He believed that Zuo Qiu, the child of destiny, would soon start to have "fluttering thoughts." Once he had eliminated the Black Lotus, he would graciously let go, and in return, he would gain the friendship of a child of destiny, while also removing a hidden threat from his side.

After all, having a child of destiny as a friend was much better than having one as a servant; that was far too dangerous. With some shameless system keeping an eye on him, he couldn't dare to scold or strike out at it. He even had to care for its mental and physical well-being, lest the system seize the opportunity to stuff him with luck points. Looking at it this way, he was the one who was the servant!

"Thank you, Master."

Zuo Qiu's expression was filled with excitement—Bai Feng was actually going to modify her collar! Did this mean he had acknowledged her as a loyal follower? This was far more significant than just engraving words on a bell!

As for what Bai Feng said about being able to use the power of the divine body even when he wasn't around, she saw it as further recognition of her loyalty.

After all, in encounters with enemies, there often wasn't time to prepare. At that moment, she could awaken her divine body using the flames from her collar and later return to Bai Feng for recharging.

"Alright, you should go back and rest. Come by tomorrow to pick it up."

Bai Feng waved his hand, already deep in thought about how to modify the collar.

"Yes, goodbye, Master!"

Zuo Qiu nodded and quickly left Bai Feng's residence.

She felt no worries in her heart; after all, her identity outside was that of Bai Feng's follower. Moreover, she wasn't from Qingzhu Peak, so it was inappropriate for her to stay at Bai Feng's place.

Not long after Zuo Qiu left...

"Brother, why did you activate the formation just now?"

Bai Yu Mo pushed the door open and walked in. Upon seeing her, Bai Feng quickly stashed the collar into his storage bag and casually explained, "Zuo Qiu came by earlier to ask for my help testing something."

"Zuo Qiu? Isn't she being watched by Master?"

Bai Yu Mo immediately became alert, especially since she had caught a glimpse of what Bai Feng had in his hand. Although he had hidden it quickly, she still vaguely recognized it as a collar-like accessory with a small bell on it.

Thinking it over, it did resemble the accessory Zuo Qiu wore around her neck.

"Her investigation is over; she's now a disciple of the Tianjian Sect," Bai Feng continued. "She came to me because she awakened her divine body."

Bai Yu Mo's brows furrowed even deeper. "Then why did she come to you?"

"Because I was the one who ignited it, and her awakening isn't complete, so she came to find me."

After hearing Bai Feng's explanation, Bai Yu Mo recalled that the demonic energy within Zuo Qiu had been purified by Bai Feng's celestial fire, which was why Zuo Qiu chose to follow him.

"Brother, I think you should be cautious. Don't let her actions make you complacent."

Especially when she thought of the collar around Zuo Qiu's neck, she felt that this person was quite scheming. What kind of follower wears a collar? What was she really up to?

"Don't worry, I'm not that foolish."

Bai Feng nodded, planning to make some adjustments to the collar. After all, the flames within Zuo Qiu had already been absorbed by her, so he would have to find another way.

Then he thought of something and suggested, "By the way, why don't you practice swordsmanship with me more over the next few days?"

He had realized during their sparring sessions that his combat experience was lacking, so he intended to fill that gap.

"Sure!" Bai Yu Mo nodded. "But this time, you can't cheat with talismans."

"…I won't! Last time was an exception; how could I cheat?"

Bai Feng silently tucked the talisman inscribed with the刺字诀 (Ci Zi Jue) deeper into his pocket.

...

"Fang Yue, you have a letter! It's from the Tianjian Sect!"

Having just finished a day’s work, Fang Yue didn’t even bother to tidy up his materials and tools. He hurriedly walked towards the messenger.

A few minutes later, he returned to his dormitory with a large paper bag.

"Is it a letter from the young lady?"

Fang Yue took out the letter from the bag, and besides that, there was a book about an inch and a half thick.

He opened the envelope and quickly sat up straight, focusing intently on the words inside, reading each line carefully:

"Time is limited, so I've written a textbook for you. I'll send the second one in a few days. If you have any questions, you can ask the formation master Yu Linglong, or you can save them up and write to me."

The content was brief, but he felt an overwhelming excitement.

