Naked Sword Art

Chapter 493: Flying Pavilion

Nothing happened.

Xiao Fang frowned. "Why didn’t it work?"

Yu Qiuyan chucked softly. "Creating formations is far more complex than simply knowing the inscriptions. Once you pass three inscriptions, orientation becomes critical—the angle, order, and positioning must align perfectly."

She got up then sat down beside him, tone patient and instructive, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as if preparing herself to give him another lecture, but in truth, she simply wanted to get closer to him for another reason. There was something she needed to ask him.

"There are soul crystals designed to teach complete formations as well," she continued—then paused, her head tilting slightly. "But before that... big brother, tell me, how were you able to absorb the crystal so quickly?"

Xiao Fang stiffened.

"Ah... that—"

He understood very well the stigma surrounding taboo cultivation methods. Telling her the truth was out of the question. His silence, however, was answer enough for Yu Qiuyan. Her eyes softened—not with suspicion, but quiet understanding.

"I didn’t mean to offend you. If you don’t want to answer, I won’t force you," she said gently. "Everyone has secrets."

There were many masters in the cultivation world that wished to remain hidden, and their secrets not exposed. If Xiao Fang’s teacher was such a person, then she certainly didn’t want to offend them.

"Thank you for understanding," Xiao Fang replied.

As Xiao Fang searched for what else to say, a sudden thought surfaced—something he had completely forgotten about until now.

’I nearly forgot about this.’

His fingers subtly shifted, brushing against the second spatial ring he wore—one he had taken from Yu Shenyi after killing him the night before.

’Since he was a member of the Royal Court’s Red Lotus faction, his possessions must be extraordinary,’

Without hesitation, Xiao Fang sent his spiritual sense into the ring, allowing his consciousness to sink into the vast space within as he began to explore what treasures Yu Shenyi left behind.

Inside, from the things he could recognize, he found several cases of soul stones, and a handful of soul crystals.

Bringing out every crystal, Yu Qiuyan’s eyes widened when saw what Xiao Fang was doing.

"Where did you—"

"It belonged to the Heavenly realm cultivator I killed last night," Xiao Fang quickly explained.

Picking one of them up, he asked,

"How do I determine what each crystal teaches—and how do I fill them up with Soul Qi?"

Yu Qiuyan was still in shock, but she eventually gathered her senses to explain.

"First... there are three grades of soul stones," she began. She raised three fingers delicately.

Weak Soul Stone — lowest grade

Earth Soul Stone — mid grade

Heavenly Soul Stone — highest grade

"These are used to fill corresponding soul crystals. Weak stones for weak crystals, earth stones for earth crystals, and heavenly stones for heavenly crystals. You can mix grades," she added with a faint smirk, "but... using weak stones to fill an earth-grade crystal would require an absurd amount. Hardly worth the effort."

Looking back into his Spatial ring, Xiao Fang could guess which stones were what but the feeling he got from them.

By his estimation, he currently had:

~ 100,000 Weak soul stones~ 2,000 Earth-grade soul stonesBut only 9 Heavenly-grade soul stones

However, all the crystals looked the same, so he asked,

"How do I determine the grade of the crystal?"

"The simplest way to figure it out would be by checking what they teach. Weak-grade crystals teach fundamentals—like what you absorbed today. Earth-grade crystals contain knowledge for advanced formations... such as this flying carriage."

Then she reached into her spatial pouch and brought out a polished, faintly glowing Earth-grade soul crystal. Placing it in Xiao Fang’s hands, she said,

"Here. Try connecting this one to your soul sea. Don’t try to absorb it—just... look inside."

Doing as she said, Xiao Fang connected the Soul Crystal to his soul sea. The moment he did, a vivid, three-dimensional diagram bloomed inside of his soul seas:

A full formation blueprint of a Flying Soul Carriage, rotating gently as if suspended in a void of pure light. Every inscription, every angle, every layer... displayed with perfect clarity.

Xiao Fang remembered reading in Ruji’s inscription book that advanced formations all had more than 9 inscriptions in them, since the one he was looking at now had more than that, it was easy to know that he was looking at an Earth Grade formation.

"So this is what an earth-grade crystal contains..."

Yu Qiuyan crossed her arms, satisfied. "Exactly. Think of it as a lecture left behind by ancient inscription masters."

"I see."

Motivated, Xiao Fang returned the Earth-grade crystal back to her and pulled out several empty ones from Yu Shenyi’s ring.

One by one, he connected each to his soul sea.

The third one made his heartbeat pause.

A massive, ornate formation unfurled within his mind.

"This thing again—" Xiao Fang thought out loud.

"Hm? What did you find?" Yu Qiuyan leaned in curiously.

A Flying Pavilion, the same one Yu Shenyi had used to hover above the Black Paradise Sect.

"So that’s how he made it..." Xiao Fang murmured.

Impatient to find out what formation he found, Yu Qiuyan leaned in closer, hugging his arm between her soft tits as she took a peek inside. The moment she did, her expression quickly changed.

"A flying pavilion!"

"Do you know anything about it?" Xiao Fang asked.

"Un, they’re one of the best flying formations. They can travel above the clouds and spy on anyone below. However, I hear they’re extremely difficult to learn. Even many Elders would struggle to absorb a crystal like this properly."

It’s possible to fail to absorb them?" Xiao Fang asked.

"Un, if you fail, you’ll likely receive a backlash from it. There are ways to increase your chances of not failing, but it ultimately depends on your own level of comprehension."

Xiao Fang was glad to have met Yu Qiuyan, but seeing her get so excited over these crystals made him feel a certain type of way. Although, feeling her body pressed so delicately against his played a part in it, but he didn’t let it show.

"Why did you stop, let’s see what else you got," she said enthusiastically.