I was whistling happily as I buried the formation stones around the valley. It was far more fun to set up formations without carefully calculating every scrap of Qi that needed to be spent to attain maximum efficiency.

Yesterday, I had to be very careful, as I had been wasting my subdued Qi, which could be the distinction between survival and death in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, spirit stones had no value for me.

Even the ones that were shaped like small bricks, holding a hundred strands of Qi comfortably. I had exactly a hundred and twenty-five of those incredible stones, enough to see up a far better formation around. I started with establishing a new core layer around the valley. The previous formation I had set up was established without a proper foundation, which was solved by the bounty that Aisnam had brought to me.

The core layer alone consumed ten of the System-provided spirit stones. A significant expense.

Technically, I could have attained the same effectiveness with half the cost, but I also wanted to keep the core open for further improvements. After all, unlike other formation masters, my skill level had been improving every day. Meaning, that every time I returned, I would need to make some serious changes in the formation.

Once the core formation was complete, I quickly drew fifty flame talismans, each at Yellow Peak Grade — the improvements in my Talisman skill were paying excellent dividends — and embedded them into formation. It was the easiest way for me to add an offensive method. It was expensive and one-use, but those constraints worked for my purposes.

With that, Pearyin was safe.

My next focus was the illusion formation, a tricky product that would lead any savage beast that was caught in a cave to die, while leading any human that stumbled away without them even realizing. It was a tricky construct, but made easier by the fact that I wasn't trying to target cultivators.

The next formation was a supportive one, turning the dead beasts into fertilizer and feeding it to the plants, which would help them maintain their peak condition. Once that was done, my next aim was to populate all seven hills with spirit plants.

I first pulled the plants I had uprooted from the cave, only to freeze. All six plants were dead. "They should be able to last for a month, easily," I muttered, wondering how I failed despite my spirit plant skill, but as I thought about it, I failed to come up with any.

"Maybe the problem is not my skill," I said as I uprooted an ordinary plant and put it into my storage ring, and pulled it back out.

It came out dead.

"Alright, it's a good way to learn," I said as I quickly chopped the six dead plants. Then, I turned them into fertilizer and started working on the rest of the hills. Even with my skills and my cultivation-enhanced working speed, once I finished setting up formations on all seven hills, the evening wasn't too far away.

Another day, gone just like that, but not wasted. I looked at the formation that covered the seven hills and the valley proudly, its interlocked structure making it much harder. Too bad it had cost me half of my spirit stones, but at least all the seeds I had turned into sprouts capable of producing a significant amount of Qi.

It should be enough to fulfill Pearyin's needs, at least for a long while. If and when it stopped being enough … Well, that was a thought for the future. After all, my ability to deal with problems was growing just like her need for Qi was growing.

My loss was not guaranteed.

"Still, it's a beautiful work of art," I said as I looked at the formation. My skills might come from the System, but unlike the talismans, which was pretty much a rote repetition, the design of the formation was my own work.

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I was proud of it.

Once everything was completed, I walked back into the valley, the new formation parting open in front of me. "Wow, beautiful," I said as I looked around, and it was not an exaggeration. During the early morning, the valley was still a wild corner. However, in less than a day, it had turned into a beautiful holiday spot that a billionaire would claim for himself happily.

At the center of the valley, there were two cottages. One for her elusive master with the name plaque as I requested, and another cute cottage for her. Around the two cottages, the weeds and bushes had been dealt with. A few more colorful plants had remained, but she had carefully pruned them to make them look more domesticated.

A small distance away from the cottages, there was a spring, but she dug a small canal to connect it to a small pool. It was not large enough to swim, so it was probably a bath.

Pearyin immediately moved there. "Do you want to have a bath, sir?" she asked, her blush beautiful.

"Tempting, but not now," I answered. "I still need to address a few things, but I promise I'll test it during my next visit."

She nodded, though I could see that she was disappointed. Well, I was as well, but I didn't want to neglect capital with everything going on. With the siege of the palace, everything was a powder keg.

"Before leaving, I want to test your aptitude, come here," I said. She nodded, and I started giving her another crash course on various concepts, wanting to see if there was a change.

Her comprehension had gone through a general improvement, and she was able to learn every topic I was teaching her several times faster than I thought was possible. Even a hundred times learning capability meant she needed months of dedicated study to surpass Perfection.

Of course, for a cultivator that could live for more than a hundred years, such a speed was more than enough. Just by having their talisman crafting skill at Perfection, they would live a life of comfort. A good deal for many.

Unfortunately, it was not exactly worthwhile for my purposes. Due to my System, I improved far faster…

And, due to the unique brand of luck I had been dealing with, I had to improve faster.

So, I didn't ask her to learn anything other than the fundamentals of each skill … with one exception. The combat skills.

Well, the combat skill, considering Verdant Palm was still the only proper cultivation combat technique I knew. It was a beginner technique, which meant she could improve better. "Don't forget," I reiterated after I taught her all the stances. "This technique belongs to a cultivation family, so you can only reveal it to others as a last resort."

"I understand, sir," she said, nodding seriously.

"Good, start practicing while I draw some talismans. I'll correct your mistakes when I finish with them," I said, and sent her away before I started drawing two sets of talismans. For one set, I deliberately reduced their quality, as they would be delivered to Aisnam. Even with her contacts, I didn't need her alerting others by trying to sell Yellow Peak-Grade talismans.

The ones for Pearyin's personal use, I drew strongly.

I drew talismans for almost an hour, focused on my work, until I was interrupted by a sudden glow. A sudden, familiar glow…

Surprised, I went to the source, only to see Pearyin covered with an intense white glow.

The telltale sign of a skill breakthrough. However, as the glow fell on me, I suddenly gained some inspiration on how to improve my Verdant Palm if I started practicing now, but I ignored it and focused on Pearyin's panic.

I had much better methods to improve.

"S-sir, what's going on?" she asked.

"Don't worry, it's just a skill breakthrough," I said, trying to hide my shock. "Why don't you show me your palm skills."

She went through the katas, and I watched her, unable to suppress my shock. Her movements were incredible, far smoother and sublime than what I was capable of — understandable, as I didn't ask for any lessons in her palm technique since Aisnam's recovery, prioritizing other skills, letting it lag behind others — confirming that her compression was not similar for all techniques.

I wondered if her aptitude was for cultivation combat techniques in general, or only for palm techniques. Based on my limited understanding, both were possibilities.

Either way, I didn't have any other cultivation combat technique to test, so it needed to stay a mystery until I could solve that particular mystery.

"Incredible work, sweetie," I said as I invited her for a hug. "Continue practicing, but stop once another glow appears," I ordered. That part was more of a precaution than anything.

I didn't know just how big of a commotion the stage after Immersion would create, and I didn't want to test it in such a volatile location.

After her breakthrough, I stayed with her several minutes longer than I had planned, making sure she was calmer before leaving. I might have even considered staying with her.

But, after I had taken the book about formations away, the Tiger Fist army was getting more and more aggressive. And, I preferred to stay near Aisnam as much as possible to intervene if necessary.

It was only a matter of time until an explosion.