Round and round

"Little Chou, what happened? Why are you so flustered?" A booming voice rang out from the sky.

Just a few hours earlier, Lu Shang had effortlessly driven Wu Chou away, and Wu Chou had also learned something unexpected.

Yet even after Lu Shang let him go, he had not dared stop for a moment.

Lu Shang's uncanny escape technique had truly given Wu Chou a fright.

And that kick had involved practically no technique or cultivation art. Such a casual blow had sent Wu Chou flying over a hundred meters, coughing up blood, leaving him thoroughly shaken.

Not long ago, Wu Chou had flown to this island. Before he could leave it, he heard that voice from the sky.

Recognizing the familiar voice, Wu Chou instantly dropped to his knees.

"A-Ancestor!"

Wu Chou knelt with his back straight and looked up at the sky.

"Speak. What have you done during my seclusion? You look awfully flustered."

"Reporting to the Ancestor, during your seclusion, Little Chou employed a small trick and threw Kuixing Island into such turmoil that even the chickens and dogs knew no peace. Its barrier has now been breached. I imagine the Star Palace will have its hands full."

"Hahaha! Little Chou, you do have your uses!"

"B-but not long ago, I suddenly encountered someone who seemed to have inherited that traitor's legacy!"

"The traitor? Then why didn't you capture him, Little Chou?"

"His cultivation was not only a cut above mine, but his cultivation art was also bizarre. I could only withdraw first and wait until you emerged from seclusion, Ancestor, so I could report it and let you decide!"

"Good, good, good. Little Chou, you've finally made some progress. At least you aren't recklessly stirring up trouble anymore. In that case, there's no need to rush. We can seek him out after I emerge from seclusion!"

"The Star Palace will certainly investigate next. Come back first!"

"Yes, Ancestor!"

"Who's there?" Suddenly, the Extreme Yin Ancestor's tone changed, as though he had discovered something.

Boom!

After a tremendous crash, the surrounding area was almost razed flat, yet not a single figure could be seen.

"Ancestor, this is..."

The Extreme Yin Ancestor did not answer.

A moment later...

"No one? Forget it. Little Chou, hurry back!"

An hour later, a figure appeared above the island.

"So this is Ji Yin? Even without his true body here, the aura he gives off is almost on par with Revered Master Wanli, who is also at the Nascent Soul Stage."

It was none other than Lu Shang.

After dealing with Elder Gu, Lu Shang had concealed himself and caught up using lightning escape, then stayed several miles away to see what this Little Chou intended to do.

To his surprise, Wu Chou had done nothing but flee, which left Lu Shang rather disappointed.

"I thought a direct heir of a major power like this would have some ability. To think this was all he amounted to."

"But I didn't expect that old bastard Ji Yin to sense me even when I was concealed several miles away, with his true body not even here."

"It seems I still underestimated the power of the Nascent Soul!"

In an instant, Lu Shang vanished again.

Now that the matter on Kuixing Island was settled, Lu Shang did not intend to linger. Instead, he planned to make his final preparations for forming his nascent soul.

"Forming a Nascent Soul smoothly probably won't be as simple as Core Formation. I'll still need to prepare more."

"Forming a Nascent Soul isn't the same as Core Formation. Tianxing City probably wouldn't be a good place for it. The heavenly phenomena will be far greater and will inevitably alert the Nascent Soul elders in the Star Palace."

After much deliberation, Lu Shang ultimately still decided to visit Tianxing City once his preparations were complete.

Tianxing City was the Star Palace's best-defended stronghold and its final line of defense. After turning it over in his mind, he still decided to take a look.

"I'm not skilled in formations, but they're indispensable when forming a nascent soul. If I want to buy them, aside from the Star Palace, perhaps only those in the Chaotic Star Sea with relatively complete formation legacies will have what I need."

In the end, Lu Shang decided to first see whether he could purchase some formations, mainly to prevent anyone from disturbing him while he formed his nascent soul.

Half a month later.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, please come inside!"

Lu Shang nodded and strode into the room.

After taking his seat, Lu Shang briefly examined his surroundings before relaxing.

"Although they look just like ordinary furnishings and decorations to the naked eye, a sweep of divine sense reveals several small formations placed around the room."

"Even the plate on the table has a small formation."

"Elder Li, then I'll be direct. What I want is no low-grade trinket!" Lu Shang said bluntly.

"Of course. Our Red Moon Island is renowned for formations. We certainly wouldn't fob you off with low-grade formations, Fellow Daoist."

"As for the price, though..."

At those words, Lu Shang smiled and took out a Storage Bag.

"There are two thousand Spirit Stones in here. Consider them a deposit. Once the formations are ready, I'll pay the remainder."

With that, Lu Shang placed the Storage Bag on the table.

Seeing this, Elder Li drew the Storage Bag into his hand with spiritual power and examined it briefly with his divine sense.

"Now that the deposit has been paid, I hope your island's formations won't disappoint me!"

"Of course! I wouldn't dare guarantee anything else, but when it comes to formations, how many powers in the entire Chaotic Star Sea can rival ours?"

Hearing this, Lu Shang could only feel rather helpless.

If all he needed had not been a defensive formation and a formation that could suppress his aura, he would not have had to come here.

Originally, Lu Shang had intended to go straight to Tianxing City and purchase them from a power subordinate to the Star Palace, but after much consideration, he had abandoned the idea.

For the time being, Lu Shang did not want to enter the Star Palace's sights.

Buying such high-grade formations with cultivation like his would make his intentions obvious at a glance.

Although the Star Palace promised never to reveal its customers' private information, Lu Shang knew that merely meant they would not tell outsiders.

Once Lu Shang distinguished himself among the Star Palace's subordinate powers, he would inevitably draw notice.

Although Red Moon Island seemed to lie within the Star Palace's domain, it was actually a neutral power. Only here would Lu Shang's purchase records be secure.

When it came to formations, even setting aside the Star Palace, which had ruled the Chaotic Star Sea for over a thousand years, numerous sects and powers among the righteous path and the Inverse Star Alliance possessed formation legacies.

If not for their neutrality, Lu Shang would not have spent a fortune buying formations here.

Even so, Lu Shang was still somewhat curious about the little formations around him.

"In that case, let's settle on that. But would you mind if I examined these small formations around us, Elder Li?" Lu Shang asked.

Hearing this, Elder Li straightened. "Hahaha, of course not. They're only little trifles!"

At those words, Lu Shang dispensed with ceremony and began carefully examining the surrounding formations.

A short while later, Lu Shang had begun to form some ideas.

"Though these formations aren't high-grade, they're quite exquisite. May I ask which master arranged them?" Lu Shang asked curiously.

Before Elder Li could answer, someone suddenly barged in. "You have a good eye! This young lady arranged those formations herself. They dazzled you, didn't they?"

Hearing this, Lu Shang turned to look. She appeared to be a girl of barely sixteen, and was only a Qi Refinement cultivator.

Lu Shang frowned, wondering why such a strange child was here.

She had absolutely no sense of propriety.

But Lu Shang immediately noticed that Elder Li beside him wore a delighted expression, as though greeting an old acquaintance.