After the order of the current master of the Abyss of All Evil was given, the humble Mountain Guard Beast could only frantically scramble to pick up the strange fruits on the ground with its little companion, Zhang Fugui. The Abyss of All Evil was surrounded by barriers, and as long as they didn't reveal their tracks or stray too far from Su Yu, they could hide their figures while collecting the strange fruits.
However, even so, in this not-so-spacious area, they still had to avoid being spotted by other cultivators. For Zhang Fugui, who had just left Nanu Mountain, this was no less difficult than being oppressed by the ink beasts while cultivating in the Abyss of All Evil.
The Ink Beast threatened, "You are now a ghost of the Abyss of All Evil. Do you know what would happen if the Abyss of All Evil disappears?"
Zhang Fugui: "...!" He was really collecting! He was really collecting!
No one in the courtyard noticed the strange fruits gradually disappearing from the ground. They were all feeling lucky about the hope brought by the spirit stone formation. Qi Liu's face showed a hint of joy as he said, "So this little brother is this powerful?"
"The person who can distinguish problems by sound is not amnesiac, just forgetful." Qi Yan had the little ginseng come forward to help, then turned to the man in the cloak. "Brother cultivator, make a decision. You are the most familiar with this formation."
If there were several formation cultivators, it might be possible to extend the formation outward. However, this required a massive amount of spiritual energy... If the cultivators around them were not infected with the Evil Seed, they might be able to lend a hand. Right now, the person in front of them was using spirit stones instead of spiritual energy to extend the small formation in the courtyard, essentially expanding the range of the formation. As everyone knew, the larger the formation, the more spiritual energy it required.
The man in the cloak was silent for a moment but then poured cold water on them, "Extending it outward isn't that simple, but did you see? That small amount of spirit stones would only allow the spiritual plants to grow a few steps outward. Do you know how far it is from here to the city gates?"
Without spiritual energy, they needed a large number of spirit stones.
"You're saying... you look down on our young master?" Qi Liu raised his head proudly, "Young master, show them who is the richest person in the Southern Realm!"
Upon hearing this, the man in the cloak suddenly remembered. This young master from the Qi family came from the Baihong Qi family, which was the wealthiest among the eight major families.
The expectant eyes turned to Qi Yan, who, looking at them, took something from his storage bag and casually threw it onto the ground. What landed wasn't a heavy bag of spirit stones, but several stacks of spirit stone contracts.
Qi Liu: "?"
Qi Yan: "Want two thousand high-grade spirit stone contracts?"
Who carries hundreds or thousands of spirit stones with them? The Qi family's spirit stone contracts were priceless and recognized throughout the cultivation world!
Qi Liu stepped back a few paces, staring at the thick stack of contracts. "Young master, don't you have any more in your storage bag?"
Qi Yan: "There are only some rations for the little ginseng in my storage bag. Want those?"
Little Ginseng: "Awooo!!"
At this point, the noise outside grew louder.
The two hurriedly turned around and saw the young man standing near the courtyard door, no longer advancing.
"I'm out," Su Yu said, emptying his pouch. There was no money left.
Qi Yan stared in disbelief. "How is there only this much?"
"You didn't give me enough during the day," Su Yu replied.
Now, Qi Yan regretted not giving Su Yu more money earlier—who would have known that spirit stones would be so useful right now? He looked at the man in the cloak and Su Yu, then asked, "These contracts also carry a bit of spiritual energy. Can you formation cultivators make use of them?"
The man in the cloak: "..."
At this moment, a bag of spirit stones was heavily tossed onto the ground. It was thick and dense.
The young master of the Su family, losing patience with these rich people, offered his own money pouch. "Is this enough?"
How much was in the pouch? Was it enough to match the two thousand spirit stone contracts? How did this person manage to throw a whole bag of spirit stones with such a dramatic air?
Qi Yan silently watched Su Yu, feeling his own face shrink in front of his rival, especially when it came to money.
