At this moment, Su Yin couldn't be bothered with Xiao Chen's thoughts. His carving knife flew swiftly as he fused the blueprint with the bed perfectly.
After an unknown period of time, Zhang Xuan flicked his finger lightly.
Hula!
When the final rune was carved, the spiritual energy gathered by Saint Qi rippled like water, blowing away the wood shavings on the bed, leaving behind a clear rune.
Su Yin tapped on the rune lightly.
Weng!
A golden light flowed through the rune, and with a light buzz, the bed shuddered. All of the light and rune disappeared, as if they had never existed in the first place.
Xiao Chen hurried forward and touched the wooden plank. Its surface was as smooth as new, as if what he had seen and felt before was just a dream.
"Senior Granduncle, this is …"
Knowing what Xiao Chen wanted to ask, Su Yin replied, "This is a kind of reinforcing rune. Once activated, it will form a protective layer around the surface of the rune, making the weapon even more resilient. It won't be visible under normal circumstances, but it will only appear under attack!"
After carving the rune, Xiao Chen finally understood its attribute.
The rune copied by the seventeenth generation founder turned out to be an extremely rare reinforcing rune. Even though he didn't know what it was capable of, judging from the complexity of the rune, it shouldn't be too weak. Perhaps, it might even reach the legendary ninth grade!
Previously, Xiao Chen had been worried that the wooden plank would be torn apart by the strong winds if it were to fly too quickly, but with this rune in hand, he was relieved.
"Reinforcing rune? After several thousand years, I finally know what it is capable of … Thank you, Senior Granduncle! "Xiao Chen smiled bitterly.
His branch had been studying this rune ever since the founding founder, but it had been several thousand years without any results. It was one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in the sect, and today, he had finally solved it.
Grade-3 formations had reinforcing runes as well, but they couldn't make the rune invisible. Just from this, he could tell that the rune was of a very high level.
"Mn!" Su Yin didn't continue the conversation and instead fell into deep thought.
He didn't lie to Xiao Chen about the properties of the rune. However, other than reinforcing runes, there was another property related to sharpness. It was just that his cultivation was too low at the moment, so even if he could sense it, he couldn't tell what it was used for.
Since he didn't know what it was, he might as well not say it at all. As this thought flashed through his mind, he felt another surge of spiritual energy surging into his body, slowly approaching his dantian. Furthermore, the speed at which it was approaching him was significantly faster than before.
"It's probably because there are two streams of fused zhenqi in my dantian, causing the suction force to increase!"
Making a rough calculation, Su Yin estimated that it would only take him around an hour to reach his dantian. Heaving a sigh of relief, he scanned the surroundings and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry for the mess that I've made …"
"If it weren't for Martial Granduncle's help, I might have already died. These … are just worldly possessions!" Xiao Chen waved his hands.
The rage of the Great Dao was caused by him. Not only could he not blame the other party, but he also had to thank the other party for saving him. Otherwise, the destruction would not be limited to just this.
However, it was a pity that those array diagrams were copied. Although they were not the only copies, they had still paid a huge price to be able to find them in a remote place like Great Salt City.
Without any hesitation, he left the room, only to see that Bai Yiyi was still waiting outside. Su Yin beckoned to her before taking out the bed and standing on it once more.
"Go back!"
Seeing that he was about to leave, Xiao Chen hurriedly asked with anticipation in his eyes, "Does Martial Granduncle want to carve a shrinking formation?"
Since the other party was in such a hurry to learn and leave as soon as he was done, he must be intending to use it.
Su Yin nodded and did not deny it.
"May I … observe it for a moment?"
Xiao Chen asked with a reddened face. Feeling a little awkward, he explained, "My comprehension of formations has already reached 4-star pinnacle, and I'm just a step away from achieving a breakthrough. If I can witness the inscription of a grade-8 formation with my own eyes, I might be able to benefit greatly from it …"
After saying those words, Xiao Chen looked at Zhang Xuan nervously.
If it weren't for the fact that the other party was his teacher, there were very few people who were willing to show others the process of inscribing a formation. If not for the fact that he had seen the other party inscribing with his own eyes, he would have been too embarrassed to ask for it.
"Of course!" Su Yin replied as his eyes lit up. With a professional formation inscriber observing the process, he would be able to reach the Manifestation of Divinity. If he were to be able to produce another layer of spiritual energy, he would have profited greatly.
