Wanyan Zhenyao heard this, glanced at Xu Mu, then asked with some confusion:
"How is that possible? Brother Mu Xu doesn't understand formations, yet he could sense this formation was almost complete. How could you, someone who understands formations, almost die after just one glance?"
"You can sense spatial formations?!" Ji Nian examined Xu Mu up and down, then shook his head like a rattle drum, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
"Spatial formations are extremely complex because the space here is its own self-contained world, chaotic. Once someone accidentally enters it, they will be instantly torn apart by the Great Dao within."
"Therefore, even renowned masters of formations would not easily attempt to set up spatial formations. Even the most mature spatial teleportation formations usually must be pre-etched and stored in formation diagrams to avoid accidents during temporary construction, just like this formation."
As Ji Nian spoke, he picked up the formation diagram and formation disk from the ground, and pointed at Ling Shu's corpse with lingering fear, "Rather than saying he was setting up a formation, it's more like he was just releasing it bit by bit from the formation diagram."
"And releasing this formation is like copying calligraphy. The prerequisite for a formation master to release a formation is that they must understand the great formation, and then draw it stroke by stroke according to the lines on the formation diagram. The beauty or ugliness of the drawing concerns the stability of the formation, and if it is crooked, it will directly result in a backlash and death by being annihilated by the Great Dao!"
Xu Mu nodded thoughtfully, "So, to complete this formation, simply knowing how to set it up isn't enough. One must also understand the Great Dao of Space, is that right?"
Ji Nian nodded and said to Xu Mu, "Precisely."
"So I apologize, but I cannot offer any help. The Great Dao of Space is too complex, and I cannot access it with my abilities. Even my master's master only understands the superficial aspects of space."
"Therefore, you cannot count on anyone else to perfect this formation. Even if there are other formation masters here, they wouldn't understand the Great Dao of Space. However..."
As Ji Nian spoke, he stared at Xu Mu with a peculiar expression.
"Brother Wanyan just said you could sense the formation in this space, and nothing happened?"
Xu Mu anticipated this question, so he nodded, "Yes, I have some research on the Great Dao of Space. Although I don't fully understand it, I can at least sense it."
"To be able to sense it without backlash is already quite remarkable," Ji Nian clicked his tongue.
"Alliance Leader Mu Xu, if you insist on using this formation, then now, only you can complete it."
"But I don't understand formations," Xu Mu pursed his lips, then asked Ji Nian, "If I tell you the spatial meridians, and you do the etching, would that be feasible?"
"Absolutely not. This is the Great Dao of Space. If there's the slightest error, you might be fine, but I will definitely die," Ji Nian said calmly, looking at Xu Mu earnestly, "I am my parents' only son. I don't want them to be without descendants."
"I understand," Xu Mu nodded, then sighed with some helplessness, "If I had known, I would have killed Ling Shu later."
"Let me interject. Since only you can complete this formation, why don't you learn formations? Then the problem would be solved," Xu Jingchu said from the side.
"That's impossible," Wanyan Zhenze interrupted before Xu Mu could speak, "When I was young, I studied formations with a teacher for a while, but after five years, I still couldn't even grasp the most basic threshold."
"That's because you're slow," Xu Jingchu said to him.
Wanyan Zhenze's face flushed, and he retorted somewhat stubbornly, "I just don't have a talent for it, that doesn't mean I'm slow."
"My brother, is he smart enough? He studied for three years and still didn't learn anything!"
Wanyan Zhenyao felt everyone's gaze and his face burned. He coughed awkwardly, "Cough cough, we're getting off topic."
"Indeed, everyone has their own suitable method of cultivation. Formations truly require a special talent."
Ji Nian smiled and continued, "Furthermore, as far as I know, the current patriarch of the Shangguan clan, a genius in formations, took seventeen days to enter the basic level of formations."
"The Shangguan clan is a family of formation masters. After Tianqi, most of the awakened special abilities in their entire family are related to formations. Even so, it took seventeen days to learn formations?" Xu Jingchu said in surprise.
Ji Nian turned to look at her, his expression serious, "Note, that was the fastest. Seventeen days is not the norm for everyone."
"Most people take between three to five years to enter the basic level, and their growth period afterwards will only get longer. For example, it took me two and a half years to enter the basic level of formations, and I'm still just a common second-tier formation master."
"You're far from common. If you had time to prepare beforehand, I wouldn't have any chance of winning," Wanyan Zhenyao said softly.
"Compared to some people in the Shangguan family, I'm extremely ordinary," Ji Nian seemed to recall something and smiled bitterly, then said to Xu Mu, "Alliance Leader Mu Xu, I suggest you hurry and heal your injuries, and then think about other matters."
"If time is running out, then killing Ye Gong can wait. Don't push yourself."
Xu Mu nodded, then said, "Brother Ji Nian, can you try to teach me?"
Ji Nian was stunned, "What?"
Xu Mu looked at him and said seriously, "Formations. I want to learn formations."
Ji Nian heard this, scratched his eyebrows, and sighed helplessly:
"This... Although you might have extraordinary talent, far exceeding all of us, with less than four days left in total, are you sure you don't want to focus on healing and instead learn formations?"
Xu Mu nodded, "Yes, I'm sure."
Ji Nian exchanged a glance with Wanyan Zhenyao, then said helplessly, "Alliance Leader Mu Xu, please don't be impulsive. As you said earlier, your physical body is powerful, and you can heal while traveling. You might still have a chance to reach Tianqiong Peak before the competition ends and snipe Ye Gong."
"But if you spend time cultivating formations, not only will you waste a lot of time, but you will also delay your travel and recovery speed, ending up with nothing for all your efforts. It would be a net loss!"
Xu Mu heard this, but remained silent, quietly recalling the formation carvings left by Emperor Fuxi in the second level of the Dark Palace he had seen long ago.
He still remembered what those carvings looked like, and he had tried to decompose them using the technique of the Innate Eight Trigrams. They didn't seem that difficult to understand.
"Let's try."
Xu Mu looked at Ji Nian and said calmly,
"I don't think it will take too much time."