The bag of spirit stones was picked up by the man in the cloak. Though the Su family's money pouch wasn't as legendary as the Qi family's rumored wealth, it still contained several hundred high-grade spirit stones, and the quality of the spirit stones was also higher than what the young man had used earlier.
Additionally, using spirit stones to set up the formation had its advantages. The spirit stones were expanding the original formation, so as they kept moving outward, the small courtyard at the core of the formation would remain in the innermost position, and the formation's defensive ability would strengthen as it expanded.
Whether they could get out or not, they still had to protect the formation here.
The man in the cloak glanced at the courtyard behind him, where the elders were, and divided the spirit stones, handing half of them to Su Yu.
Seeing the others starting to take action, Qi Liu didn't remain idle either. To prevent the unconscious cultivators from being affected, he had no choice but to move them into the room where the cloaked man's elders were, muttering apologies as he went.
After a while, Su Yi also moved the Su family cultivators into the safer inner room.
Extending the formation would take time, and the strange fruits didn't seem to affect the spiritual beasts. Qi Yan ordered the little ginseng to stand in front and protect the two formation cultivators.
The round, plump spiritual beast jumped forward and immediately grew in size. With a loud crash, it sat directly on the courtyard's wall, shaking everyone inside and outside the courtyard. The man in the cloak yelled anxiously, "Can you make it a little lighter?"
Qi Yan: "... I'll try my best."
Everyone: "..."
How can you try to make that lighter!?
The attack of the bark-skinned beings outside showed no sign of stopping, and more of their attention seemed to be focused on the cultivators moving about in the courtyard.
Su Yi furrowed his brows, as if the bark-skinned beings weren't targeting all of the cultivators, but were specifically focusing on them.
At the courtyard gate, the cloaked man took the first step and moved forward. Su Yu, holding a bag of spirit stones, hadn't felt it before, but upon comparison, it seemed like the spirit stones were indeed different.
Having seen many formations aboard the spirit boat, Su Yu was familiar with the formation points of the spirit stones, and he felt that using spirit stones was more appropriate for setting up formations.
The yin energy inside him was insufficient, and activating the spirit stones was exhausting. Upon seeing the cloaked man's method of setting up the formation, Su Yu couldn't help but wonder: Is setting up formations this complicated now?
When this thought appeared in his mind, Su Yu paused, feeling puzzled. Why do I think this person's method of setting up formations is so complicated? Following this thought, his gaze involuntarily followed the positions of each point. It was unclear if it was his illusion, but the person's technique for setting up formations did seem to be quicker and more decisive than his own. However, Su Yu couldn't shake the feeling that this person's method involved more steps than his, requiring two steps to activate the points when placing the spirit stones, leading to more energy being lost.
Seeing that Su Yu hadn't moved, the cloaked man asked, "What's wrong?"
Su Yu stepped forward, pressing the spirit stone before the cloaked man. As he placed the stone, he circulated the yin energy in his palm, and with a press, the spirit stone landed precisely at the correct point. "You're wasting too much."
The cloaked man didn't understand what Su Yu meant, but as the formation proceeded, he noticed the difference in their methods. The boy wasn't as fast as him, but the spiritual plants that grew from the courtyard seemed to favor his side. It was as if, despite using the same method with the spirit stones, the boy consumed less energy than he did.
Remembering what the boy had just said about wasting, the cloaked man became more focused. He looked at the spirit stone in his hand, his gaze following Su Yu's formation technique and stopping at the final step where the boy pressed the stone.
Save a step? The cloaked man fell into brief thought, experimenting with the boy's method. He pressed the spirit stone down in his hand, and the formation point fit perfectly. The stone embedded smoothly and began operating, and he found that the energy consumption was reduced by about ten percent, yet it didn't interfere with the resonance between the spirit stone and the formation.
This is possible?!
This was contrary to the teachings he had received ever since entering the path. The familiar formation techniques in his mind seemed to conflict with this new approach. The formation method, which was always emphasized as being careful and steady, could actually be so blunt and direct?
Su Yu had no idea what the cloaked man was thinking. He was still experimenting with his own half-baked formation technique.
