The problem was how would he carve the formation patterns onto the poles.
This wasn’t drawing, completed just by following the design. Formations could draw in the power of heaven and earth because it was a sort of understanding, like martial intent—you either understood it or you didn’t. There was no third option.
If he wanted to brand the formation patterns onto metal, he first had to understand the formation. Therefore, the people who understood it deeply were high-level formation masters, and the people who understood it superficially were low-level formation masters.
Ling Han studied all sorts of formations in his previous life. Of course, he studied how to overcome them—in other words, the loopholes in the formations. This could be referenced, not to mention that he possessed the divine sense and martial arts comprehension of the Heaven Tier. Turning around to study low-level formations was truly too easy.
He kept exclaiming from realizations, advancing fiercely on formations.
Five days later, he threw aside the three formation basics introduction books and picked up a rock, carving formation patterns on it.
Every formation pattern had to be carved in one go, completed without a pause. If it weren’t smooth, it would effect the activation of heaven and earth’s power. One could make at most three pauses in drawing the formation’s eye, or else it would be worthless.
For a fourth tier formation’s eye, the minimum of formation patterns carved was nine and the maximum was fifteen—all of which had to be squeezed onto a small metal rod. Small Heavenly Origin Spirit Snake Formation needed to use seven formation’s eyes to arrange, each limited to fifteen formation patterns; amongst fourth level formations it could be considered of high quality, and speaking from this point, Yin Hong was quite fair.
Ling Han began to carve formation patterns. After he carved fifteen formation patterns on a rock, he carefully examined it, finding that at least eight were wrong; moreover, those that weren’t wrong had several pauses.
It was all right, he didn’t count on becoming a formation master all of a sudden; he’d progress slowly.
On the eleventh day since departing from the Extreme Yang City, Ling Han finally arrived at the outskirts of the Dark Demon Forest. The coachman was unwilling to go further, and after Ling Han came off the carriage, the former immediately whipped the horse and left in a hurry.
This was an extremely chaotic place. No single force occupied it; but of all places, this place was rich in spirit grass, attracting large amounts of forces to enter and harvest medicine. Under the massive profitability, conflicts broke out often—spilling blood and killing were more than ordinary occurrences.
The Dark Demon Forest had no hegemon, but there were four relatively strong forces. Since they developed from within the Dark Demon Forest, they were like the local tyrants, and even large forces like the Winter Moon Sect and the Beast Emperor Sect wouldn’t provoke them.
These four forces were Blood Light House, Heavenly Silkworm Court, Devour Bone Court, and Gust Demon Clan, all of which were said to have Flower Blossom Tier elites backing them up. Other than the large forces, there were many medium- and small-scale forces that sought survival in the crevices, even desiring to replace the four large forces.
It was rumored that many medium-scale forces even received the support of a grand sect like Winter Moon Sect, but whether it was real or fake, no one could say clearly.
The four large forces had many campsites open to the public within the Dark Demon Forest. These sites were equivalent to ramparts, providing protection for martial artists that gathered medicine. However, they were definitely not philanthropists. Those who wanted to enter the campsite had to pay money— which of course meant Origin Crystals, which could also be replaced with spirit grasses and tool refining materials.
In the campsite, no one was to use force; this was the most basic rule. Once outside, you could fight till heads flew wildly and it wouldn’t matter.
Ling Han walked arbitrarily as all his thoughts were on formations. After studying for ten days, he had a strong interest in formations, which, when combined with martial arts, could unleash an incredible effect.
In reality, formations were closely tied with every martial artist. The simplest example would be spirit tools, which actually belonged to the area of formations—branding one’s martial intent on it was the most coarse formation pattern.
However, if actual formations patterns were branded on a spirit tool, combining the two, the power unleashed was naturally stronger.
“Fellow brother, if you’re alone, why not join us?” He walked slowly and was soon passed by a team when one of the members offered him an olive branch.
