Gu Songxi was even more anxious than Li An.
Ever since obtaining the Essence Spirit Beast Core, he had seen a sliver of hope to extend his life.
He had been yearning to refine the Small Restoration Pill, desperate to prolong his lifespan by a few more decades. He had waited for Li An to arrive until his eyes nearly turned green with longing.
After all, he truly didn’t have many years left to live.
It could be said that he was probably the person in the entire world who most wanted to see Li An successfully reach Foundation Establishment.
His own survival was now completely bound to Li An.
This was also Li An’s greatest confidence in trusting this place.
Only when interests were bound tightly together could someone truly be considered one’s own.
Gu Hong had gone through many life-or-death crises with him, and their bond was emotionally strong. But Gu Songxi had no such deep ties with him—without aligned interests or tightly woven fates, what reason was there to expect someone to go all out for you?
Relying on morality and righteousness? That stuff was no better than toilet paper.
“Very well, let’s begin now!”
Li An spoke up as well. “Alchemist Gu, please wait a moment while I set up a few formations to avoid being disturbed.”
With that, he took out four sets of advanced arrays, layering them seamlessly and densely until the entire meditation chamber was shielded completely.
One was a sound-isolating array, embedded with a Thunderstrike Talisman.
One was a defensive array.
Two were offensive arrays.
Then, he handed four more array sets to Gu Hong and said, “Fellow Daoist Gu, please set these up in the storefront, garden, and elsewhere.”
A total of eight advanced arrays!
Gu Hong and Gu Songxi were both stunned. This guy Li An... wasn’t he being a little too cautious?
For a store this size, one high-grade array was already enough to cover it.
But he came with eight!
“Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be stripped of their skin if they barged in…”
Gu Hong couldn’t help but feel complicated emotions, but still accepted the arrays and went outside to set them up.
Before long, Li An’s divine sense picked up that the four external arrays and the four internal ones had already linked together.
He finally felt a measure of security.
Excellent—these eight arrays weren’t just a stack of defenses in number. They were interconnected and coordinated, forming an integrated grand formation.
All of this was thanks to Li An’s solid foundation in array arts from his previous life.
“Alchemist Gu, here are the necessary ingredients.”
Li An opened his storage pouch, and numerous spiritual herbs were laid out.
Firelight Fruit, Purple Soul Grass, Thousand-Spirit Vine, Ghostlight Lotus, and Tricolor Flower.
Gu Songxi glanced over and nodded with a deep breath. “Stand guard for me.”
With that, he took out a pale gold Second-Rank pill furnace.
Rather than beginning immediately, Gu Songxi sat before the furnace, holding his breath and closing his eyes to regulate his condition.
Seeing this, Li An felt even more reassured. Although he wasn’t an expert in alchemy, he knew that Gu Songxi was circulating his spiritual power to achieve peak condition.
Clearly, Gu Songxi was putting in his utmost effort!
Just the adjustment alone took him two full hours.
Afterward, Gu Songxi abruptly opened his eyes. A lightning-like sharpness flashed in his aged pupils. With a sweep of his sleeve, a wisp of pale-white spiritual power wrapped around the furnace. A moment later, a blue ghostly flame burst from within.
The fire was lit!
Gu Songxi remained calm and composed. One by one, he added the herbs in a precise sequence. As the fire surged and flickered like dragons and tigers, his movements were fluid and practiced—fully demonstrating the demeanor of a true master.
Years of holding back, waiting for this one day.
While Gu Songxi was fully focused on refining the pill, Li An had also entered a state of complete tension. His Super Sense Art was pushed to its limit.
Within twelve meters, everything fell under his divine sense, allowing him to catch every slight fluctuation from the arrays.
Beyond twelve meters, every tiny sound in the vicinity entered his ears. He could even hear the outrageous acts of a pair of women and a man a hundred meters away… and the sound of blacksmithing in a forge two hundred meters away…
The night was as still as death.
…
Meanwhile.
At the heart of White Tiger City, the White Tiger Mountain sat like a crouching beast, its head slightly raised.
This place was a forbidden ground in White Tiger City. Only disciples of the White Tiger Master were allowed entry.
Inside the majestic and grand White Tiger Hall.
A middle-aged man with extraordinary presence, dressed in black robes, stood at the head of the hall with his hands behind his back.
He was Mo Xuan, the White Tiger Master’s senior disciple.
A Fake Core cultivator!
Mo Xuan gazed solemnly at the sixteen cultivators before him and began:
“The soul-nourishing resources are sufficient. Three months from now, the Eight Trigrams Spirit-Locking Array will begin operation.”
“This array is incredibly intricate. No mistakes can be allowed during its activation.”
“These are the operation methods for each segment of the array you’re responsible for. You must become fully familiar within these three months.”
With a wave of his hand, sixteen beams of light flew into their minds.
“If anyone’s section has a problem, and Master blames us, don’t think I’ll show mercy!”
Then, his gaze turned to a middle-aged man in the front of the group. “Jiang Huan, you’ll need to pay special attention to helping Junior Sister Qiuhui. She’s the newest disciple and has the weakest cultivation. We can’t let anything go wrong on her end.”
“And also, keep those songbirds around you in check. Anyone who shouldn’t be in the core zone should leave for now.”
Jiang Huan was the White Tiger Master’s second disciple, another Fake Core expert—but notoriously lecherous. He had likely preyed on over three hundred beauties throughout White Tiger City and usually kept a harem of a dozen or more.
Jiang Huan immediately nodded.
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I’ll do exactly as you say.”
Mo Xuan’s gaze moved to the end of the group. “Junior Sister Qiuhui, if anything is unclear, ask Senior Brother Jiang for guidance.”
Xu Qiuhui gave a deep bow. “Please rest assured, Senior Brother. I’ll certainly learn diligently from Second Senior Brother and will not disappoint Master’s expectations.”
“All right, dismissed—”
The group began leaving the hall.
“Senior Brother Jiang,”
Xu Qiuhui quickly followed and walked alongside him, speaking with a humble and ingratiating tone:
“I’m not very adept with formations. The diagram Master just gave us… there are parts I still don’t fully understand…”
Jiang Huan grinned. “No problem. How about this: tomorrow night, come to my place. I’ll teach you properly and give you a few tips…”
Xu Qiuhui’s beautiful brow furrowed imperceptibly. This lecher…
“Very well. Thank you in advance, Senior Brother.”
She said nothing more. She’d just figure out a way to deal with it later.
…
Midnight.
In the secret chamber of Songxi Pill Shop.
Li An was fully alert, scanning the area with divine sense. Suddenly, the pill furnace let out a soft “puff”!
He immediately looked toward the furnace. Even as someone who had reached Core Formation in a previous life, his eyes still carried deep seriousness.
Gu Songxi was drenched in sweat, his aged face utterly fatigued, but within his tired eyes there was a glimmer of tense anticipation. He gently caressed the lid of the furnace for a long moment, waiting for the final “nurturing” phase to complete.
Only then did he slowly lift the lid…
…
(End of Chapter)