Chapter 320: Last Three Levels

In the valley, Yu Xiao and Bai Qian stood side by side. They were no longer numb; instead, they were filled with shock and disbelief.

Lu Ye had been studying formation arts with Bai Qian before, so Bai Qian was well aware of his skill level.

He had previously told Yu Xiao that, given Lu Ye's proficiency in formation arts, clearing ten levels at once wouldn't be too difficult, as the first ten levels weren't particularly challenging. He also mentioned that if Lu Ye gained significant benefits from the Hundred Formations Pagoda, he might even clear a few more levels.

This was a fair assessment; after all, Bai Qian had immersed himself in formation arts for many years and had a good eye for talent.

Yet, the truth was that Lu Ye had cleared thirty levels in just half a month!

It wasn't that his judgment was flawed; rather, Lu Ye had simply gained too many benefits from the Hundred Formations Pagoda.

Bai Qian found it hard to imagine how immense the benefits Lu Ye had received in the pagoda were, leading to such an astonishing improvement in his formation arts skill within such a short time.

If Lu Ye's skill level in formation arts before entering the pagoda was considered a 'one,' then the level he now displayed was a 'five' — a fivefold increase!

With the enormous rewards granted by the Hundred Formations Pagoda, such an improvement was not surprising. After all, Lu Ye had consecutively triggered the pagoda's resonance thirty times, an unprecedented feat, if not one that would never be surpassed.

What puzzled Bai Qian was how Lu Ye, a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator, managed to endure it. Even if he had taken Soul Cleansing Water before, making his spiritual essence tougher than that of an average Spirit Stream Realm cultivator, it still seemed impossible to sustain.

Such a spiritual foundation was stronger than his own, despite him being a ninth-level True Lake Realm cultivator. Yet, if he were in Lu Ye's shoes, he wouldn't be sure he could have lasted this long.

This matter was truly perplexing.

It must be said, the old man was mistaken in his assumption.

After repeatedly consuming Soul Cleansing Water, Lu Ye's spiritual essence was now comparable to that of some Cloud River Realm cultivators, though certainly not yet at the True Lake Realm level.

He managed to endure simply because he was willing to make the sacrifice; whenever his mind grew weary, he would take a drop of Soul Cleansing Water, and his fatigued spiritual essence would instantly clear.

In terms of the upper limit of his spiritual essence, he hadn't reached the True Lake Realm, but his ability to dispel fatigue with Soul Cleansing Water was something no one else could emulate.

"What a shame," Yu Xiao suddenly sighed wistfully. "If only this Lu Yiye were a disciple of our sect, how wonderful that would be. With the talent he's currently demonstrating in formation arts, he could definitely lead the Heavenly Esoteric Sect to great heights in the future. What's a fifth-grade sect? If he continues to grow, even a first-grade sect would be within reach!"

Bai Qian understood Yu Xiao's regret immediately and shook his head. "There's nothing to regret. If he were truly a disciple of our sect, our sect couldn't withstand such turmoil."

Setting everything else aside, just look at what happened: this young man from the Blood Refinement Sect came to the Heavenly Esoteric Sect's outpost, and the outpost was immediately attacked by the Myriad Demon Ridge. If he were our disciple, the Heavenly Esoteric Sect might not be able to maintain a foothold in the Spirit Stream Battlefield in the future.

If disciples couldn't enter the Spirit Stream Battlefield, their cultivation speed would undoubtedly decrease significantly.

The strength of a sect has never relied on just one person.

"You're right. From that perspective, it's a good thing the Blood Refinement Sect is only a ninth-grade sect." Yu Xiao quickly grasped the crucial point.

Because it is a ninth-grade sect, its outpost is located on the outermost periphery, making it difficult to target. This is unlike the Heavenly Esoteric Sect, which, when three or four Myriad Demon Ridge forces launch a full-scale assault, struggles to hold its ground.

Therefore, no matter how much trouble Lu Ye stirred up outside, the Blood Refinement Sect's outpost remained impregnable. Not to mention, a fierce raptor guarded that area.

At this moment, Bai Qian was already sending a message to Zhao Li, a simple question: "Is he alive or dead?"

Although he felt it was unlikely the young man would die so easily, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Soon, Zhao Li replied: "Alive, Elder. I'd like to go to the Hundred Formations Pagoda. Brother Yiye will emerge in three more levels, and by then, the news of him being alive will surely be impossible to hide, so there's no point in me staying hidden."

"Then come over."

"Thank you, Elder."

Zhao Li replied gleefully and soon appeared in the valley where the Hundred Formations Pagoda was located.

Seeing him appear, some cultivators who were unaware of the truth were astonished. There had been rumors that both Zhao Li and Lu Yiye from the Blood Refinement Sect had been poisoned to death, and the Blood Refinement Sect's Seal Master had caused quite a commotion, leading the Heavenly Esoteric Sect to lose considerable face. But now, it seemed the rumors were incorrect; Zhao Li was clearly perfectly fine.

If Zhao Li was fine, what about Lu Yiye? Was he also alive?

Immediately, many shrewd cultivators sensed a conspiracy.

Zhao Li paid no attention to others. He simply sought out a few familiar junior disciples, asked about the situation, then found a spot to sit cross-legged and sent out a message.

Soon, a group of people gathered around him.

Before entering the Hundred Formations Pagoda, Lu Ye had discussed some plans with him. Therefore, if all went well, these plans would be put into action once Lu Ye returned from the pagoda. As the Heavenly Esoteric Sect's outpost Guardian, he needed to make arrangements in advance to avoid being unprepared.

