Chapter 108
Baek-Cheong walked alongside Jin-Wi deeper into Jinmunbong Peak.
The further they went into the Peak, the denser the shimmering of the Formation Glyphs became.
The Formation Glyphs floating between the pavilions would neatly gather to form small Formation Fragments, and spiritual energy of various colors would flow faintly between the Formation Glyphs.
Baek-Cheong deliberately lowered her gaze to her feet so that the Formation Glyphs wouldn’t all enter her field of vision at once.
Jin-Wi guided her toward the center of the Peak and spoke in a highly excited voice.
“Young Lady Baek, the Platform area is the most popular spot on Jinmunbong Peak. For the academic exhibition, a Venerable Formation Master of Our Sect has laid out a Formation on the Platform, opening a test so that External Guests can challenge it themselves. However, it is not an easy Formation, so…”
Jin-Wi trailed off with a somewhat proud smile.
On the large Platform in the middle of the Peak, a small cluster of clouds was draped in a circle.
From a distance, it looked as though white fog had settled upon the Platform, but upon closer inspection, Formation Glyphs were faintly embedded between the clouds.
At the edge of the Platform, cultivators who appeared to be External Guests and Biun Sect disciples were lined up, waiting for their turn.
Compared to the number of people waiting, not many cultivators actually stepped into the test, and even those who did enter mostly barely escaped after a long while.
“They call it Unmihwanjin, and it certainly lives up to its name.”
“My line of sight was blocked right from the start, so I couldn’t figure out where to step at all.”
The cultivators exchanged words with sighs.
Up on the Platform, a Formation Master wearing a Cheongsu Robe stood guard with his hands clasped together.
His aura seemed to have reached the Mid-to-Late Qi Condensation Stage, and an embroidery representing a Formation Master of the Biun Sect was neatly stitched onto the chest of his robe.
“Unmihwanjin is a Formation treated as an Introductory Formation even in Our Sect. The structure itself is not that complicated, but because the inside is obscured by clouds, it is not easy to gauge which direction to step. It can be said to be a Formation that one can only escape if one’s intuition and Spiritual Perception are outstanding, rather than one’s scholarly knowledge of deciphering Formations. If you escape within One Shichen, it would not be unreasonable to consider you a prodigy of formations.”
A light Murmur rippled through the cultivators.
However, among the cultivators gathered there, almost none seemed to possess the qualifications to escape within One Shichen.
Jin-Wi stared at the Unmihwanjin from below the Platform for a long time before looking at Baek-Cheong.
“Young Lady Baek, may I also try going in? I was quite frustrated because I couldn’t escape in the end during the last academic exhibition…”
“Yes, senior Jin-Wi, please go in first.”
Jin-Wi immediately stepped onto the Platform, brought his hands together, and paid his respects to the Formation Master.
“Senior Formation Master, I will take the challenge.”
“Oh, if it isn’t Martial Uncle’s True Disciple. Go ahead and enter.”
The Formation Master nodded and manipulated the Formation, Clearing the entrance of the Unmihwanjin to one side.
Jin-Wi straightened his Robe Hem and stepped inside the Unmihwanjin.
The clouds embraced Jin-Wi’s feet and obscured his vision in all directions.
Baek-Cheong watched the Unmihwanjin from the edge of the Platform.
What was happening inside the clouds rarely leaked to the outside, but the flow of the Formation Glyphs was faintly visible to Baek-Cheong’s eyes.
The Origin Glyph gathered spiritual energy, the Main Body Glyph released the spiritual energy into clouds, the Boundary Glyph surrounded the outside, and the Anchor Glyph held the structure in place.
Jin-Wi’s shadow was spinning in circles near the center of the clouds.
He repeatedly entered one path, reached a dead end, and retraced his steps.
‘Ah, it’s not that way…’
Around the time Two Shichen had passed, Jin-Wi stumbled out headfirst from the exit of the Unmihwanjin.
His Robe Hem was disheveled to one side, and fine beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
“…I barely made it out.”
“If it’s Two Shichen, you can be said to have an aptitude for Formations. It is a qualification befitting Martial Uncle’s True Disciple.”
The Formation Master clapped and guided Jin-Wi down from the Platform.
Jin-Wi caught his ragged breath and walked toward Baek-Cheong.
“Young Lady Baek, this… is not easy at all. I think it would be fine if you don’t push yourself.”
Baek-Cheong shifted her gaze toward the Platform.
The structure of the Unmihwanjin could be somewhat deciphered even from below the Platform.
As she thought back to when she had personally handled small Formations, the Unmihwanjin was merely a Formation with slightly more Formation Glyphs and an added effect of obscuring vision.
‘It’s not a very difficult Formation, though.’
