A middle-aged woman that appeared to be about forty years old stood up and spoke with a beaming smile, “Welcome, Fellow Daoist Crooked Soul. I am the Six United Palace’s Feng Sanniang. I will be in charge of controlling the formation that everyone will be maintaining.”

Although this woman couldn’t be said to be gorgeous, she still had hints of beauty.

“My greetings, Fellow Daoist Feng.” Crooked Soul spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly and brought Han Li towards the table.

The many unfamiliar cultivators in the hall had already entered Han Li’s view: a middle-aged Confucian scholar with an ordinary appearance, a charming young woman that appeared about twenty years old, an old man with ash-colored eyes, a youth covered in glowing red light. With the addition of Feng Sanniang, there were exactly five people.

The charming young woman was an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, however, and sat closely together with the Confucian scholar. From their intimate appearance, it seemed they were Dao companions.

As Han Li was pondering, Feng Sanniang started talking with a charming smile, “Fellow Daoist Crooked has arrived just in time. I was just talking about the transformations of the Six Flowing Ripples Formation! If we become more familiar with the formation in advance, the matter will definitely proceed much more smoothly when the time comes. But before then, I must introduce Fellow Daoist Crooked Soul to you all!” Feng Sanniang was clearly very adept at dealing with others, and with a only few words she reduced the distance between everyone in the hall.

“These two were sent by Tail Star Island’s Island Master, Senior Zhan Tai. This is his brilliant disciple, Fellow Daoist Mao, and his Dao Companion, Fellow Daoist Xue!” Feng Sanniang first introduced the middle-aged Confucian scholar and the young woman to Han Li.

After coldly glancing at Han Li, the middle-aged Confucian scholar arrogantly said, “Crooked Soul, a cultivator from Stalwart Star Island? I know of many people, but why is it that I’ve never heard of your esteemed self?”

For some unknown reason, this middle-aged Confucian scholar found Crooked Soul displeasing to the eye and shot an insulting statement at him.

Feng Sanniang’s beaming expression involuntarily dropped for a moment before recovering.

“I wasn’t originally a Stalwart Star Island cultivator. It was only recently that I arrived the island to visit my Martial Nephew Han Li, so there is nothing odd in not knowing my name! Moreover, this is the first time I’ve ever heard your name as well.” Crooked Soul calmly mocked in return.

“You...”

The middle-aged Confucian Scholar appeared furious. Just as his face darkened and he was about to say something, Feng Sanniang quickly interrupted and changed the subject, “I’ll now introduce this elder, Goldturtle Island’s hidden cultivator, Fellow Daoist Qing Suanzi. Although few know of him, there are few Foundation Establishment cultivators that can match his wood element magic techniques! As for Fellow Daoist Yan, he is even more impressive. With his hidden fire constitution, he managed to cultivate his Pure Yang Truefire to perfection by himself.”

“Fellow Daoist Qing! Fellow Daoist Yan!” Han Li nodded his head towards the old man and the youth.

Although the two were also late Foundation Establishment, Han Li felt a far deeper pressure from them than the middle-aged Confucian scholar. As their cultivation was by no means shallow, Han Li was unwilling to casually slight them.

“Hello, Fellow Daoist Crooked Soul!”

“I send you my regards!”

The two weren’t high-handed and gave Crooked Soul a faint smile.

This caused the middle-aged Confucian scholar to feel even more uneasy.

As such, without waiting for Feng Sanniang to speak further, he suddenly stood and said with a wooden expression, “I am going to return to my room and meditate. I’ll leave the matter of the formation spell for later.”

Then, with a wave of his sleeve, he turned around and left the hall. The young woman glanced apologetically at the others before following after him.

“Humph! What right does he have to be arrogant, the fact that he has an island lord for a master?” The youth surnamed Yan whose body shined with red light spoke with slight anger.

The old man’s and Feng Sanniang’s expressions slightly shifted. While the old man’s face became expressionless immediately after, Feng Sanniang called for Crooked Soul to sit down with a wide smile, as if wanting to brush away the matter with the Confucian Scholar.

“Don’t we need six people? Fellow Daoist Xue doesn’t appear to have the cultivation required to maintain the formation!” Crooked Soul calmly asked, sitting down without any further decorum.

Feng Sanniang smiled before giving an explanation,“There is still Shiftcry Island’s Fellow Daoist Dou. However, he is currently cultivating a ferocious technique and hasn’t left his room in the past few days.”

“Oh, so it was like that!” Crooked Soul nodded his head and didn’t say anything further.

