Chapter 252
Chapter 252: Breaking the Formation
At this moment, the old woman spoke quietly: “Leave him out.”
Elder Luo stared at the old woman, his voice low and grave as he replied: “He is a disciple of my Black White Heaven Sect; his fate is not yours to worry about.”
The old woman met his gaze calmly: “You’d best think clearly about how to break this formation instead. You have plenty of disciples; it doesn’t need to be him.”
Elder Luo frowned deeply, his gaze flickering from the old woman to Wang Jie, before he finally pointed toward another disciple.
Wang Jie sighed in relief. If possible, he truly didn’t wish to antagonize the Hundred Star Realm.
“Thank you, senior.” He bowed gratefully toward the old woman and Xiao Luo Si.
The old woman smiled gently at him. “Which family placed you here? Your Armor Eight Steps technique is quite remarkable.”
Xiao Luo Si also watched Wang Jie carefully, though she wasn’t thinking about Armor Eight Steps. Rather, her thoughts lingered on the finger technique he’d displayed earlier. [Where have I seen that before?]
Wang Jie was puzzled: “Junior doesn’t understand senior’s meaning.”
The old woman nodded calmly, “It’s nothing. I was just curious.” After saying this, her expression turned worried, and she glanced around anxiously, unwilling to speak more.
Many disciples of Black White Heaven were trapped within the immense Way of the Sword formation, rapidly falling under the direction of the two elders. Despite their guidance, the two elders themselves remained powerless to escape.
The old woman’s face grew grimmer. “This is Edge Sect’s original Way of the Sword formation. To break it, you must find its core. But this formation isn’t anchored by star-sealing stones; it is anchored by sword techniques.”
Xiao Luo Si was startled: “Sword techniques?”
The old woman nodded gravely. “Only by identifying and unraveling all of the core sword techniques can we break free. Otherwise, forcibly breaking the formation is nearly impossible. At least, those two over there can’t manage it.”
Both elders furrowed their brows deeply. The old woman spoke bluntly, but she was right.
But how were they to find these sword techniques?
Finding one or two might be manageable, but who knew how many sword techniques anchored this formation?
“Seventeen,” a clear voice suddenly broke through their troubled silence.
The old woman, both elders, and the surviving Black White Heaven disciples all turned toward Wang Jie—he had been the one who spoke just now.
“What did you say?” Xiao Luo Si asked in astonishment.
Wang Jie repeated clearly: “Seventeen sets of sword techniques are operating.”
This wasn’t simply seeing or sensing qi—it was the Sword Form Technique.
Indeed, after observing closely until now, he had finally identified the familiar sensation. It stemmed from both the Sword Form Technique and the Yi Sword Technique.
The Sword Form Technique connected him with controlled swords. Someone outside the formation was manipulating swords remotely, executing sword techniques. Thus, the formation had no people or star-sealing stones within, only swords—these swords were the formation’s cores. Using the Sword Form Technique, Wang Jie sensed seventeen swords executing precise moves.
As for the Yi Sword Technique, it inherently involved sword formations. Back when Wang Jie observed the Yi Sword Technique at the Lock Path interval, he’d seen only a single sword as an introduction. Afterward came layering multiple swords, something he never fully grasped and didn’t consider much due to limited insight.
But now, trapped within the Way of the Sword formation, realization suddenly dawned.
Yi Sword Technique was itself a sword formation, but one wielded by a single cultivator. This Way of the Sword formation was similarly built on sword arrays.
The paths of the formation followed sword forms.
The sense of familiarity he had felt was precisely this formation’s momentum.
“You can actually discern the number of formation cores?” The old woman was visibly shocked.
Elder Luo and Elder Wu stared intently at Wang Jie, eyes filled with distrust.
Xiao Luo Si was even more incredulous. She couldn’t see anything clearly herself, so how could this person manage it?
Formations weren’t simple—they were full of illusions and concealments. Otherwise, these two Hundred Star Realm elders, with their countless battles, would not be trapped now.
Yet this person could see through it?
Wang Jie didn’t want to draw attention, but if he didn’t help break this formation, he wouldn’t escape either. He certainly didn’t want to die trapped here.
