235: Chapter 235 Nameless Desert Island! Breaking the Formation!

Chapter 233: Nameless Desert Island! Breaking the Formation!

Three days later, three streaks of light shot into the sky from Tianxing City, cutting through the vast firmament as they sped toward the sea to the northwest.

Lu Qiu was still dressed in his simple green robe, wearing that iconic silver-white mask on his face, firmly suppressing his aura at the False Nascent Soul Realm.

His streak of light was steady and restrained, its speed controlled to perfectly match that of Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling, neither too fast nor lagging behind, the measure of his pace handled with perfect precision.

Alliance Leader Ling was clad in white, her figure elegant, and her streak of light was as nimble as a crane.

While flying, her gaze would occasionally sweep across Lu Qiu beside her inadvertently, her eyes carrying a faint, subtle trace of inquiry.

She did not deliberately hide this observation, yet she was not overly direct either, as if it were merely a casual glance one might give a companion.

On the other side, Ling Yuling wore the white robes unique to the Star Palace, her sleeves fluttering and her jet-black hair flying in the gale whipped up by her streak of light, making her peerless, androgynous face appear even more bright and dazzling under the sun.

Her expression was more languid and casual than Alliance Leader Ling's, and when her gaze fell on Lu Qiu, it held a hint of appreciation; as for what she was truly thinking in the depths of her heart, only she knew.

The three were silent throughout the journey, accompanied only by the faint sound of their light streaks breaking the air and the sound of the surging waves on the sea below.

The speed of a Nascent Soul Cultivator was truly astonishing; even with Lu Qiu's intentional suppression, it far exceeded that of an ordinary Core Formation Cultivator.

Mountains, islands, reefs, shifting clouds, and endless seawater swept backward rapidly, forming a flowing landscape of the desolate sea.

They continued flying like this for a full month.

On this day, Alliance Leader Ling was the first to slow her streak of light, hovering in the air above a certain stretch of sea.

She took out the two translucent white beads, injected mana into them once more to check the map, and after confirming everything was correct, she pointed downward: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, Yuling, it is here."

Lu Qiu and Ling Yuling stopped alongside her, looking down.

They saw an island floating solitarily on the sea below.

The island was only a few hundred miles in circumference, appearing insignificant in the boundless ocean.

More peculiar was that the entire island presented a monotonous earthy yellow color; as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but exposed yellow soil and scattered gravel, with not a trace of green to be seen, nor a hint of moisture to be felt.

There were not even any seabirds circling above the island; it was as deathly silent as a corner forgotten by heaven and earth, without even a faint ripple of Spiritual Qi.

"This place... actually looks like this?"

Alliance Leader Ling's delicate brows furrowed slightly, her face showing doubt: "It is entirely a desert island without any Spiritual Vein. How could an ancient Cultivator's ruins be chosen for such a place?"

Although she knew the location beforehand, now that she had arrived in person and felt this bone-chilling desolation and barrenness, doubts inevitably resurfaced in her heart.

Among those who pursue the Dao, especially ancient Cultivators capable of leaving behind a Legacy, which one of them did not flock toward Spiritual Veins and blessed lands?

Setting up an Immortal Cave or an important arrangement in such a place devoid of spiritual energy was truly contrary to common sense.

Lu Qiu's gaze calmly swept over the entire island, and his voice came through the mask, flat yet carrying a convincing steadiness: "Alliance Leader Ling, it is precisely because of this that the ancient ruins on this island could be preserved until now without being discovered by others."

He paused and explained: "The Inner Star Sea is vast, but any place with even a bit of Spiritual Qi, regardless of the island's size, has long been occupied or investigated countless times by Cultivators or Sems. If there were a Spiritual Vein here, no matter how small, over the long passage of time, there would certainly be Cultivators settled here or frequenting the area, and the ruins would have no secrets left to speak of. Conversely, a dead land like this, completely devoid of Spiritual Qi and with a harsh environment, is rarely visited by people, making it an excellent place to hide secrets. Ancient Cultivators had heaven-defying means; they might have been able to gather spiritual energy with a Formation or stabilize a point with a rare treasure, not necessarily needing to rely on a natural Spiritual Vein."

