422: Pressure and motivation

With the main task done, it was time for some side work.

Liu Xuan had come to Pingding Mountain with a side task. His identity was that of a Third-Rank Formation Master, and his mission was to assist the South Courtyard's Formation Hall in setting up the Pingding Mountain Formation.

The Formation Master in charge of organizing the Spiritual Veins of Pingding Mountain and establishing the Formation was named Song Yan. He was a Third-Rank Low Grade Formation Master, skilled in establishing sect-protecting Formations based on Spiritual Veins.

He led over a dozen Second-Rank Formation Masters, more than a hundred First-Rank Formation Masters, and thousands of Formation Master apprentices, specializing in deploying and repairing Spiritual Vein Formations on the front lines.

The battlefield Spiritual Vein Formation needed to be connected as a whole and also had to align with military Formations. Even if the South Courtyard's Formation Hall had pre-refined the key Formation Plates, setting up the Formation was extremely complex and troublesome.

Liu Xuan was clearly a Third-Rank Alchemist, yet he had inexplicably become Song Yan's assistant, with the authority to intervene in the Pingding Mountain Formation setup.

'The Academy Head has always acted fairly and would never do such a thing. It must be Liu Xuan who begged the two Young Misses, leading to such absurdity!'

Liu Xuan had recently gained a lot of attention due to An Yunxi's matter, and Song Yan had also heard quite a bit about him.

What does an Alchemist know about Formations? He's just putting on a show to claim some credit. Song Yan didn't dare offend the two Young Misses, so he could only silently lament his bad luck.

At that moment, a female Cultivator delivered a Jade Slip, saying it was sent by order of Alchemist Liu.

Song Yan frowned, hesitated for a moment, then decided to take a look. Although the other party's cultivation wasn't high, his Alchemy skills were not low. Moreover, he was the Second Young Miss's Dao Companion and a Disciple of the Academy Head, so he had to give him some Face.

'He actually understands Formations!' Song Yan discovered that this Jade Slip contained an analysis of Formation setup.

'This is...'

After reading a small part, Song Yan's eyes widened. He found that it explained the difficulties in setting up the Pingding Mountain Formation, many of which he was still pondering and had no solution for yet.

Liu Xuan's Jade Slip not only resolved several difficulties he was currently facing but also addressed many he hadn't even considered yet.

After reading it, he was shocked. According to previous calculations, it would take about three months to fully perfect the Formation. But now, with Liu Xuan's analysis, it could likely be completed in ten days.

'He really is a Formation Master, and his mastery of Formations far surpasses mine!'

Song Yan took the Jade Slip and rushed straight to Liu Xuan's residence to ask for clarification, but the guard Cultivator reported that Alchemist Liu and Great True Person Shen had important matters to attend to and were unavailable... A few days later.

The Fourth Son received the news and led the troops back, bringing a group of siblings to pay respects to their father.

'Father!' The Fourth Son hurriedly barged in, bowed to Liu Xuan, and said, 'The Yao Beasts within a thousand li of Pingding Mountain have all been cleared. Can you revoke your previous order?'

'Sure!'

Liu Xuan nodded and said, 'But you can't bring your siblings; only you can go.'

'You can venture as far as you want on your own,' Liu Xuan gestured to the other children, 'but they shouldn't bear the risks of your adventures.'

Liu Xuan didn't oppose the Fourth Son's bold and combative nature. With Xiao Changfeng secretly protecting him, letting him suffer a bit was actually a good thing.

But Liu Xuan couldn't let him take all the children on adventures everywhere. Even a minor mishap would be a complete loss.

'Then forget it!' The Fourth Son waved his hand. 'I'll listen to Father and stay near Pingding Mountain.'

The Fourth Son wasn't a fool. Without trusted brothers and without the assistance of the Liu Family Army, he was just a slightly stronger Early Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, unqualified to venture into Yao Race territory.

'Father, Pingding Mountain has been captured. How long until we attack the next Yao Race spiritual land?'

The Fourth Son leaned close to Liu Xuan, reverting to his childhood mischievous demeanor.

'If you ask me! The Yao Race of the Peach Blossom Sect are nothing but weaklings. With the strength of our Beast Taming Sect, if we take the initiative, we could level the Peach Blossom Sect's mountain gate within half a year.'

'Father, you didn't see it, but Aunt Shen is truly amazing! Worthy of being the Sword-Wielder of the Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword Pavilion, she shattered the Yao Race Formation with a single sword strike!'

'Speaking of which, how did Father manage to hook up with a Late Golden Core Great True Person Sword Immortal like Aunt Shen? I admire you, I really do!'

Liu Xuan slapped him flying. 'No respect! Don't force me to beat you!'

He clapped his hands, shook his sleeves, and resumed his kind fatherly demeanor, looking at the group of children below.

After experiencing a battlefield slaughter, although they hadn't faced much danger, they had at least seen blood and each looked much more mature.

'Sixth Son, Ninth Son, Dao Yong, the three of you have steady auras, condensed spiritual power, and harmonious Dantians. You must have touched the Foundation Establishment Bottleneck, right?' Liu Xuan asked.

The Sixth Son, Dao Ming, had a ninth-grade Spiritual Root and was Chang Dan's first son. The Ninth Son, Dao Zhen, had an eighth-grade Spiritual Root and was Li Man's first son. Dao Yong, ranked twenty-first, had an eighth-grade Spiritual Root and was Xia He's first son.

From this battlefield experience, a full three children had touched the Foundation Establishment Bottleneck, which greatly satisfied Liu Xuan.

'Reporting to Father, yes!' *3

The three of them respectfully bowed and answered, not as presumptuous as the Fourth Son.

Liu Xuan nodded, flipped his palm, and three identical jade boxes appeared.

'Here are three foundation establishment pills, a reward from your father!'

With a wave of his sleeve, the three jade boxes flew to each of them.

'You don't need to train in the army anymore. You can return to Great Sun City to seclude yourselves, or seclude here on Pingding Mountain. It's up to you. Let me know if you need anything arranged.'

'Thank you, Father!' *3

The three opened the boxes to glance at the legendary foundation establishment pills, their eyes filled with excitement.

It was common knowledge that foundation establishment pills were precious. Even a Golden Core Sect like the Red Pine Sect couldn't produce more than a few each year.

If they weren't Liu Family descendants, Liu Xuan's sons, just this one foundation establishment pill would require them to struggle for who knows how many years!

The more they ventured out and interacted with lower-level Cultivators, the more the Liu Family descendants realized how much support their father Liu Xuan had given them!

Liu Xuan looked at the other children who were enviously watching the three and comforted them, 'Don't be envious. When you're about to break through, foundation establishment pills won't be lacking for you.'

'Really?'

'Everyone gets one?'

...Everyone looked at Liu Xuan in unison, their eyes full of anticipation and joy.

'Of course not everyone gets one,' Liu Xuan's tone changed. 'I'd like to give each of you one, but where would I get so many foundation establishment pills?'

'First come, first served. If they run out before it's your turn, you can only blame your bad luck.'

Liu Xuan had plenty of foundation establishment pills. The System occasionally rewarded some, he could buy them at high prices, and he could also search for ingredients to refine them himself. Currently, he could give each of his several hundred children one without issue.

But Liu Xuan couldn't tell them that. Instead, he had to use this first-come, first-served mentality to give them some pressure and motivation.

'Father, how many foundation establishment pills do you have in total now?' asked the twelfth-ranked daughter, Ling Ning, Pretty. The others listened curiously.

'I'm not quite sure either, but you all work hard!'

Liu Xuan certainly wouldn't give them an exact answer, so everyone would stay motivated.