As I left the old lady Helnam behind, there was only one detail that prevented my good mood from reaching the level of elation.
That, unless I was willing to face a small army of martial artists to transport savage beasts endlessly, I had to set the formation on Markas, which would link me to the proxy war that was going on there even deeper.
Unfortunately, arranging the delivery of that many savage beasts would probably be more problematic. At least, large swathes of Markas were currently abandoned, and there were enough savage beasts that the absence of a few would raise no suspicions.
And, if I was being honest, at this point I was scared that, if I tried to get away from Markas, I would still find myself entangled. At least, by establishing a secret formation beforehand, I would have a secure base that could be leveraged for many purposes, from counter-attacking to defense.
Especially if I could build an escape tunnel that would avoid the notice of even the stronger cultivators. Not possible at my current level of expertise … but it might not be as impossible as my skills continue to increase.
As I passed Markas border, I abandoned those thoughts for a different one. Namely, where to set up the formation. The direction of the capital was out, as there was a Tiger Fist army coming from that direction. Similarly, the direction of the anomaly with the highest density of Savage Beasts was out. Kartpa Valley was responsible for it, and I didn't want to risk getting detected.
In the end, I picked a direction that was far away from both, toward wilderness near the official borders, which had little population even before the evacuation. A little exploration brought me to a nice concealed valley nestled between seven hills.
A nice geographical structure to set up a formation. I could establish the core in the valley, with seven supporting structures, one for each hill, which I would populate with enough spirit plants to act as batteries for the main formation. The extra space would be useful for the additional formations, like a small illusionary formation that would hide the valley from anyone that flew above it, maybe a misdirection one to lead any intruder away before they realized.
Formations offered truly endless possibilities. Of those possibilities, most I couldn't implement immediately, as I lacked time, skill, and most importantly, materials, but the initial Qi gathering array for the valley, and the foundation of the first spirit plant garden on the first hill was easy to do.
In that garden, I used only ten seeds from the System, and used almost three hundred Qi strands to hasten their growth; an amount that was supposed to be impossible for a Peak Qi cultivator, let alone one at the Third Stage, but it wasn't the only topic I was cheating at.
Each seed took about thirty strands on average, which was several times higher than I had used for the plants in Pearyin's cave, but their quality made a huge difference. Even as a mere sprout, they generated a surprising amount of Qi.
Around them, I added a hundred more seeds, the ones that I received from Helnam without the System improvement. They were almost dead, but once again, the higher skill level made all the difference. A few strands of Qi, a lot of fertilizers in the form of processed savage beasts parts.
The best part, I didn't need to waste my own Qi. Instead, I used the meditation technique to channel the Qi that was generated by the first set of plants. I chose to germinate them after the first group, because they were too fragile to handle a bigger infusion.
They had to grow slowly. It was for that reason I set a smaller formation around them, slowly channeling the Qi generated by their higher-quality variants, and only the excess was transferred to the central valley.
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Unfortunately, I lacked the time and materials for the formation that I planned to target the savage beasts, so I had to hunt them directly, which took some more of my time. Then, I had to hasten their breakdown with my snow and volcano essences, which took me even longer.
When I finished setting everything, it was already evening.
"Beautiful," I muttered as I looked at the wild valley, the formation already gathering some Qi. Spirit plant care at Minor Immersion worked wonders with high-quality seeds and my generous Qi investment. Luckily, that was the last time I had been planning to invest such an absurd amount.
As a final touch, I set another purification setup with the talismans at the center valley, in order to supply Pearyin for the first couple of days, and departed.
Hoping that no cultivator would stumble by accident. There was no Qi leak, but the illusion formation I was able to set up was very limited.
Even with the skill increase, I would require weeks to properly set the planned formations.
With the initial setup done, I decided to return to the capital rather than visit Pearyin. She still had some Qi to meet her consumption until the next evening, and it would give a chance for Qi to accumulate a bit.
However, on my way back, I approached several forts Tiger Fist had been on the way between the capital and Markas, spying on their force deployment and construction progress, and writing another letter from Aisnam's 'collaborators' about the latest movement of the enemy.
I also added a note, hoping for quicker delivery of talisman and formation supplies if possible, promising to pay a bonus on the agreed price in the form of different types of talismans, including lightning, shield, and concealment talismans if she preferred.
The new base I had created already had a formation, but I doubted if it could resist the assault of a Connate realm martial artist, let alone an attack from a cultivator. Using ordinary materials for formations had very clear limits.
The formation would have been stronger if I used all seven hills to defend the place, but without the spirit plant gardens to support them, the amount of Qi they consumed would have been counter-productive, at least immediately. And, without the correct materials, even setting a large formation that used all seven hills as anchors wouldn't keep a peak Qi cultivator out.
I needed better materials, and I hoped that Aisnam would rob the royal family for it under the promise of sufficient rewards. I was betting that the royal family managed to get some formation supplies from the destroyed Nabata Mansion.
As for why I didn't try robbing the royal palace myself … two reasons. Aisnam was far stronger than me. I might burst with a stronger speed if I was willing to reveal the full range of my abilities, but it wouldn't be subtle.
Also, Aisnam was familiar with the inner region of the palace. I never stepped foot there, and currently, due to the aggression of the Tiger Fist army, they were on high alert, which made sneaking in an even bigger risk than usual.
Letting Aisnam do that was much easier.
While on the tunnel, I spent some time in front of the stone door. First, I tried to talk with the being, to see if they woke up. They were still sleeping, as indicated by the listlessness of the cursed Qi that filled the tunnel.
I spent some more time trying to decipher symbols on the stone door, but they were just as meaningless. Either I needed to have a deeper expertise in formation technique, or no matter how much I learned, the Nabata technique wouldn't cover something that complicated.
I hoped the first was the case, but I feared the second…
"You're late, again," Aisnam said to me as I entered, frowning, but this time, it felt fake.
"Sorry about it, once again, they kept me out for the delivery," I said as I passed her the letter and the package. Her frown stayed, which didn't surprise me. After all, it wasn't what she was baiting for. I hugged her from behind while she opened the letter. "Sorry ... about ... being ... late," I whispered, kissing her neck after every word. "How can I make it up to you?"
"Well, I have some ideas for our study session," she answered with a beautiful smile, her frown quick to disappear.
"Whatever you wish?" I said but continued raining her soft skin with kisses. "Do you want to do that thing with silk and ice that you enjoyed very much the last time?"
"Tempting…" she muttered, but her eyes were on the letter. "Unfortunately, it looks like I have to accompany Her Highness for a quick trip, so it has to wait for a while."
I kissed her neck. "Disappointing, but why don't I draw you a bath and prepare a meal so we can enjoy ourselves a bit before another study session," I added.
"Excellent idea," she said, kissed me once more, and left.