Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation

Before he came into contact with formations, Lin Mo had always thought they were among the hardest divine abilities to master in the cultivation world.

After all, despite the Azure Cloud Sect's vast resources and centuries of heritage, it did not have a single decent formation master.

The person most skilled in formations was reportedly the current Sect Master. Setting aside his cultivation realm, his attainments in the art of formations were actually not much different from those of Cloud Crane High Person.

Yet after reading the Basic Formation Diagram Guide, Lin Mo suddenly felt that the art of formations did not seem all that difficult.

Killing formations, defensive formations, confinement formations, maze formations, illusion formations, sword formations, spirit-gathering formations, sealing formations, trap formations, weakening formations...

He could actually understand all thirty-six formation diagrams recorded in the book. He had not found them difficult at all.

Could I be naturally suited to studying formations?

No sooner had the thought arisen than Lin Mo rejected it.

No one knew better than he did what he was made of.

Growing up, he had never been stupid, but at most, he possessed a little cleverness and considered things fairly thoroughly before acting. He was a far cry from being truly gifted.

Then where had this aptitude for formations come from?

It could only be because he had drunk the spirit spring water from the Treasure Gourd!

Oh, gourd, my gourd, you truly are my precious treasure.

Lin Mo was delighted, and his appreciation for the Treasure Gourd deepened further.

Once his delight passed, a wave of worry followed close behind.

Learning formations was easy, but actually setting up a proper one was anything but simple.

First, he needed to refine a Formation Disc.

The formation patterns corresponding to each formation had to be inscribed on a Formation Disc. The disc also served as the entire formation's central hub, positioned at the Formation Eye and controlling all its changes.

Then there were the Formation Bases.

Most of the formation diagrams recorded in the book belonged to the lower and middle grades of the ninth rank. Only two reached the upper grade of the ninth rank, and spirit stones were the most commonly used Formation Bases.

One was a defensive formation called the Diamond Wall Formation. Once set up, it could create a protective barrier that even someone at the peak of Foundation Establishment would struggle to break.

The other was more complicated: a compound formation constructed from a defensive formation and a maze formation, called the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation.

In terms of defense, the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation was slightly weaker than the Diamond Wall Formation, but it had the advantage of concealment.

Unless a cultivator at the Golden Core realm or above carefully probed with divine sense, no one could hope to discover its existence!

To protect the spirit field without exposing it, the Maze-Woven Golden Lock Formation is the only choice.

Lin Mo reached out to feel his Storage Bag and could not help sighing.

In a word, broke!

Setting up this compound formation perfectly would require at least two hundred and eighty spirit stones, preferably of the metal and earth attributes.

Spirit stones of other attributes would work too, but they would weaken the formation's power. Since this was Lin Mo's first attempt at setting up a formation, he naturally did not want it to have any flaws.

Lin Mo did not know the price of a blank Formation Disc, but he reckoned it would not be too expensive.

After all, the high-grade yellow tier Formation Disc he had bought at the Black Market last time had been worth around thirty contribution points. A blank Formation Disc was bound to be cheaper.

By that calculation, he might be able to complete the formation perfectly as long as he prepared three hundred spirit stones.

Steward Wang said my allowance would follow the standard for an Inner Sect Disciple. That means a hundred stones a month, plus an allotment of ten drops of spirit liquid...

Lin Mo silently worked through the numbers for a while, but ultimately shook his head.

Compared with Liu Xianzong, who received only nine spirit stones a month, his allowance was generous enough. But the sooner he set up the formation, the better. How could he possibly wait another three months?

In the end, he still had to find a way through the Black Market.

Tomorrow night, then!

Having made up his mind, Lin Mo stopped dwelling on it and began practicing the Evergreen Art and the Turtle Breath Art.

He remembered very clearly that both Cloud Crane High Person and the Sixth Elder had seen through his cultivation at a glance. Clearly, he still had a long way to go when it came to concealing his aura.

And then there was that cloaked young man of unknown origin...

The surface might seem calm, but hidden currents were surging beneath it. Only by seizing every moment to improve his strength could he gain a firm foothold in the Azure Cloud Sect!

Early the next morning.

Lin Mo took Lin Xiaohe and Qin Sang Sang to the Dining Hall for breakfast, then went to the Sect Affairs Hall to register Lin Xiaohe. He obtained a Clan Kin Token for her without any trouble.

Relatives and friends brought up the mountain by disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect were all known as clan kin. If they were found to possess a spiritual root, they too had a chance to join the sect and cultivate.

However, no spiritual root had been detected in Lin Xiaohe. She could only live in Lin Mo's Small Courtyard as clan kin and was not normally allowed to wander outside at will.

Notably, the larger courtyard Wang Qiuru had offered him had already been selected, and Servant Disciples had been assigned to clean it up.

Lin Mo was unfamiliar with the courtyard's former owner.

According to Wang Qiuru, that person had once rendered great service to the sect, but had unfortunately died in battle during an external campaign. The courtyard had fallen into disuse as a result and had never been reassigned.

Lin Mo was in no hurry to move. After saying goodbye to Wang Qiuru, he immediately took Lin Xiaohe back to the Small Courtyard.

With Qin Sang Sang tending the spirit field, Lin Mo hardly needed to do anything himself.

An occasional watering with a diluted drop of spirit spring water made the spirit plants flourish. Exceeding the sect's spirit plant cultivation quota was effortless.

What truly mattered to Lin Mo, of course, were the spirit plants he had grown himself in his backyard!

Since so much was at stake, Lin Mo had not even told Lin Xiaohe about them. Just as he had with Qin Sang Sang, he lied and told her the backyard was dangerous.

Although Lin Xiaohe was lively and restless, she understood what mattered. Sure enough, when Lin Mo went into the backyard, she did not follow.

Walking to the corner of the backyard wall, Lin Mo took one look and was instantly filled with joy.

They were ripe!

Both mutated fire spirit plants had borne bright red fruit, six in total. They looked brimming with spiritual energy and were particularly pleasing to the eye.

The twenty-one ordinary spirit plants had also yielded a plentiful harvest: thirty-three Fire Spirit Fruits and thirty Golden Coin Grass leaves in total. All of them gave off faint spiritual energy, leaving no doubt about their quality.

What surprised and delighted Lin Mo even more was that the fifteen Spirit Rice Plant seeds he had planted just yesterday had not only grown sturdy stalks overnight, but had even produced exceptionally plump ears of rice—ten ears per plant!

Ordinary spirit rice produces five ears per plant and only ripens twice a year. Judging by how these spirit rice plants look now, they'll be ripe by tomorrow at the latest...

As Lin Mo harvested the spirit fruits and herbs, he clicked his tongue in admiration.

As expected of spirit spring water enhanced by the Treasure Gourd's Spirit Infusion, watering the spirit rice plants with it had doubled the number of ears they produced.

Even the spirit rice plants' ripening cycle had shortened from half a year to two days!

Every spirit plant he was currently growing ripened in two days.

Perhaps they matured so quickly because their grades were too low, since they were all ninth-rank spirit plants?

Yet after mutating, the two Fire Spirit Fruit plants had reached at least the eighth rank, and their ripening cycle was still two days!

As for the ripening cycle, I'll find out once I get some higher-rank spirit plants to experiment with...

Lin Mo stopped dwelling on it. He put all the spirit plants he had harvested into his Storage Bag, then packed the withered plants into another Storage Bag and put it away.

Since he would be moving soon, Lin Mo did not plant another crop. Instead, he went straight back to the main room to prepare carefully for that night's trip to the Black Market.