Chapter 23: The Astonishing Space Stone

  Li Shi suddenly remembered something, and her phoenix-like eyes sparkled brightly.

  "Lin Hong, I didn't expect you to be a profound formation master. Can I ask for your help with something?"

  Lin was taken aback. You're a sixth-grade strongman, and you want me to help? What can't you do as a sixth-grade strongman that I, a late-stage third-grade cultivator, can accomplish?

  "He politely said: 'Please go ahead, senior.'"

  "It's about the formation method." Li Shi looked around, seeing people passing by from time to time, and said slowly: "Let's do it this way, you come to my cave tonight, and I'll tell you in detail then."

  Lin Hengyi heard it was a formation problem and relaxed immediately.

  He was just lacking in practical experience in the formation of arrays, and he did not decline, nodding his head: "Alright."

  Lin Heng entered the grand hall of the Ti Yin Sect, and because of that time on the back mountain where he killed Yang De Song in front of a large crowd, many disciples recognized him. As a result, there were not a few who pointed and nodded their heads to discuss, seeing him look over, they excitedly waved greetings. Lin Heng smiled and returned the courtesy, it seems I have truly become a famous person here.

  Soon, someone came out from inside and led him into the council hall.

  Lin Hengruan lived here for a period of time and also killed Yang Desong in the Tiexin Sect. The people of the Tiexin Sect were familiar with him, even outside, they immediately recognized him. However, he only knew Guo Yin's sister and brother, but did not know anyone else from the Tiexin Sect.

  Xie Li was surprised at his arrival and then very excited, introducing several council elders one by one to him.

  There are twelve elders of the Hidden Sect, but only six participate in decision-making. The others focus on cultivation and do not care about sect affairs. After Yang Desong's death, he was succeeded by Xie Li's confidant and his father's old subordinate, Zhong Chong.

  Six council elders, only three of them were there, and they naturally didn't dare to neglect Lin Heng's disciple, the guest elder.

  His identity is not mentioned, but his strength alone is no less than theirs.

  After a burst of cold noise and flattery, it was natural for Fang Wei Lao to bring up the next sect war.

  "It's only a month before the Battle of Seizing the Flag, I don't know how you're preparing for it, Lin Shixiong. According to the latest news, other sects have already confirmed that they will be sending their strongest cultivators to fight. Among the ten sects, six are fifth-grade, with the highest cultivation being Jin Niao Men's Sect Master Hao Wu Xie and Mo Tan Gu's Zhuo Yi, both in the middle of the fifth grade; there are also two fourth-grade late-stage cultivators, and one is like our Ti Yin Sect, which is a wild card with unknown strength. This time's Battle of Seizing the Flag will be more intense than previous years, everyone is determined to go all out."

  "Which sect wouldn't go all out to fight for it? This time, the battle is not only about the 'Refining Crystal Vein', but also the 'Fire Crystal Vein' which is worth more than fifty times its value. Operating it for a year can support a sect for ten years. If we operate it for ten years, we can pull down other sects by nearly a hundred years, which sect wouldn't be envious?"

  "Judging from our actual strength, our chances of winning are the lowest..."

  The second half of the sentence is not spoken, and the second half is "Others are all fourth or fifth grade, even if they are fourth grade, it's also later. The Ti Yin Zong faction only produced a mere third-grade, how can we win? Although Lin Huan's strength exceeds his realm, but with other people's strength too disparate. Even if you win one game, it's just a wild dream.

  Lin Heng naturally sensed that they didn't think highly of him and slowly said: "I will do my best, hoping to win this battle for the Tiexin Sect."

  Several elders felt helpless, after all, in a pile of dwarfs, even if you find the tallest one, it's still just that tall.

  Lin Huan returned to the cave after circling around and began reading that ancient spellbook again, until the sky turned dark before he remembered Li Shi's appointment.

  Arriving at Li Shidong's mansion, Lin Hang saw the large formation outside and couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Haha..."

  "What kind of formation is this? It's clearly a first-rate formation, the Qing Sang Fa Zhen; but it's been set up with mistakes and flaws everywhere, and instead looks like an unrefined 'Snail Shell Formation'. The spatial materials used in this formation are lavish and abundant, but apart from looking cumbersome and redundant, they serve no purpose. This bizarre thing must have been created by a novice disciple who hasn't even entered the gates of formation magic yet. It's completely unorthodox and full of holes."

  "Of course, the formation has some power and can prevent cultivators of the first rank or lower from entering. However, with so many materials available, to set up such a simple and useless formation, who taught this formation master? It's simply an insult to their ancestors."

  Lin's comprehension of the formation is now far superior to what it was in the past. With just a single glance, he can instantly grasp the intricacies of this formation.

  "......Sorry, I'm late." Lin Hong bowed his hands in apology to Li Shi who came out of the formation.

  Li Shi's appearance looked like she was only around 40 years old, with slender eyebrows and delicate makeup. Standing in the night wind, her skirt fluttered, her fragrant hair danced, and her slender figure was exposed without reservation, her charm still intact.

  Lin's gaze was just a fleeting glance, without any thoughts, he hadn't reached the point of being desperate for food.

  The two of them made a big noise, and Li Shi pointed to the formation outside the cave, saying: "Lin Huan, I suppose you've also seen the appearance of this large formation. The favor I'm asking of you is about this."

