Chapter 667: Formation Structure

Yan Wang's surprised look didn't seem feigned, which also made Wang Daolong a bit doubtful: "Your Excellency Yan Wang, didn't you know about this before?"

"What do you know?" Yan Wang waved his hand: "I just had you go see what was going on; I didn't expect it would also drag out a Blood Path Ancestor."

Wang Daolong's face twitched, then he said: "Thus we too were imprisoned by the Great Sinful Sect's people; they now mean to do business with our Youming Jie."

"Do business?" Yan Wang stared, then grew interested, sitting up: "Tell me in detail."

"Yes...."

Wang Daolong related what had happened; Yan Wang thought carefully for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, anyway we're like this and indeed need outside help; give them a list, see what we can get in return."

"Yes."

"It would be best if they found some beautiful exotic monster‑race women to come over!" Yan Wang's somewhat licentious request made Wang Daolong's face darken, but he could only agree.

After Wang Daolong left, Ox Head and Horse Face stood aside, carefully watching Yan Wang: "Your Excellency Yan Wang, what exactly are you planning?"

"What are you planning?" Yan Wang shook his head: "I don't know, but I do know the final winner will surely be me!"

"Huh?"

Ox Head and Horse Face were utterly puzzled.

Not long after.

Yan Buji inspected the construction progress near the site chosen by the Great Sinful Sect, following Sect Master He Yun.

According to the plan, the area around this small mountain range is divided into nine plots, because we need to differentiate the various spiritual energies formed by the Demonic Spirit Vein, so their functions differ slightly.

He Yun looked at the map: "How should we bury the Demonic Spirit Vein for best effect?"

"This... I've never seen a Demonic Spirit Vein, so I don't know how effective it is. Sect Master, you should be able to sense it easily, right?"

"Hmm..." He Yun pondered: "Although the spiritual energy emanating from the Demonic Spirit Vein is chaotic, its purity is about the same as that of ordinary spirit veins. But following your suggestion to differentiate the spiritual energy, how should we proceed?"

"All that's needed is to set up a Spirit Gathering Formation, letting it absorb the Demonic Spirit Vein's spiritual energy, while not blocking the vein from absorbing external spiritual energy. The steps for differentiating spiritual energy are the same: according to the energy's nature, construct different formations to guide and absorb it." Yan Buji said.

Although Yan Buji only knows a little about formations, this basic knowledge isn't hard. Logically, a cultivator as strong as Sect Master He Yun should certainly know it.

"What if we directly construct an Immortal Spirit Gathering Formation?"

"An Immortal Formation?" Yan Buji hesitated: "But after the sect is built, we also need to set up a Protecting Sect Formation. An Immortal Formation consumes a not‑trivial amount of spiritual energy each day. Unless we can finish differentiating all the spiritual energy at once, the cost of maintaining the formation will still be a loss."

For a formation meant for long‑term use, the most important things are its functionality and stability. Although Yan Buji doesn't understand formations, he knows that the more powerful a formation, the higher its upkeep cost—not to mention that if something goes wrong, dedicated personnel would be needed for repairs, though he doesn't have to worry about that.

But if we stand in Sect Master He Yun's shoes, Yan Buji feels we naturally ought to consider these points. Although he appears to be a sycophant, having the proper doubts and criticisms is what puts people at ease.

Yan Buji looked at He Yun; he found this guy hard to read.

A normal cultivator either listens to all sides and becomes clear, or favors one side and stays in the dark. Simply put, pleasant words please some, but others also like to hear differing opinions.

But this person is strange; he seems to understand nothing, yet if he had no ability he couldn't have risen to the position of sect master.

Although it's possible that He Yun is an ascetic cultivator who has spent a long time untouched by worldly affairs, trading time for this great strength, he still couldn't possibly know nothing at all.

"If he were testing my ability, he wouldn't be asking me everything. Could it be that he became sect master in a rush?" Yan Buji found this strange.

Logically, Blood Path people wouldn't pick a good‑for‑nothing as sect master, would they?

"Yan Buji, Yan Buji?" He Yun shouted a few times, looking over strangely.

"Oh, sorry, Sect Master, I spaced out just now. What do you need from me?" Yan Buji said with a smile.

"I know a little about formations; if we could set up an Immortal Formation to gather and then disperse spiritual energy, wouldn't that be better than laying out separate formations?" He Yun asked.

"I don't understand formations at all." Yan Buji's face fell as he looked at He Yun: "Sect Master, if you were a formation master, you could just calculate the cost of separate versus unified layouts. Though this issue isn't major, the real problem lies in the ongoing maintenance cost and manpower calculations. You need to consider how many formation masters we have in the sect who could be assigned to manage these formations, so that if something goes wrong there's someone to handle it."

He Yun nodded: "That's right; then, if you say so, we could do without an Immortal Formation?"

"No Immortal Formation?" Yan Buji thought, then shook his head: "I don't know either; Sect Master, you handle it yourself."

He Yun looked troubled and said: "How about I teach you to lay formations, and you help me handle these matters?"

"Huh?!"

Yan Buji stared: "Sect Master, that's not okay—even if I had a talent for formations, I couldn't possibly lay down an Immortal Formation in just a few months; for a sect this size we definitely need a skilled formation master to set up the formations."

"Alas, the Great Sinful Sect hardly has any powerful formation masters; after studying for so many years I'm only a Seven‑Transformation Formation Master." He Yun sighed.

"Seven‑Transformation Formation Master?!"

Yan Buji's face twitched.

Although it's indeed few for a large sect, for an individual a Seven‑Transformation Formation Master is incredibly formidable!

Especially for cultivators who love to wander and adventure, they hope to befriend such formation masters—experts who specialize in breaking formations—so they can avoid a lot of trouble.

Yan Buji isn't unwilling to learn formations; it's just that he has spent decades, even centuries, on alchemy alone, not to mention having to study artifact forging, so he really doesn't have the time to learn other skills.

"How about this: I have a Formation Secret Explanation here; take it and read it first, and ask me anything you don't understand."

"Huh?!"

Yan Buji stared, never expecting the Sect Master to actually intend to teach him how to lay formations.

"What virtue or ability do I, Yan Buji, have to deserve such favor?"

Yan Buji naturally showed surprise and delight, immediately taking the ancient book and saying: "Thank you, Sect Master!"

"Well, having you learn formations isn't so you can lay them yourself, but rather so that if any formation in the sect runs into trouble later and I have no time, you can go check it out."

"Huh? Then why doesn't the Sect Master just invite a few formation masters to be retained? That would be more convenient," Yan Buji said with a puzzled look.

"Inviting others also costs money." He Yun waved his hand.

"Then you're not worried that my aptitude is too poor to learn it?"

"I don't get it."

So this is also one point Yan Buji doesn't understand about He Yun: sometimes he looks shrewd, but his actions leave people baffled.

Simply put, he passes up better, superior options and insists on doing thankless, laborious tasks.