Trouble Comes Knocking

Han Li flew at full speed and soon returned to his cave dwelling.

Without a word, he retrieved the jade slip containing the formation diagrams that Qi Yunxiao had given him. Immersing his consciousness into it, he carefully studied the instructions for using the set of formation magic tools.

He planned to set everything else aside for now and first set up the protective formation for his cave. The site of that fight was simply too close to his residence, giving him a profound sense of unease.

The setup for this Reversed Five Elements Formation was remarkably simple and clear.

He planted the formation flags and base plate in their precise positions, some inserted above ground, some buried below. He then arranged several spirit stones into a small formation pattern and embedded them into the formation's eye to supply the entire array with sufficient spiritual power.

Once this was done, the formation could be activated immediately. As long as the master understood a few simple control techniques, they could use the master flag in their hand to drive the formation through its various transformations, trapping and confusing the enemy.

Han Li inserted and buried the magic tools as required. Grinding his teeth, he embedded several mid-grade spirit stones into the formation. This was half of his entire spirit stone reserves! He winced inwardly at the cost. But to ensure the formation's power was not compromised, he had no choice but to bear the loss.

He knew that if he were to sell some of his aged spiritual herbs, it would be easy enough to exchange them for a large number of spirit stones at the market. But doing so would multiply the risk of being discovered and captured for interrogation. If he wasn't careful, just like the scene he had witnessed today, one day it might be him under siege instead. The thought was grim.

He tested the formation's operation. It seemed to work quite well. But its true efficacy in trapping and defending against enemies would only be verified when an external threat actually invaded. Still, the mere fact that it could cloak several dozen mu of land around his cave dwelling, making it appear completely normal from the outside, already made Han Li feel the price was worth it.

Only then did Han Li feel somewhat at ease. He returned to his bedroom and began to contemplate his cultivation path.

To have even a sliver of hope for a lucky breakthrough to Core Formation, one needed an excellent technique, unparalleled talent, enormous karmic fortune, and a host of other conditions all working in concert.

Compared to that, the difficulty of Foundation Establishment was nothing. After all, with good enough talent and one or two Foundation Establishment Pills, the chances of a successful Foundation Establishment were still quite high.

But Core Formation was different. Even with all the above conditions met, truly successful cultivators were few and far between. That was why each appearance of a Core Formation cultivator was cause for grand celebration within their sect, and news would quickly spread throughout the local cultivation world.

The reason the Moon-Masking Sect could claim the title of number one sect in Yue was not only that they had over a thousand Foundation Establishment disciples, far outnumbering the other sects, but also that their number of Core Formation cultivators—over a dozen—far surpassed the rest of the seven sects.

Han Li knew his own talent was a mess, definitely far inferior to other Foundation Establishment disciples. The only technique he had obtained so far was the highly impractical Azure Origin Sword Art, which he absolutely could not cultivate. Karmic fortune was an intangible, elusive thing, and could only be left to personal luck.

From this perspective, everything seemed to be stacked against him.

But after some analysis, Han Li concluded that while his talent was terrible, he possessed the mysterious vial that could accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs, allowing him to refine pills. This was something that could compensate. And since karmic fortune was beyond human control, he didn't need to worry about it. The only way he could now increase his own chances of Core Formation was to find a high-grade technique suitable for his cultivation.

The moment the thought of seeking a cultivation technique arose, the first person who came to mind was his nominal master, Li Huayuan.

Since the man had accepted him as a disciple-on-probation, shouldn't he now be teaching him some techniques? After all, Li Huayuan had already succeeded in forming his core. He might even be able to offer some guidance on selecting a suitable technique.

Having thought this far, Han Li decided to return to Yellow Maple Valley first thing the next morning to inquire about his master's cave dwelling location and seek his advice. The man most likely didn't even know Han Li had successfully established his foundation yet.

Thinking about it, it was ridiculous. Since taking him on, Li Huayuan had never summoned him once. For years, he had acted as if this nominal disciple didn't exist, leaving a bitter taste in Han Li's mouth.

And naturally, being annoyed, Han Li wasn't about to go knocking on his master's door uninvited, making himself look like a clueless fool.

