"One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones..?!"
Li Xuanfeng felt around in his storage pouch at his waist, somewhat embarrassed. He knew that the amount of Spirit Stones he brought from home fell short of this number.
Hesitating to speak out due to his financial constraints, he saw Liu Changdie smiling in amusement.
"That's just the market price. For my part, a hundred Spirit Stones will suffice."
"Seriously?!"
Li Xuanfeng's face lit up with both surprise and skepticism, observing Liu Changdie's confident demeanor.
Twenty Spirit Stones is no small amount, it's the income of my family for three to five years, along with the entire liquid capital of an ordinary cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Realm. Although formation masters are generally well-off, it's unusual for them to be so generous! This person is courting my family's favor...
It seems my fourth uncle is indeed highly sought after in the sect... First, the Moon Lake Peak disciple personally disembarks to befriend me, and now Liu Changdie eagerly pleases our family...
With this in mind, he weighed his options in his mind. He knew his family urgently needed this defensive formation and seeing the young formation master's expertise, Li Xuanfeng saw the benefit of making this connection—both for himself and the other party.
Acknowledging Liu Changdie's intentions, he spoke with a smile. "The Li family will remember this kindness! Once this is completed, should you visit Moongaze Lake, you are welcome to stay with my Li family and let us extend our hospitality."
Liu Changdie was waiting for just such a response, visibly delighted. He nodded eagerly and promised grandly, "Of course! Should your family have any future needs for formations, feel free to seek me out! There won't be prices lower than mine in the entire Lixia Prefecture."
Both parties, each with their own thoughts, were quite satisfied; one had secured a low-cost formation master for his family with mere words, and the other successfully invested in the Li Family while they were still rising. Pleased with each other, Xiao Yongling, having become a mere backdrop to their discussion, continued to sip his tea with a smile.
"I'll go prepare the materials right away. Please wait a moment, Brother Xuanfeng, I'll be back shortly!"
With that, Liu Changdie cupped his hands and flew off with the wind, leaving the two to enjoy their drinks on the peak in newfound silence.
Xiao Yongling, smiling at a contemplative Li Xuanfeng, remarked, "This man knows a great deal about your family!"
"Indeed... I've been wondering too." Li Xuanfeng replied with a nod. "The elders in my family are not ones to gossip; it stands to reason that my fourth uncle would not spread such matters. Although Liu Changdie's formation skills are impressive, his mannerisms and speech suggest he's an average person; but since I was born after my fourth uncle had returned to the sect, I'm not too familiar with the intricacies, making it hard to discern such matters."
After hearing Li Xuanfeng's response, Xiao Yongling pondered for a moment before placing down his tea cup with a laugh.
"It's clear he genuinely wants to form a bond... Your Li Family can use his skills, so it's merely a matter of mutual benefit."
"That's what I was thinking." Li Xuanfeng nodded in agreement.
After some more conversation and the sky gradually darkened, Liu Changdie finally returned.
"Let's not delay any further; we should set off now!" he suggested energetically.
Li Xuanfeng stood up to leave right away and Xiao Yongling, with a parting smile, gave him warm words of reminder.
"Don't forget the jade slips I'm sending back to Brother Tongya!"
Li Xuanfeng assured him of his promise, and after bidding farewell to Xiao Yongling, they took to the wind, heading west.
After flying for several hours through the night, chatting and laughing, they finally landed in Mount Lijing.
Upon landing, Liu Changdie looked around curiously, his expression one of sheer excitement. He could not help but ponder to himself.
Li Tongya the Celestial Moon Sword has yet to achieve the Foundation Establishment Realm... I wonder if he's on the mountain? Meeting him would be ideal!
He then looked up to see a young man in his twenties emerging from a door, looking somewhat surprised. He greeted them without missing a beat.
"Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am Li Xuanxuan of the Li Family."
"No need for formalities... Liu Changdie of Lixia Prefecture, greetings!"
Liu Changdie cupped his fist and scrutinized the man before him, finding him somewhat reminiscent of Li Yuanjiao from his memories.
"This is Liu Changdie from the prefecture, a renowned formation master here to set up a formation for us," Li Xuanfeng explained.
