Volume One: A Boy’s Meeting in Humble Days Chapter Ninety-Four: Li Yu’s Scheme, Part Three

Li Yan did not hold anything back and said plainly, "There are two ways to break this trapping formation. First, find the core. Second, force it open with power."

Li Da asked at once, "Then where is the core?"

"I can't find it. But I do know that with the strength of the four of us, we should be able to break this formation," Li Yan replied.

It was almost laughable. Although he had studied formations in private, he was far from mastering them at such a level.

Ever since ancient times, formations and barriers had belonged to two different branches of mystic arts.

A formation used the circulation of yin and yang energies to create an enclosed space. A barrier, by contrast, drew upon the surrounding spiritual energy through a different method to form an independent realm.

Though their beginnings differed, both ultimately led to profound and exquisite paths of cultivation.

Only one of extraordinary comprehension could ever reach the highest levels.

From the way this trapping formation had been set up, it was clear the one who laid it had not attained any profound insight into either branch. At best, he had merely reached a rudimentary mastery, still far from perfection or returning to simplicity.

Even so, Li Yu had been able to combine the two at that stage of mastery, which only proved how exceptional his comprehension was. If he continued down this path, he might yet reach heights no one else had ever reached.

Most remarkable of all, Li Yu had even managed to bind the power of heaven and earth here into shackles, locking the formation and the barrier together. That was truly extraordinary.

Li Yan did not know what level Li Yu's cultivation had reached. In his view, anyone capable of understanding the forces of heaven and earth to such an extent was probably already on the verge of entering the Dao.

In truth, Li Yu had no cultivation at all, and he himself had never clearly understood what his own Dao was.

The reason he could set up such a complex trapping formation was entirely thanks to the Dragon Spirit's power.

His understanding of the ways of heaven and earth had only been slowly formed through day after day of reading Daoist scriptures.

Even Li Yu did not realize that although the Daoist had never taught him how to cultivate, from the moment he began reading those scriptures, he had already stepped onto a cultivation path unlike any other. It was not yet apparent, but once he truly began to cultivate in earnest, his understanding of the Dao would surge far ahead of all others.

Perhaps, from the moment the Daoist learned that Li Yu possessed a congenital Dao body, this had been the plan all along.

A congenital Dao body had never before existed in the long history of the world. The Daoist had only once seen a few obscure lines in an ancient and extremely remote text: a congenital Dao body is born by seizing the essence of the Dao, one and the same as the Dao itself.

The formation, the barrier, and the lock formed by the power of heaven and earth were fused together in an exquisitely delicate balance. Li Yan could not find the key point to break the formation, but while observing it, he discovered a place where the spiritual energy was weak. If all their power were concentrated on that one spot, perhaps they could break through the trap.

By the sea cliff, Li Yu was treating Xu Kaijiang's hidden injuries. After Xu Kaijiang recovered somewhat, he asked, "Li Yu, how could you be sure they would escape the formation you set? Before I left, one of them tried attacking it, but it had no effect at all."

Li Yu put away the gold needles and packed up all the pills from the ground before saying, "You don't understand the Li family. They cultivate the art of commanding spirits, so they are born extremely sensitive to anything related to spirit, including spiritual energy. As time passes, the spiritual energy within the formation I set will gradually weaken, and they will naturally sense it. Once they realize the trap has grown weaker, the combined strength of the four of them will be enough to break out."

Xu Kaijiang thought of something else and asked, "You knew from the beginning that four of them would make a move?"

"I'm not certain. But when I lay out a plan, I consider the worst possible outcome. If there weren't four of them, then with only two, they absolutely would not be able to break the trap. At that point, they would have no choice but to use the magical treasures they carry on them, and every bit of power those treasures consume is one bit less for them. For us, that is only beneficial," Li Yu answered calmly.

"But now there are four of them," Xu Kaijiang reminded him, fearing Li Yu might have forgotten.

Li Yu rose and glanced toward the direction where they were trapped. His gaze was confident and overbearing as he said, "It doesn't matter. The trap was only the third step. The fourth step begins now. The more people, the better."

Xu Kaijiang felt somewhat reassured after hearing this, but after thinking it over, he still felt that something was not quite right. Yet for the moment, he could not put his finger on it.

Under Li Yan's direction, everyone searched the weak point in the spiritual energy. Soon, all of them confirmed that what he had said was true.

Indeed, the trap was ingenious, but no matter how ingenious a thing was, it still had weaknesses.

In truth, Li Yu could have erased that tiny flaw if he wished. But he intentionally left it there, using it to magnify the deficiency in spiritual energy little by little until they would finally feel that the formation could be broken.

Li Yan tested it first, and after gauging the strength of the barrier, he said, "That's right. When the four of us strike later, we must use all our strength to blast open a gap, then get out through it."

The other three nodded in agreement.

Each of them gathered every bit of power they could currently summon. As they felt their strength build, their hatred for Li Yu only deepened.

The Li family had come to Sky Gate Town, but the number of times they could make a move was counted on one hand. Each time they acted, they had to use the spirit crystals prepared in advance by the family to restore their strength. The spirit crystals they were allowed to use were naturally of extremely high quality, but even so, they did not have many.

Once they had drawn their strength to its peak, at Li Yan's command, all four unleashed their most skillful techniques against that weak point.

