Chapter 505: Autonomous Activation, The Formation Array Has Spirit

He had just finished saying that spiritual agitation was rare and could become a legendary tale, when *boom*, the saber started acting up too. Did it have to be so quick?

You're spirit weapons! You have your own spiritual essence, your own dignity; you're supposed to be untamed and subservient to no one... When did you become so agreeable?

If you were truly this agreeable, why did my five years of meticulous care—wiping you daily, nurturing you with true qi—do absolutely nothing?

President Zheng's head was spinning, and just as he was about to speak again, he saw Master Zhang, directly in front of him, flick his wrist. A burst of saber energy shot from the blade, and then the great saber swung down, striking the formation disk before them.

"Watch out..." Startled, President Zheng fell silent, his warning unfinished.

He watched as the magnificent saber energy didn't shatter the formation disk; instead, it merely touched it, leaving behind intricate lines. He was actually using a saber... to engrave formation runes!

Never mind that many Mortal Transcension experts hadn't comprehended even one intent, and he had comprehended two... Just the sight before him was enough to drive him insane.

Swordsmanship is light and nimble, so using a sword instead of a carving knife to engrave a formation disk simply demonstrates incredible control—I can accept that... But saber techniques are heavy, especially with this Nine-Ringed Saber, which surely weighs tens of kilograms. An ordinary person would struggle just to lift it, yet he's using it to carve formation runes... How did he possibly manage that?

Can formation runes even be carved like this? His vision blurred, and President Zheng's body trembled.

He had studied formations for over eighty years and always considered his talent quite good, his skill in engraving formation disks far surpassing others. Only after witnessing the other person's actions did he realize how utterly wrong he had been.

Can immense talent really allow someone to carve formation runes with a sword? Or hack out a formation disk with a great saber? Absolutely not! This was simply unimaginable.

*Clink, clink, clink!* As the great saber made contact with the formation disk, more and more intricate lines began to appear, growing denser on the previously mirror-smooth surface.

Just as President Zheng assumed the other party would finish the engraving in a single powerful effort, he watched him toss aside the long saber, wipe the sweat from his brow, and look over with an expectant gaze: "Does anyone here have a spear?"

"..." The crowd was speechless. A moment later, they watched the young man, spear in hand, stand four meters away and repeatedly thrust it at the formation disk mounted on the wall.

*Thump, thump, thump!* The spear light swept across; each thrust, just like the earlier saber and sword, left behind formation runes...

Clasping their chests, President Zheng and Wang Haoxun exchanged bewildered glances. They, when using carving knives, were terrified of making even the slightest mistake. But this guy used a sword, then a saber, and now, even a spear! If he still couldn't engrave it, would he perhaps pull out a sledgehammer next?

Others treated engraving a formation disk like creating a delicate work of art or porcelain, fearing that too much force would shatter it. But he treated it like blacksmithing, daring to use any weapon he could get his hands on... Witnessing it firsthand, they all thought he was utterly mad.

Some clutched their chests, others covered their mouths, while Zhang Xuan remained in a state of intense concentration. Though using the true intent of three different weapons consecutively had pushed him to the brink of exhaustion, almost making him vomit blood, the formation disk before him was finally nearing completion.

"The last stroke..." His eyes gleamed as he flicked the spear in his hand, drawing a graceful arc before thrusting it directly into the center of the formation disk. *Boom!* The immense force from the spear landed with a thunderous roar. The wall behind the formation disk could no longer withstand the impact, crumbling down to reveal a large hole.

He had secured the formation disk to the wall for engraving; the disk itself was sturdy and wouldn't be damaged. The wall, however, was a different story. Even though the Formation Master Guild was constructed from the finest azure steel rock, it couldn't withstand the savage power of both saber and sword! The long corridor, designed for testing formation masters, collapsed in a resounding crash, sending dust flying and filling the entire room with debris.

"Cough, cough..." His face covered in dust, President Zheng's lips twitched as he stared at the ruins. "Are you here to be tested as a formation master, or to demolish the building? First, you disabled the guild's grand formation, and now, even better, you haven't spared the walls... What on earth is going on? What deep-seated grudge do you have against our Formation Master Guild?"

"The formation disk isn't damaged, is it?" Pavilion Master Sai approached. Everyone else also looked over in unison. With continuous force capable of collapsing a building, surely the formation disk wasn't intact?

"I don't know either!" Zhang Xuan scratched his head, then quickly stepped forward to retrieve the disk from beneath the dust. He wasn't being modest; he genuinely wasn't certain.

Under normal circumstances, that final spear thrust, carving the last formation rune, would indeed have perfectly completed the formation diagram. However, the collapse of the wall was entirely unforeseen. Because of this, the full power of that final thrust wasn't utilized, making it difficult to say whether the formation diagram had achieved its intended effect.

He lowered his head to examine it. On the formation disk's mirror-smooth surface, lines of varying depth had appeared. They resembled bagua trigrams yet also seemed to contain the fundamental truths of the universe, causing anyone who looked at them to feel continuously dizzy.

"How is it?" President Zheng also stepped forward. A formation disk's quality is hard to discern without activating it; from the patterns alone, even he couldn't judge its effectiveness. "Let's try it!" Zhang Xuan suggested.

Understanding this, he pressed his palm onto the disk and immediately channeled true qi into it. *Whoosh!* But there was no reaction whatsoever.

