Volume 3 Chapter 3
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Volume 3 Chapter 3: Setting the Formation
The slightly larger wooden cabin where Ting’er stayed was Yue Qingru’s former residence. After Yue Qingru’s passing, although Xu Qingfan cleaned it regularly, he did not move a single item inside, as a way to remember him.
In this room, the most eye-catching feature is the large bookcases placed against each wall, each filled with books, adding a touch of elegant simplicity to this otherwise plain room. During his lifetime, Yue Qingru loved reading, and the books on these four shelves were his life’s collection, vast in number and diverse in subject. Some introduced the history of the cultivation world, others talked about the mortal world, some described the Shenzhou Continent, and of course, there were those on the Five Elements Taoist Method.
At this moment, Ting’er stood beneath one of the towering bookcases, her frail form highlighted against its massiveness. A thin, long black flame flickered like a demon from her right fingertip, casting an eerie glow on the purple-blue flame patterns on Ting’er’s face.
At Ting’er’s feet, Little Green, curled up and trembling, seemed terrified of the black flame in her hand. Beside Little Green lay a book, its cover bearing the title "Precepts of the Fire-based Taoist Method" in bold characters!
Seeing Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan enter the room, Ting’er slowly drew back the black flame from her fingertip, then picked up the fallen "Precepts of the Fire-based Taoist Method" and returned it to the bookcase. She then cradled Little Green, now back to normal, and silently watched Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan, as if asking what brought them there.
Witnessing the black flame Ting’er had just produced, Xu Qingfan exchanged a glance with Jin Qinghan, then asked Ting’er, "Ting’er, what was with that black flame just now? Did you release it?"
Ting’er nodded gently, then glanced at the book she had placed back into the bookcase, "Precepts of the Fire-based Taoist Method." Seeing her gesture, Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan immediately understood Ting’er’s meaning; she had been experimenting with the fire techniques from the book.
Understanding Ting’er’s intention, both Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan were astonished, especially Xu Qingfan, who knew he had not taught Ting’er any magic techniques, only occasionally sharing some basic theories of cultivation on their way back to Jiuhua Mountain. Yet Ting’er could effortlessly perform a fire technique with just a bit of knowledge from books—although the flame was insignificant to Xu Qingfan, her ability surpassed the term "genius."
Originally, upon seeing Ting’er’s potential in cultivating immortality, Xu Qingfan should have been happy. But more importantly, the fire technique Ting’er used was unexpectedly black! The fire Spirit Qi had traces of demonic energy mixed with it, yet in Ting’er’s control, they could blend together perfectly! Although it was still unknown how powerful this black flame was, Little Green’s terrified expression upon seeing it suggested its power was not small. Animals’ instincts are often the most reliable.
It is well-known that, until now, the Cultivation World has only known three types of fire techniques. The flames released when ordinary fire techniques are used are red, those from the "Nanming Li Fire" are blue, and those from the "Three True Fire" are purple. However, black flames have never appeared before.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan suddenly felt a slight movement in his heart, recalling a sentence mentioned by chance in "Cultivation History." Four thousand years ago, a Condensed Core Stage cultivator who accidentally obtained a demonic pearl became a Demon Lord under its control, and the gold-type techniques he practiced changed from gold to black. Back then, he was able to single-handedly cause a catastrophe in the Immortal Realm without anyone being able to stop him; aside from his own strength and the powerful magic eye formed by the demonic pearl, the terrifying power of his mutated techniques was also one of the reasons.
Could it be that after Ting’er’s body was transformed by the demonic pearl, even her cultivated techniques have mutated?
With this in mind, Xu Qingfan said in a deep voice, "Ting’er, let Ninth Uncle check your internal condition."
As he spoke, Xu Qingfan placed his hands above Ting’er’s back, and directed some of his strong Wood-type Spirit Qi into Ting’er carefully. But the results of the investigation shocked Xu Qingfan.
Upon sending Spirit Qi inside, Xu Qingfan only felt a thin layer of demonic energy surrounding every meridian in Ting’er’s body, with a dense cloud of demonic mist in her dantian, constantly emitting strands of demonic energy that attached to various parts of her meridians, seemingly replenishing the demonic energy that had just been consumed.
What shocked Xu Qingfan even more was that after his Wood-type Spirit Qi entered Ting’er’s body, it was continuously attacked by the demonic energy. In just an instant, Xu Qingfan felt his Wood-type Spirit Qi, which he had sent into Ting’er, change from green to dark green, and rapidly shift to black. Alarmed, he hastily withdrew his Spirit Qi, and it took a long time running the two qis of Wither and Flourish to refine away the demonic energy that had invaded his Spirit Qi, leaving him amazed at the terrifying and mysterious nature of the demonic energy.
…
When Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan returned to their old cabin, they found themselves momentarily at a loss for words.
After a long silence, Xu Qingfan finally asked with a bitter smile, "Junior Brother Jin, how long did it take you to first use the Golden Technique?"
"Half an hour." Jin Qinghan paused for a moment before slowly saying, "At that time, Master was very pleased and said I was a rare genius in the cultivation world, not seen for hundreds of years."
