"Mm, let's go with your plan then." Qin Wan'er nodded. After several consecutive incidents unfolded exactly as Xiao Yan had predicted, she finally chose to completely trust him. She clearly understood that, in this particular domain, she was far less adept than him. Rather than forcing herself into unfamiliar terrain, she might as well rely on his guidance—it would help them avoid a lot of detours.
"By the way," Xiao Yan added after a moment of thought, "when you send your scouts out, don't just monitor the Kunpeng Clan. You'll also want to keep an eye on the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain. That young master you offended at the auction—he won't let this go easily. There's a good chance they'll retaliate. If we can figure out their next move ahead of time, we'll be better prepared."
"Aren't their eyes fixed on the Kunpeng Clan right now?" Qin Wan'er frowned slightly. "Even if they're planning revenge, I doubt they'd choose to act now. Wouldn't they worry about exhausting their resources before the real fight even starts?"
"If they were rational, of course they'd hold off. But people like that second-generation heir aren't known for their logic. For all we know, they're sitting in some dark corner plotting how to hit back right now." Xiao Yan shrugged. "Better to prepare in advance. If they end up doing nothing, fine. But if they do, we won't be caught off guard."
"You've got a point." Qin Wan'er nodded again. Then, as if remembering something, she flicked her fingers, and a golden scroll shot toward Xiao Yan. "About the formation diagram you asked me to keep an eye out for—there was one at the auction. Initially it was going for five million Sovereign Liquid, but that guy from Ten Thousand Beast Mountain bid against us halfway through. We ended up spending over ten million."
"Ten million…" Xiao Yan's mouth twitched slightly. Internally, he added the young master of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain to his list of targets. The reward for this entire mission was only three million Sovereign Liquid, and he was expected to stretch that out over several months. Now because of that guy, the price had doubled. Xiao Yan couldn't help but fantasize about finding that man and flaying him alive.
"What grade is this formation?" Xiao Yan asked as he examined the golden scroll. For over ten million Sovereign Liquid, if it turned out to be some mid-grade piece of trash, that would be a devastating loss.
"The auctioneer said it's a high-grade Heaven-tier formation. Among formations of that level, it's considered top-tier. If deployed successfully, even a peak Ninth Grade Sovereign would struggle to break free." Qin Wan'er explained with a serious look.
"Oh?" Xiao Yan raised his brows in surprise. Although he had dabbled in formation studies, he'd never focused on them much. However, he had personally experienced Mu Chen's God-Slaying Array back in the Nine Nether Secret Realm. That formation was powerful enough to instantly annihilate a Seventh Grade Sovereign.
Had it not been for his own understanding of formations and his use of Mixed Elemental Heavenly Light to disrupt its structure, he likely would've been in real trouble. And that had only been a low-grade Heaven-tier formation. What kind of power would this top-tier scroll possess?
"Take this formation diagram and study it," Qin Wan'er said. "If you can manage to learn it and deploy it, that would be ideal. But don't push yourself too hard—just do what you can."
She sounded encouraging, but in her heart, she didn't have high expectations. After all, she had only ever seen Xiao Yan deploy Earth-tier formations. Even with his recent strength surge to the Seventh Grade Sovereign level, that was still a far cry from what was normally needed to handle a high-grade Heaven-tier formation.
Still, if he did manage to pull it off, it would give their team a significant edge. What Qin Wan'er didn't know was that her so-called formation master had, in fact, never deployed a proper spiritual formation in battle before.
"Understood." Xiao Yan nodded, then turned his full attention to the scroll in his hands. He slowly immersed his spiritual energy into it, allowing the contents of the formation to pour into his mind. Seeing him so focused, Qin Wan'er sensibly left the room to handle the arrangements he'd instructed earlier.
The golden scroll pulsed with waves of light, and the vast amount of information stored within it poured into Xiao Yan's mind. A complex and sophisticated formation structure gradually took shape within his thoughts. As the information continued to flow, Xiao Yan began to simulate the formation internally, improving and adjusting it as he went.
Roughly half an hour later, he opened his eyes and let out a deep breath. Just as Qin Wan'er said, this scroll did indeed contain a high-grade Heaven-tier formation. Though he hadn't yet tested it in battle, he was already certain that its might would even trouble peak Ninth Grade Sovereigns.
Yet something about the formation bothered him. As he studied it more deeply, he couldn't shake the feeling that it contained something beyond the standard Heaven-tier structure. The problem was, the formation wasn't missing anything. It was complete, pristine even—there were no gaps or flaws to speak of. And yet, there was a vague sense that its true nature was hidden just beneath the surface.
'It's strange,' he thought. 'Everything about this says it's Heaven-tier… but it feels like it could be something more.'
After a long silence, Xiao Yan sighed and set aside his doubts.
'Never mind. This formation is already strong enough as-is. I'll worry about the deeper layers later. For now, just mastering it at its current level is enough.'
Although Xiao Yan's strength was already comparable to a pseudo-Earth Sovereign thanks to his Creation Green Lotus and powerful foundations, he still preferred to keep a low profile. Having such a formation at his disposal would allow him to mask his true strength while still dealing with troublesome enemies.
A high-grade Heaven-tier formation was powerful, but it also came with an equally high cost. The spiritual energy consumption alone was massive. Theoretically, only a true Ninth Grade Sovereign could even consider deploying it in combat.
But Xiao Yan was different.
Thanks to the existence of the Creation Green Lotus in his body, his spiritual energy reserve far surpassed any ordinary Sovereign of the same tier. It wouldn't be easy, but as long as he properly prepared the formation in advance, he had absolute confidence he could deploy it.
'This will be my trump card,' he thought. 'As long as I don't use it recklessly, it could be the key to turning the tide at a critical moment.'
He gently rolled up the golden scroll, his eyes flickering with a faint glow. After a moment of hesitation, he summoned several jade slips and began recording insights from the formation into his personal notes. Though the original was precious, Xiao Yan had his own way of dissecting and rearranging formation patterns—an unorthodox method he'd developed during his early days studying spiritual inscriptions in the Dou Qi Continent.
'This formation has great potential,' he mused. 'If I can rework its structure even slightly… maybe I can integrate it with the Nine Nether Death Lotus Array or even the Demon Lotus Burial Step.'
The idea intrigued him.
Ever since arriving in the Great Thousand World, Xiao Yan had started to view battle strategy from a higher perspective—not just in terms of brute force or Dou Techniques, but holistic control of the battlefield through formations and momentum.
'If I can take this even further…' he paused, his gaze becoming sharp, 'then when the Dragon God Ruins finally opens, I won't have to play by anyone else's rules.'
(End of Chapter)
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