Speaking to this point, Luo Feng suddenly gulped down a large mouthful of wine, his face filled with grief and indignation as he patted his thigh.

"So! Our master's lineage looks like four people, but actually, I'm the only one seriously studying formations! Master's heaven-piercing, earth-penetrating skills have to be inherited by someone, right? I could only desperately study, afraid that one day our Formation Peak's legacy would be broken."

He turned his head, a pair of bright eyes staring intently at Su Ming, showing the relief and fervor of finding a "kindred spirit."

"Now it's great! Junior Brother, you're here! I saw those processes you implemented in the Repair Hall, and your ideas for improving formation plates, and I knew, we're the same kind of people! I'm finally not fighting alone anymore!"

Su Ming felt a bit unnerved by his fervent gaze, but a strange sense of belonging welled up in his heart.

Lin Yu's voice carried a touch of emotion, "One sword that only understands destruction, one beast that only understands communication, one obsessive who only understands delving into research. This configuration, no matter how you look at it, resembles a standard party for a dungeon run."

"Third Junior Brother, you've drunk too much again."

Qin Yi put down the boning knife, took out a plain handkerchief from his sleeve to wipe his hands, his tone unhurried, "Formation Peak has few people, not because no one wants to come, but because Master picks very strictly. He said, 'The path of formations values refinement over quantity, preferring scarcity to excess.' We're all very happy you could come."

He looked at Su Ming, his gaze falling on the storage pouch at Su Ming's waist, the one containing the black egg.

"Junior Brother, the egg I gave isn't just a meeting gift."

Qin Yi's voice became somewhat mysterious, "Master mentioned that you're heavy-hearted, under a lot of pressure, living too tiredly. Raising a spirit pet is sometimes easier than dealing with people. And I heard Master mention in passing that some ancient exotic beasts have companion powers with miraculous effects for nourishing meridians and stabilizing foundations... Of course, whether that egg can hatch, and what hatches out, I can't guarantee! Haha!"

Su Ming's heart stirred.

Stabilizing foundations? Is Second Senior Brother subtly hinting at my damaged Dao foundation? It seems Master indeed trusts these disciples greatly.

"Thank you for your concern, Second Senior Brother." Su Ming raised his cup in a toast.

Ling Shuang, who had been silent all along, also raised her wine bowl at this moment. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush from the alcohol, reducing some of her unapproachable coldness and adding a breathtakingly stunning beauty.

"In three days, the Passing of the Flame Memorial."

She only said six words, her gaze fixed directly on Su Ming, as if sword light swirled in the depths of her eyes, "All True Disciples from each peak will attend. If anyone provokes you, no need to endure it. Formation Peak is not weaker than anyone."

This was the longest sentence she had spoken tonight.

Su Ming nodded solemnly and clinked cups with Ling Shuang.

This drinking session lasted until the moon was high in the sky.

There was none of the scheming probing, nor any hypocritical courtesy, only a ground full of fish bones and several empty wine jars.

The night wind gradually cooled, and the drinking party ended.

Ling Shuang carried her sword on her back, refused Luo Feng's offer to see her off, her figure flickered and transformed into a streak of sword light disappearing into the night. Qin Yi took several uneaten grilled fish, saying he would give them to that spirit cat as a midnight snack, and swayed away.

"Come, I'll see you back."

Although Luo Feng had drunk quite a bit, his eyes were surprisingly clear. He insisted on using that "clattering" formation board to take Su Ming back to Gazing Star Cliff.

The formation board rose into the air, the night wind howled.

The main ridge of Formation Peak below was flowing with radiant light, forming a stark contrast with this broken board.

"Junior Brother."

Luo Feng stood at the front controlling the formation board, his back appearing somewhat frail under the moonlight, his voice fragmented by the wind yet each word clear.

"At the Passing of the Flame Memorial, besides mourning, it's also a time for each peak, even external sects, to observe the new generation of our Cloud Hidden Sect. You returned carrying the 'Border Defense True Seal,' and were exceptionally accepted as a True Disciple by Master, currently at the height of attention."

The formation board suddenly shook, as if a rune node had poor contact. Luo Feng skillfully kicked a certain spot, and the board stabilized again.

He didn't turn his head, his voice lowering a bit.

"When a tree stands out in the forest, the wind will surely topple it. Although our Formation Peak protects its own, some hidden arrows can only be blocked by yourself. You carry the True Seal, making you the target of all. In all matters... be careful."

As he spoke, he pointed backward at his own heart, lightly tapping it.

"Some words, Master cannot say explicitly, and Eldest Senior Sister disdains to say. But you must understand, this True Seal is both a protective talisman and a death warrant. Those watching it are not only outside the sect, but also within."

Su Ming stood behind him, looking at this usually careless Third Senior Brother's straight back at this moment.

"Junior Brother understands."

Luo Feng nodded and said no more. The formation board cut through the sea of clouds, heading straight for Gazing Star Cliff.

...

When he returned to the cave dwelling at Gazing Star Cliff, it was already the Chou hour.

Su Ming did not rest immediately.

He activated all the defensive formations, hung the "Do Not Disturb" restriction plaque at the cave entrance, then sat cross-legged in the center of the meditation room.

Moonlight spilled through the air holes deliberately left at the cliff top, forming a patch of light on the ground.

Su Ming took out that heavy black egg and carefully placed it where the starlight was brightest.

"Master, this egg..." Su Ming probed with his divine sense, but it was still like mud entering the sea, with no response.

"Interesting." Lin Yu's voice sounded, "Place it here. I just sensed that when starlight shines on it, there seems to be an extremely faint rhythm inside, like it's breathing."

Su Ming complied, stepping back several paces.

Sure enough, bathed in starlight, the dark golden patterns on the black egg's surface began to flicker intermittently, as if an invisible hand was gently stirring the vitality beneath the eggshell.

At first, there was nothing unusual. But when he used the observation micro state to examine it, he "saw"—

The dark golden patterns on the eggshell's surface were not static carvings. Under the starlight's illumination, they were brightening and dimming at an extremely slow yet profoundly mysterious rhythm. Each brightening and dimming was like a breath during slumber, swallowing pure starlight and exhaling a barely detectable remnant aura carrying an ancient, vast breath.

"It's... absorbing specific starlight?" Su Ming wondered in his heart.

Lin Yu's phantom slowly materialized beside Su Ming, his illusory fingers tracing in the air, mimicking the flow of that aura.

"The life inside this egg can naturally feed on stars, refining essence..." Lin Yu paused, as he didn't know much about this either.

As if to confirm Lin Yu's words, the black egg's breathing suddenly quickened for a moment.

Lin Yu's expression turned grave, "In three days at the Passing of the Flame Memorial, there will be many people and prying eyes. You'd better seal it together with the Xuantian ring using the 'Void Concealment Array.'"

Outside the window, a hidden stream of light quietly streaked across the night sky from the direction of the outer sect, heading toward... the Punishment Peak.