Lin Yuan talked about the weather, but his gaze remained fixed outside the military camp.
Streams of immortal light descended from between the clouds.
The first to appear was Qin Wan.
He wore a dark Daoist robe, carried a formation banner on his back, and exuded a steady, weighty aura.
Close behind came Zhao Jiang, Dong Quan, Yuan Jiao, and the others, each distinctly different.
The ten of them stood in a straight line.
Though they had yet to set up their formations, the auras emanating from them had already made the ordinary soldiers near the camp gate afraid to approach too closely.
Golden Light Holy Mother, the only female immortal among them, was especially striking. Golden radiance flickered faintly behind her, making her difficult to look at directly.
Lin Yuan looked over them one by one.
Qin Wan.
Zhao Jiang.
Dong Quan.
Yuan Jiao.
Golden Light Holy Mother.
Sun Liang.
Bai Li.
Yao Bin.
Wang Bian.
Zhang Shao.
Ten.
Not a single one was missing.
The system prompt was quite obliging as well.
[Detected predetermined death tribulation target: Qin Wan.]
[Detected predetermined death tribulation target: Zhao Jiang.]
[Detected predetermined death tribulation target: Dong Quan...]
Ten consecutive messages flashed through his mind.
Lin Yuan felt rather conflicted as he watched them.
The last time the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island had appeared together, he had thought a four-pull draw was already absurd enough.
Only now did he realize.
What was a four-pull draw?
Senior Brother Wen Zhong had gone out once and directly brought a ten-pull banner to the entrance of the military camp.
Wang Mo followed his gaze for a while before he could not help asking,
"Junior Brother."
"Do you know Qin Wan and the others?"
"I've never met them before."
"Then why are you staring so intently?"
Lin Yuan considered it for a moment.
"I admire the Dao of formations."
Wang Mo glanced at the Ten Heavenly Lords, then at Lin Yuan.
He somehow felt that the kid's expression did not look like admiration for the Dao of formations.
It looked more like someone who had been poor for eight hundred years suddenly seeing ten crates of spirit stones neatly laid out before him.
Still, he had already grown used to Lin Yuan occasionally acting strangely.
So he did not press the matter further.
Wen Zhong strode out to greet them.
"Fellow Daoists!"
"Thank you for the effort!"
Qin Wan laughed heartily and clasped his hands.
"What are you saying, Fellow Daoist Wen?"
"We are fellow disciples of the Interception Sect."
"You sent word that disciples of the Elucidation Sect from West Qi had been coming down the mountain again and again. How could we not come?"
"Besides..."
Qin Wan's gaze passed over Wen Zhong and landed on Wang Mo and the other three behind him.
"The four fellow Daoists of Kowloon Island have been quite impressive lately."
"News has already spread back to the Eastern Sea."
Gao Yougan immediately perked up.
"What impressive?"
"We were just being chased around and plotted against."
"Fortunately, we have a junior brother here who can calculate and divine."
Qin Wan and the others followed his gaze toward Lin Yuan.
"Lin Yuan?"
"That's him."
Gao Yougan threw an arm around Lin Yuan's shoulders.
"Don't let his True Immortal cultivation fool you."
"He's extremely useful."
Lin Yuan's face darkened.
"Senior Brother Gao."
"Could you avoid making it sound like you're introducing a magical treasure when you praise someone?"
Laughter immediately broke out around them.
Wen Zhong then introduced both sides to one another.
Qin Wan had clearly heard Lin Yuan's name before.
After all, the matters involving Shiji and the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island had long spread throughout the Interception Sect.
"So you are Junior Brother Lin."
Qin Wan smiled.
"We discussed your deeds before we came."
"You arrived in time to save Junior Sister Shiji."
"And the four fellow Daoists of Kowloon Island are all standing here safe and sound."
"Not bad."
Lin Yuan felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise.
"I was lucky."
Li Xingba immediately exposed him.
"Don't listen to him."
"This kid always talks about luck, but whenever something truly happens, he moves faster than anyone."
"When I was ambushed, he, a Heavenly Immortal, dared to charge headlong into a killing trap set for a Profound Immortal."
"He even took a Lock-Meridian Nail for me."
The way the Ten Heavenly Lords looked at Lin Yuan changed again.
Among fellow disciples, what earned recognition most easily had never been pretty words.
When true danger came, being willing to lend a hand.
That was enough.
Qin Wan patted Lin Yuan's shoulder.
