Chapter 194

Chapter 194: The Prodigy of the Formation Tower (1)

Five hundred li east of the River Capital.

Where the Western Cloudlands meets the Central Capital, a massive spine of peaks rose like a grand dividing line.

The local name for it was the Yunling Mountain Range, a title earned because the mist draped around the peaks like an endless scarf.

Constructed from a continuous chain of jagged cliffs and sharp precipices, this landscape was defined by an abundance of unusual boulders and peculiar rocky outcrops.

Naturally, it was not the sort of place where regular wanderers would ever set foot.

What made it even more forbidden to common folk were the hundreds, even thousands, of complex, interlocking arrays deliberately spread across the entire territory.

And right there.

At the epicenter known as the Formation Eye, which acted as the heart and energy source for this entire network of arrays, rose a single solitary spire.

Constructed on an eight-sided foundation, its octagonal walls soared up to an impressive height of thirty zhang, making it perhaps the most majestic monument not only within Great Yue, but across the entire Central Plains, and maybe even the world.

It was known simply as the Formation Tower.

Every single side of the Formation Tower bore the engraved emblem of an Eight Trigram, and the entire structure throbbed with a visible current of Formation Qi, blending the wonders of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

This phenomenon occurred because the countless arrays and the mystical energy of the Formation Dao, gathered over a span of three centuries, had thoroughly saturated the stone work, reshaping the entire spire into one massive, living array.

Consequently, even if an intruder managed to unravel every single array scattered across the Yunling Mountains to arrive at this spot, they would still find themselves unable to locate the spire.

To be more precise, it would be impossible for them to even lay eyes on it.

This was due to the Bewilderment Formation woven directly into the spire itself, which completely distorted the senses of any outsider trying to look closer.

Even if someone stood directly in front of the structure, they would perceive nothing more than a rugged, empty mountain face.

Because of this, a common rumor spread among the martial artists of the Jianghu.

—The Formation Tower is there, yet it is nowhere.

Although a vast number of Formation Masters operated both in the open daylight and in the shadows across the Central Plains, not a single one could successfully journey to the Formation Tower.

Even if someone were to capture a Formation Master by force and wrench the secret location from them, who would be foolish enough to try breaking past thousands of interlocking arrays without authorization?

More importantly, what alliance or faction in the Central Plains, or anywhere else under heaven, could hope to survive after earning the enmity of the Formation Tower?

Thus, for over three hundred years, the Formation Tower endured as an entity that was real yet invisible, a force that remained entirely neutral without taking a middle ground.

And so this spire, wrapped in its blanket of mist, stayed locked in absolute stillness.

Yet.

In stark contrast to the quiet exterior of the spire, where one could hear a pin drop, the interior spaces were teeming with countless Formation Masters, all dedicating their lives to mastering the highest peaks of the array arts.

Stepping onto the ground floor, one would immediately see dozens of practitioners rushing to and fro.

In one section, returning Formation Masters were submitting paperwork to confirm they had fulfilled their assignments, while across from them, the brushes of administrative clerks organizing incoming request forms by rank moved in a ceaseless blur.

Mounted on the primary wall was an enormous Formation Board displaying a detailed map of the Central Plains, dotted with hundreds of tiny, shimmering beacons of light.

The subsequent three or four levels upward were designated as training grounds.

These expansive levels were etched with the geometric patterns of the Eight Trigrams and the Nine Palaces, where novice practitioners practiced regulating their internal Formation Qi.

Several levels above those were the Research Pavilions, vast chambers specifically built for drafting entirely new arrays and upgrading historical designs.

However.

Once a person climbed past these Research Pavilions, the number of people dwindled drastically.

The reason was that from this threshold upward, the very atmosphere underwent a fundamental transformation.

The concentration of Formation Qi grew so incredibly dense that typical practitioners found it nearly impossible to draw a comfortable breath.

As a result, these upper tiers became the private sanctuary of the senior elders and other master-level, elite Formation Masters.

Concealed within these upper levels was a chamber located on the highest floor.

The room itself was quite grand in scale.

Yet, it was almost completely devoid of furniture.

On the other hand, a massive shelving unit running the full length of one wall was crammed with arcane Formation Books and ancient scrolls, while the opposite side featured a large stone slate.

