382: The fog is coming

The moonlight was cold, and specks of starlight dotted the night sky. Xu Sanyan stood in the wilderness, looking up at the sky. A misty shroud floated like a light veil, blurring his vision.

Yang Shuang'er had been here for half a month. During this half-month, Xu Sanyan had been cultivating at home, improving his understanding of Formations, practicing carving Formation patterns, and conveniently getting married.

Now there were two madams in the Family. Not long ago, Wang Mingxin also married in. Although the two women were harmonious on the surface, they always competed in secret, and Xu Sanyan didn't bother with them.

Moreover, Wang Mingxin had also been implanted with a Demonic Seed by him. After all, she was a pillow companion, so it was better to be safe.

Currently, there were eight people who had been implanted with Demonic Seeds, including Xiang Tan, Wang Zixuan, Wang Qingyu, Wang Ruixin, Chang Yulian, the Wang Brothers, and Wang Mingxin.

As for Fang Xiang, Meng Zhu'er, and others who had been implanted with Demonic Seeds earlier, they had successively died, freeing up slots.

Since his Breakthrough to the middle stage of Soul Refining, the number of Demonic Seeds he could condense had increased significantly, from the original ten to around twenty.

Next, Xu Sanyan planned to try and control the four madams of the Wang Family. The power they held was considerable, and if they could become his own people, it would be very helpful for his subsequent plans.

However, this matter had to be carried out in secret and could not be detected by the Wang Family Head and the Grand Elder.

Regarding carving Formation patterns, with his control over his body, carving Formation patterns was not difficult; the difficulty lay in controlling the infusion of magical power.

When carving Formation patterns, one only needed to pay attention to a few points: the eyes must see, the heart must understand, and the hands must execute.

Furthermore, when putting the brush to paper, one must multitask, carving the pattern while infusing magical power. The magical power must flow continuously like a small river, not fluctuating suddenly in speed, and certainly not intermittently.

A single Formation pattern is composed of dozens, or even hundreds, of lines. The Soul-Gathering Life-Preserving Grand Formation is composed of countless Formation patterns, so simply carving the Formation patterns is a massive undertaking.

The most crucial point was that he needed to complete this himself.

Outside Qianqiu City,

Xu Sanyan stood with his hands behind his back, glanced at the departing Chang Yulian, turned, and softly said, "Go back."

"Yes." Wang Ying followed closely behind him.

The task he assigned to Chang Yulian was to build a blood pool near those five cities and to investigate the surrounding situation.

The map showed that those five cities were located in the southeast of Gan Country, in a place called "Honghai Prefecture," which belonged to a remote area of Gan Country. The only large force nearby was the Nantian Valley Jiang Family.

With Xu Sanyan's cultivation at the middle stage of Soul Refining, he could basically walk freely in that kind of place. As long as a He Dao Realm expert didn't appear, he feared no one.

He Dao Realm experts were rare, and Gan Country could not deploy too many forces in such a place. Xu Sanyan guessed that there would be at most one He Dao Realm expert, or even none at all.

However, it was relatively close to the Nantian Valley Jiang Family, so he needed to pay a little attention.

The Jiang Family's strength was not weak, and its status in the Cultivation world was comparable to the Huai Lake Zuoqiu Clan. There were He Dao Realm experts in the Family, and there should be more than one.

"Mist Time has arrived..."

The mist went from sparse to dense. It was just starting now, so the mist was thin, and no monsters had emerged yet.

After a few days, when the mist became denser, monsters would appear accordingly.

Xu Sanyan looked at the thin mist rising in the distance, and his mind unconsciously recalled the monster in the Mist Sea, feeling a slight worry.

If that monster appeared in Luan Yun Mountain, it would probably level Luan Yun Mountain.

Xu Sanyan turned his head to Wang Ying, "How long does Mist Time usually last?"

"Hmm... The duration is uncertain. Sometimes it's longer, about two months or more, and sometimes shorter, dissipating in just over a month."

Xu Sanyan nodded slightly, having a plan in mind.

Just as he returned home, he heard Spring Plum bow and say, "Master, the Family Head has asked for you."

"Hmm, did he say what it's about?"

Spring Plum shook her head, "No, but this servant dares to guess that it's probably related to Mist Time. After all, you manage the various Families in the western part of Qianqiu City, and your burden is not light."

Xu Sanyan raised an eyebrow, feeling a slight surprise. He hadn't expected Spring Plum to have some insight, so he deliberately tested her, saying,

"What do you think the Family Head wants me for?"

Spring Plum lowered her gaze slightly, "This servant is humble and dares not make wild guesses."

She also knew the principle that the more one says, the more mistakes one makes. Although she was a member of the Wang Family, she was ultimately just a maid. If she said something displeasing, suffering punishment would not be worth it.

Xu Sanyan saw her thoughts and waved his hand, "It's fine. I won't blame you if you're wrong."

Spring Plum also intended to raise her status in Xu Sanyan's eyes. She knew her cultivation talent was ordinary, so if she wanted to be valued, she could only find another way.

"Then this servant will speak. Mist Time is approaching, and it is precisely when manpower is needed. Unfortunately, not long ago, many Elders in the Family died, and the Grand Elder was severely injured and has not yet recovered, so there is a shortage of manpower..."

Xu Sanyan nodded slightly. That conflict with the Gan Country Cultivators, although it annihilated the opponents, the Wang Family also suffered significant losses.

Half of the original twenty-something Soul Refining Elders were lost, and it unluckily coincided with Mist Time, so the Wang Family Head would definitely rearrange things.

Spring Plum continued, "This servant thinks that the Family Head might give you more tasks. Although the western part of Qianqiu City is vast, there are not many Families, so you might have to take care of other areas as well."

Xu Sanyan slowly nodded. Spring Plum's words made a lot of sense.

His responsibility was to manage the various forces in the western part of Qianqiu City. If a Family sought assistance, he couldn't ignore it, as they offered tribute every year.

Of course, if he felt there was danger, Xu Sanyan wouldn't foolishly rush forward.

A few hundred coins a month, why risk his life?

Xu Sanyan lifted Spring Plum's chin and examined her carefully, marveling, "I never would have thought, you have such insight, rare, truly rare."

He had actually discovered a piece of unpolished jade by his side.

Spring Plum was a little embarrassed by his praise and gently pursed her lips, saying, "This servant has only learned a few superficial things from Master."

Xu Sanyan smiled and shook his head, "Heh, I don't have the ability to teach you these things."

Then he changed the subject, "How's the beast-repellent powder shop I asked you to set up last time coming along?"

Spring Plum blinked, "It's already open, and business is very good."

"What about the person?"

Xu Sanyan was referring to the shop's original owner.

"According to your instructions..."

Spring Plum smiled shyly, stopping there.

Xu Sanyan raised a finger and lightly scraped her nose, "You're quite efficient at handling things."

He admired Spring Plum more and more, so he firmly squeezed her fair and tender neck, slowly applying pressure.

Spring Plum immediately felt difficulty breathing, blood rushed to her face, turning it red, but she dared not resist.

"I'm giving you another task."

Xu Sanyan leaned close to her body, watching her long eyelashes tremble violently due to lack of breath, her delicate skin slowly turning red, her breathing gradually becoming heavy, and her pupils slowly becoming bloodshot, which filled him with a strange excitement.