Chapter 101: Challenging the Ten Formations Pagoda

“Senior, I want to challenge the Ten Formations Pagoda. Is there anything to take note of?” Su Zimo came to the elder and asked respectfully.

Although Su Zimo had stayed at Array Peak for three months, this was his first time coming to the Ten Formations Pagoda.

The elder paused for a while on Su Zimo’s face. He sized him up and asked, “You look very unfamiliar. You’re not a disciple of my Array Peak, are you?”

“I’m from Weapon Peak,” Su Zimo nodded.

“Oh.”

The elder replied casually. He looked at the sect badge on Su Zimo’s waist and passed him a wooden badge, saying in a deep voice, “Take this badge. If you can’t hold it or encounter danger inside, break this badge immediately. You will be transported out safely.”

“There are dangers to be encountered within the Ten Formations Pagoda?” Su Zimo was slightly stunned.

The elder explained patiently, “Level 1 of the Ten Formations Pagoda is very simple. As long as you set up a supplementary formation, you can reach Level 2. Level 2 is an illusion formation and the type of illusion is random. You will need to dispel the formation to reach Level 3.”

“Level 3 is a trap formation. Once you clear the trap formation, you will be able to see the entrance to the Level 4, the killing array. It is extremely dangerous inside and if you aren’t careful, you might lose your life. If you can’t crack it, don’t force yourself. Crush this badge.”

“Level 5 is a combination formation consisting of two of either a trap, illusion or killing formation. You can only be considered as an Elementary Array Formation Master after dispelling the formation. With that, you can ascend to Level 6.”

With a rough understanding of the Ten Formations Pagoda now, Su Zimo bowed and expressed his thanks before entering the pagoda.

Looking at Su Zimo’s back view, the elder smiled and mumbled to himself, “It’s rare for disciples of Weapon Peak to come and try to clear the Ten Formations Pagoda. I wonder how many levels that lad can clear. Perhaps two?”

“Su Zimo. Hmm… that’s quite a familiar name. I seem to have heard it before somewhere.”

Murmuring softly, the elder shook his head and did not think much about it.

After all, there were many disciples challenging the Ten Formations Pagoda on a daily basis and he only paid attention to some of the more outstanding ones from Array Peak.

Ten Formations Pagoda, Level 1.

This was a slightly spacious room that was empty.

The floor was a little strange – it was soft with some elasticity.

Surrounded by four walls, the door behind Su Zimo slammed shut the moment he entered and the entrance to Level 2 was not in sight.

Su Zimo thought for a moment and understood.

The entrance to Level 2 would only appear if he laid out a supplementary formation on the ground.

He did not hesitate as a stream of spirit qi shot out from his fingertips. Squatting down, he drew on the ground carefully.

He was drawing a soundproof formation.

Inside, no one could hear any noise made from the outside.

This was the first formation that Su Zimo learnt and his motive was to isolate little crane’s chirping.

While drawing a formation pattern, one had to focus intently without any distractions or deviations.

Even the slightest deviation of the formation pattern would result in a failed formation that could not be activated.

This was a test of a cultivator’s patience and conscientiousness towards details! The better they were, the more perfect things would be!

Array Formation Masters were all meticulous people.

If the setting up of a formation was seen as a game of chess, the Array Formation Master would be the player.

A chess game was unpredictable and a single misstep could lead to a loss.

For Array Formation Masters, any mistakes in their spirit patterns would render their previous efforts wasted.

The soundproof formation was relatively simple and its patterns were not complex as well. Before long, Su Zimo had drawn the formation on the ground.

A spirit stone was placed in the eye of the formation as it shone brightly on the ground.

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The soundproof formation was activated!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

At the same time, a stone door appeared on a wall in the south, revealing a stone staircase made of granite that led to Level 2.

The soundproof formation that Su Zimo had just drawn on the ground slowly disappeared as well as the ground returned to normalcy while the spirit stone he placed in the eye rebounded to him.

“What an ingenious set up.”

Chuckling, Su Zimo picked up the spirit stone and headed to Level 2.

The moment he entered Level 2, his body broke into a shudder.

He was faced with a towering mountain covered in clouds and surrounded by water and greenery. There was a magnificent palace that looked like a paradise.

Su Zimo realized that he had entered an illusionary formation.

From Level 2 on, the disciple’s ability to dispel formations would be tested.

The principle of dispelling formations was simple – one had to locate the core of the formation, also known as the formation eye.

The higher the grade of the formation, the more formation eyes there were.

Grade 1 formations only contained a single formation eye.

Grade 2 formations had two.

If one wanted to dispel a Grade 2 formation, it wasn’t enough to merely locate one formation eye. They had to find and destroy both in order to dispel the formation.

Even though it sounded simple, a formation eye was difficult to locate within the formation.

Take the illusion formation before Su Zimo for example. The eye could be a simple blade of grass, a cloud floating above, a stone on the mountain or even a fish swimming within the river…

A formation contained a world within itself.

If it was someone who knew nothing about formations, they might not be able to locate and destroy the formation eye within its parallel world even if they spent their entire life and effort.

However, Array Formation Masters could locate the formation eye based on their understanding of formations and guts alongside logical analysis.

One thing was certain – formation eyes were definitely far from ordinary.

Even if they may look to be normal, careful analysis would uncover their unusualness.

Brilliant Array Formation Masters would make sure to conceal their formation eyes so carefully that it would be difficult to detect.

…

Right as Su Zimo entered Level 2 of Ten Formations Pagoda, a group of disciples from Array Peak were headed towards it.

The leader amongst them wore black robes, looking cold and cool. His eyes were indifferent with his hands behind his back. Even though he was only at Level 9 Qi Condensation, he had an air of superiority.

This was Zhong Wen. A publicly recognized talent amongst the trial disciples and a genius of the sect, he was the top of Array Peak and was already an Elementary Array Formation Master. He was currently stuck at Level 7 of the Ten Formations Pagoda.

Today, he came to challenge the Ten Formations Pagoda again to see if he could clear Level 7.

Even if he couldn’t, he wanted to break the record of his previous clear time of Level 6.

Knowing that Zhong Wen was here to challenge the pagoda today, many disciples from Array Peak came to watch and surrounded him.

“Senior Brother Zhong, I wish you success this time! Be the first person in the history of our sect to clear Level 7!

“Senior Brother Zhong is a Level 9 Qi Refinement Warrior right now and he still has many chances before entering Foundation Establishment. Who knows, he might even be able to clear Level 8 in the future.”

Many disciples of Array Peak complimented him.

Zhong Wen was only in his twenties. Even though he seemed mature, he definitely felt gleeful upon hearing those words.

No matter what, it was a proud accomplishment for anyone to be the top of any one of the five peaks.

His gaze lingered on the stele at the right of the Ten Formations Pagoda, pride flashing through his eyes.