Chapter 37: A Week of Comprehension

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: A Week of Comprehension

Ye Xuan continued focusing his mind on understanding each rune character floating around him.

The process of understanding these rune characters was clearly different from learning combat techniques.

When studying rune characters, Ye Xuan also had to comprehend the meaning behind every stroke that made up each character.

Every character had its own combination of strokes and dots.

Some consisted of only three strokes, while others were far more complicated.

Regardless, Ye Xuan had to understand them all because each character contained its own unique meaning.

Without practicing and comprehending those meanings, Ye Xuan would struggle to learn formations and arrays for the rest of his life.

Slowly but surely, he absorbed all the rune characters into his forehead using the Basic Comprehension Technique.

This way, he only needed to examine and study the rune characters within his dantian.

Realizing that Ye Xuan had absorbed everything, Wang Shuyuan raised his hand and waved it.

The movement immediately restored the surroundings to their original state.

"There is no need to rush your understanding of these characters, Ye Xuan."

"Let your mind and heart guide you."

Ye Xuan could faintly hear Senior Wang’s voice, but he chose to focus on understanding each rune character instead.

He had no idea how long it would take to memorize and comprehend the meaning of every rune character.

Nevertheless, Ye Xuan was determined to finish as quickly as possible.

That way, he could immediately put what he had learned into practice by studying the Elemental-Breaking Formation.

***

One week later.

A burst of qi erupted as Ye Xuan finished comprehending the final rune character in the sea of his dantian.

It was the rune character representing Heaven, consisting of three strokes and two dots.

Ye Xuan immediately sent his soul consciousness back into his body.

His eyes opened, and he found himself still sitting on the floor of the room. Senior Wang was sitting cross-legged in front of him.

Qingyu, who had been sleeping curled up on the floor, began to stir and raise her head.

She slithered up Ye Xuan’s body until she was once again wrapped around the young man’s neck.

[How did it go, Ye Xuan?]

"I managed to understand all the rune characters. What Senior Wang said was true. Every character represents something."

Hearing Ye Xuan’s voice, Wang Shuyuan opened his eyes and looked ahead. A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I’m glad you managed to comprehend them, Ye Xuan."

"What you have just learned are the foundational rune characters. They are sufficient for helping you understand formations below the Heavenly Stage."

"If you have truly mastered them, you should now be able to practice creating formations."

Ye Xuan listened to Wang Shuyuan’s words. He stood up, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head in gratitude.

Without Senior Wang’s help, Ye Xuan worried that he would have struggled to learn the fundamentals of formations and arrays, especially the process of understanding rune characters and their patterns.

"This junior will take his leave and begin practicing, Senior."

Wang Shuyuan nodded before closing his eyes and resuming his cultivation.

Ye Xuan walked out of the golden pagoda and headed toward the teleportation array in the courtyard.

With my current understanding, I should be able to learn the Elemental-Breaking Formation now.

[You should practice somewhere else. I’m worried that your training might disturb his cultivation.]

"You’re right."

Ye Xuan arrived at the center of the teleportation array and disappeared in an instant, returning to the underground chamber at the bottom of the altar’s chasm.

He stored the teleportation token and sat down in another spot. A Yellow-Grade formation scroll appeared before him.

"It’s time to focus on learning this formation."

His hands formed a series of hand seals as he activated his Basic Comprehension Technique.

He released his spiritual qi toward the scroll, allowing Ye Xuan to absorb the formation’s essence.

Just as he had done when learning combat techniques, Ye Xuan used the same method to study the Elemental-Breaking Formation.

However, there was one major difference.

He had to understand which rune characters were used in the formation, which character served as its core, and how the formation was activated.

In less than an hour, Ye Xuan was surprised to discover that he could comprehend the formation so quickly.

It was entirely different from when he had studied combat techniques.

Another burst of qi erupted, the second time this had happened. It was not particularly powerful, producing only a gentle wave of qi that spread throughout the chamber.

[That was faster than I expected.]

"It seems Senior Wang’s teaching method is extremely effective. By understanding the rune characters alone, I can learn formations with ease."

His hands formed another series of seals before he pointed his palms downward.

A blue formation rune appeared in front of him, complete with its own rune characters and patterns.

"Elemental-Breaking Formation."

[What does that formation do?]

"This formation possesses a unique cultivation pressure and formation property. By using these three rune characters—the elemental rune, the neutralizing rune, and the formation rune—it can break apart any attack based on elemental energy."

[I’m a little confused.]

"Direct your lightning attack forward, Qingyu."

Qingyu acknowledged his request. The red rune on her forehead appeared, and she fired a bolt of crimson lightning toward the formation barrier.

When the crimson lightning became trapped within the formation, the Elemental-Breaking Formation demonstrated its power.

It shattered Qingyu’s crimson lightning into fragments of spiritual qi.

[Oh... So that’s what it does.]

[This formation could become one of your most reliable defensive methods, Ye Xuan.]

"Yes, but it has one weakness. This formation can only reduce the effectiveness of an attack when the attacker is a cultivator whose cultivation base is higher than mine."

[So it doesn’t work perfectly against everyone, right?]

"Correct. This formation can’t even withstand martial arts attacks."

[But look on the bright side. You now have a powerful defensive formation that can break apart your enemies’ attacks.]

"If you put it that way, this formation will indeed be a great help to me."

[So, are you planning to practice your two techniques outside?]

Ye Xuan looked at his hands before clenching them into fists and clearing his throat briefly. Qingyu was right.

He had already learned the techniques but had not yet had the chance to test them because of the limited space available to him.

However, once he left the altar’s chasm, he would certainly test both combat techniques and the formation against his enemies.

In the end, Ye Xuan agreed to leave the place.

He summoned his flying sword and stepped onto it before speeding out of the altar’s chasm, soaring high above the vast desert.

[If you want to practice against monsters, I can recommend a place.]

"What is it?"

[The Sword Graveyard Desert.]

"Does such a place really exist?" Ye Xuan asked.

[Yes. It’s close to where we are now.]

Qingyu pointed in that direction with her tail, and Ye Xuan flew toward it. Even so, he still found the desert’s name rather strange.

"Is it a desert filled with swords?"

[More precisely, stone swords.]

[This is where I used to train with the members of my clan.]

[But now... all that’s left is an empty, desolate desert.]

Ye Xuan fell silent for a moment, occasionally glancing at Qingyu.

"You don’t have to feel lonely. I’ll be here to keep you company."

[Of course, thank you, Ye Xuan]

As Ye Xuan descended toward the Sword Graveyard Desert, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation beneath the sand.

His eyes narrowed. Using his spiritual sense, he examined the area.

Beneath thousands of stone swords, lay a single crimson sword, buried so deeply that even its hilt was barely visible.

The moment Qingyu saw it, the rune on her forehead began to glow.

[Ye Xuan... You must obtain that sword.]

"Why?"

Qingyu stared at the buried weapon, her pupils trembling.

[Because that sword once belonged to the strongest member of my clan.]