Despite Azure's ominous prediction about encountering life-or-death situations on our journey back to the sect, the first few days were surprisingly peaceful.

The weather was mild, the roads were clear, no cultivators targeting our Elemental friend, and we hadn't seen a single young master looking to cause trouble. It was almost suspicious how smoothly everything was going.

That is, until Rocky started acting strange.

We'd been walking for around another four hours when I noticed the stone guardian's usually steady movements becoming increasingly erratic. He would take a few steps, pause as if confused, then stumble forward again. Liu Chen, perched on his shoulder as usual, had to repeatedly grab onto Rocky's craggy protrusions to keep from falling off.

"Rocky?" Liu Chen whispered into what looked like its ears. "Are you okay?"

The stone guardian's response was a low rumble that sounded more like shifting gravel than his usual attempt at speech. His massive form swayed dangerously.

"Something's wrong," Lin Mei said, moving closer to the pair. "He's never this unsteady."

I reached out with my spiritual sense, trying to get a read on Rocky's condition.

"Master, his qi – it's surging wildly. The pattern is similar to..."

"A breakthrough?" I finished mentally, examining the chaotic energy flows more carefully.

"Yes. All those spirit-rich stones the Wei family fed him seem to have accelerated his cultivation. The energy is building up faster than his body can properly process it."

That explained the clumsiness – Rocky was essentially spiritual drunk on an overdose of high-quality cultivation resources. I quickly explained what I was seeing to the others.

"A breakthrough?" Liu Chen's eyes went wide. "Really? Rocky's gonna get stronger?"

Wei Lin nodded. "Makes sense. Those weren't ordinary rocks my family gave him – they were mining waste from spiritual veins. Even the dregs would be packed with energy compared to normal stones."

"Is it dangerous?" Lin Mei asked, watching as Rocky stumbled again, nearly crushing a small tree.

"Not exactly," I said, still monitoring his qi fluctuations. "But we should probably find somewhere safe for him to process all this energy. Preferably before he accidentally steps on someone."

As if to emphasize my point, Rocky let out another gravelly rumble and slowly began to curl in on himself. His normally distinct features started to blur and shift.

"It's okay!" Liu Chen called out to us, patting what was quickly becoming a more boulder-like surface. "He does this sometimes when he needs to rest. He'll be super strong when he wakes up!"

We watched in fascination as Rocky's humanoid form completely collapsed in on itself, leaving behind what appeared to be nothing more than a large, somewhat spiritually active boulder. Liu Chen hopped down and gave his friend's new form an affectionate pat.

"He'll protect us better than ever when he's done," the boy declared with absolute confidence. "You'll see!"

"Well," Wei Lin said after a moment, "I suppose that solves the problem of where to leave him. No one will look twice at another boulder by the roadside."

"But will he be okay by himself?" Liu Chen asked with a frown.

"An Elemental Guardian’s breakthrough is actually safer when it's alone," Lin Mei explained gently. "No distractions, no foreign energy signatures to interfere with the process. And Rocky's smart - he'll be able to find us at the way station once he's finished."

Liu Chen still looked uncertain, but nodded. "Okay... but we'll wait for him at the station, right?"

"Of course," I assured him. "He shouldn't take more than a day or two."

After carefully positioning Rocky-boulder in a defensible spot and marking it with a simple detection formation (courtesy of Wei Lin) to warn us if anyone approached, we continued toward the nearby way station.

When we arrived at the gates, I couldn't help but remember my last visit - the young master's casual cruelty, the mock duel that ended in murder, the way everyone simply accepted it as business as usual. The memory left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"That look on your face," Wei Lin said quietly as we walked. "You're thinking about what happened last time, aren't you?"

I nodded, not bothering to deny it. The image of Li Yuan's broken body being consumed by spiritual flame was still vivid in my memory.

"We'll be fine," he assured me. "We're Azure Peak disciples – no one's going to bother us unless they're from another major sect. And even then, they'd have to be really stupid to start trouble with fellow disciples so close to sect territory."

"Besides," Lin Mei added with a smile, "you're stronger now. And we know better than to get involved in young master drama."

They had a point. Still, I couldn't help but feel tense.

The guards at the gate barely glanced at our Azure Peak sect tokens before waving us through. Inside, the way station was bustling with its usual mix of merchants, travelers, and cultivators.

"Since we're here," Wei Lin grinned, "why don't we actually look around this time? Now that you're not completely broke..."

I touched the storage ring on my finger, where the eleven thousand spirit stones lay hidden.

The marketplace was a cultivation resource wonderland.

One stall displayed rows of spirit herbs, their leaves still gleaming with morning dew despite being preserved in special jade boxes. Another offered an array of formation flags and talismans. A third showcased cultivation manuals and technique scrolls, though I noticed most were fairly basic – the really good stuff would never be sold so openly.

As I wandered between the stalls, I couldn't help but notice how quickly my mental calculations of prices put things into perspective. Turns out even with eleven thousand spirit stones, I was still poor by cultivation world standards.

A single high-grade spirit herb could cost thousands of stones. Weapons? Tens of thousands, minimum. And don't even get me started on resources for the inner world.

"You're thinking about money," Azure observed.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You've got that same look you had when reviewing cultivation technique prices at the sect. You're trying to figure out how to increase your resources efficiently."

