Formation
Besides losing their patriarch, Dustfallen Sect had been plagued with Uncle An’s terrorism in the kitchen for the last few months. Every meal was a test of courage. They developed a knack for swallowing their food before the taste could violate their palates.
“My poor younger sister has lost so much weight since Shifu left,” remarked Kongkong, pinching Miaomiao’s cheek with an apologetic expression.
“You should eat more to grow, Younger Brother Kongkong,” replied Miaomiao, shoving the dish of overcooked meat to Kongkong.
“I feel sorry for you, Younger Sister.” Kongkong pushed the plate back.
“I know you love your elder sister.” Miaomiao passed the plate back.
The ignorant would’ve thought they were watching two loving siblings.
“Gr-greetings, Sir,” greeted Elder Xun, as he entered the dining hall with Mu Yu.
Elder Xun was still used to treating Golden Core Realm cultivators as exalted beings. Usually, they’d viciously rip into him if he didn’t laud over them as they wanted.
Cheng Yan: “Elder Xun? Don’t be so formal. Come over and join us.”
“I am not worthy. I will wait for you all outside…”
“We’re all a big family, so drop the pleasantries. Sit, sit.” Mu Yu pulled Elder Xun over to an empty seat and had the elder sit.
They didn’t suppress or discharge their energy, but Elder Xun was still under immense tension sitting with them.
Tone jovial, Lan Ling’er expressed, “General Manager Xun, I mean, Elder Xun, we all recognise you. We have all been to the academy before. I am Lan Ling’er. I heard you were well-versed in formations. Could you teach me? None of us know a thing about formations.”
The disciples of Dustfallen Sect were under the assumption Feng Haochen wasn’t an authority on formations as he never taught them.
Elder Xun nodded away, but he still couldn’t speak under so much pressure.
Lan Ling’er suppressed her energy then kicked Xiang Nan under the table. “Slow poke, suppress your energy, will you? Are you trying to flaunt your cultivation? You’re scaring him.”
Xiang Nan rubbed his leg. “It wasn’t on purpose. Shifu, Uncle An and First Brother don’t usually hide their cultivation? Those two little devils aren’t affected.”
Konkong suddenly grabbed his chest. “Argh, I can’t take it. Third Brother’s aura is too strong. I… I’m going to pass out.”
Head tilted, Miaomiao questioned, “Eh? Third Brother, you’ve ascended to Golden Core Realm? When was that? Why didn’t you tell us?”
Kongkong: “No, I’m pretty sure he mentioned it a few days ago.”
Miaomiao blinked in rapid succession. “No, no, I think he’s been prattling on about it for a month.”
“Oh, he babbles on and on about it every night when he sleeps, hahaha!” teased the twins.
“It’s not as if you two can hear me talking in my sleep,” griped Xiang Nan, suppressing his aura.
“Th-thank you,” commented Elder Xun, touched they were willing to treat him as one of their own.
“Let’s eat.” Uncle An gave Elder Xun a nod of acknowledgement and served up a dish of jet-black veget-, meat (maybe).
The others exchanged eye contact of despair. They couldn’t keep hunting in the mountain in the rear because of the damage they could do to the ecology.
Kongkong whispered, “Elder Xun, do you know how to cook?”
Elder Xun took a second to respond, “Y-yes, I can. I will cook and handle the miscellaneous jobs going forward. Please just yell out if you have anything you need me to do.” Elder Xun felt being a servant was the only place he deserved at Dustfallen Sect.
“You just need to cook for us. We can handle the rest. Also, don’t call us sir and ma’am. Just address us by our names.”
Mu Yu tried to find some green vegetables amongst the visual mess, but he gave up in the end, realising he was fundamentally trying to find a bone in an egg.
“If you don’t mind, could you wash my younger brother’s bed sheets? He still wets the bed,” mocked Miaomiao.
“Don’t mix yourself up with me, Younger Sister.”
“Sure, sure,” replied Elder Xun.
“You will get used to them. Don’t take what them too serious,” explained Mu Yu, sharing his firsthand experience with the twins.
Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er stayed behind after supper to clear the table, while the others left, but Elder Xun insisted on taking over.
“I brought back twenty spirit stones from the spirit collection formation. Elder Xun, can you set up the formation at Dustfallen Precipice? We often train there.”
Mu Yu went through eight of the stones by the time he was done, so he only had twenty left.
Elder Xun dried his hands after finishing his chore. “I should be able to. The result obviously won’t be as pronounced. I’ll check out Dustfallen Precipice.”
“I’m going with you. I’m going with you. Shifu never taught us how to set formations. I’m interested in them, though,” enthused Lan Ling’er.
Mu Yu lazily chided, “You should focus on your own training.”
“Get off my case. Elder Xun, how did you learn to set formations?”
“I always dreamt of becoming a cultivator, but fate forced me to resign myself to the life of a grey-rank disciple. There were benefits to being a grey-rank disciple if one looked hard enough. As servants, we sometimes had the chance to see various books. While I may be a failure as a cultivator, I never forgot anything I read. After reading them, I’d copy them down to study further. I studied formations the most in depth. To tell the truth, I have always had this suspicion that the world of cultivation is trapped in a humungous formation, but I cannot describe the details.”
“What do you mean you suspect we’re in a humungous formation?” inquired Mu Yu, surprised.
“Something seems to be suppressing spiritual qi here, and there’s an energy source attached to everyone. I formerly suspected nobody could ascend to Primordial Infant Realm due to said formation. Since two people have successfully ascended, however, I think my theory is wrong.”
Mu Yu knew Elder Xun was correct deep down and was thoroughly impressed his conjecture was on the dot.
“I noticed y-, our Dustfallen Sect also has the formation. The formation allows me to detect all movement in the mountain. I have not studied it in detail yet. In saying that, the caster possesses commendable skill. I assume your shifu, Feng Haochen, set it?”
Lan Ling’er and Mu Yu exchanged eye contact. Neither of them knew Dustfallen Sect had any active formation. Mu Yu inquired, “Shifu never mentioned anything of the sort or taught us formations. I don’t think he has studied them. Are you positive?”
Elder Xun pinched his eyebrows together. “Feng Haochen never researched formations? Impossible. Dustfallen Precipice is a soul collection formation.”
Mu Yu and Lan Ling’er exchanged eye contact again.
“I am absolutely certain. Dustfallen Sect’s spiritual qi is more potent than anywhere else, and the soul collection formation is superior to mine. The caster has to be more knowledgeable on formations than I am. Have none of you noticed it while training?”
They never noticed anything after all the time they spent training there. Feng Haochen was the only person who could’ve cast a formation at Dustfallen Precipice. More questions were put on the table yet again.
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