“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine,” Zhang Xuan replied with a smile. “As for the deity, you need not worry about him anymore.”
On his way here, he had washed himself with clear water to quickly clean up a little before switching into a fresh set of clothes. Even though he had not sustained any injuries, he had sweated a fair bit over the course of the battle, and the feeling of fabric clinging stickily to his skin felt very uncomfortable to him.
Time ticked by in silence. It was quite a while before the crowd was able to take in the news that the young man had successfully gotten rid of the deity, and looks of awe appeared on their faces.
To defeat a person so powerful without sustaining any injuries, the young man was frighteningly powerful!
Taking a deep breath to recover from his shock, Ancient Sage Yan Qing took a look at the rifts around him before looking at Zhang Xuan with an awkward expression on his face. “Zhang shi, I understand that you have unique insights into formations, so may I trouble you to mend our formation for us?”
He knew that the current Hundred Schools of Philosophers lacked the ability to mend the shattered formation, but the young man before him should be able to pull it off.
It was just that the young man was an outsider… and the relations between them could not be said to be amicable. Furthermore, it was just a moment ago that the young man had done them a huge favor by luring away the deity and getting rid of him despite the risks, so he could not help but feel a little embarrassed for relying so much on the other party.
“It’s no trouble at all, but do you have the blueprint and repair method for the formation?” Zhang Xuan asked.
This was the first time that he had seen a formation like this. Using the corpse of Ancient Sage Zi Yuan as its core to seal the passageway leading to a higher dimension, its complexity was way beyond any of the formations that he had seen before.
Even he would have had difficulties trying to set it up without the blueprint.
“We do,” Ancient Sage Yan Qing replied as he passed a jade token over. “Recorded in here is the structure of the formation, as well as the notes that generations of our predecessors have made while repairing the formation!”
Taking the jade token, Zhang Xuan quickly scanned through its contents. It did not take long for him to have the entire formation in his grasp.
The name of this formation was very literal, Floating Coffin Heaven Mending Formation. It was said to have been created by Kong shi himself in order to seal up the passageway linking the higher dimension to their world. Once it was in place, even Dimension Shatterer realm cultivators would have trouble trying to breach it.
Is he going to attempt to mend the formation after learning it on the spot? Could it be that… his talents in his supporting occupation are on par with mine? Is he able to master anything within moments of coming into contact with it, too? Kong Shiyao frowned in intrigue.
Possessing the purest bloodline of Kong shi, her ability to absorb new information was amazing. Be it for a supporting occupation or a battle technique, she could understand and master it swiftly after learning the principles behind it. She did not have to devote too much time to refining her skills.
It was bewildering to her how the young man had the confidence to accept their request without any hesitation despite having never seen the formation before. It could not be that he possessed the same talents as her, could it?
But even if he has talents comparable to mine, such a complex formation should at least take him two to three days to master. Will he be able to make it in time at this rate? Kong Shiyao thought worriedly as she looked at the mercury-like energy gushing in from the rifts.
Recalling the fact that the young man was a Celestial Master Teacher just like Kong shi, it should not come as any surprise that the young man was extraordinary. However, there were still limits to what a human could achieve within a limited timeframe.
The Floating Coffin Heaven Mending Formation was so complicated that it had taken her three days before she was able to grasp how the entire system worked. Even if the young man was more gifted and could grasp new information two times swifter than her, he still would not be able to mend the formation in time!
The mercury-like energy had only suffused the elevated platform that they were on, but at the current rate it was flowing out, it would drown at least a third of the Kunxu Domain’s land by the end of the day. That would cause a rapid change in the quality of the spiritual energy within the world, and the Greensprout Wheat that they had cultivated with great difficulty would swiftly die off.
Everything that the Hundred Schools of Philosophers had built up over the past tens of thousands of years would be reduced to nothing!
Then, everything would be for naught even if they did manage to repair the formation.
Besides, they were betting on the possibility that the young man would have some way to repair it, but that was unjustified optimism on their part. It could be said that making this request to the young man was really a last-ditch gamble.
But as Kong Shiyao continued looking on worriedly, she saw Zhang Xuan passing the jade token back to her. Following which, he turned to the crowd with a confident smile on his face. “I’m going to begin the repairs now, so please step back.”
Hearing those words, Kong Shiyao blinked blankly.
She raised her right hand and swiftly counted, three breaths… Had he really grasped the formation in just three breaths?
Under her bewildered stare, the young man began moving. He opened his fingers wide and pumped his zhenqi toward the sky like a rapid current, swiftly forming illusory bridges of a myriad colors across the void.
