DIV Chapter 34: Setting Up the Formation

"Big brother actually moved to a new residence. Talisman masters really earn more than wine brewers." Chu Daniu secretly sighed.

In his view, Li Chang'an must have earned quite a few spirit stones through drawing talismans. Otherwise, how could he afford a new residence?

"That residence's location must be better, perhaps the spiritual energy concentration could approach first-tier mid-grade."

Sure enough, Li Chang'an led him directly toward the deeper parts of the market.

Before long, the two had passed through the outermost area.

The deeper they went, the more abundant the heaven and earth spiritual energy became.

Chu Daniu gradually grew puzzled.

"That's not right. The spiritual energy concentration in this area has already reached first-tier mid-grade. Why is Big Brother Li still going deeper?"

He understood Li Chang'an's character and knew Li Chang'an wouldn't lie to him.

Precisely because of this, he was so confused.

Finally, when Li Chang'an stopped, a spacious and grand residence appeared before Chu Daniu's eyes.

Li Chang'an smiled and said, "Daniu, we've arrived."

"Ah? This..."

Chu Daniu slowly opened his mouth wide, as if frozen, staring blankly at the residence before him.

It took him a long while to react.

"Big Brother Li, this... is this really your residence?" Chu Daniu asked in disbelief.

In this area, the spiritual energy concentration had already reached the first-tier superior-grade realm!

Ordinary rogue cultivators wouldn't dare even dream of it. Even craftsmen with first-tier low-grade skills could only hope for such a place!

Only the outstanding ones among first-tier mid-grade craftsmen, or cultivators with first-tier superior-grade skills, could afford the rental fees for houses in this area.

"Big Brother Li, you're not fooling me, are you?"

"Why would I fool you?"

Li Chang'an smiled as he opened the courtyard gate.

"Come in."

"I..."

Chu Daniu took a step, but his movements were somewhat stiff.

He walked into the courtyard, looking around with somewhat dazed eyes, feeling as if he were dreaming.

Compared to this residence, the place he currently lived in was worse than a dog house!

"Big brother, have you also become a guest official of the Zheng family?" Chu Daniu swallowed, as this was the only possibility he could think of now.

Besides becoming a guest official, what other way could one possess such a large residence?

Surely he hadn't caught the eye of the Zheng family's young miss?

"Not a guest official, just had some recent fortune." Li Chang'an smiled as he led Chu Daniu around for a tour.

After the tour, Chu Daniu sat in the courtyard, his face still showing traces of shock, remaining dazed for a long time.

He felt that such a residence might be something he could never afford in his lifetime, unless he gave up cultivation and returned to the secular world.

"Sigh, big brother, I spoke too much before."

Chu Daniu suddenly sighed, thinking of how he had previously advised Li Chang'an to become a servant.

There was no need to serve others.

Li Chang'an could still enjoy a cultivation site with first-tier superior-grade spiritual energy.

As for talisman inheritance, given Li Chang'an's abilities, he might find a way to obtain it in the future.

Chu Daniu sincerely sighed, "Big brother, of the four essentials of wealth, companions, techniques, and location, you've basically solved three, only lacking a Dao companion. It's truly enviable."

"Just fortune, Daniu. You'll have yours too in the future." Li Chang'an smiled and offered a few words of encouragement.

After a while, Chu Daniu got up to take his leave.

...

After he left, Li Chang'an took out the five broken formation flags he had bought at the black market and began studying them.

"The divination hinted that there are hidden secrets within the formation flags, containing a complete formation array."

He picked up the formation flags and refined them one by one.

But after refining was complete, he discovered nothing special.

This made sense. If simply refining could reveal the hidden space, the stall owner selling the formation flags would have discovered it long ago.

"Where exactly is it hidden?" Li Chang'an focused intently, examining the five formation flags over and over.

After a long time, he still found nothing.

He pondered briefly, then simply began infusing spiritual power into the five formation flags.

As the spiritual power increased, the flag surfaces began moving without wind, releasing some power as they swayed.

Four of the formation flags showed very weak power, as they were all too damaged.

However, one formation flag, though equally broken, released a trace of oppressive force that startled Li Chang'an.

"Could it be this one?" Li Chang'an pondered.

Without the prior divination hint, he might have thought this formation flag had once belonged to some extremely powerful formation array, retaining some residual power.

Such things were normal. Some treasures were extremely powerful when complete, and even after being broken down to fragments, remained incredibly strong.

"However, this formation flag doesn't seem particularly special either." Li Chang'an frowned slightly and examined it patiently.

He didn't know how much time had passed, and his eyes were becoming somewhat dry.

Finally, he discovered something different.

At the tail of the broken flag surface, there was a silver dot so small it was almost imperceptible.

Li Chang'an tested it with spiritual power, but the silver dot showed no reaction.

When he used his spiritual consciousness to touch it, he made a new discovery.

"It really is here!" Li Chang'an smiled.

Using his spiritual consciousness, he could see through that silver dot into a special space.

In that space, there were a full one hundred and eight palm-sized formation flags arranged, along with numerous precious materials needed for setting up formation arrays.

Li Chang'an saw a jade slip and immediately took it out to browse its contents.

"It really is the Cloud Mist Hidden Kill Formation. This jade slip records exactly its setup and usage methods!"

Li Chang'an's eyes lit up with joy.

Though he wasn't a formation master, this formation array was already complete and only needed to be set up according to the instructions!

Then Li Chang'an took out all the formation flags and materials, setting up the formation according to the jade slip's methods.

He worked busily for several hours, finally succeeding in setting up the complete formation array late into the night!

Having completed all this, Li Chang'an stood in the courtyard and concentrated his thoughts.

"Formation, activate!"

Instantly, clouds and mist surged.

The entire residence was shrouded in misty vapor, making it difficult to see clearly.

"According to the jade slip's description, this formation array uses materials superior to ordinary Cloud Mist Hidden Kill Formations, making it a masterpiece among first-tier formations!" Li Chang'an looked at the surrounding changes, very satisfied in his heart.

"Conceal!" He concentrated again.

All the clouds and mist disappeared instantly, as if nothing had happened before.

However, the formation array still existed and continued operating slowly.

This was precisely the special feature of the Cloud Mist Hidden Kill Formation, it could completely hide itself, undetectable to outsiders.

If someone didn't know beforehand and rashly entered it, even late-stage Qi Refining cultivators would meet their doom!

"The spirit stones needed to maintain the formation normally aren't many. Only when trapping and killing intruders does it require a large supply of spirit stones."

Li Chang'an now had considerable wealth and could fully afford the spirit stones needed for the formation's operation.

Next, he didn't rush into cultivation but took a rare half-day rest.

After all, with a grand residence and a protective formation, his constantly tense nerves could relax somewhat.

...

The next day, at dawn, Li Chang'an had just finished breakfast and was preparing to cultivate.

Suddenly, sounds of moving things came from the adjacent residence.

"Oh, I have a neighbor now?"

Li Chang'an remembered that no one had been living next door.

Soon, sounds of conversation arose.

When Li Chang'an heard one of the voices, his expression became strange.

"It's actually Luo Kun."

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