He was feeling the weight of the spirit stone bag, judging how many stones he could spread outward. After all, the further the formation extended, the more of the exotic plants that lost their vitality and growth would become his to collect.
The labor in the Abyss of All Evil was limited. Zhang Fugui and the Ink Beast were the laborers collecting the spirit fruits. The ghost and the beast hid within the confines of the Abyss's restrictions, covering their tracks as they frantically picked up the exotic plants and fruits that had been squeezed and fallen. As they pushed outward, the fruits continued to drop, and the Ink Beast couldn't keep up.
"Pick up the pace!" the Ink Beast shouted.
Zhang Fugui really couldn't keep up. He didn't expect the plants outside to grow this quickly. "I only have two hands!"
For the first time, the Ink Beast realized how sparse the Abyss of All Evil's ghosts were. A mighty mountain guardian beast like itself could only command one small ghost now. When would it return to the days when it could call upon countless spirits?
At that moment, the living corpses in the Abyss, under Su Yu's command, rushed out. One grabbed the vine of the exotic plant, and taking advantage of the plants losing their vitality, it dragged them all into the Abyss!
"What are you doing?!" the Ink Beast was shocked. "Don't drag these ugly things into the Abyss!"
Su Yu sneered, "You're too slow. Just drag them all in, and you can pick them up slowly inside."
The Ink Beast looked at the exotic plants disdainfully. "The Abyss is so small. How could we fit them all?"
Su Yu, feeling hungry and reluctant to waste his energy controlling the living corpses, frowned. "Can't you pick them while eating?"
Zhang Fugui: "…"
Were the previous Daoist priests this terrifying?
The spiritual plants in the courtyard had a strong resistance to the exotic plants outside. With enough spirit stones to sustain the formation, the formation could keep pushing outward, and the surrounding bark-skinned beings didn't dare to approach. However, the spirit stones were being consumed rapidly. As soon as Su Yu placed a spirit stone, he noticed that the bag in his hand was already half empty.
"Do you have any more?" Su Yu suddenly asked.
Standing beside Su Yu and observing the surroundings, Su Yi hadn't reacted right away. He looked at the young man, noticing that this was the first time the boy had spoken to him. His impression of this person was much better than of the two useless Qi family members. Though the boy was physically hindered, from leaving Baiyue Tower until now, he had never caused trouble for anyone.
Quiet and silent, yet with impressive formation skills.
The young master of the Su family rarely spoke in such a gentle tone. He patiently explained, "There aren't any more. I spent some on medicine for the cultivators earlier today. The spirit stones I just used were the last ones I had."
Su Yu didn't say anything.
Seeing that Su Yu was silent, Su Yi could only add, "If the spirit stones aren't enough later, just hide behind me. I have some magical tools on me that can last longer than those of the Qi family."
At that moment, the cloaked man, who had been standing nearby, heard the key point in Su Yi's words. He was inspired by the formation method using spirit stones and quickly asked, "Magical tools? Are they tools that have already been infused with spiritual energy, or do you need to actively channel it yourself?"
"Both," Su Yi replied. Magical tools were never in short supply for the Su family.
The cloaked man's tone became more excited. "Magical tools that have been infused with spiritual energy are essentially tools that were imbued with energy during forging... In a sense, they are like spirit stones."
"What do you mean?" Su Yu asked, lowering his voice to inquire of the Ink Beast.
The Ink Beast, still flustered, had to explain, "It's like saying that the magical tools have a lot of spiritual energy inside them, just like the spirit boat."
Su Yu understood. A magical tool was like a small spirit boat.
If a spirit boat contained a certain amount of spirit stones, then those infused magical tools must also contain something similar.
Realizing this, Su Yu turned his head toward Su Yi. "Do you have any?"
Looking at the boy's emotionless gaze, Su Yi, somewhat inexplicably, felt a glimmer of expectation from his calm words. After a brief silence, he finally answered, "…I do."
As a result, the young master of the Su family's magical tool bag was emptied. When the cloaked man rummaged through it, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Although the Su family might not be the richest, the strength behind the young master of the Su family was unquestionable.
