The Reversed Five Elements Formation

Chapter 226: The Reversed Five Elements Formation

Soon, some cultivators ran out of spirit stones and began offering rare items as collateral, each one more expensive and unusual than the last. Han Li watched the dizzying array of treasures with keen interest.

"I'll exchange a complete set of Reversed Five Elements Formation array tools for this spirit herb!"

Someone's sudden, urgent shout silenced the other clamoring cultivators.

It wasn't the volume of the voice that stunned them, but the name itself—"Reversed Five Elements Formation." It was so famous that virtually everyone present knew of it. In some respects, this formation was even more valued by cultivation clans and sects than the millennium spirit medicine on offer.

This miraculous formation, hailed as the "Minor Forbidden Array," had only two shortcomings: its coverage area was small, and it possessed no active offensive capabilities. However, its powers of illusory concealment for mountain gates and its ability to confuse and trap enemies were in no way inferior to the grand protective arrays of the major sects!

If one's own clan or sect had such a miraculous formation guarding it, wouldn't that be a tremendous guarantee of safety?

But logically speaking, a formation this powerful could only be set up by a formation master who had spent a year or more of hard labor at a specific site, consuming massive amounts of manpower and resources. Converting such a wondrous array into portable tools was an even more incredible feat!

If this was true, this auction was indeed full of surprises, enough to broaden anyone's horizons.

Hearing this, a gleam flashed in Han Li's eyes, and his spirits lifted. He turned to look at the speaker.

It was a Qi Condensation youth wearing a tiger-head mask. His build was short and stout, thoroughly unremarkable. He hardly seemed like someone who would possess such an extraordinary item. However, the look of urgency in his eyes suggested there might be some truth to his claim.

"You possess the array tools for the Reversed Five Elements Formation?" the tall, thin man asked after a momentary shock, his voice laced with suspicion as he scrutinized the youth. Although he found it hard to believe, if the other party truly had this set of formation tools, then the millennium spirit herb would naturally belong to him.

All the other cultivators also fixed their gazes on the youth, awaiting his reply.

"I do have them, but they aren't completely finished yet. They can only unleash one-tenth of the formation's full power! However, if you are willing to give me this spirit herb, I can guarantee that within a few years, I will increase the tools' power several times over, reaching at least half of their intended might." Seeing so many eyes upon him, the youth became a bit flustered. But the millennium spirit herb was too important, so he managed to stammer out his offer.

"So it's not the real thing—just an incomplete prototype!" Many cultivators were deeply disappointed. They had planned to commission a set for themselves if the youth truly had the finished array tools. But since it was a defective product, they naturally lost interest.

Formation masters in the cultivation world were even rarer than alchemists or artifact refiners. Once someone decided to delve deeply into formations, they were essentially giving up any hope of reaching the Great Dao. A person's energy was limited; they couldn't simultaneously focus on cultivation and the study of profound formations within a finite lifespan.

Nevertheless, some people began thinking about contacting the formation master behind this youth after the trading session ended.

After all, a formation master capable of researching the toolification of such a wondrous array would certainly be able to set up the formation on-site. For certain families and small sects, as long as the formation could protect their vital areas, whether it could be turned into portable tools or not was irrelevant.

"Are you joking, fellow Daoist? This is an auction; there's no such thing as waiting a few years to see the results! Considering your youth, I'll let this go for now. If you make a false bid again, don't blame me for being rude!" The tall, thin man's face fell as he spoke harshly.

The stout youth opened his mouth beneath his mask, as if to say something more. But the auctioneer had already turned away, ignoring him. The youth let out a long sigh and could only helplessly return to his seat.

Han Li, watching this scene, narrowed his eyes. After carefully studying the youth's appearance a few times, he committed his attire and build to memory.

By this time, the millennium spirit herb had fallen into the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had bid two thousand spirit stones plus a few Moon Essence Stones.

Thus, the secret shop's auction came to an end. The remaining time was set aside for free trade among the attending cultivators. Those who had nothing to exchange could simply leave through the stone door that had just been opened.

