Chapter 25: The Damaged Formation Disk

Chapter 25: The Damaged Formation Disk

Gu Mo had set his sights on a first-tier formation disk, a tool used for quickly setting up formations—ideal for cultivators unfamiliar with formation techniques. The particular formation disk before him was engraved with both an illusion formation and a defensive formation.

Unfortunately, the disk was damaged. Half of the formation stones were missing, and some of the formation patterns were incomplete. As a result, only one of the two formations could be activated at a time.

What made things worse was that the spirit stone consumption remained unchanged. This meant the disk still required the energy needed for both formations but could only operate one at a time.

This flaw was severe, turning what was originally a disk worth at least 1,000 spirit stones into something the stall owner was now offering for just 200. If not for the double spirit stone consumption issue, the disk would still be worth around 400 to 500 spirit stones, even in its current state.

"Would you take 100 spirit stones for it?"

After some thought, Gu Mo made his offer.

Right now, formations were his greatest need aside from the secret technique he used to conceal his cultivation level. Both the illusion and defensive formations on this disk would be useful for protecting his spiritual field, making it an ideal way to conceal the existence of his Sunflower plants.

Beyond that, formations were crucial for keeping spiritual insects and beasts from invading and devouring his crops.

During his first planting season, Gu Mo had not faced many threats from spiritual insects or beasts. The reason was simple—many nearby fields had been left fallow, causing the insects that once lived there to scatter. However, as those abandoned fields were gradually put back into use, the scent of new spiritual plants would once again attract pests and predators.

For his second planting season, Gu Mo was highly likely to face such threats. While his Geng Metal Sword Qi was effective against spiritual insects and beasts, that would only help after they had already begun their attack. The best solution was to prevent them from getting close in the first place.

A formation was the best form of protection for a spiritual field. The large fields in the valley owned by the Spiritual Herb Hall were all guarded by powerful formations. If an outbreak of pests or rodents occurred, the valley's protective formation would activate, blocking them from entering and ensuring the safety of the herbs within.

Gu Mo's fields, however, were outside the valley and would not benefit from this protection. If an infestation broke out and he had no means of defense, he would end up with nothing.

Considering the potential loss, even a formation disk that consumed double the spirit stones was acceptable. More importantly, it was the only formation disk he could afford.

The sect's official formation shop sold standard first-tier formation disks for 500 spirit stones, which was far beyond Gu Mo's budget.

"Not selling!"

The stall owner immediately stiffened his expression upon hearing Gu Mo's offer. However, upon noticing Gu Mo's outer disciple robe from the Qinglu Sect, he suppressed his irritation and coldly spat out two words.

Outer disciples were treated as mere laborers in most sects, but compared to rogue cultivators, they still held some status. In this marketplace, which operated under the Qinglu Sect's protection, rogue cultivators naturally avoided conflicts with sect disciples.

"Then how about 120 spirit stones?"

Gu Mo tested the waters. He truly wanted this formation disk.

Seeing his sincerity, the stall owner relented slightly and lowered the price by 20 spirit stones. In the end, Gu Mo purchased the formation disk for 180 spirit stones.

Spending half of his newly acquired 360 spirit stones in an instant pained him, but he knew this was not an expense he could afford to cut.

"I wonder if I can find a second-hand magical artifact…"

After securing the damaged formation disk, Gu Mo had the thought of searching for a second-hand magical artifact.

However, he quickly abandoned the idea. While second-hand magical artifacts were available, their prices were only slightly lower than brand-new ones. As for damaged magical artifacts, no one in their right mind would use them in battle—doing so would be courting death.

Repairing a broken magical artifact would likely cost as much as buying a new one.

Though he didn't find a bargain on a magical artifact, acquiring the formation disk was already a small victory. At the very least, he wouldn't be helpless in the face of an infestation.

"Hmm?"

Just as Gu Mo was about to leave, his eyes landed on a stall selling spiritual beasts—or rather, pseudo-spiritual beasts.

Among ordinary beasts, there were rare cases of ancestral regression or special mutations. These creatures, known as pseudo-spiritual beasts, had the potential to evolve into true spiritual beasts.

Some rogue cultivators made a business out of collecting these pseudo-spiritual beasts from the mortal world and selling them in markets like this to earn spirit stones.

However, most pseudo-spiritual beasts found in such stalls had already been screened once, meaning those with the best bloodlines had long been purchased.

For example, the Beast Taming Peak of the sect was the biggest buyer of high-quality pseudo-spiritual beasts in this region. They would purchase these creatures and use special techniques to nurture them into true spiritual beasts—an investment that yielded massive returns.

After all, a true first-tier spiritual beast could rival a Qi Refining cultivator in combat. A cultivator with a spiritual beast would see their combat strength doubled.

But the cost of raising a spiritual beast was immense, on par with nurturing a fellow cultivator of the same rank. Only the wealthy could afford such luxuries.

Gu Mo could barely support himself and had no intention of raising a spiritual beast. However, the prices of the pseudo-spiritual beasts on the stall were incredibly cheap.

Because these pseudo-spiritual beasts had little chance of becoming true spiritual beasts, they were priced at just a few spirit stones each.

This rekindled a thought Gu Mo had been suppressing. Ever since obtaining the Solar Essence, he had been curious—if it could accelerate his cultivation, could it also work on other beings?

Testing it on another cultivator was out of the question, as the Solar Essence was his greatest secret. But if he had a completely controllable spiritual beast, the experiment would be worth trying.

If successful, raising a spiritual beast would significantly boost his combat strength.

"Brother, take a look at this one! This beast carries a trace of Howling Moon Sky Wolf blood!" The stall owner eagerly introduced a large dog upon seeing Gu Mo's interest.

"If you don't like that one, no problem! Look at this Red Sparrow—legend has it that it's a descendant of the divine Vermilion Bird!" The stall owner quickly pointed to a small red sparrow in a cage.

Gu Mo ignored the stall owner's chatter. Such claims were laughable—Howling Moon Sky Wolves were the ancestors of all wolves, and the Vermilion Bird was the king of all birds. Technically, claiming these creatures carried their bloodline wasn't entirely wrong, but it was clearly a marketing gimmick.

It didn't matter which pseudo-spiritual beast he chose since he was only using it for an experiment.

His gaze quickly swept over the stall before settling on a red koi fish in a small basin. It wasn't that this koi had any particularly outstanding traits—it was simply because it was a water-type pseudo-spiritual beast.

Most water-type spiritual beasts had the ability to use a minor version of the Cloud and Rain Technique, which was essentially a simplified form of the Cloud and Rain Art. If the experiment succeeded and Gu Mo managed to cultivate a water-type spiritual beast, he wouldn't have to manually water his spiritual field every day—the beast could do it for him.

This would allow him to leave for short periods without worrying about his crops.

"Brother, you have a keen eye! This koi carries a trace of true dragon blood. If it leaps over the dragon gate…" The stall owner immediately began his pitch.

"How much?"

Gu Mo cut him off.

"Three spirit stones!"

Realizing that Gu Mo was serious about buying, the stall owner skipped the nonsense and gave a straightforward price. After all, all that talk was just to convince people to buy the otherwise unwanted pseudo-spiritual beasts.

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