Chapter 27: Comprehending Formations

The development of events unfolded just as Lü Yang had anticipated; in the end, Zhao Xuhe sold the 『Nine Transformations Dragon Art』 to him at a low price of 1500 contribution points.

Well, people are always like this when they're in debt.

After obtaining the 『Nine Transformations Dragon Art』, Lü Yang immediately returned to his cave dwelling and memorized the contents of the cultivation method word by word, sentence by sentence, before putting it away again.

“It's a pity I can't cultivate right now.”

Having transformed into a blood shadow, his cultivation neither increased nor decreased, forever remaining at the late stage of Qi Refining. Even if he wanted to disperse his cultivation, it was impossible, so he could only wait for the next lifetime.

Though that was the case, Lü Yang wasn't in a hurry to commit suicide.

After all, time was precious. Even with the 【Book of a Hundred Lifetimes】, he wouldn't waste it lightly. Even if he couldn't cultivate, there were other areas where he could continue to make progress.

Thinking of this, Lü Yang took out the 『Secret Explanation of Formation Treasures』 from his storage pouch, the one belonging to Qing Chen Fairy.

That's right, he was going to learn formations!

Among the four arts of cultivation—formations, tools, pills, and talismans—having proficiency in any one of them would immediately make one a high-level talent in the cultivation world, capable of thriving anywhere.

Take Qing Chen Fairy, for example.

Lü Yang truly thought she was a talent—not only proficient in formations but also able to refine formations into magical tools.

Unfortunately, her taste in men was lacking; she fell for scumbags who turned their backs on her, leading to her dying with resentment in both lifetimes.

Opening the 『Secret Explanation of Formation Treasures』, the very first page made Lü Yang sigh involuntarily.

【So-called formation treasures are treasures formed by formations and formations formed by treasures; the two complement each other. The techniques within are the result of painstaking research.】

【To learn this path, both talent and effort are indispensable.】

After the preface, the second page was densely packed with patterns, each annotated to explain its meaning.

【The Dao of formations centers on formation patterns. By outlining formation patterns and emulating the heavens and earth, one can borrow the marvels of the universe. However, the numbers of the heavens and earth exhaust the mysteries of the world, making them difficult to comprehend, let alone transform into formation patterns. This requires extraordinary perception. Only by mastering formation patterns can one have the ability to learn formations.】

【Very good, now you have a certain understanding of the basic principles of formations.】

【Next, turn to the third page. Let's look at the following simple example and apply what we've just learned in practice.】

On the third page, an extremely complex and intricate pattern appeared before Lü Yang's eyes.

Was this a formation diagram?

Lü Yang touched his chin.

Deciphering a formation diagram essentially meant identifying the composition of formation patterns within the formation to deduce its function.

Formation patterns were the foundation of all formations.

Whether a formation could function depended mainly on whether the combination of formation patterns was reasonable, whether there were conflicts, and whether a complete circuit could be formed to operate.

“Interesting.”

Lü Yang smiled confidently, feeling that this didn't seem particularly difficult: “With my talent and effort, a mere simple formation diagram is within my grasp!”

One month later.

Lü Yang sat blankly on the meditation cushion, surrounded by a large pile of manuscripts, all filled with his calculations. He was utterly dejected.

In his hands were various combinations of formation patterns.

After an unknown amount of time, a spark of spiritual light suddenly lit up at Lü Yang's fingertips.

“It's done!?”

Lü Yang instantly stood up, his face filled with joy. He carefully examined the formation patterns he had pieced together, calculated with his fingers for a moment, then showed a puzzled expression:

“This isn't right. How did it succeed?”

“How is this thing operating?”

Clearly, this was the result of his painstaking efforts over a month, yet he didn't understand why it worked.

This feeling drove Lü Yang crazy.

After a month of arduous study, he had gained a deeper understanding of formations.

Simply put, formations were very similar to programming.

Comprehending formation paths was like extracting usable parts from the messy code written by the heavens and earth to compose one's own code.

However, formations were such that if you didn't understand them, you simply didn't.

It was like panning for gold in a pile of dung; without talent, one would end up like Lü Yang now—not finding any gold but instead uncovering a heap of dung.