"Thank you, Martial Granduncle!" Xiao Chen bowed deeply.
He didn't understand the Strengthening Formation at all, so he didn't have a deep impression of it. On the other hand, he had heard of and seen the Shrinking Formation a long time ago. If he could witness it with his own eyes, it would surely be of great help to him.
After the discussion, Su Yin and Bai Yiyi steered the bed while Xiao Chen followed behind them on his sword. It didn't take long for the trio to return to the surface of the river and land on the boat.
Seeing that the boat was empty, Xiao Chen asked curiously, "May I know … where is the object that Martial Granduncle wants to shrink?"
"This is it!" Su Yin replied with a faint smile.
"T-this boat?" Xiao Chen's eyes widened in shock. "The larger the object, the greater the repulsive force of the formation, and the more difficult it will be to shrink …"
Shrinking a blanket and shrinking a building were two different levels of difficulty. To shrink a wooden boat that weighed over ten thousand tons … It was unimaginable!
"If we don't shrink it, we won't be able to bring it with us. Naturally, we'll have to give it a try!" Su Yin said as he stomped his feet, and the bed immediately flew toward the bottom of the boat.
Xiao Chen and Bai Yiyi hurriedly followed behind on their swords.
Floating in the air, Su Yin went through the formation blueprint that he had memorized in his mind before taking out a carving knife and carving it.
The object that he wanted to shrink had to be enlarged as well. The carving knife danced in the air, and inscriptions appeared once more, forming a clear diagram. Unlike the one that Xiao Chen had inscribed, it was in the shape of an animal. It had pointed ears, a patched hat, and a triangular scarf. There was a long, black scar on its face that extended from the corner of its eye to its mouth. Its eyes looked a little dazed, and its mouth was wide open, revealing sharp fangs.
"Is this … a wolf?" Xiao Chen was stunned.
He had scanned through the formation blueprint several times, and it was completely different from this one … Why would a wolf appear as he was carving it?
Was there a mistake?
Perplexed, Xiao Chen turned his gaze to the other diagrams on the boat, and they were also different from the normal ones. It seemed to be a sheep-shaped demonic beast.
Sensing the aura emanating from it, Xiao Chen exclaimed in shock, "This is … a Levitating Formation?"
As a 4-star formation inscriptionist, he had inscribed formations of this level many times, but … he had always strictly followed the instructions of the formation blueprint. It was completely different from the one before him.
Putting aside carving, he had never even seen a Levitating Formation like this before.
Extending his Spiritual Perception toward the 'sheep-shaped demonic beast', Xiao Chen's body jolted.
This diagram was perfectly aligned with the principles of the world. Every single one of the inscriptions had reached the level of Perfection, and when combined together, they could exert immense might.
If the Levitating Formation he inscribed was only able to lift ten thousand jin at most, the other party's Levitating Formation was able to lift ten thousand tons with ease. In fact, it might even be able to lift more than that!
"Could it be that … the ones I inscribed in the past were all wrong? Could it be that this kind of diagram is easier to carve? "
A thought popped into Xiao Chen's mind, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This won't do. I have to make a copy of this diagram! I'll just carve it in the future … "
Formation blueprints were similar to pill formulas. They were created by generations of formation inscriptionists strictly based on their understanding of the principles of the world. Putting aside the difficulty of carving the Levitating Formation, the success rate was extremely low as well. Even Xiao Chen couldn't achieve a success rate of fifty percent.
This diagram possessed great buoyancy, and it was closer to perfection. As long as he could master it, its effects would surely be better!
Suppressing the agitation in his heart, Xiao Chen turned his attention away from the Levitating Formation and turned his gaze back to the young man.
Many exquisite carving techniques appeared in the other party's hands once more, and more formation inscriptions appeared, covering the entire body of the ship.
Even though Xiao Chen wasn't able to inscribe the Shrinking Formation, and he didn't even dare to look at it, he had heard of the difficulties and profundities of it from others. At this moment, he could feel his comprehension of the formation inscriptions growing more and more.
"It turns out that the two types of formation inscriptions have to be combined in such a manner in order to neutralize the pressure and repulsion … It's laughable that I've been using it incorrectly. No wonder it's so difficult to inscribe grade-4 formation inscriptions!"