The burly man who had traded his Magic Essence for the puppet beast did not immediately leave. Instead, he sat leisurely in his chair, apparently intending to participate in the free trade. In contrast, the strange figure with a cloth sack over his head hurried away the moment the stone door opened, puzzling some of the onlookers.

Han Li didn't bother wasting his mental energy on such matters; he had enough of his own to worry about! He had originally planned to find the stout youth as soon as the free trade period began and see if he would transfer the array tools to him.

Although this set of "Reversed Five Elements Formation" tools could only unleash one-tenth of the original formation's power, that was more than enough for Han Li.

After all, he had long heard of this legendary formation's reputation. He believed that even at this reduced power, it would be a luxury for his crude and simple cave dwelling. It would be more than sufficient to protect his little patch of land.

However, Han Li hadn't expected that as soon as he identified the youth's direction and tried to approach, the other man was immediately surrounded by four or five other cultivators. They seemed to be discussing something with him.

This unexpected development left Han Li somewhat frustrated. He was also a bit worried—were these people planning to buy the array tools too?

But his concern proved unfounded.

After exchanging a few sentences with the youth, the group exchanged glances, shook their heads, and then dispersed. Only the stout youth was left, standing dejectedly in the same spot.

Greatly pleased, Han Li walked over. He cleared his throat and was about to speak. But before he could utter a word, the stout youth glanced at him indifferently and said listlessly:

"If you don't have a millennium spirit herb, don't bother me! The formation master I work for needs a spirit herb to save his life! I can't design formations for you right now."

Han Li was quite surprised by this, but then he chuckled softly.

"What if I do have a millennium spirit herb, but I'm not here to commission a formation?" he asked teasingly.

The youth was only at the tenth layer or so of Qi Condensation, so Han Li didn't feel the need to be overly cautious with him.

"You have a spirit herb, Senior?" The youth's spirits lifted immediately, and an expression of joy appeared on his face as he looked at Han Li.

Instead of answering him directly, Han Li glanced around.

It seemed no one was paying attention to them. All the other cultivators were focused on a man displaying an exchange artifact at the front.

"How about we talk over there? There are too many people here," Han Li said in a low voice, pointing to an inconspicuous corner of the hall.

"Sure, of course!"

The stout youth agreed without any hesitation. He then followed Han Li to a spot near the corner and stopped. The nearest cultivators were still five or six zhang away. After casually casting a sound-isolation barrier, Han Li felt secure enough to talk without being overheard.

Ever since he had successfully established his Foundation, some minor spells he had previously been unable to use came to him with ease. The stark contrast with his earlier, clumsy attempts never ceased to amaze him. The sound-isolation barrier was one of the more common minor spells he had quickly learned.

"Senior, do you really have a spirit herb? It has to be at least a thousand years old! An herb of seven or eight hundred years is useless!" the youth asked impatiently as soon as Han Li had set up his barrier. His anxiety was palpable.

Han Li gave him a cool glance without saying a word. He simply took out a box containing a spirit herb from his storage pouch.

The herb inside wasn't the thousand-year Yellow Essence Mushroom he had sold before, but a thousand-year Purple Laurel, which was no less valuable. Since the youth hadn't specified exactly what type of herb he needed, it seemed any millennium-grade herb would do. Han Li estimated that the youth probably needed the millennium herb as a medicinal primer, so he wasn't being too picky.

"This is..." The youth stared fixedly at the box, his face full of anticipation.

"That's right, it's a thousand-year spirit herb inside. But before I open the box for your inspection, shouldn't we discuss what you're going to offer in exchange?" Han Li said in a cool voice. Since the other party was in need, he intended to make him pay dearly! Array tools like these were rare, and Han Li wanted to acquire as many extra sets as he could for future use.

"What would Senior like? Besides that set of tools, I don't really have anything worthy of offering," the youth said with some difficulty after a moment of hesitation.

"Do you think a defective set of formation tools alone is enough to exchange for a millennium spirit herb?" Han Li asked, his voice maintaining its flat tone, showing no sign of disappointment at the youth's words.

"Well..."

The stout youth scratched his head, realizing it was a rather poor deal himself.