Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-561

After many years of study, Tang Jie could now be considered a true formation master.

In the past, he had only studied formations because he had talent in this field, but now, he truly liked the field.

The more passionate about formations he was, the more progress he made, and the more Tang Jie felt like he was barely scraping the surface and still knew too little.

The field of formations was vast and profound, and Tang Jie felt like there was no end to what he could learn. He drank up knowledge on formations like a sea on the verge of drying out. He Chong was Godhead Palace's number one formation expert, second only to Xu Muyang, so there was no need to question his formation mastery. How could Tang Jie possibly let such an expert in formations escape his grasp? This was exactly why he didn't want He Chong to die.

Besides that, Tang Jie had a more practical objective…

"Correct. I need your formation abilities to help me create a formation," Tang Jie replied.

"'Create a formation'?" He Chong was flabbergasted.

He Chong was well aware that Tang Jie's mastery of formations had long ago reached parity with his.

In the last few years, when the original body had been bored, he would come over to discuss formations. Even though He Chong had known that Tang Jie had ulterior motives, he was lonely, so he had given him a few pointers. Tang Jie's meteoric rise in formation mastery could be said to be largely due to He Chong.

If Tang Jie was asking for his help in making a formation, this formation could only be extraordinarily complex.

After some thought, he snorted and said, "The formation you want me to help you with is ultimately going to be used against Godhead Palace, right? I won't fall into your trap."

But to his surprise, Tang Jie shook his head. "It won't be used against Godhead Palace. It's not even an offensive formation."

He Chong was baffled.

Tang Jie opened his hand, the Mountain River State Diagram appearing within it.

"This is… the Mountain River State Diagram of the Seven Absolutions Sect. Why is it with you?" This was a formation treasure, so He Chong naturally recognized it at a glance. He had once dreamed countless times about how wonderful it would be to have such a formation diagram, and he had never imagined that it would appear in Tang Jie's hands.

The world within the diagram revealed itself to him. Amid the clouds, he could see the Space Crystal hanging high in the sky like a red sun, a waterfall falling from the heavens, and a mountain burning with eternal flames.

"The Eternal Universe Formation, and also a teleportation formation!" He Chong saw the secrets within it. "So you put the teleportation formation in here! Borrowing the power of the myriad creatures, using a formation to establish a formation! Exquisite!"

"It's all thanks to the Profound Heaven Treatise of the Seven Absolutions Sect," Tang Jie chuckled. He suddenly turned to He Chong and asked, "Do you want to see it?"

He Chong felt like someone had seized his heart.

The Profound Heaven Treatise was a sacred text that every formation master dreamed of reading.

But a moment later, He Chong's face darkened. "Tang Jie, just what are you planning?"

He couldn't understand what Tang Jie was thinking.

Tang Jie chuckled and gazed into that endless world within the Mountain River State Diagram. "The diagram dimension you see now is much bigger than what I initially had. At first, there was only that waterfall."

He Chong froze, and then he cried out, "Impossible! Once the Mountain River State Diagram is established, the space is fixed. Unless you empty it out and start over, you can't add onto that space!"

Tang Jie replied, "Take a closer look."

He Chong heard this and focused on the diagram.

Finally, he was able to make out a few things, muttering, "This feeling… it's Space, the power of Space… The dimension within the diagram is getting larger…"

He could clearly sense that the dimension within the Mountain River State Diagram was incomprehensibly expanding.

The Mountain River State Diagram had become a forbidden tool because its ability to take in land was an ability that cut away at the spatial fabric. As for when Tang Jie had used the Mountain River State Diagram to steal storehouses, he had been taking the physical substance within the space, so it had had nothing to do with the spatial fabric.

But now, the Mountain River State Diagram's space was beginning to expand on its own. This revelation was simply earthshaking.

He looked at Tang Jie, who pointed at that prism-shaped red sun in the sky.

He Chong was enlightened, realizing that this had to be some spatial treasure that gave the Mountain River State Diagram's dimension the ability to grow.

"Just what are you trying to do?" He Chong asked.

Tang Jie replied, "This item is called the Space Crystal. True Person He should have heard about it before."

He Chong grunted. "So it really is that! The grudge between Basking Moon and Beast Refining can be said to be deeply connected to this item. It's been stored away in a secret place by the Basking Moon Sect all this time, so I didn't think that you would have it. With this thing, it's no wonder the Mountain River State Diagram can infinitely expand."

"But it also restricts the usage of the Space Crystal. I can't take it out, or else the dimension in the diagram will collapse." Tang Jie appeared indifferent as he said, "The Space Crystal is a supreme treasure, so using it only to expand the space in the diagram is rather a waste. That's why I've been constantly looking for a way to switch it out."

"A spatial formation." He Chong finally understood what Tang Jie was getting at.

Tang Jie wanted to set up a spatial formation to replace the Space Crystal. After all, the dimension within the diagram was now large enough to hold one.

But the Space Crystal was a Dao armament treasure, not something that any random formation could replace. Tang Jie wasn't capable of laying down this sort of formation at his current level of strength.

So he had thought of He Chong.

