"How about this. If Brother Han and Miss Shi break the formation, the two fellow Daoists may each pick one item first, and we will divide the rest afterward." Hu Yue showed a hint of embarrassment and hurriedly dragged Han Li into the arrangement, managing to muddle through the situation for the time being.
That tall and thin cultivator surnamed Jian had been standing off to the side with a calm expression all along, without saying a single word, which made Han Li rather unable to see through him.
"Fellow Daoist Hu, why not take Brother Han and Miss Shi to examine the formation first and see whether it can truly be broken? Otherwise, if the formation cannot be broken, everything said would be in vain." Jin Qing suggested with a smile.
"Indeed! This formation is quite peculiar. Fellow Daoist Jin and I once attacked it fiercely for an entire day and night, yet we could not force the slightest breach through external power. Instead, we exhausted every last drop of our spiritual energy." Hu Yue slapped his own head and quickly agreed.
Thus, under the quiet expectation and mild curiosity of the others, the group rode their magical treasures toward the belly of the earthen hill, only to stop near an unremarkable gentle slope midway up.
"Fellow Daoists, please look. That area shrouded in yellow mist is where the formation is located." Hu Yue pointed from midair toward a spot on the slope, addressing Han Li and the others solemnly.
In truth, Han Li had already seen it clearly without needing to be pointed out—a patch of yellow mist roughly a li in diameter lay not far below, crouching like an enormous beast, hazy and silent, giving an eerie sense of unfathomable depth. "Hm! It appears to be a formation with both earth and wind attributes. Quite interesting." Shi Die's eyes lit up with excitement as soon as she saw the imposing aura of the formation.
Hearing her words, Han Li glanced at her, then focused his gaze downward to examine it carefully. Before long, his expression turned serious.
This formation was indeed as she had described—an earth-and-wind attribute formation. At his current level, breaking it would truly be rather troublesome.
Just then, Shi Die slowly descended from the air to the edge of the formation and eagerly produced a number of peculiar magical tools to begin testing them.
The first item she took out was a disc-shaped artifact. Holding it in one hand, she aimed a beam of green light at the yellow mist, but the beam vanished into it like a cow dropped into the sea, leaving no trace.
She frowned slightly, then produced a fiery red crystal sphere, rubbed it a few times with one hand, and sent it flying into the yellow mist.
But this artifact, too, flickered with red light a few times before being swallowed up by the thick yellow mist, vanishing into the sea of fog.
This time, the female cultivator's face flushed slightly—she felt somewhat embarrassed—and proceeded to produce seven or eight more different artifacts in succession to probe the formation.
In the end, aside from a yellow copper mirror that could make the mist roil wherever its light fell, the rest had absolutely no effect whatsoever.
Seeing this, Hu Yue, Jin Qing, and the others exchanged glances, then could not help but fly over to the slope and walk up behind the female cultivator. Seeing that she appeared ready to continue pulling out more artifacts, Jin Qing finally could not hold back a quiet sigh and asked in a gentle tone.
"Hmph! If Fellow Daoist Han has any methods, feel free to use them. This humble girl will not stand in the way." Clearly, this Miss Shi Die was now somewhat angered by her embarrassment and did not give Han Li a pleasant look.
Han Li felt a slight annoyance inside.
But he who had always kept his emotions hidden showed no sign of dissatisfaction. Instead, he simply patted his storage pouch, and over a dozen small flags of various colors flew out from within. They then circled gently around him.
"Formation flags!" Jin Qing, who had sharp eyes, was the first to call out.
The others showed looks of surprise, not understanding why Han Li, instead of attempting to break the formation, had produced these items.
Han Li paid no heed to their astonished stares and pointed at the formation flags.
Instantly, over a dozen streaks of light shot upward. The formation flags flew to the sky above the yellow mist and arranged themselves according to a specific pattern, vaguely forming the shape of the Big Dipper as they hovered gently overhead.
"The Big Dipper Two Polarity Formation!" Shi Die seemed to discern something from the arrangement of the flags, revealing a trace of surprise.
At that moment, the formation flags had already begun emitting a low, sustained hum. Then, a dozen or so beams of light shot out from the small flags, converging in midair into a single massive beam that shot straight down into the mist below, vanishing without a trace.
