Chương 82: Formation Breaking Minigame

Honestly, formations are my weak point. When I'm bored, I usually study alchemy and cultivation techniques. Even so, that doesn't mean my knowledge of formations is nonexistent. I quickly skimmed through the formation-related books I had stored and used all of my [Calculate] abilities to focus on studying methods for breaking formations. After ten minutes of intense learning, I finally found a way to break the formation on the island.

But because it was a fairly high-level formation and my understanding of formations was still quite limited, the method I created wasn't as refined as Ren Xuan's. [Host, the System has prepared a formation-breaking method. Please follow the System's guidance.] I created a screen that overlaid Ren Qingquan's normal vision. On the screen, there was a horizontal bar at the top of his vision and a vertical bar at the side, each with a pointer currently positioned in the middle.

In addition, there was a display showing a dot located at a specific point within the formation. [Host, please imbue spirit qi into your fingers. The horizontal bar above your vision represents the amount of spirit qi you need to channel into your finger. If the pointer moves to the left, you need to increase the intensity. If it moves to the right, you need to decrease it. Try to keep the pointer in the middle as much as possible.] [Meanwhile, the vertical bar on the side represents the speed at which you should move your hand. If the pointer moves up, you need to slow down. If it moves down, you need to speed up. Try to keep this pointer in the middle as well.] Ren Qingquan nodded, and I began explaining the purpose of the dot. [The dot marks where you need to start. After placing your finger on it, the System will begin displaying the symbols you need to draw. Because the energy flow within the formation can change unpredictably, the symbols you need to draw may also change midway through the process. So, please maintain deep focus. The System will also activate the [Calculate] function to prevent the host from making any mistakes.] After reading my message, Ren Qingquan immediately got to work. He imbued spirit qi into his finger and saw the bar at the top of his vision shift to the right.

He gradually reduced the intensity until the pointer settled in the center of the bar, then placed his finger on the dot I had indicated. The moment he did, I displayed the symbol he needed to trace while also lending him most of my [Calculate] ability. Using spirit qi to draw symbols on a formation will disrupt the flow of energy within it.

To break a formation, the core of formation-breaking technique is to locate the energy flow directly connected to the formation core and seize control of it by manipulating a critical energy channel, ultimately causing the entire formation to fail. Just like cultivation and pills, formations are also divided into tiers. Thankfully, the one in front of Ren Qingquan was fairly low-level. It was roughly a Tier 2 formation, corresponding to the Foundation Building Realm.

It could easily block Foundation Building Realm cultivators' attacks and even withstand weaker Golden Core cultivators for a period of time. But someone at Ren Qingquan's level could probably brute-force it in around five minutes. However, I still chose the gentler approach because, based on my limited knowledge of formations, this one seemed to possess an alarm function and some kind of trap mechanism that would activate if the formation were forcefully breached.

For the first two symbols, Ren Qingquan followed the instructions without much difficulty. But when he drew the third symbol, the formation's energy flow shifted, causing the required symbol to change and disrupting his rhythm. Thankfully, it didn't result in an immediate failure. For the next several symbols, Ren Qingquan continued tracing them carefully. As he gained experience, he no longer got caught off guard when the symbols changed midway.

That was until the formation's energy suddenly went haywire and shifted twice in rapid succession. The unexpected second shift immediately caused him to fail.

"Oops," Ren Qingquan muttered as he watched the formation get triggered instead of breaking. The formation changed from opaque to glowing with golden light. As the glow grew brighter and I sensed more energy gathering within the formation, I immediately warned Ren Qingquan. [Host, RUN!] Ren Qingquan used the Nine Elements Escape Technique and quickly fled the island. After the island's formation reached a certain level of brightness, a massive explosion erupted. The blast instantly flattened the island's surface.

Ren Qingquan and I silently watched the explosion that had reduced the island to rubble. At last, Ren Qingquan thought, 'Perhaps I should just teleport directly into the formation's interior from now on. I guess breaking formations simply isn't my thing.' [Well, that's another option. But considering your cultivation realm, the cost of teleporting you into the formation is quite high. Using that method on a low-grade formation would be a massive waste.]'Well, I guess I'll just slowly learn how to break formations then,' Ren Qingquan replied. While we were chatting, the entire secret realm suddenly trembled. The ocean waves became extremely violent, forcing Ren Qingquan to fly even higher.

'System, what happened? Is it related to my failure to break the formation?' Ren Qingquan asked, but I was equally bewildered. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. To look for answers, I turned my attention to the person who understood this place best. I focused on Ren Xuan and saw him using a movement technique to leap across the water before gliding toward the island he had previously visited.

While jumping and gliding, Ren Xuan took out his feng shui compass, activated a cultivation technique, and stared at the sky above the secret realm. The sky looked almost identical to a normal one, but Ren Xuan seemed to see something within it. After checking his compass and observing the sky, he frowned and muttered, "Did I trigger something by entering the secret realm through illegal means? But I'm certain I didn't touch anything that could alert the grand formation of the secret realm.

So why was it activated anyway?"

"This is troublesome. In at most five minutes, this inheritance secret realm will appear in the outside world. I need to reach the core as soon as possible." After saying that, Ren Xuan changed direction and stopped heading toward the island. Instead, he continued leaping and gliding across the turbulent ocean along his original route. I showed the scene to Ren Qingquan, who decided to follow Ren Xuan from a distance.

After approximately four minutes, the entire inheritance secret realm trembled as if it had collided with something. The impact caused the ocean waters to crash against each other, creating several giant walls of water. Ren Qingquan survived by flying even higher. Ren Xuan was not as fortunate and was struck by a wave that launched him high into the sky.