Baek-Cheong straightened her appearance once.
“I’ll try going in too.”
“…Will you be alright?”
Jin-Wi hesitated for a moment before nodding as if he had no choice.
As the Sect Master’s True Disciple, it was not his place to dissuade Baek-Cheong’s curiosity.
Baek-Cheong stepped onto the Platform, brought her hands together, and paid her respects to the Formation Master.
“Senior Formation Master, may I try the challenge?”
“Oh, has the Young Dao Friend’s curiosity been piqued as well? Do not push yourself, and go ahead and enter.”
The Formation Master accepted the child’s challenge without much thought and opened the entrance to the Unmihwanjin.
The clouds rose around her and began to envelop her vision in all directions.
It was a scene similar to strolling through fog, yet quite different from fog.
Unlike fog, the clouds formed a Labyrinth, stretching out in winding paths.
However, the exit of the path came into Baek-Cheong’s field of vision brightly.
Every single Formation Glyph embedded between the clouds could be distinguished without omission, showing exactly where and how it was supporting the Formation, and the route from the entrance to the exit of the Formation was visible at a glance, as if a blueprint had been laid out.
‘Now that I’m inside, the Formation Structure is even easier to see.’
The path to escape lay brightly ahead of her feet immediately.
It even seemed that if she slightly shook one side of the Anchor Glyph, she could Dismantle the Unmihwanjin itself.
However, Baek-Cheong bit her lip.
“No.”
If the Formation was shining this brightly only in her eyes, there was no way to know how it appeared in the vision of other Formation Masters.
Formations was a Talent she had never been caught using.
Since it wasn’t an art that left traces as a final product like Pill Refining, it was easier to keep secret, and among the secrets intertwined with the Nameless Forum, it needed to be hidden the deepest.
“I should take my time getting out.”
Baek-Cheong deliberately bypassed the fast route and stepped onto a side path between the clouds.
And at every passage, she deliberately stopped her feet.
Even though the location of the Formation’s exit was visible at a glance, she turned her head left and right, pretending to hesitate.
She repeatedly entered one path, let out a small sigh, retraced her steps, and entered another path.
“So Formation Glyphs can be used in this way too.”
In reality, the exit of the Formation was just a couple of steps away, but Baek-Cheong deliberately took a long detour all the way to the path opposite the exit.
It wasn’t a place to show off her skills in front of anyone after a long time, but rather, thanks to slowing her steps, she was able to study the uses of the Formation Glyphs inside the Unmihwanjin.
Meanwhile, the Formation Master observed the flow of the Unmihwanjin and wore a somewhat surprised expression.
Since he was directly operating the Formation, he could tell how far someone was wandering inside.
However, there was no particular wandering in the Young Dao Friend’s steps.
She would stop once in a while as if hesitating, but with every step she took, she was unknowingly advancing along the path leading to the next part of the Formation.
“Hoh…”
On the other hand, Baek-Cheong felt a bit bored and continuously stifled her yawns.
Since she had finished examining the Formation Glyphs utilized in the Formation, there was no way to kill time.
It wasn’t like she could browse the forum while inside the Formation.
At this rate, holding out for One Shichen seemed impossible.
“This should be enough.”
Thinking she had spent enough time to not stand out too much, she moved her feet.
As soon as she reached the exit, the clouds cleared, and she could breathe the outside air.
She smoothed her fluttering hair and stepped onto the Platform.
Her robe was not disheveled in the slightest, and not a single bead of sweat had formed on her forehead.
“Young Dao Friend, you are to escape the Unmihwanjin within one meal’s time. It is a place where even those among Our Sect’s Formation masters who enter for the first time often wander for Two Shichen.”
“I guess I just happened to pick the right path.”
Baek-Cheong displayed modesty and answered demurely.
At the same time, the thought that it was a trivial Formation did not leave her mind.
Unaware of this, the Formation Master shook his head and spoke.
“Picking the right path in the Unmihwanjin is not something that can be explained by mere luck. Unless your Spiritual Perception to grasp the flow of the Formation is genius-level, pulling yourself out of my Formation within one meal’s time is an impossible Feat.”
The cultivators watching from below the Platform also let out small groans and directed their gazes at the young child.
“…I don’t know which Prestigious Family that child is from, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone escape the Unmihwanjin in just one meal’s time.”
“Could she really be a genius in Formations at such a young age?”
The cultivators exchanged words noisily among themselves.
The Formation Master brought his hands together and bowed his head toward the young child once more.
“I would like to ask if the Young Dao Friend has any intention of stepping onto the path of Formations. Such intuition and Spiritual Perception is a Talent among Prodigies one might encounter only once in ten thousand. If Our Sect were to prepare a small position…”
While the Formation Master was continuing his words of invitation, Jin-Wi urgently interjected from below the Platform.
