Disciples of the Heavenly Secrets

Li Shiyin had been with Qin Ran for over ten years. Though she still couldn't set up formations herself, she had developed a keen eye for them. She wasn't mistaken—the figures in the sky were indeed arranging a formation, specifically the Guardian Mountain Formation of the Dao Sword Sect.

The Dao Sword Sect was deploying its Guardian Mountain Formation, yet Qin Ran, the person most knowledgeable about formations in the sect, was unaware. From start to finish, he hadn't caught even a whisper of it.

If the Dao Sword Sect was setting up the Guardian Mountain Formation without Qin Ran's involvement, then it could only mean the work of the Heavenly Secrets Sect.

Thus, when Gu Yueming decided to arrange the Guardian Mountain Formation, he didn’t consult Qin Ran. When he chose to invite members of the Heavenly Secrets Sect, he didn’t inform Qin Ran. Even when the Heavenly Secrets Sect arrived at the Dao Sword Sect and began their work, Qin Ran remained completely in the dark.

He had been kept out of the loop entirely. What this implied needed no further explanation.

"I thought…" Qin Ran murmured, gazing at the sky, "I could at least set up one last Guardian Mountain Formation for the Dao Sword Sect."

With Li Shiyin by his side, he couldn’t stay in the Dao Sword Sect forever. His original plan had been to first eliminate the Boundless Sword Sect, then cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, and finally establish a powerful enough formation for the Dao Sword Sect before leaving the Land of Immortal Legacy with Li Shiyin.

It would have been perfect—they could travel safely once he reached Nascent Soul.

But he never imagined Gu Yueming’s distrust of him had reached such depths.

No matter how well he understood human nature or how cautious he was, he had still underestimated the influence of desire and power—and overestimated the value of bonds.

"Master," Li Shiyin stepped forward, taking Qin Ran’s hand.

She knew her master had long been deducing the Dao Sword Sect’s Guardian Mountain Formation. Before their departure, he had wanted to do one last thing for the sect…

In this world, aside from Qin Ran’s clone, she was the one who understood him best. She knew that while he distrusted people, he placed immense weight on relationships.

Despite his fear of death, he had stayed during the sect’s most perilous times. Even as he plotted escape routes, he had still revitalized Dan Peak for his master’s sake.

Only she knew just how deeply the sect leader’s actions had wounded him.

"Ah…" Qin Ran sighed, still staring at the sky. "This is human nature. I’ve always known it. The sect leader merely reminded me again. Indeed, 'When the birds are gone, the bow is put away'—no matter the era, no matter the world, this truth holds for all people."

"Master…" Li Shiyin clasped his hand with both of hers, looking at him with unwavering resolve. "I’ll always be by your side."

Qin Ran turned to meet her gaze. Words were unnecessary. He placed his other hand over hers, their fingers intertwining tightly.

…What a foolish disciple she was.

He chuckled. "Perhaps the sect leader feared a sudden attack from the Boundless Sword Sect. It’s understandable."

"Mm!" Li Shiyin nodded, smiling. "Besides, now that someone else is handling the formation, you don’t have to work so hard. You’re so lazy—you should be happy!"

"Hahaha…" Qin Ran laughed, pulling her gently into his arms. As he held her, watching the figures in the sky scurrying about to survey the terrain, he said, "True, I’ll save a few strands of hair from falling out. And without the formation to worry about, we can leave earlier—no need to wait until Nascent Soul."

Guo Huaili, a master of the Heavenly Secrets Sect, had entered the Dao through formations. At the late-stage Nascent Soul realm, he was but a step away from the Divine Transformation stage.

At the invitation of Gu Yueming, sect leader of the Dao Sword Sect in the Land of Immortal Legacy, he had come to reconstruct the sect’s Guardian Mountain Formation. Knowing the sect’s great upheaval years prior had shattered its original formation, he had hastened to the Dao Sword Sect without delay.

In his two thousand years of life, he had set up and dismantled countless formations, encountering every bizarre and intricate variation imaginable. Yet here, within the Dao Sword Sect, he stumbled upon something truly fascinating.

It wasn’t that the formation was particularly powerful or profound—but rather, he could tell it hadn’t been crafted by someone versed in formation arts. Instead, it was the work of a cultivator from another path, constructed purely through external reasoning and calculation.

"Who set up this formation?" he asked a nearby Dao Sword Sect disciple, pointing at it.

"Oh, that’s the work of the Dan Peak’s master," the disciple replied.

"The master of Dan Peak?" Guo Huaili murmured. Though the formation itself wasn’t extraordinary, he recognized the brilliance behind it. "Is he an alchemist?"

"Naturally, an alchemist," the disciple said. "The finest in the Dao Sword Sect."

"The finest alchemist!" Guo Huaili straightened with respect. For someone so accomplished in alchemy to also possess such skill in formations…

That evening, after completing his terrain survey, Guo Huaili brought gifts to Dan Peak to pay his respects to its master.

Qin Ran personally received him, leading him to the ancient spirit locust tree. He had Li Shiyin prepare a few dishes, and the two sat across from each other, sharing wine.

After the usual pleasantries and several rounds of drinks, Guo Huaili laughed heartily and said, "Before meeting you, Peak Master Qin, I imagined a venerable elder of several thousand years. Yet here you are, not even fifty—truly, heroes emerge from the young!"

He took a sip of wine before finally asking, "So I must ask—how does one so young possess such terrifying mastery of formations?"

He gestured toward Dan Peak’s Guardian Mountain Formation.

Had the formation been crafted by a formation specialist, it wouldn’t have been remarkable. With moderate talent, one could produce such a formation by thirty. What made it astonishing was that its creator was an alchemist.

It was akin to a top-tier basketball player also excelling at soccer.

Qin Ran picked up a bite of food and countered, "Senior Guo, what do you think of the relationship between arithmetic and formations?"

"Arithmetic?" Guo Huaili was taken aback. As a formation master, his mind raced:

If one learned formations from the ground up—starting with formation patterns before progressing to the whole—then with sufficiently advanced arithmetic, it might indeed be possible.

But the question was…

"Just how profound would that arithmetic need to be?!" he exclaimed.

Qin Ran met his gaze, confidence unwavering. "Mine is precisely that profound."

Guo Huaili fell silent. After sharing a few more cups with Qin Ran, he asked, "Peak Master Qin, would you be willing to teach me?"

"Why not?" Qin Ran waved a hand. "Arts thrive through exchange. If everyone hoards their knowledge, progress stagnates—or worse, vanishes entirely."

Hearing this, Guo Huaili raised his cup in salute. "Peak Master Qin, your generosity is commendable!"

Qin Ran retrieved a book from his spatial pouch—a foundational arithmetic text he’d once compiled for Chasing the Wind, though the simpleton still hadn’t grasped it fully. Placing it between them, he said, "This is a basic arithmetic manual. I can give it to you, but I have one condition."

"Name it, Peak Master Qin!"

Qin Ran looked at Guo Huaili and said, "The great sects of the Land of Immortal Legacy—their Guardian Mountain Formations were all arranged by your sect... The Boundless Sword Sect is no exception!"

"I wish to ask you, Senior, to guide me through the mysteries of the formation."

Guo Huaili abruptly stood up and declared, "Absolutely not!"