Chapter 153: Formation Has No Limits

Bang! Bang! Explosions resounded across the square.

Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng, using only the palm techniques they had just comprehended, fought to a standstill. Under the influence of his Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing ability, Li Fan meticulously studied their palm techniques. Combining this with his previous insights into Dao essence, he suddenly felt a breakthrough.

"Ah, so that's how it works!" he thought.

Although Li Fan possessed average aptitude and could not directly comprehend divine abilities from the Dao essence, he could still understand the palm techniques used by Su Xiaomei and Xiao Heng, who were also in the early Foundation Establishment stage. If you can't figure it out, can't you at least imitate it? He would first draw upon their insights to learn the palm technique as a divine art. Then, he would gradually incorporate his own understanding to ultimately form a palm technique entirely unique to him.

While observing the battle, Li Fan discovered further differences in their palm techniques. Although both were derived from observing that single wisp of Dao essence, the artistic conception of Xiao Heng's palm technique was ethereal and transcendent, as unfathomable as the Grand Dao itself. Su Xiaomei's palm technique, on the other hand, contained a hint of unparalleled dominance. It seemed as if with a single strike, all things in heaven and earth would have to submit.

It was impossible to say who was superior or inferior. It could only be said that the "Overturning the Sea Palm" from which they were derived was too astonishing and multifaceted. Their palm techniques were not only their own comprehensions but also the inherent concepts contained within the "Overturning the Sea Palm" itself.

Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei's battle continued for an entire day, only ending when Li Fan called a halt to it.

"Excellent. It seems you've gained a great deal. However, remember not to become complacent," Li Fan instructed. "You are still far from fully comprehending this wisp of Dao essence. From now on, you should continue to cultivate, deepen your understanding, and spar with each other."

Xiao Heng and Su Xiaomei nodded in agreement.

With the help of these two prodigies, Li Fan's understanding of the "Overturning the Sea Palm" grew daily. Unfortunately, as time passed, both Xiao Heng's and Su Xiaomei's respective palm techniques neared perfection. Yet Li Fan felt he was still lacking something. The palm technique he executed still fell only within the realm of a mere technique, far from rising to the level of a divine ability. However, Li Fan was not anxious; he simply patiently optimized and refined this palm technique.

Two months later, in the underground cultivation chamber, silver lines lit up one by one on the small black box. The sealing array on it was finally broken, and several items inside immediately appeared within the sight of Li Fan's clone.

One of them Li Fan found somewhat familiar: it was precisely the encrypted jade slip with golden inlays on all four corners. However, the content of this jade slip was certainly not He Zhenghao's posthumous work, "Array Diagram of a Hundred Mountain and River Veins."

His spiritual consciousness entered it to read the content. Not long after, Li Fan felt dizzy, and his spiritual sense withdrew from the jade slip. He pressed his temples to alleviate the stinging sensation in his spiritual sense, yet excitement gleamed in his eyes. The content recorded in this jade slip was precisely the lifelong learning of Zhang Zhiliang, the foremost array master of the Congyun Sea: the Infinite Method.

The array insights of both He Zhenghao and Zhang Zhiliang had now fallen into Li Fan's hands. It seemed that his clone would not be idle for a long time to come. With diligent study, Li Fan's path in array formations was certainly bound for a brilliant future. Li Fan was greatly looking forward to He Zhenghao's reaction when they discussed the Dao together in the next life.

Calming himself, Li Fan then examined the other items: a small white pouch, filled with silver aromatic powder—the very powder Li Fan had often used to relieve mental fatigue during his intense studies with Zhang Zhiliang; a small black orb, a Spirit Recognition Orb used for testing array formation proficiency; a piece of golden foil; and a regular jade slip.

Li Fan first read the jade slip. This naturally contained Zhang Zhiliang's last words. Zhang Zhiliang did not mention the conspiracy of the Divine Transformation cultivators of Myriad Immortals Island against Chi Yan. Instead, he simply introduced his Infinite Method to Li Fan and explained the purpose of the golden foil.

Zhang Zhiliang's Infinite Method was the culmination of his life's work. Li Fan was deeply impressed by the scene where hundreds of thousands of array circlets were unleashed simultaneously, influencing the conflict between Divine Transformation and Dao Integration stage cultivators, all while Zhang Zhiliang was only at the Nascent Soul stage.

However, according to Zhang Zhiliang's last words, the Infinite Method he currently cultivated was still far from being perfected. Zhang Zhiliang had once said during his lectures that array formations were essentially standardized principles. While standardization certainly made the application of these principles easier and swifter, it inevitably brought a fatal flaw: all array formations under heaven could be broken. Once an array formation was laid out, its standardization became fixed. Those proficient in array formations could discern its weaknesses and, with time, dismantle it. Array formations like the "Seven-Colored Immortal Descent Array" and the "Myriad Heavens Star-Dipper Array," though rumored to possess infinite power, would only be a matter of time for an array master who truly wished to break them.

What Zhang Zhiliang sought was an array formation that could not be broken. He believed that array formations could be broken because, once set up, they ceased to change. Without change, no matter how complex or vast, it would eventually be deciphered. However, if an array formation could continuously evolve and grow at all times, and if its rate of growth and change could surpass the breaking speed of the strongest array masters in the world, then that array formation would be one that could never be broken. This was Zhang Zhiliang's lifelong aspiration: the Infinite Method.

Unfortunately, despite Zhang Zhiliang's unparalleled mastery in array formations, he was still far from creating a truly Infinite Method. The most crucial element was the lack of a core—a central core capable of providing the computational power to support the array formation's infinite evolution. Zhang Zhiliang had attempted to use various things as this core—natural treasures, cultivators' consciousnesses, ancient magic treasures—but all failed without exception. The Infinite Method's computational power requirement for its core was terrifyingly high, even exceeding the limits of Zhang Zhiliang's comprehension.

Besides the computational power requirement, it was also essential for this core to possess its own sentience. Infinite evolution had countless directions. If it were merely exhaustive enumeration, the evolution speed would be greatly reduced. However, if the core possessed its own intelligence, it could continuously coordinate computational power and adjust to the optimal evolutionary direction. It could even make corresponding optimizations based on how array masters attempted to break it. Only then could the Infinite Method truly be called infinite.

Of course, Zhang Zhiliang held no expectations whatsoever that Li Fan would be able to realize the Infinite Method. His only hope was for Li Fan to inherit his current legacy and pass it down through generations, hoping that one day, a true genius of array formations would emerge to fulfill the grand ambition of the Infinite Method.

As for the golden foil, it was intended to motivate Li Fan in his study of array formations. Its name was "Legacy Voucher." Essentially, it was a legacy of a great many contribution points. It could only be claimed after the cultivator's death and upon meeting certain conditions. The Legacy Voucher left by Zhang Zhiliang astonishingly contained a total of 400,000 contribution points, representing Zhang Zhiliang's lifelong accumulation. It could be claimed in ten installments, with each claim requiring passing an array formation knowledge test using the Spirit Recognition Orb. There were a total of ten stages of tests. If one truly inherited Zhang Zhiliang's Infinite Method, then all 400,000 contribution points could be claimed. However, if one could not even pass the first stage of the test, then they could only gaze at the treasure mountain without being able to take a single bit.