Zhang Yuanqing staggered back, clutching his face as he cursed, "Fuck, my titanium-alloy eyes are blind! That sword qi was vicious."
The Stop-Killing Palace Lord had initially jumped in fright and instinctively reached for the Life Source Fluid to heal him. But hearing him curse with such vigor, she immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Cursing with that much energy meant he was probably fine.
Zhang Yuanqing pulled out the Mountain God Scepter and activated the emerald gemstone at its tip to stop the bleeding, then sat cross-legged and waited for his eyeballs to regenerate.
"What did you see?" Fu Qingyang asked.
With his eyes closed, Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Lanterns—lanterns floating overhead. They were sky lanterns, burning with ghastly green candle flames. There were a great many of them. After observing them closely, I realized their arrangement concealed some sort of pattern..."
The Demon Eye Heavenly King pressed, "What pattern?"
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds before saying, "The arrangement of the sky lanterns somewhat resembles the Big Dipper."
As a Star Official, he was especially sensitive to and familiar with celestial phenomena.
"The Big Dipper..." Xiahou Aotian raised a brow. "Could it be the Seven Stars Formation?"
At the mention of formations, everyone else quietly fell silent and handed the right to speak to the protagonist.
Xiahou Aotian could not help raising his chin, like a proud little rooster. "The Seven Stars Formation is one type of formation layout, modeled after the Big Dipper. You can think of it as a template—the things placed inside it are up to the person setting it up. Seven Stars Fire Formation, Seven Stars Sword Formation, Seven Stars Crossbow Formation, Seven Stars Ghost Formation, and so on.
"I read in the records that the great sects of ancient times loved studying