Chapter 479: Wait a Moment

He stepped inside.

In the spacious hall, people flowed like water; many had formed long queues in front of the counters.

Formation plates, weapons, and pills were considered essential for travel. The Formation Masters Guild limited the daily quantity and variety of formation plates they provided, and many people would wait all night just to obtain one.

"This junior pays respects to Guild Leader Sai!"

Weaving through the crowded flow, before he reached the counter, a young man approached him.

"I have some business with President Zheng. Please lead the way," Guild Leader Sai said with a wave.

"My master is currently carving a formation plate. I'll take you there now!" The young man smiled and nodded, then led the way.

They went up the stairs to the second floor and soon arrived at a room filled with small formation plates. An old man sat at the far end, carving something.

Formations required the combination of formation flags and bases with geography, terrain, topography, and the surrounding environment, making them extremely troublesome and requiring deep mastery of formations to accomplish.

Formation plates were simpler: a formation master carved a reduced version of a formation onto a special disk, which could be activated by infusing true energy when used.

Compared to the former, formation plates had two major drawbacks.

First, limited by size, they could not integrate with the environment, so their power was much weaker than a normal formation, at most only fifty to sixty percent.

Second, each use caused significant damage to the plate itself, so they had a limited number of uses—at most three to five, at least one.

Of course, despite the drawbacks, the advantages were greater; otherwise, they wouldn't attract so many people.

The biggest advantage was that one didn't need to understand formations to use them. Secondly, they were easy to carry and quick to activate—in danger, one could simply infuse true energy and use them, which was extremely convenient.

The old man in the room looked about sixty, with a smooth, beardless face and large hands. He held a small carving knife, carefully engraving.

Formation plates were complex; embedding a large formation onto a palm-sized disk was incredibly difficult. One wrong step, even a tiny detail, could ruin the whole thing.

Thus, like alchemy, even a four-star formation master couldn't just carve one at will; each one required immense mental effort.

"Master, Guild Leader Sai is here!"

Entering the room, the young man bowed.

Putting down the carving knife, the old man looked up at his old friend and smiled slightly: "I'm always the one looking for you. What brings you here?"

"I do have something to trouble President Zheng with this time!"

Guild Leader Sai nodded and introduced: "This is Master Zhang. He wants to buy a formation plate. After much thought, I figured your items are the most reliable, so I brought him here."

"Master Zhang?"

The old man, President Zheng, stood up, looked at Zhang Xuan, and showed a hint of confusion.

He knew this old friend's temperament well—proud and unruly, even with him, very casual. But when introducing this young man, his tone was cautious and his attitude respectful, which struck him as strange.

Looking closely, the young man had nothing special about him. Although his cultivation level was unreadable, his movements hadn't yet merged with nature, clearly not having broken through to Mortal Transcendence.

A young man who hadn't even reached Mortal Transcendence, and his old friend was respectful?

Curious but not wanting to ask too much on first meeting, President Zheng looked over: "What type of formation plate does Master Zhang want? I've carved some trapping formations, killing formations, illusion formations..."

"I want... a spirit-gathering formation," Zhang Xuan said.

"Spirit-gathering formation?" President Zheng was taken aback: "That... there's no formation plate for that; it's usually fixed in one place..."

Spirit-gathering formations were mostly used for cultivation, typically set up in fixed locations by major powers to gather spirit energy and cultivate talents. Formation plates, on the other hand, were usually carried around for offense and defense.

Thus, few people carved spirit-gathering formations into plates; even he had never done it.

In fact, not only President Zheng was puzzled; Guild Leader Sai was also stunned.

He had thought Master Zhang wanted to buy a formation for the Witch Soul Tomb, but now it seemed otherwise—why else would he need a spirit-gathering formation? To throw it in, gather souls, and collect witch soul masters?

"None?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Yes, I've never carved one. However, if you really need it, I could carve one, but it might take a lot of time," President Zheng hesitated.

A spirit-gathering formation gathered spirit energy and needed to withstand the agitation and impact of that energy. He had never tried it and couldn't guarantee success.

"How long would it take?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Well... I've never carved one before, so I need some time to master it. At worst a month, at best... half a month," President Zheng said.

"Half a month?" Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Too long.

He had agreed with Luo Zhu to set out for the Witch Soul Tomb tomorrow. Before that, he had to break through to the first level of Mortal Transcendence. Waiting for his formation, half a month would be too late.

"What? You doubt my ability?" Seeing him shake his head, President Zheng's face darkened.