Backed by the strongest spirit boat techniques and being the closed-door disciple of the Sect Master of Cangxue Sect, every item he took out was exquisitely crafted, which meant the spiritual energy stored in these tools would definitely not be lacking!
"It's just a magical tool, right? We have those too!"
When it came to money, Qi Liu would never let their young master fall behind: "Young master!"
Qi Yan, who hadn't brought many magical tools, asked, "?"
After the magical tools were handed over, Su Yu didn't waste any time. He watched as the cloaked man worked with them, knowing how to draw out the spiritual energy. However, when he finally had the items in hand, he realized something was off. "It seems like we're missing something."
Su Yi, who had just emptied all his resources, asked in confusion, "What?"
The cloaked man understood Su Yu's concern and explained, "The spirit stone-based formation is a point-based system. Even the biggest magical tool, when used in a formation, is still just a point."
Magical tools serve as substitutes for spirit stones, forming the foundation of a formation, but they also face the same problem. They were trying to expand the formation outward, but to make the small courtyard's formation extend, there would inevitably be many twists and turns. In this case, a magical tool, no matter how much spiritual energy it stored, could only expand a specific point of the formation, but it wouldn't be as effective as the smaller, more energy-efficient spirit stones.
To be blunt, there was plenty of spiritual energy, but the quantity wasn't enough!
Qi Yan waved his fan. "Looks like a higher-grade magical tool isn't always a good thing."
Qi Liu added, "Young master, we don't have as many as he does."
At this moment, Su Yu slightly raised his head, listening to the sound of jingling bells around him.
Everyone's eyes turned to the largest spirit beast in the courtyard: the chubby little ginseng. The spirit beast, which had been well-fed, was adorned with various jade bells and ornaments. As the Qi family's spirit beast, every decoration on it was worth a fortune, especially the string of bells.
The Ink Beast spoke up, its tone sour. "I've seen it for a long time now. That little fatty has so many things with spiritual energy on it!"
Zhang Fugui: "…Why do you keep staring at other people's spirit beasts?"
Little Ginseng: "Awoo!"
Su Yi immediately recognized that even the decorations on the spirit beast were made of high-grade spirit stones. He said, "It seems you've pampered your spirit beast well."
Qi Yan: "…"
Su Yu wasn't looking at the spirit beast itself. Instead, he was observing the energy fluctuations radiating from its body, listening to the sound of the bells. There were quite a few of them. "Can we remove a few of these?"
Qi Yan turned his head and looked at his little ginseng. "Will you bear with it for a while?"
"Awoo?" Little Ginseng seemed confused.
"Once we get out, I'll buy you something even better," Qi Yan said, reluctantly taking off the valuable spiritual ornaments from Little Ginseng's body. As a string of bells was removed, they jingled, filling the air with a luxurious sound. Compared to the few plain magical tools of the Su family, these decorations exuded an unmistakable air of wealth.
In Jinzhou Town, in a small courtyard.
A middle-aged cultivator, looking affluent, stood before a water mirror. The mirror reflected the current situation both inside and outside the town, and a look of disdain appeared on his face.
If a Su family cultivator were present, they would recognize this person as Elder Liu from the Su family, who had gone missing during the Spirit Fruit Feast.
At this moment, he was watching the scene in the water mirror with a sense of disgust, thinking about the small courtyard in the city.
The formation in that courtyard did have an effect on the formations in Jinzhou Town and prevented his water mirror from seeing through the illusion… But it didn't matter. No matter how powerful the formation was, in the end, it was just a small patch of land. If a few more bark-skinned beings died, the formation could be broken.
The closed-door disciple of the Sect Master of Cangxue Sect, and the most talented young master of the Qi family—these two must die.
The number of cultivators devoured by the formation was already sufficient… Adding these two gifted children would make the foundation of Jinzhou Town's formation even more perfect.
After so many years of planning, it was finally time to bring it all to a close… Elder Liu had a victorious look on his face as he watched the small courtyard, where green plants were spreading, like watching a group of ants waiting to be trampled.
