The abandoned storage facility turned out to be exactly what we needed – a three-story building of weathered stone and rusted metal, tucked away in what must have once been a thriving industrial district.
Now it stood like a forgotten sentinel among its equally neglected neighbors, windows dark and loading docks empty.
Perfect for someone looking to avoid unwanted attention.
"The foundation's reinforced with jade-infused stone," Han Renyi explained as we made our way through a cleverly concealed side entrance. "Father says it was standard practice back when the Han family first built these warehouses. The jade helps maintain a stable rouqi field, which..." he trailed off as I nodded in understanding.
"Which makes it harder for others to detect any cultivation activities inside," I finished. "Smart. Your ancestors knew what they were doing."
The interior was surprisingly well-preserved, all things considered. Dust covered everything, yes, and there were signs of water damage in some corners, but the basic structure remained solid. More importantly, I could feel the faint hum of residual energy in the walls – not much by my standards, but probably impressive for this qi-starved world.
We settled in what had probably been some kind of office space on the second floor. The room was windowless but dry, with enough space for what I had planned. Most importantly, the jade in the walls was strongest here, creating a natural barrier against any spiritual sensing from outside.
"So," Han Renyi's voice echoed in our shared consciousness as I began unpacking the formation equipment we'd acquired on our way here. "Are you going to tell me why we needed these? Are you some kind of formation master?"
I had to smile at that. If he only knew about the nine levels of formation mastery and where I actually stood on that scale. "I wouldn't say I'm a master," I replied. "But I'm not too bad."
The detour to get the equipment had been necessary – without my usual tools, I'd have to make do with what was available in this world. The differences were... interesting, to say the least.The scribing brush was cruder than what I was used to, its qi flow adjustment mechanism more mechanical than spiritual. The measurement calipers looked similar but lacked the fine-tuning capabilities I was accustomed to. At least they had the usual copper and jade array anchors.
"It's like trying to perform surgery with stone tools," I muttered, examining one of the copper anchors.
"What was that?" Han Renyi asked.
"Nothing important." I laid out the tools in their proper positions. "Just talking to myself."
"What formation are you making?"
I smiled, though he couldn't see it. "You'll see."
“You believe this will work?” I directed the thought to Azure, keeping it separate from my connection with Han Renyi.
"The principles should remain valid," Azure replied. "While the local energy is different, the basic laws governing formation arrays appear to be consistent. Though we may need to make some adjustments for the reduced power density."
I nodded and got to work. The Qi Gathering Circle was one of the first formations I'd learned, and while I was only a Level 2 Formation Practitioner, I felt confident I could make the necessary modifications to both upgrade it and adapt it for this world's energy.
The basic pattern came easily – nested circles with inward-spiraling lines, each stroke precise despite the unfamiliar tools. But where a normal Qi Gathering Circle would have simple containment barriers, I added resonance chambers at key points. The spacing between spiral arms needed to be wider to account for the thinner energy, and I included additional stabilization arrays to prevent collapse.
"The energy density here is approximately one-tenth of what we're used to," Azure noted as I worked. "Perhaps we should add a compression matrix to the outer ring?" ꭆãƝоBƐś
“Good idea,” I thought back. “And maybe link it to those resonance chambers we added? Create a feedback loop to amplify the gathering effect.”
"Agreed. Though be careful with the power ratios. Too much amplification could destabilize the entire array."
From Han Renyi's perspective, I probably looked like I was in some kind of trance, my hands moving with practiced precision as I laid down line after line. He remained quiet, which I appreciated. Nothing worse than being interrupted in the middle of delicate formation work.
The final touch was a set of emergency release valves – if the array gathered more energy than it could safely handle, better to have it disperse harmlessly than explode.
When I finished, the formation covered most of the floor in an intricate pattern of copper-infused ink. It wasn't my best work – the lines weren't as smooth as I'd like, and some of the angles were slightly off due to the crude tools – but it would serve its purpose.
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"Alright," I said, straightening up. "Let's see if this works."
I channeled a small amount of energy into the array's activation point. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the lines began to glow with a soft blue light. The light flickered dangerously, and I felt Han Renyi's consciousness tense in anticipation of failure.
But then the resonance chambers kicked in, creating the feedback loop exactly as planned. The flickering stabilized, and suddenly the air in the room felt heavier, denser with spiritual energy.
"This... this is incredible!" Han Renyi's voice was filled with awe. "I can feel so much rouqi gathering. If I had access to something like this when I was breaking through to Tier 1..."
I smiled at his reaction. I didn't blame him – this was probably more concentrated spiritual energy than he'd ever experienced in his life. Even with the world's natural energy being so thin, the formation's amplification and compression effects were working better than I'd hoped.
My status information updated automatically:
Soul Essence: 500/1250
Spiritual Essence: 750/1100 (Recovering)
Physical Essence: 350/1150
Perfect.
At this rate, my spiritual essence would be fully restored within the hour, by then I should be done with my preparation.
"What's next?" Azure asked, though I suspected he already knew the answer.