Hearing this, Alliance Leader Ling became thoughtful and slowly nodded: "Fellow Daoist Zhou makes sense. It was I who thought too shallowly."

In her heart, her evaluation of this 'Fellow Daoist Zhou' rose another notch.

This person was meticulous in thought and had extraordinary insight.

Ling Yuling listened from the side, the corners of her mouth curling into a very faint arc; she did not interject, but her interest in Lu Qiu seemed to deepen as she looked at him.

"Since we have arrived, let us find the entrance."

Lu Qiu said no more, and his vast Divine Sense spread out quietly over the entire desert island like an invisible tide.

Although he suppressed his mana fluctuations to the Pseudo-Nascent Soul level, there was no need to deliberately hide his Divine Sense strength to that extent; he only needed to control it within a vague range that was slightly stronger than an ordinary Pseudo-Nascent Soul Cultivator but had not yet reached the Nascent Soul Stage.

This level of Divine Sense was enough to make him stand out among those of the same rank without immediately exposing his true depth.

His Divine Sense meticulously scanned every inch of the desert island's land, passing over jagged rocks and probing into dry cracks in the earth.

A moment later, Lu Qiu's heart stirred, and he turned toward the western side of the island.

"Over there," he said succinctly, taking the lead and transforming into a streak of light to fly over.

Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling immediately followed.

The distance of over a hundred miles was covered in an instant for the three of them.

A massive earthen mountain appeared before their eyes. This mountain was about a thousand zhang high, and its entire body was that lifeless earthy yellow, without a single trace of vegetation; the mountain's lines were rugged, as if it were crudely piled up from endless yellow earth, giving off a heavy, oppressive, and lifeless sense of discomfort.

The surface of the mountain was covered in gullies eroded by wind and rain, adding a touch of desolation.

Just as the three of them flew near the range of the earthen mountain, a sudden change occurred!

Wooo—!

Without any warning, a wild wind rose abruptly, sending sand and stones flying!

The originally peaceful desert island seemed to be instantly enraged as an infinite and violent gale generated from nowhere, howling as it swept through heaven and earth.

The wild wind kicked up the dry yellow soil that had accumulated on the ground for untold years, layer upon layer, blotting out the sky.

In an instant, the nearby area became dark and gloomy, the sun and moon lost their light, and the powerful wind-blown sand struck their protective spiritual lights with a pitter-patter sound; both vision and Divine Sense were severely interfered with, truly turning it into a dead land where one could not see their own hand and found it difficult to discern directions.

Lu Qiu's expression remained unchanged as the green spiritual light around him surged slightly, transforming into a solid light shield that firmly blocked out the violent sandstorm, his figure standing as steady as a rock in the wind.

He even had the leisure to observe the source and pattern of this sandstorm, already having some understanding of the array master's methods in his heart.

Alliance Leader Ling gave a soft cry, and a corner of her white silk-like Magic Treasure, the "Flowing Cloud Sleeve," flew out on its own, dancing lightly around her to gently yet firmly push aside the sandstorm, protecting her entire body from a single speck of dust.

Ling Yuling appeared even more casual; bits of starlight faintly appeared on her Star Palace white robes, and the sandstorm automatically slid away when it came within three feet of her, unable to touch her in the slightest.

The two female Cultivators were clearly not simple either, each possessing profound methods.

The three of them pushed through the sandstorm, continuing deeper in the direction Lu Qiu's Divine Sense had sensed.

This Wind and Sand Grand Formation seemed to have no active offensive capabilities, its main purpose being to confuse and obstruct.

