Chapter 108: Sword Formation
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Level 10 of the Ten Formations Pagoda.
When Su Zimo dispelled the formation, he saw a man clad in white robes. Hands behind his back, the man’s black hair was casually draped over his shoulders and swayed gently against the breeze.
Standing at the exit on the top of the pagoda, the man was back facing Su Zimo, looking as though he was part of the night skies.
Even though Su Zimo could not see the person’s face, he caught sight of a hexagonal, obscure emblem on the person’s sleeve.
It was Array Peak’s master, Xuan Yi!
Su Zimo furrowed his brows slightly.
Was this an illusion formation?
Could Level 10 be made up of three instead of two different formations?
There was an illusion formation left after he dispelled the killing and trap formation?
“This is not an illusion. You’ve already cleared the Ten Formations Pagoda successfully.”
Xuan Yi’s voice suddenly rang, gentle and calm, as though he could read Su Zimo’s thoughts.
Certain powerful Array Formation Masters were experts of games and could deduce the other party’s thoughts with just some clues.
Su Zimo did not get careless despite hearing Xuan Yi’s reply.
After all, similar circumstances could happen within an illusion formation as well. It was hard to differentiate between reality.
Standing on the spot, Su Zimo observed for a long time. When he sensed no aura of formation patterns, he advanced and cupped his fists. “Greetings, peak master.”
Xuan Yi did not turn around, merely asking, “How long have you been studying formations?”
“Three months,” Su Zimo did not hide anything.
A shocked expression flashed through Xuan Yi’s eyes and disappeared quickly.
“T-Three months…”
Xuan Yi mumbled repeatedly to himself. After a long time, he turned slightly and smiled at Su Zimo, nodding. “Come on, stand beside me.”
Momentarily startled, Su Zimo continued walking forth until he was beside Xuan Yi.
“Tired?” Xuan Yi asked with a smile.
Su Zimo nodded his head. Right then, the only thing he wanted was to head back to his cave abode and sleep in silence without a care for the world.
“I’ve heard about your challenge with Feng Haoyu as well. Why did you suddenly come and learn about formations despite not having much time?” Xuan Yi was curious.
The image of that stupid bird flashed through Su Zimo’s mind as he shook his head with a bitter chuckle. “There’s a long story behind it.”
“It’s less than three months until the year end face-off. I’m not concerned about elixir and weapon refinement, but I heard that you challenged Feng Haoyu to a fight after the Spirit Peak face-off?” Xuan Yi asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you confident?”
Hesitating for a moment, Su Zimo shook his head. “No.”
He would be confident if not for his concern that his demonic self might be exposed.
However, in terms of pure cultivation techniques, Su Zimo was far inferior.
Xuan Yi replied deeply, “Actually, the killing methods of Qi Refinement Warriors are rather simple because the spirit qi in their dantian is limited. Even at Perfected Qi Condensation where their dantian opened up like a vast sea, it will still be in spirit qi state. One can only deploy stronger spirit arts when they advance to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and their spirit qi’s quality condenses into liquid form.”
Su Zimo’s heart skipped a beat as he recalled when he was being pursued by Joyful Sect. Some of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators deployed strange techniques like the Ground-caving and Vinewood-twining Skills which caused him great trouble.
Those must be the spirit arts that Xuan Yi was referring to.
“Between Qi Refinement Warriors, the only thing that they compare is one’s mastery of sword wielding.”
Xuan Yi continued, “In terms of sword wielding, one of our sect’s three major secret skills, Ethereal Sword, is famous through the northern region of Tianhuang and is ranked at the top. Feng Haoyu is already cultivating it.”
Su Zimo could tell what Xuan Yi was implying.
In other words, he had no chance of winning against Feng Haoyu who was already cultivating Ethereal Sword.
In the hazy, starry night, both men stood at the peak of the Ten Formations Pagoda. One was clad in white and had a graceful bearing while the other was clad in green with a delicate, handsome face. If any trial disciples of the five peaks saw this scene, their jaws would drop in shock.
Every single peak master was a Golden Core – what sort of status did they bear in the sect?
The fact that a mere trial disciple at only Level 6 Qi Condensation was able to stand shoulder to shoulder and chat with Array Peak’s master was a treatment that would make anyone envious.
Noticing Su Zimo’s silence, Xuan Yi spoke once more, “Initially, I had not meant to say these things to you. However, since you’ve already cleared the Ten Formations Pagoda, I can offer you a way out. Whether or not you succeed depends on yourself.”
“Thank you, peak master,” Su Zimo’s heart skipped a beat as he bowed hurriedly to express his thanks.
Xuan Yi continued slowly, “Other than the standard skills and secret techniques of sword wielding, there is another method that can raise a cultivator’s fighting strength… it’s called a sword formation!”
“Sword formation?” Su Zimo furrowed his brows in deep thought.
In Array Chamber, he had chanced across a bamboo scroll named Tripartite Sword Formation
Xuan Yi replied, “Most Array Formation Masters are weak because in fights, opponents would not give you a lot of time to set up your formation before rushing in blindly. However, there exists a special branch amongst Array Formation Masters – the Sword Formation Master.”
“The prerequisite of becoming a Sword Formation Master is that they must first be an Array Formation Master with a deep understanding towards formations. Secondly, they had to cultivate a type of sword formation.”
Su Zimo nodded.
“Sword formation manuals are extremely rare and even within our sect, we only have two. One is called the Tripartite Sword Formation while the other is the Hexagonal Sword Formation. The former is a Grade 1 formation while the latter is a Grade 2.”
“The activation of a sword formation is through remnant marks created by tearing through the void with a flying sword. By using them as replacement for formation patterns, an Array Formation Master is able to create a formation that can produce a powerful force!”
Su Zimo was shocked to hear this.
Just setting up of formation patterns was something that was extremely difficult for Array Formation Masters – any single mistake and the formations would fail.
Furthermore, they were now talking about using the remnant marks in the void as a replacement for formation patterns.
Xuan Yi spoke, “The reason why there are so little Sword Formation Masters is because the conditions are way too harsh. Every single Sword Formation Master is an elite among the Array Formation Masters and have a far superior understanding of formations. Furthermore, sword formations usually require the use of multiple flying swords. Using a single flying sword in battle is tough enough, let alone using many for a sword formation.”
Su Zimo nodded.
For example, three flying swords were required for the Tripartite Sword Formation.
As the name implied, Hexagonal Sword Formation would most likely require six flying swords!
“Also, controlling multiple flying swords would cause one’s spirit qi to deplete faster. If the formation was a failure, it would be a waste of spirit qi for the Sword Formation Master and he would end up placing himself in danger.”
Xuan Yi chuckled. “Furthermore, how are normal Array Formation Masters going to get that many flying swords? For example, many of our trial disciples barely have a single inferior-grade flying sword, let alone three, six or even more.”
“Can they use flying swords of different grades as replacement?” Su Zimo asked.
“No.”
Xuan Yi shook his head. “You have to understand that the flying swords used for a sword formation must be of the same grade. If the grades were different, the formation patterns left in the void would deviate and the formation would definitely fail!”