"From now on, we are all brothers."
"When you have time, you can come take a look at my formation."
Lin Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.
"Senior Brother."
"You said that."
Qin Wan froze for a moment.
"Isn't it just looking at a formation?"
"Of course."
Lin Yuan answered extremely quickly.
For some reason, Qin Wan felt as though he had agreed to something very significant.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wen Zhong did not let them continue exchanging pleasantries at the camp gate.
He soon led them all into the central command tent.
He explained West Qi's current situation, the disciples of the Elucidation Sect who had already appeared, and the methods they had used several times against the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island.
After hearing it all.
The smiles on the Ten Heavenly Lords' faces faded considerably.
Dong Quan said coldly,
"They use their cultivation to bully others, and they even set up ambushes specifically for them."
"Their Elucidation Sect truly has not changed at all."
Golden Light Holy Mother also said,
"Since they have already entered the fray, then let us have a battle."
Wen Zhong nodded.
"That is precisely why I invited you all here."
Qin Wan did not immediately say that they should go out and challenge them one on one.
Instead, he turned to look at the other nine.
The gazes of the ten met.
They had clearly already decided on their plan.
"Fellow Daoist Wen."
"Over these years, each of us has gained insights from studying formations."
"If West Qi wishes to contest Dao arts."
"Then we shall let them try them."
Lin Yuan's heart stirred.
It was here.
Qin Wan and the others rose to their feet.
That very day, they selected an open area before the Shang Camp.
Ten formation platforms were erected in succession.
The aura of every grand formation was entirely different.
The Heaven-Absolute Formation's killing intent soared into the sky.
The Earth Inferno Formation surged with blazing fire energy.
Wind and thunder intertwined within the Wind Roar Formation.
The Ice Formation was so cold that frost swiftly formed across the nearby ground.
Within the Golden Light Formation, streaks of golden radiance darted back and forth. A single glance made one's eyes ache.
After all ten grand formations had been deployed.
Even Wang Mo and the others began watching intently.
"Excellent formations."
Wen Zhong could not help nodding.
Qin Wan was clearly quite confident.
"These are the fruits of our ten people's years of study."
"Together, they are called—the Ten Ultimate Formation!"
Standing behind Wen Zhong, Lin Yuan did not feel entirely at ease.
The formations were indeed powerful.
In the original Investiture of the Gods storyline, the Ten Ultimate Formation had truly caused the Elucidation Sect considerable trouble.
The problem was...
The Ten Ultimate Formation's final outcome had been equally tragic.
The Ten Heavenly Lords had basically been sent off one after another.
Lin Yuan slowly walked along the ten formations.
Innate Spiritual Perception and Battlefield Killing Intent Perception unfolded together.
He did not understand the complete Dao of formations.
At least, not yet.
But danger was something he had become far too familiar with by now.
When he reached the space between the Heaven-Absolute Formation and the Earth Inferno Formation.
Lin Yuan suddenly stopped.
To the left.
The Heaven-Absolute Formation radiated intense killing intent.
To the right.
The Earth Inferno Formation was equally perilous.
The two formations were not very far apart.
Yet in Lin Yuan's perception, they were like two completely disconnected, independent regions.
He walked farther ahead.
The Wind Roar Formation.
The Ice Formation.
The Golden Light Formation...
It was still the same.
Every one of them was powerful.
Yet each fought on its own.
Lin Yuan stood amid the ten formations, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
Qin Wan noticed his expression.
"Junior Brother Lin."
"What is it?"
Lin Yuan looked up.
"Senior Brother Qin."
"May I ask a question?"
"Ask."
Lin Yuan pointed at the ten great formations before them.
"If someone entered the Heaven-Absolute Formation—"
"Could the other nine senior brothers and sisters..."
"Help?"
Qin Wan froze for a moment.
"Of course not."
"Each of the ten formations has its own mysteries."
"How could we interfere at will?"
Lin Yuan asked again,
"But what if the other side knew they only needed to break one formation at a time?"
"What if they gathered their strongest experts and came one by one?"
The surroundings suddenly grew quieter.
Qin Wan's previously relaxed expression gradually faded as well.
Lin Yuan looked at the ten formations.
They felt like ten lavishly decorated detached villas.
Every single one had a thick security door.
But if the other side really brought in a demolition crew—
There was not even a doorway connecting any of the ten households.
That was rather dangerous.
Before you continue