Yin-Yang Reversal

The morning mist had yet to lift. Chen Beiwu picked up his homemade Illusion Weasel Wolf-hair brush, dipped it into the ink made from Variant Beast blood, and held its tip three inches above the wolfhide talisman paper.

Detailed instructions for drawing a Giant Strength Talisman surfaced in his mind. The wolf-hair brush in his hand darted and swooped like a swimming dragon, tracing one basic formation pattern after another across the paper, drawing in the spiritual energy around him and concealing magic within the talisman.

"Whoosh!"

As soon as he finished connecting the final formation pattern, the talisman on the table burst into a faint glow, which disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He set down the brush, picked up the slightly yellow Giant Strength Talisman, and examined it carefully.

Seeing that there were no problems, a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. Talisman arts and formations have always been inseparable. As expected, drawing an unranked talisman like the Giant Strength Talisman is a piece of cake for me.

He picked up the brush and skillfully began drawing two more unranked talismans: the Lightness Talisman and the Iron Body Talisman.

Before long, three talismans lay neatly on the table.

By then, dawn was just breaking. Mo Li came in carrying breakfast.

"I'm leaving," Chen Beiwu said in farewell.

Mo Li froze. The breakfast in her hands fell to the ground.

Chen Beiwu stepped outside, brushing past Mo Li. "There are three talismans on the table. Take them to protect yourself. If you run into bad people, just tear one open."

"Can you take me with you?" She suddenly grabbed his sleeve.

Chen Beiwu looked into her eyes and asked in return, "Can you bear to leave your father, who just recovered from a serious illness?"

Mo Li fell silent.

She couldn't bear to see her lord leave, but she couldn't leave her father behind either.

"My lord, will we still have a chance to meet again?" Mo Li asked, her eyes reddening.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Beiwu took out a Spirit-Testing Talisman from his Storage Bag and activated it with his Magic Power.

The Spirit-Testing Talisman was a Low-Grade First-Tier talisman with a single function: it could roughly detect a person's Spiritual Root Purity.

The next moment, the Spirit-Testing Talisman spontaneously caught fire. It turned into a wisp of blue smoke that gathered in midair, forming a hazy Formation Diagram.

The diagram took the sky as Qian and the earth as Kun, then used the Five Phases to generate an obscure and profound Eight Trigrams Diagram.

"Hold out your hand and press it against the diagram."

As soon as Chen Beiwu finished speaking, Mo Li extended her arm without hesitation.

The next moment, the illusory Eight Trigrams Diagram spun faster, then burst apart with a roar and transformed into a halberd that shifted between solid and insubstantial, radiating a dense aura of metal and war.

"Metal Qi Condensation into Weapons!" Chen Beiwu's pupils contracted.

Good heavens. The herb-gathering girl he'd casually rescued in the mountains was actually an Earth Spiritual Root. It was unbelievable.

"What's wrong?" Mo Li asked timidly.

"It's a good thing." Chen Beiwu gave her a long look. "Spiritual roots are divided into six grades: Immortal, Heaven, Earth, True, Mixed, and False. Your aptitude is quite good. You have a top-grade Metal-type Earth Spiritual Root."

"I have a cultivation method called the Metal Refining Art. If you devote yourself to cultivating it, you'll eventually break through to Late Qi Refining." Chen Beiwu handed her two Jade Slips.

The Metal Refining Art was not an Immortal Alliance cultivation method. It was a damaged manual he had obtained from a Bandit Cultivator, and passing it along was simply a good deed. The other Jade Slip recorded basic information about the cultivation world of the Southern Wild Region.

Mo Li clutched the Jade Slips tightly and asked again, "My lord, will we have a chance to meet again?"

"If fate brings us together, we'll meet again." Chen Beiwu left on the wind without a backward glance, leaving Mo Li standing alone where she was, unwilling to leave for a long time.

This morning was Formation Arts class.

The formation teacher's surname was Zhao. She was a young woman who had only been working for a short time. She had graduated from the Lotus Formation Sect, one of the Seventy-Nine Upper Sects, and seemed to have come to teach at Shouhe No. 2 Middle School to gain some grassroots teaching experience. Next year, she would be transferred to teach in Fallen Dragon Prefecture.