The surface of this slate was tightly covered in complex, foreign designs, and if one watched closely, the lines could be seen shifting ever so slightly.

A specialized Formation Research Stone Slate.

This was a custom instrument engineered by the occupant of the room, designed to let him immediately draft whatever array concepts entered his mind and watch them manifest in real time.

Right in the center of the floor, resting on a crimson rug, was a solitary low-built desk.

It held a scattering of unrolled manuscripts alongside a teacup that remained half-finished.

The window area, however, was quite unusual.

Or, to speak precisely, the spot where a traditional window ought to have been.

A clean square mirroring the proportions of a window frame was etched directly onto the solid masonry.

It wasn’t merely a drawing.

Contained within that square, the outer world was projected in real-time clarity.

The perpetual snowfields of Yunling, the valleys dropping away beneath the mist, and even the distant borders of the Central Plains far on the horizon.

A specialized variation of a Surveillance Formation.

An array that permitted a view of the outside world without requiring a physical opening in the wall, this too was a masterpiece designed by the room’s occupant.

A figure was standing motionless before this window that wasn’t a window.

He was middle-aged.

A man who looked to be in his early forties, possessing a remarkably sturdy and powerful build.

Yet, his facial expression was gentle, completely contrasting his imposing frame.

He had slightly downturned eyes, a gentle smile, and the refined countenance of a scholar, which perfectly complemented the closed silk fan he gripped in his hand.

As he lightly beat the fan against his palm, gazing out at the scenery visible through the ‘window’.

Crash!

The entrance slammed open with incredible force.

“Mutoe! Mutoe! Seriously, Dongmun Mutoe!”

A young lady stormed right into the chamber.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

Her cropped hair bounded with every step she took.

Her facial features were sharp and her eyes carried a piercing intensity, making for an intimidating initial impression.

Yet, upon a closer look, her petite lips and soft, rounded cheeks gave her a unexpectedly endearing appearance.

She was quite small in stature.

However, beneath her flowing tunic, the definition of lean, well-conditioned muscle was plainly visible.

One could easily deduce that, unlike the typical scholarly Formation Masters inside the tower, her proficiency in martial arts was also exceptionally deep.

“Mutoe! Where are you hiding? Show yourself!”

She scanned the perimeter of the room, then came to a sudden halt.

The individual she came to find was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a completely different person was standing in his place.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

The scholarly middle-aged man spread his silk fan and offered a gentle smile.

“Ah, greetings, Trigram Master Yan.”

“Don’t give me that. Stop acting like you own this chamber and just give me a straight answer, alright?”

“Haha. Is my presence here not for the exact same purpose as yours, Trigram Master Yan?”

Yan Bilyeong.

This woman was none other than the leader of the Gan Trigram, which commanded the Mountain Formation Division.

The middle-aged gentleman standing before her was also one of the chosen leaders.

Myo Jinheo, the commander of the Zhen Trigram, which oversaw the Thunder Formation Division.

Both individuals were highly celebrated for their talents among the Eight Trigram Heads.

“You’re here because of the brewing war between the Vast Heaven Infinite Sword Sect and the Dark Rakshasa Way as well?”

“Precisely. A full-scale feud between one of the Ten Great Sects and one of the Seven Great Demonic Sects presents an incredible business prospect for our tower, does it not?”

One of the Ten Great Sects.

One of the Seven Great Demonic Sects.

Two massive pillars of the Murim were hurtling toward an absolute, violent collision.

And a grand conflict of that scale was guaranteed to involve an immense fortune in commissions.

Even though they had not yet engaged in absolute warfare, the internal strategists of the Formation Tower had already determined that it was merely a matter of time.

Yan Bilyeong offered a brief nod and, without wasting any words, quickly inspected the contents of the study.

The book racks.

The array slate.

The low writing desk.

The half-empty cup.

The liquid inside the cup had gone completely cold a long time ago.

Though a small amount of tea rested at the very bottom, a clear ring of residue dried much higher on the porcelain proved that the occupant of the chamber had been missing for a significant duration.

Her attention quickly locked onto the desk.

An unrolled piece of parchment.

