The Flame Yang Domain.
This was a space awash with crimson flames.
At the bottom of this space was a giant Earthfire geyser from which flames shot out like erupting lava. Surrounding this geyser were countless Fire Element crystals, flashing as they floated in the air.
Above the geyser was a giant cauldron upon which countless formation lines had been carved, all of them flowing with a radiant energy. Twelve thick scarlet chains spread out of the cauldron, each one ablaze with flames. And at the ends of the chains was a black fog…
“This is the core nexus of my Flame Yang Formation. It uses the primary vein of my Great Sun Sect’s fire geyser as its core and twelve more Earthfire veins as its support. There are 1,342 formations in all, in combination, overlapping, or within other formations, covering the entire mountain. All of this is used to manifest the power of the sun to resist the black fog and ensure the safety of the domain.”
Not far from the cauldron, an elder of the Great Sun Sect was speaking with pride.
This man was Yi Hong, the elder of the Great Sun Sect’s Formation Hall. It was under his leadership that the Flame Yang Formation had been created. Since Tang Jie had come with the purpose of reinforcing the formation, Tang Jie was essentially claiming that his formation mastery was higher than Yi Hong’s. He was naturally unconvinced, so when introducing the formation, he emphasized its scale and technique.
After the introduction, he added, “If there is anything lacking, Young Master Tang, please instruct me.”
He inwardly snorted, He’s just a brat who broke through the guardian formation. Does he really think he can surpass this one when it comes to formations?
What?
Yi Hong trembled in anger, almost breaking out in curses, but a thousand years of cultivation had given him enough composure to restrain himself to a grunt. “Young Master Tang, please instruct this old man: where is this old man’s formation crude, and how is the line of thought narrow-minded?”
Tang Jie casually explained, “The Dao of Formations is about mixing Yin and Yang, reversing the Five Elements, using all things in the world to bring about a change in the world. Thus, a flower, a blade of grass, a grain of sand, or a pebble can all become formations. There is no need to focus only on rare materials. Elder Yi’s formation utilizes 1,342 smaller formations, and while it seems to be a complex web of connections, it is limited only to materials, making no use of the environment and space. This is a formation art, not a formation Dao. This is why I call it simple and crude.”
Yi Hong was speechless.
Tang Jie argued that all things in the world contained the Dao, and a truly profound formation was one that could use even the most ordinary part of one’s surroundings, granting meaning to all things. This was the Dao of Formations.
Yi Hong also understood this principle, so if this was the standard used, Yi Hong had to admit that the Flame Yang Formation was simple and crude. But just as Tang Jie said, this was the Dao, the Dao of Formations!
The Dao of Formations was under Truth. And who could reach this level in formations without first comprehending Truth? And were Great Daos so easy to comprehend? This Tang Jie was clearly being unrealistic.
Thinking this, Yi Hong said, “So how would Young Master Tang do it? I would like to see.”
Without a word, Tang Jie went up to a small formation and thrust out a finger.
Everyone was aghast, worried that he would break the formation. But Yuan Tianzhong saw that Tang Jie was brimming with confidence, so he stopped the others from intervening. Tang Jie’s finger landed on the side of the formation, and with this strike, a large number of formation lines around the formation lit up. Tang Jie continued to thrust his finger here and there, his hand moving so quickly that it seemed like a blur.
Tang Jie didn’t attempt to hide his movements in any way, so everyone could see, but none of them could understand. Only Elder Yi could tell that Tang Jie was altering the structure of the formation.
This was a small rotation formation. It was in the Rest Gate of the Flame Yang Formation and assisted in the operation of the formation.
While modifying this formation wasn’t easy, it also wasn’t hugely difficult. The real difficulty lay in the fact that this formation was embedded in the Flame Yang Formation and was working alongside others. It was easy to move a loose brick, but not one that was part of a wall.
Yet this was what Tang Jie was doing. Without touching any of the other formations, he was modifying the small rotation formation. While it remained the same kind of formation, Elder Yi could sense its functions growing stronger and stronger.
Most shocking of all was that Tang Jie was doing this without any kind of material. All he was doing was altering the formation slightly so that it was more in tune with the surrounding environment. This alone exhibited a mastery of formations far higher than Elder Yi’s.
Elder Yi started to shake.
The others didn’t understand what Tang Jie was doing, but they could see Elder Yi’s reaction. They saw him go from doubt and dissatisfaction to anger, and then to shock, and finally to admiration. This was enough to tell them that Tang Jie was a master of formations.
Tang Jie drew back his hand, having thoroughly transformed the formation. The light faded, and all became calm, but the shift in energy was such that even those not in the field could tell the difference.