“No matter what, at least I've found something.”

Lü Yang sighed and continued his sleepless and foodless research.

Just like that, another month passed before he finally deciphered the pattern in his hands.

“This is an illumination formation!”

“Within the range covered by the formation, light shines everywhere. Most methods of concealing one's tracks become ineffective. Besides that, it has no offensive or defensive capabilities.”

Lü Yang looked haggard, his eyes bloodshot, but his face was filled with excitement and a strong sense of accomplishment as he turned to the third page of the 『Secret Explanation of Formation Treasures』.

【Actually, it's normal if you can't decipher it.】

【The purpose of the third page's exercise is mainly to let you understand how difficult formations are, to approach them with a humble heart, and not always aim too high.】

Lü Yang: “.”

“Beast! Beast!”

Lü Yang suddenly stood up and threw the book in his hand to the ground. He was now one hundred percent certain that this was definitely a formation book written by a formation master of the Primordial Saint Sect!

After a while, Lü Yang picked up the book again.

There was no choice; some things didn't care whether you liked them, understood them, or wanted to do them.

For the sake of life, you had to grit your teeth and do them.

However, after further study, Lü Yang found that his talent wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

As the book said, the complex pattern on the third page wasn't meant for beginners to decipher, which was why Lü Yang had been stuck on it for two months.

Nevertheless, there were benefits.

Now that he had switched to some simpler formations, Lü Yang's learning speed visibly increased.

Occasionally, when he encountered obstacles, a few days of research would get him through.

This also helped Lü Yang, who had been heavily discouraged before, regain his confidence.

In the cave, unaware of the passage of time, the years flew by.

In the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed.

During this time, Lü Yang was completely absorbed in studying formation books, even neglecting to pay the rent for his cave dwelling and directly moved to the outer sect.

After all, he couldn't cultivate now, and without urgent needs, he naturally slacked off and stopped working.

And in these twenty years, almost every few years, a child of destiny with great fortune, like Xiao Shiye in the past, would suddenly rise in the outer sect.

However, after that child of destiny obtained a well-known great opportunity in the Primordial Saint Sect, they would suddenly disappear.

Along with them, a large number of unlucky people who, after discovering the child of destiny's fortune, harbored ill intentions and tried to cling to their luck, would also vanish.

“It's that senior fishing again.”

Every time he heard similar news, Lü Yang would feel a wave of fear.

After all, with Xiao Shiye's example before him, he would only keep his distance from children of destiny.

He couldn't afford to provoke them, so he could only avoid them.

As for Zhao Xuhe, twenty years later, he had already reached the peak of Qi Refining and become a well-known true disciple of the Primordial Saint Sect.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, he failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm and passed away.

Regarding this, Lü Yang only sighed and didn't concern himself further.

What truly brought Lü Yang joy was that, after twenty years of diligent study, he had finally thoroughly mastered the knowledge in the 『Secret Explanation of Formation Treasures』.

In the cave dwelling, Lü Yang's entire mind was focused on the sword pill before him.

At this moment, he couldn't even maintain his human form, and the blood shadow was extremely dim.

This was a sign that his end was near.

The side effects of cultivating the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light had finally caught up with him, causing him to exhaust his lifespan at the age of forty, his oil running dry and lamp extinguished.

However, Lü Yang didn't care at all. He continued to concentrate on inscribing formations.

Even when he was about to pass away, he didn't get up or try to take any remedial actions, because that would only interrupt his inspiration. He didn't want to waste his precious inspiration.

“I understand! Wait, no, it's wrong.”

“Oh, right! Right... no, still wrong... oh, right, right!”

Just like that, after a long time, finally, at the moment when Lü Yang's blood shadow was almost dissipated, on the brink of life and death, Lü Yang suddenly opened his eyes wide—

“Hahaha! I succeeded!”

Seeing the formation patterns he had painstakingly drawn pieced together around the sword pill and finally operating successfully, Lü Yang burst into loud laughter, his laughter echoing in the cave dwelling.

And just like that, he lost his breath amidst the laughter.

“Book of a Hundred Lifetimes!”