Chapter 220: The Essence of Formation (2)

Ten cycles of time passed in the Peach Blossom Land before the deafening roar of the waves slowly subsided. The huge waves gradually became illusory shadows, and the golden light of the ancient characters disappeared, and everything returned to normal.

The peach blossoms just started to fall at this time. Luo Xuanyi was shocked to sense the subtle changes in her body. The deathly aura all over her body had been engraved with a shallow layer of formation marks.

Looking inside her body, the changes that Luo Xuanyi had undergone were far more than just Dao Marks. A shadow appeared faintly under her original ghost fire.

This shadow is like a round stone wall, or a square stone door, sometimes lying, sometimes standing, sometimes disappearing, sometimes appearing, and has not yet been completely formed.

Faintly, Luo Xuanyi felt that the shadows were echoing the two flags. Her understanding of the formation flags was stronger than before. She could sense that a transparent chain seemed to extend from the formation flags, penetrating her body and sinking into the shadows; and the chain of the main flag emitted a light blue halo compared to the formation flags, burning with faint ghost fire, binding the shadow and fixing it under Luo Xuanyi's original ghost fire.

This shadow seemed to be some kind of existence used to fix the formation flag, materializing Luo Xuanyi's will.

As Luo Xuanyi gazed at the shadow, she distinctly sensed a profound ripple of Dao. Focusing intently on the shadow, her mind slowly and fleetingly conjured images: the withered, charred earth, rotting tree trunks, and a faint murderous intent looming within the dark clouds. This was Luo Xuanyi's concept of the Dao of Formation.

It was originally only reflected in the power of the main flag, but now it has finally begun to form a formation.

As Luo Xuanyi explored the shadow, the Dao traces within her dead energy shifted in color, gradually being replaced by blue flames. With each shift, Luo Xuanyi felt the shadow draw closer to the original will-o'-the-wisp fire, and the barrier between the Dao of Formation and the Dao of Treachery seemed to be slowly diminishing.

A righteous Daoist can discern a cultivator's path by looking at Dao Marks. Daos do not overlap, so Dao Marks act like keys and locks. Carving a mark on one path prevents carving a mark on another, and thus, unable to cultivate a different path unless one abandons one's original one. Simultaneously cultivating two paths is impossible, which is why some cultivators, like Yun Po, take the best aspects of one path and incorporate them into their own, while still remaining true to the original Dao.

The more one attains the Tao, the deeper the traces of the Tao become. In the beginning, the Tao is unknowable, and every step of exploration leaves a messy trace of the Tao.

However, after gradually finding her own Dao, Luo Xuanyi's death energy will be engraved with Dao marks. All the Dao marks will resonate together and become Dao seeds. Ordinary cultivators can only ascend to the realm of refining emptiness after obtaining Dao seeds, but Luo Xuanyi's Dao seeds only need to cultivate the truth, not the magic force.

The fragments of golden light emanating from the initial main and formation flags are the embodiment of your own potential for enlightenment in the Dao of Formation at that moment. How much you can comprehend from this is almost equivalent to how difficult or easy your future path in the Dao of Formation will be.

Compared to the inferior quality of her spiritual roots, Luo Xuanyi's comprehension was undoubtedly top-notch. Her state of mind was unshakable, as majestic as a mountain and as calm as a deep well. When she refined the main flag, she already had a clear understanding of her own formation path. This all transformed into immense potential, projected into countless golden lights, and as the formation flag resonated with the Great Dao for the first time, it materialized and floated in the air.

Countless golden lights danced, almost mesmerizing the view. Each fragment shone with brilliance, engraved with intricate patterns. But before Luo Xuanyi could grasp or comprehend them, the fragments slowly dissipated.

After all, fragments of Dao Essence were fragments, unable to remain separated from the Great Dao for long. Before Luo Xuanyi could collect Dao Essence, it melted away like ice and snow, sinking into the heavens and earth, transforming into pure spiritual energy that fed back to the earth.

It is almost impossible for Luo Xuanyi to comprehend everything before the fragments melt away.

The Dao Essence is powerful, its impact on the mind like the constant crash of mighty waves. Before the Dao, cultivators are as insignificant as mortals facing the sea. Any attempt to comprehend multiple fragments of the Dao Essence simultaneously will ultimately result in the Dao severing their entire cultivation and causing their bodies to explode. Furthermore, the time required to comprehend each fragment of the Dao Essence before it completely disappears varies from person to person.

For example, Lian Qing consumed one piece of golden light in a month, and ultimately comprehended ten pieces. It took ten months for the fragments of Dao essence to completely disappear. This was considered the comprehension ability of an average cultivator in Yifengyin.

Of course, it's not like cultivators haven't tried to preserve fragments of the Dao Essence, but the Dao Essence originates from the Great Dao and belongs to Heaven. Humans can't forcibly seize it. Unless humans comprehend and digest it, no material substance can retain it. The Divine Transformation cultivators of Yifengyin have tried to preserve it using various magical instruments, secret treasures, and even spirit beasts, but all have failed and ultimately wasted time.

In fact, it's not just the Dao of Formation. Although the forms of understanding the Dao's essence are different for other Daos, entering the Dao Realm is a difficult problem for all cultivators. The Dao Realm is mysterious and seems to be beyond human control.

If she were to comprehend the sutras in this way, based on her comprehension ability and the total time Lian Qing could comprehend, she could probably comprehend about thirty pieces. However, thirty pieces was only a drop in the bucket compared to the countless golden fragments that were constantly dissipating before her eyes.

However, who says that the realm of Taoism cannot be preserved?

Only when using knowledge would Luo Xuanyi selflessly sigh that Taoist Hua Shen was truly a genius alchemist. This was also the reason why she thought of Taoist Hua Shen and was willing to call him Master.

Having the ability, Luo Xuanyi naturally chose to have it all - she wanted to use the elixir to preserve the fragments of the Dao essence. Sister Yi is the type of person who has a great brain but poor aptitude (referring to spiritual roots).