Ten Thousand Years in Seclusion
Chapter 17:The Spirit Gathering Array Is Broken! Compensation!

Chapter 17: Chapter 17:The Spirit Gathering Array Is Broken! Compensation!

Qi Tian slowly opened his eyes.

Morning had arrived.

A thin ray of dawn filtered through the gap in the window, falling quietly across his knees.

He rose to his feet, about to stretch his stiff limbs.

Then, as he turned—

He froze.

What the hell?!

The sixteen spirit stones embedded in the array the night before had all been reduced to powder. Pale gray dust lay scattered across the floor.

A sharp pain twisted through Qi Tian’s chest.

Normally, a second-tier Spirit Gathering Array could run for twenty or thirty cycles on a single set of low-grade spirit stones. That was the expected consumption rate.

But him?

Just one night of cultivation.

Sixteen stones in the array.

Six more in his hands.

Twenty-two spirit stones in total—

Every last one had been devoured.

This wasn’t cultivation.

This was burning spirit stones alive.

This was eating through his savings.

"...Sigh."

He lowered his head with a quiet sigh.

Then his gaze swept across the formation lines.

His pupils contracted.

His breathing stopped.

Two of the engraved formation lines were covered with fine cracks.

...Damn.

He had broken the Spirit Gathering Array as well.

Now he’d have to pay for it.

But...

How much did a second-tier Spirit Gathering Array even cost?

Qi Tian stood rooted to the spot, the corner of his eye twitching violently. Another stab of pain shot through his chest, so sharp it nearly left him breathless.

...Should I just leave?

No.

A man should stand by what he’s done.

If he ran now, his reputation would be ruined.

His hand instinctively tightened around his storage pouch.

Seventy-eight low-grade spirit stones...

It probably wouldn’t even cover a fraction of the repair cost.

Flustered and at a complete loss, he crouched down, his fingertips absently tracing the fine cracks.

...Hm?

His eyes narrowed.

He examined the two damaged formation lines carefully, then compared them with the intact ones nearby.

After a long moment, the corner of his mouth slowly curled upward.

There was still a way to turn things around.

After thinking it through, he finally came up with a solution.

The only problem...

There would be no keeping a low profile this time.

But when he thought about how many spirit stones he might have to pay in compensation, he steeled himself.

Abruptly rising to his feet, he strode to the door, yanked it open, and bellowed,

"Steward!"

The instant the word left his mouth, he stopped suppressing his aura.

It burst forth without restraint—

Mid Foundation Establishment.

In Zhenyuan City, a cultivator at the mid Foundation Establishment realm was more than enough to command respect.

Moments later, the inn’s steward came hurrying over, his face already pale with anxiety. By the time he reached the doorway, even his voice was trembling.

"C-Customer... Senior! W-What... what has happened?"

"See for yourself."

Qi Tian stepped aside and pointed at the floor.

Gray-white spirit stone dust was scattered everywhere. The air still carried the faint scent of scorched spirit qi.

His expression turned icy as he said in a voice edged with anger,

"I was cultivating just now. Before even half an incense stick’s worth of time had passed, the formation lines cracked on their own, and all sixteen spirit stones embedded in the array suddenly shattered. The backlash even left me with internal injuries."

He fixed the steward with a cold stare.

"So tell me."

"Just what is going on here?"

The steward froze.

"Senior, please understand! This array was personally laid down by a one-star formation master. Over the past twenty years, it has served countless cultivators without the slightest problem!"

Qi Tian’s expression darkened at once.

"But now there is a problem."

The steward choked on his words.

"W-Well, that..."

Cold sweat began to bead across his forehead.

Qi Tian took a step forward.

His gaze sharpened.

"What? Are you trying to shift the blame onto me?"

"I wouldn’t dare! I truly wouldn’t dare!"

The steward waved his hands frantically.

His words were respectful enough, but the trace of suspicion in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Qi Tian caught it immediately.

A cold smile tugged at his lips.

"Fine."

He pointed toward the damaged formation lines.

"Then take a closer look yourself. Tell me—what is different about these two?"

The steward hurriedly crouched down.

He carefully inspected the two damaged formation lines, then compared them with the other intact lines nearby.

He examined them repeatedly, yet aside from the obvious cracks, he could find no other difference.

After a long while, he stood up, his expression full of uncertainty.

