https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-428-Country-Folk-Broaden-Their-Horizons/12554635/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-430-Shen-Yi-the-Heart-Shattering-Sect-Master/12554637/
Chapter 429: The Heart of Yin Yang
Chapter 429: The Heart of Yin Yang
Within the grand hall, Elder Yang sat atop a meditation cushion, his sharp gaze fixed on the disciple who had abruptly stood up.
He had actually noticed the ruckus caused by the disciples below but chose to ignore it. Firstly, this group of cultivators from the Nanyang Sect was merely auditing a lesson at the request of Elder Liu. It was only polite to accommodate them by teaching some basic knowledge.
Secondly, as an outer sect elder, it was not for these disciples to comment on his teachings. He could overlook their whispered conversations, but now that one had the audacity to stand up and disrupt his lecture, it was an outright disrespect to his authority.
Elder Yang reached for the disciplinary ruler, ready to expel the disciple from the hall, but he paused upon hearing Tong Xinquan's response.
"..."
The elder frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then put down the ruler.
The Clear Moon Sect encouraged its disciples to engage in scholarly debates. Although the timing was inappropriate, he could let the debate play out and then deal with the consequences afterward.
The only thing he couldn't understand was how these disciples from the Nanyang Sect, whose lineage had been broken, could possibly know about the elegant way of formation techniques?
Surely they didn't think that the basic knowledge he had just taught was what constituted a formation technique?
"Heh! Heh! Heh!"
The tall and thin disciple who had stood up, named Feng Yan, was being quietly watched by Tong Xinquan. He panted a few breaths and turned to look up at Elder Yang.
"I'm done for," he thought. "In my moment of impulsiveness, I forgot that the Elder was still lecturing."
Now, with Tong Xinquan's words hanging in the air, he felt trapped. To sit down now would be admitting defeat, but to stand his ground would be equally embarrassing for Elder Yang. How could he ever face the Elder again after this?
"How dare you try to harm me!" Feng Yan glared back, clenching his fists. "What good are your fancy words? If you have the skill, show us! Let these country bumpkins see the mysteries of formation techniques!"
Before he even finished speaking, the surrounding disciples excitedly started heckling, "Well said, Brother Feng!"
"Let them witness the techniques that Elder Yang has passed down to us!"
As they heckled, someone pushed a formation plate forward.
Hearing the disciple implicate Elder Yang, the youthful and vigorous young man sitting at the very front furrowed his brows slightly. "..."
He glanced back at Tong Xinquan.
Seeing her calm and collected expression, seemingly unperturbed by the situation, he realized she didn't seem like a rash person who lacked experience. In contrast, Feng Yan seemed to be led by her.
After a moment's thought, he finally stood up.
"Oh! Brother Yan is also interested?"
The people beside him were even more stirred up by this development.
Among the hundreds of disciples in the grand hall, only Brother Yan Wencheng was the most favored by Elder Yang, and he seemed poised to inherit the elder's mantle.
Who would have thought that such a minor incident would catch his attention?
"Tsk."
Li Qingfeng quietly signaled to Tong Xinquan.
Previously, his attention hadn't been on the lecture but on observing the disciples of the Clear Moon Sect.
This Brother Yan was the only disciple, aside from Shen Zongzu and a few others, who had been seriously listening to the elder's explanation of basic knowledge.
Such patience was certainly not something an ordinary person could possess.
The two exchanged glances, communicating silently.
"You came all this way just to embarrass our Shen Zongzu, didn't you?" Li Qingfeng whispered.
"Scram, idiot," Tong Xinquan retorted.
Tong Xinquan took a deep breath, finally feeling a bit nervous. She slowly stood up and turned to look at Yan Wencheng.
"Hey, who are you looking at?" Feng Yan suddenly realized he was being ignored, and his anger surged. "I won't bully you. You set up a formation, and I'll break it!"
As soon as he said this, the rest of the group burst into laughter.
How was this not bullying? They had just been seriously discussing the distinctions between formations, and now they were being challenged to set up a formation on the spot. Wasn't this forcing them into a difficult situation?
"Sure," Shen Yi replied nonchalantly, unconcerned about saving face. He was only at the first layer of the Returning Void realm, and even if he proclaimed himself the sect master, it wouldn't make much of a difference. There was no need to put on airs.
Besides, this was an opportunity to gauge the level of cultivators from the outside world and better understand the dangers that lay ahead.
"Let's discuss formations and share our insights without losing our temper."
Yan Wencheng sat down in front of Shen Yi, took a new formation plate from the side, and gently placed it on the table.
He was slightly taken aback when the young girl at the Foundation Establishment stage eagerly sat opposite him and curiously touched the formation plate, asking, "What is this, and how do I use it?"
Upon hearing this, not only the other disciples but even Yan Wencheng was taken aback for a moment.
He quickly reached out to stop his junior brothers from laughing and explained seriously, "This is called a formation plate. As long as you have seen a formation before, you can simulate any formation with it. It can accommodate all the formations up to the Returning Void realm... Of course, they are all illusions."
Seeing his polite demeanor, Elder Yang stroked his beard with a smile in his eyes.
"I see," Tong Xinquan nodded and sat down as well.
He tried it out briefly, then infused his spiritual soul into the formation plate, but no formation emerged after a long while.
Feng Yan froze for a moment, then sat down, forcibly suppressing his ridicule... He pretended to be knowledgeable, but his true skills were revealed as soon as he made a move.
"Sorry, it's been a long time since I've touched a formation," Tong Xinquan explained lightly, as if organizing his thoughts.
The next moment, countless formations appeared from his palms, tiny like sand, and landed on the formation plate.
And so it began.
The surrounding area suddenly fell silent.
"...?" The disciples frowned, puzzled.
They saw Tong Xinquan's calm expression as his white palms moved swiftly without the slightest hesitation, as if he didn't need to think at all.
No matter what formation he was setting up, his familiarity with it suggested that he was definitely not a novice when it came to formations.
Elder Yang paused, as if realizing something.
Yan Wencheng also turned his gaze, his expression changing slightly.
However, compared to them, Feng Yan, who was sitting opposite Tong Xinquan, had a more noticeable reaction. He stared at the formation plate, his eyes wide, and swallowed his saliva rapidly as intricate and profound formation runes appeared one after another.
Soon enough, Tong Xinquan withdrew his spiritual soul and gently pushed the formation plate forward, saying, "Please."
That single word echoed throughout the grand hall.
"You..." Feng Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He and Tong Xinquan were both at the Alchemic Body stage, and their spiritual soul strength was not far apart.
But the formation Tong Xinquan had set up was actually a part of a Returning Void formation.
And this formation was different from the usual ones.
It was filled with two words: showmanship.
Numerous useless formation runes seemed to only increase the difficulty without serving any real purpose, indicating that Tong Xinquan still had strength to spare.
Feng Yan looked at Tong Xinquan's face again and felt that he was feigning calm, but his eyes were filled with ridicule.
The stares from the surrounding disciples made his face burn with embarrassment.
After a long silence, he stammered, "I... I can't break it..."
This statement was like a fan slapping the disciples in the face, causing the proud inner sect disciples to wear strange expressions.
Was he not even daring enough to give it a try?
Elder Yang was still watching from above.
On the other hand, Tong Xinquan casually dispersed the patterns on the formation plate and straightened his sleeves.
Then, he turned to look at Feng Yan again and said lightly, "It was a close call, but I won by a narrow margin. Thank you for your concession."
(End of Chapter)
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