Chapter 529: Turning the Tables
After cursing, the fat Manager turned around. In an instant, his once-imposing face was packed with a smile as warm as a spring breeze.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the newly inscribed formation plate in Su Ming's hand, then, with extreme subtlety, swept across the unassuming Cloud Hidden Sect identity token hanging at Su Ming's waist.
He strode quickly over to Su Ming and bowed deeply, his hands clasped together in a profound salute.
“Esteemed young friend, a misunderstanding, a terrible misunderstanding.” The fat Manager's words came out rapid-fire, his voice kept low enough that only Su Ming and his companions could hear. “These blind fools are new hires who don't know the rules. Offending a Daoist brother from Cloud Hidden Sect is truly an unforgivable crime.”
Su Ming tucked the formation plate into his sleeve, his expression unchanged. “A misunderstanding? They claimed I stole your pavilion's techniques.”
“We acquired that formation plate as a defective product from a wandering cultivator fleeing the Northern Frontier a few days ago,” the fat Manager lied without even a hint of a blush, though a thin sheen of sweat beaded on his forehead.
He knew that the young man before him wasn't just astonishingly skilled in the path of formations, but also possessed a ruthlessly sharp mind. If things really escalated, Myriad Treasures Pavilion's reputation would be ruined.
“Its origins were indeed unclear, and it offended your sect's heritage.” The fat Manager gritted his teeth, pulled an exquisite jade slip from his voluminous sleeve, and presented it with both hands. “This is the complete rubbing of that formation plate. Consider it an apology to calm your nerves. I hope the young friend will be magnanimous and not let this small matter stir up a fuss. After all, the venerable Senior Xuanming is also in the city. Disturbing his peaceful cultivation wouldn't be good.”
He invoked Master Xuanming's name, both as a sign of submission and a veiled probe.
Su Ming fixed his gaze on the fat Manager.
He understood the principle of knowing when enough was enough. In Myriad Manifestations City, pushing a local power like Myriad Treasures Pavilion into a corner would do them no good at all.
“If it's a misunderstanding, then it's settled.” Su Ming reached out and accepted the jade slip, tucking it into his storage pouch.
“Thank you for your understanding, young friend.” The fat Manager let out a long sigh of relief, bowed once more, then turned and shouted loudly to the crowd, “Clear out! It's a misunderstanding! I'll take these useless trash who made false accusations back and punish them severely!”
Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Without lingering any longer, Su Ming led the still-shaken Qingfeng and Mingyue quickly into the flow of pedestrians on the street.
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The clamor of Myriad Manifestations City's Southern Street was gradually left behind as their pace quickened.
Su Ming led Qingfeng and Mingyue swiftly through several extremely narrow, dark alleys. Only after they had changed direction three times in a row in front of a dead end covered in moss, and confirmed that the few faint traces of divine sense probing them from behind had completely vanished, did he finally slow his steps.
The air around them was thick with a musty smell, the scent of places that never saw sunlight.
Qingfeng leaned against a damp brick wall, his chest heaving violently as he let out a long, rancid breath. His slightly youthful face still held a trace of lingering, pale fear.
“Su Ming, you just... you just took way too big a risk!” Qingfeng swallowed a mouthful of dry saliva, his fingers tightly gripping his sword hilt, his knuckles turning white. “What if that Myriad Treasures Pavilion Manager turned hostile and insisted on detaining us? This is the Central Continent, not the Northern Frontier!”
Standing nearby, Mingyue's face was equally pale, but her clear eyes sparkled with an undeniable light of admiration.
“But Su Ming Senior Brother was really amazing just now,” Mingyue said, her voice kept low as if afraid to disturb passersby outside the alley. “Didn't you see that Manager's face? Turning green and white, and in the end, he had to meekly apologize to us.”
Su Ming stopped and turned around. He didn't rush to answer, instead folding his hands into his wide, gray sleeves, his fingertips habitually brushing against the edge of the Grand Teleportation Talisman concealed in his palm.
“He wouldn't turn hostile,” Su Ming said, looking at Qingfeng. His tone was as steady as if he were explaining the simplest formation principle. “Myriad Treasures Pavilion does business in the Central Continent by welcoming customers through open doors. What they value most is their reputation. Killing an inner disciple suspected of mastering the core heritage of Cloud Hidden Sect over the greed of a few low-level thugs? That would be stupid.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the gray daylight at the mouth of the alley.
“In the Central Continent, killing a person is very easy, but bearing the bottomless karma that follows is very hard. They are businessmen. They calculated that account very clearly.”
Shadow, perched on Su Ming's shoulder, seemed to sense the gradual relaxation of her master's tension. She shook her metallic-luster black feathers, lowered her head, and used her sharp beak to gently preen a few disheveled downy feathers on her chest, letting out a lazy-sounding “Cheep.”
Qingfeng froze for a moment, then chewed over Su Ming's words. His tense shoulders finally began to loosen.
“Then that formation line you drew on the spot...” Mingyue took a half-step closer, her voice dropping even lower with a hint of inquiry. “Was it really a forbidden secret from our Cloud Hidden Sect's Formation Peak? How come I've never seen it in Star Pivot Hall?”
Su Ming shook his head slightly.
“I made it up on the spot.”
At those words, both Qingfeng and Mingyue's eyes went wide, as if they were staring at a monster.
“But,” Su Ming's gaze dropped slightly, looking at his own slender index finger, “that variant of the Lead rune group was indeed exquisitely perfect. Those three nested loops can evenly dissipate the instantaneous impact energy a formation receives into the earth veins. I've completely memorized it.”
Within his Consciousness Sea.
Lin Yu's Soul Body was practically howling with laughter in the void, his form trembling with amusement.
“You little rascal!” Lin Yu scolded, but his tone was full of pride and approval. “This ability of yours to borrow force and turn the tables on your accuser, it's getting better and better.”
The sky had already begun to darken at a visible pace. The massive city-protecting grand formation in Myriad Manifestations City's dome started to emit a faint golden halo, replacing the vanished sunlight.
“Let's go.” Su Ming stepped out of the shadows and onto a slightly wider street. “It's almost dark. Let's head to the eastern city's teleportation formation.”
The three walked in silence, crossing most of Myriad Manifestations City. They finally arrived at the teleportation square in the east as dusk fully settled in.
The fluctuations of spiritual energy here were more intense than anywhere else in the city. A scorched smell, like the air after a thunderstorm, even hung in the air.
In the very center of the square, a massive teleportation formation lay quietly on the azure stone-paved ground.
Unlike the teleportation formations of the Northern Frontier, this one was enclosed by twelve pure white jade pillars, each a full ten zhang tall. Every pillar was densely carved with ancient spatial formation lines using the blood of extremely rare demonic beasts.
The moment Su Ming glanced at those formation lines, a faint sting shot through his Consciousness Sea. Those patterns involved spatial folding laws that were far beyond the comprehension of his current mid-stage Foundation Establishment level.
He immediately averted his gaze and stopped forcing it.
Standing in front of the twelve white jade pillars was a gray-robed figure who had quietly appeared there at some point.