Chapter 071
Chapter 71: Formation Daoist
The reception of the Frost Radiance Sect disciple was low-key. Wang Jie stood behind Jun Hua and Yu Dong, with only a few guards around—just him and Ming Xu.
They waited in quiet anticipation. Before long, a sleek, technologically advanced flying craft glided through the sky and landed outside the imperial palace. Two women disembarked from the craft, dressed similarly to those from the Silver Radiance Imperial Capital—fashionable, stunningly beautiful.
“Yu Dong Jie, Jun Hua Jie!” one of the women called out, waving excitedly.
Jun Hua and Yu Dong were surprised. “Man Man?”
The woman ran toward them, hugging them tightly.
The other woman walked toward them with a smile.
Jun Hua, holding Man Man, exclaimed, “How is it you?”
Man Man grinned mischievously. “Surprised, aren’t you? I kept it a secret on purpose.”
Yu Dong flicked Man Man’s forehead. “You little rascal! You made us wonder for days, not knowing why a Frost Radiance domain disciple came here.”
Man Man stuck out her tongue and turned to look at the woman behind her. “Do you two recognize this senior sister?”
Jun Hua and Yu Dong glanced at the woman, both shaking their heads.
The Frost Radiance Sect’s star domain was vast, known for its Three Peaks and Four Domains, with disciples countless as stars. Though the inner disciples numbered only in the hundreds, not everyone could meet them.
Yu Dong’s expression grew serious as she observed the woman. Her cultivation was hard to gauge, but this woman was undoubtedly one of the top inner disciples.
She exchanged a look with Jun Hua, and before Man Man could speak, they both bowed in unison. “Yu Dong, Jun Hua greet senior sister.”
Man Man blinked. “Yu Dong Jie, you don’t even know her, how can you be sure she’s a senior sister?”
Jun Hua shot Man Man a stern look. “Don’t say such things.”
Man Man chuckled and grabbed the woman’s hand. “Senior Sister Jin Chu is really nice. No need to worry.”
Both Jun Hua and Yu Dong’s faces changed. “Senior Sister Jin Chu?”
“This is Senior Sister Jin Chu?”
The woman smiled at them. “Junior sisters, it’s been a long time.”
The two hurriedly bowed again. “We greet Senior Sister Jin Chu.”
“Greetings, Senior Sister Jin Chu.”
Jin Chu helped them up. “We’re all sisters here, no need for such formalities.”
“Jun Hua Junior Sister, your Silver Radiance Empire is quite impressive. The surroundings are wonderful, and the imperial palace is grand. What do you say? How about giving me a tour?”
Jun Hua quickly replied, “Of course, Senior Sister. It is an honor for Silver Radiance Empire to host you. Please, come inside.”
Jin Chu nodded, smiling as she walked ahead.
As the emperor, Jun Hua took a step slower than Jin Chu. This moment caught Wang Jie’s attention, giving him a deeper understanding of the current universe.
The Silver Radiance Empire, with its billions of inhabitants, considered Blue Star just an ordinary planet in the corner. To see such respect for a single inner disciple of a sect hinted at the power of that sect.
Yet, despite the Frost Radiance Sect’s strength, compared to the Armor One Sect, it seemed to occupy only a marginal space.
Wang Jie followed behind, listening to the conversation between the women as they spoke of life within the sect.
Soon, he realized something was off—the voices began to grow quieter. Though they were close, some things just couldn’t be heard.
He turned to Ming Xu, confused.
Ming Xu smiled at him and shook her head, not looking away.
Wang Jie had no choice but to follow.
A few days passed, and Wang Jie hadn’t received any instructions on what to do. The reason he returned from Slaughter Stone Planet was because Jun Hua said he might meet the Frost Radiance Sect disciples, thinking it would be an opportunity to broaden his horizons. Yet now, he found himself unable to meet them.
Five days later, Wang Jie was summoned to the imperial palace to meet Jun Hua. The two Frost Radiance Sect disciples were nowhere to be found.
“Wang Jie, do you know about Formation Dao?” Jun Hua asked.
Wang Jie shook his head.
“It’s fine if you don’t. I have a task for you, and I promise you will benefit greatly from it. The reward will come not only from Silver Radiance Empire, but also from the Frost Radiance Sect.”
Wang Jie didn’t know what the task was, but since Jun Hua had spoken, he couldn’t refuse. “Your Majesty, please give your orders, and I will do my utmost to complete them.”
Jun Hua was pleased with Wang Jie’s attitude. She didn’t care whether he was connected to the Armor One Sect or not. She had already extended a favor, and asking him to do something was not unreasonable. “Soon, a formation daoist will arrive to set up a formation. Your task will be to assist him—help him with the tasks he doesn’t wish to do.”
“During this time, you must stay here and not leave until I notify you.”
“Is that acceptable?”
“Formation daoist?” Wang Jie asked, surprised.
Jun Hua nodded. “I’ll explain later. You’re to assist him, nothing more.”
“I understand,” Wang Jie said.
Returning to his residence at Accompanying Lake, Wang Jie immediately searched for information on Formation Dao.
Soon, he found what he was looking for. Formation Dao was a method of linking various forms of cultivation power to unleash greater might.
Some believed that all powers in the universe originated from the universe itself. Since they shared the same origin, all powers—no matter how strong or weak—were inherently connected. It was the responsibility of a Formation Daoist to uncover these connections.
A Formation Daoist was someone who specialized in studying and practicing Formation Dao. Such individuals held high status, and often, what ordinary cultivators couldn’t achieve, a Formation Daoist could.
As Wang Jie read on, his amazement grew.
