Chương 112: Peak of Qi Refining

April 2029, Human Hut Mountain, Azure Profound Continent By late April, Leo had maxed out his progress. His cultivation had hit the peak of Qi Refining. His divine sense sat at the 9, 999 Si limit and refused to go further. He was just a single Mortal Shedding Pill away from Foundation Establishment. But he wasn't going to take that step until after the Grand Formation Summit next month, to comply with the rules of the competition. If anything, a new sense of urgency had come upon him.

Once he broke through to Foundation Establishment, his death cooldown would jump from fifteen hours to seventy-five. Not only would his divine sense growth rate slow by a factor of five, but throwing away his life to do things like stealing Monarch Scatterstraw's soil would become more costly too. He needed to finish his business here in the Azure Profound Continent before he advanced. Do what he could do before he started training his divine sense again. Tie up every loose end.

Make good use of his last few fifteen-hour respawns before they stretched to seventy-five. Leo reached into his dantian and drew out Moonrider. He rose into the air and turned toward Skyhome. The terraced fields of the Silvercrest territory spread beneath him in circular bands that wrapped around the mountains. Rows of Tier Two spiritual wheat covered the slopes in waves of pale green and silver.

The stalks had grown knee-high since the spring planting, their tips were already glowing faintly, heavy with spiritual energy. Formation-imbued carts rolled along iron tracks that wound between the terraces. The carts were simple constructions of treated wood and void-stone storage compartments, each one capable of plowing, tilling, seeding, or watering depending on which formation plate was loaded into its core slot. Most ran on automated cycles, their formations drawing qi from the tracks below.

Young cranes hopped alongside the tracks, pecking at spiritual beetles that crawled from the soil, snapping up the pests with obvious relish. Two juveniles squabbled over a particularly fat grub, their wings flapping as they tugged it back and forth. An elder crane watching from a nearby boulder let out a sharp whistle, and both youngsters immediately split their prize and returned to their duties.

On the lower terraces, a group of Foundation Establishment cranes practiced the aerial formations the Cranesong AI had generated. Their movements traced tight spirals above a maintenance station, their calls weaving together. The sound drifted up to Leo as he flew past, strange and dissonant. The system worked. Leo slowed Moonrider and hovered for a moment, taking it all in. A year ago, he had stood on a stone outcropping with Shen Tianyi and worried about how to teach cranes to maintain farming formations.

The problem had seemed insurmountable. Now he watched Tier Two cranes sing earth arrays into existence while juveniles rode carts between rows of thriving spiritual wheat. The transformation had happened faster than he expected. Once he, Kevin, and Vivian finalized the cart designs and track system, Lord Flockfeather summoned his Nascent Soul Lords, and what would have taken human laborers years was accomplished in weeks.

Leo remembered watching from a distance as the Nascent Soul Lords went to work with their domains. One carved drainage channels into the stone. Another lifted entire hillsides and set them down reshaped. A third followed behind, compressing the fresh terraces until they held. The tracks came next. Crane smiths forged iron rails in mountain furnaces while crane formation masters sang binding arrays into the metal. Teams of cranes laid the rails along the freshly carved terraces.

Within a month, the track network stretched across every viable acre of Tier Two soil in Silvercrest territory. When they first tested the cart and track system on Human Hut Mountain, they used formation arrays and control mechanisms imported from Fog City. Optimized components that could till, seed, water, and harvest with minimal input. Unfortunately, the machinery was delicate, designed so that only Fog City technicians could perform repairs and calibrations.

Every season, the cranes would have to pay fees for maintenance visits. Lord Flockfeather rejected the arrangement for the full-scale rollout immediately. So Arthur and Mike built something uglier and simpler: wooden frames with void-stone storage compartments and interchangeable formation plates. No proprietary arrays. No maintenance contracts. No Fog City technicians wandering around asking questions. Leo had accomplished all this. Not alone, of course. But he had been the bridge.

He had learned to draw crane formations, to translate between two fundamentally different approaches to the Dao, to see the common truth underlying both. And accomplish something once thought impossible. This was what cultivation could be. Building something that mattered. Helping people, even if those people happened to be eight-foot-tall birds. After all, according to the Heart of Flesh technique, the Heavenly Dao is the Dao of all living things. Of course, there were still ways to improve the output.

