Chapter 072
Chapter 72: Digging Through a Planet
Two Star Sealing Stones continuously emitted Star Force, clashing against each other. When Mu Ran released his hold, the two stones kept colliding, their force unceasing.
“Automation?” Wang Jie asked, astonished.
Mu Ran nodded. “Yes, Formation Dao is about automation. The most fundamental connection method in Formation Dao is frequency. You can think of it as the destructive force on the region’s void. Have you figured it out yet?”
Wang Jie observed them for a moment, then quietly ventured, “The attack force is the same.”
Mu Ran praised, “Correct, but it’s not about force. It’s about frequency. This master, cough cough, I extract the Star Force from the first Star Sealing Stone to strike the second. The force from the second Star Sealing Stone will naturally rebound. And the collision between the two Star Sealing Stones will always maintain that exact force.”
“Until the Star Force within the stones is completely depleted.”
Wang Jie understood. “So, this is Formation Dao?”
Mu Ran scoffed, shaking his head. “This is just the basic principle. Formation Dao is far more complex than this. Do you know why formation daoists are so highly respected?”
Wang Jie honestly shook his head.
Mu Ran took out a dead ant from his storage ring and tossed it between the two Star Sealing Stones, where it was instantly obliterated.
“To a Formation Daoist, a cultivator is just like that ant. As long as the Formation Dao’s power is strong enough, no matter the cultivation level, they can be forcibly eradicated.”
At that moment, Mu Ran’s voice became solemn, his words echoing deeply in the spaceship.
Wang Jie, however, found himself staring at Mu Ran’s storage ring. This guy actually carried ants around with him?
Mu Ran’s gaze shifted toward him.
Wang Jie quickly expressed his amazement, “This… this is so powerful?”
Mu Ran smiled contentedly. “Alright, I’ve explained the basic principles. Now, your task is to go to the designated location and attack the planet. Bury the formation stones—Star Sealing Stones—deep within the planet. It’s simple. This kind of strenuous work is not something we formation daoists should do.”
Wang Jie quickly agreed.
On their way to the destination, Wang Jie tried to flatter Mu Ran with many compliments, which made the latter quite pleased, and as a result, he shared even more information.
For example, the difference between Star Sealing Stones and Star Artifacts. According to Mu Ran, while they seemed different, high-level formation daoists could use Star Artifacts as formation stones, or even use cultivators or cosmic giant beasts as formation components.
Wang Jie immediately declared that Mu Ran must be one of those high-level formation daoists.
Mu Ran humbly waved it off and then handed Wang Jie a Star Sealing Stone.
Looking at the Star Sealing Stone in his hand, Wang Jie noticed it contained Star Force, though not much. If the Star Force from a Star Artifact were poured into this stone, it would be far more powerful. Thinking of this, he sought out Mu Ran again, praising him until Mu Ran was dizzy.
“The Star Force inside the Star Sealing Stone? Of course, that’s inherent,” Mu Ran said with a wave of his hand. “I can’t fill it with Star Force myself. Just like those Star Artifacts, the materials used to create them come from the universe, and like stars, they come with Star Force. Of course, there are exceptions, like Celestial Refinement Masters, but they’re rare, no need to go into detail. You don’t understand because you’re cultivating Lock Force, but anyone who cultivates Star Force should try to control more planets. Every planet has Star Force—it’s just a matter of how much.”
“Star Artifact materials, Star Sealing Stones, and planets all come with Star Force.”
“That’s common knowledge. But that’s only true for us. I’ve heard of some powerful individuals who can transform themselves into stars and absorb the Star Force from the universe. Those kinds of people should be able to inject Star Force into Star Sealing Stones…”
Mu Ran spoke for a while, and the more Wang Jie listened, the more he longed to experience such things.
As much as Wang Jie was thirsting for knowledge of the cultivation world, Mu Ran had his own curiosities as well.
When Mu Ran was in a particularly good mood, he gave Wang Jie another Star Sealing Stone, patting him on the shoulder with an encouraging smile.
By the time their ship reached the destination, Wang Jie had deepened the five seals in his body to a deep gray. There were not many Cataclysm Materials left, and the further they went, the greater the consumption. He regretted not buying more in Silver Radiance Imperial Capital.
“This is the planet. It’s not too large. Dig down, all the way to the core, and stop when I say. But remember, don’t let the damage spread beyond three meters in radius. In other words, you must carve a straight path to the planet’s center,” Mu Ran instructed. Over the past few days, he had become quite familiar with Wang Jie.
Wang Jie crouched down and felt the planet’s surface. Technically, it would be much more convenient for the Silver Radiance Empire to use their technological means to dig through, so why did they need a cultivator for this task?
He asked, and the answer he received was that Formation Dao was profound, and Mu Ran didn’t expect him to understand.
“A regular Ten-Seal Lock Force cultivator would take about two days to reach that depth. Don’t rush it, remember my instructions. The damage can’t spread more than three meters, or the Star Force will distort.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, Mu Ran Master,” Wang Jie replied.
Mu Ran gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and motioned for Wang Jie to begin.
Wang Jie gazed down, slowly rising into the air. Three meters of radius? That’s quite precise.
If a Ten-Seal cultivator had time, they could eventually shatter the planet, but that was a slow process. Star Breaking Realm, on the other hand, would destroy a planet in a single strike—completely different.
Wang Jie guessed that if he fully unleashed his power, he could probably try to destroy the planet in one blow. But now was not the time for such actions.
One of the materials for the Sword Step technique was Star Gazing Sword Style, and it would be perfect to use it now.
Wang Jie gripped his sword and stabbed downward.