After flying in for about ten miles, the howling wind around them stopped abruptly without warning, and the yellow sand filling the sky was instantly wiped away by an invisible hand, vanishing without a trace.

The scene before them suddenly opened up.

The three of them hovered at a relatively flat spot on the mountainside of the earthen mountain.

Not far below, a thick yellow mist ball about a mile in diameter was quietly crouching on the ground.

This mist ball was heavy and dense, slowly churning and flowing on its own yet remaining condensed without dissipating, its boundaries clear, forming a sharp contrast with the clear air around it.

It was silent, like a sleeping yellow giant beast, emitting an ancient and eerie aura, with a faint sense of danger leaking from within.

"It's here."

Alliance Leader Ling said in a low voice, her beautiful eyes staring at the yellow mist ball; she could feel the obscure Formation fluctuations coming from the depths of the mist.

"It is actually a rather rare Composite Formation, and it carries the sense of having natural terrain reinforcement."

Lu Qiu's gaze swept over the yellow mist ball, then looked at the surrounding mountain terrain and the faint flow of Earth Element Geomantic Qi underground, instantly seeing through some of the clues.

His current attainment in Formations, while not as naturally gifted as Xin Ruyin who could innovate within the Dao of Formations, was certainly enough to be called a Grandmaster of the Dao of Formations, thanks to several Formation legacies, years of study, and his even more powerful Divine Sense and perception after Nascent Soul Formation.

Although the Formation before him was profound, in his eyes, it was no longer an unsolvable mystery.

He said no more, raising both hands to form several strange hand Seals before his chest, spiritual light flickering at his fingertips as he softly chanted true words.

At the same time, a very thin, almost imperceptible silver light rose in his eyes—it was the Xuanji Pupil quietly operating.

"Reveal!"

With his soft cry, an invisible ripple was struck out from his hands, sinking into the yellow mist ball ahead.

Buzz...

The surface of the yellow mist ball rippled violently, and the mist, as thick as paste, seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand, beginning to rotate and dissipate rapidly.

Within a few breaths, the yellow mist covering a mile-wide area had mostly dissipated, revealing its true form within.

It was a faint, turbid yellow hemispherical light shield, steadily covering the ground for about a hundred zhang below.

Although the light shield had become visible due to the mist clearing, it was still somewhat blurred, obstructing deep detection by sight and Divine Sense.

More notably, within this yellow light shield, several other layers of Restriction light shields of different colors and brightness could be vaguely seen, stacked layer upon layer like an onion, tightly protecting the core area.

And at the very center of all the light shields, through the blurred images of those layers of obstruction, the outline of a circular stone pillar several zhang high was faintly visible.

The stone pillar seemed quite ancient, its surface appearing to be carved with some old and complex patterns and characters, though they could not be seen clearly due to the obstruction of the Restrictions.

"As expected, there is something hidden inside!"

A look of joy flashed in Alliance Leader Ling's eyes, and she then looked at Lu Qiu, her tone carrying inquiry and expectation: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, can this Formation... be broken?"

Lu Qiu nodded slightly, his voice calm and steady: "Although the Formation is complex and exquisite, it has become sluggish in its operation over the long years. Once the key is found, breaking it will not be difficult."

The certainty in his tone greatly reassured Alliance Leader Ling.

Ling Yuling stood to the side with her arms crossed, quite at ease, looking like a pure spectator.

Lu Qiu paid the two women no more mind, devoting his full attention to the grand Formation before him.

He first flew slowly in a circle around the pale yellow light shield, his Divine Sense like the finest tentacles, closely sensing the surface of the shield to investigate the patterns of its spiritual power flow, the strength of its nodes, and the connections between the various layers of Restrictions.

Occasionally he would pause, striking out a few experimental hand Seals to observe the light shield's reaction.

He did not use the restriction breaking pearl.

That rare treasure was certainly a Sharp Weapon for breaking Formations, but its effect was too astonishing.

