The Language of Formations
Heh, I can see the character-patterns.
By the time they arrived at the guest quarters, dusk was spreading across the horizon. Baek Cheong’s residence was located deep within the main compound. As the status of her family had risen significantly following the public announcement of their Ten-Thousand-Year Plan, they were kept at a respectful distance from the other guests. Jin Wi escorted her all the way to her doorstep.
"Young Miss Baek, please rest comfortably."
"Thank you."
Baek Cheong gave a slight nod and stepped inside. The room was furnished with a single elegant bed and a small tea table. A formation was inscribed on the wall, allowing spiritual energy to flow in gently. Baek Cheong sat at the table and checked the contents of her Storage Pouch. Inside were the thousand-year-old Red Sun Grass, Cold Moon Flower, and Blue Jade Herb she had received at the Alchemy Hall. The pile of spirit herbs she had collected elsewhere also took up a considerable amount of space. Furthermore, the bundle of Jade Slips handed to her by Talisman Artisan Yeon at the Talisman Hall was neatly stacked to one side.
'Hmm, a productive day.'
Baek Cheong looked at the gifts that had rolled into her lap for free and felt satisfied. It was rare even back at her main family estate for her pouch to be this full. If she were to return home and unpack these, one corner of the Alchemy Room would likely be overflowing with spirit herbs. She decided to look through the Jade Slips later when she felt bored.
'At this rate, my pouch might be completely full by the time the New Year banquet ends, right?'
As this thought crossed her mind, a small laugh escaped her lips. Usually, this would be the time she would be sneaking a peek at Mumyungbang. After finishing her training at the main estate, the urge to stir up some chaos would always surge right before she went to bed. But strangely, today, she felt no desire to log in.
'Huh, I don't feel like going in today.'
She couldn't figure out why. But a deep sense of fulfillment filled her small chest, and a pleasant wave of fatigue washed over her.
"Maybe I'm just tired."
Baek Cheong yawned, fiddling with her hair. She stood up, straightened her robes, and approached the bed. She smoothed out the quilt and lay down. She closed her eyes, welcoming the rapidly approaching sleep.
The next morning dawned. She opened her eyes to the sound of a small bird chirping under the eaves of the guest house. Thanks to that inexplicable sense of fulfillment, she had slept deeply through the night, and her body felt light. After finishing a light meal, she had the maids attend to her as she neatly donned her light-blue robe. Footsteps sounded outside the room, and a guard came to deliver a message.
"Young Miss, the Sect Leader’s True Inherited Disciple is waiting outside the guest quarters."
"Yes, I'll be out shortly."
Baek Cheong grabbed her Storage Pouch and stepped outside. As she reached the courtyard, Jin Wi, dressed in a robe with cloud patterns, was standing to one side. Unlike his usual sunny demeanor, his aura was refined, fitting for someone who had just entered the early stages of Core Formation.
"Young Miss Baek! Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, did you sleep well too, Senior Jin Wi?"
As always, Jin Wi’s face lit up the moment he saw her, but he quickly regained his composure. He cleared his throat and clumsily tried to act like an adult.
"Which peak’s arts would you like to visit today?"
Since they had toured the Alchemy Peak and Talisman Peak yesterday, it was time to step into the peak of another art. Baek Cheong pretended to ponder while adjusting her sleeves, but in her mind, she had already decided where to go. It was an art she had been secretly looking forward to since yesterday.
"How about Formations?"
Jin Wi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Then I shall guide you to Formation Peak."
Jin Wi extended a hand and gathered spiritual energy. Clouds gathered at their feet, and they stepped onto them with practiced ease. As the clouds rose softly and headed toward Formation Peak, Jin Wi quietly observed Baek Cheong from the corner of his eye.
'Surely she doesn't have a talent for formations too, right...?'
He recalled how she had lectured Senior Alchemist Dan-gyeong the previous day at the Alchemy Hall, basing her arguments on the teachings of Yakseon. At the Talisman Hall, he had seen with his own eyes how she drew a 2nd-tier talisman—something the artisans themselves struggled with—in one go. With that kind of talent, it wouldn't be surprising if she could hold her own in formations as well.
'No, there's no way she could be talented in every single art.'
Jin Wi shook his head to scatter the distracting thoughts. Even showing talent in just one of the Hundred Arts of Cultivation was rare enough to be counted on one's fingers in a lifetime. Just because Baek Cheong had dabbled in alchemy and talismans didn't mean she was a genius at formations too. According to what she said on the way to the guest quarters, hadn't she claimed that drawing the talisman in one go was thanks to her third older brother’s teachings? She must have simply chosen Formation Peak out of pure curiosity.
