The art of formations could be divided into many branches.
The most common formations were made by refining objects such as formation flags and formation stones, then arranging them according to the terrain.
This method of formation deployment required an understanding of formation principles and the flow of spiritual energy.
There was another kind of formation, in which all the objects used to set it up, such as formation flags and formation stones, were refined into a single formation plate.
When in use, one only needed to infuse it with spiritual power, and the formation would operate on its own.
This kind of formation was easy to carry and quick to deploy, and it required no knowledge of the art of formations.
The inscription technique recorded in the Heavenly Cauldron True Fire Hundred Refinement Scripture was, in essence, a kind of formation-plate craft.
Shen Yue had come to study formations precisely because he was interested in formation-plate formations.
The formation diagram on the table was a design for a formation plate.
If he could learn it, he would be able to refine a complete spirit artifact.
Shen Yue examined the formation diagram carefully.
The formation patterns on the blueprint and the internal structure of the formation plate were incredibly complex: the paths of the patterns... the positions of the formation bases... the angles at which the formation stones were placed...
"This formation diagram uses four variations of the Spirit Gathering Array, two of the Barrier-Breaking Array, two of the Light-Splitting Array, and one of the Evolution Array..."
Shen Yue named more than twenty formation patterns in one breath, then pointed to two spots. "I haven't seen these two patterns before, junior. But from the look of them, they seem to be combinations of several illusion formations, such as the Evolution Array and the Light-Splitting Array."
Xuanzhenzi's eyes narrowed slightly.
This formation diagram was for a newly designed enemy-trapping and killing formation of his: the Yin-Yang Prisoner Killing Array.
Some of its formation patterns were his own inventions. Even Xia Qingqing and Zhou Feng had never seen them.
Yet Shen Yue, a young cultivator who had studied for only two months, had managed to identify the combinations he had designed.
This boy had a remarkable talent for formations.
Xuanzhenzi slowly rose. "Not bad. Zhou Chongwen finally managed not to send me a blockhead."
"Senior Brother," Xia Qingqing said from where she was crouching beneath the window outside, eavesdropping. "Who did Master call a blockhead? Surely he didn't mean me?"
Zhou Feng turned his gaze over without expression.
His father had said that his talent was peerless, so it definitely wasn't him.
Half a day later.
On the Green Jade Gourd, above Refining Lake.
"Dad, is my talent really beyond compare?"
Zhou Chongwen didn't even turn his head. His fishing rod was as steady as a rock, and his tone was certain. "You're number one under heaven."
Zhou Feng rubbed his fingers together, looking lost.
"Senior Xuanzhenzi has returned, hasn't he? He should have already tested Shen Yue. See? Others can't manage it, but you can achieve things." Zhou Chongwen continued.
Zhou Feng gritted his teeth. "Master said Shen Yue has a remarkable talent for formations."
"Wasn't I right? Shen Yue is the cleverest person on Refining Lake. If even he can't manage it, then you can—which proves that you... What?!"
Zhou Chongwen abruptly turned around. "Senior Xuanzhenzi praised Shen Yue's talent for formations?!"
"Mm." Zhou Feng's face was full of unease.
Zhou Chongwen sensed trouble.
He had sent Shen Yue to the Mystic Array Pavilion with the real intention of making him a foil for Zhou Feng, to bolster his precious son's Dao heart.
But not only had Zhou Feng's Dao heart failed to strengthen, it seemed to have taken a hit instead!
Zhou Chongwen's expression turned serious. "That little bit of talent Shen Yue has is nothing in front of you. Feng'er, remember this: your talent is unparalleled. No one can compare to you."
He stared into Zhou Feng's eyes and enunciated every word. "Hasn't Senior Xuanzhenzi praised you countless times, too?"
"Right!" Zhou Feng's brows lifted. "As if I'm the only one who's ever been praised. My talent is unmatched!"
Zhou Chongwen secretly breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his fishing rod again. "Head back. Your dad's going to fish for a while."
"Okay!" Zhou Feng held his head high. "Once your son masters the Dao of formations, I'll help you break through to the late stage, reach Foundation Establishment, and dominate the Core Formation realm!"
Zhou Chongwen's mouth twitched.
As soon as his precious son left, he reeled in his fishing rod. He poured spiritual power into his feet, and the Green Jade Gourd burst through the water, speeding toward the shore.
He had to urge Shen Yue to give up formations and take another crooked path instead.
Otherwise, Shen Yue would surely damage his son's Dao heart in the future.
The small courtyard by the lake.
Shen Yue sat at the table, focused, his head bowed as he drew a formation diagram for the Yin-Yang Prisoner Killing Array.