Meanwhile, after the massive impact, the small portion of attention I had left on the Miscellaneous Hall Master and the others in East Fortune City attracted my focus. Right now, almost everyone I've anchored with subsystems was staring in a certain direction from East Fortune City. Based on my calculations, that direction was roughly where Ren Xuan had previously created the spatial crack leading to the inheritance secret realm.

Because my [Scan] was somewhat blurry and couldn't see very far, I could only make out a massive black patch in the distant sky. It looked as if someone had used Photoshop to randomly select a section of the sky and color it pitch black with the paint bucket tool. I listened as Peak Master Feng Yun spoke to the Miscellaneous Hall Master, "What a massive spatial crack. Did a secret realm descend into the main world?" The Miscellaneous Hall Master nodded with a serious expression, "It seems so.

From how I sensed the fluctuations of an extremely powerful formation, it doesn't appear to be a naturally formed secret realm. That means it can only be either the secret realm of some ancient fallen sect or an expert's secret realm." The Miscellaneous Hall Master and Peak Master Feng Yun then flew toward the blackened sky. While the two of them were flying, everyone in East Fortune City whom I had granted a Level 1 subsystem also headed toward the area beneath the black sky.

I also overheard the grandmother inside Su Ping's necklace appear and send him a message through a secret voice transmission technique.

"Child, go to that place. Such heavenly phenomena usually occur when a secret realm descends into the main world. I can sense a powerful formation there, so it must be either the private secret realm of an ancient force or an expert's inheritance secret realm."

"No matter which it is, both contain resources that will definitely be useful to you. Just go there while I do my best to recover my strength so I can protect you from whatever dangers await inside." After saying that, the grandmother fell silent, and Su Ping quietly ran toward the area with the blackened sky. Among the people I had granted Level 1 subsystems, Peak Master Feng Yun and the Miscellaneous Hall Master arrived first. They were soon followed by Bai Yuelan's group, led by her Nascent Soul Realm elder.

By the time the other Level 1 subsystem hosts arrived, many powerful cultivators at the Nascent Soul Realm and above had already gathered. Judging from the way they greeted one another and the respect they showed to some people, I estimated there were at least dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, around ten Soul Formation Realm cultivators, and five Divine Transformation Realm cultivators, including the Miscellaneous Hall Master and Senior Acorn Tree, who was standing on Peak Master Feng Yun's Clone.

Aside from them, there was also a man whom everyone greeted with respect. Even the Miscellaneous Hall Master and Peak Master Feng Yun greeted him when he approached, "Greetings, Venerable Zhong Leisheng." When he came closer, I vaguely sensed his energy through the Miscellaneous Hall Master's [Scan]. The energy within him was only slightly weaker than that of Ren Qingquan's uncle, Gui Ruwen.

It far surpassed that of Divine Transformation Realm cultivators like the Miscellaneous Hall Master, the Pure Wave Sect's Sect Master, and the others. Just like Gui Ruwen, his energy possessed a much higher density and quality, along with a faint, albeit weaker, resemblance to the liquid energy synthesised by the bottle-shaped treasure owned by one of the Children of Destiny I've anchored with a subsystem.

The crazier part was that, unlike Gui Ruwen, who always seemed to suppress his power, Venerable Zhong Leisheng had fully released his aura to maintain order and prevent everyone from acting recklessly. As a result, the surrounding spirit qi began to distort strangely around him, as if it were under his direct control. Venerable Zhong Leisheng stepped in front of the crowd, and everyone waited as the pitch-black sky slowly began to change. A small rainbow-colored light appeared within the darkness.

The rainbow colors gradually expanded until they filled everyone's vision before descending toward the ground. Soon, the colorful light faded, revealing an illusory ocean dotted with islands. On the largest island stood a massive nine-tiered pagoda. The moment the illusion appeared, Venerable Zhong Leisheng made his move and raised a hand toward the sky. Spirit qi from his body gathered at his fingertip. Even the ambient spirit qi around them was drawn toward it.

A second later, he unleashed the technique from his finger, sending a beam of light into the illusion. The attack's sheer intensity distorted the surrounding air. Even so, just before it struck the illusion, a golden barrier appeared and effortlessly dispersed it. After seeing this, Venerable Zhong Leisheng stepped closer to examine the barrier before announcing, "The secret realm is protected by a Tier 8 Tribulation Transcender-grade formation.

It appears to allow only those at the Golden Core Realm and below to enter."

"Does that mean it's an inheritance secret realm?" one of the Divine Transformation Realm cultivators asked. Venerable Zhong Leisheng nodded, "There's a high chance for it to be an inheritance type secret realm." Then he turned to the crowd.

"As the Gui Family Head has prophesied, the golden age of cultivation has arrived. During this era, as decreed by the Heavenly Will, every major fortuitous encounter is a blessing from heaven and earth and must not be monopolized. Those who attempt to do so will face the wrath of the Heavenly Will."

"As this secret realm has descended within the territory of East Fortune City, it shall be managed by the Gui Family, with me serving as their representative and the overseer of East Fortune City..." Venerable Zhong Leisheng continued with several tedious formalities before finally getting to the important part.

"As the representative, I shall permit 250 people to explore the secret realm for one month. One hundred slots shall belong to East Fortune City, one hundred shall be shared among all major forces present, and the remaining fifty shall be open to the public."

"The public slots shall be determined through competitions based on cultivation realm. Only the top ten contestants from the Qi Refining Realm, the top twenty from the Foundation Building Realm, and the top twenty from the Golden Core Realm competitions will be granted entry."