Stealing Deals
As long as Celestial Star Sect was satisfied with Formation Sect’s work, the annual subscription was paid. Worth noting was that not every formation needed maintenance. Accordingly, the fee included their callout fee. There was no way they could check over ten thousand formations of varying scale one by one. What they did was connect all of them up when they set the formations and activated them. Through that, they could determine which formation wasn’t operating as it was intended to.
Seven Divine Peaks were named after Big Dipper’s formation: Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. The forth peak, Megrez, was the command centre of the entire formation. One error there and the entire formation would crumble, hence the strict guard there around the clock.
Celestial Star Sect’s disciples led Greater Heaven Caster Lu to Megrez Peak. Several Spirit Severing Realm cultivators visually frisked them from afar in a warning manner.
“How have you been, Greater Heaven Caster Lu?” inquired Tian Zhengxin, a middle-aged Spirit Severing Realm cultivator. As he was the captain of the defence team at Megrez peak, he was acquainted with Greater Heaven Caster Lu.
“I am well, Brother Zhengxin.”
Upon spotting Mu Yu, Tian Zhengxin questioned, “Greater Heaven Caster Lu, I always evaluated your disciples quite decently. Why is this Heaven Stage disciple of yours lagging behind on cultivation?”
A smile came to Greater Heaven Caster Lu’s lips, and he corrected, “He is my assistant, not a Heaven Stage disciple.”
“I see. That makes sense.” Tian Zhengxin smiled back.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu chuckled awkwardly and changed the topic, saying, “Have you had any problems with the formations in the past few months? I will check to see if there is any room for improvement or amendments.”
“Our disciples reported that the two Spirit Collection Formations on Alioth Peak have weakened a fair bit. The Beast Guardian Formation on Mizar Peak used to raise spirit beasts also has some issues. The disciples’ Alarm Formation in their quarters also…”
Tian Zhengxin went on to list eleven formations with problems, which was reasonable. Normally, cultivators’ spiritual energy wouldn’t disrupt large-scale formations, but the same couldn’t be said for small-scale formations.
Formation Sect was placed under surveillance from the moment they entered the command centre. Mu Yu put aside his personal grudge since, one, he would be bodied at his level, and two, he didn’t have any reason to implicate Formation Sect.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu led them to the stately palace where the formation core was located. Formation lines covered the entire interior. Dots of light would trigger occasional flashes of light.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu stepped into the formation and injected spiritual energy into a particular spot, turning his spiritual energy into red energy that circulated around the formation. The light stopped at one spot then continued moving. It finally vanished after about an hour of circulation, leaving behind fifty-two red spots. Each red spot indicated there was a problem, which was a lot more than the eleven Tian Zhengxin listed.
“Brother Zhengxin, did anybody tamper with your formations? Why is there so much damage?”
“You jest, Greater Heaven Caster Lu. Talisman Sect is our guest at the moment. We have taken their advice and are planning to switch some formations for talismans. They demonstrated that their talismans were more effective.”
“Talisman Sect said that?!”
“Yes. For example, their Spirit Collection Talisman is twice as effective as your formation of it, yet only requires a third of the spirit stones your formation needs. From an economical point of view, we decided to replace your formations with their talismans.”
“Did you take into account the fact that we created this command centre? If you modify it, you will cause yourself grief. How can Talisman Sect solve it?” asked Greater Heaven Caster Lu, putting aside his anger. He couldn’t impose his will on Celestial Star Sect, so he decided to deter them.
“You need not worry about that. If my assumption is correct, the red spot over there points to Alioth Peak’s formation, correct? Talisman Sect is modifying your formation there at this moment. As you both originate from the same sect, they have their means of resolving the issue you named.”
“You cannot just end our business partnership without rhyme or reason. We have been maintaining your formations all this time. We know the formations’ functions far more in depth than they do. Are you not worried such reckless changes will sabotage your sect?!”
“Talisman Sect offered us a guarantee. We have paid you ten million spirit stones annually. If we do not account for the levitation formation that is compulsory, that would take off two million. That is still a big sum. Talisman Sect can replace your eight million spirit stone job with just six million. I think the choice is obvious.”
“The lower price does not mean their quality is superior. Since Talisman Sect is here, would I be able to have a word with them?”
“Young Master Budai said you could pay him a visit at Alioth Peak if you have anything to say. With that said, we will continue to pay you for the levitation formation as it is a big project. You can speak with Talisman Sect after you check the levitation formation. We are only being pragmatic. If you can prove you are better than them, we will naturally choose to continue doing business with you.”
Greater Heaven Caster Lu stomped off to check on the levitation formation. Talisman Sect didn’t have anyone of Chen Tiandao’s level, so it was more than they could chew.
Greater Heaven Caster Lu didn’t find any huge issues with the levitation formation. Mu Yu, who was accompanying him, did his best to imprint the formation to memory. He couldn’t comprehend it; however, it could be valuable information on Celestial Star Sect. Information was ammunition. The more he had, the better his chances of avenging Ku Mu. Tian Budai’s only escape was death!
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