“Hey...”
“Friend, I’m heading to the Eastern Sea to explore an island. Heard it’s crawling with spiritual herbs and who-knows-what else. Fancy coming along? Of course, only if your cultivation is at the ninth layer or higher.”
“Heard anything about where to get a Foundation Establishnt Pill? If you have a lead, I’ll gladly join you and won’t ask for any reward.”
“If I had a Foundation Establishnt Pill, I wouldn’t even bother going to the Eastern Sea.”
“Goodbye.”
“Please think it over, friend.”
“Do you have any news about Foundation Establishnt Pills?”
"Hey, have you heard anything about where I can find a Foundation Establishnt Pill?”
“Foundation Establishnt Pills? Sure.”
“Oh? Would you be willing to share it with ? I’m willing to—”
“The Chicheng Sect is making two Foundation Establishnt Pills this year... sa as last year. But they’ve already been reserved for their own disciples, so outsiders can forget about it. That tip is on the house. No charge.”
“Alright, thanks anyway. I’ll be on my way.”
“Wait, friend, don’t go. I’ve also got news on the Foundation Establishnt Pills made by the Jinting Sect, the Qingyu Sect, and the Western Xuan Dragon Pavilion.”
“Do you have any Foundation Establishnt Pill leads or not?”
“No. Do you have any high-grade talismans?”
“No. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
After wandering around in circles, he ended up going through that “Yu”-shaped stone cave again and again. By the ti he was done, his mouth was dry from all the talking, and he still hadn’t gotten a single useful clue. Along the way, he ran into two shady characters who claid they had news about Foundation Establishnt Pills, hoping to trick Liu Xiaolou into doing favors for them. Liu Xiaolou saw right through their scam.
Disappointed, he stepped back out and wandered around the outer cave hall for quite a while. He looked at the underground-market tunnels marked “Artifacts,” “Formations,” “Talismans,” and so on. He wanted to leave, yet he felt unwilling to give up, so he grit his teeth and went in anyway.
He first entered the “Artifacts” hall. At the mont he had no interest in anything except Foundation Establishnt Pills. After a quick lap and a couple of casual questions, he walked out feeling even less enthusiastic.
As soon as he entered the “Formations” hall, he noticed it was quite different from the others. Many of the people there were formation masters, and so were even discussing and exchanging insights about formation techniques. Since Liu Xiaolou was skilled in crafting formations, he felt at ho in this place. His thoughts gradually settled, and much of his earlier disappointnt and frustration faded.
“.... Your formation disk looks a bit different from the Three Qi of the Vermilion Cinnabar, doesn’t it?”
“Are you referring to the Three Qi ntioned in the Five Talisman Scripture?”
“That’s right.”
“You’ve studied the Five Talisman Scripture to a very deep level. I’m impressed.”
“You flatter .”
“But you should know that aside from the Five Talisman Scripture, there is also the Nine Mystic Spirits Chapter.”
“Oh? I’m ashad to admit it, but I’ve never heard of the Nine Mystic Spirits Chapter.”
“Like The Secret Formation: The Five Talisman Scripture, it’s one of the eight classics of the Pingdu Eight Formations Gate. But while The Secret of the Five Formation Talismans is listed as the Left Mystic Classic, this one holds the Right Mystic Classic spot.”
“What’s the difference between the two?”
“I’ve heard that, with the Five Elents and Eight Gates, it’s the other way around.”
“Wait... do you have the Nine Mystic Spirits Chapter? Would you consider parting with it? I’m ready to pay handsoly.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t.”
“That’s a sha.”
“It really is.”
“Alright. By the way, do you have any news about Foundation Establishnt Pills?”
“Sorry.”
“Your illusion formation really is fascinating. From what I can tell, there’s still plenty of room to dig deeper into it.”
“What do you an? How would you go about that?”
“For example, adding a few things. Sothing that could make the illusion feel completely real.”
“You have a technique like that? Would you teach it to ? Just na your price in spirit stones.”
