"Niece, what are you doing here?" Elder Li asked, pretending to be angry.
"Don't mind her, fellow Daoist. This girl is the youngest daughter of the Revered Master of Red Moon. I'll take her away right now," Elder Li said, turning to Lu Shang.
So she's the child of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. No wonder she's so brazen.
Lu Shang turned to see a girl with skin as white as snow and long, sleek black hair, wearing a crimson short-sleeved top, come skipping through the door.
The girl wore a smile, and a faint fragrance drifted from her with every movement.
On her innocent, adorable face, that smile looked all the more lovely and enchanting.
"It's fine. No harm done," Lu Shang said with a smile.
Seeing that nobody was paying attention to a "Formation Grandmaster" like her, the girl clearly began to sulk.
"I'll have you know, all these formations are my masterpieces. Well? Astonished by my exquisite formations, aren't you?" the girl declared smugly.
This girl looks barely twenty. Being able to make formations this intricate does show some talent, but if she wants praise from me, she won't get it.
After a moment's thought, Lu Shang decided to tease her a little.
"They're only average. I merely took a look out of curiosity. On closer inspection, they're nothing special!"
The crestfallen girl immediately slumped, staring down at the floor in disappointment.
Elder Li, standing beside them, saw what Lu Shang was up to and said, "Hahaha, fellow Daoist Lu, stop teasing my little niece."
"All right, all right!" Lu Shang readily agreed.
Only when she heard Lu Shang laughing did the girl realize he had tricked her.
"What! You're quite good-looking, so why do you tell lies?" the girl demanded.
Lu Shang smiled, not intending to stay any longer.
"I have other matters to attend to, so I won't linger. I'll return to collect the formations when the time comes!"
"Very well!"
With that, Lu Shang was about to leave, but the girl beside him reached out a slender, jade-like hand and caught his arm.
"You're not allowed to leave!" the girl told him angrily.
Lu Shang looked puzzled at being grabbed, unsure what she intended.
Seeing this, Elder Li immediately said, "Niece, stop making trouble."
The girl still refused to let go, as though she had made up her mind about something.
"No! He has to say my formations are exquisite before I'll let him leave!"
Lu Shang merely smiled. "All right, all right. Your formations really are remarkable. Happy now?"
Only after hearing Lu Shang's praise did the girl slowly withdraw her slender, jade-like hand.
Yet, to both Lu Shang's and Elder Li's surprise, the girl inexplicably began sulking again.
She folded her slender, jade-like hands across her chest and turned her head aside.
Then she puffed up her cheeks and pursed her lips.
Does this girl want to get something out of me as well?
Lu Shang studied her and confirmed his suspicion: she wanted to wring some benefit out of him.
Looks like she's been spoiled rotten.
But then, she's the only child of a Formation Grandmaster, and her father is a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. She's probably never had to swallow an insult in her life.
Her antics left Elder Li beside them thoroughly embarrassed, his aged face beginning to fall.
Elder Li walked over to the girl helplessly, saying, "Oh, my dear niece, stop making trouble. Let this big brother leave, all right?"
"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you afterward, all right?"
The girl refused to accept that offer, apparently determined to fleece Lu Shang of something before she would be satisfied.
"Hmph! It's this big brother's fault for tricking me just now. Unless he gives me something good, he's not allowed to leave!" The girl spared herself the trouble of hiding it and stated her intention outright.
She certainly is blunt! Lu Shang thought helplessly.
Over the past hundred-odd years, Lu Shang had slaughtered demon beasts and cultivators of his own rank as easily as chopping melons and slicing vegetables, yet faced with this little girl, he was at a loss.
She was only a mischievous girl not yet twenty. He could hardly greet her with a punch as he would a cultivator of his own rank, so for the moment, he had no way to deal with her.
By then, however, Elder Li had reached the girl's side and was about to take hold of her.
Unexpectedly, the girl moved to wrap her arms around one of Lu Shang's.
Lu Shang did not dodge, merely looking at her helplessly.
Looks like I won't be able to send her away without giving her something good.
Just then, Lu Shang suddenly remembered something he had stumbled upon not long ago while searching for Gold Devouring Beetles.
Perhaps that will get this girl off my hands.
Lu Shang unhurriedly took a book from his waist.
He waved the book in front of the girl, then let her get a clear look at its title.
"I happened to come across this book. Didn't you say you had extraordinary talent for formations? I'll give it to you. If you can comprehend some of it by the time I return, I'll give you a few strange, sparkling beads. How about it?" Lu Shang said to the mischievous girl.
Hearing this, the girl lowered her hands and looked up at Lu Shang. "What beads? Let me see. I've got plenty of ordinary beads."
Lu Shang found her genuinely adorable. Rather than keeping her in suspense, he took three demon cores of different colors from his waist.
Lu Shang laid the demon cores in his palm and held them out before her.
At first, the girl showed little surprise, but Elder Li beside her was astonished.
"Two demon cores from sixth-stage demon beasts and one from a seventh-stage demon beast!" Elder Li's eyes widened like bronze bells, and his mouth remained agape.
Even in the Chaotic Star Sea, where demon beasts abounded, demon cores were immensely valuable. Taking out three high-rank demon beast cores as rewards over such a trifling bit of mischief was truly rare.
No, this could no longer be called rare. It was completely unheard of.
Yet this absurd situation had happened, right before Elder Li's eyes.
"You must be joking, fellow Daoist. How can three high-rank demon beast cores be treated so lightly? Put them away at once!"
"Oh! Since I've already taken them out, how could I be joking? I swear that if this girl comprehends anything from this book by the time I return, I'll give her these three demon cores," Lu Shang declared solemnly.
These three demon cores meant little to Lu Shang. He had plenty like them in his Storage Bag.
These sixth- and seventh-stage demon cores could not compare to his one Eighth-Stage Demon Core. Besides, Lu Shang knew only a limited number of uses for demon cores, so he might as well give them away in quantity.
Moreover, besides these sixth- and seventh-stage demon beast cores, Lu Shang also had quite a few fifth-stage demon beast cores.
Demon beasts were inexplicably scarce in the Heavenly South. In fact, before returning there, Lu Shang planned to go stir up trouble inside the homes of a few old transformed demon beasts.
Even if he had little use for them himself, he could trade them for more Spirit Stones, magical treasures, and the like to give to his friends.
After listening to Lu Shang and Elder Li's conversation, the girl immediately realized that these little shining beads were immensely valuable and tried to jump up and grab them.
Lu Shang reacted in time, pulling back his hand and putting the demon cores into his Storage Bag before holding the Formation Book out before her again.
This series of movements flowed like drifting clouds and running water, leaving the girl thoroughly astonished.
"Let's be clear: if you can comprehend the formations inside by the time I return, I'll give you these beads. Do you agree?"
The girl answered immediately, "Yes! It's a promise."
"Good, it's a promise. I look forward to seeing what a Formation Grandmaster like you has comprehended when I return."
With that, Lu Shang handed the book to the girl, then turned and left.
The girl held the book in one hand and watched Lu Shang leave.
But Lu Shang did not let them see him off. After taking two steps, he vanished from the spot with a thunderous boom.
As for the Formation Book, it contained no low-level formations. Lu Shang had skimmed through it when he first obtained it, and most of the formations inside were suitable for Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators. Since she was a formation prodigy, he had simply decided to make a wager.
Thinking back, perhaps that cave abode had not been abandoned at all, but had been left behind because its owner could not return.
Before you continue