Mystic Formation Treasure
Since forever, formation casters were denounced in the cultivation world for their short-lived performance in combat. Once it was clear that elemental demons smelt blood, formation casters were placed on pedestals for their renowned defensive formations that could protect those very same scoffers. Some cultivators regretted not joining Formation-Talisman Sect earlier in life once they saw how much money formation casters were making; parents considered sending their kids to Formation-Talisman Sect.
Owing to the change in opinions, Zhuge Xiaosheng’s popularity and the regard he was held rose above the eight great sects, with almost every city offering him deals to personally check their city’s defence system in addition to setting up teleportation formations.
This time, he was scheduled to visit Pill City under the request of Pill Cauldron Sect’s patriarch, Daoist Yundan. Daoist Yundan put in an order for a teleportation formation and a communication formation, the latter intended for calling for reinforcements.
“Can we remove True God’s statue now? I can’t stand the sight of it.”
“Zhuge Xiaosheng is against it because the statue is some irreplaceable formation foundation. He’s had all of the cities he inspected keep their statue. Those cities that tore down the statue are screwed.”
“Third Heaven Palace’s stone tablet can’t replace it?”
“They erected the tablet themselves, not Third Heaven Palace. Those who tore down their statue are now worried sick.”
“Whoever cast the formations in the first place shouldn’t have used Sword Shadow Dust Gale’s statue.”
“Aren’t we lucky Zhuge Xiaosheng is coming?” Xiaoshuai remarked, gorging on his oily food.
“Indeed. Saves me the trouble of casting Divine Soul Formation on a disciple of Pill Cauldron Sect.”
“Sucks that he’s saving pathetic cowards, though.” Xiaoshuai lifted his plate up to his mouth.
“Ordinary teleportation formations can’t transport them too far and have a cap on how many can be transported at once. It’d take days for an entire city populace to evacuate. There aren’t that many teleportation formations on par to Pill Cauldron Sect’s remaining, after all.”
“Are we going to wait for Zhuge Xiaosheng?” Xiaoshuai asked, picking up a drumstick.
“Yeah, it’ll be easier to move about at Pill Cauldron Sect if we go with him. Some faction leader I am.”
Mu Yu ended up changing his mind and lodged at Everywhere is Home Inn to wait for Zhuge Xiaosheng.
At noon, Mu Yu and Xiaoshuai noticed that “holy” items to ward off evil were trending in the marketplace. Businesses sold items such as frost fiend beasts’ jacket as an item that warded off fire demons, otherworld rocks as things magic items that could ward off metal demons. All sorts of myths were told in order to market an assortment of items to the masses. Formation Sect’s various black formation treasures were the hottest had no competition on the market, nonetheless.
Black formation treasures were formation foundations that had formations pre-installed – similar to Million Company’s tracking jadeite piece that sold like hotcakes back in the day.
“Come check out Formation Sect’s latest version of Anti-Fire Formation. You can defend yourself from Black Level fire demons!” promoted a freckled youth, waving a luminous blue piece of jade around.
“Did Formation Sect really manufacture it?” a man asked.
The youth thumped his chest. “I swear on my life that all black formation treasures I sell are manufactured at Pill Cauldron Sect. You can see their latest authentication emblem right on the bottom here. This yin yang eight trigrams emblem is their authentication emblem as you already know”
“How much does it go for?”
“I have varying levels. My main purpose in buying these is to offer them to you, so I keep my prices reasonable. I only charge 998, which is breaking even for me. Yep, only 998 and it’s yours.”
“You have anything else for the other elemental demons?” a bald elder inquired.
“I also have Metal Manipulation Formation to deal with Black Level metal demons. When they launch metal projectiles at you, activate the formation, and it will armour you,” explained the youth, exhibiting a white fist-sized formation foundation and demonstrating it in action.
“Excuse me! Sharp weapons coming through!” cautioned a sixteen year old female Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator next to the youth.
When the girl’s blade came within six centimetres of the youth, the formation foundation glowed white, and the formation led her blade astray.
“That is how it works!” stated the youth.
The girl then hurled axes, hammers, maces and sickles at the youth, and the formation deflected all of the projectiles.
“This formation is designed to protect you from Black Level metal demons, which is the equivalent of a Primordial Infant Realm cultivator.” The youth turned to the bald man who inquired about his other products. “Elder, since you are a Primordial Infant Realm cultivator and asked about it, would you like to give it a try?”
“Sure. Here I go!”
The elder summoned his brown sword to his hand and stabbed the youth with everything in the tank, but the white formation deflected his attack.
With that, the shoppers clamoured for one, other cultivators who heard about it also rushing over.
“It’s not Formation Sect’s item, is it?” Xiaoshuai queried, licking a candied haw.
“He had the emblem right, but the eight trigrams diagram is supposed to spin unlike his stationary one. He’s obviously selling bootlegs.”
“The formation they drew seems decent.”
“Anti-Fire Formation isn’t bad by any means. I doubt his version can defend them against a Primordial Infant Realm fire attacks, having said that; they’d be lucky to hold up against Golden Core Realm. As for the Metal Manipulation Formation, that’s probably a magnet that’s been modified using a formation to repel metal as opposed to attracting it. I wouldn’t trust it to save my life against an attack above Golden Core Realm.”
“Lots of people have been scammed, then.”
“I’m amazed the three of them have the testicle fortitude to leverage Formation Sect’s reputation.”
“Wait, three? I thought there are two of them in on it.”
“The baldy is in cahoots with them. Logically speaking, he would’ve skewered the seller if he meant to.”
“Do we need to do something about our sect’s reputation?”
Xiaoshuai, who considered himself Formation Sect’s young master, started skewering meat buns on the candied haw sticks once he finished his candied haws so that he did not have to hold onto the meat buns.
“Mm… Well, we have to check things out.”
“Yipee! Bet they never imagined Formation-Talisman Sect’s patriarch would expose them, huh?”