afterward, he placed them in the corners of his courtyard and activated the formation as a test.
The moment the formation came alive, it began drawing spirit energy from the surroundings into the courtyard. Chen Li studied the result carefully, nodding with satisfaction before deactivating it. "Not bad, but this is just the beginning. I can't sustain this with my power alone for long."
He turned his focus to the next step. The Spirit Gathering Formation required three interconnected parts to function fully: absorption, purification, and storage. Once these were aligned, and the formation's eye was in place, it would become self-sustaining.
Chen Li got to work again, carving runes into another 24 jade pieces. This time, he arranged them carefully, linking them with the initial setup. Finally, he placed a single spirit crystal at the center of the formation to act as the formation eye.
When the formation activated, it began pulling in spirit energy from the environment, purifying it, and channeling it into the spirit crystal for storage. Chen Li observed the process, a faint smile of satisfaction on his face.
"This will provide me with a stable environment for cultivation, only then can my progress remain steady." he muttered.
By the time he finished setting up, the first light of dawn peeked over the horizon. Sitting directly beneath the gentle glow of the rising sun, with the formation activated, Chen Li began his cultivation. Slowly, spirit liquid condensed, drop by drop, feeding into his dantian. However, after a single incense stick's time, the formation's replenishment speed fell short of his cultivation pace. Reluctantly, he stopped and opened his eyes, releasing a soft sigh of relief.
His mind felt clearer, his fatigue washed away, leaving him revitalized. "If I want to cultivate without interruptions," he thought aloud, "I'll need to upgrade the formation. But these jade pieces aren't enough—I'll have to gather more."
As he pondered his next steps, the morning air was pierced by the distant sound of drums and horns, their echoes reverberating across the city. The demons were attacking again. Without hesitation, Chen Li rose and made his way to the city wall.
This time, he resolved to join the fight. Yesterday, he had observed, cautious of depleting his spirit energy in an unfamiliar place. Spirit energy was life for a Spirit Sea Realm cultivator. Running out would not only damage the body but also risk a drop in cultivation. While spirit stones and spirit crystals could replenish energy in emergencies, their impurities made them a last resort—like drinking unclean water when dying of thirst.
Reaching the wall, Chen Li saw the demons already swarming below, their twisted forms climbing relentlessly. On the commander's order, the archers fell back, and soldiers carrying massive stones stepped forward. They hurled the heavy rocks down before retreating, making way for the next group. When the demons reached the middle of the wall, soldiers poured boiling oil over them, quickly retreating as archers launched flaming arrows. Meanwhile, crossbows and catapults continued their relentless assault.
Grabbing a bow, Chen Li joined in, shooting arrow after arrow. It was his first time using a bow, but accuracy hardly mattered—demons were so densely packed that even a blind man could hit a target. For a while, everything went smoothly until his bow suddenly snapped.
Startled, Chen Li frowned and swapped it for another, only for it to break after a few shots. Frustrated, he paused to analyze the problem and quickly realized the cause. In his excitement, he had unintentionally infused his spirit energy into the shots, and the ordinary bow couldn't withstand the strain.
This time, he focused on controlling his excitement, trying to avoid using spirit energy. But it was more challenging than expected. After all, who could stay calm in the heat of battle, with the thrill of action surging through their veins? Despite the difficulty, Chen Li didn't give up. This was practice, and every attempt brought him closer to mastering his control.
As the sun climbed higher, the demon assault grew more intense. By midday, when the sun hung directly overhead, the demons reached the top of the city wall, and brutal melee combat erupted. Swords, spears, and axes clashed against the grotesque bodies of the demons, while claws, fangs, horns, and tails ripped into the soldiers. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, turning the wall into a chaotic battlefield. The blood of both demons and humans flowed in streams, painting the stone red.
Chen Li lowered his bow, unsure of his marksmanship in such close quarters. He feared his arrows might hit the soldiers rather than their monstrous foes. Though he had powerful skills, he refrained from joining the fray. It wasn't a lack of willingness or ability, but a lack of precision. In a chaotic melee like this, his techniques, uncontrolled and overwhelming, would harm both ally and enemy alike. And as for close combat, he hadn't yet learned any proper melee techniques. Reluctantly, he retreated to the gate tower.
"Your Excellency, thank you for your assistance," General Wang said respectfully, cupping his hands.
"Don't give me too much credit. Honestly, I think I destroyed more of your bows than I helped," Chen Li replied casually.
"A few broken bows mean nothing. If Your Excellency needs anything, I'll do my best to provide it," General Wang offered generously.
"Good," Chen Li said, seizing the opportunity. "If you really want to help, collect more of the jade like the one King Qi gifted me. I need those."
General Wang frowned slightly, then nodded. "I don't have any of that kind now, but I'll do my best to gather it for you."
"Fair enough." Chen Li waved his hand dismissively. "I'll leave you to it. I need to cultivate." With that, he leaped from the city wall and returned to his courtyard.
Back in his courtyard, Chen Li first checked his merit column before starting his cultivation. The previously dim column was now noticeably brighter. Seeing this, a grin spread across his face. "Looks like I've gained quite a bit," he muttered. "Time to decide what to comprehend next."
He contemplated for a moment. "Should I practice the Blue Dragon Techniques? No, it requires too much spirit energy. Right now, my biggest issue is the lack of pure energy. If I could refine the demon corpses into pure spirit energy quickly, I wouldn't face this problem. A formation is the only way to refine them efficiently."
Chen Li rummaged through his collection of formations but couldn't find one suited for refining demon corpses. His frown deepened. "Am I asking for too much? Maybe it doesn't need to be refined into pure spirit energy; raw spirit energy should be fine too."
He searched again but still came up empty-handed. "There really isn't one?" he muttered. Then a thought struck him. "Wait… I've been searching based on their descriptions. What if their actual functions are different?"
For example, the Spirit Gathering Formation was described as gathering pure energy from heaven and earth. But in reality, it worked by absorbing, purifying, and storing energy from the surrounding area. "Descriptions are only summaries," he mused. "I can only uncover their true potential if I completely comprehend them."
Resolving to dig deeper, Chen Li addressed the system. "System, I want to exchange merit for enlightenment time in formations."
[You have sufficient merit for one and half incense stick's worth of enlightenment time in formations. Do you wish to exchange it?]
"Exchange it."
[Ding! You have successfully exchanged one and half incense stick's worth of enlightenment time in formations.]
Without hesitation, Chen Li selected a formation at random and began to immerse himself in its comprehension.