Chapter 318: Ten Floors Consecutive Challenge

A Fantasy Novel

The Golden Cicada’s Freedom Art allows a cultivator to reach only the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm. After this level, Lu Ye must follow the guidance of the Crimson Lotus Soaring Heavens Art to open subsequent spirit apertures. Only when the requirements are met can he switch cultivation methods. Currently, the Grand Sun Glazed Art only indicates the locations of these subsequent spirit apertures.

A short while later, another new spirit aperture opened. As Lu Ye was about to continue his cultivation, the surrounding environment suddenly began to distort. He immediately stopped, knowing that his time in the first level had ended.

His vision shifted, and he found himself in another room. This room lacked the dense, mist-like spiritual energy of heaven and earth, indicating it was the second level of the Hundred Formations Pagoda. Compared to the first level, this room was undoubtedly larger.

A formation quickly took shape; the trial had begun. This was a test of breaking a formation. Lu Ye was slightly surprised.

Having suffered from being targeted in the first level, he pondered for a moment. Instead of activating his Insight Spirit Mark to uncover the formation's weaknesses, he took formation flags from his storage bag and threw them in all directions, using their power to find the formation's vulnerabilities.

The Insight Spirit Mark was a powerful tool, providing much convenience for breaking formations, but it didn't significantly help improve his actual formation mastery. It was like solving a problem: normally, one would follow the steps given by the problem setter, methodically listing each step to gradually calculate the answer. With the Insight Spirit Mark, Lu Ye could directly see the answer, completely skipping the intermediate steps.

There might come a time when the Insight Spirit Mark couldn't be used, so diligently breaking formations without it might not be without benefits.

The formation on the second level was slightly more difficult than the first. Lu Ye quickly used the formation flags to locate the formation's weak point, then activated his Insight Spirit Mark to verify the result. Once confirmed, he began to break the formation.

Gradually, he realized this was the correct way to tackle the Hundred Formations Pagoda. In subsequent trials, the chances of encountering a formation to set up or break were roughly fifty-fifty, unlike his experience on the first level. Moreover, the significant benefits gained from the first level largely compensated for his deficiencies in formation mastery, allowing his skill to improve. As a result, even though the formations on the second level were slightly more difficult than the first, the time he spent setting up formations didn't change. With more instances of breaking formations, his overall efficiency was even higher than on the first level.

In the valley where the Hundred Formations Pagoda stood, many disciples of the Heavenly Evolution Sect were waiting.

More than two hours ago, the Hundred Formations Pagoda’s resonance had ceased. This resonance had a time limit and was closely linked to the individual challenging the pagoda. Once the challenger had fully assimilated the benefits received, the resonance would disappear. However, the fact that resonance occurred even on the first level undoubtedly showed that the challenger was extraordinary. Therefore, the Heavenly Evolution Sect disciples eagerly awaited good results from the second level, hoping to also gain some benefits.

The only thing the Heavenly Evolution Sect disciples couldn't figure out was the identity of the challenger.

Zhao Li, who was still recovering at Bai Qian's residence, understood clearly. He naturally knew Lu Ye was going to challenge the Hundred Formations Pagoda but hadn't expected it to cause resonance. He also cultivated formation mastery, but because he was feigning death, it was inconvenient for him to show himself and cultivate in the valley where the Hundred Formations Pagoda was located, which made him feel quite frustrated. If not for Ju Jia and Yi Yi accompanying him there, he would have felt the bitterness of being abandoned by the sect.

“Om…”

A deep hum emanated from the massive Hundred Formations Pagoda, and an invisible force swept outwards, quickly covering the entire valley.

“Here it comes, here it comes!” some long-waiting Heavenly Evolution Sect disciples cheered, quickly sitting upright to feel the enlightenment brought by the resonance.

If the first level could cause resonance, then the second level surely could too, and the third level was highly probable. As for the fourth level, that was uncertain. The highest record for the Heavenly Evolution Sect was someone who continuously triggered nine resonances, meaning the cultivators of the Heavenly Evolution Sect received benefits nine times in a row. These benefits were not the direct, enlightening kind received inside the Hundred Formations Pagoda, but more of an inspiration. Perhaps under this inspiration, formation cultivators might have a sudden flash of insight, understanding things they couldn't grasp before. While most might gain nothing, some indeed improved their formation mastery this way.

Compared to the disciples' excitement, Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were undoubtedly more worried. They had also challenged the Hundred Formations Pagoda and knew how strongly the benefits bestowed by it attracted formation cultivators. It was one thing for Lu Ye to cause resonance on the first level—as a first-time challenger, it could be attributed to his youthful vigor and unwillingness to hold back. However, having experienced the hidden dangers within the benefits, he should have exerted less effort on the second level.

Their only worry now was that Lu Ye might be blinded by the pagoda's benefits, pushing forward relentlessly. If that happened, something terrible would surely occur. Such incidents had happened before.

As they worried, in the second level of the Hundred Formations Pagoda, Lu Ye was trembling violently, his eyes bloodshot again, and his head throbbed. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the room had also turned mist-like. With previous experience, he quickly began to assimilate the gains from this round.

