Cha Ming’s transcendent soul scanned for a full minute before determining that thirty-six formations were present, each one overlaid with the next. Solving this puzzle would be especially difficult compared to the others. He compressed his qi again, not once but twice, in all five elements. He imbued them into 1,080 gray sigils that then floated out to their necessary positions.
These combat formations were insufficient to break the formation, of course. Rather, he saw through the crux of the test: A single grand formation was required to break all thirty-six superimposed formations simultaneously. It was impossible to get to the necessary positions to lay the flags without first slipping through the smaller formations one at a time without actually breaking them. By doing so, he proved his skills as a formation master.
The next twenty-four hours were excruciating. Cha Ming worked tirelessly, and his soul burned with overuse. To make matters worse, a spirit hounded him ceaselessly.
Now we know where to focus our practice next, Sun Wukong taunted from the Clear Sky Brush.
Though Cha Ming dreaded the hellish training that was in store for him, he knew it was necessary.
With less than a minute left on the clock, he laid the last flag. The formation activated and drank in ambient illusory qi. Five colors lit up, combined, and clashed with the puzzle beneath it. The earth was torn, and buildings shook. When the dust finally settled, he saw that the formation had also suffered and broken under the devastation.
“Peak-formation-grandmaster rank achieved,” the voices spoke. “One hundred top-grade spirit stones are required to power the next trial. Proceed?”
These words made Cha Ming’s heart skip a beat and confirmed that his goal wasn’t just a pipe dream. He thought of his current objective—crafting a transcendent-grade pill from inside a mortal plane. Was it possible?
“Can a mortal pass the trial and become a transcendent professional?” Cha Ming asked hesitantly.
The voices paused for a moment before answering. “Yes. This option is only offered because the strength of your soul is sufficient. A transcendent soul is required for transcendent performance in a profession. Evaluating transcendent-grade performance was considered a vital function for this formation and imbued into our programming.”
Cha Ming thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I won’t proceed.”
“Very well,” the voices said. “Please instruct us when you’ve fully recovered and wish to proceed with the other professional trial.”
He nodded and sat cross-legged to replenish his energy. Replenishing qi was easy, and his body was durable to begin with. His soul, on the other hand, had been greatly strained in the last trial. He estimated his ability to cross ranks was limited to two levels above his qi cultivation rank if he used no external assistance.
Five hours passed before he stood and touched the talisman artist mark. His surroundings changed to a familiar scene: Elder Ling’s cabin. The older man and his cat were missing, but the devil- and spirit-repelling talismans were still there, as was the Angels and Devils board. To his surprise, despite his elevated strength, there were still talismans he didn’t understand on the wall. Their power was clearly far greater than he’d originally imagined.
Was Elder Ling a transcendent? he wondered.
A slip of paper appeared on a desk in the living room. “Paint a talisman,” the voices instructed.
Cha Ming nodded. He settled on a mid-grade core talisman that focused on stagnation. As he painted the talisman, he took note of the behavior of his ink compared to the real world. To his surprise, it was identical. This illusion seemed indistinguishable from reality.
Are the consequences of failure just as real? he thought. Then, he licked his lips and carefully traced the miniature formation and its delicate blue lines. When he finished those, he added even more detail and depth into the talisman.
Soon, six hours had passed. At his level, each talisman was a masterpiece, a composition of perfect balance. With the current strength of his soul, even with the Clear Sky Brush, he only had a fifty-percent chance of success. He finished on his first try.
“Based on your current and past performance, proceed to the high-grade test immediately,” the voices said.
Cha Ming nodded and concentrated his qi. This time, he was instructed to paint ten different talismans, one after another, using only a single attempt for each one. To make the best use of his limited qi, he chose a variety of talismans. One could summon a rain of boulders, while another could summon a flame dragon. Another, a storm of blades. The last one could summon invisible spores that bonded to any nearby humans or demons. They wouldn’t harm them, but rather, they would absorb ambient qi and demonic energy and channel them into the bonded recipient for healing and recovery.
The process took him five days, and compressing his qi was a much more comfortable experience this time than the last two. After completing the last talisman, he poured his transcendent soul into it and activated the green sheet of paper. The spores flew out and spread into his surroundings while a few latched onto his body, rapidly increasing his rate of recovery in the process. It only took ten minutes for him to recover.
Cha Ming looked up at the glowing formation eye where the voices originated from and wondered about his result. He’d only succeeded in four out of ten talismans, but then again, he’d been able to complete the others to the final steps before making a mistake. His anticipation increased as endless moments trickled by.
“The formation requires an additional thirteen top-grade spirit stones to continue,” the voices said. “Ten for the trial and three for your wanton plundering of the formation’s energy.”
Cha Ming slapped his forehead in realization. No matter what he did here, the energy was limited. It made sense that the formation’s time could be reduced if top-grade spirit stones increased it.
“High-grade grandmaster qualification achieved. The result is based on overall
