Chapter 116 You also know the formation
After the banquet, Li Yu said goodbye to the disciples from various sects one by one and returned to Kunlun Station.
Bai Qingying and the three Emei sisters are also here. Not many people from the Emei sect are participating in this competition, and the three of them are here to see the world.
Li Yu used the Qi-gazing technique to observe and found that Senior Sister Bai had actually formed a golden elixir.
Whether it is Jiang Li, Senior Sister Xu, Senior Sister Bai from Emei, or Senior Brother Shangguan from Shushan, for these geniuses who are cultivated with all their strength by the major sects, the starting point of their cultivation path is the golden elixir. This is something that ordinary disciples can never compare to.
However, geniuses like Xu Yi and Tian Qi just lacked resources in the early stages. Once they cross the golden elixir threshold, cultivation will be a matter of equality for all living beings.
Li Yu did not envy them. Although he was only in the foundation-building stage now, it was not easy to go from the golden elixir to the Nascent Soul stage. When he formed the elixir, they would still be in the golden elixir stage.
The three Zhao sisters have also successfully established their foundation. Even though they have only just established their foundation, if they join hands, they can defeat those in the middle stage of foundation building, and they can also fight against those in the late stage of foundation building.
The three sisters had been used to hanging out with Zhou Zixuan and Ling'er for a long time, so they simply settled down in Kunlun.
Half a day later, Li Yu and the girls, together with the Nascent Soul Patriarch sent by Kunlun, went to the Tiandao Secret Realm to attend the opening ceremony of the Immortal Conference held by the Tiandao Sect.
Tiandao City is not the Tiandao Secret Realm. To be precise, the entrance to the Tiandao Secret Realm is on the towering peak in the center of Tiandao City.
After passing through a huge dragon gate hidden in the clouds, which was a hundred feet wide and several hundred feet high, and arriving at another space, Li Yu even stopped breathing for a moment, and was almost choked by the rich spiritual energy.
He originally thought that the spiritual energy of Kunlun Cave Heaven was already rich enough, but he did not expect that the spiritual energy of Tiandao Secret Realm was several times richer than that of Kunlun Cave Heaven.
It was not just Li Yu who suffered breathing arrest. Many disciples from other sects were caught off guard and even started coughing due to choking. However, this cough was a happy cough. They wished they could be choked here every day.
When practicing in a place like this, your cultivation level will improve much faster than in other places.
When refining Qi and building the foundation, because the speed of absorbing spiritual energy is limited, some ordinary secret realms are enough for practice. No matter how rich the spiritual energy is, their absorption speed is limited.
However, after reaching the Golden Core Stage, the dependence on spiritual energy in cultivation increases greatly, and the higher the concentration of spiritual energy, the better.
Li Yu could also understand why many disciples from major sects were unwilling to go back after visiting the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm once.
However, what shocked him was not just the spiritual energy here.
Not far ahead, there was a huge square with many seats placed around it. The seats were arranged according to sects and forces. The Tiandao Sect's seat was in the main seat in the front.
Kunlun is located a little forward, just to the lower left of Tiandao Sect.
Li Yu glanced in the direction of Tiandao Sect, and his head suddenly started buzzing.
There are a total of thirty-five Nascent Soul ancestors of Kunlun, including the head master, of which only nine are in the late Nascent Soul stage. However, Li Yu glanced at the area of Tiandao Sect and saw those with purple light flashing on their chests. He did not count them carefully, but estimated that there were more than a hundred. Adding those who were not present, there must be more than two hundred Nascent Soul masters in Tiandao Sect.
This number may be more than the number of Jindan elders in Kunlun.
As for the God Transformation Stage, there are only nine in Kunlun, but among the strong men of Tiandao Sect, there are more than twenty people like that old man whose cultivation level Li Yu cannot see at all, and these are definitely not all the God Transformation Stages of Tiandao Sect.
Not to mention the legendary "Three Elders of Heaven", three ancestors at the Void Breaking level.