Strictly speaking, the benefits bestowed by the Hundred Formations Pagoda, like the spirit marks he received from the Talent Tree, were both "enlightenment-style." As for which experience was worse... one could only say both were terrible. However, the experience at the Hundred Formations Pagoda had one advantage: as long as he could digest the extra information in his mind, the terrible feeling would gradually disappear. Having prior experience, Lu Ye naturally immersed himself in his mind as quickly as possible.

Several hours passed, and Lu Ye finally breathed a sigh of relief. All the benefits had been assimilated, solidifying his foundation in formation mastery significantly. Just like last time, Lu Ye quickly took advantage of the excellent environment here to cultivate, breaking through the spirit aperture barriers.

Days passed, and the Heavenly Evolution Sect disciples gradually became abuzz. An unknown powerhouse had entered the Hundred Formations Pagoda and, in just five days, soared to the tenth level, causing the Pagoda to resonate with every single level! On average, twice a day, once in the morning, and once in the evening...

In all the years since the Heavenly Evolution Sect was founded, such a feat had never occurred. Even if someone could trigger such resonance in the past, it would at most be four or five consecutive times. This was because once the level of resonance was reached, the benefits bestowed by the Hundred Formations Pagoda were immense, making it difficult for the challenger to assimilate them. With too many instances, cultivators simply couldn't endure it. What did it mean to trigger resonance for ten consecutive levels?

The disciples couldn't help but wonder if a grandmaster of formation mastery had secretly come to challenge the pagoda; otherwise, how could there be such astonishing results? Some bold disciples went to ask their sect master and grand elder, but not only did they get no answers, they were also scolded harshly. It was said that the sect master and grand elder were in a very bad mood at the moment, their faces filled with worry and anxiety so thick it was almost palpable.

It would be strange if they were in a good mood. They had thought Lu Ye would realize the danger of the Hundred Formations Pagoda after clearing the first level and thus become cautious. But who would have thought things were not as they imagined? He had already triggered resonance for ten consecutive levels. How could a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator endure that?

"Elder Bai, that kid has Soul Cleansing Water and should have used it before, making his soul much more resilient than ordinary Spirit Stream Realm cultivators. The Grand Elder needn't worry too much. I don't think he's a fool; since he chose to do this, he should have his own plan," Yu Xiao said. He was comforting himself more than Bai Qian.

"You don't know that kid's courage and boldness. Even if his soul is more resilient than an ordinary Spirit Stream Realm cultivator's, it has a limit. If he exceeds that limit, he won't be able to bear it. I only hope he can withdraw from the Hundred Formations Pagoda before reaching his limit, then all will be well."

Who was that kid? He was a ruthless individual who dared to apply the Insight Spirit Mark directly to his eyes! Bai Qian had cultivated for so many years and had never heard of any Spirit Mark Master daring to do such a thing. Previously, he thought this kid's daring and bold ideas were a good thing. But now, it seemed like utter nonsense. For the past few days, his heart had been in his throat, fearing that Lu Ye would die inside the Hundred Formations Pagoda. He had already sent a message to Zhao Li, asking him to constantly monitor Lu Ye's spiritual imprint and report immediately if it dissipated.

While Yu Xiao and Bai Qian were worrying, inside the Hundred Formations Pagoda, Lu Ye was busy non-stop. After clearing ten consecutive levels, each time receiving immense benefits, Lu Ye's foundation in formation mastery, though not perfect, was rarely matched across the Nine Provinces. The Hundred Formations Pagoda was like an excellent teacher, providing him with comprehensive rewards after he passed each trial. After assimilating these rewards, Lu Ye's formation mastery improved significantly. Clearing level after level, from easy to difficult, from simple to complex, Lu Ye's understanding of formation mastery had reached an extremely profound level. No wonder formation cultivators in the Nine Provinces loved challenging the Hundred Formations Pagoda; it was far more effective than dryly studying formation texts.

Each level of the Hundred Formations Pagoda was more difficult than the last, but as he continuously assimilated the benefits bestowed by the pagoda, his own formation mastery steadily improved. So, even as the levels got higher, the frequency of him passing trials didn't decrease much. For example, on the tenth level, he passed nearly forty trials within three hours, which led to such abundant rewards.

Upon reaching the eleventh level, the difficulty increased noticeably. Had it not been for the foundation laid in the first ten levels, Lu Ye would undoubtedly have struggled on this level, and even if he could pass the trials, he wouldn't have gained much benefit. But with the previous gains, it was different. He unleashed suitable formation flags one after another, repeatedly performing the acts of breaking and setting up formations.

Moreover, after the eleventh level, a new type of trial was introduced: supplementing formations. The Hundred Formations Pagoda would form a half-finished formation for Lu Ye to complete, or it would create an incorrect formation for him to find and correct the errors, allowing the formation to function. The first time he encountered this, Lu Ye was indeed delayed for a while, but once he had a clear idea, it all suddenly clicked.