Chapter 584

Yes, just now observing this Nine Stars Linked Ring formation, I felt something, overstepped slightly; I hope fellow Daoist will not take offense.

Lu Xun faced the female sword immortal's icy gaze, did not dodge, and frankly admitted.

Considering the female sword immortal is an ancient person, Lu Xun altered his manner of speech, making it somewhat archaic.

Upon hearing this, the female sword immortal's eyes, like a cold pool, showed no ripple, yet the invisible sword aura around her seemed to condense a fraction.

She has always been confident in her formation attainment; this formation, which she painstakingly arranged, is used to draw in stellar power and protect her dojo.

If one's formation attainment is insufficient, even a Thirteenth Realm cultivator would struggle to activate it.

This person before us appears ordinary, yet he can trigger the Nine Stars' simultaneous brilliance—indeed he has some skill, but to say outright that his formation is lacking?

"Oh? I wonder what shortcomings my formation has that require you personally to come and 'point out'?"

The female sword immortal's lips parted slightly; her voice remained icy, yet carried a hint of the poise and inquiry of a strong one.

In her words, that faint edge already showed; it seemed if Lu Xun's answer could not satisfy her, the next moment an invisible sword intent would descend upon him.

Lu Xun seemed not to notice that subtle pressure; his gaze swept again over the nine slowly moving stars, and he spoke softly: "This formation borrows stellar power to create a Nine Palaces entrapment stance—stable, yes, but lacking in change. Stellar power is grand and righteous, yet overly domineering and fierce; in the stars' circulation, the points where forces interact often stagnate, preventing smooth flow. Should one encounter a true formation master or one who overcomes hardness with softness, this would be a flaw. For example..."

Before his words finished, the female sword immortal's delicate brows furrowed slightly.

She naturally knew the formation was not flawless, yet being so bluntly pointed out its core weakness by a stranger cultivator aroused that lingering dissatisfaction.

However, just as she was about to rebut, a sudden change occurred!

It seemed Lu Xun merely raised his hand casually to illustrate more clearly, tracing a few obscure symbols in the air with an offhand gesture; a faint light flashed at his fingertip and vanished into the void.

Hum~~!

The next instant, the nine stars orbiting shuddered violently!

Immediately, under the female sword immortal's suddenly constricted pupils, the nine stars' formerly regular, even somewhat rigid trajectories suddenly became lively!

They were no longer merely mechanical revolution; it was as if they had been given life, their stellar power beginning to interweave, resonate, and flow in a more mysterious and efficient manner!

Stellar light like silk wove into a net; the minute stagnation caused by opposing forces, under this new mode of motion, became unobstructed, and the grand formation's aura instantly rose by more than one level, becoming more perfectly natural and flawless.

This was no mere tweak; it was a profound understanding and reshaping of the formation's core operational rules!

The faint expression of dissatisfaction on the female sword immortal's face instantly froze, replaced by a look of incredulous shock.

She knew better than anyone that, without damaging the formation's foundation, to so casually optimize and even enhance the operational efficiency of an eleventh-rank stellar grand formation signified how terrifying his formation attainment was!

This far exceeded mere "pointers"; it was practically turning stone into gold!

The faint sword aura around her subtly retracted; the chill in her eyes gave way to intense focus and a hint of reverence. When she looked at Lu Xun again, her gaze was wholly different.

Taking a deep breath, the female sword immortal suppressed her inner turmoil; her expression returned to calm, yet her tone softened more than before. She turned slightly aside, making a "please" gesture:

"Sir, your formation Dao is profound; I am shallow. This is not a place for talk; if you do not disdain, please come inside for a discussion."

This time, her attitude became sincere and humble.

"Very well."

Lu Xun naturally agreed.

Now he, his formation attainment has already reached thirteenth rank.

Yes, Lu Xun's formation has now moved ahead.

This is thanks to Ran Bing and Gu Yao.

Especially Gu Yao.

When Ran Bing accepted the ancient immortal's inheritance, she received the ancient immortal's formation inheritance.

Then,

Under Lu Xun's persuasion, while Gu Yao transmitted some law insights to her in a dream, Ran Bing passed along the contents of the formation inheritance to Gu Yao as well.

Gu Yao's formation, however, turned out to be inferior to that ancient immortal's.

As for why she did not attempt to obtain that ancient immortal's inheritance, it was not that she did not want to; rather, even if she entered, she could at most acquire heavenly-earthly spiritual treasures, not the inheritance.

That inheritance, in fact, selects its recipients.

Moreover, she was once a mortal immortal; in the ancient immortal's inheritance, what was most valuable to her was actually the formation inheritance.

As for the rest, Gu Yao felt no stir.

Gu Yao's original plan should have been to let Ran Bing obtain it, then after she fused with Ran Bing, it would be equivalent to her obtaining it.

But she did not expect Lu Xun to secure the ancient immortal's inheritance so quickly.

And over the past century, Gu Yao also, relying on the formation inheritance, broke through to eleventh rank in her own formation attainment; thereby, after returning, Lu Xun's formation attainment broke through to thirteenth rank.

The path of formations likewise requires a great deal of time.

Especially after the tenth rank.

Even Gu Yao, with a century of time and aided by the inheritance, only reached eleventh rank.

This female sword immortal now possesses eleventh-rank formation attainment; in the way of formations, she is already very formidable.

Thus, Lu Xun entered the female sword immortal's dojo in this manner.

Unlike others,

Other Tenth Realm and Eleventh Realm cultivators were not personally received by her.

Lu Xun, however, was invited by her to her residence, becoming her honored guest, where he began to point out her formation.