In front of Alliance Leader Ling and this Star Palace Young Lord, he would rather spend more time breaking it with his own Formation skills than expose such a trump card too early.

Time flowed slowly in the silent investigation and deduction.

On the desert island, only the wind occasionally swept over the mountain rocks, making a faint, wailing sound.

Alliance Leader Ling waited patiently, and Ling Yuling also seemed in no hurry; instead, she found the process of observing a Formation Grandmaster break an array to be quite interesting.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

After two full days, Lu Qiu, who had been standing still the entire time, suddenly raised his hand.

A flash of realization crossed his eyes; clearly, he had fully deduced the flow, weaknesses, and breaking sequence of this Composite Formation.

"You two, please step back a little; I am about to begin breaking the Formation." Lu Qiu reminded them.

Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling followed his instructions and retreated several dozen zhang, leaving enough space.

Lu Qiu stood before the Formation, his expression solemn.

His hands danced like butterflies flitting through flowers. Beams of spiritual power—some thick, some thin, some rigid, some flexible—shot precisely from his fingertips, flying toward specific locations on the pale yellow light barrier as if they possessed a life of their own.

These locations were sometimes hubs where the Formation's spiritual power circulated, sometimes gaps where Restrictions of different attributes combined, and sometimes weak points naturally formed by the erosion of time.

Every strike of his was perfect; the force, attribute, and timing were calculated to the absolute peak of perfection.

"Pop... pop pop..."

Faint sounds, like bubbles bursting, rang out one after another.

Under the attack of Lu Qiu's incantations, the seemingly thick pale yellow light barrier was like a sheet of window paper being poked through. Holes began to appear, followed by spreading cracks, and the entire light barrier quickly began to flicker, its spiritual power becoming violently chaotic.

In less than half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, with a low, muffled sound, the outermost pale yellow light barrier completely collapsed, dissolving into specks of light that filled the sky.

However, the breaking of the Formation did not stop. After the first layer of the light barrier shattered, the revealed second layer—a crimson light barrier—shone brilliantly, as if it had been triggered.

Lu Qiu's technique remained unchanged, but the attribute of his spiritual power shifted toward water and metal, targeting key nodes of the crimson light barrier.

The speed of breaking it was even faster than the first layer!

Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling watched from the side, secretly alarmed.

Although they were not well-versed in profound Formation Dao, they did not lack judgment or insight.

Lu Qiu's movements while breaking the Formation were effortless. His understanding of the Formation structure, his grasp of the timing to break it, and the precision of his control over his spiritual power had all reached the Transcendent level.

Those Restrictions, which had seemed incredibly tight to them, appeared full of holes and extremely fragile under Lu Qiu's hands.

This was no longer just being "proficient" in Formations; calling it the skill of a Grandmaster would not be an exaggeration at all!

"This person's attainments in Formations are likely the best in the Chaotic Star Sea..." Alliance Leader Ling felt shocked in her heart and became even more curious about Lu Qiu's identity.

Meanwhile, the interest in Ling Yuling's eyes had long since turned into serious scrutiny and contemplation.

One layer, two layers, three layers...

Lu Qiu's speed in breaking the Formation was extremely fast; his techniques were like flowing clouds and moving water, without any hesitation.

In just over an hour, he had broken most of the outer Restrictions of the Composite Formation, leaving only the final layer of crimson light, which was only about a zhang in radius and pressed tightly against the central stone pillar.

This layer of crimson light was completely different from the previous ones; its color was vivid enough to drip. On the wall of the light barrier, countless seven-colored light bands could be seen swimming and winding slowly like living creatures, flickering with a mesmerizing and dangerous luster.

Lu Qiu stopped his hands and did not immediately break this last layer.

He stared sharply at those seven-colored light bands, his brows slightly furrowed, as if sensing something.

