This was actually a formation called “Commanding Mountains and Rivers Formation”, and it concealed this particular valley while drawing upon the Demonic Qi of the mountain below, which served as the formation’s roots. Like any other ordinary formation, this one also had eight passages—also known as doors or entrances—which formed its foundation. They were categorized into three fortuitous passages of “preamble”, “leisure”, and “growth”; three misfortunate passages of “death”, “fear”, and “injury”; and two remaining neutral passages of “mundanity” and “terrain”.

　　If someone who had entered the formation was able to identify the precise locations for each of these eight passages, they’d be able to use predictions and calculations to decipher the formation’s pattern and rotations. With this, they would be able to avoid any misfortunate passages in advance and roam freely within the formation without being harmed.

　　That being said, the first step of identifying each of these eight passages’ locations was extremely difficult. The eight passages formed the foundation of the formation, and as such they were usually well hidden inside the formation itself. Furthermore, the locations of these passages would constantly shift according to the time of day, sunlight, changes in the surrounding environment, and a variety of other factors. Even the same person who had placed the formation in the first place might find it difficult to locate all of these passages without the help of a formation-specific map, to say nothing of those who happened upon the foundation by chance and were trying to break inside using only their eyes and calculations without prior knowledge.

　　Only once a person had located all eight passages would they then be able to determine the rotational pattern of the formation itself and finally break into it to move freely within. The golden crow did have quite an advanced level of understanding in regards to the methods used for a formation’s calculations, but this particular formation—a three-turn formation linked to the surrounding landscape—had been left behind by a master cultivator in the Foundation Stage; the eight passages changed so often that it was extremely difficult to find even a hint. It was for this very reason that the crow had tried for the past month yet didn’t find success.

　　However, Fang Xing had been able to identify all eight passages with his [Book of Revelation]. It was as though by referencing the book about the formation, he had suddenly become a formations master himself who had come across the work of a new student. No matter how hard a student tries to hide the eight passageways, a master will always see through it with a single glance.

　　Once all eight of these “doors” had been identified, the next step was of course to calculate its rotational patterns, which was much easier.

　　At first, Fang Xing wasn’t certain that what he saw was correct, and so the golden crow had been thrown into these doors for testing purposes. Some seven or eight trials later, Fang Xing finally believed that the judgment of the [Book of Revelation] was indeed correct, and he finally pulled the golden crow back out. By then, the crow had stopped cursing—or making any noise altogether, really—and a closer look revealed why; the crow had already passed out from terror, his body trembling with only the whites of his eyes showing.

　　Fang Xing poured some of the spirit wine from his gourd onto the golden crow’s head. The crow finally returned to his senses before crying out, “It’s better that you just let me die now. This is too scary….”

　　Fang Xing laughed. “How was that scary? Aren’t you completely unharmed right now?”

　　The golden crow was stumped for a moment as he studied himself. Aside from where Fang Xing had plucked his feathers, there really were no other signs of injury. Relieved, he then replied, “What you said was true? You really know exactly where the eight doors are?”

　　Fang Xing squatted down next to him and answered with excitement, “That’s right. Let’s make a deal: I’ll tell you the doors’ locations and you calculate the pattern?”

　　The golden crow shifted his eyes back and forth while swallowing some of his saliva. “Are you absolutely sure you can see the doors? Any small mistake would mean huge trouble….”

　　“How about I throw you inside for another try?”

　　The golden crow jumped up. “No need! But only under one condition!” he hastily answered.

　　Fang Xing smirked. “What condition?”

　　The golden crow shifted his eyes once again, thinking it through for a moment. “Everything we find inside the cave, I take half!”

　　Fang Xing answered without any delay, “Ok!”

　　Seeing how quickly Fang Xing had agreed, the golden crow actually felt a sense of hesitation. “Swear on it, then!”

　　Fang Xing held up a hand. “I, Yu Sanliang, swear that I shall do as I say or I shall be struck by all five bolts of lightning from the heavens!” he promised.

　　With this, the golden crow could no longer say anything further on the matter. He blinked his eyes and said with some unwillingness, “Then let’s go!” Just as they were about to take the first step into the smog, however, the crow considered something. “Are you really called Yu Sanliang?”

　　Fang Xing impatiently kicked the crow inside. “Just shut up and go!”

　　—

　　The boy and crow entered the thick smog and—once inside—there wasn’t much more the golden crow could do. When Fang Xing was still outside the formation, he’d been able to pull the crow out with the snare; however, now that both of them were inside, the only safe way out would be to learn the formation’s patterns. Hardening his courage, the crow held up one of his talons while keeping himself steady with the other foot on the ground. “Tell me the locations of the eight doors now.”

　　Knowing how dangerous the formation was, Fang Xing did not dare to be careless either. He activated the [Book of Revelation] and responded with the locations of the passageways, all while the golden crow began his calculations. The crow waved and pinched his talons and wings while rolling his eyes like a master fortune teller, and although those who were more aware would recognize that he was calculating the formation’s rotational patterns, to those who weren’t, it would look as though the crow was having a seizure….