Looking at that dazzling red sun, He Chong frowned. "It truly is rather difficult. The Great Daos are the underlying principles of the world, and every Dao armament embodies these principles. This is not something a formation can easily achieve. One first has to attain the Dao."

Among the 12 Great Daos, the Dao of Formations belonged to Truth.

If one had to explain the Dao of Formations, it was a special way of arranging materials that was in harmony with the principles of nature, leading to a special effect.

And principles of nature were the Truth, the Great Dao.

For this reason, the Dao of Formations was an existence extremely close to the Heavenly Dao.

Only by truly comprehending the Dao of Formations could one have even the smallest hope of making a spatial formation that could replace the Space Crystal.

Tang Jie smiled. "You don't have to worry about that problem."

Aghast, He Chong turned to Tang Jie. "Could it be that you've…"

Tang Jie lightly nodded.

He Chong shivered. "To what level?"

After some thought, Tang Jie replied, "Greater attainment in Dao comprehension, and I've also comprehended a little of the Dao of Space, enough to use."

He Chong was so stunned that he couldn't stop himself from shaking.

Creating a domain-crossing teleportation formation required comprehension of the Dao of Space, as it was impossible otherwise. He Chong knew that Tang Jie had already comprehended the Dao of Insight, and based on the battle just now, He Chong could tell that Tang Jie had a rather deep comprehension of Yin Yang and Life. This person seemed to have an astonishing ability to comprehend Daos.

"How could it be this fast?" He Chong shakily asked.

"Is that fast? I don't think so. If I weren't restricted by materials, I might have already entered the Dao," Tang Jie casually remarked.

It was true—Tang Jie's progress in the Dao of Formations was far less than expected.

It had to be understood that the Dao of Formations was the first Dao he had begun to study, and his most important talent was also in formations, yet his comprehension of the Dao of Formations ended up being one of the slowest of all of them.

The main reason for this was that the material limitations were too great.

Daos weren't comprehended simply because one wanted to.

As Wang Poguan had once said, Daos were a kind of vista one would naturally come upon when one reached the peak of cultivation.

Wisdom, Slaughter, Yin Yang… no matter which Dao it was, one had to reach the ends of their respective paths in order to comprehend them.

To take Tang Jie as an example, his strongest Dao was the Dao of Wisdom.

This was because he had used Wisdom the most. Whether it was to overcome stronger opponents or through prolonged use of the Celestial Eye, it was all progress on the path of Wisdom. The farther one went, the more one would naturally comprehend.

For this reason, Tang Jie had entered the Dao of Wisdom not long after entering the Dao of Yin Yang. He had been able to enter the Dao of Yin Yang thanks to the Myriad Immortals Cauldron. Otherwise, his progress in the Dao of Wisdom would have left the Dao of Yin Yang choking in its dust.

In comparison, while Tang Jie was talented in the Dao of Formations, the lack of materials meant that his usage of it was always limited.

It was only after the trip to the Celestial Flame Pagoda and the beginning of the inter-domain trade that Tang Jie finally had all the resources he wanted to go on a formation-making spree, allowing his comprehension of the Dao of Formations to rise by leaps and bounds. He easily gained initial comprehension and swiftly reached greater attainment. It could be called an eruption of all that accumulated potential.

He Chong was dumbfounded, muttering, "Surprising… surprising, you actually reached this level already."

"In the end, I've only barely opened the gate to Truth," Tang Jie casually said. "A day where I haven't entered the Dao is another day where I haven't really achieved anything great. And even when one has entered the Dao, there is still the difference in quantity of Dao Runes. The hall of the Great Dao is unfathomably deep, and every step through it is difficult. This path of Immortality… is still plenty long."

After entering the Dao of Yin Yang, Tang Jie had gained even greater insight into the Great Dao.

If the Great Dao was a temple, to comprehend the Dao was to stand outside it and look inside.

To enter the Dao was to go through the front doors.

Each Dao Rune was a single step.

The temple was so large that tens of millions of steps might not be enough to get to the end. And at the very end was the high platform.

On the platform, one could look all around, and only then could one be said to control the Dao.

This was Tang Jie's understanding of comprehending, entering, and controlling. As for anything beyond that, he wasn't sure.

At the same time, Tang Jie understood that the lowest requirement to becoming a Celestial Sovereign wasn't entering the Dao, but tempering at least one thousand Dao Runes or else tempering a complete Great Dao Law that could be used.

One thousand Dao Runes was the basic requirement for controlling the Myriad Immortals Cauldron and also the basic requirement for Celestial Sovereign, and it was a goal that was too far off for Tang Jie.

But he was in no rush. He was still young and had time to take things step by step.

Hearing this from Tang Jie, He Chong calmed himself down and said, "Since you're already at this level, what do you need me for?"

Tang Jie replied, "While I've attained the comprehension, my cultivation is still shallow."

Comprehension did not signify cultivation level, nor could it replace it, and no matter the time or place, cultivation was the foundation of everything. Comprehension without the proper cultivation level was just scholarly discussion, accomplishing nothing of significance. Of course, cultivation without comprehension was like an army without a general.