"Using this method, not only can one's carving speed be faster, it can also reduce the vibrations of the formation inscriptions …"
"Carving can be divided into cutting, drawing, hooking, grinding, and many other methods. Even though his hooking technique is simple and unremarkable, it's used in the most appropriate place, creating a bridge between the two. Its might is even more profound than the most profound of techniques!"
"This drawing is also true. A bit more would make it thicker, and a bit less would make it thinner … Incredible!"
…
Realization after realization appeared in Xiao Chen's mind. Xiao Chen, who was on the verge of a breakthrough, seemed to have gone mad as he fell into a unique state.
Previously, when he saw the young man's exquisite technique, he felt that he didn't know how to do it, so it didn't resonate with him. At this moment, after careful observation, he realized that no matter how profound the technique was, it had to be completed with the most basic movements. Furthermore, the young man's strongest point wasn't the basic movements, but his grasp and control of the entire formation.
Sometimes, even though a formation inscription was close to perfection no matter how one looked at it, he still had to draw another one to break the balance. At first, he thought that he might have made a mistake, but when he drew another hundred or so inscriptions, he realized that this was the trick!
With the extra scratch from before, this formation would be easier to inscribe and wouldn't be repelled!
Formation inscriptions were like Go. Sometimes, an ordinary move could become the deciding factor of life and death.
"His strength lies not only in his carving technique, but also in his control of the entire formation …"
Xiao Chen muttered to himself in a daze.
After an unknown period of time, Xiao Chen's body suddenly trembled. Dense spiritual energy gathered from all directions, and his cultivation and comprehension of formation inscriptions broke through at the same time!
Divinity realm, grade-5 formation master!
While Xiao Chen was breaking through, Su Yin, who was in the midst of carving, also felt a jolt. Two streams of spiritual energy flowed through his skin and entered his body. The Qi of Teacher and the Qi of Formation Inscriptions!
"This …" Su Yin was filled with excitement.
This Xiao Chen was really impressive. He contributed three inscriptions all by himself. What a good man!
With so much spiritual energy, he might be able to break through to Divinity realm or even Zongshi realm.
Knowing that it would take some time for spiritual energy to enter his dantian, Su Yin didn't think too much about it and continued carving.
More than ten minutes later, he finished carving the shrinking formation inscription. Since he wasn't in a hurry to activate it, he thought for a moment and carved the reinforcing formation inscription that he had just learned.
Half an hour later, he carved more than ten suitable formation inscriptions that he saw in the Formation Inscription Library, such as defense and acceleration.
At this moment, the entire ship was no longer filled with Pleasant Goat and Gray Wolf. There were also iconic characters such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, Peppa Pig, and Teletubbies.
After doing all this, Su Yin felt exhausted.
He couldn't afford to make any mistakes in carving so many formation inscriptions in a single breath. Even someone like him couldn't take it anymore.
Turning around, Zhang Xuan saw that Xiao Chen had already reinforced his cultivation. He looked at Zhang Xuan gratefully and said, "Senior granduncle, thank you for your guidance …"
There was nothing more useful than one's own cultivation. Not only did he reach Divinity realm, his understanding of formation inscriptions had also improved significantly. As long as he could raise his cultivation, he might even be able to become a 6-star formation master within ten years!
Every single rank of formation master was like a huge chasm that hindered countless geniuses. To be able to comprehend so much just by learning it once, one could imagine how much he owed Zhang Xuan.
"There's no need to stand on ceremony!"
Without saying anything, Su Yin walked up to the ship and tapped lightly on it.
Zhen Yuan flowed through the inscriptions. Hu! The shrinking formation inscription was activated, and the thirty meter long ship shrunk to thirty centimeters in an instant.
With a light grab, the ship appeared in Zhang Xuan's hand and was stowed into his storage ring.
Success!
"Farewell!"
Seeing that he had accomplished his goal of coming out, and that the three strands of spiritual energy had arrived in his dantian, Su Yin didn't stay any longer. He brought the donkey to the bed and allowed Xiao Chen to make a copy of the picture of the Pleasant Goat. Only then did he hurry back to the Zhen Immortal Sect.
"There's no need for you to follow me. You should return to the sect first …"
Arriving at the entrance of the Hidden Immortal Residence, Su Yin leaped down from the wooden plank and gestured to the young lady.
