Chapter 180: Wanli Mountain and River Formation

On the golden barrier enveloping the island, there was a small circular gap.

He Zhenghao led Li Fan through this small gap, entering the island's protective grand formation.

"Later, when you meet the formation masters, don't mention the contribution points in front of them. Play it by ear. Once everything is done, just transfer the contribution points to me, and I'll pass them on to Zhang Zhiliang," He Zhenghao quietly instructed.

Li Fan smiled slightly, indicating his understanding.

"Haha! Daoist He, you've come at just the right time!"

Just then, Gong Boyu's laughter echoed from afar.

Li Fan looked towards the sound and saw several formation masters from the Strategy Formation Hall already gathered there.

Before them was a vertically displayed colossal light screen.

On the screen, numerous tiny formation units flashed by rapidly.

The formation masters occasionally pointed at the light screen, discussing various things with different expressions.

"This is..." Li Fan's eyes gleamed as he looked towards the golden formation in the sky.

As expected, he vaguely saw many tiny discs, like crawling insects, attached to the surface of the formation barrier.

While drawing power from the formation, they transmitted the most minute unit data of the grand formation to the central light screen.

"Formation-breaking Discs."

In his twelfth life, Zhang Zhiliang's writings had mentioned this type of magical artifact.

They could analyze the composition data of a formation without damaging its structure, thereby providing reference solutions for breaking it.

A set consisted of 1,180 Formation-breaking Discs, and they were quite valuable.

He had never had the chance to see them before, but unexpectedly encountered them today.

"Come, come, Daoist He, quickly take a look at the latest analysis data! Is this island's re-emergence from the seabed related to geological vein shifts?" Gong Boyu enthusiastically greeted him.

Although He Zhenghao was eager to join the discussion, he didn't forget the main purpose. He turned to Zhang Zhiliang and said, "Daoist Zhang, this is Daoist Li Fan, whom I mentioned before. He's interested in serving as a formation repairman under you. With his Foundation Establishment cultivation, he has a slight understanding of formations."

Zhang Zhiliang merely glanced at Li Fan, then tossed over a Spirit-Sensing Orb. "You can take the test first. As long as you're not completely ignorant of formations, there shouldn't be any issues."

Li Fan took the Spirit-Sensing Orb, and his divine sense entered and circulated within it before exiting, quickly concluding the test.

Zhang Zhiliang looked at the number of light points illuminated on the Spirit-Sensing Orb, a hint of surprise in his expression.

"I hear you've only been self-studying formations until now? This is an excellent result; you're more than qualified to be a formation repairman!"

Zhang Zhiliang was very aware of the difficulty of the questions within his Spirit-Sensing Orb. Some could even be considered tricky. Let alone self-taught formation practitioners, even regular apprentices within the Strategy Formation Hall might not perform as well as the person before him.

"Master, you overpraise me! This junior's aptitude is dull; my only reliance is diligence!" Li Fan replied calmly.

Zhang Zhiliang nodded, increasingly satisfied, and handed Li Fan a jade token.

Engraved on the jade token was a tilted metallic cube design, which was the main building of the Strategy Formation Hall.

Zhang Zhiliang instructed, "With this jade token, first go to the Administration Hall for identity registration, then collect the relevant items at the Myriad Profound Mirror. After your permissions are activated, any questions you have can also be searched for answers in the Heavenly Profound Mirror."

Li Fan nodded in understanding, put away the jade token, bowed, and expressed his gratitude.

Seeing the matter proceed so smoothly, He Zhenghao also showed a delighted expression.

With the matter settled, he immediately focused his attention on the light screen of the Formation-breaking Discs.

His expression became focused, and his demeanor abruptly changed, as if he had transformed into a different person in an instant.

Li Fan watched, marveling at the sight.

On the light screen, the flashing speed of the images continuously accelerated.

He Zhenghao also seemed to be struggling a bit, and beads of sweat began to drip from his forehead.

Above his head, a scroll painting slowly unfurled.

Within the painting, one could faintly discern continuous mountain ranges and a densely scattered network of waterways.

Mountains and waters merged, stretching endlessly for thousands of miles.

The sight was magnificent and spectacular.

"This must be Daoist He's Foundation Establishment wondrous item, the Array Map of Mountains and A Hundred Veins. Judging by its might, it seems to be more than just an ordinary wondrous item," Li Fan observed carefully, thinking to himself.

After about half a *zhan cha* (a short period), He Zhenghao finally let out a long breath and retracted the strange phenomenon of his wondrous item.

"Daoist Gong, your foresight is extraordinary! In one word: accurate!" he praised first.

Then he slowly continued, "Indeed, this island is located directly above a geological vein. A significant change must have occurred at another node along this vein, causing this island, which had been submerged for three thousand years, to resurface."

"However, that location seems to be extremely far from Congyun Sea. With my Foundation Establishment cultivation, it's difficult to pinpoint its exact coordinates," He Zhenghao said regretfully.

He Zhenghao's words immediately sparked a heated discussion among the group of formation masters.

"It really was caused by geological vein shifts? How massive must that event have been?"

"Daoist He couldn't sense it, so the incident location must be quite distant. For such a distant event to have such an impact, it must have been a grand spectacle, at least on the scale of 'a hundred mountains turning into flat plains'."

"We'll find out which state it happened in once we inquire."

"That's not necessarily true. Geological vein shifts can also occur deep underground. The surface might only experience slight tremors."

While the discussion there was intense, Zhang Zhiliang, who hadn't participated, suddenly asked, "Daoist He, what are your thoughts on this golden island-protecting grand formation?"

He Zhenghao's eyes narrowed slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he replied, "This golden formation is connected to the geological veins. If my guess is correct, it should be based on the Grand Formation of Mountains and Rivers."

"As long as the geological veins remain intact, this protective grand formation will be endless. And that Myriad Immortals Grand Formation can even condense the geological veins of an entire state. Its defense is so strong that even three or four Dao Integration stage cultivators personally arriving might not be able to break it."

"It's far superior to the current defensive schemes by more than just one level."

Zhang Zhiliang slowly nodded. "Although this formation's defense is strong, if it were to be broken, it would also cause some damage to the geological veins. I wonder what they encountered back then to choose such an extreme solution as the Grand Formation of Mountains and Rivers."

Gong Boyu also leaned in at this point. "Why bother with so many questions? This free Grand Formation of Mountains and Rivers is right before our eyes. Being able to observe it without spending merit or contribution points is a rare opportunity, perhaps once in a century."

He Zhenghao repeatedly said, "Daoist Gong is right. Such a good opportunity must not be missed; we should thoroughly study it."

As he spoke, the group immersed themselves in the continuously flashing images on the Formation-breaking Discs' light screen.

Li Fan also observed for a while. Unfortunately, with his current foundation in formation techniques, he wasn't yet able to gain any insights from it.

Seeing that the formation masters wouldn't be emerging from their focused state anytime soon, Li Fan decided not to linger.

After bidding farewell, he quietly returned to Myriad Immortals Island.

He headed straight for the Administration Hall in the center of the island.