After saying this, the two fell silent again. Jin Qinghan had been deemed a once-in-centuries genius for using the Golden Technique in half an hour, yet Ting’er needed only half that time to use the Fire Technique—what should one call that?
"Do you still intend to teach Ting’er cultivation? There’s still time to stop," Jin Qinghan suddenly asked.
Hearing Jin Qinghan’s words, Xu Qingfan remained silent, full of hesitation. He wasn’t afraid that Ting’er would seek revenge after mastering cultivation, but he was wary of the magical mist within Ting’er’s dantian, uncertain of how it might change after she cultivated.
"Or, we could hand Ting’er over to the elders in the sect and let them figure something out? Maybe they have a way to solve Ting’er’s problem," Jin Qinghan suggested hesitantly.
Xu Qingfan immediately shook his head in refusal. He had already heard from Penance Valley cultivators that once someone is demonized, there’s no going back. More importantly, handing Ting’er over to sect elders might lead to them permanently imprisoning her as a threat, something Xu Qingfan could not bear to see.
In the end, Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan discussed for a long time, but even after Jin Qinghan left, they still hadn’t found a solution.
…
The night was cool as water, yet it couldn’t calm the restlessness and unease in Xu Qingfan’s heart.
After Jin Qinghan left, Xu Qingfan packed a few of his clothes and belongings, then gave his original cabin to Ting’er, while he moved into the cabin that once belonged to Yue Qingru.
During the year he spent traveling down the mountain, Xu Qingfan had little time for peaceful meditation. Now that he had finally returned to his own sanctuary, he sat cross-legged on the bed, but no matter what, he couldn’t calm his mind enough to meditate. From the room next door, he could constantly sense faint fluctuations of fire spirit energy and demonic energy, clearly from Ting’er practicing Taoist arts, which made it even harder for Xu Qingfan to find peace.
After Jin Qinghan left, Xu Qingfan had already advised Ting’er not to practice Taoist arts for the time being, as he was unsure what effect the demonic mist would have on her. When Xu Qingfan was speaking, Ting’er simply watched him silently, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and Xu Qingfan couldn’t read anything from her gaze. It seemed now that Ting’er was against the idea.
But now, even if Xu Qingfan wanted to stop her, it was useless. He could prevent a person from moving, but he couldn’t stop someone from cultivating. He could only resolve to pay more attention to Ting’er’s condition in the future.
When the moon hung high in the sky, Xu Qingfan realized he still couldn’t settle his mind for meditation. With a helpless sigh, he acknowledged he had wasted the night. Suddenly, an idea struck him as he remembered he still had two defensive arrays on him, so he got up and headed outside.
Since he couldn’t meditate, he might as well set up some arrays around his sanctuary, which was at least better than wasting time.
When Yue Qingru and Xu Qingfan first came to the back mountain to establish their sanctuary, due to a lack of skill, spirit stones, and items like array disks, they merely set up an incomplete low-level defensive formation that, at its strongest, could only withstand four or five attacks from a cultivator of the Inedia Stage.
Xu Qingfan no longer lacks spirit stones; in fact, he has more high-level spirit stones than low-level ones. He also has two sets of formation plates he exchanged with Zhao Qingxuan. With his current strength at the Lingji Stage, he can set up a medium-level defensive array. It’s also time to replace the incomplete low-level defensive array.
After stepping outside, Xu Qingfan gave a slight bow towards Yue Qingru’s grave, acknowledging the defensive array Yue Qingru had set up. Then, Xu Qingfan carefully dug out the spirit stones buried around and dismantled the entire defensive array. He took out the formation plates he got from Zhao Qingxuan and examined them closely.
Though formation plates aren’t essential for array setup, they greatly enhance the array’s power when used. A formation plate typically appears as a circular board with dozens of bright spots—a diagram showing where spirit stones should be placed. But its role as the array’s core is even more crucial.
Once the array is set up and the formation plate is buried in the specified location, the diagram on it resonates with the external array, quickly harnessing the energy of the world, amplifying the array’s power several times.
It’s difficult to create attack-type formation plates, so they are rarely seen in the cultivation world. However, even defensive formation plates are in high demand every day, and there is a significant shortage in the cultivation world.
Following the formation diagram, Xu Qingfan buried forty-nine high-level spirit stones around the cabin, then placed the formation plate at the array’s core, channeling the two qi of Wither and Flourish into it. As a large amount of Spirit Qi flowed into the formation plate, the Spirit Qi density around the cabins gradually increased, and a mysterious white mist began to rise. Over time, the mist grew thicker, consuming more of Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi as the array activated.
Finally, the array was fully activated, and the formation plate stopped absorbing Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi. The thick white mist extended three zhang beyond the cabins. The Spirit Qi required to start a medium-level defensive array exceeded Xu Qingfan’s expectations, depleting sixty to seventy percent of his Spirit Qi. Nevertheless, Xu Qingfan nodded in satisfaction at the dense mist surrounding his home.
From Zhao Qingxuan’s introduction, Xu Qingfan learned that this white mist not only has strong defensive abilities but also can confuse and trap enemies while gathering spiritual energy.
After nearly twenty years, Xu Qingfan’s dwelling finally had the appearance of a proper abode.