. . .
As the clouds crossed a couple of peaks, Formation Peak came into view. The scenery was quite different from the other peaks. Small pavilions were densely packed all over the mountain, and different colored energies flowed between them. In the center of the peak stood a large platform, and a faint yet ethereal radiance shimmered incessantly above it. It was far more flamboyant than any other peak.
As the clouds landed gently at the entrance of Formation Peak, Jin Wi stepped off first.
"This is our sect’s Formation Peak. Inside the peak, there are numerous pavilions belonging to the Formation Masters, and on the large platform, a simple formation test is in full swing for the Academic Fair."
"Wow..."
Baek Cheong couldn't take her eyes off the view as she stepped off the clouds. While there were indeed many pavilions belonging to the masters, that wasn't all Baek Cheong was seeing. Between the pavilions, on the platform, and all over the peak, countless character-patterns were flickering and floating about. Each one resembled the patterns she had studied in the Formation Atlas. However, while the patterns in the Atlas had been frozen still on the page, the patterns on Formation Peak were moving about as if they were alive.
Inside the peak, the patterns were pulling and pushing against each other, weaving a flow, and different colored energies were leaking from between them, forming formations. As countless patterns entered her vision all at once, Baek Cheong found herself half-entranced before she knew it. This was incomparable to simply spreading out the Formation Atlas and memorizing the patterns.
'Wow... to think so many character-patterns are floating around.'
Baek Cheong was busy shifting her gaze, tucking each pattern into her small chest. Among the water-attribute patterns, there was one that looked strangely similar to the one she had examined in the third chapter of the Formation Atlas, and mixed in were fire-attribute patterns she had puzzled over for a long time but couldn't quite grasp. In her mind, each point of the character-patterns was being neatly filed away into its proper place in the Formation Atlas.
While she stood there, entranced by the sight, Jin Wi spoke up, sounding proud.
"Young Miss Baek, our sect’s Formation Peak has the most to see among all the peaks of arts."
"Things to see?"
"For the Academic Fair, our sect’s Formation Masters have each set up a formation they’ve been practicing in their pavilions. Even outside guests always make sure to visit Formation Peak when they stop by our sect."
Jin Wi puffed out his chest as if he were a formation master himself.
"Is that why there are so many formations here?"
Baek Cheong asked, unable to hide her admiration, as if it were obvious. Jin Wi looked at her with a puzzled expression for a moment.
"...Formations?"
There was a heavy sense of confusion in his question. He didn't seem to realize what she had been looking at or how she had deduced the existence of formations before even entering the peak.
"Yes, there are so many formations here..."
Baek Cheong stopped speaking only after meeting Jin Wi’s confused gaze head-on. She examined the formations visible to her eyes and then Jin Wi’s expression, quickly organizing her thoughts.
'Oh, wait a minute.'
The character-patterns floating all over the peak were faint, but they were definitely visible. Since there were many patterns she hadn't yet realized, it was only natural that the formations composed of those patterns would reveal their existence, even if they weren't complete.
'Don't tell me... are these formations only visible to my eyes?'
If the formations existing all over the peak weren't visible to Jin Wi, it meant they weren't visible to anyone else either. As the Sect Leader’s True Inherited Disciple, Jin Wi was a cultivator with the talent of a Heavenly Spiritual Root. Even if he were ignorant of formations, he could be said to have excellent spiritual sensitivity. If the formations weren't visible to his eyes, it was highly likely that the formations she was seeing were a sight visible only to her.
"...Wouldn't there be?"
Baek Cheong quickly changed her words and acted nonchalant. Jin Wi didn't harbor any particular suspicion at her words and nodded.
"Certainly, since this is Formation Peak, once we enter the peak, there will be plenty of formations from the masters."
"Yes, I think so too."
Baek Cheong fiddled with her sleeve and carefully gauged the situation. Fortunately, there was no trace of doubt in Jin Wi’s words.
'Do the formation masters know about character-patterns?'
Meanwhile, a question arose in her mind. If they were Formation Masters residing on Formation Peak, they should at least be able to see the character-patterns. Otherwise, how could they deploy formations, inscribe patterns, and fathom the structure of a formation?
'Whether other masters can see them like this... I'll have to wait and see for now.'
She withdrew her gaze, turned her head toward Jin Wi, and adjusted her appearance. It was better to keep these conjectures tucked away safely in her small chest. Revealing the secrets tied to Mumyungbang carelessly would be dangerous.