The wound was bleeding profusely.
Zi Linling ignored it, for the moment she stepped into the killing formation, she was entangled by countless sword energies.
Though these sword energies were ordinary, their sheer number forced even Zi Linling to focus entirely on defending herself.
"Autumn Wind Slash!"
"Five Spirits Blast!"
"Wildfire Rages!"
"Autumn Wind Falling Leaves Saber Technique!"
Zi Linling unleashed one powerful move after another to shatter the encroaching sword energies.
But a killing formation was a killing formation. The sword energies that were destroyed would reform in mere moments, flying towards Zi Linling once more.
Zi Linling's expression changed slightly.
While her attacks could temporarily keep the sword energies at bay, as long as the formation remained unbroken, the sword energies would be inexhaustible.
Eventually, her stamina and spiritual energy would run out, leaving her in grave danger.
What should she do?
Could brute force overcome all obstacles? Break the formation with sheer power?
If she were to do that, only her strongest attack, the Five Spirits Autumn Wind Slash, could achieve such a feat.
However, after such an attack, her spiritual energy and stamina would be depleted to a terrifying degree.
If any further danger arose then, she might suffer a fatal setback.
Forget it!
She would break this killing formation first.
Zi Linling gritted her teeth, activating the Illusory Dragon Step while simultaneously charging an attack.
"Ignorant fool!"
Elder Du snorted coldly. "This killing formation is the weakest among all the killing formations on this path. If you break it with brute force, you'll be left to lament when you encounter the more powerful formations later!"
Zi Linling's charging motion immediately halted. She asked in shock, "Elder Du, are you saying there are more such killing formations ahead?"
Elder Du replied impatiently, "Not just 'such' formations, but ones more than ten times more powerful than this. Do you think you can still break them with brute force with your current abilities?"
Zi Linling's face paled.
According to Elder Du, this current formation was the weakest, yet she needed her strongest attack to break it.
If the formations ahead were more than ten times more powerful, how could she possibly break them?
"Then what should I do? This is a killing formation! Every moment we delay, the danger increases!"
"What should you do?"
Elder Du rebuked, clearly disappointed. "You are a formation master! What do you think you should do?"
Zi Linling blinked, and suddenly understood. Elder Du wanted her to break the formation as a formation master.
But how?
In illusory formations, misty formations, or trapped formations, she had ample time to locate the formation eye.
However, this was a killing formation. A single mistake could lead to injury, or worse, death. She did not have the luxury of time to search for the formation eye.
Elder Du seemed to see through her thoughts, his face stern. "A formation master not only needs to know how to decipher formations, but also how to set them up, and even how to break formations with other formations. Do you understand?"
Breaking a formation by setting up formations?
A flash of inspiration struck Zi Linling, but it quickly vanished.
Seeing her confused expression, Elder Du couldn't help but scold, "Stupid! After learning so much about formation basics, don't you even know basic defensive formations?"
Zi Linling's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
She slapped her forehead, cursing herself for being so foolish.
She could first set up a simple defensive formation around herself to withstand the outer killing formation, and then carefully search for and dismantle the formation eye of the killing formation. That way, she could break it.
Seeing her clarity, Elder Du nodded with satisfaction. "This killing formation is the weakest one on this path. You can use it to verify your understanding of basic formations and integrate them.
Only then can you learn the myriad of changes on the foundation of integration. Always remember, all variations stem from the same origin. Basic formations may seem simple, but they can be used as a foundation to deduce countless formations."
Zi Linling nodded and said earnestly, "Elder Du, I understand now!"
Elder Du nodded and said, "Be safe!"
Zi Linling nodded again. She carefully recalled the knowledge about defensive formations from her formation basics, combined it with the current situation, deduced a plan, and then began setting up the formation.
Fortunately, her Nine Spirit Ring contained many formation materials, all collected by Elder Du at her previous behest.
This showed Elder Du had intended to teach her formations for a long time but had never found a suitable opportunity.
This trip to the Hehuan Sect, however, allowed Elder Du to fulfill his wish.
With these formation materials, Zi Linling quickly set up a simple defensive formation.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief, taking a brief rest within the defensive formation while carefully observing the killing formation outside.
Since this killing formation was primarily composed of sword energies, it required a medium that could simulate sword energies – swords.
To ensure the killing formation's potency, the swords used as mediums had to be placed within the formation.
And this sword was the formation eye of the killing formation.
Therefore, to break the killing formation, Zi Linling had to first locate the sword.
Where was it?
Zi Linling meticulously observed everything around her and soon detected a slight anomaly.
The anomaly was located within the dense mass of sword energies.
Through observation, Zi Linling discovered that whenever sword energies were destroyed, a specific spot within the killing formation would briefly absorb some spiritual energy.
Although the absorption was momentary, the spiritual energy fluctuations were exceptionally intense.
And once the spiritual energy fluctuations at that spot disappeared, the destroyed sword energy would reform.
This meant that the spot absorbing spiritual energy was likely the location of the sword, hence the formation eye.
"Finally found you!"
A hint of joy flickered in Zi Linling's eyes.
She leaped out of the defensive formation, exposing herself to the killing formation.
Of course, she wasn't masochistic; to break the killing formation, she had to be in the same vicinity.
The moment Zi Linling appeared within the killing formation, the Illusory Dragon Step was already activated beneath her feet.
Simultaneously, a ball of yellow spiritual energy appeared in her hand.
"Earth Spirit Blast!"
With a soft cry, she threw the spiritual energy ball onto the formation eye.
She chose to use Earth Spirit Blast because the earth spiritual energy within it shared the same origin as the earth itself, making it easier to damage the formation eye.
Furthermore, Earth Spirit Blast had a single attribute, making it more energy-efficient than the Five Spirits Blast.
With a resounding boom, a large pit was blasted into the formation eye.
And within that pit, a long sword gleamed with cold light, plunged deep.
Zi Linling's Illusory Dragon Step shifted again, and she was already standing near the sword.
As she stood there, the countless sword energies ceased their attacks. This was the marvel of the formation eye.
Zi Linling's jade-like hand grasped the sword hilt and, with a gentle pull, the sword was drawn out.