Cultivating immortality begins with formations.

Hua San Niang's patience had been completely worn out.

She had intended to wait for Lu Yuan to figure things out on his own, but unexpectedly, he was like a rock in a latrine—stinky and stubborn.

After she unleashed her pressure without restraint, Lu Yuan suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind hit him, like a hurricane, and his body flew backward and crashed into the wall.

His internal organs trembled, his throat gurgled, and he vomited blood.

Grass!

She's not going to kill me, is she?

Lu Yuan was already wondering if it was too late to agree to the other party's offer and save his own life.

Fortunately, this momentum did not last long.

Hua San Niang had no intention of taking his life. She sneered, "You surnamed Lu, I have plenty of strength and means to deal with a little bastard like you. One day, I'll make you kneel at my feet and beg for mercy."

After saying that, he turned and left.

obviously.

She didn't want to kill Lu Yuan and lose the spirit stones for nothing.

Having lived two lives, Lu Yuan is mature and would never shout things like "Don't underestimate a young man's potential" behind his back.

But right now he was burning with rage, his eyes bloodshot.

Grass!

Judging from what this old woman said, it seems like this isn't over yet.

It's obvious they're going to use dirty tricks to force him to comply!

Even if it were made of pills, it would still be a Qi Refining Level 7 cultivator, something Lu Yuan couldn't match at this moment.

This feeling of being at the mercy of others left him feeling incredibly resentful.

Unexpectedly, the biggest trouble I encountered after transmigrating was because of my appearance.

Oh shit!

他不由想起前世上学时，因为拒绝了女混混的情书，被暴揍一顿的下场。

However, he still had an ultimate trick up his sleeve: telling the teacher.

just now……

Although the market town also has an enforcement team jointly established by cultivation families and several major sects in the surrounding area to maintain order, their interests are basically skewed.

Otherwise, given what Hua San Niang did, the law enforcement team should have intervened long ago.

"No matter what, we must avenge this defeat later."

As soon as Lu Yuan returned home, he secretly made a vow.

I must break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining as soon as possible, otherwise when the crisis comes, I will have no power to protect myself.

In the early stages of Qi cultivation, aside from using low-level talismans and simple spells, one has almost no other ability to defend against enemies.

Only when one reaches the mid-stage of Qi Refining can one wield various magical artifacts, spells, and fly.

In addition to supplementary pills, one can also accelerate cultivation.

A Qi-gathering array, capable of collecting a large amount of spiritual energy for cultivation, is even more indispensable.

"After much deliberation, I've decided to focus on array formations..."

……

It was late at night.

Inside the room, the candlelight flickered dimly.

Lu Yuan squatted on the cold bluestone slab, his eyes clear. He held a pen in one hand and an inkstone in the other, and with a flourish of his pen, he outlined intricate and obscure array patterns on the ground.

Several hours later.

Pale blue array patterns and runes gradually appeared on the ground, surrounding the futon.

Noticing that his divine sense was stagnating, Lu Yuan immediately stopped writing.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a Qi-Condensing Pill, and regulated his breathing.

Once he was full of energy, he began to draw the energy-gathering array.

This cycle repeated itself for several dozen days.

"Hahaha, I've succeeded!"

Looking at the Qi-gathering array in front of him, Lu Yuan laughed heartily.

After spending dozens of days concentrating on drawing array patterns, he looked slightly tired, but his eyes shone brightly.

The successful creation of the Qi-gathering array means that his cultivation speed can be improved to another level.

Furthermore, they can refer to themselves as array masters when speaking to outsiders.

Worries about one's lifespan are not worth mentioning.

"Let's test how effective this energy-gathering array is?"

Lu Yuan took out two spirit stones and embedded them into the Qi-gathering array. Then he inserted the array flags that he had prepared beforehand into the array core.

For an instant.

The sixty-four array patterns simultaneously emitted a clear light.

The Qi Gathering Array is activated.

Strands of spiritual energy, like vortexes, gathered from all directions, gradually forming a thin mist that surrounded the area of ​​the energy-gathering array.

The Jiuling Market where Lu Yuan is located is built on a second-order spiritual vein and has a large third-order Qi gathering array that covers the entire market.

Therefore, this fluctuation of spiritual energy will not have any substantial impact on the surrounding area.

Only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above, or those who have specifically cultivated their divine sense, can perceive the subtle changes in spiritual energy within a radius of several feet.

"Such a master wouldn't have the leisure to come and investigate the brick and tile houses of a Qi Refining cultivator..."

Lu Yuan smiled, swallowed a Qi Condensation Pill, and then eagerly sat cross-legged on the futon in the center of the formation, circulating the Five Elements Technique.

He possesses a low-grade spiritual root in the Five Elements.

To put it nicely, their spiritual roots are fairly evenly distributed; to put it bluntly, their weaknesses are quite harmonious.

The most distinctive feature of this technique is that it is highly compatible with any spiritual root.

But this does not mean it is high-end.

The lower the barrier to entry for a technique, the more common it is.

As he entered a meditative state, Lu Yuan was surprised to find that as he breathed in and out, three streams of spiritual energy from the surrounding environment entered his body.

Before this, during cultivation, one could only absorb one strand of spiritual energy.

"So this is the Qi Gathering Array?!"

"And I drew it myself! I'm a fucking genius!"

Lu Yuan was amazed and overjoyed.

Even though his cultivation techniques and spiritual roots were extremely ordinary, his cultivation speed increased three times with the help of the Qi Gathering Array and Qi Condensation Pill.