Standing in the very middle of those seemingly divine bridges, Zhang Xuan looked as if he was the ruler of the world.
He gently moved his finger to maneuver those illusory bridges, reminiscent of a demonic tunist performing a moving melody. Along with his movements, a faint but beautiful humming from the wind could be heard.
Is that… the Voice of the Heavens? Kong Shiyao trembled.
Legend had it that if anyone achieved the level of perfect harmony with the heavens, no matter which occupation they were from, the Voice of the Heavens would emerge. The young man had only browsed through the blueprint for three breaths, but not only did he manage to grasp the formation perfectly, he was even able to elevate it to a much higher level.
Was she really so lacking compared to him?
But she was the descendant of the legendary Kong shi, possessing a bloodline that none could match!
With deep indignation, she looked on and saw Zhang Xuan’s fingers moving faster and faster, and it did not take long for afterimages to appear in the midst of his movements. The illusory bridges danced elegantly in the air, crossing one another to swiftly form an intricate design.
He’s speeding up? Isn’t he afraid of making a mistake? Kong Shiyao shuddered at the sheer speed that Zhang Xuan was moving at.
Given the complexity of the formation, she had thought that even if Zhang Xuan could comprehend it, he would need their help to form the primary structure to seal off the inflow of the mercury-like energy before slowly reinforcing it. All in all, she had expected the entire process to take a whole month.
However, at that moment, Zhang Xuan’s hands were moving so quickly that she could hardly keep up with them anymore. If he made a single mistake, not only would his previous work be unraveled, he would also suffer a severe backlash from the formation.
A few breaths passed, but not only did Zhang Xuan’s movements not slow down, they continued still to grow swifter.
Unable to stand the tension any longer, Kong Shiyao flicked her wrist and took out a mirror. She gently reflected it against Zhang Xuan.
This mirror was a family heirloom passed down in the Kong Clan, and it was known as the Profound Empyrean Mirror. Through analyzing the intensity of the pulsations of energy coming from the formation, it was able to determine whether the formation master’s movements were correct or not. If the formation master’s movements were correct, the characters ‘正确 (Correct)’ would be reflected in the mirror, and a white light would emanate from its surface. Incorrect, and the characters ‘错误 (Wrong)’ would be reflected, with black light emanating from its surface.
Weng weng weng!
Upon reflecting Zhang Xuan’s silhouette, the Profound Empyrean Mirror immediately emanated a brilliant white glow as lines and lines of characters swiftly flowed across its surface.
正确 (Correct)!
正确 (Correct)!
正确 (Correct)…
As the Profound Empyrean Mirror in her hand got filled up with the characters 正确 (Correct), its surface glowed so brightly that it seemed to become a mini sun that blinded everyone in the surroundings.
This… Kong Shiyao’s lips quivered in disbelief.
She had seen plenty of geniuses in her lifetime, and she was one herself. But to master such a complex formation within three breaths and repair it so quickly without making the slightest mistake… was that young man really a human?
Hu!
Her astonishment did not last for long before the fingers of the young man in the air came to an abrupt halt.
He gracefully placed his hands behind his back before gazing into the void.
“What’s wrong? The formation’s repairs mustn’t be halted halfway through, or else you will have to start anew!” Kong Shiyao yelled anxiously.
The formation was not just complex; the repairs must also be finished at a single go. Otherwise, if there was even a momentary interruption in between, the mercury-like energy would swiftly crush everything that had been built thus far.
This was similar to repairing a dam. One had to finish the repairs in a single shot, or else any weakness in the structure would swiftly be exploited by the accumulated water, eventually resulting in a leakage.
“Hmm? I didn’t halt the repairs halfway.” Hearing those words, Zhang Xuan glanced at Kong Shiyao and replied, “I have already finished the repairs!”
“You have already finished?” Kong Shiyao was taken aback.
Given that Ancient Sage Zi Yuan’s body was still with her and the mercury-like energy was still flowing through, how could this be considered as a completed repair job?
Noticing Kong Shiyao’s incomprehension, Zhang Xuan chuckled softly. He looked at the void above once and commanded, “Activate!”
Hong long!
The coffin beside Kong Shiyao immediately soared into the void and vanished, and the surrounding space was swiftly stabilized. All of the rifts were mended in an instant, and it looked as if nothing had happened there at all.
The formation had actually activated under his command!
The Word of Law… Isn’t that the Kong Clan’s bloodline ability? Kong Shiyao could not believe what she was seeing.
