“Alright then. If Brother Han and Fairy Shi manage to break the formation, the two of you can each pick one item first, and we’ll distribute the rest afterward.” Hu Yue wore an awkward expression as he hastily pulled Han Li into the conversation, temporarily smoothing over the situation.
The tall, lean cultivator surnamed Jian stood calmly to the side without uttering a word, making Han Li feel rather inscrutable.
“Fellow Daoist Hu, why not take Brother Han and Fairy Shi to see the formation first and determine whether it can actually be broken? Otherwise, if the formation proves unbreakable, any discussion would be pointless,” Jin Qing suggested with a smile.
“Right! This formation is quite sinister. Fellow Daoist Jin and I once attacked it relentlessly for a full day and night but couldn’t make a dent in it. Instead, we exhausted all our spiritual power,” Hu Yue exclaimed, slapping his forehead in agreement.
With no objections and a hint of curiosity from the others, the group flew on their magic tools toward the belly of the earthen hill, eventually landing on an inconspicuous gentle slope.
“Fellow Daoists, look—the area shrouded in that yellow mist is where the formation lies,” Hu Yue pointed solemnly from mid-air toward a spot on the slope.
Even without his guidance, Han Li had already clearly seen it: a mass of yellow mist covering about a square kilometer, lying silently not far below like a massive beast, murky and giving off an unfathomably eerie feeling. “Hmm! It seems to be an earth-wind dual-attribute formation. Quite interesting,” Shi Die remarked, her eyes lighting up with excitement upon seeing the formation’s imposing aura.
Hearing her words, Han Li glanced at her before focusing intently on the formation. Soon, his expression turned serious. The formation was indeed earth-wind attribute, as she had said. Given his current level, breaking it would be quite troublesome.
Just then, Shi Die slowly descended to the edge of the formation and eagerly pulled out some peculiar magic tools to begin testing it. She first took out a disc-shaped tool, directing a green beam of light from it into the yellow mist. The beam vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the sea. Frowning, she then produced a fiery red crystal ball, rubbed it a few times, and sent it flying into the mist. But this tool, too, was quickly engulfed after a few flashes of red light.
Blushing with embarrassment, the female cultivator pulled out seven or eight different magic tools one after another to test the formation. Aside from a yellow bronze mirror that caused the mist to churn slightly where it shone, the rest had no effect.
Witnessing this, Hu Yue, Jin Qing, and the others exchanged glances before flying down to the slope and approaching her. “Fairy Shi, may I give it a try?” After watching for a while, Han Li finally asked gently, seeing that she seemed ready to pull out even more tools.
“Hmph! If Fellow Daoist Han has a method, by all means, go ahead. This humble woman won’t stop you,” Shi Die retorted, clearly irritated and not giving him a friendly look.
Slightly annoyed but maintaining his composure, Han Li ignored her and patted his storage pouch. Over a dozen small flags of various colors flew out and began circling him gently. “Formation flags!” Jin Qing exclaimed, recognizing them immediately. The others looked puzzled, unsure why Han Li was taking these out instead of directly breaking the formation.
Ignoring their surprised gazes, Han Li pointed at the flags. Instantly, over a dozen beams of light shot up as the flags arranged themselves above the yellow mist in a pattern resembling the Big Dipper, floating ominously. “The Big Dipper Dual Polarity Formation!” Shi Die murmured in surprise, recognizing the arrangement.
The flags then emitted a low hum, and beams of light shot from them, converging into a thick column that plunged into the mist below before disappearing without a trace. The cultivators, including Shi Die, anxiously watched the mist, but it remained still and unchanging.
“Brother Han, what is this…” Jin Qing began to ask, but just then, a change occurred. The previously lifeless yellow mist began to emit a low buzzing sound, churning violently as if boiling water were inside it. It seemed as though a flood dragon were stirring up the sea, bringing the mist to life.
Jin Qing swallowed his words. Han Li, his eyes sharp, threw several more incantations toward the floating flags. The multicolored beams from the flags began shooting forth continuously.
Soon, an astonishing scene unfolded. The churning yellow mist started to rise and fall rhythmically, forming one bulging mound after another like steamed buns. These bulges grew larger and taller, as if some monster were trying to burst out.
The other cultivators, horrified, instinctively stepped back. Fairy Shi, her face pale, hurriedly retreated over ten meters before turning back to look.
A series of deafening explosions erupted from the thick yellow mist. Even though the cultivators were prepared, they were still thrown off balance by the ensuing violent hurricane. They quickly activated their protective barriers to steady themselves and peered into the mist.
To their surprise—except for Shi Die, who had somewhat expected it—the once-impenetrable yellow mist, which had previously resisted all attempts to disperse it, had now cleared, revealing what it had concealed all along.
Overjoyed, Hu Yue and the others rushed forward. Jin Qing approached Han Li with a beaming smile. “Brother Han, I didn’t expect you to be so capable. Have you broken the formation?”
“Broken it? Brother Jin, you underestimate the ancient cultivators’ mastery of formations. I’ve only dispelled the outermost layer of illusions,” Han Li explained with a wry smile.
“Haha! No matter. We have plenty of time to wait for you to slowly unravel this formation. Now we’re much more confident about breaking it,” Hu Yue said cheerfully before Jin Qing could respond.
“Right, as cultivators, time is the last thing we lack! I was too impatient,” Jin Qing agreed sheepishly.
Shi Die, her pride now gone, approached Han Li and bowed deeply. “This humble woman was like a frog at the bottom of a well. I never imagined you could break a formation with another formation—such a novel approach has truly broadened my horizons. I hope Senior Han will guide me further in the art of formations.”
Surprised by her words, Han Li returned the courtesy, his impression of her significantly improved. “It’s nothing, just a minor trick. In truth, my understanding of formations isn’t particularly profound,” he said calmly.
This was entirely honest. If she hadn’t identified the formation as earth-wind attribute, he wouldn’t have known how to proceed. His two decades of studying formations had given him only a superficial understanding, and he had mostly memorized techniques without deep comprehension. His confidence in using the “Big Dipper Dual Polarity Formation” flags came solely from his trust in Xin Ruyin, a formation prodigy. In her notes on breaking formations, she had detailed various clever methods for different scenarios. Han Li had applied them mechanically without fully understanding the principles.
Yet, this method proved incredibly effective, stunning the others. They took his words as modesty and regarded him with newfound respect. Han Li smiled faintly, not bothering to explain further, and turned his gaze to the formation’s true face now that the illusion had been dispelled.
After the mist vanished, what remained was a faint yellow light barrier covering an area about a hundred zhang in radius.
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