It was covered in dense, frantic handwriting.

『Eight Directions of Nothingness…….』

“It appears Leader Dongmun has cooked up another terrifying concept.”

Even without skimming past the heading, Yan Bilyeong quickly snapped her eyes back to Myo Jinheo.

“Terrifying? What do you mean by concept? It’s almost certainly another lethal hazard that will end up getting dozens or hundreds of unsuspecting Formation Masters killed, plain and simple.”

“If enough lethal hazards stand the test of time, do they not eventually earn the title of masterpieces?”

“Hmph, I have zero interest in that kind of logic.”

In reality, she wasn’t indifferent at all.

Not in the slightest.

Because the eccentric who claimed this room was universally recognized as an unmatched, once-in-a-generation genius of the array arts.

To borrow the phrasing used by the reigning Yin-Yang Guard, his talent rivaled that of the grand ancestor who first established this very Formation Tower three centuries prior.

She simply refused to give him the satisfactionChapter 194: The Prodigy of the Formation Tower (1)

A distance of five hundred li to the east of the River Capital.

Right where the Western Cloudlands met the Central Capital, a massive spine of peaks rose like a permanent boundary marker.

This was the Yunling Mountain Range, given its name because a thick blanket of fog constantly wrapped around the peaks like a heavy scarf.

Composed of a jagged sequence of sheer precipices, the territory was defined by bizarre rock formations and treacherous terrain.

Unsurprisingly, it was a place completely cut off from the wandering paths of common folk.

Furthermore, what truly ensured that ordinary humans could never trespass were the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of intricate, overlapping arrays deliberately cast across the entire region.

And there, at the very center.

Positioned precisely at the Formation Eye—the vital heart and power generator for this massive network of arrays—rose a solitary structure.

Constructed on an eight-sided foundation, its stone walls climbed to an astonishing altitude of thirty zhang, making it a monument that likely eclipsed any architecture in Great Yue, across the Central Plains, or perhaps the entire world.

It bore the name of the Formation Tower.

Every exterior wall of the Formation Tower bore a carved emblem of an Eight Trigram, and the entire monument throbbed with a visible resonance of Formation Qi, manifesting a brilliant fusion of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.

This phenomenon occurred because three centuries’ worth of arraycraft and the residual energy of the Formation Dao had thoroughly permeated the masonry, transforming the monolith into one giant, self-sustaining array.

Consequently, even if a traveler managed to unravel every single barrier scattered across the Yunling Mountains and draw near, they would remain blind to the structure’s existence.

To state it more precisely, it was physically impossible to look at it.

A specialized Bewilderment Formation woven into the fabric of the building twisted the senses of any unauthorized visitor.

Even if someone stood a mere pace away from the entrance, their eyes would register nothing but a barren, rocky cliffside.

Because of this, a common rumor traveled through the taverns of the Jianghu.

—The Formation Tower is real, yet it is a ghost.

Though innumerable practitioners of the array arts plied their trade, both openly and covertly, across the length of the Central Plains, none could independently locate the Formation Tower.

Even if someone were to capture a skilled practitioner and force the coordinates from their lips, who would be insane enough to try and penetrate a fortress protected by thousands of interlocking barriers without authorization?

More importantly, what faction could hope to endure within the Central Plains, or anywhere under heaven, once they made a mortal enemy of the Formation Tower?

Thus, for over three centuries, the Formation Tower endured as a power that was both present and absent, maintaining a state of isolation that was independent rather than merely centrist.

So it was that this tower, buried in the high mists, remained trapped in absolute stillness.

Yet.

In stark contrast to the quiet exterior of the monument, where the falling of a single leaf would sound like thunder, the interior hummed with the activity of countless array scholars, each dedicated to mastering the absolute heights of their craft.

Stepping onto the ground floor, one immediately encountered dozens of practitioners darting back and forth on various errands.

To one side, masters who had just journeyed back from the frontier were filing reports on their completed assignments, while on the opposite side, the ink-stained brushes of administrators sorting incoming project requests by importance moved without a second of rest.

Mounted on the main wall was a massive Formation Board displaying a detailed map of the entire Central Plains, dotted with hundreds of tiny, shimmering beacons of light.