If they industrialized and switched to electricity, they could reduce the Tier Two spiritual qi requirements to near zero, boosting effective yield by ten percent. If they covered the fields with Tier Two grand formations, output might jump by twenty percent. But the cranes showed no interest in such low-tier grand formations. The time and investment required outweighed the benefits in their eyes. They were content with what they had. Leo couldn't blame them.

Looking down at the silver-tipped wheat swaying in the mountain breeze, at the carts rolling steadily along their tracks, at the young cranes chasing insects between the rows, he felt a quiet satisfaction. This was more than anyone had expected when they first arrived at Human Hut Mountain. He banked Moonrider toward the granaries. The storage complex sat at the base of a granite cliff, a series of caves that the Nascent Soul cranes had carved and expanded over the past months.

Preservation formations covered the entrances. Only a fraction of the space held grain from the winter test crops. The rest stood empty, waiting for autumn. The spring planting had covered every acre of viable Tier Two soil in Silvercrest territory. Come autumn, they would reap a harvest that dwarfed anything the test fields had produced. Over four million bushels of Tier Two spiritual wheat. Enough to sustain more than two hundred thousand Foundation Establishment cultivators.

According to their agreement with Lord Flockfeather, half of the harvest would be theirs. Ultimately, two million bushels of Tier Two spiritual wheat would be just a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous population of the western provinces. But Leo knew for the refugees hiding at Stonehaven, it would be an enormous boon. Leo took one last look at the fields of wheat, then he flew past the granaries and continued toward Skyhome to meet Lord Flockfeather.

Leo landed on Skyhome's observation platform, tucked Moonrider back into his dantian and bowed.

"Greetings, Lord Flockfeather. Thank you for accepting my request for a visit." Lord Flockfeather inclined his head, the gesture was somehow distinctively avian despite his human form.

"You are welcome here, Leo Chen. What brings you to Skyhome today?" Leo straightened.

"If everything goes as planned, I will step into Foundation Establishment next month. After I establish my foundation, I will be going into closed door cultivation, so contacting me in a timely manner will become difficult." Lord Flockfeather's golden eyes studied him.

"Foundation Establishment is a significant step. Your divine sense will grow considerably. Have you come to ask about developing Tier Three fields of wheat?" Leo's expression soured.

"There's a problem. Tier Three formations would require a lot more spiritstones to run the GPUs. Maybe if we're lucky we would have the money in two years. Realistically, we wouldn't have the income until four." Leo had already done the math. Or to be honest, Vivian had done the math. The first overall pick in the NFL draft would receive a signing bonus of $4 million, plus $2 million in salary spread across his first four years, starting in 2030 through 2033.

$6 million sounded like a lot, but federal and New York state taxes would eat into it first. That would cut his $6 million down almost $3 million. $3 million still was a lot of money, but it all be used to pay for Leo's Top Tier body refining elixirs. It was highly likely that in a few months he would find himself in deep debt unless he somehow landed a massive sponsorship deal, or if he sold himself to the military. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The fastest way for them to afford the development costs for T3 Cranesong AI was for Leo to upgrade Mike, Arthur, and Kevin's Otherworldly Demon Summoning Formations to Tier Three and have them work to pay for the development themselves. But to draw that formation, Leo would need a divine sense strength of about sixty thousand Si. Based on their projections, if Leo won the Grand Formation Summit, it would take him about two years to reach that threshold. If he lost, about seven. Lord Flockfeather smiled.

"Four years is acceptable. Patience serves cultivation better than haste." Leo hesitated.

"Would that be too long for the war? Should I look for alternatives?" The patriarch's gaze drifted toward the peaks of Skyhome, where cranes wheeled through the sky in their endless formations. For a long moment he watched them in silence.

"Leo, you do not need to bear the burden of the entire western provinces by yourself." He turned back to face Leo directly.