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He wasn't wrong. In this world, there were really only a few reliable ways to make serious money as a lower-realm cultivator.

Alchemy was probably the most common – creating pills and elixirs was always profitable. But the resource investment would eat through my spirit stones quickly, with no guarantee of success. Plus, if I messed up, the consequences could be literally explosive.

Then there were formations. Less flashy than alchemy, but potentially just as lucrative. Basic formations for security, storage, or enhancement were always in demand. The initial investment was lower too – mainly tools and materials for drawing and anchoring the formations. But the learning curve was steep, requiring a deep understanding of spiritual geometry and energy flow patterns.

"The runes from the Two Sun’s world," Azure pointed out, "they're essentially a type of formation. You already have experience working with complex energy patterns."

That... was actually a good point, I glanced down at the silvery tree pattern hidden under my robe. The Two Suns' rune system was incredibly intricate, yet it had always felt natural to me. Maybe that wasn't just luck.

"I wonder..." I mused, "how would formations in this world react to being powered by the suns' energy instead of normal spiritual power?"

"Only one way to find out," Azure replied. "Though I'd recommend mastering the basics before experimenting with alternative power sources. Formations can be... volatile when mishandled."

I nodded, coming to a decision. I'd try both paths – alchemy and formations – and see which one I had more talent for. But formations seemed like the logical place to start, given my existing experience with energy patterns.

"Interested in formation crafting?" Wei Lin's voice broke into my thoughts. I realized I'd been staring at a stall selling formation tools for several minutes.

"Thinking about it," I admitted. "Would it be better to get the basic equipment from the sect?"

Wei Lin made a face. "The sect's starter kits are... functional. But they buy in bulk for outer disciples, so the quality is pretty basic. If you're serious about learning formations, I'd recommend investing in better tools now. It'll save you frustration later."

The formation tools stall was run by an elderly man with ink-stained fingers – clear signs of someone who worked with formations regularly. His display showed everything from basic scribing tools to complex array anchors.

"Looking for anything specific?" the old man asked, his gaze sharp despite his relaxed posture.

"A beginner's set," I replied. "But quality tools that will last."

He nodded and brought out several cases. "These are my standard starting sets. Each contains a primary scribing brush with adjustable qi flow, a set of measurement calipers calibrated for spiritual geometries, basic array anchors in copper and jade, and a formation testing stone."

I examined the tools carefully while Azure pointed out subtle details about their construction. The brushes were well-made, with cores that would channel qi cleanly. The calipers showed precise markings for standard formation angles. Even the testing stones were properly cut to reveal their crystal structure.

"The jade in these anchors," Azure noted, "it's from a secondary spiritual vein. Good enough for learning, but they'll need to be replaced for any serious work."

I used that observation in my bargaining, along with pointing out a slight misalignment in one of the caliper's joints. The old man's eyes lit up as we negotiated, clearly enjoying the discussion of technical details.

We eventually settled on 800 spirit stones for a modified set – slightly higher grade scribing brush, better calipers, and an extra testing stone in exchange for accepting the cheaper anchors.

Wei Lin clapped me on the back as we left the stall. "Not bad at all! We'll make a proper merchant of you yet. Consider yourself an honorary Wei at this point."

Speaking of shopping... My gaze fell on a stall selling training weapons. Liu Chen had been eyeing a particular practice sword earlier, trying to be subtle about his interest. The boy clearly had some martial arts foundation – probably from his mysterious background he avoided talking about. A proper training weapon would be better than the stick he currently practiced with.

The sword was simple but well-made, sized for a younger practitioner. The blade was blunted appropriately for training, and the balance was good. At fifty spirit stones, it was expensive for a practice weapon, but...

Liu Chen's expression when I handed him the wrapped sword was priceless. He tried to protest that it was too much, but I could see how his hands clutched the weapon protectively.

"Consider it payment for all the entertainment you've provided," I told him. "Besides, someone needs to keep Rocky in line when he wakes up stronger."

The boy's eyes welled up slightly before he quickly blinked away the tears. "Thank you, Big Brother Ke Yin!"

Something warm bloomed in my chest at those words. Was this how it felt to have a younger sibling? I'd been an only child in my previous life, and the original Ke Yin had been too. The feeling was... nice.

My musings were interrupted by Lin Mei's excited squeal. She was presenting Wei Lin with what appeared to be a matched pair of jade pendants, each carved with delicate communication formations.

"They're linked," she explained, her cheeks slightly pink. "So we can still talk even when we're in different parts of the sect..."

Wei Lin's face turned an interesting shade of red as he accepted his pendant, especially when he noticed my amused smile.

"Oh shut up," he muttered, giving me a shove. "You'd understand if you weren't always training and actually talked to girls occasionally."

The push caught me off guard, sending me stumbling sideways – directly into the path of a cloaked figure I hadn't noticed approaching. We collided with enough force to make the person's hood fall back slightly.

Time seemed to slow as I caught a glimpse of the face beneath the hood. My blood ran cold.

That face... it couldn't be. But the angular features, the proud set of the jaw, the familiar righteous bearing – it was impossible, yet I was staring right at him.

Li Yuan.

The same Li Yuan I had watched die at the way station, his body and soul burned to ash by spiritual flame.