Chapter 34: Foggy Maze

Xiao Yuansi held the formation diagram for over ten breaths, shaking his head. "I thought it was some new trick, but it's just the old 'Fog Maze Formation' rebranded," he said. He folded the diagram, handed it to Li Xiangping, and continued, "Though I don't know much about formations, this diagram is too simple. It might fool cultivators in the Qi Sensing Realm, allowing them to retreat safely once they reach the Jade Capital Wheel stage. But if they encounter a Qi Refining cultivator, breaking the formation and seizing the flag would be effortless."

"My Li family has nothing to our name; having this formation will at least give us some peace of mind," Li Xiangping said with a wry smile, cupping his hands. Xiao Yuansi looked at Li Xiangping, who was only at the Inherited Brightness Wheel stage, and Li Tongya, who was at the Universal Movement Wheel stage, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Indeed, for you, it's a good choice."

With a gentle pat of his brocade pouch, Xiao Yuansi produced six small flags. The flags had blue and white bodies adorned with arcane symbols, and their poles were reddish-brown, giving them a fine appearance. "These are array flags I used when I was at the Jade Capital Wheel stage," he explained. "The flag bodies are made from the skin of white-patterned carp, and the poles are from red birch wood. They're good treasures for the Qi Sensing Realm, and they'll suit your formation well. Since I no longer need this flag array, I'll leave it here for you to set up a Fog Maze Formation. If you find a better formation diagram in the future, you can still use these array flags to arrange it."

Xiao Yuansi smiled, waving a hand to stop Li Xiangping and Li Tongya, who were about to express their gratitude. "Twelve spirit stones," he stated. Li Xiangping was momentarily speechless, then chuckled awkwardly. "I'm not sure about these spirit stones..." "You don't have spirit stones?" Xiao Yuansi paused, then explained, "Spirit stones are like gold and silver to mortals among cultivators. They are commonly used for transactions in markets and shops. Larger families also need spirit stones when offering tribute."

Hearing this, Li Xiangping's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "How many spirit stones are White Essence Fruits and spirit rice worth? If we could use these two as collateral..." Xiao Yuansi stroked his chin, pondering for a moment before replying, "Ten White Essence Fruits should be worth one spirit stone, and for spirit rice, you'd need a hundred catties for one."

Li Xiangping and Li Tongya were immediately speechless, thinking to themselves, "One hundred catties of spirit rice was enough to make the Wan family send cultivators to rent our fields for planting! Twelve spirit stones would be a whopping twelve hundred catties of spirit rice! We could sell the entire Li family, and it still wouldn't be worth that much."

Seeing Li Tongya and Li Xiangping lower their heads in silence, Xiao Yuansi understood immediately. "Alright then," he said softly, "consider your Obscuring Maze Formation to be counted as payment to me, valued at two spirit stones. The rest will be put on your tab. Once your family gathers the full amount, you can entrust it to the senior and junior disciples who receive tribute in Lixia County to deliver it to Qinghui Peak."

Li Xiangping gave a bitter smile and bowed in thanks. Then he saw Xiao Yuansi form a hand seal, and the six array flags in his hand floated up. "Go!" Xiao Yuansi gently pushed, and five of the six flags shot into the air, trailing faint white wisps, scattering as if guided by their own will, and plunging into the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain.

Instantly, mist and fog swirled at the foot of the mountain. Layer upon layer of thick, grey mist spread out, completely enveloping Lijing Mountain. Before long, the grey mist gradually thinned. From a distance, the people on the mountain seemed to vanish, and the entire mountain appeared frozen in time, no longer showing any change.

"There! What I've set up for you is the sect's Fog Maze Formation, which is better than your Obscuring Maze Formation." Xiao Yuansi withdrew his hand and plunged the last array flag into the ground. Immediately, a palm-sized formation eye appeared, divided into inner and outer layers, glowing with a faint white light. "This formation eye has an outer array and an inner eye," Xiao Yuansi explained, patting his hands. "If the outer array flashes, it means someone is trying to force their way in from the foot of the mountain. If the inner eye flashes, that person has already broken through the formation and entered."

"If you cultivate to the Jade Capital Wheel stage, you can refine the formation eye with your spiritual consciousness and control the formation at will," he explained, pointing to the eye. "However, with only Universal Movement Wheel cultivation, you can only drip a drop of blood from your fingertip onto the array flag of this formation eye, and the formation will recognize you."

"Thank you, Immortal Master!" Li Tongya and Li Xiangping quickly stepped forward and dripped their blood. The formation eye flickered, and both felt an subtle connection with it.

Witnessing this miraculous scene, Li Xiangping's previously heavy heart, burdened by debt, lightened considerably. He mused to himself, "This Fog Maze Formation is far better than I expected. It can conceal our mountain gate and deter prying mortals, and these array flags can be reused. It seems these ten spirit stones were well spent after all."

"Once the younger generation grows up, we can fully utilize all the spirit fields in the village. It might just mean a few more years to pay off the debt, but this mountain gate is paramount! Especially that Jianzi..."

Xiao Yuansi withdrew his spell and asked with a smile, "Do you have any more questions?" Seeing everyone shake their heads repeatedly, Xiao Yuansi laughed heartily and whispered, "Then I shall roam these mountains, hunt some demonic beasts, gather some spirit herbs, and return at dawn tomorrow to refine pills."

"Farewell, Immortal Master!" Li Xiangping and the others quickly said, watching as Xiao Yuansi summoned a flying shuttle, stepped onto it, and ascended into the air.

Li Tongya waited until Xiao Yuansi was far away, then turned to Li Linfeng. "Uncle," he said, "this academy is no longer suitable for the mountain. We'll move it down tonight." "I'll go pack," Li Linfeng replied and headed off. Li Tongya looked at Li Xiangping and began, "Tomorrow, we'll take that Jian..." "Brother!" Li Xiangping, being naturally suspicious, still suspected Xiao Yuansi hadn't gone far and quickly interrupted him. Li Tongya instantly understood. The two exchanged a glance, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.

Although Lijing Mountain was not a renowned peak, it was still a remnant of Mount Dali, having once nurtured spiritual roots like the Serpent-Dragon Fruit. With the formation isolating the internal and external flow of spiritual energy, the spiritual ley lines invigorated, and the spiritual energy concentration gradually increased, slowly stopping only when it was one tenth higher than the outside world.

The two cultivating individuals were instantly delighted, their satisfaction with the formation increasing even further.

The two practiced their cultivation until brilliant golden light rose from the east, and the mountain mists slowly dispersed, condensing into dew drops on the treetops. It was then that Xiao Yuansi descended from the sky, his attire neat and tidy, slowly landing in the courtyard on his flying shuttle. "Time to start the furnace and refine pills!" he chuckled, summoning a person-sized, dark black pill furnace from his storage bag. Sitting cross-legged, he addressed the two, "Although this Serpent Essence Pill bears the name of the serpent-dragon, its nature is mild. Though it's a Qi Refining stage medicinal pill, those in the Qi Sensing Realm can also take it. It will be very beneficial to both of you."

He took a section of brownish-yellow wood from his storage bag. Bringing his hands together, Xiao Yuansi summoned a wisp of pure white pill fire from his Dantian. With a light brush of the pill fire against the wood, it immediately crackled and burst into flames, revealing a faint blue-colored fire. Tossing the wooden block to the bottom of the furnace, Xiao Yuansi then took out the jade box, used his magic power to retrieve the Serpent-Dragon Fruit, and cast it into the furnace.