On the Zhidun Ridge there was a fire-pit opening. Around it stood a dozen or so bamboo huts. Only five were occupied, the rest were empty. Liu Daoran didn’t mind at all. He casually pointed to one of them, but didn’t bother moving in. Instead, he pulled Liu Xiaolou aside and asked about the list of spiritual materials.
“Brother, take a look at this…”
“No rush,” said Liu Xiaolou. “Let’s first meet the others who got here before us.”
Liu Daoran held him back. “No, no, please, Brother Liu, clear this up for me first. Otherwise I won’t be able to sleep tonight. How should this Golden Leaf be handled?”
This was a question about how to process refining materials. In The Thousandfold Formulas Manual left by Lord Xingde, there were categories and treatment methods for all kinds of materials. Golden Leaf wasn’t described directly, but it was included under a related classification.
Golden Leaf was rare. Most people, even formation masters, had never heard of it. Only trained artifact refiners understood its nature. It was a confusing substance. It looked like metal or stone, but its patterns were just like leaf veins. Should it be refined as stone or as plant matter? Few people could say for sure.
With the manual in hand, Liu Xiaolou understood at once. He told him, “Refine it according to the nature of plants.”
In fact, The Thousandfold Formulas Manual did give a clear guideline. When dealing with a spiritual material whose name carried two attributes, it was to be refined according to the latter one. Just one simple line, yet many people never grasp it their entire lives, and no one ever bothers to teach them. Liu Xiaolou, of course, had no intention of explaining it to Liu Daoran. Telling him to “treat it as plant matter” was already doing him a favor.
When it came to refining formation disks, the formation master naturally took the lead. But formation masters were more skilled in carving formation talismans into prepared materials. As for processing the raw materials themselves, that was never their strong suit.
In fact, Tang Song had even asked a friend to help. A dedicated artifact refiner who was said to be at the early Golden Core stage. This friend was supposed to oversee and advise on handling various spiritual materials. But this refiner, a man surnamed Long, had yet to arrive, leaving the formation masters to puzzle things out on their own.
After settling Liu Daoran, Liu Xiaolou returned to the half-mountain terrace. There, in front of one of the bamboo huts, he saw a man already seated cross-legged. The face was unfamiliar. Likely another formation master answering the call.
Having gone through this once already, Liu Xiaolou knew what to do. He asked the usual questions about family background and cultivation stage, and learned this was a ninth-layer Qi Refinement formation master. Then he posed a test.
“Please explain the order and meaning of metal, fire, wood, water, and earth in the Western formation.”
The question also came from The Five Talismans, though this time it wasn’t from the deep and difficult later passages, but from the basics at the start. Still, the formation master only stared in shock, unable to give an answer.
So Liu Xiaolou turned to the Essentials of the Golden Scroll Formations for another question. The man’s answer surprised him. It seemed to run completely against what Green Bamboo had once taught. He almost refused to let it pass, but after thinking it through, he realized the explanation actually held together. In the end, he let it slide and assigned the man to Stone Valley.
Passing two examinations in a row gave Liu Xiaolou a surge of confidence. Now he finally understood: The Five Talismans was really no book for testing others. It was more like a way to trip them up. No wonder he’d always felt lost reading it. It wasn’t that he was lacking. The book itself was just too profound.
In his mind, the scripture suddenly rose to a place of high honor. Whether or not he understood it didn’t matter. First, he would commit it to memory in its entirety.
So he spent the whole night reciting, without rest or food, until dawn broke the next morning. By then he could repeat every single word without error, even Tang Song’s note annotations were committed to memory with perfect accuracy.
His head was now filled with phrases like “walk the ways of the five directions,” “nurture the qi of the five regions,” “the five suns and five luminaries,” “the twelve towers of the five cities.” Dizzy and lightheaded, he was completely immersed in the scripture.
As the morning sun rose, another person climbed the mountain. The steward led the newcomer to the bamboo hut and then took his leave. Still groggy, Liu Xiaolou asked a question almost on instinct:
“When should the essence of Dark Water be added to the formation’s core?”
