Chương 101: Formation master

A few days later, I decided to pick Master Wushang's brains and let him help with Formations. Specifically, the Formations I kept stealing from various demonic clans. At first, I took out the pair of stone lions with jade eyes, used for spirit suppressing by the Gu clan.

"This Formation was used by a demonic clan to ambush visitors and rob them of precious things, including their lives. I'm thinking to install it into the Frozen Hall and use it to the same purpose, if and when visitors get rowdy or worse." I began to say, when the old man coughed in a wary manner.

"... This Formation could kill me in a second, Pef Tian. My soul is barely hanging on." he spoke with a shudder.

"Oh! You mean it could suppress your qi and thus allow your shattered soul to disperse? Hmmm. That would be a clever way to use it. But cases like yours are quite rare. I doubt there will be more old masters who failed their Soul Transformation turn up visiting the Frozen Pavilion. Still, a very low chance is not zero. Good thinking, Master Wushang!" I spoke with a cheerful voice, making the man look at me like I was a Dark Lord pretending to be young and nice.

"That's not... what I meant" he muttered in a defeated tone. I nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, the fairies won't use it on you. Unless you do something bad. But you're a good man, so it's not likely, right?" I argued in a chipper tone.

"What are you transforming your soul into, Pef Tian?" he asked directly, while helping to set up the trap Formation. I smiled and winked.

"That would be telling! Suffice to say I only massacre slavers and demonic cultivators. All young cultivators need resources to grow, so they also need a source of funds. Come, I have another trap for the sect gate." I offered with a grin, and moved us in front of the outer gate. Lately I also installed some sect defenses, including a thousand spike traps, a few guard towers and two detection arrays against spies and infiltrators, but they were mostly for morale.

A Nascent Soul could avoid anything like this with ease.

"These are childish defenses... Oh! A Blood Chain-trap!" Master Wushang recognized the Formation I got from the Zhan clan.

"Formations are expensive, Master Wushang. This is not an Alchemy Sect, with too much money and resources to spend. Most female disciples arrive here famished, enslaved, raped or worse. On the other hand, slavers have money, made by selling slaves. They can afford to buy good stuff. Sadly, my blood magic skills are bad. I do have some notes from a demonic master, but no real practice." I explained and took out a stack of manuscripts, plus some skin-bound books on blood magic.

Master Wushang scanned my books and sighed.

"I can make it work again. Will need some Venerable bodies and blood, a million spirit stones..." he began to say when I extracted said loot from my Yang ring.

"Like I said... demonic clans. I have more if you need..." I offered cheerfully.

"... No need. It's quite enough. You were very efficient for your age. Demonic cultivators are often four times stronger than a regular cultivator." he admitted with an impressed voice, and began arranging the chain trap Formation with real skill. See, Tian! Those are the things you should have learned! Not only the Sword. An hour later, the Frozen Pavilion had a powerful defense, after I drained my qi to power up the chain trap.

This Formation had worked well against the three Dark Fairies, so it should work fine against three or four regular Venerables like those visiting us for weddings or trade. I just added a white fog mist and some ice spears for extra flavor. No need to look like a demonic clan, right? If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. After drinking some tea to rest and recover, I took Master Wushang to another building, named Formation Hall.

And here, I revealed the stolen teleport platform I got from the Gu Clan. It wasn't a massive spatial tunnel like the ones used to cross between continents, but a localized one.

"I just cut this Formation out from the bedrock, and moved it here. But I'm not skilled enough to make it work, without risks. I'm not even sure of its range, only that is not going overseas." I said with a mild voice.

"It's only a Million Miles Formation, not something like an Ancient Gate, but yes. Setting this up and making it work safely is difficult. I'll need a few tons of gold, some silver and iron, and a million spirit stones..." Master Wushang spoke with mild amusement. I took out said materials and just watched the old man work. I should have known all this stuff, Tian! You lazy brains. On a whim, I took out the Return the Heartstone plate.

"Could we adapt the big circle one to work with individual plates for instant return? From a longer distance, I mean?" I asked curious. Master Wushang analyzed my Formation plate with wise eyes.

"Heartstone... you mean for young fairies going out on sect missions, right? It might work, but the Formation will need to be modified, and new plates made. It will take a decade maybe more." he said with distant voice.

"Good. At least you won't get bored in this place. I have my wives and concubines to keep me busy... but for you, it will be hard. Umi cannot study all day." I concluded with a wide grin. The old man sighed and nodded.

"Fine. I can at least do something good for my gracious hosts. Many young lives can be saved, after this Formation begins to work as you intend." he said in a kind voice.

"Come, there's more!" I asked in a youthful tone, and walked into another room, where I set up the cultivation array I found inside a cave beneath the Gu clan. Master Wushang stared at the array with a surprised face.

"This array is indeed valuable, Pef Tian. It could form the foundation for a strong sect, in time. Expensive to operate, but money can be made in other ways. Lifespan never returns." he said in a hopeful voice.

"From what I can see, the demonic cultivators used human blood to cultivate here, not spirit stones. Maybe beast blood can work too, but if not... we could use it as a judicial method and sacrifice criminals and slavers here. Waste not, right?" I proposed with my sneaky Dark Lord voice. Master Wushang glared at me, then sighed.

"Justice... our world is so cruel." he admitted in a sad tone.

"Just make sure it works properly, old man. I want to cultivate a bit faster and transform my soul while I am still only 18. I can go and grab some slavers for array testing..." I proposed with a sly tone.

"Patience, and some gold for now. The array circuits need repairs, and a lot of cleaning. Blood is not... even if it works, it clogs up stuff." he asked a bit tired. I patted his shoulder and dropped a few boxes of gold on the ground.

"Take your time, Master Wushang. I'll go ask a few fairies to help you clean this up." As it happens, I did have Gema, Rin and a few young fairies as my go-to milk maids for dirty jobs. A minute later I returned with a bouquet of young flowers, a few barrels of water, some rags, and a lot of youthful energy.

"Clean up this blood, young ladies. If you work hard today, I'll let you drink milk, without paying for it! Am I not generous and kind?" I asked rhetorically. The young flowers smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, hero! We'll work hard. For milk!" they proclaimed with eager voices, surprising the old master.

"The fairies seem really willing to do anything for your... milk." he observed in a wry tone.

"It might be because the lotus milk tastes good, or because the fairies save years of cultivation with my help. Those Venerable fairies didn't marry me just because I'm young and cute. Cultivators are all the same, seeking profit and growth." I said with a wise voice, and sat down for tea while the women worked hard. Master Wushang glanced at Gema for a minute.

"Willow Meridian... another rare physique. Do you even know what she needs to train? Besides fun in bed?" he asked while sipping my tea and making a scowl. I know, bitter tea.

"A herb garden, I guess. And a lot of beatings and healing." I spoke with a careless shrug. Master Wushang shook his head and placed the tea cup on the table.

"For starters, I will teach little Gema to make tea. And you should never make tea again, Venerable Tian. Someone unlike me would think you're trying to poison them. Or insult them. And I know you've been told of his before." he mused in a far away voice. I sighed and threw the bitter tea away. Damn it, Pef! We got caught.