“I can.”
“Impossible,” Elder Luo immediately rejected him. “We elders cannot do it. What makes you think you can?”
Elder Wu’s voice was cold. “Little fellow, don’t try deceiving us. Though none can verify your words in this confusion, if your arrogance delays our chance to break free, we’ll all die here together.”
Wang Jie firmly repeated: “Exactly seventeen sword techniques. However, their positions constantly shift.”
The old woman’s eyes widened sharply. “Correct. The formation cores of the Way of the Sword formation are constantly shifting. Can you truly locate them?”
Wang Jie hesitated: “I can roughly sense their positions, but clearly seeing them is very difficult.” After speaking, he looked toward the two elders: “If Junior points out a direction, perhaps the seniors can strike to break it.”
Elder Wu immediately nodded: “Alright. Let’s begin now.”
Whether they believed him or not no longer mattered. Right now, they had no other options but to trust Wang Jie.
Wang Jie turned to Elder Luo, pointing firmly: “Over there.”
Elder Luo’s expression stiffened. Just moments ago, he’d intended to sacrifice this disciple. Now, unbelievably, the tables had turned. He wanted to refuse.
“Senior, hurry! If it shifts again, it’ll be even harder to find,” Wang Jie urged.
Elder Luo had no choice. He swiftly struck toward the position Wang Jie had indicated. Immediately, a glimmer of icy light flashed in that spot before vanishing again.
“It truly is a formation core!” The old woman’s voice was excited.
Elder Wu and the others stared in shock at Wang Jie. How had he found it? This was astonishing—they themselves could not accomplish it.
Xiao Luo Si watched Wang Jie with eyes full of disbelief, as if seeing a monster. She had only felt this aura of near-omnipotence once before, from Xiao Hui’s big brother. But Wang Jie was just a Lock Force cultivator who had seemingly abandoned his future by practicing qi. How could he evoke such a feeling?
“Senior, quickly! Another is there.”
Following Wang Jie’s directions, Elder Luo and Elder Wu struck out again and again, continuously hunting for formation cores. They managed to break two more, but then the Way of the Sword formation began shifting more rapidly. Clearly, the cultivators from Edge Sect who had set the formation had noticed their progress.
Now, just as Wang Jie called out directions, the formation cores swiftly slipped away.
When the two elders attacked, the formation node had already vanished.
It was nearly impossible to catch.
Both elders’ faces darkened.
Elder Luo was furious, cursing aloud: “Those despicable Edge Sect scoundrels!”
Elder Wu turned urgently to Wang Jie, urging, “Faster!”
Wang Jie shook his head: “Unless I predict exactly where it will appear, we’ll never catch it. The only quicker way is…” He hesitated briefly, then said firmly, “if this junior personally breaks the formation.”
Elder Wu stared sharply at him: “To Force fully break the sword formation would require almost four hundred thousand combat power. You’re nowhere near enough.”
Wang Jie replied calmly, “That’s only if one breaks it with brute force. If the sword moves themselves can be unraveled, far less strength would be needed.” After speaking, he reached into his storage ring and took something out.
“An Insight Pill?” Elder Wu and the others gasped in shock. They never imagined Wang Jie would have such a precious thing.
Although Insight Pills were just made from the leftover tea leaves of Enlightenment Tea and weren’t complicated to refine, they still sold for a high price. This young man was clearly not simple. To have spare money to buy Insight Pills meant he surely had a powerful background.
Wang Jie swallowed the Insight Pill without hesitation.
“Deciphering the sword technique takes time, yet time is what we lack most. Junior can only do his best,” Wang Jie said, stepping slowly toward the boundary of sword qi.
The Way of the Sword formation was gradually contracting, its sword qi growing stronger. Fortunately, two formation nodes had already been destroyed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t even have room to move freely.
The Insight Pill soon took effect.
Standing at the edge of the sword qi, Wang Jie felt a cool sensation flash through his mind. All that had just occurred rapidly replayed in his thoughts, clearly analyzed from another perspective. He quickly sensed the formation node’s position through the sword form technique and stared forward.