No wonder the disciples of Tiandao Sect are so arrogant outside, they really have the capital to be arrogant.
It was not until today that Li Yu had a clear understanding of the strength of the Tiandao Sect.
With this kind of strength, the Tiandao Sect alone can sweep away all the righteous sects except the Tiandao Sect. Anyone who dares to disobey can only hold back.
Li Yu's gaze lingered slightly on those powerful people who had reached the state of God Transformation. He had never seen a God Transformation before. It seemed that the Qi-Seeing Technique could only see through the cultivation level below the God Transformation level and was useless to the souls of those who had reached the state of God Transformation.
The strong men of Tiandao Sect did not try to hide their powerful aura. Although they had no ill intentions, this invisible oppression still made many disciples of the sect with low cultivation feel a little breathless.
I thought Kunlun, Emei, and Shushan were already the rare large sects in the world. But when I arrived at Tiandao Sect, I realized that there is always a mountain higher than the other. There actually are immortal cultivation sects in the world that are this powerful.
During the opening ceremony, most people did not remember what the Tiandao Sect’s Sect Master, who was at the Spirit Transformation Stage, said. They also had no interest in watching the various programs that followed, or even the dances performed by the scantily clad female disciples of the Tiandao Sect. In their hearts, everyone was always immersed in the powerful display of strength displayed by the Tiandao Sect.
Li Yu quickly came back to his senses.
Nothing in this world is eternal. The former Tianyan Dynasty was even more powerful than the current Tiandao Sect, but now it has been completely submerged in the long river of history, and few people know about it...
However, he did not look at the dancing female disciples.
Because Jiang Li was sitting on his left and Zhou Zixuan was sitting on his right, one was his official dual cultivation partner and the other was his girlfriend with whom he had established a relationship not long ago. He could only look at his feet or turn his head left and right to look at them.
Until the end of the ceremony, when everyone left the Tiandao Secret Realm and returned to their residence, many disciples were still silent.
Li Yu and Jiang Li had nothing to do for the next half month. The exchanges on alchemy and magic cultivation would be held half a month later. During this time, they could move freely.
Taking advantage of this time, Li Yu sold some of his accumulated pills.
After taking over Yuxuan Peak, he had to refine a lot of pills every month. Kunlun alone could not digest them all. This time, he took the opportunity of communicating with the immortals to sell all those pills.
So, Li Yu went back to his old business and set up a stall in Tiandao City.
The quality of the pills he refined was naturally impeccable. Once they were put on display, they were snatched away by passers-by. Especially after his identity was recognized, some people who were waiting and watching also rushed to buy them.
In half a day, Li Yu exchanged all the pills in his hand for spirit coins.
The price of elixirs in Tiandao City is much higher than that in Kunlun. Ordinary elixirs are 50% more expensive. Precious elixirs like Juqi Pills and Tongmai Pills are twice as expensive. No wonder so many people resold Kunlun elixirs in the past. They could make twice the profit by reselling them. Who wouldn't be jealous?
The only thing that made Li Yu unhappy was that not long after he sold it, a manager from Tiandao City was watching him. All transactions in Tiandao City were subject to tax. Once tax evasion was discovered, the person would be fined several times the tax and expelled from Tiandao City.
The tax rate in Tiandao City is very high, and 30% of the sales proceeds must be handed over. Li Yu reluctantly paid tens of thousands of spirit coins, and also bought dozens of Tongmai Pills in the Tiandao Sect’s shop, intending to go back and exchange them for Tuomai Pills.
He originally wanted to buy Tuomai Pills, but unfortunately all the shops did not sell third-level pills. This kind of high-level pill can only be obtained by becoming a disciple of the Tiandao Sect. It seems that even in the Tiandao Sect, Tuomai Pills are not a common product.
Fortunately, there is no purchase limit for Tongmai Pills. Li Yu bought dozens of pills at a time. The seller was just a little surprised, but still gave him the pills.
