Chapter 73: Differences in Formations

That afternoon, in the northern trading district of Hidden Mist Market, another stall appeared, manned by a wandering cultivator.

Chen Beiwu set up his signboard, then pulled out a batch of first-tier low-grade talismans he had personally drawn from his storage pouch, arranging them neatly one by one.

“High price for Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium!”

“Selling first-tier low-grade talismans, five spirit stones for one, nine spirit stones for two!”

Seeing the conspicuous signboard, a few nearby stall owners couldn’t help but pause in surprise.

“Another half-baked amateur stealing business!” a Qi Refining rogue muttered.

The talisman trade was difficult to make a living from!

Any capable first-tier talisman master would be drawing a salary working in a market shop, with many loyal customers.

Those who had fallen to selling at stalls, like him, were mostly half-trained, barely qualified talisman masters who couldn’t even pass a talisman shop’s examination.

“Selling first-tier low-grade talismans for five spirit stones each—he’s not afraid of bleeding himself dry!” another old man shook his head.

In the Southern Wastes, the cost of drawing talismans was extremely high.

A single first-tier low-grade talisman needed to be sold for at least six spirit stones just to make the slightest profit.

This young fellow probably wouldn’t last a few days before his business collapsed.

Wei Xuesong gave Chen Beiwu a casual glance but didn’t speak.

He mainly dealt in pills, while Chen Beiwu sold talismans—there was no overlap in their trades.

It wasn’t until his spirit beast pouch stirred that Wei Xuesong’s expression subtly changed, his gaze flicking toward Chen Beiwu without leaving any trace.

Paying no mind to the strange looks of the nearby stall owners, Chen Beiwu took out a book titled Foundations of Formation Layout Insights and began to study.

Minor-and-Major Qi-Guiding Formation: A first-tier high-grade formation.

When set up by a formation master, the array could link the major and minor formations through the power of earth veins, gathering the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, rivers and mountains, thereby increasing the concentration of spiritual energy within the array.

This was the most typical nested formation among the foundational ones.

If a sub-formation was damaged, the main formation could automatically sense it, drawing upon the spiritual veins to repair it—making it very popular among rogue cultivators.

Glancing at the inscription instructions for the Minor-and-Major Qi-Guiding Formation, Chen Beiwu couldn’t help but shake his head.

‘What a crude method of inscription!’

The Immortal Alliance’s formation masters advocated “following the Dao of Heaven, evolving formation patterns.”

Every apprentice formation master had to thoroughly study the Union of Yin and Yang, Eight Trigrams of Taiji, and Nine Palaces and River Diagram, understanding that formation patterns were the joints of heaven and earth, carrying the Dao’s creative force, capable of infinite derivation through numerological principles, evolving into the might of heaven and earth.

In this way, an apprentice could comprehend the essence of formation patterns through concepts such as the Nine Spiritual Nodes, Five Phases of generation and restriction, Three Laws of the Formation Disk, and the Yin-Yang hexagram transformations, summarized in these three classics.

They would then know the fundamental relationships between formation principles, pattern structures, mana flow trajectories, Five Phases elements, and the nodes of formation disks.

Once these were mastered, apprentices could combine these foundational relationships to construct ever more complex and higher-tier formations.

But the foundational formation texts of the Southern Wastes were entirely different.

They taught no formation principles, no Nine Spiritual Nodes or Three Laws of the Disk.

They simply and crudely told you how to carve the patterns.

As for why the patterns were carved that way, what their functions were, or how they fit into a system—all of that was omitted.

Learners could only rely on their own talent to copy and try to comprehend a formation.

‘Perhaps the formation manuals I bought were too low-level, concealing too much knowledge of the Dao of Formations.’ Chen Beiwu shook his head, putting away the Foundations of Formation Layout Insights.

His foundation in formations was solid.

Just a cursory look at the book allowed him to grasp the principles of the five formations recorded within, understanding their inscription techniques and deployment methods.

But if a rogue cultivator without the Immortal Alliance’s foundation in formation theory read this book, it would be no different from reading celestial script.

No wonder, after wandering all around Hidden Mist Market, he had seen many talisman masters, artifact refiners, even the highly respected pill masters who stood above all other rogue cultivators—but not a single formation master.

Just then, a Qi Refining cultivator stopped before his stall and asked: “Fellow Daoist, what do this Earth Shield Talisman and Clear Wind Talisman do?”

“The Earth Shield Talisman is used for defense. Once activated, it can form a protective barrier capable of withstanding three to four arts attacks from a third-level Qi Refining cultivator. The Clear Wind Talisman can be used for emergency travel or fleeing pursuit. Once activated, it harnesses the wind’s momentum, reducing physical exertion and greatly enhancing running speed—covering a thousand li in a day would be no problem,” Chen Beiwu explained.

At these words, the cultivator’s eyes flickered with doubt.

After all, the Spirit Talisman Pavilion’s first-tier low-grade Armor Avoidance Talisman could only withstand two attacks from a third-level Qi Refining cultivator.

“Fellow Daoist, are you certain what you’re selling isn’t a first-tier mid-grade talisman, but a low-grade one?” he asked in surprise.

Chen Beiwu looked up at him.

“If you don’t believe me, you may test the Earth Shield Talisman here and now.”

Hearing this, the cultivator shook his head and turned to leave.

The stallholders of Hidden Mist Market were a mixed crowd.

In his eyes, Chen Beiwu was only trying to earn the five spirit stones from a talisman test.

“Alas, youngsters these days really do rely on nothing but their tongues to do business. They can’t even manage honest trade anymore,” one talisman stallholder mocked.

If a first-tier low-grade talisman could truly withstand three or four attacks from a third-level Qi Refining cultivator, then the talisman master who drew it had to at least be of first-tier high-grade.

If the man really had such skill, why would he be here hawking talismans with them?

Chen Beiwu ignored the ridicule.

Those were just the shallow remarks of frogs at the bottom of a well.

At the side, Wei Xuesong’s gaze lingered on the signboard.

His thoughts stirred, and he rose, walking over to Chen Beiwu’s stall.

“I am Wei Xuesong. Fellow Daoist, how much Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium do you require?”

“Of course, the more the better. But I have requirements for quality.” Chen Beiwu took out a stalk of Dragon Head Dendrobium.

“At least of this grade.”

“No problem. I can supply two thousand catties of Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium,” Wei Xuesong’s eyes lit up.

“What price will you offer?”

“Forty low-grade spirit stones.” Chen Beiwu deliberately quoted a low price.

“Too little.” Wei Xuesong shook his head, countering: “How about fifty spirit stones?”

“Agreed. How soon can you deliver?” Chen Beiwu accepted at once.

Wei Xuesong couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret at Chen Beiwu’s quick assent.

Damn, I underbid!

He should have asked for sixty spirit stones.

He might have earned even more.

“By tomorrow morning.” Then, rubbing his fingers together, Wei Xuesong added: “To ensure you don’t renege, I’ll need twenty spirit stones as a deposit.”

“And what if you run away?” Chen Beiwu looked at him with a half-smile.

Wei Xuesong pondered a moment, then pointed toward the market’s administration office.

“Elder Li is the supervisor of the northern trading district. All large trades in the market are witnessed by him as a guarantor contract. What do you say?”

“Fine.”

Spending two spirit stones, they smoothly concluded the contract.

On their way back to the trading district, Wei Xuesong suddenly asked: “Fellow Daoist, you look somewhat familiar. Did you perhaps buy something at my stall this morning?”

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