“Senior Formation Master, Young Lady Baek has been taken in as a Disciple by the Pacheon Sword Saint of the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
Jin-Wi dropped his slack-jawed expression and calmly brought his hands together.
The Formation Master’s expression stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.
“…Ah, I see.”
The thought of bringing a young child under the protection of the Heavenly Sword Sect into Our Sect was not a matter for a mere Formation Master to handle.
However, the regret on the Formation Master’s face did not easily fade.
“I committed a great discourtesy, not knowing you were the Pacheon Sword Saint’s Disciple. However… as a Formation Master, encountering a Young Dao Friend with such qualifications in Formations is something to be deeply admired.”
The Formation Master carefully bowed his head and withdrew his request.
In truth, Baek-Cheong was busy calculating in her head regarding the Formation Master’s invitation.
Unlike talismans, Formations were an art she genuinely coveted.
However, since it was a Talent that had quietly fallen into her hands while mingling with dao friends in the Nameless Forum, there hadn’t been a suitable opportunity to explain how she learned it in front of her Family at the Main Family.
“If things go well…”
Amidst this, a small thought flashed through her mind.
It was a situation where the Formation Master had publicly praised her intuition and Spiritual Perception, and even the cultivators below the Platform had witnessed her skills with their own eyes.
If she were to obtain a Formation Introduction Manual in this situation, her later involvement with Formations would likely be interpreted as natural even in front of her Family.
“This is an opportunity in many ways.”
Furthermore, she also wanted to take a peek at how Formation Masters learned and mastered Formations.
Since her method involved understanding and awakening to Formation Glyphs based on the Spell Thousand Character Classic, it was also an opportunity to compare it with the standard method.
Baek-Cheong pretended to hesitate for a moment while smoothing her clothes.
“Senior Formation Master.”
“Yes, Young Dao Friend.”
“Since I serve the Sword Saint as my Master and am walking the path of a sword cultivator, it would be difficult to step onto the path of Formations, but…”
She bowed her head slightly and spoke cautiously.
“Actually, I’ve had a little interest in Formations for a while now. I was just wondering what kind of books Formation Masters read first when they start learning Formations, so if you happen to have something like an introductory manual, could you show it to me?”
The Formation Master paused for a moment at Baek-Cheong’s request, and then his expression immediately brightened.
“Ah, the very fact that a Young Dao Friend with such qualifications holds a scholarly curiosity for Formations is a gratifying matter for this Formation Master.”
The Formation Master immediately rummaged through his Storage Platform with an excited voice.
A small jade slip was pulled out from inside the Storage Platform.
“This is the Introductory Jade Slip shown to disciples taking their first steps into formations in Our Sect. It only briefly outlines the Basic Principles of formations and a simple Formation Arrangement Order, so it should be perfect for the Young Dao Friend to lightly browse through.”
Baek-Cheong politely received the jade slip he handed over.
From the way he pulled it straight out of his Storage Platform and placed it in her hand, it seemed to be an extra Introductory Jade Slip he had prepared for the academic exhibition.
“Thank you. I will read it well.”
She tucked the small jade slip inside her Storage Platform.
A proud feeling filled her small chest at the thought of having obtained a Formation Introduction Manual.
Then, after bowing her head in gratitude, she stepped down from the Platform.
Meanwhile, below the Platform, Jin-Wi was looking at Baek-Cheong.
Without realizing it, he found his gaze filled with an unknown sense of awe.
He had assumed there was no reason for her to be a genius in Formations following Pill Refining and talismans, but the senior Formation Master’s expression and the Introductory Jade Slip he personally handed over trampled that assumption.
Furthermore, he himself had escaped the Formation quickly, yet he received nothing.
“Young Lady Baek, you even got your hands on a Formation Jade Slip…”
“Yes, the senior Formation Master personally gave it to me.”
Baek-Cheong answered without much thought, revealing a bright smile.
At this smile, even the tiny bit of jealousy that had been blooming in Jin-Wi melted away and disappeared.
He unknowingly showed a relaxed expression and quickened his pace.
“Young Lady Baek, there are still many places left to look around on Jinmunbong Peak. Over in that Pavilion, a Formation Diagram is laid out, and further inside, there is a place prepared to examine Formations up close.”
At this, Baek-Cheong nodded with curiosity.
However, as she looked around the various schools, her disappointment only grew.
In the end, even the slightest bit of expectation vanished, making the itinerary boring.
Because
“This is why Rote Learning is a problem.”
Most Formation Masters only used standardized formations and knew nothing about Formation Glyphs.