Chapter 10: The Nine Volumes of Formations

From Yishe Lake to the Black Tooth Tribe was a long journey, even with the Heijiao beast as a mount, traveling by day and resting by night, it would take three days to arrive.

Night.

A campfire burned. Ji Ning and Qiuye were both by the fire, while Mowu kept watch around them, preventing any unwitting beasts from disturbing their young master.

"I haven't yet looked through all the miscellaneous items I obtained in the Water Mansion," Ji Ning suddenly remembered. He had examined the treasures and miscellaneous items from the first and second levels of the Water Mansion's corridor, but later, on the third level, he had obtained thousands of treasures and a large amount of miscellaneous items. After refining the treasures, he had fought the black monster puppet, and then gone to see the black ox, without having time to go through them one by one.

"Among the miscellaneous items from the first and second levels, there was a secret manual comparable to the 'Drip Water Sutra.' The miscellaneous items from the third level were several times more numerous." Ji Ning produced items one after another in his hand, examined them, and then they vanished.

Qiuye watched curiously from the side.

After a long time...

"Another secret manual, 'The Chapter of the Clear Wind'?" Ji Ning flipped through it and was delighted. "It's a sword technique manual, apparently a method pointing directly to the true meaning of the Dao. It's on par with the 'Drip Water Sutra.'"

Ji Ning's discernment had become much keener now. After all, he had comprehended the true meaning of the Dao. Carefully flipping through, he soon vaguely sensed that the ultimate goal of this sword technique pointed to the 'True Meaning of the Clear Wind.' In fact, those who had died in that corridor were merely Xiantian lifeforms. How profound could the secret manuals they carried be?

Actually, profound arts like 'The Chapter of the Clear Wind' should not have been carried casually. Ji Ning, for instance, did not bring the 'Drip Water Sutra' or the 'Incomplete Thunderfire Sword.' This showed that the owners of these manuals might have come from some more powerful top tribes, where the secrecy of such manuals was not strictly controlled.

...

The miscellaneous items obtained on the third level of the Water Mansion's corridor were indeed much more numerous, and there were many more treasures. Ji Ning found three powerful techniques in total. After going through the secret manuals, he began to examine other miscellaneous items that did not seem like manuals.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning suddenly pulled out a jade statue!

It was a square jade block two feet tall, on which was carved a statue of an old man with a long beard.

"No!" Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he looked closely. At a glance, it seemed like just a statue, but upon careful inspection... he found that the square jade block was actually covered in dense tiny characters and small diagrams. These pictographic characters were the script of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The characters were very small! An ordinary person might not be able to see them, but Ji Ning was no ordinary person. His eyesight was astonishing; he could see a fly ten li away! With such vision, he could naturally see the dense tiny characters on the jade block.

"Truly miraculous."

"The tiny characters carved on this jade block must number in the hundreds of thousands. Countless tiny characters just happen to form the statue of an old man with a long beard." Ji Ning first marveled, then quickly looked for the beginning of the text. Soon he found the top-left corner, where there were four separate characters—

The Nine Volumes of Formations!

Ji Ning's eyes lit up, and he began to read carefully.

"I, Daoyan, studied formations for over eighty thousand years. I survived the last tribulation by luck, but nine hundred years later, I fear I will not escape the next tribulation. Yet I cannot bear to let my formation insights be lost, so I have recorded the nine volumes of my formation insights here. May the destined one, upon obtaining them, study them diligently!" The opening words delighted Ji Ning. One who could live over eighty thousand years and undergo the Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations was almost certainly a Sanxian.

Juhua the Immortal could endure millions of years, but ordinary Sanxian could not live that long. The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations—disasters were easy to avoid, but tribulations were hard to escape. The great tribulation every nine hundred years! Each time more severe than the last, increasing continuously. In the end, even Juhua the Immortal's final Sanxian tribulation was something even a Celestial Immortal could not withstand.

"The formation insights left by a Sanxian—this is no less valuable than the 'Thousand Sword Formation' or the 'Wind Wings Escape Art.'" Ji Ning immediately understood its value. "To obtain such formation insights and still go to challenge the Water Mansion's corridor... truly..."

The one who originally obtained these formation insights might not have been skilled in formations. After all, formations were profound and difficult to understand. Most cultivators only knew how to set up formations, not the principles behind them. Ji Ning, for example, executed the 'Thousand Sword Formation' purely by rote. Cultivators generally preferred to spend time refining powerful treasures or practicing powerful spells; few delved into studying formations!

Moreover, formations were inherently mysterious and hard to grasp, so researchers were even fewer!

The original obtainer might have studied but failed to understand, achieving nothing until death. Then he went to challenge the Water Mansion's corridor.

