Walking in, Zhang Xuan walked in.
In the spacious hall, there was a huge crowd. Quite a few people were queuing in front of the counter.
Formation plates, weapons, and pills were known as essential items. The number and types of formation plates provided by the Formation Master Guild were limited, and there were many people who had to wait through the night just to obtain one.
"Paying respect to Master Sai!"
Bypassing the crowd, a young man walked up to the counter and welcomed him.
"I have some matters to discuss with Guild Leader Zheng, please lead the way." Master Sai gestured.
"My teacher is currently inscribing a formation plate. I'll bring you over now!" The young man nodded with a smile and led the way.
Walking up the stairs to the second floor, they soon arrived at a room filled with formation plates. At the very center of the room, there was an old man who was busy inscribing something.
Formations required formation flags, formation bases, and the environment to complement one another. It was extremely troublesome, and one had to possess a deep understanding of formations to be able to inscribe them.
On the other hand, formation plates were much simpler. A formation master would inscribe a simplified version of the formation onto a special round plate. Once used, all one had to do was to use zhenqi to activate it.
Compared to the former, formation plates had two major flaws.
Firstly, due to the size of the formation plate, it was unable to integrate with the environment. As such, its prowess was significantly weaker than that of a normal formation.
Secondly, every time it was used, it would cause significant damage to the formation plate. As such, there was a limit to the number of times it could be used. At most, it could be used three to five times, and at least, it could be used once.
Of course, even though there were flaws, there were more advantages to it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have attracted so many people.
The greatest advantage of it was that one didn't need to understand formations to use it. Secondly, it was easy to carry around, and its activation speed was fast. In the face of danger, one just had to infuse zhenqi to activate it.
The old man in the room seemed to be in his sixties. He had a clean face and large hands, and in his hands was a small carving knife.
Inscribing a formation plate was extremely complicated. It required one to inscribe a massive formation onto a palm-sized round plate. The difficulty of inscribing such a huge formation plate was unimaginable. Just a single mistake, or even the slightest mistake, could result in a complete loss.
As such, just like pill forging, even a 4-star formation master wouldn't be able to inscribe it easily. Every single one of them required a huge amount of effort.
"Teacher, Master Sai is here!"
The young man walked into the room and bowed deeply.
Putting down the carving knife, the old man raised his head and looked at his old friend with a faint smile. "I've always been the one looking for you. What wind blew you here?"
"This time, I really have something to trouble President Zheng with!"
Master Sai nodded and introduced, "This is Zhang Shi. He wants to buy Array Discs. I thought about it and decided that the things you have here are the most reliable, so I brought them here!"
"Zhang Shi?"
The elder, Guild Leader Zheng, stood up and stared at Zhang Xuan doubtfully.
He was well aware of his old friend's temperament. He was proud and arrogant, and even with him, he was very casual. However, when he introduced this young man, his tone was very cautious and respectful, which made him feel strange.
Taking a closer look, Zhang Xuan didn't notice anything special about the young man. Even though he couldn't see through the latter's cultivation, his movements didn't seem to be in harmony with nature. Clearly, he hadn't reached Transcendent Mortal yet.
A young lad who hadn't even reached Transcendent Mortal realm was worthy of his old friend's respect?
"May I know what kind of Array Discs Zhang Shi is looking for? Confinement Formation, Slaughter Formation, Illusion Formation... I've inscribed a few of them! "Even though Zhang Xuan was perplexed, it wasn't convenient for him to ask too many questions since this was the first time they were meeting.
"I want a... Spirit Gathering Formation!" Zhang Xuan said.
"Spirit Gathering Formation?" Guild Leader Zheng was taken aback. "That thing... Without a formation plate, it is usually set up at a fixed location..."
Spirit Gathering Formations were mostly used for cultivation. Most of the time, they were set up at fixed locations by major powers to gather spiritual energy and groom talents. On the other hand, formation plates were usually carried around at all times for offense and defense.
Thus, very few people would inscribe Spirit Gathering Formations into formation plates. Even he had never done so before.
Actually, not only was Guild Leader Zheng perplexed, even Master Sai was taken aback.
He thought that Zhang Shi wanted to buy a formation plate so that he could enter the soul oracle tomb. However, from the looks of it, that wasn't the case. Otherwise, why would he need a Spirit Gathering Formation? Could he just throw it in to gather souls and gather soul oracles?
"You don't have one?" Zhang Xuan frowned.
"That's right. I've never inscribed one before. However, if you really need one, I can inscribe one. However, it might take some time!" Guild Leader Zheng hesitated for a moment before replying.
A Spirit Gathering Formation required one to be under the influence of spiritual energy. He had never tried inscribing one before, so he couldn't guarantee that it would work.
"How long will it take?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"This... I've never inscribed one before, so I'll need some time to grasp it. If it's slow, it'll take a month. If it's fast... half a month!" Guild Leader Zheng said.
"Half a month?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.
That was too long.
He had agreed with Luo Zhu to set off for the soul oracle tomb tomorrow, and before that, he had to reach Transcendent Mortal 1-dan. If he were to wait for the formation plate, half a month would be too late.
"Why? You don't believe in my ability? "Seeing the other party shake his head, Guild Leader Zheng's face darkened.
You're here to buy a Spirit Gathering Formation... formation plate. Do you know anything about formations? If not for the fact that you're an old friend of his, he would have surely thought that you're intentionally causing trouble.