But unlike Xuanzhenzi's killing formation, which had been refined into a formation plate, this formation diagram was designed for crafting a spirit artifact.
The paths of the formation patterns, the arrangement of the formation bases, the routes of spiritual energy... every line had to be redesigned and laid out.
"The paths of these few formation patterns need to be more precise..." Shen Yue sketched in one corner of the diagram, changing a straight pattern into a rising spiral curve.
"Straight lines conduct spiritual energy quickly, but they leave no room to build momentum. If I change them into spiral patterns, the spiritual energy will build a little more momentum with every turn. That'll suit a spirit artifact better."
"The connections between these two formation bases need to be changed, too. The bases in a formation plate are static, with each point operating independently. But once they're incorporated into a spirit artifact, the bases have to move with it. Static connections are too fragile..."
He revised and refined the design bit by bit, sometimes furrowing his brow in thought, sometimes writing rapidly.
The formation diagram on the table grew ever more elaborate and detailed.
The sun sank in the west, and a brand-new formation diagram finally took shape before his eyes.
"That's about it. Next, I can try refining an artifact."
That night.
"You're refining artifacts again?" Changqin Wuming said with a stern face. "You've only just gotten started with formations, after all that effort. You should continue along the path of formations. How can you give up halfway?"
Zhou Chongwen, however, smiled. "Your Majesty, that's not right. We cultivators should follow our hearts. I support General Shen in refining artifacts."
Changqin Wuming furrowed his brow. "General Shen, listen to me. You can't refine artifacts. You've already tried before; there's no doubt about that.
"But you've only studied formations for two months and already gotten started. Plenty of people can't manage that, which proves you have a real talent for formations. How can you give up so easily?"
Zhou Chongwen panicked at that and hurriedly argued the opposite. "Your Majesty, you're harming General Shen! The Sword Sect is currently hunting down the demonic sects, and all the formation masters have to head to the front lines to set up formations.
"The front lines are dangerous. Senior Xuanzhenzi himself said that the slightest misstep could cost a person their life. General Shen is only at the middle stage of Qi Refining—he absolutely cannot go.
"Artifact refiners are different. No matter how much happens outside, they only need to refine artifacts in the rear. It's perfectly safe.
"By the way, didn't General Shen need materials for refining artifacts? I have a connection."
Looking at Zhou Chongwen acting so out of character, Shen Yue guessed what was going on.
So he put on a troubled expression and sighed. "Brother Zhou, you know I just bought Spirit Gathering Pills. I don't have a single spirit stone left now. The materials... Forget it. I'd better keep studying formations."
"Now you're being too formal!" Zhou Chongwen hurriedly waved a hand, magnanimous as could be. "Use the materials. You can pay me back whenever you have spirit stones."
As if afraid Shen Yue might waver, he clenched his teeth and slapped his storage pouch.
"Now that I think of it, I got a cauldron a while back. General Shen, take it along and use it, too!"
Before he had finished speaking, a fiery red cauldron appeared out of thin air.
The cauldron was scarlet as flame, its surface carved all over with fire patterns.
Changqin Wuming knitted his brows.
What was Zhou Chongwen up to today? Why was he being so generous?
But after thinking it over, Zhou Chongwen did have a point.
Formation masters really were in some danger.
Never mind.
Changqin Wuming shook his head to himself.
Actually, it made no difference what Shen Yue studied. In the end, the strong had to rely on him, the emperor, to lead the strong.
Artifact refining and formations were both merely auxiliary paths.
Shen Yue had originally only meant to get some materials for free. He hadn't expected Zhou Chongwen to have a treasure like the Fire Cloud Cauldron.
Although the cauldron had a crack and looked only sixty or seventy percent new, it was undeniably a graded cauldron.
"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Zhou. With this cauldron, I'll soon be an artifact refiner."
Zhou Chongwen beamed, secretly delighted.
In the dead of night.
Shen Yue sat cross-legged, with the Green Fire Cauldron and the Fire Pattern Cauldron standing opposite each other before him.
The Green Fire Cauldron was jade-green, gentle and restrained. The Fire Pattern Cauldron was fiery red, covered in spirit patterns.
"The Fire Pattern Cauldron is higher-grade, but it's damaged. The Green Fire Cauldron is connected to my mind, but it isn't graded..."
Shen Yue hesitated over which cauldron to use for his attempt at refining an artifact.
He took out the Heavenly Cauldron True Fire Hundred Refinement Scripture and studied it closely.
Suddenly, his expression changed. His divine sense fixed on the jade slip.
"Cauldron fusion, grade elevation?"
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