The originally immovable white barrier trembled at once, its light flickering wildly. At the weakened spot, a breach appeared, though even that opening seemed as if it would close again in an instant.

Seeing this, Li Yan quickly said to the other three, "Keep pouring your power into the barrier. Get out quickly."

At his words, Li Xiqing was the first to flash out, followed by Li Ximing and Li Da, with Li Yan bringing up the rear.

Once the four had emerged, Li Da said to Li Xiqing, "Brother Qing, let's hurry and find that brat. We have to take revenge on them properly. Just to get all my strength out, I used up two spirit crystals! It hurts my heart."

Li Xiqing did not delay. He formed a hand seal, held his palm open and upward, and a ray of light shot from his hand, racing off in a certain direction.

"Go, follow it," Li Xiqing said, leading the way as he flew forward. The others naturally followed close behind.

On the other side, Li Yu had only just finished setting up the formation by the sea cliff.

Suddenly, he felt the fear conveyed by the Dragon Spirit. His heart lurched, and he knew they had arrived.

How could they have come so quickly?

Xu Kaijiang saw Li Yu stop and look in a certain direction, so he followed his gaze.

At a glance, he saw four streaks of light flying toward them at tremendous speed. Looking back at Li Yu's reaction, he immediately understood, and the question that had flashed through his mind earlier finally became clear.

"What I wanted to ask just now was this: what if one of them understands formations, finds the weak point you mentioned, and breaks out faster than you expected?" Xu Kaijiang said with a bitter smile.

Li Yu now also realized it. He had indeed overlooked this point, but it was too late for him to back down. The arrow was already on the string; he had no choice but to shoot. He could only steel himself and face the coming battle.

When the four landed, what they saw was Li Yu and Xu Kaijiang standing as if faced with a great enemy.

Li Xiqing first glanced around, then said, "So this is the place you know the Heavenly Gate is about to open?"

Li Yu replied coldly, "And if it is?"

After hearing this, Li Xiqing no longer seemed as furious as before. He could clearly sense that Li Yu was, in fact, showing some hesitation in his bearing, and the reason for that hesitation must have been that he himself lacked confidence.

Realizing this made Li Xiqing even happier.

He had always despised Li Yu's cold, aloof manner, as though no one in the world was worth his notice. His targeting of Li Yu had not only been because he wanted to seize Li Yu's resources, but also because he simply loathed that attitude.

Yet he had never realized that even if Li Yu had always lived that way, whom had he harmed by it?

In the past, Li Yu had been free of all entanglements. No matter how others treated him, he could remain unmoved as a mountain. But now it was different. He glanced at Xu Kaijiang beside him. He did not have many friends, and Xu Kaijiang was naturally one of them now.

So he would protect him, no matter what.

Having made up his mind, Li Yu ignored the fact that the formation had only just been set and had not yet absorbed enough spiritual energy, and forced it into motion.

As a result, it could only serve a defensive function now; its attacking power had come to a halt.

Li Xiqing was about to say something more to mock Li Yu when he saw a hemispherical glow rise around the two of them, tightly shielding them.

At the same time, Li Yu transmitted a message to Xu Kaijiang: "Don't worry. I am going to run this formation first and use myself as the anchor. As long as we hold out until the formation has absorbed enough spiritual energy, they will no longer be able to do anything to us."

"Clueless fool," Li Xiqing said darkly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out a magical artifact bestowed on him by his elders, infused it with spiritual power, and muttered an incantation. The artifact then rose into the air and transformed into a dazzling golden drill.

The drill shot upward and stabbed toward the barrier Li Yu had raised. Originally, Li Xiqing had thought one strike would be enough to break the formation. To his surprise, the drill, which had always been unrivaled in shattering formations and barriers, failed to produce any immediate effect.

Seeing this, Li Yan's expression grew even more obscure and unreadable. He thought to himself, "It seems he has begun to suspect me as well. Otherwise, he would not have left such a useful artifact unused and deliberately asked whether we had a way."

Having thought this through, his intent to kill Li Xiqing quietly grew as well.

The formation Li Yu had set up was even more subtle and complex than the one he had placed on Xu Kaijiang, but unfortunately, it was given no more time to complete its operation.

To keep Li Xiqing's attack from destroying it, Li Yu had no choice but to position himself at the core of the formation and transfer the damage onto his own body.

That blow had struck Li Yu more than the formation itself.

Visible to the eye, after taking the strike, Li Yu spat out a mouthful of blood and his face turned several shades paler.

Li Xiqing immediately understood upon seeing this. He sneered, "Idiot. Since you're so eager to die, I don't mind sending you to your grandfather ahead of time."

With that, the drill continued to slam repeatedly into the formation.

Xu Kaijiang watched Li Yu's face grow paler and paler, and his heart burned with anxiety, yet for the moment he had no way to help. At last, when Li Yu endured another blow and reached his limit, his body swayed and fell from the position he had occupied.

Xu Kaijiang hurried forward and took Li Yu into his arms. At that very moment, Li Xiqing saw that Li Yu could no longer hold on and smiled coldly.

"So, I thought you were some great talent after all. Turns out you're just pretty to look at and useless in practice. Fine then, our grudge should come to an end now. Let me personally send you on your way, Li Yu."