But now that he had established his foundation and truly needed to seek out his master, he, the disciple, was still completely in the dark and would have to ask around about him. How utterly awkward.

Han Li mused wryly for a while, then lay down on his stone bed and gradually fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he had slept when a sudden, violent tremor jolted him awake. Still groggy, for a moment he thought the shaking was just his imagination.

But a second, even more intense tremor dispelled the last vestiges of sleep. Besides the ground shaking, a booming, explosive sound came from outside his cave, clearly indicating that someone had triggered his restrictions and was now violently attacking his protective formation!

Startled and furious, Han Li took a few quick strides out of his bedroom and rushed towards the cave entrance.

What he saw outside made him gasp, nearly biting his tongue. A dense barrage of light arrows and light pillars was hammering against his formation, and the sky above was filled with mechanical puppets.

What was going on? He had deliberately stayed out of the fight yesterday to avoid trouble. Now that he was back at his own dwelling, why had they come looking for him? And judging by their belligerent posture, there seemed to be no misunderstanding involved. Could it be that as he flew away yesterday, someone had placed a tracking mark on him?

In the face of this crisis, Han Li's mind became sharper. Strategies and countermeasures quickly flooded his thoughts.

"Listen, you inside! Hand over the man who fled to this place! As soon as you do, we will cease our harassment! Why would you, good sir, risk offending our Thousand Bamboo Academy to shield another?" A man's voice of persuasion rang out from the sky. It was the Yellow Dragon.

Han Li looked up.

High above, amidst the densest concentration of puppets, a massive green bamboo raft hung suspended in the air. Standing on it were six or seven individuals dressed in various styles. At the front was the Yellow Dragon, who had just spoken. Behind him, besides the man and woman Han Li had seen before, were four identically built, lean men. They were a rare set of quadruplet brothers, clearly reinforcements from the Thousand Bamboo Academy.

When he heard the demand to hand over the fugitive, Han Li was momentarily confused. Then, his gaze swept over the area within the Reversed Five Elements Formation, and his heart sank. A person was lying face down near the entrance of his cave dwelling, motionless, their life or death unknown.

Seeing this figure cleared up his confusion, but his heart grew even heavier with dismay.

Of all the places this Senior Martial Brother Lin could have run to, why did he have to stumble into the range of Han Li's cave? He had brought such a huge problem down on them. How was he supposed to handle this? However, seeing the immense power of this incomplete formation, capable of blocking such a ferocious assault, Han Li felt somewhat more at ease. His initial panic subsided.

Frowning, he parted the formation with his flag and walked towards Senior Martial Brother Lin.

When he turned the man's body over with some effort and looked closely at his face, his expression instantly turned ugly, and speech failed him.

What was there to say to a dead man? Senior Martial Brother Lin was completely black-faced, with blood oozing from his seven orifices. He had clearly been dead for some time.

Sighing, Han Li hesitated for a moment, then reached into the man's bosom. He hoped to find a storage pouch containing more puppets. He was quite interested in this method of overwhelming an enemy with numbers.

But the moment Han Li's hand lifted the edge of the man's robe, a green light orb suddenly shot out from the opening, flying like a meteor straight for Han Li's face. With a startled cry, Han Li fell backward.

Just as the light orb was about to touch his face, his right hand suddenly flashed with white light. With a speed like lightning, he snatched it back, firmly gripping the green light orb in his hand. The orb squeaked and writhed in pain, letting out a miserable chirping sound.

"Spare me, Junior Disciple Brother! I, Lin, was driven to this by my enemy, I had no choice! If you will let me go, I swear I will gift you a tremendous fortune!" A voice, sounding like Senior Martial Brother Lin's, suddenly pleaded in Han Li's mind, offering a great reward.

"You were trying to possess me, weren't you?" Han Li didn't ask about the reward. His face darkened as he spoke.

"This... well, yes. But I was merely momentarily confused. I will certainly compensate you generously for the fright! I hope you, sir, will be magnanimous and not hold this against your senior brother!" Lin's voice came through, tinged with embarrassment, apologizing profusely.