That Version from Just Now Is Already Outdated

"These paths..."

"They take the long way around."

Lin Yuan raised a hand and pointed at several channels 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 over 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 understand them before."

Lin Yuan was remarkably frank.

"But now I suddenly understand a little."

Zhao Jiang: "..."

What did he mean, suddenly understood a little?

The ten of them had blown up more than a dozen formation banners over these power-transmission routes, nearly tearing out all their hair.

Yet Lin Yuan had just altered the direction of the formation power in a life-or-death moment, then come back, taken two looks, and started complaining that their routes took too long.

That was rather hurtful.

Qin Wan, however, did not question him.

Had Lin Yuan not changed the flow of power through the nine formations on the spot, Qin Wan would most likely already be lying dead.

"Tell us."

"Where can it be changed?"

Lin Yuan did not stand on ceremony either.

After gaining the Heaven-Severing Formation Insight, the formation patterns before his eyes, once incomparably complex, now seemed as though someone had sorted them all out anew.

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

Now, he could further see 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, then be transferred from there into the Heaven-Absolute Formation."

"That makes it stable."

"But once the enemy uses a magic treasure to disrupt the central formation talisman, support from all nine formations slows down together."

Lin Yuan crouched down.

His finger traced along the formation patterns on the ground.

"Why must everything pass 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 is 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 calculating it himself.

"If we open side routes..."

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

"The loss can also be reduced by thirty percent."

Golden Light Holy Mother continued:

"And if the central formation talisman is sealed off, the side routes can still be used."

Qin Wan made the decision outright.

"Change it!"

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

A normal person's first thought should have been to rest and regroup.

Yet the Ten Heavenly Lords were like children who had spotted new toys, immediately getting to work on the spot.

This was also the first time Lin Yuan truly participated.

In the past, when he stood beside them, the Ten Heavenly Lords could say ten sentences and he would 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 unaccustomed to it.

"This can't be routed that way. When Earth Inferno qi meets the Heaven-Absolute killing intent, it can easily..."

He stopped halfway through.

Because Lin Yuan had added an extremely tiny conversion formation pattern where the two currents of power met.

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

Zhao Jiang stared at it several times.

In the end, he forced 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, standing nearby, laughed aloud.

The ten of them worked for an entire day.

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

The changes did not appear particularly dramatic.

The formations were still the original ten formations.

Their power had not doubled out of thin air.

Yet 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 carry things through the same door.

Now, several additional paths had been opened.

Whichever side was closer.

That side delivered first.

If the central formation talisman was disrupted, the other channels continued operating as usual.

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

It had only one function.

Changing people.

Once the person controlling the main formation was locked onto.

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

Qin Wan had nearly died just now 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 charge of the Earth Inferno Formation."

Qin Wan frowned.

"You just finished altering it."

"Someone has to test it."

Zhao Jiang took it in stride.

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

When Lin Yuan heard that, his Innate Spiritual Perception gave a slight 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, they tend to have bad luck."

Lin Yuan: "..."

Thinking about it carefully, that did seem a little true.

The next day.

The Explanatory Sect indeed sent people again.

This time, the one who entered the Earth Inferno Formation was still an expert of the Explanatory Sect's second generation.

Clearly, Qin Wan's escape from the killing trap the previous day had made the other side realize that someone within the Ten Ultimate Formation, 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 descended directly.

Zhao Jiang activated the blazing flames.

Yet his opponent charged forward swiftly against the waves of fire.

"Quite thoroughly prepared."

Lin Yuan stood outside the formation.

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

The targeting was too precise.

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

After several exchanges, a formation eye Zhao Jiang had hidden exceptionally deeply was forcibly exposed.

His opponent attacked without hesitation.

Boom!

The Earth Inferno Formation shook violently.

The nine formations immediately lent their power.

But this time, that Explanatory 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 nailed themselves respectively into the magical power channels between the Earth Inferno Formation and the other nine formations.

"Formation-Breaking Ring!"

Golden Light Holy Mother's expression shifted slightly.

The power-lending from all nine formations was disrupted at once.

Zhao Jiang instantly lost most of his outside support.

The opponent had clearly been waiting for this very 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 timing."

Yet Lin Yuan was not as flustered as yesterday.

Because they had guarded against this tactic--

Last night.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

"The eastern side route!"

Zhao Jiang understood in an instant.

The central channel 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 intact!

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's shout fell.

Zhao Jiang's figure instantly vanished.

The killing immortal light passed through his former position.

It did not even touch the corner of his robes.

The Explanatory Sect expert was visibly stunned.

Yesterday, Qin Wan's sudden position shift could still be explained as an unexpected trick Lin Yuan had improvised on the spot.

But today, how had it become a fixed function?

Zhao Jiang had already reappeared from another formation position.

The Earth Inferno Formation weakened for an instant after briefly losing the person controlling its main formation.

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,"

"Find another way!"

The moment Gao Yougan heard this outside the formation, he was delighted beyond measure.

"That's infuriating enough."

"I like it."

The Explanatory Sect experts' expressions were indeed unpleasant.

They had tried several times in succession.

The Formation-Breaking Ring could seal the center.

But it could not seal the side routes.

They wanted to pursue Zhao Jiang.

But the core formation positions could now be shifted temporarily.

All the countermeasures prepared yesterday were like entering a new dungeon with an old version of the guide.

Every step was correct.

Yet every step fell just short.

By the end of the fight.

Zhao Jiang had not died.

Nor had the formation been broken.

The Explanatory Sect experts could only withdraw on their own initiative.

The system prompt appeared almost at the same moment 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-defiance 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 question of "how killing intent operated."

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

With the two layered together.

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

He suddenly discovered several positions he had never dared touch before—

They seemed capable of being altered as well.

Zhao Jiang had only 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's wrong with you again?"

Lin Yuan did not raise his head.

"Senior Brother Zhao."

"Gather everyone."

"That version just now..."

"Was already outdated too."