AI Cultivation: Reborn as a Sword

Chapter 17: Soul Harvest Formation (1)

We make our way back to the stone slab without incident. Or rather, she makes her way back. I have no choice in the matter but to be her immobile passenger.

It does begin to concern me that I can only offer the most optimal solutions but that in the end, it is she, the creature with opposable thumbs and a method of transport namely, legs is the one with that holds all the cards.

[Tyranny] comes to mind. It seems like the most straight forward solution to my conundrum, but it is also true that I do not know anything about the world outside my perception radius. Her worldliness may be more of an asset than a hindrance. Perhaps I need to trust her intuition for the long term plans.

And those plans please me participate in a contest to join a prestigious Sect. However, considering what she said and the caliber of competition, I find it a bit difficult to see the path from point A to point B.

Its not like she can sneeze out a top tier Golden Core and crush her competition including her ex-future-husband and then become some psychopathic, omnipotent dowager queen of the most prestigious Sect in the world. Or continent.

Though this would be of great convenience to me, I simply cannot see it happen.

She will need help in building up her cultivation realm, and she will need protection while doing it. Even supposing I can assist her in the cultivation department through arrays and formations or some other methods the protection part is a matter of concern.

Even assuming, miraculously, she were to break into the Foundation Establishment realm right now. She would then stand a chance against some of the monsters here, but what if a demonic beast shows up with a Wukong unit of power?

She would die in an instant.

It will take a significant amount of time in order for her to form a Golden Core, to even stand a chance at surviving here on her own, and the most optimal way to do that would be closer to the center of this Forbidden Ancestral Hunting Grounds. And something tells me logic, really that the monsters there have multiples of Wukongs of power.

Those odds dont really inspire confidence.

In that case, perhaps I could purchase the [Flight] talent, hopefully fly her out of here and back to her Sect, and have her present me as an Awakened Treasure. As a Core Disciple, her chances would be much higher.

But something also tells me that things wont simply work out that way in her favor. I am a Divine grade treasure. I do have a Trait that compels all to desire me. Even if I am being generous, the best outcome I can see is that they would only kill her on the spot.

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This Yin-Yang Grass would help me a lot when I break into the Qi Refining realm, but it feels like a waste, she says, rifling through my Dimensional Storage like it is hers. Technically, it is hers now. When she formed a contract with me, I allowed her Qi to access my arrays and my soul core. That is likely also why I am able to establish telepathic contact with her now with such effortless ease.

Still, her making extensive use of my functions pleases me. It feels good to be wanted. It feels good to be useful.

I dont know the Dao of Alchemy, and I dont have a cauldron. It seems pointless to think about, but if I could refine it into a medicinal paste, it would be a lot more effective.

Alchemy. Refining.

I could perform those functions, too. From what I recall, they werent even that expensive to obtain. I could obtain the entry level manual for them fairly cheaply as well. I am confident, also, that if I studied the arrays themselves with my [Critical Analysis] Talent that I would gain insight into the Dao too.

In fact, if I turned my [Critical Analysis] toward the pills and herbs, I would likely gain some knowledge too.

But she said it is for Qi Refining. She is not there yet. Her cultivation base at the moment was in the Mid Qi Condensation realm, and she had not yet even began to practice the cultivation method I gave her.

It seems pointless to think about Alchemy right now.

Protection. How do I protect her?

Are you listening?

I am thinking, I tell her.

She chuckles. She seems to be in better spirits, at least. Its not like you can just make a cauldron appear out of nowhere.

She has no idea about the things I am capable of. If I had more Blood Points, I could perform some experiments that could help guide us towards a safe solution.

I think it is time to enact my exit strategy.

Do you know anything about Arrays? I ask her.

She purses her lips and shrugs. I can draw a simple talisman if I had magic paper and ink. Why?

We are not safe here, I tell her.

I know, she says, lifting her gaze to the trees beyond my perception radius. I wonder what she sees there. The monkeys probably. I am curious why they hadnt approached us yet, or tried to pry me from her cold, dead fingers.

I need you to carve a formation, I tell her. It needs to have a radius of one hundred steps. Can you do that?

I wish I could just beam my knowledge into her mind, or somehow demonstrate what this formation would look like. Telepathy only allows conversation, not the transmission of images or abstract things like knowledge or ideas.

Pity.

She nods her head at my question. I think so, if you can explain what I need to do. Do you need any materials?

Only my vessel, I tell her.

What about the flags?

I am the flag.

This seems to confuse her, but she nods once more. I think I understand. You will need to draw the Trigrams, then. I can do that.

I am glad she understands. It saves me some explanation.

What will this formation do? Will it protect us?

I am not really sure whether or not the formation will protect us. It seems counterproductive to consume all the monkeys gathered here, as they are our only potential line of defense. But at the same time, I cannot guarantee that they will not turn against her and kill her for my possession.

I simply cannot afford to lose her at this time.

There is a small chance that the formation will protect us, for a while, but at the very least, I know that it will produce a powerful flow of Qi that she will be able to utilize. If my conjecture is correct, and the more powerful beasts are closer to the center, then we must be in the outskirts of this area, where the monsters are weak.

For now, if I can get her to break into Qi Refining, as soon as possible, I am certain that her chances of survival are much higher than what relying on the primitive demonic ape society can provide.

"It will protect us."

It's not a complete lie. It will protect us in the short term. Probably.

Also, I am really, really hungry.