Chapter 4220: Controlling the Formation, Surpassing the Formation
Lin Moyu walked and stopped in turns; when he moved, the formation on the lake would halt, and when he stood still, it would resume. He acted like a wanderer, constantly teasing both formations, toggling them between active and inactive states. By observing their operation, Lin Moyu became increasingly clear on how to tackle the formation.
His ten fingers danced in the air, drawing divine runes that left countless afterimages; each intricate, layered rune flew from his fingertips. Every rune formed a small formation Lin Moyu resolved to counter simplicity with complexity, using a host of intricate divine runes to alter the structure of the formation above the lake, thereby gaining control.
The formation in the sky was far too simple; if he just followed its established path, he would go astray. The only way was to do the opposite to walk against its direction.
More and more runes shot out, taking positions in the midair above the lake, some even darting extremely far away. Before long, Lin Moyu's runes were everywhere over the lake. The formation within the lake ignored the runes; Lin Moyu realized this formation only targeted living beings and paid no attention to the runes, confirming his suspicion that breaking the formation with another formation was the optimal solution finding the "right" path was only secondary.
If this place were a game, walking the maze was merely clearing the level, while cracking the formation meant becoming the master of the game, not just a player a shift in both role and mindset, like a chess piece suddenly becoming the player.
With his divine runes in place, Lin Moyu activated the network. Each rune was a self contained formation, but upon activation, they linked together into a vast, complex network whose sole function was to suppress and control the formation above and stabilize its behavior.
From Lin Moyu's perspective, it was like laying a shell over the sky's formation, allowing him to become its new master. The network rose into the sky, enveloping the formation; with a great rumble, his array merged into and seized control of the original. Lin Moyu's mind entered this new "core," gazing down at the lake he could now see the true safe route clearly.
Still, he didn't act right away. Instead, he controlled the formations, cutting off power to the lake's formation. Where arrow fish had attacked moments ago, they vanished instantly he'd passed the main part of this trial, but there was another half: the formation in the lake itself. It seemed that the lake hid a deeper secret.
Observing from above, Lin Moyu found it was easy to analyze the inner formation. He began drawing runes again, replicating his earlier method. Suddenly, his brow furrowed his body shot upward, necromancer servants retreating to shield him in layers, reinforcing his defenses.
Just then, from the bottom of the lake, columns of water shot skyward with a violent crash. The water was unusual unlike anything Lin Moyu could name, yet of extremely high grade, not inferior to innate primordial treasure materials. The water pillars acted like steel, bursting with power, sending necromancer servants flying and shattering their bodies as they passed, breaking through layer after layer of protection. In an instant, more than half of the defensive rings were destroyed. The water pillars kept coming, with fresh necromancers appearing constantly to take the brunt.
"It really isn't that simple," Lin Moyu noted. At the lake's deepest part, beneath the formation, he spotted a glowing item. This object was feeding energy to the lake's formation and even controlling its operation to some extent.
Now, the formation in the lake became more aggressive. Pillars of water battered the necromancers, while waves of arrow fish attacked. Lin Moyu responded by summoning even more necromancer servants, some serving as shields, others countering the arrow fish. There were so many, the situation quickly stabilized, letting Lin Moyu keep working on his runes without concern. As before, the lake's formation ignored the runes, targeting only Lin Moyu. Soon, a whole new network of formations covered the lake, then sank in to encase the old one.
With both sky and lake formations under his control, the area finally grew peaceful. "Done!" he thought yet he had barely relaxed when, with a thunderous boom, the lake erupted, a massive water column shooting skyward, shattering the bridges overhead and annihilating his necromancer servants, with even Lin Moyu himself being blasted away. Fortunately, the undead had absorbed most of the impact, and Lin Moyu only got knocked back.
A gigantic figure of pure silver glass rose from the lake, a mountain shaped treasure blazing on its chest. This mountain shaped treasure had formed the giant, and now became the final opponent. Only by first controlling the sky's formation could one activate the treasure; it then provided power to the lake's formation. Defeating the formation in the lake made the treasure itself emerge.
The giant stood mid lake, upper body exposed, frantically drawing power from the lake the more it absorbed, the stronger it grew. Lin Moyu manipulated both formations at once: the sky's array poured Dao into the lake's array, which in turn sent a storm of arrow fish to assault the giant. Thus, he confronted the giant purely via the formations, without acting himself, knowing this was exactly what the test required he had to master both arrays and use them against the giant.
Lin Moyu fully understood the test setter's intentions, so he played the game accordingly. The giant battled the arrow fish in a ferocious clash; both sides unleashed immense power. The arrow fish exploded within the giant's body, detonating with devastating force, covering it in wounds they seemed to be winning.
But before long, the giant began adapting to their attacks; soon, their explosions only caused superficial injuries and would eventually lose all effect.
Realizing that merely relying on the arrays would not suffice to defeat the giant, Lin Moyu understood: beyond merely controlling the formations, he needed to innovate, enhancing the formations beyond their original design.
"So be it let's make this fun!" Competitive fire burned in Lin Moyu's heart as he resolved to claim victory through mastery of the art of formations itself.
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