“Forget the spirit stones. Do you have any Foundation Establishnt Pills?”
“This…”
He walked and asked questions along the way. He still hadn’t heard a thing about a Foundation Establishnt Pill. And he hadn’t bought a single formation disk. But he knew his stuff. Just from asking around and chatting with people, he picked up plenty about formations, learned a lot, and even managed to lift so of his frustrations.
He had just finished talking with soone about the difference between killing formations and trapping formation when another person suddenly blocked his path. “Fellow cultivator, wait a mont.”
Liu Xiaolou paused for a second. “What can I do for you?”
The man led him into a darker corner. Once he made sure no one else was around, he said, “Please forgive . By coincidence, I overheard your thoughts on formation work earlier. I was honestly impressed.”
Liu Xiaolou cupped his hands. “You’re too kind. Really, you give far too much credit.”
The man went on, “I may be overstepping, but... from what you were saying, are you perhaps a formation master from Siming Mountain?”
Liu Xiaolou’s formation studies were a ss of influences. He started by learning to refine array disks from Lord Xingde, so his foundation leaned toward artifact refining. Later, Green Bamboo pushed him far beyond that, enough that he could barely pass as a formation master.
His first real, systematic training ca when he served under Tang Song at Fangle Peak, and he rounded it out by exchanging ideas with formation masters like Diao Daoyi and Liu Daoran.
Green Bamboo herself had been heavily influenced by the Siming Sect, and Diao Daoyi was one of that sect’s most renowned formation masters. With teachers like that, it was no surprise that Liu Xiaolou’s understanding of formations carried a clear Siming flavor. The fact that this man picked up on it wasn’t surprising at all.
Liu Xiaolou wasn’t actually a formation master of the Siming Sect, but there was no real need to explain that. He simply smiled and said nothing.
The man thought for a mont. “About six or seven years ago, your sect…” He pointed upward, toward the mountain. “Your sect sold a whole batch of array diks here in Chicheng Market. They were all custom-made in one go for the Pingdu Eight Formations Gate. Do you rember that?”
He might not have been from the Siming Sect, but this... this he rembered far too well. Back then, Diao Daoyi had dragged him into that job, and he’d worked day and night for nearly a month. And afterward, because of that job, he’d smashed into Baiye Manor and made a huge fortune.
So he answered vaguely, “What exactly are you getting at? Please speak plainly.”
But the man pressed him, insisting on a clear answer. “Do you rember or not?”
Liu Xiaolou thought it over, then gave him sothing. “Are you talking about those seven formation disks?”
That did it. The man finally confird it, and his voice grew a bit excited, even anxious. “Since you’ve co to the black market, there’s no need for us to dance around it. Those seven formation disks… at the ti, did they co with formation diagrams? Even rough sketches would do. If you can produce them, I’ll pay fifty spirit stones for a single sketch.”
Liu Xiaolou’s mind spun. “That high a price? What do you need them for?”
“I’ve got my own special use,” the man said. “Not sothing I can explain to you. Well? Will you sell them or not?”
Liu Xiaolou replied, “If you can’t tell what you need them for, then I can’t sell them to you. You should know that those of us from formation sects can’t just hand out formation diagrams at random. If they leak, it destroys the very foundation our sects rely on. And if it damages the reputation of Siming Mountain… I’d be guilty beyond forgiveness.”
The man thought for a mont and said, “Sixty spirit stones for each formation diagram. That’s my offer.”
Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “Our sect has its own principles when it cos to formations. Spirit stones won’t sway us.”
“Seventy, then!”
Liu Xiaolou only chuckled.
“Eighty!”
“If you won’t tell the truth, there’s no way I can sell to you.”
“One hundred!”
“Still not selling.”
One refused to reveal anything, and the other only grew more suspicious. In the end, the deal fell through, and they left with a bit of regret on both sides.
Liu Xiaolou kept glancing back at the man’s fading figure, but he held himself back. Then he hurried out of her and went back into the “Miscellaneous” cavern hall.
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