It was a letter personally written by the master of formations, and the master had even written a textbook for him.

He had thought that the formation master wouldn’t pay attention to someone like him, an ordinary employee with just a bit of talent. Although his supervisor had painted a rosy picture before, he never naively believed that the pie would be delivered to his mouth. The supervisor had said so much to encourage him to strive harder, but in reality, the pie had truly landed in his lap.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his excitement, and then reached into the paper bag to take out the textbook.

The cover of the book was simple, with just the words "Formation (1)" printed on it.

He swallowed hard and carefully opened the first page, afraid of accidentally dirtying the book.

After glancing at the table of contents, he turned the pages with care, starting to read from the very first word of the first chapter.

He didn’t look away from the book until the sky had completely darkened.

This book was completely different from the alchemy books he had read before. It didn’t contain obscure and difficult insights, nor did it jump straight into teaching how to refine pills or create formations without any foundational knowledge. Instead, it broke down formations, starting from the most basic theories, and even after learning a theory, it immediately followed up with practical steps. Coupled with illustrations, even someone like him, with a weak foundation in formations, could easily understand.

"Truly worthy of being the master of formations!"

Fang Yue sighed and lit a candle, continuing to read the book.

---

Chapter 150: Just a Simple Retreat, Not a Wedding Night

"System, raise my cultivation to the peak of the Golden Core."

Bai Feng sat cross-legged on his bed, feeling his cultivation rapidly ascend until it finally stabilized at the peak of the Golden Core.

He opened his eyes, carefully sensing the power contained within him.

After reaching the peak of the Golden Core, he could clearly feel that both the Divine Body Refinement Technique and the Body Refinement Technique had significantly improved. Even without formations, he could now contend with early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Even if he encountered a demoness, he could hold his own for a few exchanges, provided her strength and cultivation hadn’t seen a significant increase during this time.

"I really hope things can stay as calm as they have been lately."

In these past three months, no child of destiny had caused trouble, and no demonic forces had stirred up chaos. Under his careful vigilance, the system had also quieted down, not stuffing him with luck points during this time.

In these three months, Bai Yu Mo, who had learned the Body Refinement Technique, had already reached the peak of the Golden Core, while Luo Chen had successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. Even Lin Yan had experienced some fortuitous encounters during this period, breaking through to the peak of the Golden Core a few days earlier than him.

In fact, considering his talent, it would have been better to break through to the peak of the Golden Core a few months later. However, it seemed that there were intentions of cooperation between the Central Plains and the Northern Region, and significant events might occur soon. To be safe, he chose to break through to the peak of the Golden Core ahead of time.

For this, he had specifically closed himself off for seven days and prepared several expensive pills, putting on a show of diligent cultivation.

"Time to end my retreat and come out."

Bai Feng stretched and, after shutting down the formation, pushed open the door to find Bai Yu Mo sitting in the living room. It seemed she had sensed the fluctuations of the formation and had been waiting for him.

"Brother, congratulations on reaching the peak of the Golden Core!" She stood up, suppressing her excitement, and walked over to Bai Feng with a smile. "What do you want to eat? Let’s celebrate tonight!"

"Just a normal meal will do," Bai Feng waved his hand. "When you reached the peak of the Golden Core, didn’t we not celebrate specially?"

Bai Yu Mo shook her head in disagreement. "It’s different. I didn’t close myself off for as long as you did."

"I only closed myself off for seven days! That’s already pretty quick! Do you think everyone can break through in one night like you did?"

Bai Feng couldn’t help but retort. He even felt that his retreat had been a bit short; for most people, it wouldn’t even count as a proper retreat. He should have extended it for a few more days, making it a half-month before coming out.

"Well, seven days is still a long time. There was one morning when I got up to cook, and halfway through, I remembered you were in retreat. I had no one to taste the new recipes I learned, and the house felt so empty and lonely..." Bai Yu Mo seemed to be complaining as she muttered softly.

"But before I joined the Tianjian Sect, hadn’t you already lived alone for quite a while…"

Before Bai Feng could finish, Bai Yu Mo interrupted, "I’ve gotten used to it, and I don’t want to go back to being all alone like before."

‘Oh no, could it be that after seven days of retreat, Bai Yu Mo’s emotions are starting to waver?’