But as Feng Sanniang was quite curious about Crooked Soul, she would occasionally ask him a few irrelevant questions. Han Li, who stood behind Crooked Soul, found this somewhat surprising as he didn’t know what the woman intended.

When she asked whether or not Crooked Soul comprehended the “Six Flowing Ripples Magic Formation”, Han Li willed Crooked Soul to reply that he did not.

The woman smiled, stating that neither did the others. Then, she began to give the three present cultivators an explanation of its wondrous intricacies.

It was truly surprising; Feng Sanniang was a rarely seen formation spell expert!

....

Although the middle-aged Confucian scholar had a problem with the others, he eventually returned to the main hall the next day to hear about the important aspects for maintaining the formation. After all, the Six United Palaces had invited him to come, and it would be unbecoming for him to shirk his responsibilities!

Three days later, the remaining cultivator ended his seclusion in his room, allowing Han Li to finally see him. He was a bulky, seven-foot tall man with a fierce-looking face. Although his appearance seemed violent, he was an outspoken and frank person that quickly formed a close relationship with the others.

With their final member present, Han Li and company finished listening to Feng Sanniang’s explanation on the profound intricacies of the spell formation. Afterwards, their ship would often stop, and they would fly around the nearby seas, continuously practicing the shifting forms of the “Six Flowing Ripples Formation”. This way, they would succeed on their first attempt to capture the demon beast when the time came. Everyone was satisfied with this arrangement.

As such, the ship naturally slowed down, but the Six United Palaces didn’t seem impatient at all. Even with the constant stops, Feng Sanniang maintained her beaming smiled and didn’t show the slightest impatience.

When the formation spell transformations were finally practiced to perfection, Feng Sanniang no longer delayed their journey and had the ship continue on at full speed. One month later, the ship arrived at a nameless, desolate island.

Led by Feng Sanniang, Han Li and company descended from the ship.

Just as they stepped onto the small island, a blinding golden light flew down from the sky, and several people were suddenly hovering above them. Once the light faded away, an old man whose face had a dim, golden sheen expressionlessly glanced at them.

This person lacked any noticeable magic power fluctuations despite obviously not being a mortal, it seemed he was able to restrain his unfathomably deep magic power with ease. The appearance of such an expert caused Han Li’s heart to tremble.

Feng Sanniang stepped forward without hesitation and deeply bowed to the old man and spoke with an expression of respect, “Subordinate Feng Sanniang pays her respects to Elder Miao!”

At that moment, Han Li and the others standing behind her paid their respects as well. They obviously couldn’t afford to slight a Core Formation cultivator.

With a calm expression, the old man slowly said, “There is no need to be so polite! Feng Sanniang, you did quite well. You’ve managed to bring these assistants very quickly! Are they familiar with the formation spell drills? The demonic beast we’re dealing with is quite troublesome, and we cannot be careless!”

“Elder, be at ease. Everyone has already fully mastered the many variations of the Six Flowing Ripples Formation. We will definitely be able to trap the beast!” Feng Sanniang voice brimmed with confidence.

Elder Miao swept his gaze over the Foundation Establishment cultivators. He then said in a friendly manner, “Good! Fellow Daoists, our Six United Palaces require your assistance. So long as you properly exert yourself, we will treat you fairly without a doubt.”

Without waiting for the others to speak, the middle-aged Confucian scholar rushed to speak with an ingratiating smile, “Be at ease, Senior. We will definitely try our best!”

Although the others revealed odd expressions upon seeing the Confucian-scholar’s flattery, they could only express their mutual agreement.

Satisfied with their responses, Elder Miao nodded his head and said, “We’ve already placed down the formation several days ago. You will only have to maintain it. As for Elder Gu, he is in the nearby seas chasing after the demon beast, and I will be joining him after this. I reckon by tomorrow morning, we will be able to draw the beast into the formation and you all will be able to display your skill. You should rest on the island until then.”

Elder Miao then turned into a streak of gold light and flew into the sky, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Feng Sanniang turned her head over, speaking with a solemn voice, “Fellow Daoists, you’ve heard Elder Miao. Let’s rest for the day and properly prepare ourselves for the hard battle coming tomorrow.”

The others naturally didn’t contest this and nodded their heads.

But at this moment, Qing Suanzi, who seldom spoke on the journey, suddenly said with a stiff voice, “Fellow Daoist Feng, we’ve all asked what kind of demon beast we would be dealing with along the way. In the end, you never clearly answered us. But now that we will act tomorrow, will you finally give us a clear answer?”

The old man’s question stirred the hearts of the others, bringing all of their questioning gazes upon Feng Sanniang.