December 22nd, the Winter Solstice.
Heavy fog.
Tiger Perch Mountain, a villa halfway up the mountain.
Jiang Ning stood at the edge of the villa's second-floor terrace, looking down at the mist-shrouded forest below.
After Shao Shuangshuang chose the villa, money paved the way. Following a series of procedures, the villa was swiftly transferred into her name.
In a small city like Yuzhou, a villa worth over ten million was practically a top-tier residence.
Only Yuzhou's wealthiest magnates could afford to buy one.
Living here was enough to qualify someone as "upper class."
Although the house was registered under Shao Shuangshuang's name, she had never thought of claiming it for herself. As soon as the paperwork was complete, she hired someone to clean the villa, drove to find Jiang Ning, and handed him the keys.
"It's time to activate the Formation," Jiang Ning murmured.
The materials for the Spirit Gathering Array were not rare, merely numerous. With Shao Shuangshuang's help, he had already gathered them all.
The seven array corners across Tiger Perch Mountain had all been set. Only activation remained.
He had waited months for this moment, and now the arrangement was finally complete.
Activating the Spirit Gathering Array would likely alarm half of Yuzhou, but that could not be avoided. Nearly every Spirit Gathering Formation Jiang Ning knew of created such a disturbance.
Gathering the Spiritual Energy within a radius of dozens of miles would inevitably draw attention, prompt investigations, and might even affect his future contract for Tiger Perch Mountain Forest.
In truth, the better choice would have been to wait until he obtained the contract for Tiger Perch Mountain Forest before activating the Formation.
But that would require Evergreen Liquid Group to grow stronger, then negotiations with the Yuzhou authorities and all sorts of procedures. It