Alliance Leader Ling also noticed the abnormality. She flew closer and looked intently, her expression changing slightly: "Is this... the aura of the fire-attribute demon spirit 'Chi'e'? No, it is sealed within the Restriction, using the power of the Formation to simulate a 'Land of Three Suns' to maintain its form..."

She was knowledgeable and immediately recognized the clues, explaining to Lu Qiu: "Fellow Daoist Zhou, this creature is called 'Chi'e'. It is an extremely rare fire-attribute demon spirit that usually only forms by chance in certain extremely special, pure-yang, scorching places. They have very short lifespans themselves and often dissipate into the heavens and earth after surviving for only a few hours. However, during their existence, they are born with the ability to spew a strange demonic fire with power no less than the Core Fire of us Cultivators. What is more troublesome is that this creature likes to devour the Souls of living beings and the Primordial Spirit of Cultivators, making it extremely difficult to deal with."

"Alliance Leader Ling has a sharp eye." Lu Qiu nodded, his voice calm. "This final layer of Restriction is exactly where the trap lies. The one who set up the Formation used a brilliant technique to combine the Formation with some residual fire-evil energy here, simulating an environment of the 'Land of Three Suns'. This allows these 'Chi'e', though not physical entities, to use the power of the Formation to be nearly 'inexhaustible and immortal'. If someone unaware of the details thinks that breaking the outer layers means success and forcibly shatters this final light barrier, they will instantly release all the 'Chi'e' sealed within. Caught off guard, even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would find it hard to escape the danger of their body being burned by demonic fire and their Primordial Spirit being devoured."

He paused and swept his gaze over Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling: "These things are formless and intangible; attacks from ordinary Magic Treasures have very little effect. Furthermore, they are fierce and do not fear death, and there are many of them, which is indeed troublesome. However, all things have their mutual generation and Restriction; they are formed from the essence of pure fire and fear pure water-attribute power the most."

After saying this, Lu Qiu did not hesitate any longer and slapped his Storage Pouch.

Immediately, a dozen or so blue Formation Plates with ancient designs, as well as dozens of Formation Flags engraved with water wave patterns, flew out one after another.

His figure flashed as he moved rapidly around the perimeter of this final crimson light barrier, his hands flicking continuously. One by one, the Formation Plates landed precisely in specific positions on the ground, and one by one, the Formation Flags were inserted deeply into the hard ground.

As he set them up, lines of pale blue spiritual power vaguely appeared in the air and on the ground, intertwining and connecting to form a complex and orderly Formation diagram.

In just a moment, a pale blue Formation covering the crimson light barrier and several zhang of the surrounding area had taken shape.

The Formation began to operate, and a layer of shimmering pale blue light rose, enveloping the crimson light barrier within. Thick water-attribute Spiritual Qi permeated the area, even making the surrounding air become a bit damp.

"Alliance Leader Ling, Fellow Daoist Ling, I must trouble you both to each occupy a Formation eye and inject spiritual power into the Formation to maintain the operation of this 'Profound Water Spirit-Trapping Formation'." Lu Qiu pointed to two key nodes of the blue Formation.

Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling exchanged a glance and followed his instructions, flying into the designated positions.

Alliance Leader Ling gently pressed her jade hand onto the Formation eye, and pure spiritual power was slowly injected. Ling Yuling also extended her fair fingers and tapped onto the other Formation eye.

Receiving the support of the two women's spiritual power, the pale blue light barrier suddenly shone brilliantly. The water wave patterns swimming on it became clearer and more active, and the water-spirit aura it emitted became even heavier and more majestic, faintly forming a suppressive force against the central crimson light barrier.

While maintaining the Formation, Ling Yuling glanced at the calm and composed Lu Qiu within the Formation. The sense of participation in her heart was finally realized, and at the same time, she had a new understanding of his ability to adapt to circumstances and make thorough preparations.

After confirming that the "Profound Water Spirit-Trapping Formation" was operating stably and was sufficient to restrain the impending outburst of Chi'e, Lu Qiu turned around and faced the final layer of the crimson light barrier once again.

