The Double Ripples Water Formation used specially forged water droplets as formation flags. It would flow along with the water current, such that even the Spiritual Perception of a Semi-Divinity realm expert would not be able to perceive its presence.
On the other hand, this young man was able to see through it as soon as he arrived in the area, and he could even point out the flaws in the formation. His eye of discernment was truly terrifying!
“Elder Liu, the Semi-Divinity realm beast that we are aiming for is a Blackback Tortoise. It’s known for its humble speed. The Double Ripples Water Formation is ideal to trap the opponent,” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao interjected.
Since they were aiming to take down a Semi-Divinity realm beast, it was only normal that they would do their homework in advance. They had considered the possibility of the beast making use of the ripples to flee, but since their target was a Blackback Tortoise, they decided to go ahead with it anyway.
Due to the bulky body of the Blackback Tortoise, it was unable to utilize the flow of water to accelerate its speed. As long as they controlled the ripples well enough, they would be able to form a tight barrier to trap the Blackback Tortoise.
“The Blackback Tortoise is skilled in defense but not speed. Considering its massive physique, it’s indeed not a bad idea to use the Double Ripples Water Formation against it. However, we should not forget our environment here. We are currently in the Sea of Little Mirror, and there’s a brilliant moon hanging above us,” Zhang Xuan said.
“Hmm?”
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao and Elder Feng were slightly flabbergasted by Zhang Xuan’s words. They had no idea what the latter was getting at.
Aren’t we talking about the formation and the Blackback Tortoise? What does this have to do with the Sea of Little Mirror and the brilliant moon above?
“Have you ever considered the possibility that the Blackback Tortoise isn’t just keeping its distance out of wariness? Don’t you think that it’s possible that it has already noticed the formation you have set up, and it’s biding its time for the opportune moment to strike?” Zhang Xuan asked.
He had already harbored his doubts when Elder Feng said that the beast was extremely wary.
Semi-Divinity realm beasts were already the most powerful existence in the Ocean of Exiled Stars! Was there a reason for it to be so wary when there were only so few things in the world that could hurt it?
If it was just a moment of hesitation, it might still have been wariness, but to stay away for so many days… it was clear that there was more than met the eye!
After checking the formation and location in person, he finally came to a realization.
“What do you mean by that?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao asked in intrigue.
He was unable to figure out how all of that came together.
“You should know why the Sea of Little Mirror is reminiscent of a mirror. Due to the unique ores in the region, a certain lifeform known as the Silverleaf Mayfly gathers within the water in huge clusters,” Zhang Xuan said.
The other two nodded in agreement.
They had heard of the Silverleaf Mayfly before. It was a creature so small that it appeared no different from a speck of dust. Nevertheless, through sheer numbers, it was able to create a silver reflective surface on the Sea of Little Mirror.
“These Silverleaf Mayflies prey not on coral nor animal but the energy within a certain kind of ore. This entire area is filled with these ores, which keeps the Silverleaf Mayflies clustered in this area, thus producing this mystical sight,” Zhang Xuan said.
Elder Feng nodded in agreement. He had been there for quite some time, and he had investigated the area thoroughly, so he knew that what Zhang Xuan was saying was true.
“These Silverleaf Mayflies are not usually much of a threat, but if the ores they feed on start tremoring, can you imagine what will happen?”
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao pondered for a moment before replying, “If they feel like their livelihood has been threatened, they will surely fall into a pandemonium. Most of them will probably rush over in an attempt to salvage the situation.”
There were no beasts that would not be worried if their source of food was being threatened.
“Indeed. They would be stirred into motion in the hope of salvaging the situation. With so many Silverleaf Mayflies moving at once, are you certain that your Double Ripples Water Formation would still be useful?” Zhang Xuan asked.
Elder Feng fell into deep thought as he quickly reanalyzed the situation.
The Silverleaf Mayflies were the size of a speck of dust, so if it was just a couple of them moving around, it would not cause too much trouble. However, if all of them, covering the entire Sea of Little Mirror, were to begin moving at the same time, even the strongest of formations would collapse under a stampede of such scale.
Putting aside capturing the Blackback Tortoise, they might even be trapped there as well!
“But those ores have been buried deep in the seabed for many years, and they have never moved before. It doesn’t seem likely that anything peculiar will happen all of a sudden. Furthermore, what does this have to do with the full moon?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao asked.
