Chapter Thirty: Journey to Break the Formation

The boy managed a strained smile, a flash of flame erupted, and he turned to flee!

Before he could make his move, a massive formation cast in clear light descended like a towering mountain, pinning him down in an instant. Caught off guard, he collapsed flat onto the ground.

The boy was stunned. He had snuck away from You Qing’s group, and along the way, he had robbed others and been robbed in turn. He had seen people wielding swords, brandishing spears, and using talismans, but this was the first time he had encountered someone who used array formations!

He lay on the ground, tilting his head slightly. The smile on his face looked even more miserable than tears, and his voice trembled with entreaty: "Big Brother, Big Sister, it was my ignorance that failed to recognize your greatness. Please, show mercy and let me go..."

Qing Lan stepped forward. Her hair was a tangled, frizzy mess from the explosions, and she clutched her weapon, Green Shadow Fall, with a fierce, chilling gaze. She gave the weapon a sharp tug. She knew nothing about formations; she had already been in a foul mood because she couldn't break this one, and this boy’s attempt to blow her up with talismans had only made her temperament worse.

Yue Dong watched from the side, giving the boy a look of schadenfreude.

The boy was truly on the verge of tears. He never expected to be so unlucky; he had barely left his group before running into such a tough pair. With trembling hands, he took two spiritual herbs out of his waist pouch and whined, "I was wrong! I’ll give you both herbs—can you please not take my spirit seals?"

Qing Lan was taken aback. She glanced at Yue Dong, feeling a surge of vexed embarrassment—she had been struggling here for ages without being able to secure the Cold Smoke Grass, yet this little brat actually had two!

"Hey, kid, how did you break the formation?" Qing Lan asked, feeling annoyed.

The boy blinked, then spilled his guts, saying hurriedly, "Big Sister, Big Sister! I just charged into the spirit array head-first. They kept attacking me, switching up their patterns, so I used my talismans to fight back, blocking left and attacking right, and before I knew it, I had stumbled my way out."

Hearing this, the two exchanged glances. Qing Lan finally understood where she had gone wrong—she had been too cautious, burdened by too many concerns, unwilling to get hurt, and trying to use her high-grade artifact to seize the herbs without ever entering the array. She had been dead wrong.

The Formation Sect wanted them to enter; it wanted them to endure the pain!

Yue Dong dispelled the formation and suddenly mentioned the martial artists of a bygone era: "It is said that martial practitioners a thousand years ago endured inhuman suffering, tempering their bodies with rare spiritual objects, constantly destroying their physical forms only to reshape them in the ashes. After enduring countless trials, they finally achieved the path through the flesh."

Qing Lan lowered her gaze, humbly accepting the lesson. She said to the boy, "Put your herbs away and get out of here."

The boy was left bewildered. He walked away, looking back every few steps, unable to fathom why these two were so strange. As he neared the distance, he turned to look once more, only to hear a series of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" sounds, like war drums urging a soul to depart, which terrified him into running off at full speed.

***

By the side of the cold pool, Qing Lan’s gaze was sharp as she looked at Yue Dong, her voice cool: "I’ll go first; you take the next one."

Yue Dong nodded, six spirit seals flickering in his hands—he was guarding her.

Qing Lan moved, lunging into the cold pool. Her steps were light, each one landing precisely on the leaves floating on the water, like a dance across the waves as she quickly closed in on the Cold Smoke Grass deep within the pool.

However, the calm water suddenly began to boil, and biting cold energy surged forth, transforming into sharp shards of ice that shot toward her from all directions. She let out a cold snort, swinging Green Shadow Fall, which blurred into a series of afterimages that collided with the ice.

"Snap!"

The ice shards shattered one by one under her strikes, but the cold energy was endless, rapidly spreading to cloak the entire surface in a frigid mist. Qing Lan’s figure flickered in the haze, as if she might be swallowed at any moment. The thick mist blinded her, making it impossible to see where the ice was coming from.

But that didn't matter. She wouldn't sit and wait for death, for her target remained standing in the center of the pool.

She charged straight ahead. Snowy white ice, sharp as blades, attacked her in waves. She waved Green Shadow Fall relentlessly; in her eyes, the green light in the air was the trail of a whip, and by layering new strikes before the old ones faded, she created an impenetrable defensive net.

Afterimages flashed, and every shard of ice was shattered.

Seeing that such an assault could not stop her, the cold mist churned again, fracturing into thousands of tiny ice fragments that rose into the air, transforming into even denser, sharper needles. Like ten thousand arrows fired at once, they lashed out at her. Facing such a dense attack, the defense of Green Shadow Fall was insufficient, so she flipped her left hand, and an exquisite shield appeared.

The shield looked small, but as she poured spiritual energy into it, it instantly expanded into a barrier several people high, blocking all the ice needles.

Qing Lan continued to advance across the water, and she was almost upon the Cold Smoke Grass!

The sky full of needles suddenly dissipated. The spirit herb shook, its cold energy intensifying and spreading from the center of the pool until it became almost tangible. Qing Lan couldn't help but be shocked—the spiritual energy contained in this Cold Smoke Grass was even more potent than the Fire Gold Vine of Ming Mountain!

As her feet touched the water, her expression changed, and she leaped into the air—her feet had nearly been frozen solid!

There was no turning back now; she had to give it her all! Her eyes were fierce as she gripped Green Shadow Fall once more. The distance between person and herb was now infinitesimal.

Yue Dong, standing on the shore, couldn't help but grow tense. Only one step remained!

***

"Snap!"

The whip crack echoed like thunder. Green Shadow Fall moved like a serpent emerging from its lair, coiling tightly around the Cold Smoke Grass. Qing Lan gave a powerful tug, and the herb was pulled free!

"Success!" she shouted excitedly.

In the next moment, she fell into the water, clutching the herb. Since the formation’s core had been removed, the array collapsed. The cold mist over the water gradually dissipated, and Qing Lan surfaced, completely unharmed.

She emerged with a smile.

On the shore, Yue Dong’s heart was in turmoil—he had finally deciphered the Cold Smoke Formation. It was a fusion of offense and defense that made excellent use of the natural environment. It was a pity it had been merely a first-tier array constructed from four spirit seals; the speed at which it had tried to freeze the lake was too slow, or else it would have been far more troublesome.

A deep, burning desire for battle grew in his eyes—it was a hunger for knowledge.

Before Qing Lan could even dry her clothes or hair, he grabbed her and said, "Let’s go, to the next place!"

"Huh?" Qing Lan blinked.

***

In theory, the Array Realm was a place where the landscape was interwoven in complex, profound layers. The difficulty of this trial lay first in discernment, and second in breaking the formations.

But with a teammate as sharp as Qing Lan, the concealment of every spirit herb had nowhere to hide.

Just now, Qing Lan had confirmed that a fire-attribute herb—the Flame-Descending Flower—was hidden in a nearby rock crevice, and Yue Dong was already rushing toward it, unable to contain his eagerness.