He saw it. A sword was moving swiftly through the air, performing sword moves by itself without anyone holding it.
Wang Jie watched carefully. To him, these sword moves were not overly complicated. Every single motion of the sword was captured clearly in his mind and swiftly analyzed.
Suddenly, he struck. With a single thrust, his sword flashed into the sword qi, striking the node’s sword three times in rapid succession—first the blade, then the hilt, and finally the body of the sword. The formation node trembled and then fell away.
It was broken.
Elder Wu and the others widened their eyes in shock and excitement. Broken! This young man had truly broken the node.
Even Elder Luo was stunned. Though the Insight Pill helped decipher the sword technique, thrusting through the sword qi required at least three hundred thousand combat power. How could this youth, merely at the Star Breaking Realm, display such formidable strength?
Insight Pills, deciphering sword arrays, incredible combat power—this young man was extraordinary.
Wang Jie breathed a sigh of relief and continued searching.
In the moments that followed, he successively destroyed seven formation nodes. With the two already broken by the elders, only eight remained.
Outside the Way of the Sword formation, among the Edge Sect’s seventeen Wandering Star Realm cultivators, nine stepped back uneasily.
Cheng Yi was unsettled: “What’s happening? Nine nodes have been broken?”
“I don’t know. We already pushed the formation nodes to their limit, yet they were still destroyed.”
“It seems we underestimated Black White Heaven’s Hundred Star Realm cultivators.”
“Let’s hope our elders finish quickly…”
Cheng Feng stared at the Way of the Sword formation, gripping his sword tightly.
Within the formation, Wang Jie turned to Elder Luo and the others: “This disciple can’t continue; the Insight Pill’s effects have worn off. Without it, breaking more nodes will be very difficult.”
His implication was clear: he needed another Insight Pill.
Elder Luo was speechless, [Why are you looking at me? I don’t have any Insight Pills!]
Wang Jie then glanced hopefully at Elder Wu.
Elder Wu shook his head helplessly, “This old man doesn’t have Insight Pills either.”
At that moment, Xiao Luo Si threw Wang Jie a small bottle, saying simply, “Here.”
Opening the bottle, Wang Jie felt delighted—there were three pills inside. Without hesitation, he swallowed one immediately and continued onward.
Insight Pills truly worked wonders. He was now deeply curious about the legendary Enlightenment Tea itself.
He resumed breaking the remaining formation nodes.
Not long after, as the last node’s sword technique shattered, the Way of the Sword formation twisted violently.
Elder Luo and Elder Wu seized this chance, forcibly tearing open the formation and soaring upward angrily, shouting, “Cowards of Edge Sect! You dare ambush us with formations—prepare to die!”
Outside the formation, Cheng Yi and his group stared grimly at Wang Jie and the others.
Wang Jie looked back and jumped slightly, alarmed by how many Wandering Star Realm experts had gathered.
However, the enemy didn’t attack. They merely stared bitterly for a moment before retreating unwillingly.
A cultivator from Black White Heaven sighed in relief, “The two core locations have separated. This battle is almost over.”
Watching the gigantic structures drift apart, Wang Jie understood.
In the hours that followed, the pace of battle slowed greatly. Many Black White Heaven disciples withdrew from Edge Sect’s core location, and similarly, Edge Sect cultivators withdrew from Black White Heaven’s. Only when the cores had completely moved apart did the battle finally end.
This battle had been extremely dangerous.
If Wang Jie hadn’t broken the Way of the Sword formation in time, the last remaining Elder Mo would’ve died, allowing the two Hundred Star Realm cultivators of Edge Sect to sweep through Black White Heaven’s core uncontested.
Wang Jie knew he’d contributed greatly, especially since one mission objective had been precisely to break the Edge Sect’s Way of the Sword formation.
He eagerly anticipated receiving his rewards.
Just as he prepared to return to the core, someone blocked his way. It was Xiao Luo Si.
“What is your name?” Xiao Luo Si asked, eyes fixed sharply upon him.
“I am Wang Jie.”
“A disciple of Black White Heaven?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you know Armor Eight Steps?”
Wang Jie replied curiously, “What exactly is Armor Eight Steps?”