If something was going to happen to the ores, it would have happened long ago. How unlucky would they have to be for a mishap to occur while they were here?
“It’s true that nothing has happened so far, but it doesn’t mean that nothing will happen in the future,” Zhang Xuan said. “Furthermore, if what I’m thinking of occurs, you will be the trigger of it all!”
“We will be the trigger?”
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao and Elder Feng found themselves getting more and more confused by what Zhang Xuan was getting at.
How in the world are we the trigger? We haven’t done anything here that would warrant something like that!
“The Blackback Tortoise fancies shiny objects. If I’m not mistaken, what you have planted in the depths of the ocean to bait it is some kind of invaluable diamond crystal, right?” Zhang Xuan said.
“I’m guessing that the diamond crystal you used emanates a light that is even brighter than that of the Night Illumination Pearls underwater, such that it will be perfectly visible even ten thousand li away. Well, you probably need at least that much if you wish to draw the attention of the Blackback Tortoise. However, have you considered where the energy for the light emanated by the diamond crystal comes from? Even Night Illumination Pearls have to absorb the light from the sun in order to shine. Considering how bright the diamond crystal is, where does its energy come from then? Even if it has energy stored within it, there is no way it will be sufficient to last for so many days.
“You might think that it could be from the Silverleaf Mayflies, but I can promise you that if you dare absorb even a sliver of energy from them, they will cluster up and devour you whole on the spot!”
“This…” The two of them were stumped by Zhang Xuan’s question.
To be honest, they had thought that they absorbed the energy from the Silverleaf Mayflies, but it seemed like that was not the case. It was indeed a question worth considering. Given how all light was reflected off the surface of the sea, everything beneath the surface was bound to be pitch-black.
And if it was not sunlight that was fueling it, what else could be?
Seeing that he had managed to get them thinking, Zhang Xuan continued. “I’ll give you the answer. The diamond crystal is drawing energy from the ores. During the night of the full moon, the Silverleaf Mayflies are in their weakest state, and they will frenziedly devour energy from the ores in order to replenish their energy. However, right now, the diamond crystal is competing with them for energy as well. The amount of energy that can be absorbed from the ores at any particular moment is limited, so such a situation could easily result in a huge problem. In the best possible scenario, there will just be tremors underwater, causing the waters to become choppy. In the worst-case scenario, a massive whirlpool will occur in the Sea of Little Mirror, devouring everything in the area!”
Hearing those words, Elder Feng pondered for a moment before asking, “If that happens, my formation will indeed lose its prowess. However, won’t the Blackback Tortoise be affected by the commotion and be unable to escape as well?”
It was true that a stampede from the Silverleaf Mayflies spelled trouble for his formation, but such a situation would not be advantageous to the Blackback Tortoise either. Given so, why would it wait till the night of a full moon in order to strike?
“Unable to escape?” Zhang Xuan burst into laughter. “You are underestimating the Semi-Divinity realm Blackback Tortoise! It’s a being that boasts unparalleled defense! Even during the stampede of the Silverleaf Mayflies, by its sheer weight, it will still be able to push its way through and devour your diamond crystals within three breaths.
“It won’t be able to assimilate those high-tiered diamond crystals swiftly though, which means that the Silverleaf Mayflies will still be able to sense the power from the ores coming from the Blackback Tortoise. In other words, it will then become the ‘culprit’ that was vying against the Silverleaf Mayflies for energy. Given so, how do you think those Silverleaf Mayflies will react?”
“The Silverleaf Mayflies will attack the Blackback Tortoise, right?” Barely after saying those words, Elder Feng suddenly narrowed his eyes as he finally understood what was going on. “What you mean is that the Blackback Tortoise has already noticed my plans, and it’s intentionally waiting till the night of the full moon not just to destroy my formation and acquire the diamond crystal but to make use of this opportunity to devour the Silverleaf Mayflies as well… and perhaps, even me too?”
The Silverleaf Mayflies might be able to hinder the movements of the Blackback Tortoise, but there was no way that they would be able to pose a threat to it. In the long term, they would become nothing more than prey to it.
At the same time, they would be trapped amid the stampede of the Silverleaf Mayflies, unable to escape. Under such circumstances, there was a good chance that they might turn from predators to prey!
If so, that would really be terrifying!
All along, they had thought that they were in control of the situation, but who could have known that they had already unwittingly fallen into the other party’s trap?