Seeing this astonishing sight, the cultivators—including Shi Die—hurriedly looked toward the yellow mist, but the fog remained thick and still, with no sign of anything unusual.
"Brother Han, what is this..." Jin Qing, unable to contain his curiosity, was about to ask a few questions when the change finally occurred.
The previously lifeless and silent yellow mist suddenly began producing a deep buzzing sound. Then, the mist within started churning like boiling water, as though a great dragon were stirring the seas within, instantly coming alive.
Jin Qing swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
Han Li's eyes now gleamed with sharp light as he unceriously cast several more spell seals onto the formation flags hovering in the sky.
Immediately, the multicolored beams of light gathered by the dozen formation flags began shooting forth in rapid succession.
Before long, an astonishing sight appeared.
The previously churning yellow mist began to undulate in regular, rhythmic waves, forming one after another bulging protrusions that rose high like steamed buns, each one growing larger and taller.
It was as though some monstrous creature within was about to burst forth.
The other cultivators, seeing this, felt a chill run through them and involuntarily retreated.
Miss Shi Die, in particular, changed color dramatically and hurriedly dashed back over ten zhang before stopping and turning to look again.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!...*
A succession of deafening explosions erupted from the dense yellow mist.
Even though the cultivators had been on guard, they were still buffeted by the fierce gale that followed, staggering and barely able to keep their footing. Each of them hastily activated their respective protective barriers before steadying themselves and fixing their gaze upon the mist.
The result, other than what Shi Die had somewhat anticipated, startled every other cultivator.
The yellow mist—once so dense that no amount of effort had been able to disperse it—had now entirely cleared, revealing everything it had been concealing.
Hu Yue and the others were overjoyed. Jin Qing stepped quickly to Han Li's side and said with a broad grin:
"Brother Han, I did not expect you to be so capable. Has this formation already been broken by you?"
"Broken? Brother Jin, you underestimate the formation mastery of ancient cultivators too much. I have merely dispelled the outermost veil of illusion from this formation." Han Li's lips twitched slightly as he gave them an explanation with a wry smile.
"Haha! That is of no consequence. We have plenty of time ahead of us and can wait for you to gradually unlock this formation, Fellow Daoist. We now have great confidence in breaking through." Jin Qing felt a twinge of disappointment upon hearing this, but before he could say anything, Hu Yue, who had walked up from behind, spoke first with delight.
"Indeed! As cultivators, how could we ever lack for time? I was the one who was impatient!" Jin Qing paused upon hearing these words, then quickly and somewhat sheepishly echoed the sentiment.
At this point, Shi Die also approached, all traces of her former pride gone. She bowed deeply to Han Li and said with great sincerity:
"This humble girl truly had the vision of a frog in a well. I never imagined that Senior could break through a formation with another formation in such an ingenious manner. It has truly broadened my horizons. In the future, I hope Senior Han will be willing to offer some guidance in the art of formations."
Hearing her words, Han Li returned the bow with some surprise, and his impression of her changed considerably.
"There is nothing to it. These are merely small tricks. In truth, my comprehension of formations is not particularly profound." Han Li said with his usual composure.
These words of Han Li's were entirely sincere!
If the other woman had not first identified that this was an earth-and-wind attribute formation, Han Li would not have known where to begin in breaking this illusion array.
His study of formations had spanned only a little over twenty years, and what he had gained was still quite limited. He had merely scratched the surface when it came to most formation principles.
The reason he had been so confident in using these "Big Dipper Two Polarity Formation" flags to break this array was nothing more than his trust in Xin Ruyin, that genius of formation craft.
In the insights on breaking formations that she had gifted him, she had provided numerous ingenious methods for dismantling various formations under all manner of circumstances.
Han Li, without overthinking it or seeking deep understanding, had simply taken them and applied them directly.
And yet, this method proved remarkably effective.
With this single move, he had stunned everyone else.
But Han Li's words were evidently taken by these cultivators as mere modesty, and they still regarded him with a measure of respect. Han Li gave a faint smile at this, declining to press the explanation further. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the true face of the great formation that had been revealed now that the illusion layer had been peeled away.
Once the mist had dissipated, what emerged was a faint yellow barrier of light, enveloping an area of over a hundred zhang in diameter.