Yet, you're shaking your head at me?
"Oh, I'm not saying that you can't inscribe it!"
Hearing the displeased tone of the other party, Zhang Xuan realized that he had been misunderstood. Embarrassed, he said, "I just think that your speed is too slow. Half a month... That's too long. I want it now. If you can inscribe it within two hours, I can wait a little longer!"
"Too slow? Two hours? "
Guild Leader Zheng's face immediately turned livid. Flinging his sleeves, he said, "Master Sai, is this your customer? I don't welcome him here. Xiaowu, send him off! "
Two hours?
Do you think that inscribing formations is as easy as eating and drinking? Easy and easy?
Putting aside a Spirit Gathering Formation that he had never inscribed before, even a Confinement Formation or Slaughter Formation that he was extremely familiar with would take at least a week to inscribe. Furthermore, this required him to be extremely focused and not make the slightest mistake.
Otherwise, putting aside a week, it would take him an entire month to succeed.
Furthermore, this was him doing it personally. If it were a 3-star formation master in the guild, it would take him at least half a month to twenty days to inscribe a formation plate.
This fellow... actually needs two hours to complete it?
Are you here to be a joke, or are you toying with me?
"Yes..." The young man who had just sent the duo in walked over and said, "This way, please!"
He was displeased as well.
He was currently a 2-star formation master, and it would take him at least a month to inscribe a formation plate. Yet, this fellow wanted his teacher to inscribe one within two hours. Clearly, he wasn't here to buy anything but to pick a fight.
"Guild Leader Zheng, please calm down. What are you doing?"
Not expecting to be chased away by his old friend after just a few words, Master Sai's face reddened. He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Zhang Shi just doesn't have a deep understanding of formations. In terms of appraising, he is a 5-star appraiser who has cleared the Harmonious Stream of Flowing Goblets. His rank is much higher than mine!"
"5-star appraiser?"
Guild Leader Zheng was taken aback.
He thought that Zhang Shi was able to instill fear in his old friend due to his background. To think that he was actually a 5-star appraiser!
Just this identity alone would allow him to do as he pleased in Honghai City. It was no wonder why he was so arrogant.
"Un!" Master Sai nodded his head.
Master teachers didn't mean that they were proficient in everything. Judging from the words that Zhang Shi said, it was clear that he was a layman in the field of formations. Most likely, he didn't have a deep understanding of this occupation.
His guess was right. Even though Zhang Xuan had read through all of the books in Tianwu Kingdom's Formation Master Guild and assimilated them into his mind, the guild's level was too low. As such, he didn't know much about formation plates. As such, he wasn't sure how long it would take to inscribe a formation plate or whether there was a Spirit Gathering Formation in it.
"I apologize for not knowing Zhang Shi's identity!"
Knowing that the other party was a 5-star appraiser, Guild Leader Zheng retracted his previous attitude and clasped his fist.
Even though the occupation of an appraiser wasn't based on one's strength, the artifacts involved could drive countless occupations mad. Even though he was the leader of the Formation Master Guild, a 4-star pinnacle formation master, he didn't dare to offend the other party.
Not to mention, the other party was a master teacher.
"You're too polite!"
Zhang Xuan waved his hands nonchalantly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Since you aren't able to inscribe a formation plate for a Spirit Gathering Formation within a short period of time, do you have the formation flags, blueprint, and foundation for a Spirit Gathering Formation? Why don't you sell me a set?"
If he didn't have a formation plate, he could try learning a little about formations. As long as he knew the blueprint, formation flags, and foundation, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to set one up.
"Formation flags and blueprints? We do have them, but since you aren't an official formation master, it would be useless even if you had them... "
Guild Leader Zheng said.
Formations were set up using one's environment. If one knew nothing about formations, it wouldn't matter even if they were given a formation flag and blueprint.
If one were to be able to set up a formation with just these two items, formation masters like them could just die of starvation.
"As long as you sell it to me, I'll think of a way to set it up!" Knowing the other party's worries, Zhang Xuan said.
"This... isn't a matter of whether you sell it or not..."
Seeing the other party's insistence, Guild Leader Zheng's complexion darkened. He couldn't help but shake his head.
Why did Master Sai bring in such an unreliable fellow?
In the hands of an ordinary person, formation flags and blueprints were no different from trash. Furthermore, they were expensive... If one didn't know how to set up a formation, it would be useless even if they were to buy it.
Besides, it was one thing to sell the formation flags and foundations to you, but the formation blueprints... Just like pill formulas, there were rules in the guild. If one wasn't an official formation master, they wouldn't be given it, needless to say, sell it.
Through the conversation earlier, it was clear that this was a fellow who knew nothing about formations.
It was one thing for such a person to buy formation flags and foundations, but the formation blueprints... Wasn't that a dream?
If anyone could view and buy formation blueprints, what dignity would their guild have left?
"How about this? If you can prove that you can set up a formation and become an official formation master, I can pass the formation blueprints to you and allow you to record them. I can also sell the formation flags and foundations... If you can't do that, forget it!"
Guild Leader Zheng shook his head.
"If I can set up a formation, you'll sell it to me?" Zhang Xuan asked.
"That's right!" Guild Leader Zheng nodded. Then, he frowned. "Why? Could it be that Zhang Shi is a formation master as well? "
Before he could finish his words, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes.
"You all... Wait a moment!"
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