  "...With your formation, seeing this grand formation, you will surely laugh. Anyway, it's not the first time to show off and be embarrassed, let you laugh one more time doesn't matter. The one who set up this grand formation is none other than me."

  Lin Heng was about to speak, but upon hearing this, he immediately swallowed his words back: "Damn it, that was close. I almost burst out scolding this Formation Master."

  "I don't know much about formation knowledge, this 'Qing Sang Formation' was formed by me during my leisure time, through self-study of some simple and crude formation books, it's so childish and rough..."

  Lin Hang heard that she was self-taught and immediately admired her a bit.

  He went through those array books, what calculated notes, stock push... a whole bunch of complicated and repetitive terms. If he didn't have the mathematical knowledge from before crossing over to convert concepts, I'm afraid just looking at one page would make his eyes dizzy. And she was able to self-study to the point of setting up arrays, which is not bad.

  "The knowledge of array techniques is complex and difficult to master, ordinary people can't even memorize the usage methods of hundreds of space stones. Seniors who can set up such a large-scale real array through their own contemplation are already extremely rare."

  Li Shi listened to his praise and was slightly proud. But immediately thought that he was young, able to break through the four-and-a-half-grade "Eight Extreme Split Array", far surpassing himself, and immediately put away that thread of self-satisfaction.

  "Flattered by your praise, I still have a sense of self-awareness. I invited you here precisely because I wanted you to help me perfect this formation."

  She learned the formation method solely because of Lin Huan's current four-product "Turtle Shield Formation" outside the cave. It is said that people all have a heart of comparison, and in those years, Lin Huan's adoptive father asked his close friend, the formation master, to set up the Protecting Mountain Great Formation. She was of low birth and had an ordinary relationship with Lin Huan's adoptive father, so although she felt envious, she didn't dare ask for it.

  For over a decade, she has been studying the secrets of formation while cultivating her martial arts skills, hoping to create an impressive large formation for herself. Having a protective mountain formation with a cave dwelling can defend against enemy invasions and isolate a cultivation environment that is cut off from the world. At the same time, having a protective mountain formation is also a symbol of one's power. A strong cultivator who has a protective mountain formation guarding them is absolutely more intimidating than one without.

  Unfortunately, she didn't expect that the path of array would be dozens of times more difficult than practicing martial arts. After more than a decade, she only managed to come up with this unorthodox "Qing Sang Array".

  "As long as you're willing to lend a hand, all these array books I've collected and these space stones will be yours." She led Lin Huar to a storage room, Lin Huar's eyes widened in amazement, his horizons thoroughly broadened.

  But seeing this spacious room, first is a row of formation books, and later the remaining piles in the center are all spatial materials needed for array arrangement, as many as nine large boxes!

  He originally thought that his adoptive father's entire box of space stones was already extravagant enough, but now he realized that he had been narrow-minded.

  His eyes showed a strong greed for the first time, staring at those boxes of space stones, reluctant to leave for a long time.

  Lin Heng was deeply immersed in studying the subtleties of formation techniques, but he was frustrated by the lack of materials and had always been just talking about it on paper. Formation masters setting up formations consumed a huge amount of space stones, and the box of space stones left to him by his adoptive father had long been squandered away. That's why when he saw the "Eight Extremes Splitting Array" of the Weiyan Sect, he couldn't help but feel itchy hands.

  There are nine large boxes of "space stones", enough for him to squander without restraint. Knowledge comes from practice, and he studies the knowledge in books, which must be verified by practice. Moreover, in addition to the nine large boxes of space materials, there is also a pile of secret books searched out, which is equally beneficial to him, and it's like sending charcoal in snowy weather!

  Li Shi was worried that Lin would not agree, but seeing the unhidden greedy light in his eyes, he immediately knew that this gamble had paid off.

  Saliva drips down, but after all, it's a transaction, and you have to clarify the price first.

  "I wonder how seniors want me to improve? Or what effect do they want?"

  Li Shi knew he was answering, holding back his hot breath and excited heartbeat, saying: "As long as you perfect this large formation into a finished product of the Qing Sang Formation, all the space materials and books here are yours."

  Lin Furrowed his brow, thinking about something.

  Li Shi's heart skipped a beat, could it be a change of mind, just as he was about to speak.

  Lin Hang said, "The 'Qing Sang Array' outside is too bulky with the placement of space crystals. It's as if they think that adding more spatial materials to an array will make it stronger. In fact, once an array is adopted, its approximate power is already determined, and increasing the number of space crystals has little effect."

  Li Shi Yu's face turned slightly red, and Lin Hong said what was indeed her careful thoughts when she set up the formation that day.

  "Why don't I do this: first, I'll break down this formation, and then use the remaining space crystal from this formation and some of the boxes here to make up for it, and give you a three-product 'Stiff Plum Formation'." Lin Heng thought that although he also wanted to easily take possession of the other party's crystal, it would be too unscrupulous to simply repair this rotten formation and then take away so many materials from them.

  Moreover, what he lacks now is practice.

  For a small "Qing Sang Array", he was uninterested, and it would be better to exchange the "Space Stone" for a chance to practice a third-grade array. Before this, he had only set up two or three small arrays and pierced the 'Eight Extremes Splitting Array', with zero experience in controlling real arrays.

  If it's an extra practice session, even if you lose two boxes of crystal stones, it's still well worth it.

  In his eyes, both first-rate and third-rate were just playthings for him to hone his skills, with no distinction.

  But Li Shina was completely different, she was so excited that she could hardly speak.