There was also another possibility: like Ji Ning, he might have simply passed by Yishe Lake by chance, been forcibly moved into the Water Mansion, and then died inside.

"Regardless of the reason, these 'Nine Volumes of Formations' are now mine. I was just thinking, with thousands of storage treasures, clearly thousands died inside. Could it be that not one of them carried a heavy treasure?" Ji Ning was in a good mood. "Finally got a heavy treasure. Let me take a good look."

He immediately lowered his head and began reading the 'Nine Volumes of Formations.'

Formations involve using everything available. In truly profound great formations, even heaven and earth are but a part of the formation!

"Interesting." To most people, the dry Nine Volumes of Formations brought a smile to Ji Ning's face. The entry into formations tested one's mental calculation ability; one had to be able to calculate! In his previous life, Ji Ning had been very intelligent. Unable to attend school due to illness, he had taught himself entirely. Through books and the internet, he had learned on his own, and his IQ far exceeded that of his peers, especially in science. At a young age, he had amassed great wealth!

In this life, with the 'Nüwa Diagram,' he could multitask, and his mind was even quicker and sharper!

The education from Earth in his previous life had given Ji Ning a way of thinking. Although Earth was just one of billions of small worlds, its education far surpassed that of this place. In a place like Yanshan, still in the tribal era... even the children of a clan like the Ji clan only learned to read; ordinary tribes were completely illiterate.

With such a level, having them study formations naturally left them all dumbfounded.

It could be said that the top science students from Earth in that era might not become formation masters, but at least they had the potential to learn formations.

...

His previous life gave Ji Ning a way of thinking, equivalent to software. This life gave him a powerful soul, equivalent to hardware!

Thus, he had a good foundation for learning formations!

"So that's how it is." Ji Ning occasionally smiled as he read. "Formations like the Yin-Yang Two Qi Formation are quite crude, relying entirely on drawing on the power of heaven and earth, without any technique."

The more he read, the more delighted he became.

But gradually, the smile faded from Ji Ning's face. Sometimes he frowned in thought, sometimes he stared blankly.

"Indeed, I must not underestimate formations." Ji Ning nodded. "The path of formations is vast as the ocean. I have only understood the basics; once it gets a bit deeper, I feel completely lost. That's right. Although most people in this endless land are dull-witted, there are still geniuses. Once they study for a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand years, they can far surpass those from Earth."

"Young master, it's dawn. We should set out," Qiuye suddenly called out.

"Ah." Ji Ning then realized that dawn had broken.

...

Formations were vast as the ocean. Once the first volume of the 'Nine Volumes of Formations' was fully comprehended, one could be considered a formation master. Unfortunately, Ji Ning had not even fully comprehended the first volume, which dispelled his complacency and made him more humble.

"Studying formations can give me an additional skill."

"Moreover, when executing the Thousand Sword Formation, I can be more flexible, not so rigid." Although Ji Ning was now just a novice in formations, he had already understood that the way of formations lay in guidance. Previously, he had foolishly controlled several hundred flying swords simultaneously, focusing on each one carefully. This consumed too much mental energy.

Fortunately, his soul was strong enough to easily execute the fourth layer of the Thousand Sword Formation.

A formation master would only need to guide a few key flying swords to lead the others, greatly reducing the burden on the soul and allowing him to unleash greater power from the Thousand Sword Formation.

...

"Young master, ahead is the Black Tooth Tribe," Qiuye called out.

Ji Ning stopped studying formations and looked up. In the distance, some sentry posts of the Black Tooth Tribe seemed to have noticed them.

"It's the young master of the Ji clan."

"Quick, report to the chief."

The tribesmen of the Black Tooth Tribe had seen Ji Ning once before. This time, again, three Heijiao beasts and three people. They quickly recognized him.

By the time Ji Ning and his companions arrived at the tribe's gate, Heiya had already come to greet them in person.

"Greetings, young master." Heiya, followed by a large group of tribesmen, all knelt down in unison.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded. "Take me to Chuncao."

"Yes." Heiya quickly responded. The only connection between the Black Tooth Tribe and Ji Ning was Chuncao.

Ji Ning suddenly glanced at the thin child behind Heiya, whose face still showed a hint of illness and bore a strong resemblance to Chuncao. Ji Ning remembered seeing this child on his last visit. He spoke up: "What is your name?"

The child was startled.

Heiya followed Ji Ning's gaze and turned to see his son beside him. He quickly said, "Answer the young master quickly."

Only then did the child stammer, "My name is Qingshi!"

"Qingshi, Qingshi..." Ji Ning murmured to himself.