After all, spiritual coins are issued by the Tiandao Sect. Other cultivators exchange their labor and resources for spiritual coins, and of course they can also exchange spiritual coins for resources. If this rule is broken, the Tiandao Sect's reputation will be gone, and the spiritual coin system that has been established with great difficulty will collapse.
…
On the first day of the Immortal Dao Conference, an exchange of formations was held.
Li Yu had nothing to do, so he took Jiang Li and Zhou Zixuan to observe. The three Emei sisters also followed them. Xu Qingxin was worried, so she followed them too.
The communication of formations was conducted on top of a stepped mountain.
It is said to be an exchange, but in fact it is a competition.
There is a formation set up on every step of the mountain. The disciples of various sects participating in the competition need to break these formations one by one. The one who breaks all the formations first and reaches the highest step can take away the reward for first place in the competition.
For the sake of fairness, the competitions for first-level formation masters, second-level formation masters, and third-level formation masters are separated. The reward for first-level formation masters is ten Tongmai Pills, and the reward for second-level formation masters is ten Tuomai Pills. As for third-level formation masters, their cultivation has generally reached the Golden Core Stage, and there are not many pills they can use. Instead, their reward is a precious high-level formation book.
In previous formation exchanges, Huashan Sect and Tiandao Sect were usually the main venues, and the disciples sent by other sects were just supporting roles.
Huashan Sect is famous for its formations. Half of the formation masters in the world of immortal cultivation are in Huashan, and they have extremely in-depth research on the art of formations. Of course, as the only almighty sect, Tiandao Sect has all kinds of talents in its sect, including formation geniuses, and it can compete with Huashan Sect.
This time, Kunlun only sent a second-level formation master.
Even if we can't get a ranking, we still have to send someone to participate. Kunlun is so big, but we can't even send a second-level formation master. If people tell others about it, they will laugh at us...
Li Yu asked Xu Qingxin, "Is the exchange of formations a competition to break the formation?"
Xu Qingxin nodded and explained, "In the past, the formation competition was about making formation flags and formation plates, but this overlapped with refining equipment and writing talismans, and it took a long time, so it was later changed to breaking the formation. For formation masters, making formation flags, formation plates and setting up formations are actually not difficult. The difficult part is calculating the formation core, which requires extreme familiarity with each formation and knowing how they change all the time..."
The art of formation is different from alchemy. The art of formation includes refining the tools for formation, carving the formation patterns, and the most difficult part is understanding the formation. Only by being familiar with all the changes in the formation can you deduce the location of the array's core.
Li Yu felt that it was not difficult to calculate the center of the formation. Once the Qi-gazing technique was activated, he would know exactly where the center of the formation was.
For him, the difficult part is making formation flags and formation plates. This thing not only involves refining equipment, but also talismans. An excellent formation master usually has good levels of refining equipment and writing talismans.
If the formation competition is about finding the center of the formation, then he can do it.
Of course, if it weren’t for the Qi-gazing technique, Li Yu would just be an entry-level array master, but he has a cheat but doesn’t use it. Isn’t that stupid?
The first place in the competition will receive ten Tuomai Pills. Li Yu pursed his lips, looked at Xu Qingxin, and asked, "Senior Sister Qingxin, can I participate in the formation competition?"
Xu Qingxin was slightly surprised and asked, "Do you understand the formation?"
Li Yu said: "I have learned a little. When I was in Ziyun Peak, one of my neighbors was a second-level formation master. I learned some formations from him."
Li Yu casually took out a book called "Introduction to Formation" from the storage space and said, "Look, when I have nothing to do, I often study formations. There are also my notes on it..."
Xu Qingxin took a look and found that the formation book was indeed full of notes taken by him.
But after reading a book called "Introduction to Formation", the level of my formation skills is far from that of participating in the Tiandao Sect's formation exchange...
