Chapter 236: Formations
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: - -
"We can’t walk through here? Does the road belong to you?" Shen Bi Ru’s face darkened.
Zhang Xuan also turned to look at them.
Due to his pure zhenqi, even Liu shi was unable to see through his cultivation if he intentionally hid it. Naturally, these people couldn’t see through his cultivation either.
Having reached Tongxuan realm pinnacle, as long as his opponent wasn’t a Zongshi realm expert, there was no need for him to fear anyone at all. If these people intended to pick a fight with him, he didn’t mind teaching them a lesson.
However, before he could say anything, the young man had already interjected.
"What are you all doing? Sheathe your weapons! Not everything can be solved through force!"
"Yes!" Upon hearing his words, the others hurriedly sheathed their weapons.
"Please don’t be alarmed, we don’t have any evil intentions! To be honest, I am the seventh prince of Hanwu Kingdom, Yun Tao, and I am currently in the midst of my 1-star beast tamer examination. I have already passed the first trial. As long as I can tame a Pixue realm savage beast, I will pass the examination!"
Stepping forward, the young man smiled kindly.
"The reason why my men stopped you two is because the [Gold Alloyed Panther] I intend to tame is right ahead. That savage beast possesses incredible speed. We’ve tracked it for ten days already, so we intend to set a trap for it here. If you walk through now, you might alarm it. If so, our previous efforts would be in vain. So please, I hope you understand! If you two feel offended by our actions, I will be sure to compensate you both after capturing this Gold Alloyed Panther!"
"Then... we’ll wait for a while!"
Seeing the other party speaking politely to them, Shen Bi Ru glanced at Zhang Xuan, and upon seeing him nod his head, Shen Bi Ru agreed to the other party’s request.
If others were willing to speak politely, Zhang Xuan was willing to listen to their request.
Since the person explained the situation to them earnestly, Zhang Xuan didn’t mind the slight inconvenience.
In any case, he and Shen Bi Ru were exhausted after walking for an entire day, so it wouldn’t hurt to rest. At the same time, he could gather some information on the Beast Hall.
"Thank you for understanding!"
Upon seeing them relent, Yun Tao nodded his head in satisfaction. After instructing for the others to continue setting the trap, he walked over to Shen Bi Ru.
"May I know how to address the two of you?"
"I am Shen Bi Ru, this is Zhang Xuan!" Shen laoshi replied.
"Oh, so it’s Shen xiaojie. Pleased to meet you!" Yun Tao nodded his head, neglecting Zhang Xuan from the very start.
It wasn’t surprising that he would disregard Zhang Xuan. After cultivating the Heaven’s Path Golden Body, Zhang Xuan’s skin had become smooth, giving him the appearance of a seventeen-year-old teenager. Furthermore, his clothes were shabby. No matter how Yun Tao looked at him, he seemed like a mere lackey.
"May I know what affairs xiaojie has at the Beast Hall? If nothing goes wrong, I should be able to pass the beast tamer examination. If so, I will gain considerable say within the Beast Hall!" Yun Tao spoke with a confident smile.
"I appreciate Your Highness’s goodwill, but we only intend to rent an aerial savage beast, so we probably won’t need your help." Shen Bi Ru rejected his offer politely.
As the icy goddess of Hongtian Academy, she was familiar with such pickup methods. As a result, she immediately blocked his advances.
"Regardless, fate has brought us together, so there’s no need for Shen xiaojie to be so courteous with me. Without the help of a beast tamer, it will be difficult to pick out a good aerial savage beast and it could prove dangerous. How about this: after I capture the Gold Alloyed Panther and go back to the Beast Hall, I’ll help you pick out a good one!" Yun Tao said.
"No, thanks!" Shen Bi Ru turned down his offer.
"Even though the aerial savage beasts loaned by the Beast Hall are all tamed and it is unlikely for there any problems to occur, different savage beasts have different endurance levels and reaction speeds. If you don’t choose a good one and meet with the attacks of other savage beasts in midair, it is possible for mishaps to happen. Shen xiaojie, there is no need for stand on ceremony with me!"
Lightly flinging his sleeves backward, Yun Tao exuded a dashing aura. His words were filled with concern and sincerity.
Regardless of whether it was her disposition or appearance, the lady before him was the most beautiful he had ever seen. He wanted to display his superiority to move the heart of the beauty.
"This..." She intended to reject him, but upon recalling that Zhang laoshi would be riding on the savage beast, Shen Bi Ru eventually relented and nodded her head. "I’ll be troubling you then!"
"It’s no trouble. I’ve been learning for twelve years now and I am well-acquainted with all of the savage beasts in the Beast Hall, be it their habits, endurance, age, reaction speed.... I have mastered them all. Rest easy, there won’t be any problems whatsoever! If not for our fated meeting here, I wouldn’t help anyone else even if they paid me a huge sum of money...."
Upon seeing her agree, Yun Tao’s eyes lit up. "A while ago, a powerful official from your Tianxuan Kingdom tried to recruit me for my services, but I rejected his request...."
Seeing that this guy intended to show off to display his strengths and capabilities, Zhang Xuan could no longer hold back. Shaking his head helplessly, he walked over to the other people.
The trap they spoke of wasn’t just digging a pit and covering it with straw and leaves.
This kind of elementary level trap might work on wild animals, but savage beasts possessed intelligence. Not only would one be unable to capture a savage beast through such means, the savage beast might even feel offended and come and assault the trapper.
The Pixue realm cultivators who had come along with Yun Tao held several dark grey flags in their hands. After measuring the coordinates properly, they staked them into the ground.
’Is this... a formation?’ Upon seeing their actions, a thought popped into Zhang Xuan’s head.
