That Version from Just Now Is Already Outdated

"These routes..."

"They take the long way around."

Lin Yuan raised a hand and pointed at several streams of magical power running between the Heaven-Absolute Formation and the other nine formations.

For a moment, none of the Ten Heavenly Lords spoke.

Zhao Jiang was the first to react. He walked to Lin Yuan's side and stared at those Supreme Clarity Formation Talismans for a long while.

"Junior Brother Lin, you could barely understand formation patterns before, could you?"

"I really couldn't before."

Lin Yuan was perfectly frank.

"I suddenly understand a little now."

Zhao Jiang: "..."

What did he mean, suddenly understood a little?

The ten of them had blown up more than a dozen formation banners over those power-transmission routes, nearly pulling themselves bald.

Yet Lin Yuan had changed the direction of the formation power once in a life-or-death moment, then come back, taken two looks, and started criticizing their routes for being too roundabout.

That was rather hurtful.

Qin Wan, however, did not question him.

If Lin Yuan had not changed the flow of power through the nine formations at the last moment, Qin Wan would most likely already be lying dead.

"Go on."

"What can be changed?"

Lin Yuan did not stand on ceremony.

After gaining the Heaven-Severing Formation Insight, the incomparably complex formation patterns before him seemed as though someone had rearranged them.

In the past, he could only tell that there was danger here.

Now, he could further discern why that danger arose.

"When the nine formations lend power to the Heaven-Absolute Formation, all of it must first pass through the central Formation Talisman before being transferred into the Heaven-Absolute Formation."

"That makes it stable."

"But once the opponent uses a magic treasure to interfere with the central Formation Talisman, support from all nine formations slows down."

Lin Yuan crouched down.

His finger traced along the formation patterns on the ground.

"Why must everything go through the center?"

"The Earth Inferno Formation is closest to the Heaven-Absolute Formation."

"We can open a side route directly."

"The Wind Roar Formation can do the same."

"As for the more distant Golden Light Formation and Red Water Formation, they can still go through the central Formation Talisman."

As the Ten Heavenly Lords listened, their expressions gradually changed.

Zhao Jiang had even begun running the calculations himself.

"If we open a side route..."

"The Earth Inferno Formation's support for the Heaven-Absolute Formation can be at least two breaths faster."

"And the loss can be reduced by thirty percent."

Golden Light Holy Mother added:

"Also, even if the central Formation Talisman is sealed off, the side route can still function."

Qin Wan made the decision at once.

"Change it!"

The Elucidation Sect's second generation had only just broken the Heaven-Absolute Formation once.

A normal person would have thought to rest and recuperate first.

Yet the Ten Heavenly Lords acted as if they had spotted a new toy and immediately got to work.

Lin Yuan also truly joined them for the first time.

In the past, he would stand to the side. Of every ten sentences spoken by the Ten Heavenly Lords, he could understand at most one.

Now, once the formation patterns were laid out, he could even take the initiative to point out problems.

At first, Zhao Jiang was still not used to it.

"This route won't work. When Earth Blaze qi meets the Heaven-Absolute Killing Force, it can easily..."

He stopped halfway through.

Because Lin Yuan had added an extremely small conversion formation pattern where the two forces met.

After the Earth Blaze qi passed through it, its most violent fire nature was temporarily suppressed, leaving behind only pure magical power.

Zhao Jiang stared at it several times.

In the end, he squeezed out one sentence:

"It'll work."

Lin Yuan smiled.

"Senior Brother Zhao, don't sound so regretful."

"I'm not regretful."

"It's written all over your face."

"..."

Dong Quan laughed beside them.

The ten of them worked for an entire day.

The second version of the Ten Ultimate Linked Formation took shape.

The changes did not look particularly dramatic.

The formations were still the same original ten formations.

Their power had not doubled out of thin air, either.

But the connections between the formations had become far more flexible.

In the past, when nine formations supported one formation, it was like nine people lining up to deliver something through the same door.

Now, several small paths had been opened.

Whichever was closer.

That one delivered first.

Even if the central Formation Talisman was disrupted, the other routes continued operating as normal.

Most importantly, using Qin Wan's formation insight, Lin Yuan added a temporary position-shifting formation pattern to each of the ten formations.

It had only one purpose.

Switch people.

Once the person controlling a main formation was locked onto.

They could use magical power transmitted from the other formations to forcibly move the core formation position once.

Qin Wan had nearly died earlier because he could not leave the core position.

They could not suffer that loss a second time.

"Test the formation!"

Zhao Jiang was the first to step forward.

"Today, I'll take the Earth Inferno Formation."

Qin Wan frowned.

"You just finished modifying it."

"Someone has to test it."

Zhao Jiang took it in stride.

"Besides, the Elucidation Sect has already figured out quite a bit about the Heaven-Absolute Formation. If they come again, they probably won't target Old Qin first."

Upon hearing that, Lin Yuan's Innate Spiritual Perception gave a faint twitch.

Zhao Jiang sensed his gaze as well.