Soon, very soon...
At this moment, the water mirror suddenly sensed something, and the scene changed dramatically.
Outside Jinzhou Town, several spirit boats hovered in the air, and there were even a few other figures.
Elder Liu's joyful expression darkened as he saw the figures of two people. His face turned grim. "The Black and White Envoys of the Loose Cultivator Alliance? These two are here as well."
The array cultivators who had died were still causing him trouble. Not only had they rescued the young masters of the Su and Qi families, but now they had even attracted the Loose Cultivator Alliance's people... They really knew how to make things difficult for him!
However, it was a relief that the Black and White Envoys of the Loose Cultivator Alliance were still outside...
"Let you be smug for a few more hours." Elder Liu glared at the water mirror, gritting his teeth. "The formation is almost complete. This time, I won't disappoint the master."
Suddenly, the water mirror in front of him shifted again, and the scene of the long street outside appeared.
With just one glance, Elder Liu staggered back a step, his mouth twitching slightly.
On the streets of Jinzhou Town, there were countless bark-skinned people lying on the ground, and most of the exotic plants had been uprooted. What was going on!?
He immediately recognized one of the figures in the water mirror. It seemed to be the medical cultivator from the Divine Doctor Valley, who often stayed on the Qi family's spirit boat.
How did a medical cultivator end up here!?
Outside Baiyue Tower,
Gu Qi stood on the pavilion, his gaze sweeping across the situation inside the building.
The traces of destruction were everywhere, evidence of a fierce battle, but there were no other cultivators in sight. No one seemed to be around, and he couldn't spot the young masters of the Su and Qi families either.
He slightly furrowed his brow, about to turn when he noticed something under the broken furniture—an eye veil.
Gu Qi's fingers twitched, and the light-colored eye veil, stained with a few black spots, fell into his hand. There was a faint medicinal scent on it. It was the eye veil he had given to that blind young master. How had it ended up here?
That meant the person was also at this Spirit Fruit Feast...
After observing the formation here, Gu Qi understood that these bark-skinned people must have been controlled by someone else. Even the exotic plants around had a strange magical aura to them. A combination of curse magic and formations, this formation in Jinzhou Town was no ordinary one.
"This is such a large formation. But what is the core of it?"
A formation requires a core. To control so many bark-skinned puppets, the power provided by the core must be strong enough to maintain the formation for a long time. If he didn't find the core, it would be hard to track the missing cultivators or destroy this place.
If only the seal wasn't in place...
Gu Qi pressed his hand to the sword at his waist. Unfortunately, he was currently suppressed by his bloodline, and couldn't use his sword qi to destroy the formation. But delaying any further would also be troublesome... If this continued, he might not be able to find the core in time, and the missing cultivators would likely be killed.
Suddenly, Gu Qi caught sight of something unusual in the alley outside Baiyue Tower.
Next to the dead exotic plant, another type of spiritual plant was growing. Beneath the spiritual plants, the bricks and soil had been overturned, revealing clear formation lines right in front of him.
There was another formation here, and it seemed to be in direct conflict with the Jinzhou Town formation?
Unfortunately, this formation was too weak. If it were stronger, it might have been able to...
As he thought this, the few spiritual plants that had been pushed back by the exotic plants suddenly grew larger, forcing the overgrown plants aside. They revealed more formation lines hidden beneath the earth.
Gu Qi tucked the eye veil into his chest and suddenly smelled a faint scent.
Blood qi?
He brought the eye veil to his nose. As soon as he caught the scent of blood, the bloodline that had been suppressed by his sword qi began to stir, and his surging qi and blood threw him off balance. The old cloth strap around his sword sheath split open.
At this moment, the bark-skinned puppets outside Baiyue Tower leaped from all directions, heading straight for Gu Qi.
Veins bulged on the back of his hand as he tightened his grip on the sword at his waist. He looked up, and countless bark-skinned people were heading in his direction, as though they knew he was here and were coming to take his life.
If it came to it, he might have to break his word.