The subsequent three or four levels above were dedicated entirely to instruction and practice.

These expansive chambers were carved with the geometric patterns of the Eight Trigrams and the Nine Palaces, where young apprentices practiced manipulating currents of Formation Qi across the floor.

Ascending a few more flights brought one to the Research Pavilions, vast laboratories engineered specifically for drafting completely new arrays and refining traditional designs.

However.

Once an individual climbed past these Research Pavilions, the density of people began to thin out drastically.

The reason was simple: at this elevation, the fundamental atmosphere of the building shifted.

The concentration of active Formation Qi became so dense and heavy that a novice practitioner would find themselves suffocating just trying to inhale.

Inevitably, these topmost levels became the restricted sanctuary of the clan elders and the most elite, master-tier practitioners.

Situated on the highest tier of all was a particular private chamber.

The room itself was quite large.

Yet, it was almost entirely devoid of standard furniture.

Instead, a massive bookshelf ran along the length of one entire wall, groaning under the weight of specialized manuals and ancient texts, while directly opposite stood a monumental stone tablet.

The surface of this monolith was covered in a dense web of alien glyphs, and if one watched closely, the geometric lines could be seen shifting and rearranging themselves in real time.

This was a Formation Research Stone Slate.

It was an apparatus engineered by the sole occupant of this quarters, designed so he could instantly carve whatever schematic popped into his mind and witness its immediate magical simulation.

Right in the center of the floor, resting on a crimson woven rug, was a solitary, low-sitting writing desk.

A few unrolled parchments lay scattered across its surface alongside a ceramic cup, its liquid contents only half-finished.

The most unusual feature, however, was the window.

Or, to be perfectly accurate, where a window ought to have been built.

A sharp, rectangular border the size of a standard viewport had been sketched onto the solid stone wall.

Yet it wasn’t a mere illustration.

Framed within that drawn rectangle, the exterior landscape was being broadcast in real time.

The perpetual snowfields capping the peaks of Yunling, the sprawling valleys rolling beneath the mist, and even the distant, hazy plains of the Central Plains stretching toward the horizon.

It functioned as a Surveillance Formation.

A mechanism that granted a clear view of the outside world without breaking the solid stone wall, this too was a product of the room owner’s intellect.

A single individual stood observing that magical aperture.

A middle-aged man.

He looked to be in his early forties, possessing a framework that was notably broad and sturdy.

Despite his powerful build, however, his overall demeanor was remarkably gentle.

He had slightly downturned eyelids, a kind, easygoing grin, and the refined countenance of an academic, which perfectly matched the silk folding fan he held in his hand.

He was rhythmically tapping the closed fan against his palm, tracking the shifting clouds outside the illusionary viewpoint.

Thud!

The heavy wooden door was slammed open with immense force.

“Mutoe! Mutoe! Hey, Dongmun Mutoe!”

A young woman came charging into the private quarters.

She appeared to be in her mid-twenties.

Her cropped hair bounced sharply with every stride she took.

Her facial features were striking and her gaze carried an intense fire, leaving a very sharp initial impression.

Yet, a closer inspection revealed small lips and soft, rounded cheeks that gave her a surprisingly endearing appearance.

She was relatively petite.

Nonetheless, beneath the fabric of her scholarly robes, the outlines of lean, highly trained musculature were faintly discernible.

Any observer could guess that, unlike the typical bookish scholars filling the lower levels, her personal combat prowess was exceptional.

“Mutoe! Where have you hidden yourself? Show your face!”

Her eyes swept across the chamber, then suddenly locked in place.

The man she was searching for was nowhere to be seen.

In his stead stood a completely different individual she hadn’t anticipated encountering.

“Huh? What are you doing in here?”

The scholarly middle-aged man snapped open his silk fan and offered a placid grin.

“Ah, greetings, Trigram Master Yan.”

“Cut the act. Don’t play the host in someone else’s office and just give me a straight answer, alright?”

“Haha. Is it not obvious that I am here for the exact same reason as Trigram Master Yan?”

Yan Bilyeong.

This woman was none other than the commanding authority of the Gan Trigram, which oversaw the Mountain Formation Division.

The middle-aged man standing before her held an identical rank within the hierarchy.