"Junior Brother."

"Don't look at me like that."

"What?"

"Every time you look at someone with that expression, that person tends to have bad luck."

Lin Yuan: "..."

Thinking about it carefully, that did seem somewhat true.

The next day.

The Elucidation Sect indeed sent people again.

This time, the one entering the Earth Inferno Formation was still an expert of the Elucidation Sect's second-generation rank.

Clearly, Qin Wan escaping the killing trap the day before had made the other side realize that someone within the Ten Ultimate Formations—Lin Yuan—could alter formations on the spot.

So they did not probe slowly any longer.

The moment he entered the Earth Inferno Formation.

A treasure light specifically meant to suppress Earthfire fell directly upon it.

Zhao Jiang activated Blazing Flame.

Yet the opponent pushed through the waves of fire and advanced swiftly.

"They came well prepared."

Lin Yuan stood outside the formation.

He could clearly see that Zhao Jiang was under even greater pressure than Qin Wan had been the day before.

The countermeasure was too targeted.

The opponent's magic treasure had practically been made specifically for the Earth Inferno Formation.

After several exchanges, one Formation Eye Zhao Jiang had hidden extremely deeply was forcibly revealed.

The opponent attacked without hesitation.

Boom!

The Earth Inferno Formation shook violently.

The nine formations immediately lent their power.

But this time, that Elucidation Sect expert did not attack the Formation Eye.

A golden ring suddenly flew from his sleeve.

The ring split into nine in midair.

Nine streaks of golden light separately pinned themselves onto the magical power routes between the Earth Inferno Formation and the other nine formations.

"Formation-Breaking Ring!"

Golden Light Holy Mother's expression shifted slightly.

The nine formations' shared support was disrupted at the same time.

Zhao Jiang instantly lost most of his outside aid.

The opponent had clearly been waiting for precisely this moment.

The magic treasure suppressed the Earthfire.

The Formation-Breaking Ring severed the support.

A killing immortal light shot straight at Zhao Jiang himself!

"Perfect."

Yet Lin Yuan was not as flustered as he had been yesterday.

Because they had guarded against this approach—

Last night.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

"The eastern side route!"

Zhao Jiang understood instantly.

The central route had been sealed by the Formation-Breaking Ring.

But the newly opened side route between the Earth Inferno Formation and the Heaven-Absolute Formation remained!

Qin Wan immediately activated his magical power.

Boom!

The Heaven-Absolute Formation's power bypassed the Formation-Breaking Ring and poured in directly from the side.

The core formation position where Zhao Jiang stood suddenly lit up.

"Switch!"

Lin Yuan shouted.

Zhao Jiang's figure vanished instantly.

The killing immortal light passed through his original position.

It did not even touch the corner of his robes.

The Elucidation Sect expert was visibly stunned.

Yesterday, Qin Wan suddenly switching positions could still be called an accident Lin Yuan had improvised on the spot.

How had it become a fixed function today?

Zhao Jiang had already reappeared from another formation position.

The Earth Inferno Formation weakened for an instant after briefly losing its primary controller.

Right after that.

Flames shot into the sky.

Zhao Jiang burst into laughter.

"Yesterday's formation was already outdated!"

"If you want to kill this poor Daoist today..."

"Try a different method!"

Outside the formation, Gao Yougan was instantly delighted when he heard that.

"That's irritating enough."

"I like it."

The Elucidation Sect experts' expressions were indeed ugly.

They tried several times in a row.

The Formation-Breaking Ring could seal the center.

But it could not seal the auxiliary routes.

They wanted to pursue Zhao Jiang.

The core formation positions could now be temporarily shifted.

All the methods they had prepared yesterday were like entering a new dungeon with an old-version walkthrough.

Every step was correct.

Yet every step was just a little off.

By the end of the fight.

Zhao Jiang had not died.

Nor had the formation been broken.

The Elucidation Sect experts could only withdraw voluntarily.

The system prompt appeared almost the instant Zhao Jiang stepped out of the formation gate.

[Target: Zhao Jiang.]

[The predetermined Death Node has changed.]

[The original death trajectory has been completely severed.]

[Fate Reversal successful!]

[Inheriting the target's strongest ability...]

A vast amount of insight into the Earth Inferno Formation merged into his consciousness once more.

In Lin Yuan's eyes.

The Ten Ultimate Formation became clearer by another layer.

The Heaven-Absolute Formation solved the problem of "how killing intent operated."

What the Earth Inferno Formation gave him was "how powers of different attributes transformed within a formation."

With the two layered together.

Lin Yuan raised his head and looked at the ten great formations.

He suddenly noticed some positions he had never dared touch before—

They seemed modifiable too.

Zhao Jiang had just returned.

Before he could celebrate surviving his death tribulation.

He saw Lin Yuan already crouching before the formation diagram again.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"Junior Brother Lin."

"What are you doing now?"

Lin Yuan did not even raise his head.

"Senior Brother Zhao."

"Gather everyone."

"That version from just now..."

"Was already outdated too."