"The cultivators provide faith power to the deities. In turn, the deities bear obligation to their faithful. You are one thread in a vast tapestry. Do not mistake yourself for the entire weave." Leo frowned. That sounded reassuring, but it also sounded like Flockfeather knew something he didn't.

"Are the deities actually doing something about it? I heard Cloudpiercer negotiated with the Beast Kings. Have you heard anything from them?"

"The Beast Kings do not explain themselves to their servants." Lord Flockfeather's tone grew careful.

"The cranes have heard nothing from them for centuries aside from matters of tribute or doctrine. The dragon shows its head but hides its tail." Leo nodded and decided not push.

"For the remaining weeks before I enter closed-door cultivation, I want to hone my fighting skills." Leo paused.

"Lord Flockfeather, are you familiar with the fact that my companions and I are undying?"

"I am." A trace of amusement entered the patriarch's voice.

"Arthur demonstrates this truth with great enthusiasm whenever he perceives the smallest slight." Leo winced.

"I apologize for his behavior."

"Do not trouble yourself. I have come to recognize it as an expression of boredom." Lord Flockfeather's golden eyes gleamed. Leo laughed. Arthur had probably challenged half the Gold Core cranes in Skyhome to duels by now.

"Though I confess some curiosity. Does the old man lose his memories upon revival? He challenged Stonebeak to single combat four times. Although Stonebeak kept using the same technique, Arthur seemed genuinely surprised each time."

"Arthur has always been like that." Leo laughed.

"Lord Flockfeather, I wanted to train against various Nascent Soul domains. Could you arrange sparring partners?"

"That can be arranged, if you are truly undying." Lord Flockfeather paused.

"But I must impose one condition."

"Yes, Lord Flockfeather?"

"No green hats."

The last thing Leo wanted to do during today's session was test his ortho-k enhanced vision on Monarch Scatterstraw and his field of wheat. The flight to Stonehaven took about an hour. As the settlement came into view, Leo slowed and let Moonrider drift higher. The place had transformed. During his last visit, it had grown from nothing into a large city. The pace of construction had only increased. A giant metropolis sprawled across the landscape below, encircling the profundity in a complete loop.

The confounding formation that hid Monarch Scatterstraw's territory manifested as a wall of white mist that climbed hundreds of feet into the air before dissipating. The original walls of Stonehaven, which Leo saw during his last visit, remained visible as an inner fortification, but new construction had expanded outward in every direction. A second wall, even thicker and taller, rose half a mile beyond the first. Guard towers bristled with formation arrays that glowed faintly even in daylight.

Behind the walls, buildings packed every available space. Leo counted dozens of apartment complexes rising at least twenty stories tall, their identical facades suggesting rapid construction using standardized formation templates. Scaffolding clung to several structures still under construction. And beyond the walls of Stonehaven, farmland stretched in every direction. Neat rows of crops covered thousands of acres, their green leaves swaying in the breeze.

Clearly the the cultivators of the Lanternmarches expected more refugees. Many more. But unfortunately for those refugees, the farmland only grew mortal plants. Leo descended toward the city. The outer walls loomed larger as he approached, and he could feel the wards probing his spiritual signature, cataloging his cultivation level and trajectory. The first guardpost appeared as a flying platform anchored to the top of the wall. Three Foundation Establishment cultivators tracked his approach with drawn swords.

One of them raised a signal flare and launched it skyward. Red light burst above the walls, painting the afternoon sky with warning. Leo continued forward on his Moonrider. Message talismans streaked toward him from multiple directions. Leo watched the jade slips whiz past without slowing. He already knew what they said. Turn back. State your business. Land for inspection. He ignored them all. To be perfectly honest, Leo and his friends were salty about being forced away from the profundity.

The wheat excavation operation had been the most profitable business any of them had experienced in their lives. Arthur reminded them of this fact almost daily, usually while calculating the dollar equivalent value of what they were missing out on. Although they were farming eighty thousand acres of Tier Two spiritual soil with the cranes. Tier Two was Tier Two. Tier Four was Tier Four.