He had unlocked a whole new world. Not only did the universe contain cultivators and technological civilizations, but also a Formation Dao civilization, along with alchemy dao, artifact forging dao, and more.
These were the professions of cultivators.
“Lord, here is the new batch of sword tassels,” Cheng Qian arrived.
Without looking back, Wang Jie asked, “Cheng Qian, do you know about Formation Dao?”
Cheng Qian nodded. “I’ve heard of it, and I’ve even seen it. Are you asking about something that happened two hundred years ago?”
Wang Jie was puzzled. “What event?”
Cheng Qian explained, “It seems I misunderstood. Two hundred years ago, a cultivator who had suffered a misfortune in the empire inadvertently became a Formation Daoist. Despite only being at the ten-imprint level, he used Formation Dao to bury two star-breaking realm experts. Though he died later, his actions weakened the empire’s power. If the Emperor hadn’t returned, the empire would have had no strong star-breaking realm experts.”
Wang Jie was stunned. “What about the Old General?”
“The Old General has been traveling abroad and only returned in the past few decades.”
Wang Jie asked Cheng Qian to find more details on the incident, but it had been sealed by Silver Radiance Empire. Even with access to Accompanying Lake residence’s resources, he couldn’t retrieve the information.
Despite not being able to view it, the thought of someone at the ten-imprint level killing two star-breaking realm experts was unimaginable. While Silver Radiance Empire’s star-breaking realm experts might be the most ordinary, even the weakest would still be hard to defeat with only Ten Seals.
Wang Jie had never fought a star-breaking realm expert but estimated that he could battle one, though not kill two.
Yet, he had been able to defeat Shu Mu Night, a universe-renowned genius, at the eight-imprint level. A typical ten-imprint cultivator would not stand a chance against a star-breaking realm expert.
Formation Dao, huh?
Wang Jie thought he was the only one tasked with this mission, but over the next few days, he realized otherwise.
Ming Xu was gone.
She couldn’t be found.
Soon, all the ten-imprint cultivators in the imperial palace disappeared, and many cultivators outside the palace were also gone, with no word on where they had gone.
Even with Accompanying Lake’s authority, Wang Jie couldn’t trace them.
Gradually, he began to suspect something.
It seemed that being asked to assist the Formation Daoist wasn’t because they needed him, but because no one else was available. The Silver Radiance Empire was preparing for something major.
On the surface, everything seemed unchanged, but behind the scenes, something was clearly in the works.
Wang Jie didn’t continue investigating—there was no way to, and it was better to stay at Accompanying Lake residence and focus on his cultivation.
After another ten days or so, he received coordinates from Jun Hua to meet the Formation Daoist.
Wang Jie boarded a private spacecraft and traveled to the designated location.
“At your service, Wang Jie, is here to welcome senior,” he greeted, bowing as he saw a small, bearded old man disembark from the craft.
The man appeared to be in his fifties, his expression haughty with a hint of lewdness. His two mustaches were comically shaped like the number eight. “Hm, ten-imprint?” he muttered.
“Yes.”
“Silver Radiance Empire’s ten-imprints, well, it’ll have to do,” the man said, walking toward Wang Jie’s spacecraft and inspecting it. “Not bad, this spacecraft of yours.”
Wang Jie smiled. “If the senior likes it, you can take it. It would be my honor to gift it to you.”
The man looked at Wang Jie, nodding slightly. “Not bad. Your attitude is good. Wang Jie, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Mu Ran.”
Wang Jie praised, “A good name. Truly worthy of a Formation Daoist master. Only such a name suits the aura of a master.”
On Blue Star, Wang Jie had worked as a guide for two years. As a guide, saying the right words to please the employer was a required skill, especially since his fees were high.
“Hahaha, let’s go,” Mu Ran said, stepping into the spacecraft. Wang Jie smiled, realizing this man had already taken command of the ship.
The spacecraft ascended, heading into space, with Mu Ran guiding the direction. Wang Jie didn’t know their destination yet.
Mu Ran toured the spacecraft and shook his head. “Looks fancy on the outside, but the inside is quite ordinary. I misjudged it. You can keep it.”
Wang Jie laughed. “If the master needs it, I can contact the Emperor and have one custom-made for you immediately.”
Mu Ran, coming from Frost Radiance Sect, wasn’t someone Jun Hua would scrimp on.
Mu Ran responded, “Let’s get to business.” He sat down, glancing at Wang Jie with arrogance. “Do you know what you’re supposed to do?”
Wang Jie shook his head. “I leave it to the master’s instructions.”
“Do you understand Formation Dao?”
“I don’t.”
“A small place, huh? Nothing at all?”
Wang Jie helplessly replied, “I’ve lived in a small place my whole life. If not for this opportunity from the Emperor, I would never have encountered a Formation Daoist, let alone understood Formation Dao. I fear I can’t keep up with the master’s wisdom, so please guide me.”
Mu Ran waved his hand. “You’re attitude is good. I’ll teach you slowly. Just follow my instructions.”
“Thank you, master.”
“Not understanding Formation Dao is fine. It’s only troublesome when people pretend to understand. You don’t have that problem. Alright, I’ll give you a simple explanation.” Mu Ran took out two black, shiny stones, each an irregular shape with many smooth faces.
“This is a star sealing stone. It can seal star force or other powers inside.”
“Don’t mistake it for a star artifact. Star artifacts can unleash star force. This stone doesn’t just trap the star force inside, it can also operate autonomously, as long as it has power.”
He took out another star sealing stone. “The so-called power comes from external stimuli, like this.”
At that moment, to Wang Jie’s astonishment, one star sealing stone emitted star force, hitting the other star sealing stone, which responded by releasing star force in return.