The newcomer fixed his eyes on Liu Xiaolou, thought for a moment, and replied:
“When the Heavenly Disc 's moon is at its zenith, add half, and carry it into the earth chamber until nightfall. At half-moon, preserve the essence in its pure white form, send it down into the center at the outer walls of Wu and Ji, and condense forty-nine drops.”
Liu Xiaolou froze for a moment, then pressed further. “In the central Wu and Ji, how are the Five Elements arranged?”
The man answered, “Earth rules. Metal assists. Water perishes. Wood is bound. Fire rests.”
“‘Bound’ is not the same as ‘imprisoned.’ How should it be understood?”
“‘Bound’ means to die and be replaced.”
“I see! Replacement brings rebirth!” Liu Xiaolou’s eyes lit up at once.
That answer cleared up a passage in The Five Talismans that had long puzzled him. It even touched on the distribution of the central points in his own Abyssal Blackstone Formation.
A sudden realization struck him, and he quickly asked, “May I know who you are?”
The visitor smiled. “So, did I pass your test?”
“Passed, passed,” Liu Xiaolou said quickly. “But your honored name…”
“I am Diao Daoyi of Mount Siming.”
“Ah! So it’s Senior Diao himself! This junior failed to recognize you, please forgive my rudeness.” Liu Xiaolou hurriedly rose and bowed with respect.
This Diao Daoyi was an inner disciple of Mount Siming, at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Mount Siming was a great sect renowned for its formations. Though the Zhao clan had turned them down because their asking price was too high, the sect did not forbid disciples from joining the refining of Fangle Peak’s protective formation in a personal capacity. Diao Daoyi was the formation master Tang Song had invited to oversee the fire-pit opening at Zhidun Ridge.
Diao Daoyi laughed heartily, taking no offense, and asked, “You’re studying the Secret Formation of Five Talismans?”
Liu Xiaolou answered nervously, “What I’m studying is just the Five Talismans.”
Diao Daoyi waved his hand. “The Five Talismans is the old version from three hundred years ago. Later, the Pingdu Eight Formations Gate revised and expanded it into the Secret Formation of Five Talismans. The content is mostly the same. Beginning with the ancient text is actually better. Are you a disciple of Brother Tang?”
Liu Xiaolou said, “This junior is son-in-law to the Su family. I’ve long had an interest in formations, so I came to take part in the formation-disk refining. But my cultivation is too shallow to refine one on my own. Master Tang let me stay by his side to pass messages and handle chores.”
Diao Daoyi smiled. “That’s no matter. Cultivation can be built up day by day, but the Dao of formations is not so easily understood. By following Brother Tang closely, what you see and think on will benefit you more than refining a single formation disk.”
Liu Xiaolou bowed low. “Thank you, Senior, for your guidance. Master Tang went to the main peak of Jinting Mountain yesterday to see Elder Zhao about materials. He’s been gone a full day and night. He instructed me that once Senior Diao arrived, you should take charge of the fire-pit at Mount Zhidun. Please, follow me.”
Diao Daoyi followed Liu Xiaolou toward Mount Zhidun. Along the way, he turned the tables and asked Liu Xiaolou a few questions. Some he could answer, others he couldn’t. For those he didn’t know, he did his best to guess, first sharing his own understanding, then asking for correction.
As they neared Zhidun, Diao Daoyi asked, “Do you know Green Bamboo of the Ouyang family at Lianxi Hall? Ah, you must. The Ouyangs are in-laws with the Sus. No wonder, no wonder.”
“I heard Green Bamboo has built her Foundation?” Liu Xiaolou asked.
Diao Daoyi nodded. “She has. Our Mount Siming wanted to recruit her as an inner disciple, but she refused. A pity.”
By late that night, Tang Song returned. The issue of supplying Blackstone Sparrows had been resolved. When he asked about the day’s events, Liu Xiaolou gave a brief account and respectfully handed back the Five Talismans. Tang Song laughed heartily as he accepted it. “Diao Daoyi is quite capable. When you have time, you should learn as much from him as you can.”