Chapter 45

"These formations are really interesting..."

While walking near Bu Zheng, they discovered not only medicinal herbs but also traces of ancient relics. Among these traces were some formations that particularly interested Bu Zheng. As a sect, the Nan Kui Sect occasionally featured formations in its buildings, which was quite normal, even in the outer areas. These formations were the essence of that era. Bu Zheng had seen some before, while others were new to him, but he understood some of the principles. The basic elements had not changed much, at least not in this ancient relic.

Most of these formations were in ruins, but deducing the incomplete formations had a unique charm. Bu Zheng found it very interesting and began to deduce and reconstruct the original formations.

Bu Zheng did not know that deducing incomplete formations was an essential skill in the study of formations. Those who studied formations had to master this skill to repair broken formations, while weapon refiners used it to repair broken magical weapons. As for alchemists, they rarely needed this skill.

Therefore, Bu Zheng had never heard of this skill before. It was just a coincidental interest that became one of his abilities.

Bu Zheng continued to wander around the area because Chu Xiong had said that venturing too far would be dangerous. This place was a safe point, and there was no trace of any beast in the vicinity.

After a beast's activity, it usually left a trace of its presence. Unless it was a very special or high-level beast, such beasts would not appear in the Nan Kui ancient relic.

The absence of beast activity indicated that the area had been free of beasts for a long time, making it relatively safe. Of course, this was only relative, not absolute.

Here, it was still best to be cautious. Even in a relatively low-level training ground, caution was always advisable. Many lessons had proven this point.

Bu Zheng was a "cautious" person, so he would not venture too far from the group. He quickly finished his exploration and returned to the group, joining them in meditation. In his mind, he was deducing the incomplete formations he had seen. He couldn't deduce them all at once, nor could he stand there motionless until he finished. He just kept them in his mind.

On this journey, he had memorized quite a few formations and deduced a few in his mind. This was more of a personal hobby, and no one else knew about it. If they did, it would be a big deal.

Even in the entire Qingyun Sword Sect, there were very few people who could repair formations. After all, the Qingyun Sword Sect was weak in this area, focusing mainly on swordsmanship. If it were the Butterfly Valley, there would be many more, as it was a sect specializing in weapon refinement.

"Alright, everyone, have you rested enough?" Chu Xiong was the first to open his eyes and spoke to the group. His voice was just loud enough to reach everyone's ears.

"Damn, that was refreshing!" Zhao Zhiyin stood up. "Bu Zheng, do you still have the scorpion meat? If not, we can go catch another one."

"We still have some. Why do you ask? Do you want to have it again tonight?" Bu Zheng asked.

"Of course, we want to continue," Qi Tian chimed in. In fact, everyone, including Qin Shuang, had the same idea.

"Little Junior Brother, dinner is on you," Chu Xiong added.

"Dinner is fine, but we can't have scorpions again," Bu Zheng said.

"Why not?" Zhao Zhiyin immediately jumped up. For a food lover, not being able to eat what they wanted was a form of torture.

"Wouldn't you find it greasy to eat fried food twice in a row?" Bu Zheng countered.

At that moment, everyone seemed to remember that they had just eaten fried food. But why hadn't they felt it was too greasy? Was it because they were too engrossed, or was there another reason?

In fact, although Bu Zheng had used oil and flour, he had controlled the frying time very well, taking the scorpions out just before they were fully cooked. The residual heat was just enough to cook them inside, with very little oil left. As for the flour, it was not for absorbing oil but for absorbing moisture, and he had added some ingredients to reduce greasiness, making the food less oily.

Even so, eating fried food twice in a row might still make it feel greasy, so it was best to change the menu for the next meal.

"Then what are we having for dinner?" Zhao Zhiyin asked, a bit disappointed.

"Let's have something lighter. I've collected some wild vegetables. We can see what beasts we catch and make some soup," Bu Zheng said.

"Just wild vegetables and soup? Alright, we'll have scorpions tomorrow," Zhao Zhiyin said, even more disappointed. He thought to himself, if it's just wild vegetables and soup, he might as well eat the meat he brought and just grill it.

The others had the same thought, wondering what was so good about wild vegetables. They were poor people's food, and it seemed they wouldn't be eating anything good tonight, so they might as well eat what they brought.

However, by the time evening came, they regretted their thoughts. There was no such thing as food for the poor or the rich; it all depended on the chef's skills.

After completing a segment of their training, they successfully eliminated three low-level beasts. One of the new disciples was slightly injured, but the harvest was quite good. However, they didn't get the beast meat that Xiao Yao wanted, as Chu Xiong had taken it all. The meat of these beasts contained considerable spiritual energy and had some value.

After completing their training, they arrived at the designated location, a safe point. This safe point was a fortified and defended building repaired by the Qingyun Sword Sect to provide a safe place for training disciples to rest. Of course, they could choose not to stay inside and continue training outside.

However, for the new disciples, it was better to rest well now. It was their first time, and they could get used to staying outside later.

Perhaps because there were few new disciples that day, the building was occupied only by their team. Chu Xiong chose a building on the north side for the night, with no particular reason. Any part of the building was equally safe.

Although the safe point was simple, it had a dining room and kitchen with some emergency food. However, this food was rarely touched, as everyone usually brought their own or found food themselves.

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