Chapter 388
Chapter 388: Targeted
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
ED/N: WATCH OUT: THIS IS CHAPTER 390, SO IF IT ENDS UP PUBLISHED RIGHT AFTER 387, KNOW THAT 388 AND 389 COME AFTER THIS ONE. Maybe we’ll be able to fix it or it’ll fix itself, but I’m leaving you folks a heads-up in case that doesn’t happen.
The conditions in the stronghold were harsh; there weren’t any good lodgings. It was simply a room made of bamboo, and not to mention the terrible soundproofing effects, there was even a crack where others could peep through.
Ling Han didn’t really care, since it was only for two nights anyways.
After he left, the news of him being a “foolishly rich” person spread and everyone wanted to receive treasure ginsengs as reward, heading out to inquire one after another.
There wasn’t much hope within this stronghold and everyone knew of Ling Han’s bounty, so some went to the next stronghold to check out the situation. However, some people harbored killing intent as well, waiting for Ling Han to leave the stronghold so that they could kill him and seize his goods.
…He was only a youngster at the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, how strong could he be? He looked like a delicate flower grown inside a greenhouse, and his battle prowess was probably not even four stars.
At night, a medicinal harvesting team of twenty entered the stronghold; it was exactly the party with the red-clothed woman whom Ling Han came into conflict with.
They came to the northwestern corner of the stronghold. The harvesters crammed into one large bamboo room and the guards also crammed into one, but the red-clothed woman entered a single-person bamboo room, where a thirty year-old man already waited for her.
“Wan Qing!” The man heard knocking, and when he saw the red-clothed woman, he couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised. His eyes burned with desire as he pulled her into his embrace, unable to restrain from getting fresh.
“Naughty, haven’t you touched enough? So impatient.” The red-clothed woman, Ding Wan Qing swung her hips, teasing the other person.
The man was also surnamed Ding—Ding Gao Yang. He was from the same family as Ding Wan Qing. However, their bloodlines were extremely distant, far beyond five generations of ancestors, so they weren’t forbidden from marriage. However, Ding Gao Yang already had a wife, so the two were obviously carrying on an affair.
The two ultimately didn’t have their happy time. After all, the soundproofing was terrible, and Ding Wang Qing wasn’t a chicken with no sense of shame.
“Brother Gao Yang, have you seen a youngster about seventeen or eighteen, half a head taller than me, with very white skin like a young master in the stronghold today?” Ding Wang Qing lay in Ding Gao Yang’s embrace and began to ask about Ling Han.
She was slapped, which was something could absolutely not tolerate.
“Huh, how do you know him?” Ding Gao Yang naturally knew the bounty Ling Han issued in the day and immediately connected the two people together.
“He really is here?” Ding Wan Qing instantly revealed an ominous glint.
“Don’t rush, tell me everything from start to end,” Ding Gao Yang hurriedly said. He knew Ling Han possessed great wealth; as long as Ling Han stayed in the safety area, Ling Han could stir up great commotion.
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Ding Wan Qing spoke about what happened in the day. She naturally put all the blame on Ling Han, saying how domineering he was without mentioning at all how cheap her mouth was.
After she finished talking, Ding Gao Yang couldn’t help but snort and said, “What a daring brat, hitting my Little Sister Wan Qing!”
“Brother Gao Ynag, you have to do me justice!” Ding Wan Qing said in a sweet voice.
Ding Gao Yang nodded, and immediately went on, “This matter needs to be considered at length. This youngster knocked seven of your guards flying—such battle prowess is extremely terrifying, even I can only be ashamed of being inferior.”
“Then what do we do, am I just going to take that slap for nothing?” Ding Wan Wing almost threw a tantrum.
Ding Gao Yang hugged her tightly and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll ask a Spiritual Pedestal Tier elite to attack—taking him down would be more than enough! Even if that fails, my brother is training out here. He placed sixty-sixth on the previous term’s prodigy roll and is now at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. I’ll immediately have someone contact him and have him come over.”