Gu Qi pressed down on the sword at his waist. The priority now was to use the formation that had suddenly appeared to try and find the key to the Jinzhou Town formation's core... At that moment, the formation that had been expanding suddenly halted, as if it had withered.
Gu Qi: "?"
Meanwhile, inside Jinzhou Town...
A group of people had stopped on the street, extending the formation out from the small courtyard. The formation could extend, but the bigger it grew, the more challenges they faced.
The person who created the formation was the teacher of the cloaked man, and more of the formation's details were hidden beneath the small courtyard, making what they could see limited... They had also underestimated the scope of the courtyard's formation.
This led to the problem where, while they were extending the formation outward, some of the spiritual energy became disobedient, growing wildly along the formation's other edges. This caused their originally planned amount of energy to gradually become insufficient.
Qi Liu looked up. "It's gone. We've stripped everything we could from the little ginseng."
The spirit beast little ginseng was feeling quite wronged. Not only did it have to block attacks for them, but now it had also been stripped clean. It ran without making a sound.
"Should we take a break?"
In the Abyss of Evil, Zhang Fugui, nearly exhausted from picking up items along the way, glanced to the side. To his surprise, the black beast's belly had expanded so much that it had to morph into a larger form to accommodate the extra food. Yet, the undead around them, obedient to Su Yu's orders, kept pulling in vines and exotic fruits without stopping.
Su Yu held his stomach, seemingly feeling a bit full for the first time. However, it wasn't enough. He communicated with the black beast through his spiritual sense, "Hasn't the shadow of the Mountain Stele in the Abyss of Evil still not fully formed? Eat a little more."
The black beast: "..."
Evil ghost! This person was even more malicious than demon cultivators or ghost cultivators!
As a doctor, Zhang Fugui couldn't help but feel sympathy. He softly said, "But the spirit stones and spiritual artifacts are running low. The exotic fruits won't fall anymore."
The black beast looked at Zhang Fugui, somewhat moved. It hadn't expected that this little brat would be so considerate of beasts.
As the exotic plants were pushed away, the formation lines on the ground, similar to those inside Baiyue Tower, gradually became clearer. From the direction the formation was heading, it seemed the core of the formation was located at the opposite side of the small courtyard—on the southern side of Jinzhou Town. Whether they walked toward the city's outskirts or followed the formation, they didn't have enough resources to continue laying the formation to defend themselves.
The cultivators were also growing exhausted. The cloaked man took out some special exotic plants from his robes and handed them to Qi Yan and the others. "These were refined using my master's secret recipe. They're similar to these spirit plants and can temporarily hinder the growth of the evil seeds within your bodies."
But even this wouldn't be enough. At the rate they were going, in another incense stick's time, they would have used up all of it.
Su Yu slightly lifted his head, wanting to observe the formation further, but at that moment, he suddenly noticed a few glimmers hidden within the "aura" of the exotic plants. From a distance, it seemed like something was faintly glowing in one particular spot.
Su Yu raised his head and asked the cloaked man beside him, "Is there something over there?"
On the street, beneath the bark-skinned plants driven away by the formation, the shop that had been wrapped in plants was now exposed. A golden plaque hung above the shop, with elegant characters reading "Qi Family Bank" written in bold strokes. The plaque was inlaid with priceless spirit stones, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.
The cloaked man reacted quickly, "Qi Family… I remember you are the young master of the Qi family."
Su Yu: "..."
What luck. The formation had been laid right in front of a bank…?
Qi Liu looked at the scene behind him, touched. "Young Master, our family's bank!"
"Bank?" Su Yu examined the scene more closely, as if a new idea had formed in his mind.
In the Abyss of Evil, the black beast and Zhang Fugui saw the Qi Family Bank. The golden words seemed to stab at their hearts, as if a thunderclap had struck them.
The poor young master of the Qi family, who had been broke all along, finally regained his dignity at this moment.
He snapped his fan open with a flourish, speaking with a hint of pride in his voice. "What a coincidence. Our family's bank is never short of spirit stones."