Shuai

"Hey, say something. He was only at Primordial Infant Realm, big deal," asserted the egg, twirling around in front of everyone.

Speechless, Mu Yu smiled.

"Patriarch's Spirit Guardian Formation is extremely complex to set up. Doesn't that mean we have a spiritual qi cores?" asked Elder Xun.

"I still don't even know what that is," Mu Yu said, snapping out of it.

Shedding light on the topic, Elder Xun edified, "Few people in the current world of cultivation know what it is. According to the tattered book I learnt this from, spiritual qi cores are where spiritual qi is manufactured. As long as it has the compulsory components to produce spiritual qi, you can expect an infinite supply. Nobody can say for certain where it goes, but it's a place people will fight to monopolise. A high aptitude and access to a spiritual qi core guarantees exponential cultivation progress, the former being a mandatory component to make the most of the core.

"A Spirit Guardian Formation capable of throwing a Primordial Infant Realm cultivator around requires valuable treasures and a spiritual qi core. Do not let anyone know about the spiritual qi core. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Moyun Mountains is but the tip of the iceberg of the world of cultivation. The real world of cultivation lies beyond Moyun Mountains. If those beyond Moyun Mountains discover the spiritual qi core's existence, you can expect them to try and conquer Moyun Mountains."

"Where is the spiritual qi core?" Lan Ling'er asked.

Before Mu Yu joined Dustfallen Sect, Feng Haochen brought up spiritual qi cores at one point. Howbeit, he didn't mention one existed at Dustfallen Mountain.

"That does not matter. Patriarch must have his reasons for casting the formation to protect us against Primordial Infant Realm enemies. We should not go near it as its spiritual qi is incredibly potent. Without filtering it, you cannot absorb it."

"Hey, you sure know a lot, Old Man," commented the egg.

Elder Xun freaked out. "Wh-What are you? How come you can talk?"

"I'm Handsome Egg," replied the egg, bouncing on Mu Yu's head.

Hurt, Mu Yu grabbed the egg and resisted the urge to hurl it again. "Oh, crap, Uncle An is still at Dustfallen Precipice!"

"Chill, the formation saved his life. I can't believe you used the formation the old man used, yet used his left over materials. If the formation didn't replenish his spiritual energy using what it absorbed, the man who always follows the old man around would've met his end," muttered the egg.

Mu Yu halted in his tracks. "Our shifu, Jianying Fengchen, also used Dragon Searching Formation before?"

"Yeah. If my memory does me justice, it wasn't just once, either. The last time he was it was over a decade ago. That was before I came here."

Mu Yu figured his shifu left the five items in Uncle An's care; it explained how Uncle An found the five items so easily. More importantly, though, was what his shifu used the formation for.

"When did you start following my shifu?"

"No clue. I saw him one day when I developed my own consciousness. He said I needed plenty of spiritual qi to exit my egg shell. I didn't really know much. I just went along with him," answered the egg, spinning around.

"You won't be an ugly duck, will you? Do you have a name?"

"Probably Handsome Duck. I don't have a name."

"My name is Mu Yu. Since you love the 'handsome' word, I'll call you Xiaoshuai."

"Xiaoshuai? Can't I be Dashuai? 'Big Handsome Lad' sounds cooler than 'Small Handsome Lad'," grumbled the egg.

Mu Yu rolled his eyes. "Xiaoshuai for now and Dashuai when you're older, deal?"

Frankly, Cheng Yan wasn't aware of the egg's existence, either, despite being the one who had been with Feng Haochen longest after Uncle An.

Xiaoshuai didn't want to go back to the spiritual qi core, claiming the spiritual qi it offered was no longer helpful. He decided to stay with Mu Yu, claiming, "I'm only sticking with you until I can get out of my egg and rematch your shabby sword."

"What am I, an egg hatcher?"Mu Yu wasn't fond of the idea, feeling it was uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he agreed out of gratitude for the help during the day.

Uncle An was still in the formation, and his eyes were still glowing purple. The others decided to keep him company. For the meantime, they didn't need to worry about Reverend Jiuhua coming back for revenge. If Daoist Qing Song tried, he could expect the same outcome Reverend Jiuhua encountered. Anyhow, they didn't need to be concerned about joining either faction anymore.

They patiently and silently waited for Uncle An from afternoon till night at Dustfallen Precipice. They needed their shifu to clarify all of the surprises during the day. Uncle An had to stop at night as the formation only lasted half a day. The spiritual energy flow cut off once the time limit was reached. All of the glowing lights went out, restoring the environment to its natural colour.

"Sir An is back."

Everyone cut off their thinking to dedicate their attention to Uncle An. If he had located their shifu, they would mobilise straight away.

The light from the spiritual lines showed Uncle An was spent. Seeing him open his heavy eyelids, Cheng Yan inquired, "Uncle An, are you feeling all right?"

"Did you find Shifu?" queried Lan Ling'er.

Uncle An ran his eyes over everyone one by one and sighed. "Patriarch has hidden himself. I haven't found him."

There was no hiding the disappointment that flitted across their faces. Mu Yu, on the other hand, stated, "I expected as much. I'm willing to bet there are many people beyond Moyun Mountains searching for Shifu. I'm sure we're not the only ones who know how to use Dragon Searching Formation even if it's not common knowledge here."

If Feng Haochen was hiding from those beyond Moyun Mountains, surely he would've factored in the fact people could locate him using Dragon Searching Formation. Accordingly, he would've found a way to stay off their radar.

The good news was, if people were still searching for Feng Haochen, he was safe for the meantime.

Mu Yu carried on. "Shifu left the formation behind for us to prevent anyone harming us. Moyun Mountains' power balance has been refreshed. We've gained independence."