“If Clan Brother Yuan Xin steps in, then there’ll be absolutely no chance of failure!” Ding Wan Qing said. In reality, wasn’t it for a great tree like Yuan Xin that she got in bed with Ding Gao Yang? This was the most remarkable clansman in the history of the Ding Family; he was now only thirty-seven years old but already at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier.
Ding Gao Yang laughed coldly. Ling Han was probably a descendant of some alchemist family—that was why he had so many treasure ginsengs on him and reached the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier at such a young age. However, this was the Dark Demon Forest—all backgrounds were useless here!
The things on this kid were all his!
***
Ling Han stayed for a night. On the second day, he continued to seek information on the Dark Demon Forest.
The reason why the Dark Demon Forest had such a name was firstly because the environment here was very gloomy, with dark hanging over for many years, and secondly because there was dark fog everywhere, making the entire forest appear gloomier.
That fog was like Demonic Qi, affecting the hearts of people and beasts; there were many cases of people going mad after spending too long in them.
And thus came the name of the Dark Demon Forest.
Demonic Qi enveloped the entire forest, but the further from the middle of the forest, the less dense the Demonic Qi was. The effects on living things were miniscule, but it still had its effects, making people and beasts more bellicose.
At the core area of the forest, the Demonic Qi was terrifying, easily turning a person into a lunatic. However, if one didn’t have enough strength, one couldn’t possibly enter the depths and would have long been torn to shreds by crazy yet strong beasts.
It could be said that the most scary thing in the Dark Demon Forest wasn’t a martial artist or a beast, but the Demonic Qi.
Ling Han didn’t fear it as he had the Black Tower. At that time, even Asura Demon Emperor’s Demonic Qi could easily be cleansed—the Demonic Qi here should be far inferior. Anyways, with Black Tower at hand, he was very much at ease.
When it was noon, someone came to visit Ling Han. It was a thirty-year-old man who didn’t announce his surname—Ling Han of course thought it was nothing out of the ordinary. The man told him of a location that extremely conformed with his requirements of the cold and the heat’s intertwinement.
After Ling Han paid ten treasure ginsengs, he decided to set out.
He knew his wealth attracted the covetous eyes of many, but he didn’t care; the strongest cultivator outside the stronghold was only at the first layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. Now, the first layer of the Spiritual Pedestal Tier really wasn’t much in Ling Han’s eyes. He wouldn’t even need to use his trump card to kill an expert at such a level.
Ling Han departed. Once he left, half of the people in entire stronghold seemed to have left too; their intentions could easily be guessed at if one wasn’t stupid.
Why did Ling Han search for a place where the cold and heat intertwined?
Because Crimson Red Chilling Ice Grass only grew at such places, and this spirit grass had the two special qualities of cold and heat; the more severely cold and the more torridly hot it was nearby, the better the Crimson Red Chilling Ice Grass grew and the more mature it could become.
Hu Niu was bored from staying inside the Black Tower, so Ling Han found a remote place to let her out. Soon, an adult and a child holding hands were going for a stroll inside the forest, as if it weren’t the extremely vicious and sinister Dark Demon Forest, but just a normal small forest.
However, this harmony was soon broken.
“Youngster, stop!” Five people suddenly appeared in front, each one revealing a ferocious look. S ha, sha, sha, five more people came out from behind, preventing Ling Han’s retreat.
Ling Han was shocked, because amongst those who blocked his path in front was the brawny man who tricked him of one Origin Crystal, later had a bounty placed by him, and at last begged him for forgiveness. He couldn’t help but laugh and said, “You really remain unrepentant to the end, is it uncomfortable to be alive?”
Chapter 389
Chapter 389: A Minor Conflict
Translator: Reverie_ Editor: Kurisu
This was a medicine harvesting team—seven martial artists as guards along with twelve medicinal farmers who carried bamboo baskets on their backs. There was also a beautiful red-clothed woman who looked like their employer; there were twenty people in total.