Zhao Li had been looking forward to this for a long time!

Just as he was discussing with those around him, a buzzing sound suddenly emanated, followed by an invisible force sweeping through the entire valley.

"Level thirty-one!" exclaimed a voice.

The formation cultivators quickly sat up straight, using the pagoda's resonance to enlighten themselves.

Inside the Hundred Formations Pagoda, Lu Ye exhaled slowly.

Although his current skill in formation arts had significantly improved since he first entered the pagoda, the trial on the thirty-first level still felt somewhat tricky. After a full three hours, he had only passed five trials.

He had initially thought he wouldn't receive many rewards this time, but the outcome surprised him; the rewards were actually slightly more than before.

This made Lu Ye vaguely suspect that the amount of rewards from the Hundred Formations Pagoda might be related to his initial skill level in formation arts upon entering.

With his formation arts skill level when he first entered the pagoda, it would have been absolutely impossible to pass the thirty-first level's trial. Not to mention the thirty-first, he couldn't even have passed the twentieth.

However, by clearing his way to this point, the formation arts mastery he displayed far exceeded his initial level upon entering the pagoda, so it was natural that the rewards he received were substantial.

Verifying this was simple: he just needed to hold back a little in the next level.

In the Hundred Formations Pagoda, completing a trial once counted as passing a level. The more times a trial was completed, the greater the reward. If, in the next level, Lu Ye only completed the trial once, but the rewards he received did not decrease, then it would prove his hypothesis correct.

However, Lu Ye didn't intend to do that.

Passing the various trials of the Hundred Formations Pagoda was also a way to improve his formation arts mastery. Since such an opportunity was rare, there was no need to give it up just to confirm a hypothesis.

He simply needed to do his best and have no regrets.

Half a day later, he passed the thirty-second level, absorbed and comprehended the rewards granted by the Hundred Formations Pagoda, used Soul Cleansing Water to wash away his spiritual fatigue, and opened another spiritual aperture. When the time limit was up, he entered the thirty-third level.

This level was the final one in the Heavenly Esoteric Sect's Hundred Formations Pagoda. After passing it, there would be no more. To further hone his formation arts in a Hundred Formations Pagoda, he would have to wait until he advanced to the Cloud River Realm and entered the Cloud River Battlefield.

Looking around, Lu Ye was slightly astonished.

What lay before him was a massive defensive formation, covering a vast area!

Judging by its scale, the formation was comparable in size to the outposts of inner-circle sects. Such a formation would certainly not be easy to dismantle. It was, without a doubt, the largest and most difficult formation he had encountered since entering the Hundred Formations Pagoda.

Lu Ye wondered if this was a coincidence, or if, being inside the Hundred Formations Pagoda, his inner thoughts were somehow being manifested.

The reason he had come to the Heavenly Esoteric Sect to further his formation arts was precisely to learn how to breach such defensive formations. Only by doing so could he conquer Myriad Demon Ridge outposts and plunder the blessings from their Heavenly Mystery Pillars.

Now was an excellent opportunity to gain practical experience.

With limited time, Lu Ye performed a brief reconnaissance. He cast out formation flags, using their power to sense the flow of the grand formation's spiritual energy, thereby determining the approximate locations of its nodes. Then, he gradually narrowed down the area to pinpoint the exact positions of the nodes.

After a full half an hour, the location of the first node was identified. Lu Ye activated his Insight Spirit Mark to confirm its accuracy before proceeding.

Once the first node was confirmed, finding the second was not difficult. In just the time it took to steep a cup of tea, the second node was identified, followed by the third, then the fourth, and so on…

After nearly an hour of work, all sixteen nodes of the grand formation were located.

This indicated that the formation was constructed from sixteen formation cores, identical to the grand formation at the Blood Refinement Sect's outpost, and considered the best formation purchasable from the Heavenly Mystery Treasury.

However, even if the formations were identical, their power varied depending on the density of the surrounding spiritual energy at the location where they were deployed.

Generally, the denser the spiritual energy, the stronger the formation's power.

The power of this formation was undoubtedly several times stronger than the one at the Blood Refinement Sect, regardless of the ambient spiritual energy. This was inherent to the Hundred Formations Pagoda's design.

Lu Ye piloted his flying spiritual artifact, maneuvering around the grand formation and placing formation flags at each node.

After all thirty-two formation flags were deployed, he stopped, reached out, and grasped one of the flags in front of him. Taking a deep breath, spiritual energy surged around him as he channeled it into the flag in his hand.

Instantly, the other thirty-one formation flags floated into the air, shimmering with spiritual light. All the flags began to resonate and connect with each other.

As Lu Ye's spiritual energy continuously poured in, the invisible force generated by the resonance between the flags began to suppress the flow of the grand formation's spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy of the defensive formation flowed continuously, a fact Lu Ye had observed earlier. It was precisely this continuous flow that allowed the defensive formation to constantly repair itself and provide protection.

To use a simple analogy, the defensive formation's spiritual energy was like flowing, living water. What Lu Ye needed to do now was to turn this living water into stagnant water, completely suppressing the flow of spiritual energy. Only then would he have a chance to dismantle the formation.

Otherwise, with the formation constantly repairing itself, it would be impossible to breach unless its stored power was completely depleted.

His spiritual energy was rapidly depleting. Lu Ye didn't know if he could breach this grand formation by himself, but this was the final level's trial, and it also concerned various future plans. Naturally, he intended to give it his all.