Those who can participate in this formation exchange are all outstanding in the field of formations. They are familiar with the changes of various high-level formations, which is equivalent to the top ten in the Kunlun Alchemy Competition. Li Yu is at best a formation apprentice. With his foundation-building cultivation, he cannot participate in the first-level formation master competition. If he participates in a high-level competition, he may not even be able to crack a formation. Wouldn’t it be a humiliation for himself if he goes up...
She looked at Li Yu and said, "You have already established your foundation, so you can only participate in the second-level formation competition. Do you understand the second-level formation?"
Li Yu said: "I understand a little bit..."
Xu Qingxin asked again: "Do you really want to participate?"
Li Yu said: "If it's possible, I'd like to try it, but if it doesn't work, forget it..."
Xu Qingxin had no choice but to say, "I'll go ask for you."
In the exchange of formations, only one second-level formation master from Kunlun participated, accompanied by a Jindan-stage elder who was responsible for various matters concerning the competition.
Xu Qingxin walked up to the Jindan-stage elder, and the old man took the initiative to bow to her and said, "Greetings, Fairy Xu."
Although both of them are in the Jindan stage, he is more than 400 years old, while Xu Qingxin is only in his early twenties, and his status in the sect is much higher than his.
After Xu Qingxin returned the gift, she asked, "Elder, does our Kunlun have any quota for participating in the formation competition?"
Although the old man was a little puzzled as to why someone from the sect wanted to participate in the formation competition, but he still nodded and said, "Yes, every time there is an immortal exchange, there are ten quotas for the first, second, and third level formation masters in the sect, but they are never used up."
In fact, there are more than enough of them. The sect has thirty vacancies for first, second, and third-level formation masters, but the sect only sent a second-level formation master over just to go through the motions.
Kunlun is the only sect that specializes in alchemy, but is not very good at formations. All of the sect’s high-level formations were purchased from Huashan and Tiandao Sect.
If we really send thirty formation masters here and none of them get a rank, it would be a joke...
Only for exchanges on alchemy would the sect send a full thirty people.
Xu Qingxin asked again: "Can I still participate in the competition now?"
The old man nodded and said, "Yes, as long as the formation competition is not over, you can participate."
He looked at Xu Qingxin and asked, "Fairy Qingxin, are you going to participate in the third-level formation master competition?"
When he was in the sect, he had never heard that Fairy Qingxin knew about formations. What's more, with her strength at the Jindan stage, she could only participate in the third-level formation master competition. If she didn't understand the third-level formations, did she intend to use her magic power to break the formation violently?
A third-level formation, even a Jindan stage cultivator cannot break it with their magic power...
Xu Qingxin smiled slightly and said, "It's not me, it's Junior Brother Li."
The old man in the Jindan stage looked at Li Yu behind her and was even more puzzled. Li Yu was good at refining pills, and everyone in Kunlun knew it. But an alchemist participating in the formation competition was just like a formation master participating in the Kunlun alchemy competition and finally winning the championship...
But this time, he didn't say anything more, but just silently handed Li Yu a sign.
Let him embarrass himself if he wants to. When he comes down in disgrace and can't even break a formation, don't blame me for not stopping him.
Li Yu took the sign and followed the instructions and soon reached the foot of the mountain. Several disciples of the Tiandao Sect checked his sign, waved their hands, and let him pass.
Looking at Li Yu's back, one of them couldn't help but say, "He came just now. This formation master is quite confident in himself. The several formation geniuses of Huashan Sect are not as arrogant as him..."
The formation competition tests the speed of breaking the formation, so of course the earlier you come, the better.
In this short while, those powerful formation masters from Huashan Sect and Tiandao Sect have already cracked the fifth formation. He has just arrived late. How can he catch up with them?
Li Yu walked all the way and arrived at the first step.
Going further forward, a gentle force gently bounced him away. There was clearly a formation in front of him.
There was no one in front of the first step. Li Yu looked forward and found that there was no one on the second step either. Most people stopped in front of the third step, and a few had already reached the fourth or even the fifth step.
