Chapter 219: Fahai Transforms the Abyss into a Heavenly Realm

Li Fan heard this and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "I once went on a mission with Jiang Zhengji. If I recall correctly, both of them were only at the mid-stage of Core Formation. How could they escape from the pursuit of a Nascent Soul cultivator and so many Core Formation cultivators?"

Zhang Zhiliang narrowed his eyes slightly and slowly explained, "Although these two are only at the mid-stage of Core Formation, they are perfectly in sync with each other and cooperate seamlessly. They are also highly skilled in combined attack techniques. Their Core Formation Dharma Idols are a drifting white snow and a frost-defying red plum blossom. When working together, they can form a Glazed World, similar to a Nascent Soul Domain. When the two of them join forces, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would find it hard to match them."

Li Fan recalled the scene of slaying the red-haired strange beast on the island back then and nodded involuntarily.

As if remembering something, a smile appeared on Zhang Zhiliang's face, and he continued, "Two mere Core Formation cultivators wreaked havoc deep within their territory and still managed to retreat safely. The Five Elders' Council certainly couldn't tolerate such a loss of face and was bound to retaliate. However, they didn't dare to take on the responsibility of deploying a Spirit Transformation cultivator and initiating a full-scale war. So, they secretly dispatched a Nascent Soul cultivator to infiltrate the Congyun Sea and vent their frustration by wreaking havoc on Haitong Island. Hmph, that's all the Five Elders' Council is capable of." Zhang Zhiliang said with disdain.

With that, his expression turned serious. "Let's go. Although their actions were a bit petty, with a Nascent Soul cultivator taking action, Haitong Island indeed suffered significant losses. The island's grand protective formation structure was completely destroyed, and even the teleportation array is unusable. We'll have to teleport to the adjacent Youmen Island and fly from there."

Under Zhang Zhiliang's lead, Li Fan and the others took almost a full day to reach the vicinity of Haitong Island. The island's guardian had already been notified and was waiting there.

"Greetings, Grandmaster Zhang!"

Perhaps because of its proximity to the Five Elders' Council's territory, the guardian of this island was surprisingly a Core Formation cultivator. He looked like a burly, muscular man, but his face was pale, indicating he was quite seriously injured.

"This is Pei Tuo, the guardian of Haitong Island!" Zhang Zhiliang introduced him to Li Fan and the others. "Fellow Daoist Pei Tuo has now reached the peak of the Core Formation realm, with one foot already in the Nascent Soul realm. If not for Fellow Daoist Pei's desperate efforts to activate the island's grand protective formation during the Five Elders' Council's Nascent Soul cultivator's attack, Haitong Island would likely have become a ruin."

Pei Tuo waved his hand, somewhat ashamed. "I am incompetent, and do not deserve such praise from the Grandmaster."

Zhang Zhiliang laughed heartily and did not force the topic further. "Fellow Daoist Pei, have the mortals on the island been mostly evacuated?" he asked, changing the subject.

Pei Tuo nodded. "They have all been relocated to other islands. Grandmaster can begin the repair work at any time."

Zhang Zhiliang glanced down at the island. After a moment, he said, "The damage is even more severe than I imagined. Instead of slowly repairing it, it would be better to re-establish the entire formation."

As he spoke, he made no discernible movement. Above Haitong Island, however, the sky suddenly darkened. Heavy, dark clouds appeared from nowhere, and a giant eye emerged from within them, staring directly down at Haitong Island.

Although Li Fan was not the direct target of its gaze, within the giant eye's field of vision, he instantly felt his spiritual energy stagnate and become difficult to circulate. A sense of dread, as if all his secrets had been laid bare, welled up in his heart. Fortunately, Li Fan's mental fortitude was exceptional, and he had previously faced supreme experts like the White-Haired Heavenly Physician. In comparison, the pressure from a Nascent Soul realm cultivator was merely a minor matter.

Li Fan quickly returned to normal. However, to avoid drawing attention, he still pretended to tremble like the other formation repairers. Fortunately, the giant eye in the sky did not persist for long. A silver stream of light flashed across the surface of Haitong Island. In Li Fan's perception, all the remaining formation structures above the island dissolved and disintegrated in this silver light. In an instant, no trace of formations remained on Haitong Island.

The sky became clear and bright again. A hint of envy flashed in Pei Tuo's eyes as he said, "Grandmaster Zhang's 'Eye of the Dharma Cavern Heaven's' power is becoming increasingly extraordinary."

This was also the first time Li Fan had seen Zhang Zhiliang use his Cavern Heaven Domain. Compared to the Nascent Soul cultivator whose domain was a volcano, whom Li Fan had previously killed, Zhang Zhiliang's 'Eye of the Dharma Cavern Heaven' was clearly more than one level stronger.

"I have completely cleared all the formations on the island. Next, you will follow me to reconstruct the formations," Zhang Zhiliang said to Li Fan and the others. "Currently, our Myriad Immortals Alliance's grand island protection formation is the Heavenly Yuan Genesis Formation. The outer formation alone has three hundred sixty-seven thousand eight hundred nodes, and each node is composed of hundreds of individual formations. Your task this time is to reconstruct the external structure of the Heavenly Yuan Genesis Formation. As for the internal core formations, given your current level of formation mastery, it is still too early for you to attempt them. I will construct those personally this time."

As Zhang Zhiliang spoke, he pointed into the void ahead. A light screen displaying hundreds of detailed formation structure diagrams unfolded before everyone.

"Li Fan, tell me, what basic formations are included in this diagram?" Zhang Zhiliang called out.

After a brief discernment, Li Fan calmly replied, "Spirit Gathering Array, Fortification Array, One-Qi Array..."

Hearing Li Fan's answer, Zhang Zhiliang nodded in satisfaction. He then proceeded to explain the construction method of each node in detail to everyone. Pei Tuo also discreetly moved away from the area, staying vigilant in a defensive posture.

It took a full three days and three nights for Zhang Zhiliang to thoroughly explain the external nodes of the Heavenly Yuan Genesis Formation. Although Li Fan couldn't fully comprehend everything, with the assistance of the Divine Transformation One Secret Art, he had firmly committed it to memory.

"Grandmaster Zhang, I once incidentally heard about an ancient formation called the 'Elemental Transformation and Rebirth Grand Array' in an old text. I wonder what its connection is to our Myriad Immortals Alliance's Heavenly Yuan Genesis Formation?" Li Fan seized the opportunity to ask.

Zhang Zhiliang was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Li Fan to ask such a question. "You are indeed knowledgeable to even know about such obscure formations," Zhang Zhiliang praised before explaining to Li Fan, "The 'genesis' function within the Heavenly Yuan Genesis Formation is derived from the ancient Elemental Transformation and Rebirth Grand Array. However, now that all mortals possess the Immortal-Mortal Miasma, the formation had to be altered accordingly to be usable. Its actual effect, though, is far inferior to what it once was. It's said that the ancient Elemental Transformation and Rebirth Grand Array could convert the vital essence of mortals into longevity fruits for cultivators to consume. Now, it only serves to increase the spiritual energy concentration within the formation and nourish the physical body, among other minor effects." Zhang Zhiliang spoke with considerable regret.

Next, he distributed the formation materials and instructed everyone to independently construct the formation nodes. With a free opportunity to practice his formation-laying abilities, Li Fan naturally wouldn't miss it. He immediately began to set up the formations with complete absorption.

Up until now, Li Fan had primarily focused on theoretical learning of formations, with relatively little practical experience in laying them out. Consequently, he was somewhat unaccustomed at first, and his error rate was also relatively high. But soon, Li Fan discovered the incredible power of the Divine Transformation One.