Not expecting the other party to refuse her entry into the residence, Bai Yiyi hurriedly said, "I was ordered by Elder Wu to take care of gongzi. I can wash your clothes and cook for you …"
"There's no need for you to take care of me. Besides, even if you want to cook, I have to be able to eat first … Let's go back! It's not convenient for outsiders to enter the Hidden Immortal Residence for the time being. "
Without saying anything else, Su Yin led Donkey back to the residence.
Bai Yiyi was just about to follow when the door suddenly closed. She was too close to Zhang Xuan, and she nearly got slapped on the nose …
"…" The young lady's body trembled, and she felt like crying.
'He's too straight, he doesn't even know how to turn around …'
Taking care of me is just an excuse. What's more important is to spend some time with him. Perhaps, she might be able to sense his sincerity. Yet, this fellow is like a tool. After bringing me around, he doesn't even allow me to enter the residence …
It can't be that in the other party's eyes, I'm just a guide, right?
She stood at the entrance for a moment, but seeing that the other party really didn't allow her to enter, she could only fly back to the sect on her sword.
After going through so much trouble, he doesn't even offer me a drink. How ungentlemanly!
I'm a princess, but in the other party's eyes, I'm nothing more than a donkey …
…
Actually, Bai Yiyi's thoughts weren't too different from Su Yin's. Firstly, he wanted her to lead the way, and secondly … to ensure his safety.
Even though everyone knew that his Little Senior Uncle possessed incredible cultivation and was invincible … what if someone dared to cause trouble for him?
Without any spiritual energy in his body, he was only a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan cultivator … Putting aside Divinity realm cultivators, even a Transcendent Mortal 8-dan or 9-dan cultivator wouldn't be a match for him!
However, with her tagging along, things were different.
As the princess of the Great Yan royalty, General Han Wei and Mo Yuan would surely have their own means to rush over in a short period of time.
Thus, with her tagging along, he would have the backing of the entire Great Yan royalty and the protection of a Heritage realm expert … Why wouldn't he do it?
Ignoring the frustrated young lady, Su Yin returned to the residence and hurriedly took a look at his dantian.
As expected, another star had been lit up. This area wasn't close to pill forging or medical treatment. Instead, it was closer to smithing, but it was still a distance away from it.
"Can these two surges of spiritual energy fuse together?"
This was the first time that two surges of spiritual energy had gathered in the same area. With a thought, Su Yin began to fuse them together.
Weng!
In an instant, the two surges of spiritual energy gathered together, forming a thick aura. The area around the formation glowed brightly, and the area of activation increased by twofold.
Su Yin frowned when he sensed that his strength had not increased.
Could it be that … only by fusing with spiritual energy could he raise his cultivation?
"I can't drive the aura of a teacher …" Even though Zhang Xuan still had a surge of aura of a teacher in his body, he hadn't imparted it to anyone yet. As such, he was unable to fuse it together.
In other words, if he wanted to drive this surge of spiritual energy, he would have to impart knowledge to his teacher first.
"Teacher, your disciple requests an audience!"
Rubbing his glabella, Zhang Xuan was contemplating whether he should make a trip to the Subduing Immortal Sect when he suddenly heard a shout from outside his residence.
"Master, my disciple is here. I'll go out to take a look …" The parrot flew out excitedly. Dahei and Lao Mian hesitated for a moment before following it.
"Should I … take in a disciple as well?" Su Yin fell into deep thought.
His pet already had a disciple, so why not take in one as well? With a disciple, he would be able to gather more aura of a teacher, and perhaps, he would be able to fuse more spiritual energy with it.
While Zhang Xuan was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a slight jolt in his dantian. Taking a look, he realized that the previously immobile aura of a teacher was actually able to move without any warning.
"Could it be that … when the parrot takes in a disciple, I will be affected as well?" Su Yin was stunned for a moment before realization dawned on him.
Yesterday, when he was imparting knowledge to the Subduing Immortal Sect, he had obtained a surge of aura of a teacher. Initially, he was unable to move it, but eventually, he was able to move it. He had thought that it was due to a breakthrough, but now that he thought about it, it might have something to do with his pet.
The reason why the parrot was able to wield such strength was due to his influence, so it could be considered as his disciple. Even though the effect of imparting knowledge to his disciple was slightly weaker, it was still equivalent to him clearing up the doubts of the other party …
If that was the case, everything would make sense.
Zhang Xuan took out his bed once more and began inscribing the acceleration formation on it. Not too long later, he was able to control the spiritual energy he was inscribing, and it floated above the Taiji Diagram.