They broke the formation very quickly, which was normal. Those who could come here had already been screened once in their respective sects. They were all elites among the second-level formation masters. Any one of them had attainments in formation, which would be enough to cause chaos in Kunlun.
Li Yu withdrew his gaze and looked at the first formation.
Li Yu was not familiar with this formation. After all, he had only learned the basics of formations and knew a few of the most basic formations. He had not even learned all the first-level formations, let alone the second-level.
However, this did not pose any difficulty for him.
His eyes flashed, and a light green barrier appeared in front of him. The color of the barrier was evenly distributed, except for one spot in the upper left corner, which was much darker than the surrounding area.
That is the center of the formation, and also the weakest point of the entire formation.
Li Yu released a magical power, and the barrier in front of him shook, then slowly disappeared. When Li Yu took a step and crossed the stairs, the barrier reappeared, and the eye of the formation appeared in another position.
The design of this level is quite ingenious. After the formation is broken, it can be reset and the center of the formation will also change, eliminating the possibility of others imitating and breaking the formation.
In the square not far away, Xu Qingxin saw that Li Yu had actually cracked the first formation, and her red lips opened slightly in surprise.
She looked at Zhou Zixuan and said in disbelief, "Does he really understand formations?"
Zhou Zixuan also looked bewildered and said, "I don't know. I only know that he often reads books, such as formations, talismans, refining equipment, mechanical techniques, etc...."
In front of the second staircase, Li Yu looked at the barrier and saw the center of the formation, but when he reached out his hand, the center disappeared, and the next moment, another position appeared.
This formation obviously has more changes than the previous one.
He stretched out his hand again and pressed on the weak spot of the formation. A moment later, he appeared on the third step.
At this time, there were already quite a few people around Li Yu.
The first two levels were not difficult for these second-level formation masters, but the difficulty of this level was significantly increased, which stopped many people for a while.
They were so focused on studying the formation that they didn't notice there was another person around them.
Li Yu looked at the dozen or so second-level formation masters who stopped here. Among these people, there were two from Emei, three from Qingcheng, and two from Maoshan. There were disciples from almost all major sects. There was also an old man in the crowd, wearing a Kunlun uniform.
They were all blocked by this formation.
Li Yu took a look. Of course, this formation also had a center, but the center was not fixed in one position, but moved along a fixed trajectory. If one did not have the Qi-reading technique, one would need to use the knowledge of the formation to calculate. Once one made a mistake in the calculation and found the wrong position, one would have to start all over again...
Everyone lined up in an orderly manner. Each person had thirty breaths of time. If they failed to break the formation within thirty breaths, they would give the chance to the next person and go to the back again.
Li Yu was at the end of the line. Thirty breaths passed very quickly. Four people in front of him passed this level, including Kunlun. After the formation was refreshed, the movement trajectory of the formation eye would also change. Those behind them did not have enough time to calculate, so they could only blame themselves for their bad luck.
When it was Li Yu's turn, he casually pressed a certain position on the formation and easily broke the center of the formation and reached the fourth step.
On the square, Xu Qingxin watched Li Yu, who arrived long late but still reached the fourth step without any obstruction, and finally stopped doubting.
He really understands the formation.
Not only understand, but also understand very well.
At this time, on the fourth step, many formation masters were sitting cross-legged to rest, and did not break the formation immediately. It was not that they did not want to, but that they could not.
Although calculating the position of the array's center does not consume physical strength, it is extremely mentally taxing. After breaking through three arrays in a row, their heads were already dizzy and they could not continue. They could only rest and recuperate.
Among them, the second-level formation master from Kunlun glanced at him inadvertently, and his expression suddenly froze.
At this moment, he suspected that he was overworking his brain and had hallucinations.
Otherwise, how could he see the sect’s genius alchemist Li Yu in the fourth round of the second-level formation master competition?