　　After a few moments, the golden crow suddenly opened his eyes and spoke a series of clear instructions: “Ten meters to the left, turn right, then four and a half meters before jumping up ten meters. Then turn right again….”

　　Fang Xing’s gaze firmed as he held the crow up and followed the instructions precisely. He did not feel comfortable separating from the golden crow while inside the formation, particularly since the crow could decide to act against him by giving false coordinates or calculations. As a result, not only was Fang Xing holding onto the crow the entire way, but the [Book of Revelation] had been activated to its fullest, and Fang Xing would only move forward after confirming that the next step was not one of the three passages of misfortune. Even if it meant wasting a little more Qi than usual, it was always better to be safe rather than sorry.

　　That being said, Fang Xing really didn’t need to worry. Although the golden crow might be a slippery character, he didn’t dare to play any tricks right now. At this moment, both of them were inside the formation, and the crow had to rely on Fang Xing as well in order to determine the exact locations of the eight passageways. If anything were to happen to Fang Xing right now, the crow wouldn’t be able to get out safely, either.

　　Like this, the boy and crow’s journey inside the formation continued surprisingly smoothly. After enough time to burn a stick of incense had passed, the pair had already entered deep into the formation, and the thick smog in front of them thinned to reveal a cavern entrance.

　　The golden crow let out a long sigh of relief. “This is where the door of ‘terrain’ is located. Most of the Qi has likely come from this cave,” he said with sparkling eyes.

　　Fang Xing already knew this even without the crow’s words. On the cavern entrance’s stone door, there were seven small holes patterned after The Big Dipper constellation, and faint hints of purple mist could be seen coming out from these holes—a sign that there were extremely rare spirit herbs growing inside. The Qi and the very faint mist that Fang Xing had been able to see within the smog must have also come from this place.

　　“Hidden so well…. This must be some kind of treasure.” Fang Xing forced down his overwhelming excitement and took out his [Saber of Azure Dragon]. With a soft command, he activated an abnormal force within the saber’s blade and aimed the weapon at the holes in the stone door. The stone door was broken into pieces with a “bam” after being sliced open by the saber, and a thick cloud of purple mist began to drift out. The Qi inside was so pure and concentrated that Fang Xing could even taste it after a single breath, and all of his pores seemed to completely open up in welcome of such a pleasant encounter.

　　“Holy sh*t, there must be something good…” both Fang Xing and the golden crow agreed in unison, their eyes glistening towards the interior of the cave.

　　Beyond the broken stone door was a stone stairway that extended somewhere underground, and the sweet scent of medicinal herbs came from its depths. After a short moment of observation to rule out potential danger and additional formations, both Fang Xing and the golden crow immediately vanished inside. From the looks of it, it seemed that the crow was more anxious about what was inside than even Fang Xing was.

　　Once they’d stepped off the stone staircase and made a left turn, they went through a narrow passageway a hundred feet long to find a stone room in front of them. It was then that both of them were left dumbfounded, the silence breaking when one of them audibly swallowed their saliva.

　　“Oh my mother of lord, I’m gonna be rich….” The golden crow suddenly let out a cry of excitement and dashed towards the stone room. However, he soon felt a tightening sensation on his neck as Fang Xing grasped onto the [Immortal’s Snare] and dragged him back. As if that wasn’t enough, Fang Xing then tied the crow up like a rice dumpling once again; nevermind his talons and wings, the crow couldn’t even move his neck.

　　It was only then that Fang Xing let out a loud laughter of relief and clapped his hands in joy.

　　“What did you tie me up for? Are you going to take everything for yourself?” the golden crow cried out as he tried to escape.

　　Fang Xing just laughed. “Don’t just doubt my character without even getting to know me. I just wanted to have a look first!” With that, he stopped speaking and walked past the golden crow.

　　Inside was a pile of jade stones shaped as a long platform, almost like a tomb, with an item similar to a flower pot atop it. The pot was filled with a fine-looking yet dense black soil, and inside grew a foot-tall purple plant with three small blossoms and seven leaves. It was absolutely certain that the purple mist came from this plant and that it was the treasure of this place. With a deep inhale, Fang Xing focused his attention on the plant and activated the [Book of Revelation].

　　When Fang Xing had been training with Bai Qianzhang away from the Qing-Yun Sect, he had managed to learn how to use the [Book of Revelation] smoothly and with ease. After using up a tenth of his Qi, the information on the plant soon appeared in his mind.

　　‘Purple Mist Orchid. Mid-quality with one blossom of flower; high quality with paired blossoms; supreme quality with three blossoms. Can be used to craft Foundation Pellet, Upper Spirit Pellet, Purple Earth-Mother Pellet…’

　　Once Fang Xing digested all of the information from the appraisal, his eyes immediately grew round.

　　This was actually a supreme-quality spirit herb used to craft a Foundation Pellet.