From the distance, Mu Ran looked up, his eyes wide with surprise. What a sword technique.
Wang Jie didn’t fully unleash Star Gazing Sword Style. This technique was comparable to the Heaven and Earth Luo Xuan Finger—one of the Armor One Sect’s most secret and powerful skills, long thought to be lost. Once revealed, it would surely attract unwanted attention. Therefore, the version of Star Gazing Sword Style he used now was only a fraction of its true power.
Even so, it still amazed Mu Ran.
The sword plunged five thousand meters into the ground, and that was with controlled force.
This planet was much smaller than Blue Star. According to the calculations, to reach the designated spot in two days, he would have to carve through a thousand kilometers each day. A regular Ten-Seal cultivator would need an hour of rest and Star Force recovery after each full-strength strike. Even without resting, each attack’s destructive power would need to exceed forty kilometers in length.
That was the standard for a normal Ten-Seal cultivator.
“What is this little bit of destructive power?” Mu Ran said, dissatisfied, glancing at the sword mark below. “At this rate, it’ll take you half a month.”
Wang Jie replied, “Master, don’t worry. I’m just testing it. I’ll go faster from here on out.”
Mu Ran grunted in acknowledgment. “I hope so. Don’t waste my time.”
“Thank you, Master.”
After Mu Ran went some distance away again, Wang Jie unsheathed his sword once more. This time, he slashed downward, clearing over twenty kilometers. Mu Ran raised an eyebrow—this was much better.
Mu Ran had said it would take two days based on Frost Radiance Sect’s Ten-Seal cultivators, but normal Ten-Seal cultivators would need at least ten days.
Given Wang Jie’s destructive power, five days would be enough—quite impressive.
Five days… Well, that was enough for him.
One thing he hadn’t said was that he wanted Wang Jie to dig through the planet, not use Silver Radiance Empire’s technological weapons, because those weapons had all been sent away. Formation Dao wasn’t something he could do alone; there were many others involved, all secretly sent by Frost Radiance Sect.
To set up a Formation Dao, it wasn’t just about the speed of breaking through the planet—it also depended on the speed of the Formation Daoist. They needed to set up a double-tip formation. It wasn’t just about throwing down Star Sealing Stones.
Mu Ran would need three to five days to set up the double-tip formation. For a Ten-Seal cultivator, this was perfect. For other formation daoists, one day would be enough. They would have to rely on technology weapons.
The faster the work, the more formations they could set up.
Meaning, without enough technological weapons, Mu Ran wasn’t equipped to do it alone. He could only assign a cultivator to do the heavy labor.
And this laborer couldn’t be too efficient. If he was too fast, it would make Mu Ran look useless.
But now, seeing Wang Jie’s strength, Mu Ran felt reassured. He could take his time.
However, what Mu Ran didn’t realize was that while Wang Jie’s destructive power might be lacking, his frequency was exceedingly high. While others needed an hour of rest after a full-strength strike, Wang Jie only needed half that time—or even less—forcing his way through with sheer speed.
Mu Ran watched as Wang Jie relentlessly swung his sword, growing anxious.
But there was nothing he could say.
This guy was practically an animal, wasn’t he? How could he use so little energy?
For a full day, Wang Jie used Star Gazing Sword Style to dig deeper. As he stared into the seemingly bottomless pit, he felt satisfied. He then looked at Mu Ran.
“Master, I’ll have it fully tunneled by this time tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
Mu Ran managed a strained smile, gritting his teeth. “Not bad. Not bad.”
Wang Jie, encouraged, raised his sword again.
Mu Ran took a deep breath, reminding himself to hurry. He couldn’t afford to make a fool of himself.
What he thought would be an easy task had turned into a challenge. The next day, Wang Jie finished two hours ahead of schedule, eagerly looking at Mu Ran, as if waiting for a compliment.
Mu Ran hadn’t completed his work yet. He glanced at Wang Jie, then at the deep pit.
“Are you sure the damage didn’t spread?”
“Don’t worry, Master. It’s perfect.”
“Check again.”
“Master, I…”
“You don’t understand the seriousness of the situation. Go check now. Any tiny mistake could lead to irreversible consequences.”
Wang Jie looked at Mu Ran, then back at the ground, feeling like there was something Mu Ran wasn’t telling him.
“Alright, I understand.”
As he jumped into the pit to check, Mu Ran breathed a sigh of relief and got back to work.
Wang Jie spent the entire day inspecting the tunnel. It was long and tiring. By the time he finished, Mu Ran had just wrapped up his work.
“Alright, since there’s no problem, let’s place the Star Sealing Stone.”
Wang Jie looked at the Star Sealing Stone in front of him. It was slightly larger than the one Mu Ran had given him, but otherwise, it didn’t seem different. Was this meant to be placed inside the planet? What was the purpose of this formation? For whom was it being set up?
“Next, the other planet,” Mu Ran said.
Wang Jie understood. The two planets would form a formation. Thinking back to the scene where the ant was annihilated, he realized that they were going to attack something between the two planets.
As they boarded the spaceship toward the neighboring planet, Wang Jie glanced at the star chart and felt a chill run down his spine.
This was the Silver Radiance Empire’s border.
The area next to it was blank. There was only one possibility for that: a Star Link.
The Silver Radiance Empire belonged to the Third Nebula’s Frost Radiance Star Chain, and the neighboring chain was the Ninth Star Chain. Connecting that with what had just been set up, plus the arrival of the Frost Radiance Sect people, Wang Jie didn’t need to guess. War was coming.
And most likely, it would be the Frost Radiance Sect against the Ninth Star Chain.