Myo Jinheo, leader of the Zhen Trigram, presiding over the Thunder Formation Division.

Both individuals were celebrated across the realm for their supreme mastery among the Eight Trigram Heads.

“You’ve come poking around because of the brewing war between the Vast Heaven Infinite Sword Sect and the Dark Rakshasa Way as well?”

“Precisely. A full-scale confrontation between one of the prominent Ten Great Sects and a faction from the Seven Great Demonic Sects presents an extraordinary financial prospect for our order, does it not?”

One of the Ten Great Sects.

One of the Seven Great Demonic Sects.

Two titanic forces of the Murim were hurtling toward an absolute clash.

And a mobilization of that scale always promised an ocean of profit for those who supplied the defenses.

Though the opening salvos hadn’t officially been fired, the strategic analysts within the Formation Tower had already determined that total war was inevitable.

Yan Bilyeong offered a curt nod, suppressing further commentary as her sharp eyes began to rapidly inspect the desk and surroundings.

The towering shelves.

The moving glyphs on the stone tablet.

The low wooden desk.

The forgotten, half-empty teacup.

The liquid remaining in the cup had lost its warmth hours ago.

While a small pool of dark liquid sat at the very bottom, a prominent, ringed stain much higher up the ceramic wall proved that the occupant of the room had abandoned the chamber a long while ago.

Her focus quickly anchored onto the writing desk itself.

A freshly unrolled manuscript caught her eye.

The parchment was packed with meticulous, tightly wound handwriting.

『Eight Directions of Nothingness…….』

“It appears Head Dongmun has engineered yet another terrifying concept.”

Without even skimming past the opening line, Yan Bilyeong snapped her head back toward Myo Jinheo.

“Terrifying? More like disastrous. It is bound to be another unstable contraption that ends up getting dozens or hundreds of unsuspecting practitioners killed in the field, just like the last ones.”

“When enough disastrous concepts are refined, do they not eventually transform into immortal masterpieces?”

“Keep your philosophy. I have zero appetite for that brand of genius.”

In reality, she was deeply intrigued.

Extremely so.

Because the eccentric who owned this room was globally recognized as an unparalleled, once-in-a-generation master of array theory.

To employ a phrase often used by the reigning Yin-Yang Guard, his raw talent rivaled that of the ancient patriarch who established the foundation of this very Formation Tower three centuries ago.

She simply detested giving him the satisfaction of her praise.

Though she hadn’t verified the details, that Eight Directions of Nothingness manuscript she had just glimpsed was almost certainly a theoretical array of an absolutely unhinged caliber.

After all, the man was nothing less than a brilliant psychopath.

Clack, clack.

Yan Bilyeong used a fingernail to rap against the rim of the cold teacup a few times before pressing her inquiry.

“Do you have any actual clue where that lunatic ran off to?”

“I managed to pick up a few rumors from the lower halls.”

“Speak up. Where is he?”

“The word around the scriptorium is that he departed the mountain for a bit of personal ‘entertainment’.”

“Entertainment… you say?”

Myo Jinheo suddenly let out a soft, amused chuckle.

Yan Bilyeong’s brow twitched with irritation at his expression.

“Hey, what is with that unsettling grin, you freak?”

Myo Jinheo cleared his throat hastily, snapping his silk fan shut to conceal the lower half of his face.

“Ah, forgive my lapse in manners. The irony of the situation simply caught my amusement. Though, addressing me as a freak is rather harsh, is it not? We are equals within the order, after all.”

“It is precisely because we hold the same rank that I can speak bluntly. It’s not like I can walk up to the Yin-Yang Guard and call him a freak to his face, can I?”

“Hehe. Well, your logic is difficult to argue with.”

Myo Jinheo conceded with a quiet laugh, lowering his fan once more as he focused his gaze back onto Yan Bilyeong.

“I understand that a few bureaucrats in the lower offices committed a rather egregious blunder.”

“Hmm? What kind of blunder?”

“Ah, it appears a couple of clerks on the Request Grading Committee managed to mistake the premium platinum badge pinned to Head Dongmun’s cloak for common silver.”

“Huh?”

To an untrained or hurried eye, silver and platinum share a superficially similar sheen.

