Chapter 496: Slightly Wait a Moment

Stepping inside.

The spacious hall was bustling with people, many of whom were lining up in long queues at the counters.

Formation plates, weapons, and pills were considered essential for travelers. The Formation Master Guild had daily limits on the quantity and types of formation plates available, leading many to wait overnight just to acquire one.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master Sai!"

Navigating through the dense crowd, a young man approached them even before they reached the counter.

Pavilion Master Sai waved his hand. "I need to see President Zheng about something. Please lead the way."

The young man smiled and nodded. "My teacher is currently engraving a formation plate. I'll take you to him now!" He then led the way.

They ascended the stairs to the second floor and soon arrived at a room filled with small formation plates. An elder sat in the innermost part of the room, meticulously engraving something.

Traditional formations required formation flags and bases to be combined with the geography, topography, terrain, and surrounding environment. This was incredibly complex and demanded an exceptionally deep understanding of formation principles to execute.

Formation plates, however, were much simpler. A formation master would engrave a condensed version of a formation onto a special disc. Once activated with true qi, it could be used.

Compared to traditional formations, formation plates had two main drawbacks.

First, due to their smaller size, they could not integrate with the environment, making their power significantly weaker than a full-scale formation, typically only achieving five or six tenths of its potency.

Second, each use caused significant damage to the plate itself. Consequently, these items had limited uses, ranging from a single activation to three or five times at most.

Naturally, despite their drawbacks, their advantages were far greater; otherwise, so many people wouldn't be flocking to acquire them.

Their biggest advantage was that they could be used without any knowledge of formation principles. Furthermore, they were portable, activated quickly, and extremely convenient in dangerous situations, requiring only an infusion of true qi.

The elder in the room appeared to be around sixty years old. His face was smooth and clean-shaven, and his hands were large and calloused. He held a small engraving knife, with which he meticulously carved.

Engraving a formation plate was complex, requiring a vast formation to be condensed onto a palm-sized disc. The difficulty was immense; even a single mistake or minor oversight could ruin the entire effort.

Therefore, like alchemy, crafting these items demanded immense mental effort, even from a four-star formation master. It wasn't something that could be done on a whim.

"Teacher, Pavilion Master Sai is here!"

Entering the room, the young man bowed.

The elder put down his engraving knife, looked up at his old friend, and smiled faintly. "It's usually me coming to find you. What brings you here today?"

"This time, I genuinely have something to trouble President Zheng with!"

Pavilion Master Sai nodded and introduced, "This is Master Zhang. He wishes to purchase a formation plate. After much consideration, I decided your creations are the most reliable, so I brought him here!"

"Master Zhang?"

President Zheng, the elder, stood up and looked at Zhang Xuan, a hint of confusion on his face.

He knew his old friend's temperament very well: proud and unyielding, even casual with him. Yet, when introducing this young man, his tone was cautious and his demeanor respectful, which struck President Zheng as odd.

Upon closer inspection, the young man didn't seem particularly special. Although his cultivation couldn't be discerned, his every movement indicated he hadn't yet achieved harmony with nature, clearly meaning he hadn't broken through to the Transcendent Mortal realm.

A mere junior, not even at the Transcendent Mortal realm, commanding such respect from his old friend?

His curiosity piqued, but finding it inconvenient to ask too many questions on their first meeting, President Zheng looked at Zhang Xuan. "Master Zhang, what type of formation plate are you looking for? I've engraved some trapping formations, killing formations, illusion formations..."

"I'd like a... Spirit Gathering Formation!" Zhang Xuan replied.

"A Spirit Gathering Formation?" President Zheng was taken aback. "Those don't usually come as formation plates... they're typically set up permanently in a specific location."

Spirit Gathering Formations were primarily used for cultivation, often set up by major powers in fixed locations to gather spiritual energy and nurture talent. Formation plates, conversely, were usually carried for offensive and defensive purposes.

Therefore, very few people ever engraved Spirit Gathering Formations onto plates. Even he had never done so.

In fact, not only President Zheng but also Pavilion Master Sai was momentarily stunned.

He had initially thought Master Zhang wanted a formation for his preparations to enter the Witch Soul Tomb. Now, it seemed that wasn't the case. What would he need a Spirit Gathering Formation for otherwise? Could he possibly throw it into the tomb to gather souls and collect Witch Soul Masters?

"None?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"That's right, I've never engraved one before," President Zheng hesitated. "However, if you truly need one, I could try to engrave it, but it might take considerable time!"

A Spirit Gathering Formation gathered spiritual energy, which would inherently involve the agitation and impact of that energy. He had never attempted it and couldn't guarantee success.

"How long would it take?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Well... I've never engraved one. It would take some time for me to master it. At the slowest, a month; at the fastest... half a month!" President Zheng replied.

"Half a month?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

That was too long.

He had arranged with Luo Zhu to depart for the Witch Soul Tomb tomorrow. Before that, he absolutely had to break through to Transcendent Mortal realm 1-dan. Waiting half a month for the formation would make everything too late.

"What? Do you doubt my abilities?" Seeing him shake his head, President Zheng's expression darkened.

