Before handing it in, he definitely had to take a look at it first. That way, he’d have some assurance and could at least explain himself when it got discovered.
Right before entering the formation, Liu Xiaolou asked, “The issue with passive illusions still isn’t fixed?” That was, after all, the reason Liu Daoran had to go back and make adjustments on his own.
“I’ve made some changes,” Liu Daoran replied. “Go in and take a look first. Once you’re done, we’ll compare notes, and then we’ll know how effective the adjustments really are.”
Passive illusions are different from active ones. A passive illusion is generated directly by the formation itself. Every person who enters sees exactly the same vision.
Active illusions, on the other hand, arise from the person’s own experiences, preferences, or fears. What each person sees is different.
The illusions produced by the Abyssal Blackstone Formation belong to the active kind. Green Bamboo, Yun Ao, Xiong Xi, and the others all saw thrilling scenes, but the characters and details within those scenes were never quite the same.
The Cloudscape Talisman Formation Disk that Liu Daoran had refined before was mostly active illusions. Only the part infused with Bewildering Fragrance created passive illusions. That section appeared identical to both Liu Xiaolou and him when they were inside the formation.
The reason was simple. Bewildering Fragrance only reached its full effect when combined with the cultivation method of the True Mysteries Scripture.
After Liu Xiaolou entered the formation, the mountain scenery he saw looked a bit like Fangle Peak. In the distance, mist curled around the mountains, and waterfalls plunged halfway down before dissolving into clouds. In this respect, Liu Daoran’s work was remarkably convincing.
But in the skies to the east and west, sections had collapsed, as if black curtains had fallen from above, failing to cover everything completely. Those gaps marked the places where the formation plate connected with the Three Treasure True Cloud Talisman and the Dispersed True Essence Talisman. Only by merging those two disks in could they form the complete Li Nine Palace Micro Formation of Northern Blackwater Formation.
Up to this point, everything seemed perfectly normal. But what came next left Liu Xiaolou utterly stunned.
The formation revealed a small stream. By the water grew clusters of reeds. At the ferry landing, a lone wooden canoe lay tilted against the bank, and on the pier stood a stone pavilion, exuding loneliness and desolation.
Once nested together with the other eight palace formation discs, these illusions would transform into all sorts of deadly killing moves. But…
The moment Liu Xiaolou stepped into the stone pavilion and turned his head, he saw the steep cliff at the bend of the riverbank. On the smooth, mirror-like cliff face, an incredibly vivid battle of magic was playing out.
It was fierce, rough, and incredibly violent!
At the same time, the sounds of heavy breathing and shrill screams echoed through the valley, completely drowning out the gentle murmur of the stream.
Liu Xiaolou was dumbstruck.
After only a short look, he quickly backed out through the eastern curtain of the sky and asked, “Brother Daoran, what you saw was…”
Liu Daoran, clearly nervous as well, said, “Was it… intense?”
The two of them then went over the details together: clothed or unclothed, standing or lying down, who was on top or who was underneath, and so on. After comparing notes, they realized that what they had seen was exactly the same. This was a textbook case of passive illusion.
But whether it was passive or active no longer mattered. The real issue was exactly as Liu Daoran had said: this was not something that could be shown to others.
Even Liu Xiaolou felt it was too indecent to look at, which spoke volumes about just how indecent it was.
“Brother Daoran,” he asked, “when you’re at home with your wife… is it really like this?”
“I'm ashamed…” Liu Daoran muttered.
“No wonder. No wonder you were the same way back at Phoenix Perch…”
“I'm ashamed…”
“It’s not really about shame, Brother Daoran. Your preferences are your own, and it’s not for others to judge. But weaving that into a formation disk is… well, let’s just say it’s a bit startling. What were you thinking? Couldn’t you have done something else? For example, start with a scene of sitting down to discuss the Dao, then bring in a dance behind a thin veil, movements faintly hidden and revealed, voices soft and melodious…”
“…It could… be like that?”
“Why couldn’t it?”
“Actually… I was planning to bring it home…”
Liu Xiaolou rubbed his face, then checked the time. It was already the end of the You hour (5:00–7:00 pm), and in four more hours their deadline for submission would arrive. With only that much time left, there was no chance to make any changes.
“There’s no way you’re taking it home. We’ll just use it as is, at least to get the job done.” Liu Xiaolou gathered the three formation disks, then hurried anxiously toward Fangle Peak. Looking back, he saw Liu Daoran still standing there in a daze and shouted, “Come on, with me!”
At the foot of Fangle Peak, more than thirty people were already waiting. Among them were several elders of the Zhao clan and the main stewards, standing tall with heads raised. The rest were formation masters, led respectively by Diao Daoyi, Xing Bujiao, and Fu Conglin.
For the past few months, Liu Xiaolou had been following Tang Song around, so he was already on familiar terms with most of the people here. Smiling, he squeezed his way through the crowd and offered to take the formation disks from the three senior masters. “Why don’t you hand them to me first? I’ll count them up.”
Once he started tallying, Jiang Feihe arrived with a group of formation masters from Stone Valley. They had brought the largest number of disks, which they likewise handed over to Liu Xiaolou.
After a round of counting, all the formation disks were accounted for, including the one he and Liu Daoran had refined. That one he quietly slipped into the Northern Blackwater Formation’s disks, placing it at the very bottom.
By now, night had fallen. Yet faint streams of light shimmered across Fangle Peak, and the bright full moon lit the mountainside below, so that each ridge looked as though it were draped in silver gauze.
Liu Daoran edged closer. “Brother…”
Liu Xiaolou pointed at the wooden chest by his feet. “They’re all inside. I put ours at the very bottom.”
Liu Daoran’s face was filled with worry. “I’m just afraid when it comes time to demonstrate…”
“There’s nothing we can do about that,” Liu Xiaolou said. “If we lose face, then so be it. At least they won’t dock our spirit stones.”
Liu Daoran shook his head in dismay. “I’d rather lose the spirit stones. Losing face like this… I really can’t bear it.”
Liu Xiaolou tried to reassure him. “Brother Daoran, that’s not the right way to look at it. Compared to spirit stones, losing a little face is nothing. Just laugh it off and let it pass.”
Right then, three figures came from the direction of the main peak of Jinting Mountain. Their feet didn’t seem to move, yet in the blink of an eye they had arrived. On either side were Master Tang and Master Long. The elder in front, Liu Xiaolou had never seen before, but since all the Zhao clan members were bowing to him, there was no need to ask. He had to be Zhao Yongchun.
This man was at the Nascent Soul stage, and his presence carried an oppressive weight that washed over them. Yet almost at once it faded, impossible to sense. Clearly because he was deliberately suppressing it so that these formation masters in the Qi Refinement stage wouldn’t be overwhelmed.
At the sight of this elder of the Jinting Sect, Liu Xiaolou, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, suddenly felt a pang of regret on behalf of Zhou Qiniang. If she had married him as a second wife, it actually wouldn’t have been bad at all.
Jiang Feihe, being a Golden Core formation master, was the first to receive Zhao Yongchun’s praise. After a few kindly words of thanks, Liu Xiaolou couldn’t tell if it was his eyes playing tricks on him, but it seemed as if the exhaustion Jiang Feihe had carried for months was suddenly gone, his face lit up with energy and excitement.
Zhao Yongchun then turned with a smile to express his gratitude to all the formation masters, before nodding toward Tang Song.
Tang Song looked over at Liu Xiaolou. “Is everything ready?”
Carrying the chest in his arms, Liu Xiaolou stepped forward respectfully. “It’s all here.”
“Then shall we begin?” Tang Song asked Zhao Yongchun.