Moreover, this is not the limit of the Qi Gathering Array, but the limit of Lu Yuan's aptitude.

Judging from this speed, he is confident that he can break through and reach the fourth level of Qi Refining within three months.

I've calmed down.

After cultivating in the Qi Gathering Array for three hours, Lu Yuan discovered that he could no longer absorb spiritual energy when he circulated his cultivation technique.

This is one of the drawbacks of low-grade spiritual roots: they cannot sustain long periods of high-intensity cultivation.

Just like an old machine that has been running continuously for several hours, the load is too heavy, and it begins to overheat and stop.

However, he was already quite satisfied with this cultivation speed.

End of cultivation.

Lu Yuan took the array flag from the array pivot and examined it.

The clear light emanating from the array patterns of the Qi Gathering Array vanished instantly, and the wisps of spiritual energy that had gathered gradually dissipated.

The edges of the two embedded spirit stones were slightly grayish.

He took out Shadow Powder and sprinkled it on the Qi Gathering Array, and the array patterns disappeared.

Lu Yuan analyzed that, at this rate, the two spirit stones should be able to support the operation of the Qi Gathering Array for a month and a half.

"Two spirit stones are all it takes to achieve this level of cultivation speed. The array master is absolutely winning."

……

The next few days.

Lu Yuan also felt the effects of Hua San Niang's methods.

The grocery store that usually sells him rice has stopped selling anything, especially since the rent will triple in the future.

Lu Yuan has decided to move out as soon as possible and find another place to live.

My cultivation level is too low now; I should stay as far away from such scoundrels as possible.

Once one's own strength is sufficient, someone like Hua San Niang can decapitate someone with a flick of her finger.

The time that follows.

Aside from visiting the Hundred Treasures Pavilion once, Lu Yuan rarely went out.

Selling the two array plates yielded over two hundred spirit stones.

Adding the remaining fifty-odd spirit stones, he now had a total of three hundred and sixty-seven low-grade spirit stones.

After much deliberation, he spent over a hundred spirit stones to purchase a storage bag.

Besides the materials for the formation, Lu Yuan also bought some spirit rice, spirit meat, pills, and talismans this time.

The storage bag wasn't very big, only three feet square, but it was enough to hold everything.

The price of the spirit rice was higher than at the general store I usually went to, so I secretly added another point to my list of grievances against Hua San Niang.

He took a stroll around the neighborhood and found some vacant rooms for rent, but even though Lu Yuan offered to pay a higher price, no one rented them to him.

This is clearly one of Hua San Niang's methods.

In the Qingzhu Lane area, Hua San Niang was undoubtedly the local tyrant. Backed by several major cultivation families in the market, no one dared to offend her.

Lu Yuan was helpless.

I can only plan to improve my cultivation level first, and then go to a more distant part of the market.

Putting this matter aside for the time being, the remaining six years of lifespan became a mountain weighing on his head.

An improvement in one's spiritual realm can lead to an increase in lifespan.

Only in this way can a positive cycle be achieved, maximizing the effect of the cheat code.

However, thinking of the slightly suspicious look in Manager Luo's eyes when he saw the two Qi Gathering Array Plates, Lu Yuan couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Taking out three Qi-gathering array plates in a row is indeed not very cautious.

In the world of cultivation, the one thing you should never overestimate is a person's character.

This is a world where the strong prey on the weak.

But he had no choice; he was terrified of being poor.

We can't just live a life of poverty and destitution without doing anything, all for the sake of survival.

Moreover, he also intended to associate himself with Baibaoge, and would naturally want to demonstrate his value.

Behind the Hundred Treasures Pavilion is the Glazed Tile Sect, with three Foundation Establishment Ancestors in charge, and it has a fairly good reputation among the independent cultivators in the Nine Ridges Market.

Unlike other cultivation sects, they do not exploit rogue cultivators to the extreme.

After spending several hours with him, Lu Yuan felt that Manager Luo was a decent person.

If one can use this to establish a connection with the Glazed Tile Sect, then in the future, when walking in the market, one can slightly leverage their influence to deter villains.

……

"Bang bang bang..."

"Brother Lu, are you home?"

Lu Yuan was cultivating when he suddenly heard a rapid knocking on the door.

He slowly stood up, retracted the Qi-gathering array flag, and waited for the spiritual energy to gradually dissipate before stepping forward to open the door.

"Dashan, what's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

The burly man standing outside the door was named Zhang Dashan. As his name suggested, he was nearly two meters tall with broad shoulders and a wide back. He was one of the fellow villagers who, along with Lu Yuan, had obtained the opportunity to cultivate immortality fifteen years ago.

Currently at the fourth level of Qi Refining cultivation, I have rented a spiritual field from the Zhou family, a prominent cultivation family in the market, to work as a spiritual plant grower.

"what?"

"Brother Lu, you seem a little different than before..."

Zhang Dashan's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yuan, and he looked surprised, as if he were seeing the confident young man from fifteen years ago.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan laughed heartily: "I am still me, no different from back then."

Seeing his expression, Zhang Dashan scratched his head. Although he didn't understand why, he couldn't help but smile happily for his fellow villager who was once again radiant.

But soon he remembered his business and hurriedly said, "Ji Ming just returned from the Nine Ridges Mountains, seriously injured. The pharmacist wants us to go there."

"Ji Ming is injured?"

Lu Yuan's expression changed slightly, but he didn't ask any further questions and immediately walked outside with Zhang Dashan.