However, if one pauses to inspect the metal, the sheer weight, color depth, and radiant luster are completely distinct.

For an official council tasked specifically with categorizing the difficulty of incoming missions to commit such a sloppy oversight was an embarrassment. It didn’t matter that Dongmun Mutoe routinely skipped public assemblies citing poor health.

How could anyone working in the bureaucracy fail to identify the countenance of a sitting division Head?

Yan Bilyeong’s jaw dropped slightly in sheer astonishment, and she pressed for clarification.

“No… tell me you’re joking. Dongmun Mutoe, of all people—it can’t be true. You aren’t implying that he actually signed a Silver Formation Contract and left?”

“Relax. It was nothing of the sort.”

Hoo-.

Yan Bilyeong exhaled a long breath of relief, finally relaxing her tense jaw.

Indeed, regardless of how unpredictable or unhinged Dongmun Mutoe could be, his pride as a division Head would never permit him to accept a lowly Silver Formation Contract.

“Thank goodness. In that case, I need to track him down before he gets too far.”

Before she could finish her thought, Yan Bilyeong’s eyes wandered back down to the exposed manuscript on the desk.

『Eight Directions Avici Prison—A Preliminary Treatise on Multi-Layered Spatial Arrays Utilizing the Mechanics of the Grand Ultimate Returning to One』

The document was, naturally, the latest breakthrough research drafted by the master of this private sanctum, Dongmun Mutoe.

『An array is fundamentally the forceful restructuring of physical space achieved by manipulating the cosmic laws of the heavens and the earth.

A singular array isolated by itself can only channel a singular cosmic law, meaning its ultimate destructive capability remains restricted.

However, what occurs if one forces entirely diametric laws to coexist within a solitary geometric boundary?

Water and Fire exist in absolute, natural opposition, yet they are bound together by the medium of Qi.

The precise millisecond where Extreme Cold and Scorching Heat violently intersect, the physical vessel of the target cannot resolve the paradox and utterly vaporizes.

This phenomenon is designated as the Primary Law, ‘The Collision of Opposing Extremes’……』

“We need to catch him before he locks himself in some valley and starts testing another one of these unstable, unfinished arrays on the landscape.”

She tore her gaze away from the text, looking back up at Myo Jinheo.

“Regardless, an operation of this scale is going to demand the cooperation of at least four division Heads, so consider yourself drafted. Understood?”

Myo Jinheo slowly shook his head, his lips curving into a highly enigmatic smile.

“My involvement is guaranteed, of course… however, searching for him within the perimeter of the Formation Tower right now is an exercise in futility.”

“Why? You just stated that he didn’t leave the mountain for a Silver Formation Contract, didn’t you?”

“That remains entirely true.”

“…?”

Staring at the tilted head and utterly bewildered expression of Yan Bilyeong, Myo Jinheo dropped the truth with a casual shrug.

“A Bronze Formation Contract.”

“…What?”

“Hahaha. Dongmun Mutoe. To put it plainly, Head Dongmun grabbed a common Bronze Formation Contract from the board and gleefully ran out the gates to fulfill it.”

Myo Jinheo’s highly amused eyes drifted down, settling exactly on the concluding paragraph of the exposed manuscript.

『The aforementioned four primary laws are woven simultaneously within the geometric framework of the Eight Trigrams.

Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li anchor the four cardinal directions.

Zhen, Xun, Gen, and Dui anchor the four intercardinal directions.

From eight separate trajectories, eight distinct layers of spatial arrays tighten concurrently.

Escape is mathematically impossible.

This construct is named the Eight Directions Avici Prison.

No dispensation for survival is granted to any entity trapped within its borders.

Not even an ascended Immortal can bypass it.』

“If your assessment of his habits holds true, Trigram Master Yan, he is likely at this very moment reducing some poor territory to ash using those unstable, unfinished equations. Hahaha.”

At the absolute bottom of the parchment, a brief addendum had been scrawled in an aggressive, jagged handwriting.

『Note: This particular attribute represents both the design’s greatest achievement and its primary defect. Because the geometry cannot be dissolved once activated, any environment where the array is triggered will be permanently transformed into a barren wasteland.』