As a simple example, when Tang Jie revived his original body, he relied on the Dao of Life, but rather than use the Dao of Life alone, he activated it through a healing spell art. The Dao of Life simply boosted the power of this spell art, allowing it to do much more than it was originally capable of.

Without this spell art, with only his comprehension of the Dao, Tang Jie wouldn't have been able to do anything. And because the healing spell art Tang Jie knew was far too low of a level, he over-relied on the Dao of Life, causing him to pay a huge price for it. But if Tang Jie had learned a more powerful healing spell art, then even if his comprehension of the Dao of Life did not improve, his avatar could still have saved many years of lifespan.

Daos and arts had always complemented each other. Unless one had an extremely profound level of understanding, one could not escape from spell arts.

In terms of cultivation, the avatar was only at Spirit Ring while the original body was even worse. While the Diamond Body had the strength of the Heart Demon Tier, that did nothing for the Dao of Formations.

A spatial formation that could replace the Space Crystal was not something he was capable of at his cultivation level, so he needed He Chong's help.

Of course, he secretly had another goal, which was to use the opportunity to gain more of He Chong's formation knowledge, something that he wouldn't stop until he had extracted everything he could from the man.

He Chong considered the offer. Finally, he said, "It's just to switch out the Space Crystal?"

"Just switching out the Space Crystal," Tang Jie confirmed.

He Chong considered this and then asked, "And once it's done?"

Tang Jie answered, "I will not kill you, but you know too many of my secrets, so I can't let you go either. You will be imprisoned here until death. Of course, if you need anything, I will do my best to satisfy you."

As he spoke, the avatar took out a bronze mirror.

The bronze mirror had recorded their conversation, and Tang Jie declared, "This mirror will serve as proof."

"You are serious?" He Chong took the mirror, still giving Tang Jie a disbelieving look.

If Tang Jie said that he would let He Chong go, He Chong would have never believed him. As Tang Jie had said, he knew too many secrets.

But imprisonment in the hidden realm wasn't out of the question. After all, He Chong didn't have some major grudge with him. It was just a matter of different allegiances, each fighting for their own side.

He Chong looked at Tang Jie and asked, "How can I trust you?"

Tang Jie chuckled. "Do I need you to believe me? You either help me, or you die. You only have these two choices. If you don't believe me, then refuse. I'll kill you and find someone else. The world is very big, and you're not unique. You can also choose to believe me and help me with the formation. Whether I kill you or not once the formation is done, at least for now… you can survive."

He Chong was stunned.

Yes.

Tang Jie had no need to deceive. Even if it was only temporary survival, it was enough for He Chong to sell his services.

Death was a terrifying prospect, and few people could quietly accept it when they were confronted by the prospect. When given the slightest opportunity, they would try to seize it as best they could.

If Tang Jie had asked He Chong to betray Godhead Palace, He Chong might have chosen death, but if it was just to lay down a formation, He Chong had no reason to resist to the end.

Finally, he sighed, and said, "Fine, I agree. But I hope that you can also spare Duan Fourth and Deng Yuqing."

Tang Jie replied, "They can be your assistants."

He Chong sighed in relief after seeing how easily Tang Jie had agreed.

But privately, He Chong still found it a little strange.

From what he understood of Tang Jie, this matter couldn't be that simple.

Removing the Space Crystal meant that he wanted to use its teleportation ability.

But using the Space Crystal for teleportation didn't require completely switching it out. So long as one was prepared, like by having a sufficient stockpile of Stellarite, there was no problem with temporarily taking out the Space Crystal to use it. Moreover, the Space Crystal needed a long time to recharge before one could teleport with it, so there was no point in having it to hand for such a purpose. Thus, using its spatial powers to expand the formation diagram's dimension was its best use.

Tang Jie's current method was to put minor details over the essentials.

But if that was what he wanted, He Chong would comply. He simply said, "So how do you want to lay it out?"

Tang Jie replied, "This formation is difficult to lay out. Before we do that, we need to find a suitable location, and then we need to survey the land and understand how to proceed. And then, we have to decide on the right formation. These things can't be decided without being there, nor is it something that will be done in three or five days. It's not like I can just take you three around with me, so I'm afraid I will have to trouble you."

"You mean…" He Chong was startled, and then he pointed at the Mountain River Diagram in realization. "You're not thinking…"

"Correct." Tang Jie firmly nodded. "I'm requesting you to enter the world in the diagram. Only then can you understand the world in the formation, seek out the right location, make all the preparations, and finally lay down the formation. This also allows me to take you around with me."

"But there's nothing in there except barren earth and mountains. It's not suitable for humans to exist!" He Chong and the other two protested.

The world within the Mountain River State Diagram was ultimately a world that existed to satisfy the conditions for laying down a formation, so it was extremely crude. Strictly speaking, it couldn't even be considered a real world. Surviving in there for a short time was fine, but long-term survival was much more difficult, even for a cultivator.

"If the environment isn't good, then modify it. Man will always conquer nature, so you can't go giving up right from the start. Once inside, there might be many inconveniences at the start, but please just bear with it. If you need anything, you can ask me. So long as conditions permit, I will do my utmost to satisfy your requests," Tang Jie expressionlessly said.

"Now… please enter the diagram."