Chapter Ninety-Two: The More One Thinks, the More Terrifying It Becomes

Although this enormous pit offered no real danger, and after falling into it one would seem to find a broad, open road ahead, the moment He Song thought of how everything he had done had all along been calculated by the cultivators of this world, he felt a deep and terrible malice.

Too frightening.

As expected of the world of cultivation.

So long as there was profit to be made, these cultivators were astonishingly quick-witted; they would lay out every conceivable trap for you.

At such a sight, He Song suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Was this not much like the lives of overworked wage slaves in his past life, with every path already arranged for them?

The first twenty years were for spending the money of an entire lifetime.

The middle thirty were for paying it back.

The final twenty were for sending money to the hospital.

It was all arranged with perfect clarity, was it not?

The great pit He Song now faced had also been arranged for him long ago.

Once one had only just begun to grasp the path of formations, even those with talent in it did not know that all they needed to do was go to Thick Earth Sect to become an inner disciple.

He Song, for one, had known nothing of it before.

It was only when Ping Er suddenly remembered him that she informed him of everything.

Still, that mattered little. As soon as he opened up his own spiritual field and began selling spiritual rice, Thick Earth Sect would soon find him.

Under Thick Earth Sect’s rule, the spiritual rice and spiritual crops produced each year by immortal cities and immortal markets were accounted for.

If there were too much, or too little, it would draw suspicion.

Follow the trail, and there was a high chance of finding the person responsible.

In this way, even someone like He Song, who knew nothing of the matter, would quickly be taken into Thick Earth Sect as a disciple.

It could be said that Thick Earth Sect had accounted for everything.

So long as one had entered the path of formations, one could not escape Thick Earth Sect’s notice.

So long as one showed anything unusual, Thick Earth Sect would naturally investigate.

So long as one showed value, Thick Earth Sect would naturally take one in.

As for founding his own branch?

By He Song’s reckoning, that was probably impossible.

Born under Thick Earth Sect’s dominion, how could one possibly be given the chance to establish an independent foothold?

At the same time, when he saw in Ping Er’s letter that ordinary people with talent for formations generally needed five years to enter the path, a flash of enlightenment crossed He Song’s mind.

So it turned out that not only did he possess talent in formations, he also learned faster than ordinary people who possessed such talent.

Perhaps it was because his soul was stronger.

He Song thought to himself.

But soon, He Song sank once more into contemplation.

Ping Er’s letter had made it very clear.

Within Thick Earth Sect’s sphere of influence, if He Song wanted to sell spiritual rice and earn spirit stones, he would inevitably be discovered by Thick Earth Sect.

By then, once the investigation traced back to him, he would likely become an inner disciple of Thick Earth Sect at once, no longer able to remain in Azure Mist Immortal Market as he did now.

Although there was nothing bad about becoming an inner disciple of Thick Earth Sect, and in fact there were quite a few benefits, He Song still needed to consider it carefully.

Did he truly want to become an inner disciple of Thick Earth Sect?

Or should he continue staying in the market?

For a time, He Song began weighing the pros and cons.

The advantages were plain.

By joining Thick Earth Sect, from that day onward he would be an inner disciple with the sect behind him.

He would no longer live as a lone cultivator, anxious and fearful every day.

Moreover, because he had talent in formations and only needed to lay out arrays, combat had little to do with him.

He could cultivate in peace, step into the Foundation Establishment realm as soon as possible, and become one of those lofty Foundation Establishment True Men.

But there were drawbacks as well.

After joining Thick Earth Sect, if the sect faced hardship, he would also have to contribute.

Furthermore, after entering Thick Earth Sect because of his entry into the path of formations, there was no telling whether he would still be able to earn as many spirit stones as he did now.

He was an immortal being; if he stayed in Thick Earth Sect for too long and his lifespan ran out while he still did not die, it might well draw unnecessary trouble.

Within a sect, he would no longer enjoy his present freedom.

Thoughts surged and churned in his mind.

He Song considered it for a long time, yet in the end he could not make up his mind.

Still, while weighing the matter, he sent a paper crane with a voice message to thank Ping Er, who was far away in Azure Edge Immortal City.

If not for her message today, he would likely still have no idea that he was about to step into a great trap.

The three great arrays in the introductory chapter of the path of formations were precisely the pit he had spoken of.

Though it was not a fatal pit, He Song felt that in a situation where one’s fate was not under one’s own control, one should avoid it if at all possible.

At the same time, now that he understood the introductory chapter of formations to be such a pit, he also began to waver over whether he should still sell his spiritual rice.

If he decided not to join Thick Earth Sect, then although he was indeed in charge of a medicinal garden, and though he could also secretly sell spiritual rice under that guise, He Song dared not guarantee that if he truly sold large quantities, it would not attract Thick Earth Sect’s attention.

Even if exposure brought him no real loss, that uncertainty made his brows knit tightly.

So, in the end, should he join Thick Earth Sect or not?

If other cultivators saw He Song’s hesitation, it would likely cause a tremendous uproar.

Within the immortal cities and immortal markets under Thick Earth Sect’s rule, almost every cultivator dreamed of joining Thick Earth Sect.

Even becoming an outer disciple of Thick Earth Sect would already be a leap to the heavens.

If they knew that He Song was at this very moment considering whether he should join Thick Earth Sect and become an inner disciple, those people would probably swarm him at once and tear him apart alive.

A chance that outsiders would not even dare to imagine had fallen into He Song’s hands.

And yet he was hesitating.

After a long silence, He Song sighed, feeling only utter confusion in his mind.

So he no longer thought about it and instead began to sit in meditation and cultivate.

Days passed one after another.

It had already been several days since He Song learned that once one entered the path of formations, one could join Thick Earth Sect and become an inner disciple.

During these days, He Song was unlike his usual self; aside from cultivation, he did not study talismans, nor did he go to the market stalls to sell them, nor take his turn guarding the medicinal garden.

Instead, he became rather aimless.

He began wandering about the immortal market.

This state of his was not because he had already made a decision.

On the contrary, it was precisely because he had not yet made the final decision that he acted this way.

Walking the streets of the immortal market and looking at the antique houses and courtyards on all sides, He Song let out a soft sigh.

Such a dilemma truly left him somewhat exhausted in body and mind.

Join Thick Earth Sect, and there would likely be hidden troubles in the years to come.

He was immortal, with inexhaustible lifespan; staying in Thick Earth Sect for too long would make it difficult not to attract attention.

Unless he could break through to the Golden Core realm at a normal age and stand shoulder to shoulder with the old ancestor of Thick Earth Sect.

Otherwise—

But if he did not join Thick Earth Sect, what would become of his spiritual rice? What would become of his future cultivation resources?

In his small transport storage bag, more than twenty-two thousand jin of spiritual rice were still lying there.

If he wanted to establish his Foundation, he would have to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, would he not? Without resources, where would he get them?

The End