Chapter 116 - Formations, Inscriptions, And Arrays

Bai Rouyun realized that since everyone was busy either with their own sparring partners or talking about the marrow-cleansing pill, she would not find a partner today.

As such, she only had one other option. This option was a bit riskier, but it was also more rewarding, so she did not hesitate at all. She went to the Mission Tower, took a simple mission where she had to kill some random low ranked mystical beasts, and take their beast cores and other resources back to the school in return for some points.

This method was much more rewarding, as the points could be used to exchange for various resources and access to some facilities, but she also knew that if she did not have some control of her limits, then it would be risky to fight it out with the mystical beasts.

These beasts were not like a sparring partner at the training ground, who would stop when an injury occurred. Fighting against mystical beasts was always a question about life and death.

Even so, Bai Rouyun did not hesitate to accept the mission to kill three fire horses within the Sunset Mountains. Fire Horses were usually used as mounts or to drag carriages for esteemed nobles. Still, some wild ones lived within the Sunset Mountain, and the tail and mane of the Fire Horse was a very valuable resource for weavers and leatherworkers. Even inscriptionists sometimes needed these hairs for their inscriptions.

There were many professions that one could have, but weavers and leatherworkers were rarely looked at with reverence. However, it was an important profession, needed to make solid clothes and armor.

When they finished crafting their armor, an inscriptionist would use various herbs and other ingredients to make a liquid, after which they would inscribe various runes on the armor, clothes, weapons, or shields.

These inscriptions enhanced the strength of the item immensely. They could even absorb energy from the heaven and earth essence, which could, in some cases, unleash attacks for the owner, or when infused with Qi, the inscriptions could also be activated to produce an effect.

Inscriptionists, array masters, and formation masters were often confused with one another, but in fact, they had nothing to do with the other profession.

An inscription master was capable of increasing the strength and ability of an item. This was known as an inscription, and was very unique. However, the array masters and the formation masters were much more similar.

An array master was able to create an array without relying on anything else other than their energy. An array could be a killing array, which would have attack power, a spatial lock, which was capable of locking movements in place, it could also be a defensive array, which was erected around a person to protect them.

A formation master was different. Like the inscription masters, they relied on outside resources to change things. They could place various essence stones, priceless jade, and other spiritual treasures in specific locations, and then they would be able to create illusion formations. They were also able to create protective formations that could protect an area or an essence gathering formations, which would increase the essence in a specific area.

Formations were stationary. When set up, they would remain there until they were taken down or destroyed, while the arrays were more like an ability that could be used in a fight.

Bai Rouyun did not think about the various professions. She was busy making her way to the Sunset Mountain, where she would hunt for three Fire Horses, and get her hands on their mane and tails. She would keep the beast cores for herself, as the mission did not require for them to be handed over.

Beast Cores were the good stuff. They could be ground into powder, which would then be mixed with water, and could be used as an ingredient when making inscriptions.

They could also be used as they were by a Formation Master when making a formation.

Beast Cores had, however, one other significant benefit. They could be used like weaker essence stones.

Beasts did not have dantians. Instead, they stored their cultivation base within their beast core, and when a cultivator slowly drew out the energy from within, they could convert this energy into their own.

While it was not as efficient as using essence stones, it was much swifter than cultivating normally, and many were obsessed with using this method to strengthen themselves.

Bai Rouyun was a bit of an abnormality as she did not want to use the beast cores this way.

As an independent cultivator, in her past life, she lacked many things, but not beast cores.

She spent most of her time in the wilderness, and thus, she caught many beasts, and had gathered a multitude of beast cores. Her past cultivation base was developed on the strength of beasts, but it was also because of this that Bai Rouyun had found the downside to entirely depending on these cores to advance.

Beast Cores contained the cultivation base of beasts. Like in humans, there were varying degrees of purity in the Qi within the beast cores, and by consuming the Qi, they also consumed the impurities.

After getting a new start to life, Bai Rouyun was not willing to gamble with her strength. Her goal was much further away than this world, and to achieve her purpose, she had to make sure that her cultivation base was reliable.

She sighed and stretched her body. The Sunset Mountain was right in front of her, and she hurried inside the forest that grew at the foot of the mountain.

The Fire Horse might enter the forest if it was raining, but on a day like this, where the weather was good, they should be in a meadow somewhere. Not hesitating at all, Bai Rouyun started her journey to find a vantage spot from where she could locate three Fire Horses.