Chapter 243: Being Pressed into Service
No beating around the bush, which meant the formation disks on the tables were the real deal. Liu Xiaolou took off his bamboo hat and began examining them carefully from the left side.
In front of him sat the formation disk, with a page of notes beside it explaining its functions. The disk was carved from a single piece of jade and served as a personal defensive formation. Pure protection, nothing fancy.
But the Siming Sect had added their own tweaks. Their version made the formation easier to control, though at the cost of precision. It felt a bit clumsy and even sluggish when activated. Still, the upside was that it didn’t demand full concentration. You could run the formation and still handle other magical tools at the same time.
According to the notes, it could withstand attacks from anyone at the peak of Qi Refinement for at least two hours. But Liu Xiaolou knew better. That kind of result only happened under perfect conditions. In real fight, with all its chaos and surprises, you’d be lucky to get half that.
After asking about the price, Liu Xiaolou was told that this formation disk cost 88 spirit stones.
He didn’t say yes or no and moved on to take a look at the second one. This next piece was also a portable formation, but it was an illusion formation. According to the formation manual, its effects were much stronger than the early version of the Abyssal Blackstone Formation he had before.
Its advantages were clear in two ways. First, the illusion effects were far more refined. Judging from the sheer number and delicacy of the talisman marks etched into the jade pendant, the technique was truly exceptional. Second, it could actually launch attacks within the illusion itself; the manual said it could strike with the sharpness of blades and spears.
It was priced at 99 spirit stones.
Liu Xiaolou was quite taken with this one. He’d recently learned how to combine two or three formation disks to create the same kind of offensive illusion effects, but in the end, that kind of product was still just a composite formation. It was not a single, self-contained masterpiece like this.
Liu Xiaolou was really intrigued by this one. By now, he’d even figured out how to combine two or three disks to make a formation that could actually attack. Still, no matter how he did it, formations made this way were already considered combination formations.
He had always been thinking about how to give a purely illusion-based array some real offensive power, so it wouldn’t just be a simple illusion anymore. If he could figure it out, hisAbyssal Blackstone Formation would become much stronger. Then, when trapping enemies, he wouldn’t have to sit back and drain his own qi, waiting for them to get distracted or mesmerized by the fragrance.
Because of that, he asked several detailed questions about the functions of this formation disk. His questions were quite advanced, and the shop assistant clearly couldn’t answer them. So the man asked him to wait a moment while he went upstairs to fetch someone more knowledgeable.
After a short wait, someone came out from the back hall. The moment their eyes met, both men broke into smiles.
Liu Xiaolou bowed. “Greetings, Master Diao Gao.”
The man was none other than Diao Daoyi, an inner disciple of Siming Mountain. The very same formation expert whom Tang Song had once invited to help refine the great protective formation of Fangle Peak’s Jinting Mountain.
During those few months, Liu Xiaolou had served as Tang Song’s personal assistant. Working so closely with the master who oversaw one of the fire-pits, he naturally built a bit of a friendship with him. And with Green Bamboo as their mutual connection, Daoist Diao Daoyi took extra care of Liu, often offering him pointers when he ran into tricky problems.
Diao Daoyi chuckled. “I was wondering which formation master had come knocking to challenge me. So it’s you! Well, that explains it.”
Liu Xiaolou hurried to clarify, “You misunderstand, Senior. I’m truly here to learn.”
Diao waved his hand. “I know, I know. That drive you have for formation studies, it’s got a bit of Green Bamboo’s spirit in it. So I’m not surprised. Just… next time you visit another shop, maybe go a little easier on the apprentices, eh? Haha!”
Liu Xiaolou felt a bit embarrassed. “I acted rashly, Senior. My apologies.”
Diao walked over to the formation disk and picked it up, explaining as he went. “Those questions you asked are actually all covered in Secret Formation: The Five Talisman Scripture. Ah, that’s right. You’ve only read The Five Talisman Scripture, so you wouldn’t have known. There are differences between the two. The essence of the Talisman’s true spirit lies in the ranking of the talismans themselves. Once their grades are distinguished, each corresponds to one of the five colors and directions. The highest must be hidden within the Dark Terrace; the next concealed in the slopes of Miao Mountain; the third and fourth are divided by north and south; and the last is veiled within the Misty Hills. After engraving, there’s a crucial final step: seal the piece in a golden case, stamp it with the Dark Capital Seal, and gather the energies three thousandfold…”
All those terms were things only formation masters would understand. Anyone else would be completely lost. But Liu Xiaolou listened with great interest. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had most of it memorized. For the few parts he didn’t quite get, he asked again, and Diao Daoyi patiently explained everything in detail.
Diao Daoyi’s willingness to share his knowledge so openly left Liu Xiaolou moved. “I’m truly grateful for your guidance today, Master Diao,” he said. “I don’t know how I can ever repay you. If there’s ever anything you need from me, just say the word, I’ll go through fire and water if I have to.”
Diao Daoyi burst out laughing. “As a matter of fact, there is something I need your help with! Hahaha!”
Liu Xiaolou blinked. That line about “going through fire and water” was just a polite expression among the Wulong Mountain folks; something like saying “we’re brothers for life.” No one ever meant it literally. He’d just said it out of habit… but who would’ve thought Diao Daoyi would actually take him up on it?
“Ah… really? What’s going on? Could you be more specific, Master Diao?”
“Come on, follow me upstairs.” Diao Daoyi grabbed Liu Xiaolou by the arm and led him toward the back hall. But when they reached the stairs, instead of going up to the second floor, Diao started heading down.
The staircase twisted and turned several times. After descending about fifteen or twenty feet, they finally came upon a bustling underground level. Over a dozen assistants and formation masters were running around, all busy setting up what looked like a massive refining formation.
No wonder the Siming sect had set up their formation workshop here. There was an actual fire vein beneath the place. How they managed to claim such a prime spot was your guess.
Diao Daoyi pointed toward a man working right above the fire pit, refining a formation disk. “That’s my junior brother, Gao Changjiang,” he said. “Came all the way from Siming Mountain to lend a hand.”
Diao Daoyi then pointed to an elderly man nearby, completely absorbed in carving talismans into a formation disk. “That’s Uncle Luo, the overseer here. Last month we took on a commission. Seven formation disks, all to be finished within two months. Now there’s only one month left. Everyone at Siming Mountain is tied up, so only my junior brother Gao was free to come help… Strange thing is, for some reason, business has suddenly exploded over the past couple of months.”
Liu Xiaolou finally understood. Diao had dragged him here to lend a hand. If you look at it, this wasn’t a bad thing. Cultivation was the same as any other path: the harder you trained and the more you experienced, the deeper your understanding grew. And this was a rare chance to work on something real. Of course he wouldn’t pass it up. And he knew Diao Daoyi wouldn’t make him work for nothing, either.
“Since Master Diao thinks so highly of me,” Liu said with a small smile, “I’ll do my best.”
“Good. Thank you, Xiaolou. So far we’ve finished two formations. Junior Brother Gao is refining the third, Uncle Luo’s engraving the fourth, and I’m about to start melting down the disk for it. I’ll need you to help by engraving the fifth formation disk.”
“They’re all single formations?” asked Liu Xiaolou.
“No, they’re combination formations,” Diao replied, “but nothing too advanced. Each set is made of two or three disks linked together.”
“So, just small formations then?”
“Exactly. Nothing like the great formation we refined at Fangle Peak. These are simple. Meant for guarding a manor or protecting an estate.”
“I see…” Liu Xiaolou nodded. “Then please, Master Diao, lend me the formation manual.”