"Failed?" Everyone's face turned pale. A properly engraved formation disk would activate instantly upon true qi infusion. This one showed no reaction, meaning... it hadn't succeeded! The entire guild possessed only this one blank Level-5 formation disk, and after all that chaotic effort with swords, sabers, and spears, it had failed... Everyone looked at Zhang Xuan with profound sympathy.

"Sabers and swords are weapons; their power is far too fierce. Although you managed to control the force, using them to engrave a formation disk is still highly improper..." Wang Haoxun couldn't help but interject. "There are specific methods for engraving formation disks. Since everyone uses carving knives, there must be a good reason. Spears and swords, no matter how precisely their power is controlled, are still sharp instruments and can inflict significant damage on the formation disk itself. So, failure is quite understandable."

Before he finished speaking, President Zheng shook his head. "No, that's incorrect. If it hadn't succeeded, the formation disk should have shattered. But this object is perfectly smooth and intact, its aura flowing smoothly. It clearly hasn't suffered any damage!"

"Huh?" Wang Haoxun froze. The other party was right. Engraving a grand formation onto a palm-sized disk involved immense forces; even a single mistake would cause it to crumble into fragments. Yet, this one, despite being unactivatable, had clear patterns, and true qi flowed within it without any issue. What was happening? If it had succeeded, why couldn't it be activated? If it hadn't, how could it be perfectly preserved and unbroken?

"Could the formation have been carved incorrectly? Perhaps it lacks the spirit-gathering effect, which is why the disk remained intact?" Wang Haoxun speculated. "Carved incorrectly? Impossible!" Zhang Xuan shook his head gravely. He had followed the formation diagram strictly, even incorporating the Heavenly Dao formation engraving method. Even if there was a slight error with the last spear thrust, it couldn't be this far off, could it?

Just as he was about to use the Library of Heaven's Path to check what was going on, he saw Pavilion Master Sai approach from the side, his lips trembling. "May I... take a look?" "Here!" Zhang Xuan said, feeling a little puzzled by his agitated demeanor, and casually handed it over.

Although he himself was a five-star appraiser with the aid of the Library, his understanding of treasures genuinely paled in comparison to the man before him. Pavilion Master Sai had been immersed in appraisal for decades; while he might not know much about engraving formation diagrams, he could certainly tell if this diagram had any flaws or if it was truly valuable.

The formation disk landed in his palm. Before Pavilion Master Sai could even examine it closely, he felt his hand go empty. The object emitted a faint chime and flew back into Zhang Xuan's arms.

"Just as I thought... just as I thought!" His face flushed crimson, and Pavilion Master Sai trembled uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Seeing his agitated reaction, as if he had made a major discovery, President Zheng could no longer hold back and quickly asked. "Did the formation disk fail?" Wang Haoxun also chimed in.

"Failed?" Taking a deep breath, Pavilion Master Sai calmed himself and shook his head. "How can that be!" "Then..." Everyone blinked, even Zhang Xuan was puzzled. If it had succeeded, why couldn't it be activated with true qi?

"The moment this formation disk landed in my palm, it automatically left. Didn't you all notice that?" Pavilion Master Sai exclaimed, brimming with excitement. "This... this is clearly a manifestation of spiritual essence! It sensed I wasn't suitable, so it left on its own..."

"Spiritual essence? You mean...? Th-th-this..." President Zheng finally reacted after repeating "this" three times. His eyes widened, his body rigid, as if he had seen a ghost, nearly scaring him to death. "This is... an ability only Level-6 formation disks possess! This is merely a Level-5 formation disk; how could it possibly do that!"

"A formation disk has spiritual essence?" Wang Haoxun also trembled uncontrollably, hastily looking at the disk in Zhang Xuan's hand. The more he looked, the paler his face became, appearing as if he might lose his mind at any moment from sheer disbelief.

"What... what's wrong?" Seeing the frantic reactions of the others, Zhang Xuan looked over, his face etched with confusion. Although he had absorbed all the books from the Formation Master Guild and even learned the Heavenly Dao formations, his knowledge wasn't yet fully integrated, and there were still many things he didn't understand.

"This... this formation disk has developed spiritual essence!" President Zheng stammered. "Spiritual essence? Yes, it has spiritual essence. What's the difference...?" Zhang Xuan nodded. He hadn't noticed until it was pointed out, but now he truly saw it. This formation disk, just like the Jade Abode Sword and the long saber before it, had developed its own independent spiritual essence. He simply hadn't paid attention when it was just completed, so it hadn't yet recognized him as its master.

"An ordinary formation disk, constrained by its engraving area, cannot fully integrate with its environment," President Zheng explained, still trembling, seeing Zhang Xuan's confusion. "Its power is only about half that of a normal grand formation. If the engraver's skill is low, it might not even be able to exert half of that power." Zhang Xuan nodded. He had already learned this characteristic of formation disks from his previous reading; it was nothing surprising.

"However... that applies only to ordinary formation disks," President Zheng continued, his face pale and his voice trembling, "but a type that develops spiritual essence within it... is entirely different! A formation disk with spiritual essence can not only unleash ninety percent of a grand formation's power, but it can also grow autonomously over time, allowing its power to... continuously increase!"

"It can even... activate on its own without needing true qi!"