“Something that will probably terrify our new friend,” I replied with mental grin.
I selected one of the sturdier branches from the materials we'd gathered, using a small application of qi to strip away the bark and polish it to a smooth finish. Then, with careful precision, I began sharpening one end into a makeshift scribing tool.
"What... what are you doing?" Han Renyi asked as I began inscribing the first rune onto our body.
"Adding some necessary upgrades," I replied calmly, focusing on getting the strokes of the Blink Step rune perfect on our left leg.
The branch wasn't ideal for such delicate work, but I had enough practice by now that whilst I might not be as proficient as Elder Molric, I was confident in completing each rune in under three minutes.
"Those markings..." Han Renyi's voice held a note of growing horror. "Those are demonic cultivation marks!"
I had expected that reaction. In most cultivation worlds, anything involving blood or body modification tended to get labeled as demonic pretty quickly.
"They're not demonic," I assured him as I moved on to inscribing the Vine Whip rune on the back of our right hand. "Just... unconventional."
"But... but I've heard stories about demonic Rouqin!" he protested. "They carve symbols into their flesh to gain unnatural powers, corrupting their bodies and souls until they become monsters!"
I had to pause at that. "Tell me more about these demonic Rouqin."
The story that came pouring out was grimly familiar – cultivators who sought power through forbidden means, sacrificing others to fuel their advancement, their bodies twisted by dark energies until they barely resembled humans anymore. Pretty standard stuff for any cultivation world, really.
"And they all have marks like these?" I asked, genuinely curious as I began inscribing the Titan’s Crest on my left hand.”
"Well... no," Han Renyi admitted. "Their marks are usually more... elaborate? With lots of curves and spikes. And they glow with an evil red light..."
I had to suppress a chuckle at that last part, especially since I was about to activate the runes with red sun energy. That was going to be fun to explain.
"I promise you," I said as I finished inscribing the Explosive Seed rune on our index fingertip, "I'm not a demonic cultivator. These marks are more like... helpful reminders. Training aids, if you want to think of it that way."
"Training aids don't usually require carving into your flesh," he pointed out.
"True," I conceded. "But desperate times call for desperate measures, and we're about to go up against a Tier 2 Rouqin. We need every advantage we can get."
He fell silent at that, though I could still feel his unease. It didn't help when after inscribing the Woodweave Seal onto my chest, I began channeling red sun energy into the runes, making them glow with exactly the kind of "evil red light" he'd just mentioned.
"Master," Azure spoke up as I finished activating the runes, "what's next?"
“Something I'd hoped to never experience again,” I frowned. “Time for another round of Tri-Essence Harmony.”
Converting soul essence to physical essence wasn't any more pleasant the second time around. The pain was still intense enough to make me wonder if I was actually dying, but at least I knew what to expect now. Small comfort when every bone in your body is being remade from the inside out.
Han Renyi's reaction to watching his body literally break and rebuild itself was... entertaining, in a dark sort of way. His consciousness recoiled in horror as muscles tore and reformed, bones cracked and strengthened, and skin became denser and more resilient.
"What... what are you doing to my body?" his mental voice was somewhere between terror and fascination.
"Improving it," I managed to reply through gritted teeth as another wave of transformation wracked our shared form. "Trust me, you'll thank me later."
The process seemed to take forever, though Azure assured me it was only about fifteen minutes. When it was finally over, I lay panting on the floor, our new body gleaming with sweat in the formation's blue light.
Status Update:
Soul Essence: 150/1250 (Critically Low)
Spiritual Essence: 1100/1100 (Fully Recovered)
Physical Essence: 1150/1150 (Fully Recovered)
"Take a look," I suggested to Han Renyi once I'd caught my breath.
I stood and moved to examine our reflection in a dusty window. The changes were dramatic – where before we'd had the build of a lean athlete, now we looked like we'd spent years training as a warrior.
"This... this is impossible," Han Renyi whispered. "My body... how?"
"I promised you power," I reminded him, testing our enhanced strength with a few basic movements. "And it's power you'll get. Though I recommend some serious training once you have control back – all this potential won't mean much without the skill to use it properly."
"It's time then?" he asked, and I could feel his thoughts turning to his father. "Can we save him now?"
I nodded, already planning our approach. With fully restored spiritual essence, enhanced physical capabilities, and my full array of techniques available thanks to the new runes, we stood a much better chance against Zhou.
"Yes," I said, gathering our equipment. "It's time to show Elder Zhou why he should have left your family alone."
"But..." Han Renyi's voice held a mix of hope and concern, "he's still a Tier 2 Rouqin. Even with all these improvements..."
"Don't worry," I assured him, choosing not to mention just how dangerous this was actually going to be. "I have a plan. Several plans, actually. And if those don't work..." I grinned, letting a little red sun energy flare in our eyes. "Well, that's what Plan Z is for."
I took one last look at the Qi Gathering Circle, its blue light fading away.
"Ready?" I asked both Azure and Han Renyi.
"Always, Master."
"As I'll ever be..."
"Then let's go crash a meeting."
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