Coming to buy a spirit-gathering formation... plate—do you even understand formations? If not for his old friend's sake, he would have thought this was deliberate troublemaking and had him thrown out.

And on top of that, he shakes his head at me?

"Oh, I'm not saying you can't carve it!"

Realizing he had been misunderstood upon hearing the displeased tone, Zhang Xuan felt embarrassed: "I just think it's too slow. Half a month... too long. I need it now. If you can carve it within an hour, I can wait a bit."

"Too slow? An hour?"

President Zheng's face turned livid. He flicked his sleeve: "Guild Leader Sai, is this your guest? He is not welcome here. Xiao Wu, see them out!"

An hour?

Did you think carving a formation plate was as easy as eating or drinking?

Even for familiar trapping or killing formations, each one took at least a week to carve, requiring full concentration without a single mistake.

Otherwise, even a month wouldn't be enough.

And that was with him doing it personally. For a three-star formation master in the guild, carving a plate would take at least half a month to over twenty days.

And this fellow... wants it done in an hour?

Are you here to joke or to mess with me?

"Yes..." The young man who had led them in came over: "Both of you, please leave."

He was also displeased.

As a two-star formation master, carving a plate took him at least over a month. This guy wanting his master to carve one in an hour was clearly not buying but picking a fight.

"President Zheng, calm down. What are you doing?"

Unexpectedly driven away after just a few words, Guild Leader Sai's face reddened. He quickly stepped forward: "Master Zhang just doesn't know much about formations. But when it comes to treasure appraisal, he is a five-star appraiser who passed the Floating Wine Cup. His rank is much higher than mine!"

"Five-star appraiser?"

President Zheng was startled.

He had thought this Master Zhang relied on his background to make his old friend so wary, but he turned out to be a five-star appraiser!

With that status alone, he could walk sideways in Honghai City. No wonder his words were unreliable and overbearing.

"Yes," Guild Leader Sai nodded.

Being a master teacher didn't mean knowing everything. This Master Zhang's comment clearly showed he was a layman in formations, probably knowing little about the profession.

He guessed correctly. Although Zhang Xuan had read all the books in the Tianwu Kingdom Formation Masters Guild and absorbed them into his mind, the guild's level was too low, and he had little exposure to formation plates. He indeed didn't know how long it took to carve one or whether spirit-gathering formation plates existed.

"I didn't know Master Zhang's status; please forgive my rudeness."

Knowing he was a five-star appraiser, President Zheng retracted his previous attitude and bowed with cupped fists.

Although appraisers didn't emphasize strength, their involvement with treasures could drive countless professions crazy. Even as the guild president and a peak four-star formation master, he dared not offend one easily.

Especially since the other party was also a master teacher.

"You're too kind."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand, unconcerned. After a moment's thought, he said: "Since you can't carve a spirit-gathering formation plate quickly, could you sell me a set of spirit-gathering formation flags, formation diagram, and formation base?"

If there was no formation plate, he could try learning formations. As long as he had the diagram and the flags and base, setting one up shouldn't be too difficult.

"Formation diagram and flags? I have those, but if you're not a certified formation master, they're just scrap..."

President Zheng said.

Formations relied on the environment. If you knew nothing about formations, what use were the diagram and flags?

If anyone could set up a formation with just those, formation masters would be out of work and drinking the northwest wind.

"Just sell them to me. I'll figure out how to set it up," Zhang Xuan said, understanding his concern.

"Well... it's not about selling or not..."

Seeing the fellow persist, President Zheng's face grew uglier, and he couldn't help shaking his head.

Why did Guild Leader Sai bring such an unreliable person?

Formation flags and diagrams in the hands of ordinary people were no different from scrap, and they were expensive... Buying them without knowing how to set up was a waste.

Moreover, selling flags and bases was one thing, but the formation diagram—like a pill formula—was regulated by the guild. It was generally not given to non-certified formation masters, let alone sold.

From their conversation, it was clear this guy knew nothing about formations.

For someone like that to buy flags and bases was one thing, but the diagram? Wasn't that a dream?

If anyone could come and look at formation diagrams and buy them, what authority would the guild have?

"How about this: if you can prove you can set up a formation and are a certified formation master, I'll let you see the diagram, allow you to copy it, and sell you the flags and bases... If you can't, then forget it."

President Zheng shook his head.

"If I can set up a formation, you'll sell to me?" Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"That's right," President Zheng nodded, then frowned: "What? Is Master Zhang also a formation master?"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Xuan closed his eyes.

"You all... wait a moment."