Perhaps because of that, Teacher Zhao generally didn't take the initiative to explain problems in class. She would just sit at the lectern playing on her phone while the students below studied on their own.

As she put it, the Dao of formations was different from Alchemy and Artifact Refining. It couldn't be explained just by lecturing; it required insight.

Students with insight could learn basic formations simply by reading in class, and understand the Heavenly Dao principles behind the Immortal Alliance's formation theories.

As for students without insight, who couldn't even understand the Immortal Alliance's introductory book on basic formations, Teacher Zhao didn't think they were worth spending time on. They might as well devote that time to cultivation or other immortal arts.

To put it simply, the Dao of formations was incredibly profound. Those who understood it didn't need to be taught, and those who didn't couldn't be taught.

Teacher Zhao's teaching approach was so laid-back that many students had complained about her, but she had never changed her methods.

Of course, if a student took the initiative to ask her about a formation problem, she would patiently explain it once.

Whether the student understood was the student's own concern. She wouldn't explain it again, so most of the class disliked this aloof formation teacher.

Chen Beiwu was one of only two exceptions in the class. He got along well with Teacher Zhao; they were something like both teacher and friend to each other.

That was because Teacher Zhao genuinely taught him things.

For example, now, when faced with his strange question, she didn't brush him off. Instead, she thought it over seriously.

"Your idea is strange. Water is naturally countered by lightning. Why use a Second-Tier Water-Attribute Formation to fight a Second-Realm Azure Thunder Tiger? How is that any different from striking at your opponent's strong point with your own weak one?" Teacher Zhao furrowed her brows slightly.

"The Formation Dao is boundless, and patterns connect to principles. Why can't a water-attribute formation kill a lightning-attribute Demon Beast?" Chen Beiwu asked in reply.

"It can, but limiting the formation's main cultivator to the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining is a bit much." Teacher Zhao poked Chen Beiwu's forehead with her fair finger, speechless.

"Teacher, you're a top student who graduated from the Lotus Formation Sect. Surely killing a Second-Realm Lesser Demon with formations would be a piece of cake for you?" Chen Beiwu asked in surprise.

"You're giving your teacher too much credit." Teacher Zhao shook her head, her tone helpless. "Your teacher isn't as impressive as you imagine. Do you think a Second-Realm Lesser Demon is weak?"

Chen Beiwu ventured, "Would it still not work if I set up the formation in advance and caught it like a turtle in a jar?"

"It would, but the person setting up the formation would need to thoroughly study the relationship between Yin-Yang Qi and the formation's field, then use the Yin-Yang Reversal Formation as the core to reverse the natural order and turn the Nine-Bend Tranquil Sea Formation into the Profound Yin Tranquil Sea Formation, which counters lightning."

Chen Beiwu furrowed his brows. "Teacher, do you mean it's simply impossible?"

"That's right. Qi Refining cultivators can use a completed Formation Disk to set up the Nine-Bend Tranquil Sea Formation."

Teacher Zhao explained, "But the Yin-Yang Reversal Formation is different. The person setting it up needs Divine Sense of at least the Second Tier. If a Qi Refining cultivator forcibly sets up this formation, their Divine Sense will simply be exhausted, and they'll die."

"To set up the Great Yin-Yang Reversal Formation, a Second-Tier Formation Master would need to be at least a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

"Understood. Thank you for your guidance." Chen Beiwu returned to his seat.

Taking down that Azure Thunder Tiger in a short time really isn't going to be easy! Chen Beiwu sighed inwardly.

To put it bluntly, all his troubles stemmed from his lack of strength!

Perhaps I should apply to the school to study independently. A thought stirred in Chen Beiwu's mind.

He had already finished teaching himself the high school curriculum and could easily maintain his grades.

For now, the most important thing was to seize cultivation resources in the Southern Wasteland, improve his Qi Refining cultivation, and establish his foundation as soon as possible!