"There are two surges of aura of a teacher and two surges of aura of a teacher …"
After the fusion, the spiritual energy from the inscribing was incomparably thick, nearly twice as strong as the weaker aura of a teacher. Once the two were fused together, it would be impossible to separate them. Could he really achieve a hundred percent fusion?
Even if he couldn't … what would happen?
"Forget it, I'll just give it a try!"
Knowing that there was a time limit to imparting knowledge and inscribing formations, Su Yin could only grit his teeth and control the two surges of aura of a teacher.
Hu!
The aura of a teacher and the inscribing began to fuse together, and it didn't take too long for the fusion to be complete.
Just as Zhang Xuan had guessed, there was a slight deviation. The spiritual energy from the inscribing formation was twice that of the aura of a teacher.
Boom!
The Taiji Diagram seemed to have sensed the imbalance, and it began to tremble slightly. Su Yin felt as though his head was about to explode, and he nearly fainted.
"Damn it, this won't do …" Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes, and his palms began to sweat.
He had once borrowed the might of spiritual energy, so he knew full well how powerful it was. Given his cultivation, it was impossible for him to withstand the imbalance of spiritual energy!
If he didn't think of a solution quickly, he might very well explode on the spot and lose his life!
"Where should I find a new Aura of Teacher?"
The Aura of a Teacher had to be imparted to another, and the other party had to comprehend it before he could obtain it. Not only did it require a certain amount of time, it also required a student … At this moment, the Taiji Diagram was trembling, and Zhang Xuan couldn't even speak.
In other words, even if he knew the method to obtain it, he wouldn't be able to find it! After all … he couldn't possibly just wait for his death!
He had just left the forbidden grounds, and he hadn't even enjoyed his life properly yet. Even if he was beaten to death, he wouldn't do it!
At this critical moment, a thought suddenly popped up in Zhang Xuan's mind. "Right, I have fused the Aura of a Teacher before. Is it possible for me to use it as a foundation to fuse them together?"
The first time he had fused the Aura of a Teacher and the spiritual energy of a blacksmith together, and given how dangerous the situation was, could he use it as a foundation to fuse them together?
Time was of the essence, and there was no time for him to think too much about it. With a thought, the fused aura of a Teacher and a Blacksmith flew out from the center of the Taiji Diagram and collided with the fused aura in the air.
Hu!
With the Aura of a Teacher as a guide, the two auras fused together.
The trembling Taiji Diagram stabilized slightly, but it was still slightly tilted.
"Two auras of a Teacher, two auras of a formation, and a single aura of a blacksmith … It's still a little imbalanced. If I can fuse the other aura of a blacksmith as well, it should be much better …"
Su Yin was enlightened and came to a sudden realization.
Not only could fuse two auras together, it was also possible to fuse more auras together. However, the prerequisite was that … the number of auras had to be equal. Otherwise, it would result in a situation where one of the auras was biased.
Focusing his attention, another aura of a Physician and a Pill Forging aura appeared in his mind. Su Yin tried to fuse the two together, but he soon shook his head.
Without a medium, it was impossible to fuse the two together. However, the Aura of a Teacher seemed to have such an effect.
Every occupation required a heritage, and in order to do so, there had to be a teacher … There was no substitute for it.
Thus, Zhang Xuan returned the fused auras back to the Taiji Diagram.
Boom!
The spiritual energy in the surroundings surged furiously into his body once more. Su Yin immediately felt his cultivation rising swiftly once more.
Transcendent Mortal 8-dan!
Transcendent Mortal 9-dan …
A few minutes later, Zhang Xuan finally stopped at the 1-dan of Celestial Palace.
"It's probably because I'm still lacking a single aura of a blacksmith …" Looking at his dantian, Su Yin shook his head.
Even though the Path of Teacher, Formation, and Smithing were already fused together, due to the disparity in quantity, there was still an imbalance. Under such circumstances, there was a limit to how much one could raise one's cultivation. If he could fuse another aura of a Teacher to maintain this balance, he would surely be able to raise his cultivation by leaps and bounds. In fact, he might even surpass the fusion of the Path of Physician and Pill forging.
…
While Su Yin was fusing the three auras together, a brilliant light flickered in the forbidden grounds, and the thirty-six Fragmented Wills of Ancient Sages appeared once more.
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