Yuan Tianzhong’s eyes flashed, and he bowed to Tang Jie. “Young Master Tang truly is a formation master. With Young Master here, my Flame Yang Domain is saved.
Surprisingly, Tang Jie shook his head. “I can modify the formation, but this can only boost the power of the formation by around thirty percent.”
One person singlehandedly boosting a formation by thirty percent was incredible enough, and they were elated.
But Tang Jie continued, “Unfortunately, even this is not enough to stop the Nether Domain’s ghost fog.”
“Why?” everyone asked in unison.
Tang Jie explained, “While a mountain-encompassing formation powered by thirteen Earthfire veins sounds impressive, you have to realize what you’re dealing with. If this were an ordinary enemy, or even an Immortal, this arrangement would be fine. But what does the Flame Yang Formation have to deal with? The Nether Domain! The Nether Domain’s ghost fog originates from the Nine Nethers River of the Yellow Springs, the primordial strength of the Nether Domain. The entire Flame Yang Domain is nothing more than a plank of wood in the ocean when compared to the Nether Domain, so what can one mountain and thirteen Earthfire veins do?”
Yi Hong and the others fell silent.
Indeed, no matter how big the Flame Yang Formation was, could it be bigger than the Nether Domain?
Someone protested, “So is Young Master saying that even if the entire Flame Yang Domain were turned into a formation, it can’t stop the ghost fog?”
Tang Jie nodded. “That’s always been the case. When it comes to the source of power, the Flame Yang Formation could never compare to the ghost fog. So let alone thirty percent, even boosting it by three hundred percent would be pointless.”
“Then aren’t you saying that the Flame Yang Formation can never hold?”
“That’s how it’s always been,” Tang Jie replied. “No matter how the Flame Yang Formation is set up, it can never stop the ghost fog.”
“What did you say?”
“Then aren’t we dying in vain?”
“Then what did you come here for?”
Everyone began to bicker and complain.
Tang Jie casually replied, “I didn’t say that not being able to stop it meant death.”
Yuan Tianzhong got what he was saying. “I’m guessing that Young Master Tang means to say that the Nether Domain’s ghost fog can never be stopped, but we don’t need to stop it, just delay it. If we delay long enough, the Nine Nethers River’s power will retreat, at which point the Flame Yang Domain will be safe.”
Tang Jie clapped his hands and laughed. “Ah, as expected, it’s Sect Master Yuan who understands me. While the Nether Domain’s power is vast, the Yellow Springs geyser cannot last forever. This is why everyone should be thinking about how to best delay the ghost fog, not completely stop it. A change of thought will change the methods. Elder Yi made a fundamental error, always thinking about how to stop the ghost fog, not realizing that the ghost fog can’t be stopped. While the power of the sun is strong, even if you threw the entire sun into the Nether Domain, it would still eventually be corrupted. How can the power of a mere sun compare to the Nether Domain? Thus, the best method is not to resist, but to guide. Better to drain the rivers than to dam them. If it were me, I would set up a flow-altering formation that would guide the ghost fog straight into the endless void. While this won’t stop the Nether Domain invasion, it will greatly slow the spread of the ghost fog, buying humanity more time.”
Everyone’s eyes were opened. Tang Jie was right. The right way to deal with an unstoppable force wasn’t to try and push it back, but to guide it away. Tang Jie was completely right to call the line of thought behind the formation narrow-minded.
Elder Yi blushed in shame.
A flow-altering formation was truly more suitable than the Flame Yang Formation for buying time, but only now did he understand.
He was already convinced of Tang Jie’s formation mastery, and Tang Jie’s observation had completely conquered him. He sincerely said, “Young Master is correct. This old man did not think things through.”
“Senior cannot be blamed,” Tang Jie said, giving some face to Elder Yi. “Urgent crises sometimes do not give us time to think, and making a formation from nothing will inevitably lead to flaws. As an outsider only looking for mistakes, I naturally have a much easier time. In truth, even if I did it myself, I might not do much better than Elder Yi. This one’s words were overly sharp and rude, so please forgive me.”
Elder Yi waved his hand and chuckled. “It’s no problem, no problem at all.”
While Tang Jie had pointed out many problems of the Flame Yang Formation, he had proved with his strength in the Dao of Formations that he had the right to speak this way. Besides that, he had known restraint and given Elder Yi some face.
Yuan Tianzhong asked, “If that’s the case, can we add a flow-altering formation to the basis of the Flame Yang Formation to guide away the fog?”
Tang Jie replied, “How many more resources do you have?”