Formation master was also one of the top occupations among the Upper Nine Paths, and their standing wasn’t inferior to the apothecary job in the least. It was one of the more popular occupations.
Even though there were some records on formations in the kingdom’s Book Collection Vault, the information on them was terse. They only spoke of the fundamentals. As for how one could set up a formation and how one activated it... there wasn’t any information at all.
After all, Tianxuan Kingdom was just a remote country on the sidelines. It didn’t even have a Formation Master Guild. As such, the information accessible to it was limited.
Even though the information detailed in the books was limited, the movements of these people were aligned with the concept of formations described in those books. As a result, Zhang Xuan was able to recognize it instantly.
According to the descriptions, once a formation was successfully laid out, a unique force field would be generated. Once triggered, it would display all kinds of unique effects.
A confinement formation would trap a person, making the target lose their sense of direction and wander aimlessly within it. A hypnotizing formation would induce illusions, leaving one’s mental state in disarray. A kill formation would destroy a person immediately with its fearsome strength.
This was the first time Zhang Xuan had seen someone set up a formation. He was full of curiosity.
"Just these few flags can trap that Gold Alloyed Panther he spoke of?"
Staring at their actions, Zhang Xuan soon realized that he was unable to comprehend anything about that formation at all and shook his head helplessly.
Just like pill forging and painting, setting up a formation was an advanced skill requiring in-depth knowledge. Putting aside perceiving the effects of the formation, Zhang Xuan didn’t even know what purpose those flags served.
"Zhang laoshi, what’s wrong?"
Suddenly, Shen Bi Ru’s voice echoed behind him. As he turned around, he saw Shen Bi Ru right behind him. She seemed to be unable to stand the other party’s narcissistic talk and came over to escape.
"I’m just curious what kind of trap they are setting up!" Zhang Xuan replied.
"It seems to be a formation. There isn’t a Formation Master Guild in Tianxuan Kingdom, and as such, we don’t have many books on formations. As a result, I don’t know too much about formations either." Shen Bi Ru also recognized it immediately.
"Indeed. For a few flags to create a powerful formation with mystical effects, it is indeed incredible!" Zhang Xuan commented.
"None of the occupations ranked among the Upper Nine Paths are simple. It is said that even a Half-Zongshi would find it difficult to escape from a formation set up by an official formation master. In fact, if they are unlucky, they might even be killed by it. Even though those guys seem to be placing the flags at random, there must be a certain logic to it!" Shen Bi Ru nodded her head.
"Yeah! I’m just checking it out!" Zhang Xuan smiled.
The topic of formations was a profound one, and without years of effort, it was impossible for one to bear any results. Since Zhang Xuan was unable to comprehend anything about it, he simply regarded it as a novelty.
"Checking it out?" Yun Tao walked over. With his head lifted high, he glanced askance at Zhang Xuan and chuckled softly, "The study of formations is profound and deep. Are you sure you can comprehend it?"
"I am an outsider who has never studied the topic, so I don’t know too much about it!" Zhang Xuan admitted. Curious, he asked, "Based on your tone, Your Highness seems to be well-versed in formations?"
"Of course!"
The edges of Yun Tao’s lips curled up and a proud expression appeared on his face. "Actually, I also study formations during my spare time and I am an apprentice formation master, so I have quite a bit of knowledge about formations."
"Apprentice formation master?"
Zhang Xuan and Shen Bi Ru stared at one another in shock.
For him to be both an apprentice beast tamer and an apprentice formation master, especially when the two occupations were of the Upper Nine Paths, Yun Tao indeed possessed the right to brag about his achievements.
"Since you don’t understand, allow me to introduce it to you two!"
Seeing the shock of the pair’s face, Yun Tao was delighted. With a smile, he raised his head proudly and explained, "The formation they are setting up is called [Green Wood Confinement Formation]. The core of the formation is based on the 36 Heavenly Spirits whereas the flags used in the formation are placed based on the 72 Earthly Fiends. Containing the element of wood, it gathers eight different attributes of spiritual energy.... Through such, the force field of the formation is formed, and once activated, it unleashes great power."
"Green Wood Confinement Formation? Just by using these small flags?"
"Indeed! These flags are just supporting equipment. Although setting up the formation is important and the coordinates of the flags must be precise, the activation of the formation is important as well. After they’re done, I will activate it. If I succeed, even though the Gold Alloyed Panther’s life won’t be at risk if it were to step into the formation, it can’t escape!"
While they were conversing, the others finished setting up the formations.
Chuckling lightly, Yun Tao stepped forward, took out a golden flag, shook it lightly, and placed it into the center of the formation.
Weng!
With a light ring, the formation seemed to have been activated. All of the formation flags seemed to have disappeared amid the greenery, making it hard to spot.
If not for Zhang Xuan witnessing the setting up of the formation personally, it would have been hard for him to believe there was a formation here.
"Incredible..."
Impressed, Zhang Xuan was about to say something when his mind jolted and a book appeared in the library.
Turning his attention to the book, the words "Green Wood Confinement Formation" were written on it.
Flipping through it, the flaws of the formation were detailed within.
"Green Wood Confinement Formation: a wood element formation. The formation flags are made from the spotted laurel plant, and the formation contains the ability of confining and restricting the target’s movements. It was created three hundred years ago by 2-star Formation Master Tao Yuan. Flaws: 17 aspects. No. 1..."
"The formation activated here is a simplified version with a total of 72 flaws. No. 1..."
After reading through the book, Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He stared at the gleeful and proud prince with a strange expression.
"Are you sure that... this formation can confine the Gold Alloyed Panther?"
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