My Xianxia Harem Life

Good morning, Senior Riley!”

”Hello, Big Brother Riley!”

”Elder Riley, please accept this junior’s praise!”

”I’ve admired you for a long time!”

The sect disciples were clearly confused about how to address Riley.

In truth, he was still just an outer disciple of the Stone Mountain Sect, so the confusion was not entirely unwarranted.

”Hmmm… I should probably fix this,” Riley muttered. And fix it he did.

Without delay, he went to the Elders’ Pavilion and secured the official status of a sect elder.

However, there was a catch—he was placed in charge of the least popular pavilion in the sect, the Formation Pavilion.

News traveled fast. By the time Riley returned, the sect was already buzzing with gossip.

”Did you hear? Riley Mason has become an elder!”

”What’s more, he’s in charge of the Formation Pavilion!”

”Formation Pavilion? I didn’t even know we had one.”

”Haha! That’s because we basically don’t. No one studies formations—it’s way too hard!”

”I heard the last disciple who tried went insane and had to be sent home crying, bald, and crazy. It’s just that complicated!”

As the disciples gossiped, Riley was already inspecting his new domain.

The Formation Pavilion was in a sorry state—dusty, dirty, and clearly abandoned for years.

Still, Riley didn’t care. To him, this was merely a trivial title, a means to an end.

Yet, the disciples around him seemed to think otherwise.

”Elder Riley! Let us help you clean this place up!”

A group of overeager disciples eagerly volunteered.

”Really? I don’t want to bother anyone. Don’t you all need to focus on cultivating or something?” Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

”No, Elder Riley. We’ve finished cultivating for the day! Please, allow us to assist you!” The leader of the group even bowed deeply, showcasing his sincerity.

”If you insist,” Riley said with a shrug, leaving them to it.

As the disciples got to work cleaning, Riley roamed the pavilion, sifting through the old, dusty books that lay scattered about.

It was clear no one had touched them in decades.

Meanwhile, Riley’s mind drifted to a more pressing matter: his obsession with finding a girlfriend.

Using his divine sense, he had already scoped out the sect and identified three women as beautiful as the sect master’s daughter, Daoist Midnight Lotus.

The problem?

Approaching them.

Barging into their courtyards uninvited would be idiotic, even for him.

In the end, he decided to let time and opportunity work their magic.

Surely, fate would provide him with a chance to meet them naturally in the future.

”Sigh! It’s not easy to be good sometimes,” Riley muttered, taking a deep breath.

A small, dark part of him entertained the thought of abandoning his restraint and simply taking what he wanted, but his conscience pulled him back.

For now, he resolved to stay on the right path.

He picked up the dusty book titled Foundations of Formation Arts and carefully opened it.

Despite the grime on the cover, he was surprised to find the contents within pristine, as though untouched by time.

The paper must have been crafted from some extraordinary material—perhaps from the wood of an ancient, spiritual tree.

On the first page, an introduction in bold lettering caught his attention:

”There are 3,000 grand daos in existence. Each one is unique and holds the potential to lead one to the apex of cultivation. The grand dao of formations, however, is among the most challenging. More often than not, those who choose this path end up drowning in frustration, their lives spent in futile attempts. To those seeking an easy path, wield a sword, for it is straightforward. But to those who crave pain, hardship, and endless trials, welcome to the Foundations of Formation Arts.”

”Hmmm… interesting,” Riley murmured, nodding as he turned to the second page.

Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed in his ears.

Ding!

”Congratulations, host! You have successfully peered unto the grand dao of formations. Please select one of the three available rewards.”

1. Celestial Annihilation Grand Array – This formation summons the wrath of the heavens, unleashing celestial flames, lightning storms, and a barrage of spiritual weapons upon its enemies. The array’s power is said to rival that of ancient true immortals. It can cover an entire battlefield, ensuring complete annihilation of all targets within its range.

2. Eternal Fortress of the Divine Realm – A legendary defensive array capable of withstanding attacks from immortal-level cultivators or divine beasts. The fortress creates multiple layers of defense, each imbued with unique properties, such as absorption, reflection, and regeneration. The core of the array houses a self-repairing mechanism, ensuring its endurance over countless years.

3. Samsara Phantom Mirage Array – This formation traps intruders in an endless cycle of illusions, mimicking the six realms of Samsara (Heavenly Realm, Human Realm, Animal Realm, Ghost Realm, Demon Realm, Hell Realm). Victims experience their greatest desires, fears, and regrets until their minds collapse or they surrender. Few have escaped its grip with their sanity intact.

”Well, this is a nice surprise,” Riley muttered under his breath.

”Give me the second reward, system,” Riley decided.

He wanted the defensive formation, not for himself, but for his loved ones back home.

Although this was not his real family, he thought it unkind not to treat the family of the body he now inhabited with great kindness and consideration.

”Affirmative, host,” the system replied. Riley closed his eyes to immerse himself in the myriad ways of formation techniques.

He started from the basics; after all, one could not create something grand without first building the foundations of something simple.

It felt as though Riley’s brain might explode, but he endured.

The mysterious formation techniques were learned in an instant, and he finally mastered the Eternal Fortress of the Divine Realm.

”Wow! That was too much,” Riley rubbed his temples, feeling a headache surge through him.

He looked around at the disciples, all busy cleaning. It was obvious that it had only taken him a few breaths to learn a legendary defensive formation.

He closed his eyes again to properly digest the knowledge, and opened them five minutes later.

”A pity. To bring this formation to life would require an enormous amount of resources. I don’t even know if this lower realm has all of them. Still, it’s not without its harvest.” Riley grinned and flicked his fingers.

”Whoosh!” An invisible force sprang to life, surrounding the entirety of the Stone Mountain sect.

He did the same for Green Field City, enveloping it with his impromptu defensive formation.

This was a minor version of the Eternal Fortress of the Divine Realm, crafted from his divine essence.

He called it the Little Eternal Fortress, but it was more than enough to defend against three full attacks from a Void Tribulation powerhouse.

Three strikes were more than enough to alert Riley, allowing him to arrive wherever he wanted on this continent.

”My system cheat is really op. Hehehe.” Riley chuckled. He then stood up to stretch his legs.

***

A week later, Riley grew tired of all the girls begging for his attention, especially since the women he truly wanted weren’t even among them.

Luna and Ava, in particular, were becoming bolder with each passing day.

They had started getting too touchy with him, causing Riley to be frequently on edge.

Despite this, he remained resolute.

He wanted his first woman to be special and the most beautiful of them all, so he prayed for strength to resist the temptations of the flesh surrounding him.

”I can’t believe this at all! This must be how handsome men feel back on Earth. Women are so easily drawn to them, and all they need to do is say ’yes’ and countless women would be all over them,” Riley mused.

”I can do this! I need to persevere for my one true love. I’ll get her no matter what!” Riley vowed and kept himself busy with sect affairs.

Another week passed, and at last, his prayers were answered.