"S-Senior... this one lacks the necessary insight. Aside from the cracks, I don’t see anything unusual."

Qi Tian strode forward.

His finger tapped lightly against one of the fractured lines.

"Look at the direction of the engraving."

"The pressure of the blade."

"The curvature of the turns."

"These two lines were clearly not carved using the same technique as the rest."

His voice grew colder with every word.

"The blade work is unstable. The depth varies inconsistently. The spiritual force guiding the engraving is uneven and poorly controlled."

"Every detail screams inexperience."

He lifted his eyes and fixed the steward with a piercing stare.

"Are you absolutely certain these were engraved by that one-star formation master himself?"

"If so, then I’d say the man must have fallen asleep halfway through and scratched in the final strokes at random."

The steward shuddered.

His face went pale.

Suddenly, something seemed to click.

"W-Wait..."

"Now that you mention it..."

"That formation master did bring an apprentice with him when he set up the array..."

"There."

Qi Tian let out a sharp snort.

"That explains everything."

"The master completed ninety percent of the work, grew impatient near the end, and tossed the final touches to his apprentice."

"The apprentice lacked both cultivation and skill. The lines he carved were fundamentally flawed from the start. Poor transitions. Weak foundations. Structural instability."

"For twenty years, the defects remained hidden."

"But defects are defects."

"The moment the spiritual qi circulation intensified, these two sections became the first to fail."

"The spirit stones shattered."

"The array suffered backlash."

He flicked his sleeve dramatically.

"Entirely predictable."

"In the end, your inn used defective formation lines and passed them off as a finished array."

"That is why this happened."

The steward’s face turned ashen.

His knees nearly gave out beneath him.

He knew almost nothing about advanced formation theory, having only picked up bits and pieces from conversations with formation masters over the years. Yet every word sounded perfectly reasonable.

Combined with the pressure of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator standing before him, he found himself unable to doubt a single sentence.

"S-Senior..."

"T-Then what should we do now...?"

Qi Tian gritted his teeth.

"Compensation."

The words came out almost as a growl.

"My sixteen spirit stones are gone."

"I suffered backlash injuries."

"You owe me compensation."

The steward’s face changed instantly.

Cold sweat streamed down his temples as he hurriedly cupped his hands.

"Please calm your anger, Senior! Compensation is only proper. It’s just... how much did Senior have in mind?"

"Not much."

Qi Tian held up five fingers.

"Five hundred low-grade spirit stones."

"Sixteen spirit stones were destroyed, and I suffered injuries from the backlash. Five hundred is perfectly reasonable."

"F-Five hundred?!"

The steward sucked in a sharp breath.

The color drained from his face, and his brows knotted together in distress.

Qi Tian took in every flicker of his expression.

Then, with a magnanimous wave of his hand—

"Forget it."

"I’ll take the loss."

"Just reimburse my sixteen spirit stones and add another hundred for my troubles."

"One hundred and sixteen in total."

"Surely that’s fair enough."

The steward felt as though he had been granted a royal pardon.

He nodded so vigorously his neck nearly snapped.

"Perfectly fair! Entirely fair!"

Even so, his heart still bled.

But compared with five hundred spirit stones, one hundred and sixteen was infinitely easier to bear.

He hurried away without daring to argue another word and soon returned with the spirit stones, presenting them respectfully with both hands.

Qi Tian took the spirit stones from him.

Their weight and gentle warmth filled his palm.

Delight bloomed inside him, though not a trace of it showed on his face.

He merely gave a faint nod, put the spirit stones into his storage bag, and strode out of the inn.

The morning sky was clear and cloudless.

"It is time to head for Qinglu Mountain."

Inside the common hall, the steward watched Qi Tian disappear into the distance.

Only then did he wipe the sweat from his brow.

His face alternated between pale and green.

Not daring to delay, he immediately took out a transmission talisman, infused it with spiritual qi, and called out anxiously,

"Elder Li! The second-order Spirit Gathering Array you set up here... it’s cracked! It even destroyed a guest’s spirit stones! Please, come take a look!"

The Yuelai Inn was one of the properties owned by the Falling Cloud Sect.

The one who had set up the Spirit Gathering Array all those years ago was Elder Li of the Falling Cloud Sect—an elder of the sect and a one-star formation master.