“Your strength isn’t enough to catch its eye. If it really wanted to go for you, it would have long made its move. Most likely, its target is Pavilion Master Kui!” Zhang Xuan said.
“Me?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao was stunned.
“If I wasn’t here, you would probably be underwater by now, camping in the vicinity of the Double Ripples Water Formation, waiting for the Blackback Tortoise to fall for the trap, right?” Zhang Xuan said with a smile. “If the Silverleaf Mayflies rushed over to you at that instant, you would surely be pushed to a corner. After all, you don’t possess the same defensive capabilities as the Blackback Tortoise. It wouldn’t take long for them to successfully seal your acupoints, weakening you for a fair amount of time.”
Hearing those words, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao’s body stiffened.
He knew that what the young man said was true. If the young man was not there, he would have dived into the water with Elder Feng in preparation for the moment that the Blackback Tortoise fell into their trap.
If the Silverleaf Mayflies stampeded at that moment, with their dust-like physique and sheer numbers, it would be difficult for him to defend against them all at once. It would not take long for them to seal his acupoints, preventing him from driving his zhenqi in the short-term.
After all, he was not so fortunate as to possess the impermeable shell of the Blackback Tortoise!
Of course, that much would not be able to defeat a Semi-Divinity realm expert like him. It was only a matter of time before he freed himself from the restraints of the Silverleaf Mayflies. However, if the Semi-Divinity realm beast made use of his moment of weakness to assault him…
He shuddered thinking of the consequences!
Pavilion Master Kui Xiao swiftly formed a simulation in his head based on the situation that Zhang Xuan had predicted, and slowly, he could feel his body turning colder and colder.
Even by positive estimates, the chances of him being killed by the Blackback Tortoise were at least eighty percent!
Such situations could not possibly happen by coincidence, especially when Semi-Divinity realm experts were involved.
Most likely, it was just as Zhang Xuan had said. While they were laying a trap for the Blackback Tortoise, the latter was doing the same. It seemed like they had really been outwitted. There was no greater ingenuity than a scheme that caused one’s target to leap into it willingly.
If they had not noticed it, the ones who were hunted would have been them. Even if they managed to get away using all sorts of trump cards, they would have been mortally wounded!
Just thinking about the possibilities sent shivers down his spine.
After a long moment of silence, Elder Feng asked, “Elder Liu, what should we do?”
At this moment, he had unconsciously placed Elder Liu on a higher pedestal than even Pavilion Master Kui Xiao himself. Somehow, his first reaction had become to turn to Elder Liu for advice.
“Do you have any more of the water droplet formation flags that you used to set up the Double Ripples Water Formation?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“I do,” Elder Feng replied.
With a flick of his wrist, he took out several dozen water droplets.
Even though they looked the same as ordinary water droplets, they were indeed formation flags. Due to their unique nature, they were able to meld into the water. Nevertheless, as long as they were in position, one would be able to activate those formation flags to bring out the power of a formation anytime.
“Good. Since the Blackback Tortoise believes that it has us in its grasp, we’ll just have to alter the formation accordingly to turn the tables,” Zhang Xuan said.
“Go!”
With a wave of his hand, he scattered all the water droplets in Elder Feng’s hand into the water.
Hula!
The next moment, the dozens of water droplets vanished beneath the silvery surface of the Sea of Little Mirror.
“This…”
Seeing how the young man shot out all the water droplets at once without any hesitation, Elder Feng was stunned yet again.
This was the first time that he had seen anyone setting up a formation like that! Was this not being a little too haphazard?
“It’s fine now. Let’s head down to wait for the Blackback Tortoise,” Zhang Xuan said with a light chuckle.
“Just like that?” Pavilion Master Kui Xiao still felt a little insecure.
“Yes. We’ll move according to the former plan and wait for the Blackback Tortoise to appear. Make sure not to make any other movements or else we might spark its suspicion,” Zhang Xuan said.
Looking at the confident look on Zhang Xuan’s face, Pavilion Master Kui Xiao hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly. “We’ll move according to Elder Liu’s plan.”
“Yes, Pavilion Master Kui!” Elder Feng nodded.
They quickly drove the boat toward the center of the Sea of Little Mirror.
“We have arrived,” Elder Feng said.
With a grasp of his hand, a small passageway appeared on the surface of the water. He stowed the boat away before diving in.
Zhang Xuan and Pavilion Master Kui Xiao followed closely behind him, venturing into the depths of the dark sea.
