The Remains of a Superior Spirit Beast, the Thunder Frog with Spirit Severing Realm Strength
The sun sank in the west, and the distant mountains were dark as ink.
Deep in the tranquil bamboo grove, the Huai River flowed around the area. Ripples spread across the shimmering lake under the gentle caress of the breeze.
At the Huaishui Bamboo Pavilion, Luo Chuan sat quietly in a chair. He lifted his teacup, took a small sip, and listened as Li Muwan explained the mysteries of formations.
Li Muwan extended her slender jade hand and tucked the strands of hair by her ear into place. In a soft voice, she said:
"Formations come in many grades. Even the most basic formation master can use the power of formations to perfectly suppress cultivators of the same level."
"An intermediate formation master can withstand attacks from cultivators of a higher level, but only if they have special beast bones to serve as the formation core."
Li Muwan slightly raised her jade hand. Several fallen leaves on the table floated into the air, and under her control, she set up a low-grade formation around the pavilion.
Though the formation seemed to shift in countless ways, it was ultimately made from fallen leaves. Even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily shatter it.
If spirit stones were used to power the formation, its grade and capabilities could be magnified without limit, leaving cultivators utterly lost within it, unable to escape.
The Luohe Sect was renowned for formations and alchemy, especially its pills. Anything refined by the Luohe Sect was sure to be a fine product.
"If Senior wishes to learn alchemy and formations, he will need to start from the beginning. After all, these things depend on talent."
Luo Chuan's talent was indeed exceptional, but he had never studied alchemy or formations. So making him a formation master would not be as simple as it seemed.
Luo Chuan set down his teacup with an easy, refined air and looked at Li Muwan before him. Calmly, he said, "Just tell me what to do."
"Wan'er will give it her all."
Li Muwan slowly rose to her feet. She lifted her jade hands and formed a seal at her chest, then summoned several black flags.
They appeared in a square formation around the pavilion. Under Luo Chuan's gaze, she planted them in the ground around it.
Yet Li Muwan did not stop there. She used spirit stones as the formation core, raising the formation to an even higher level.
"The formation has now been reinforced. It should be able to withstand a Core Formation cultivator, but against a cultivator like Senior, it would be practically useless."
Luo Chuan gave a slight nod. He merely raised one finger, and the formation before him vanished in an instant. It was proof enough that in the face of absolute strength, a low-grade formation was practically useless.
Li Muwan handed her flags to Luo Chuan and said softly, "Senior, you can give it a try. You should be able to create a high-grade formation with my flags."
Luo Chuan took the flags Li Muwan offered and held them in both hands before his chest. He touched his index fingers and thumbs together, forming a diamond shape, then murmured, "Appear!"
As soon as Luo Chuan's voice fell, the flags appeared around them once more. Under the spiritual power of a Spirit Severing expert, the energy in the area surged outward like raging waves. Wherever it passed, the air itself seemed to twist.
Feeling the energy fluctuations permeating the air, Li Muwan was astonished. I can't believe Senior Luo Chuan succeeded on his first try... Is this his talent?
Li Muwan had assumed that no matter how gifted Luo Chuan was, he still could not compare to formation masters who had practiced for years.
But after seeing his technique and movements, Li Muwan finally understood why Luo Chuan had reached the Spirit Severing Realm in his twenties.
With such extraordinary talent, surely there was no one else on the entire Vermilion Bird Planet who could match him.
Once the formation was fully established, Li Muwan hurried forward and raised her jade hand to gently feel the barrier.
After sensing the energy within it, Li Muwan turned around, her face full of astonishment. She looked at Luo Chuan and asked in disbelief, "Senior, have you really never practiced formations before?!"
Luo Chuan nodded, one hand behind his back, and calmly replied, "I haven't. I don't have time to study anything beyond cultivation."
Hearing this, Li Muwan became even more certain that Luo Chuan's talent had long since surpassed that of any cultivator in ages. Perhaps he would one day reach a peerless level.
He might even rule the entire Vermilion Bird Planet.
Luo Chuan looked at the formation before him, then turned to Li Muwan beside him and asked, "Miss Wan'er, could you reinforce the formation at my Hengyue Sect?"
Li Muwan looked at the formation veiled in clouds overhead. After a moment's thought, she replied, "The formation here was made by a Nascent Soul expert. This junior is only at Foundation Establishment... I don't have that ability yet."
Luo Chuan waved a hand indifferently and said softly, "It's fine. I'll help you from the side. Tell me what you need, and I can provide it."
"Reporting to Senior, high-grade monster bones are best suited to serve as a formation core. If Senior wishes to raise the protective formation here to the Spirit Severing Realm, we will need Flood Dragon bones or a superior spirit beast, among other things."
"That's easy enough."
Whenever Luo Chuan had broken through to a new realm, the system had rewarded him with all sorts of treasures and pills. Among them were the corpses of various monsters.
But Luo Chuan had never used those remains. He had kept them in his storage ring, ready to take them out whenever he needed them.
Luo Chuan thought for a moment, then swept his sleeve forward. In an instant, all the monster corpses he had once slain appeared here, including Desolate Beasts and several extremely precious Ancient Ferocious Beasts.
"This is a Desolate Beast, a Thunder Frog... Senior, you even have the corpse of such a ferocious beast."
Li Muwan stared at the lifeless Thunder Frog, visibly surprised. The Thunder Frog before them had reached the level of a superior spirit beast, and its cultivation had long been comparable to that of a Spirit Severing expert.
"With this Thunder Frog's help, this junior will certainly be able to reinforce the formation here for Senior."
Li Muwan clasped her hands behind her back and gave Luo Chuan a sweet smile. "But in this case, Senior will need to do the work himself. Wan'er can only guide him from the side."
Luo Chuan did not refuse. He had wanted to try it himself anyway. Even if he failed and the Thunder Frog's corpse were reduced to nothing, that would still be better than watching someone else do the refining.
"The Thunder Frog's bones should work in the formation you're setting up. But your cultivation is still shallow, and you can't control the formation's energy. I'll help you make it."
Li Muwan nodded happily. Then she took a dagger and a jade bottle from her storage ring and walked up to the Thunder Frog. "Senior may not know this, but the inner cores of monsters are extremely precious. An inner core from a superior-grade monster like this is especially hard to come by."