You come here asking for a Spirit Gathering formation *plate*—do you even understand formations? If it weren't for the sake of his old friend, he would certainly think this person was deliberately causing trouble and have him thrown out.

And he still shakes his head at me like that?

"Oh, I wasn't implying you couldn't engrave it!"

Hearing the displeased tone, Zhang Xuan realized he had been misunderstood and felt quite embarrassed. "I just meant the speed is too slow. Half a month... that's too long. I need it now. If you can engrave it within an hour, I can wait for a bit!"

"Too slow? An hour?"

President Zheng's face instantly turned ashen. He flicked his sleeve. "Pavilion Master Sai, is this your guest? He's not welcome here. Xiao Wu, escort them out!"

An hour?

Do you think engraving formations is as easy as eating and drinking? Simple?

Let alone a Spirit Gathering Formation, which he had never attempted, even familiar trapping or killing formations each required at least a week to engrave, demanding absolute concentration and no room for the slightest error.

Otherwise, it wouldn't succeed even in a month, let alone a week.

And that was *him* doing it personally. For a three-star formation master from the guild, engraving a single formation plate would take no less than half a month or even twenty-odd days to succeed.

This fellow... wants it done in an hour?

Are you here to amuse me, or to make a fool of me?

"Yes..." The young man who had just shown them in came forward. "Please, both of you!"

He was also quite displeased.

As a two-star formation master himself, he knew it took over a month at the very least to engrave a single formation plate. For this person to demand his teacher engrave one in an hour clearly indicated he wasn't there to buy something but to cause trouble.

"President Zheng, calm down, what are you doing?"

Pavilion Master Sai's face flushed. He hadn't expected his old friend to dismiss them after only two sentences. He quickly stepped forward. "Master Zhang simply doesn't understand much about formations. But when it comes to appraisal, he's a five-star appraiser who passed the Flowing Goblet Assessment, far surpassing my own rank!"

"A five-star appraiser?"

President Zheng was startled.

He had thought Master Zhang commanded such deference from his old friend due to his background. He never imagined he was actually a five-star appraiser!

With that status alone, he could walk unimpeded through Honghai City. No wonder his remarks were unreliable and his attitude overbearing.

"Indeed!" Pavilion Master Sai nodded.

Being a master teacher didn't mean one knew everything. Master Zhang's statement clearly showed he was an amateur when it came to formations, likely having little understanding of the profession.

His guess was correct. Although Zhang Xuan had read and memorized all the books in the Tianwu Kingdom's Formation Master Guild, that guild's level was too low, and it had little exposure to formation plates. Zhang Xuan genuinely didn't know how long it took to engrave a plate or if Spirit Gathering Formations could even be made into plates.

"I didn't know Master Zhang's identity. Please forgive my offense!"

Realizing he was a five-star appraiser, President Zheng retracted his previous stance, bowed, and clasped his fists.

While appraisers didn't necessarily focus on personal strength, their involvement with treasures could drive countless professions into a frenzy. Even as the President of the Formation Master Guild and a peak four-star formation master, he wouldn't dare easily offend one.

Furthermore, the other party was also a Master Teacher.

"You're too kind!"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand, unconcerned. After a moment's thought, he said, "Since you can't engrave a Spirit Gathering Formation plate quickly, do you have the formation flags, diagrams, and bases for a Spirit Gathering Formation? Selling a set to me would also work!"

If a formation plate wasn't an option, he could try learning about formations himself. As long as he had the diagram, along with the flags and bases, setting one up shouldn't be too difficult.

"Formation diagrams and flags? We do have those. However, unless one is an official formation master, these items are essentially useless..."

President Zheng stated.

Formations were set up by utilizing the environment. If someone knew nothing about formations, what good would a diagram and flags do for them?

If one could set up a formation with just those two things, then they, as formation masters, might as well starve to death.

"Just sell them to me, and I'll figure out how to set them up!" Knowing President Zheng's concern, Zhang Xuan said.

"This... isn't just about whether to sell them or not..."

Seeing the young man insist, President Zheng's expression grew increasingly troubled, and he couldn't help but shake his head.

Why did Pavilion Master Sai bring such an unreliable person here?

Formation flags and diagrams were no different from scrap metal in the hands of an ordinary person, and they were expensive. If one didn't know how to set up a formation, buying them would be a waste.

Moreover, while selling him the flags and bases might be acceptable, the formation diagram... that was like an alchemy formula. The guild had regulations: it was generally impossible to grant or even sell such a thing to anyone who wasn't an official formation master.

From their previous conversation, it was clear that this person knew nothing about formations.

It might be fine for such a person to buy flags and bases, but a formation diagram... wasn't that just a pipe dream?

If just anyone could come in and view or buy formation diagrams, what authority would their guild have left?

"Alright then, if you can prove that you can set up a formation and are an official formation master, I can let you view and record the formation diagram, and I can also sell you the flags and bases... If you can't do that, then let's forget it!"

President Zheng shook his head.

"If I can set up a formation, you'll sell them to me?" Zhang Xuan looked over.

"That's right!" President Zheng nodded, then frowned. "What? Is Master Zhang perhaps a formation master as well?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes.

"Please... wait a moment!"