The formation soon dissipated as the talismans turned to dust. ．𝙘𝙤𝙢
Wu Long looked at the people who were sent by the princess and they felt a shudder pass through them, even while he had no reason to harm them. The sheer possibility of such a person setting his sights on them terrified these men.
Suddenly his hand flickered and a small bag similar to a coin purse went into their midst. They did not even get to react when it blew up and a powder, like a cloud of smoke covered them, as they tried to hold their breaths. But it was too late since that initial inhale they made when the bag blew up startling them was enough. They rapidly lost consciousness one after another, as they looked at Wu Long in shock and confusion.
“Is this what you gave me a pill against?”
Shen Min asked looking at the cloud of powder that slowly dissipated, as it either fell to the ground or was carried away by the wind.
“Yes, coupled with something they have been smelling for a while from the burning of the sect this will have a good effect, though if left alone they would wake up in about fifteen minutes. But this pill here will make them sleep for quite a while. There will be no worries about them dying from hunger or dehydration, but they will be sluggish for a few days after waking up”
He said, as he fed all of them a pill, and then started loading them in a pile on the carriage they brought spiritual stones with. He then drove that carriage to the town near the sect and handed them over as customers to the innkeeper, paying for their stay in full. He explained to the innkeeper how long they are going to be asleep and that they did not need any care apart from when they woke up and after adjusting their appearance left with Shen Min from the now nearly fully occupied inn.
He did not want the news of the Supreme Master Pavilion being wiped out to spread yet, as their supporters in the royal family had lust cultivators who could flee if they caught wind of it. But since they were the princess’s men, he only sedated them for a few days.
Wu Long and Shen Min then left for the nearest town from here as they could not catch a carriage in this town. Everyone fled after the massacre, including all carriage drivers. When they arrived in the town they hired a carriage and set off to the capital.
“That crimson lotus was so beautiful…is that a high-level combat skill?”
Shen Min suddenly said after a few minutes of riding. Her different-colored eyes glittered when she talked about the sight she saw. Unlike previously when she sat opposite Wu Long she was on his side now, as she leaned onto him.
“Heaven Transcending Lotus? Hmm, it is a skill created by one of my women, and my second sword teacher, Ye Ling. You’ll meet her later.
But it is a common misconception that there are high-level and low-level combat skills. Yes, technically some skills are more versatile than others, but ultimately it all depends on the user, as even the simplest ‘Tripartite Sword’, which only has three moves of slash, pierce and block can be a godly skill in the hands of a master.
My level of using the Heaven Transcending Lotus is quite high, but it is incomplete as she was not able to finish it… but she will now.”
Wu Long explained a little. She will gradually know more about him, as will his other women, but he did not want to make her too overwhelmed all at once.
Wu Long used the Heaven Transcending Lotus even when he reached his peak, and it was the technique he used the most with a sword. Ye Ling was the original creator, and her cultivation was actually closely tied to this technique, as she used to be an Armament Cultivator.
Armament Cultivators was a collective name for cultivation that requires one to choose one weapon as their life. They cultivated using their connection to a weapon of their choice. For example, Ye Ling was a Sword Cultivator, so her cultivation was tied to her understanding of the sword and? she could only advance in her cultivation if she achieved new heights in the sword. It was because she was not able to finish creating the 6th and 7th forms of the Heaven Transcending Lotus that she became stuck in her cultivation, and eventually reached the end of her natural lifespan.
Wu Long could not do anything for her back then, but it was different now.
“By the way, I thought formations required a lot of time to create. But you set that formation in such a short time”
After some time Shen Min asked as she remembered the formation he used.
“Hmm, there are a lot of types of formations for different purposes, but the main division is whether they are instant or permanent.
Instant formations are made using talismans or objects with arrays carved into them, which create a temporary formation. It could be set up and executed almost instantaneously but lacks stability, power and is not capable of being maintained for a long time compared to permanent formations.
Permanent formations make up for the deficiencies of instant formations but require a long time to set up, and a lot of resources. The arrays have to be inlaid in the terrain or building and not just set up on foreign objects.
The one I set up was an instant formation using talismans.”
Wu Long explained to her, and a question appeared in her eyes again.
“But your formation was so powerful”
“That is because it is a bit higher-level, it would still lose to a permanent formation of equal level. And I used the terrain to construct it, as there is no way for me to make such a formation without the help of the natural currents.
What actually enhances both types of formations is Feng Shui. Nature has its unique currents of Spiritual Qi and sometimes there are even cases where powerful natural formations created by nature itself would be discovered in a place with great Feng Shui. Using the surrounding nature to construct and enhance formations is what distinguishes good formation masters from amateurs. Though I would not call myself a formation master”
He said, and she looked at him strangely. ‘If he is not a formation master, who can claim to be one?’ was her thought.
Wu Long truly was not a formation master or a talisman master, but he greatly valued those two Daos since they did not require any natural talent. What they required was a sharp mind to understand the way of creating formations and talismans, as well as meticulousness, great observational skills, patience, and good memory, all of which he possessed and excelled at. This was one of the few fields in cultivation that he was not limited in by his poor natural talent in.
“Why are you saying that you are not a formation master?”
“Hmm formation, array, inscription, talisman, and symbol masters form a five-way star path of cultivation that is similar to Dao Cultivators since they require comprehension and knowledge and are known to be quite weak in general combat, but they also need large amounts of Spiritual Qi that Dao Cultivators lack, and could be incredibly powerful given enough preparation.
That path of cultivation is called Symbol Cultivation, and real masters of those five Daos come from that path of cultivation. While I am a Dual Cultivator in essence.”
“Hmm, why is Symbol Cultivation named after only one Dao? Are the others not unsatisfied with it?”
“No, they respect it since symbols are the foundation, there can be no arrays, formations, inscriptions, and talismans without symbols. Their cultivation also revolves around symbols, they form symbols from Spiritual Qi that float in their Dantian, or course through their meridians.”
Shen Min gradually digested his explanations and asked follow-up questions.
“Did you learn formations and talismans because of how convenient they are?”
Finally, she asked.
“Hehe, no. My initial impulse to learn them actually enrages any actual formation master when they hear it, I first took note of it when I noticed its potential for Dual Cultivation, as it allowed concealment. I prefer not to bother with the location when it comes to cultivating with beauties, as I like to act on my instincts. Though I soon started noticing their other benefits and then expanded my knowledge to more common uses like combat and surveillance.”
He chuckled and his explanation of why he started to learn such a useful profession caused her to start laughing as well.
“Speaking of acting on my instincts…”
Wu Long said after watching her laugh, and the hand that he was embracing her from the side with, went down from her shoulder to the forearm and then to her waist. It reached her buttocks and slightly squeezed it, as excitement ran through her and appeared in her eyes. She smiled at him seductively, acting purely on instinct, and he went in for a passionate kiss.