He took a deep breath, formed incantations with his hands, and a point of extremely concentrated, cyan-gold light containing the intent to break Restrictions gathered at his fingertips.

Immediately, he pressed his fingers together like a sword and tapped lightly at a certain point on the crimson light barrier.

"Break."

"Rip—!"

Like the sound of tearing silk, the vivid crimson light barrier shattered in response, revealing a huge gap!

"Hiss hiss hiss—!!!"

The moment the light barrier shattered, a sharp and shrill screech that seemed capable of piercing the Soul erupted! Countless streaks of crimson fire gushed out from the gap like a volcanic eruption!

Within the firelight, the figures of countless demon spirits—each with transparent thin wings on their backs and shaped like long, thin fire snakes—were vaguely visible. They were exactly the Chi'e!

As if they had been imprisoned for countless years, they were filled with violent and destructive desires. The moment they were freed, they sensed the nearest life aura, immediately let out excited screeches, turned into streaks of crimson light, and clawed and snapped as they rushed crazily toward Lu Qiu!

As their wings vibrated, they stirred up scorching heat waves, and they spewed demonic fire from their mouths that was as thin as a hair but pale in color and terrifyingly high in temperature!

However, these fierce Chi'e had barely rushed out of the gap for less than a zhang when they slammed headlong into the pale blue "Profound Water Spirit-Trapping Formation" light barrier that had been waiting outside!

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!"

Water and fire clashed violently! A shrill sound of energy annihilation merged into one!

The crimson and pale blue lights collided fiercely, erupting into thick clouds of white steam that instantly filled a small half of the Formation space.

Those Chi'e that rushed at the very front were like ice and snow meeting boiling oil. Under the washing of the pale blue water light, they let out even more shrill and painful screeches. Their crimson bodies quickly dimmed, twisted, and decomposed, eventually turning into wisps of green smoke and dissipating.

The Chi'e behind seemed to have no reason, still rushing forward one after another to slam into the water barrier, spewing demonic fire in an attempt to burn through the obstacle.

But the pale blue light barrier was incredibly stable under the spiritual power support of Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling. As the water waves circulated, they blocked and annihilated all the demonic fire and Chi'e.

The entire process lasted for about ten breaths or so. When the last Chi'e turned into green smoke in the pale blue water light, the shrill screeching completely disappeared, and the pervasive white steam slowly dissipated, only silence remained in the Formation.

That final layer of crimson light had completely disappeared, along with the countless "Chi'e" demon spirits sealed within it, vanishing like smoke and clouds. The core area, which had originally been heavily protected, was now exposed before the three of them without any obstruction.

"Let's go."

Lu Qiu dispersed the "Profound Water Spirit-Trapping Formation" and flew toward the central area first, his figure landing lightly before the circular stone pillar that was several zhang high.

Alliance Leader Ling and Ling Yuling followed closely behind, withdrew their spiritual power, and landed beside Lu Qiu.

The three of them were finally able to observe the core of this ruin at close range.

This stone pillar was entirely of a gray and white stone material, about three zhang high, and its diameter required two people to embrace it; its surface was covered with traces of weathering from the years.

On the stone pillar, from top to bottom, countless ancient and complex patterns were densely carved. These patterns looked like clouds or beasts, and also like some kind of abstract runes, intertwining and connecting with each other to form a strange and solemn design.

Between the patterns, there were also some even more ancient and unrecognizable characters mixed in. The strokes were difficult and profound, and they seemed to contain some kind of special power and information.

The stone pillar stood firmly on the ground, its base integrated with the ground as if it had grown there since ancient times.

The surrounding ground was paved with neatly cut huge bluestone slabs, which were also engraved with simple patterns that faintly echoed the designs on the stone pillar.

The entire space was permeated with a desolate, ancient, and mysterious aura.