Such a medicine harvesting team in the Dark Demon Forest could only be considered a small-scale team; there were hundred- and even thousand-people medicine harvesting teams here as well.
Ling Han’s gaze swept by. The seven guards were at the Spiritual Ocean Tier—quite an impressive strength. The one who invitated him was a forty year-old brawny man, tall and sturdy, with arms thicker than Ling Han’s waist and shockingly well-defined muscles.
Without waiting for Ling Han to reply, somewhat displeased, the red-clothed woman spoke, “Guard Wu, if you want to invite someone into the team, why not seek for my opinion first?”
The brawny man laughed loudly and said, “It was already agreed upon when we left that we were going to recruit ten guards, and now we’ve only recruited seven. I, as the guard squad captain, naturally have the right to recruit people.”
“So the other people aren’t qualified,” the red-clothed woman said.
“He qualifies.” The brawny man pointed at Ling Han. “The Fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, is that not enough?”
What, this young man was actually at the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier?
The other people were shocked, feeling that Ling Han was just too young.
“Lady Ding, let him join the team.”
“Yeah, the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier isn’t weak.”
The other guards all began to urge. Although the fifth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier certainly wasn’t high in terms of cultivation, entering this level in the teens clearly meant something… What? The fact that Ling Han’s background was extremely remarkable!
Although it was an extremely chaotic place, if there was someone of the Winter Moon Sect or the Half Moon Sect around, then it could be life-saving at key moments. Thus, these people naturally wouldn’t refuse Ling Han joining and adding a insurance to their lives.
The red-clothed woman pondered, and said, “Alright, but Guard Wu, you have to be responsible for keeping him out of trouble.”
“Deal!” The brawn man laughed as he nodded, then cracked a smile at Ling Han and said, “Little brother, how about it? One day for one Origin Crystal, you won’t encounter such a good job everyday!”
Spiritual Ocean Tier warriors could only refine one Origin Crystal per month, and now obtaining one per day… the treatment was certainly not bad.
> Ling Han broke into laughter and said, “You guys have been speaking of your own accord. I don’t remember saying that I wanted to join you guys, right?
“Hm, you’ve got an objection?” The red-clothed woman wasn’t too happy to begin with; hearing that Ling Han refused to join the team, she appeared even more displeased all of a sudden. “Such great nerve, slap him!”
Ling Han shook his head. He felt that he was truly unjustly attacked while walking down the road properly without provoking anyone—how did misfortune come upon him? Could he really have a ‘troublesome constitution,’ attracting trouble wherever he went?
“You think I’m easy to bully?” He was angered and raised his hand, lashing towards the red-clothed woman.
“Stop!” The seven guards shouted at once and intervened one after another, blocking Ling Han.
These people’s tiers had highs and lows, but the worst was at the sixth layer and the strongest at the ninth layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier. However, none of them had battle prowess surpassing their own tier—after all, most people were very ordinary.
Ling Han smiled lightly as sword intent instantly burst forth. Xiu, xiu, xiu, xiu, seven flashes of Sword Qi shot out, slicing towards the seven guards.
What battle prowess did he have? When he was at the first layer of the Spiritual Ocean Tier, he had sixteen stars, and now it rocketed to twenty stars! Surpassing the other party’s strongest person by eleven stars of battle prowess, this was definitely overwhelming; the seven guards struck by the seven flashes of Sword Qi were sent flying at the same time.
Fortunately, Ling Han held back, merely opening a small wound on their chests; otherwise, this attack would’ve taken their lives.
Pa , the red-clothed woman was slapped right on the face, whipping out three of her teeth.
“Don’t always look at people with that condescending look. This slap is a small lesson for you. If there’s a next time, I’ll take your life,” Ling Han said codly.
Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao c1-1294 Page 209