Li Xuanxuan quickly understood the situation, politely inviting him inside and serving tea.
"I'll go and get Second Uncle."
————
"Hm?"
Just as Liu Changdie arrived at the back mountain, Lu Jiangxian uttered a light exclamation, putting down the unformed mass of Supreme Yin Moonlight in his hands.
Dissipating his physical form, he transformed his divine sense from within the mirror into something formless and intangible, swirling around Liu Changdie.
"There's... a scent of talisman qi." Lu Jiangxian articulated. With a sweep of his divine sense, Liu Changdie's six chakras and three orifices were laid bare as though unguarded. It transformed from the Profound Scenery Chakra to the Nascent Spirit Chakra, all minutely detailed yet without any anomalies.
"How very odd!"
Lu Jiangxian frowned slightly and pointed sharply at Liu Changdie, his divine sense immediately flooding into his Shenyang Mansion—the main soul hub in the body. A series of fleeting images flashed before his eyes, and a phantom silver shadow emerged.
"The Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman..."
Lu Jiangxian felt around and, after observing the entirely bright silver characters, slowly recited, "Extending into the future, calculating the mysteries, measuring past connections and future continuations, governing things yet undecided..."
This Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman was not within Liu Changdie's body but indicated that Liu Changdie had likely come into contact with the Profound Talisman, having been influenced by it. Lu Jiangxian mobilized the remnant talisman qi within him, and a series of images promptly appeared before his eyes.
Included were scenes of people weeping, calamities and locust plagues, the annihilation of immortal clans, and the ravages of demonic disasters... Everything seemed logical, as though Liu Changdie himself had truly experienced these events only to awaken from a grand dream, returning to his twenties or thirties.
"This Profound Talisman has fabricated over seventy years of memories for him, all derived from current events by the Profound Talisman and not because Liu Changdie traveled back in time! If it involved the power of time, it's doubtful that the talisman qi could achieve such a feat!"
Even Lu Jiangxian from centuries ago might not be able to traverse time... let alone talisman qi.
Lu Jiangxian gathered this lingering energy gently in his hand, leaving only a trace of fleeting images in Liu Changdie's Shenyang Mansion.
"This segment of memory is your chance; this power of deduction was originally mine, so I'll take it back."
Although Lu Jiangxian possessed a powerful divine sense, he lacked the skill to modify someone else's memories. Without the residual talisman qi in the Shenyang Mansion, he couldn't even access another's memories, much less interfere with Liu Changdie.
Since the memories contained no trace of himself, he left them be.
"It's just that this person's memories lack any trace of talisman qi... and it's unclear where he came into contact with such miraculous talisman qi. Such qi, at the very least, requires the Golden Core Realm to obtain... It would be best if I could acquire it!"
As Lu Jiangxian's divine sense withdrew, Liu Changdie felt a chill on his back as if a cold breeze had brushed against him. His hand trembled slightly with the tea bowl, but he was unable to pinpoint the anomaly.
Beside him, Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng suddenly stood up respectfully, bowing their heads. Liu Changdie looked up to see a middle-aged man approaching from outside the courtyard.
This middle-aged man was dressed in a simple and neat gray robe. He had long and relaxed eyebrows, lean cheeks, broad shoulders, and an air of mature stability. He carried a dignified presence and had a sword hanging at his waist, its shape concealed within its sheath.
Liu Changdie quickly stood up, cupping his hands respectfully. "Greetings from Liu Changdie of Lixia Prefecture, Senior!"
Li Tongya glanced at him, nodding slightly and smiling kindly.
"You are being too formal!"
Li Tongya took his seat while Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng followed suit, maintaining a proper posture without slackening. Liu Changdie, having encountered a renowned figure from his memories, was both excited and reserved.
Li Tongya observed Liu Changdie for a moment, noting his Qi Cultivation Realm was at the second heavenly layer. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, with an old-school demeanor, judging by how he called him "senior" right away.
Xuanfeng surely isn't one to fool around! This young man, despite his age, must have some talent in formations seeing how reserved he is. He is completely lacking the arrogance of the youth... probably an old soul in a young body!
With a gentle smile and a warm voice, he asked, "How do you plan to set up our formation?"