Even if the cranes traded away every acre of their holdings, they still wouldn't be able to afford a single acre of Tier Four spiritual soil. More guardposts launched warning flares as Leo flew closer. The red bursts multiplied until the sky looked like the Fourth of July. Cultivation boats began rising from the city below. Leo counted six vessels, each carrying a squad led by Gold Core cultivators. He could picture the scene inside the walls. Alarm bells ringing. Officers shouting orders.

Troops mustering at designated rally points. The entire city mobilizing against a single Qi Refining intruder. Leo paid them no heed. Even if they sent a Nascent Soul Lord after him, he was confident in his ability to reach the profundity. He angled toward a specific point along the fog wall. Arthur had left a trail through the confounding formation back when they were excavating the field of wheat. Leo figured if he made his intentions clear, perhaps the defenders would understand he meant no harm.

The opposite happened. Squads of sword cultivators launched from the nearest cultivation boat. Flying swords streaked toward Leo in coordinated volleys, silver blades catching the sunlight as they arced through the air. Formation light trailed behind each weapon, guidance arrays keeping them on target. Leo entered his Omnidirectional Awareness state. His divine sense expanded outward. Every sword became a point of data, trajectories mapped and predicted before they covered half the distance.

The cultivators launching them appeared as bright nodes of spiritual energy, their movements telegraphed by the qi flowing through their meridians. Leo shook his head. Every sword being launched at him was reusable. How did they expect to knock a Flyer out of the sky without shrapnel? The cultivators of Stonehaven were apparently too cheap to use the single-use self-detonating variants he had seen at the battle for Crimson Lotus City.

If they weren't going to be serious about trying to stop him, he wasn't going to feel bad about invading their airspace. Leo weaved through the barrage without breaking stride. His body twisted and rolled, movements precise. He probably didn't even need Omnidirectional Awareness to dodge this. It was even easier than his game against Columbia. He reached the city proper and dropped altitude until he skimmed the rooftops. The sword barrage fell silent. Hundreds of faces stared up at him from the streets below.

Refugees in worn robes pointed and shouted. Children tugged at their parents' sleeves. Guards on the walls tracked his progress with obvious frustration, their flying swords useless inside the city limits. Leo spotted the entrance to Arthur's trail. A section of the fog wall where the mist swirled in slightly different patterns, almost imperceptible unless you knew what to look for. A guardhouse had been constructed directly in front of it, a squat stone building bristling with formation arrays.

Teams of Gold Core cultivators stood before the guardhouse, already layering barrier after barrier across the entrance. Translucent shields of compressed qi stacked atop each other. Leo considered smashing straight through. Moonrider's formations could probably handle the first three barriers. Maybe four. But the Gold Cores would reinforce faster than he could break through. More importantly, who knew if they had tampered with Arthur's trail? He chose the simpler approach.

He rose into the sky and angled toward a different section of the fog wall. They had already commissioned a few copies of Lord Ironhorn's compass. The original had guided them through the confounding formation on their first visit. This copy would serve just as well. A few sword cultivators launched final volleys as he climbed. But the swords fell silent as he drew closer to the confounding formation. Then he plunged into the fog. The fog pressed against his skin like wet cloth.

Moonrider's glow barely penetrated two feet in any direction. Sound deadened until Leo could hear only his own heartbeat. He slowed. The compass around his neck spun wildly. Its needle jerked left, then right, then completed three full rotations before settling briefly on a direction that immediately changed. Leo watched it dance for several seconds. He had thought he was flying straight. The fog's disorientation was so complete that he could not even perceive his own meandering.

Without the compass, he would wander until he starved to death. Leo ended up having to stop and slowly follow the compass. And before he knew it, t he ground appeared without warning, brown earth materializing beneath his feet. He landed in a crouch and tucked Moonrider back into his dantian. He activated his ortho-k enhanced vision. The world snapped into focus, every crack and depression in the stone. He swept his gaze across the ground, searching for the formation's anchor points. There.

Formation lines carved into the earth, filled with spiritual ink that had long since dried to a dull gray. Although the formation was very complex and high-level, the runes were standard work. No special energy. Leo got up and lifted his compass. He turned until his body aligned with the needle. Whatever secrets Monarch Scatterstraw hid, he would have to see with his own eyes.