Chapter 105: This Formation, Conceals a Grudge Within

After sending off the emotionally stirred Yao Yue, Chu Feng held the cold-to-the-touch jade slip in his hand, the smile at the corner of his lips growing ever deeper.

A trump card? A deadly weapon?

In the eyes of this “Reaper” from his past life, the value of any secret did not lie in the secret itself, but in how much profit it could leverage.

Before the final moment, a trump card played too early was utterly worthless.

After safely storing the jade slip in his robe, Chu Feng did not rush to investigate it.

Food must be eaten one bite at a time, and leeks must be harvested in cycles. Impatience and agitation were the greatest taboos in both cultivation and business.

The next morning, Chu Feng, looking bright and spirited, arrived at the West Mountain Pill Institute.

This place was no longer what it once was — no longer the fragrant, tranquil hall of pill refinement, but rather a heavily guarded, formation-filled… secret workshop.

Dozens of disciples from the original Pill Pavilion, all dressed in identical white Daoist robes, moved with focused, fervent expressions among strange formation disks and conduits that gleamed with spiritual light. 

Each held a jade slip in hand, speaking in low voices filled with obscure terminology such as “spiritual output intensity,” “spirit-source fluctuation amplitude,” and “formation load threshold.”

At the very center of the workshop, a massive spherical formation composed of tens of thousands of runes emitted a deep hum as it rotated slowly.

At the heart of the formation, bound motionless by countless golden chains inscribed with restrictive sigils, was True Lord Lieyang.

His eyes were closed, his face ashen, and his body trembled slightly in rhythm with the operation of the formation.

Streams of pure fire-attributed spiritual energy were uncontrollably extracted from his limbs and bones, flowing endlessly through the intricate pipes to every corner of the Qingyun Sect.

He was the formation’s eye —

The No. 1 Spirit Source Core.

“President!”

A cold, clear voice rang out as Leng Yanran quickly approached.

Her hair was still as white as snow, but her frosty eyes gleamed with the fervor of one deeply obsessed with the Dao. Her entire being exuded a unique blend of coldness and fanaticism.

She respectfully presented a thick dossier, bound meticulously with millennium beast hide, before Chu Feng.

On the cover, a line of vigorous ancient characters carried the precision of a researcher—

“Detailed Record of the Initial Activation of Spirit Source Formation No. 1.”

“President, after a full day and night of effort, this Spirit Source Formation has finally begun to take effect!”

Excitement leaked into Leng Yanran’s usually composed voice.

Chu Feng nodded with satisfaction and opened the dossier.

“According to the record, under stable operation, this ‘Spirit Source Core’ releases spiritual power equivalent to three thousand top-grade spirit stones per hour. If pushed to its limits without considering losses, the number could reach five thousand. Its source-to-energy conversion rate exceeds seventy percent, far surpassing our previous estimates!”

“We have already channeled this power into the mountain-protection formation, the inner disciples’ cultivation chambers, and the pill workshop. Preliminary tests show that the toughness of the protective formation has increased by more than threefold!”

“The cultivation speed of inner disciples has also risen by over fifty percent!”

“Most importantly, our pill workshop’s energy consumption during alchemy has dropped by seventy percent!”

“This has paved the way for us to mass-produce even more affordable ‘Qi Nourishing Pills’!”

Leng Yanran reported a string of encouraging results, her tone more like that of a student proudly presenting her magnum opus to a master than that of a subordinate reporting progress.

Chu Feng listened while nodding slowly.

This—was core technology!

In the cultivation world, what was most precious?

Cultivation resources!

Spirit stones!

He now essentially possessed a spiritual vein that produced endless spirit stones!

Though this particular “spiritual vein” used to have quite the temper.

“Excellent work.”

Chu Feng closed the dossier, unrestrained in his praise.

“Yanran, you are becoming more and more like a true Chief Product Officer.”

Hearing his words, the perpetually frosty Leng Yanran’s face flushed faintly red. She lowered her head slightly and replied softly,

“It is all thanks to the President’s grand design. Yanran merely followed the plan.”

“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong.”

Chu Feng waved his hand, speaking earnestly.

“No matter how good a blueprint is, it still takes pillars like you to realize it. You all are the most valuable assets of my Ascension Group!”

Another visionary promise, painted in the air.

Leng Yanran felt her eyes grow warm. All her toil suddenly seemed worthwhile.

“Oh, right—”

Chu Feng suddenly remembered something and pointed toward the “power bank” inside the formation.

“Him… hmm, this item. Is it still stable? We must monitor it closely—can’t have the disciples’ cultivation experience affected.”

At the word “experience,” Leng Yanran’s expression turned slightly strange.

She opened the final page of the dossier and pointed at a line of tiny script.

“President, during inspection, we did uncover a minor… issue.”

“Oh?”

“When examining the transmitted spiritual power, we detected a faint, almost imperceptible trace of grievance — a resentful will difficult to remove by any means we currently possess.”

Leng Yanran frowned.

“I suspect that if low-level disciples absorb this type of spiritual energy over time, their Dao hearts may subtly shift, making them… irritable and prone to conflict.”

Hearing this, Chu Feng leaned over to take a look.

After a moment of contemplation, he picked up a vermilion brush and wrote a comment beside the note.

“Trivial resentment — not worth concern. It is a natural phenomenon during the operation of the Spirit Source Core and can serve to temper our disciples’ Dao hearts. Not only should it not be eliminated—it should be utilized well.”

When he finished, he looked up at the dumbfounded Leng Yanran with an inscrutable smile.

“Yanran, remember this: water too clear holds no fish. If every disciple’s heart is as calm as a well, the sect becomes a stagnant pond!”

“The disciples of my Ascension Group must possess the sharpness to cut through thorns and charge forward without hesitation!”

“This resentment—don’t see it as a flaw. See it as the Group’s free gift to all disciples: a ‘Mental Tempering Opportunity!’”

“It will make them fiercer, more driven, both in cultivation and in life! Do you understand?”

Leng Yanran: “……”

She felt as though the alchemical principles she had followed for centuries had once again been overturned by the President’s flawless reasoning.

So… resentment could be explained like this?

Indeed, the President truly stood at a height beyond their reach, overlooking the Dao itself!

At that moment, a disciple rushed in, face anxious.

“Reporting to the President! Reporting to Chief Leng! More than a dozen Sect Masters have arrived outside the mountain gate—they claim to be newly affiliated allies. They’re gathered in the guest hall, requesting to discuss the terms of joining!”

Hearing this, Chu Feng’s lips curled into a cold smile.

Discuss terms?

It seemed these new “family members” still didn’t understand who made the rules in Qingyun Sect.

“Come, Yanran, bring your dossier.”

Chu Feng straightened his robe.

“Let’s go give these newcomers a vivid lesson—on the ‘Foundational Principles’ of our Ascension Group.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep