Chapter 479
The vast lounge was filled with a huge crowd walking to and fro . There was a long queue in front of the front counter .
Formation plates, weapon, and pill, these three were known as the necessities for a journey . However, the variety and number of formation plates that the Formation Master Guild sold everyday was limited so there was often a long queue of people hoping to buy just one .
"Paying respects to Hall Master Sai!"
Walking around the crowd, before Zhang Xuan and Hall Master Sai could reach the reception, a young man had already walked forward to welcome them .
"I have some matters to ask of Guild Leader Zheng, I'll be troubling you to lead the way . " Hall Master Sai waved his hands .
"My teacher is currently in the midst of inscribing a formation plate . I'll lead you there now!" The young man smiled and led the way .
Walking along the stairs up to the second floor, it didn't take long before they arrived at a room . Formation plates of all sizes were placed around the room, and at the very center sat an elder who was busy carving something .
A formation required a formation core and formation flags to be placed in a manner that complemented the geographical terrain to maximize its might . As such, setting one up and activating it were extremely troublesome processes, and only those who were well-versed in it were capable of the feat .
Formation plates were much simpler in comparison . One just had to inscribe a miniaturized version of the formation on the unique round plate, and just by infusing one's zhenqi into it, one would be able to trigger it .
But formation plates had two major flaws to them .
Firstly, due to its size, it was unable harmonize with the surroundings and thus, it typically only contained around half the might of an ordinary formation .
Secondly, every usage would result in immense damage to the formation plate . As such, it was limited by the number of uses, and while five times was the maximum, it was often the case that the formation plates broke after the first use .
While the flaws couldn't be said to be insignificant, its benefits still far outweighed its disadvantages . Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people queuing up for it .
Its greatest strength lay in that anyone, even those who were completely unknowledgeable in formations, could use it . Secondly, it was convenient to carry around and it could be activated quickly and easily — one just had to infuse zhenqi into it — thus, making it a valuable tool in times to danger .
The elder in the room seemed to be in his sixties but there wasn't the slightest trace of facial hair on his face . His large hand was holding a small carving knife, and he was carefully carving a plate .
The creation of a formation plate was an extremely complicated process . After all, what one was trying to do was to condense a massive formation into a round plate around the size of one's palm . The difficulty of the task was obvious with just a single thought . With the slightest mistake, the inscribing process might very possibly end in failure .
Inscribing formation plates was somewhat similar to forging pills . Even 4-star formation masters couldn't claim to be able to succeed all the time . The creation of every single plate was an extremely effort and time-consuming process .
"Teacher, Hall Master Sai is here!"
Walking into the room, the young man bowed .
Putting down the carving knife, the elder raised his head, looked at his old friend, and smiled . "I've always been the one to look for you in the past, what brings you here today?"
"I have something that I have to request of Guild Leader Zheng this time!"
Hall Master Sai nodded before introducing, "This is Zhang shi . He hopes to purchase a formation plate, and after some consideration, I felt that the items you sold here are the most reliable of them all so I brought him over!"
"Zhang shi?"
Guild Leader Zheng stood up and assessed Zhang Xuan with a doubtful expression .
He knew the temper of this old friend of his very well . The latter was an extremely proud person, and he acted extremely casually even with him . Yet, when the latter was introducing the young man, he spoke with a very grave and earnest tone which left him intrigued .
Taking a closer look, he couldn't find anything unique about this young man . One thing notable was that he was unable to see through the cultivation of the latter, but even so, given how his actions weren't aligned with the flow of the world, it was clear he hadn't reached Transcendent Mortal realm yet .
A young lad who hadn't reached Transcendent Mortal actually made his old friend act so respectfully?
"May I know what kind of formation plate Zhang shi is looking for? Confinement Formation, Slaughter Formation, Illusion Formation . . . I've a few of those in stock!" Even though Guild Leader Zheng was perplexed, he had only just met the other party and it would be rude to ask of it before him .
"What I wish to find is a . . . Spirit Gathering Formation!" Zhang Xuan said .
"Spirit Gathering Formation?" Guild Leader Zheng was perplexed . " . . . There's no such formation plate . Usually, it's set up at a certain fixed location . . . "
Spirit Gathering Formation was mainly used for cultivation, and normally, it would be set up by some influential powers at a specific location to groom their talents . On the other hand, formation plates were often viewed as an offensive or defensive measure .
Thus, very few people would inscribe a Spirit Gathering Formation on a formation plate, and even he, the guild leader of the Formation Master Guild, had never done it before .
In truth, Guild Leader Zheng wasn't the only one who was surprised . Even Hall Master Sai was taken aback .
Hall Master Sai had thought that Zhang shi was buying a formation in preparation for the exploration of the soul oracle tomb . However, from the looks of it now, it didn't seem like that was the case . After all, what was the use of a Spirit Gathering Location in there? Was he supposed to throw it in to gather 'spirits' and capture soul oracles?
"There's no such item?" Zhang Xuan frowned .
"Indeed . I've never drawn it before . If you really require it, I can draw one for you . However, it'll take some time!" After a moment of hesitation, Guild Leader Zheng said .
The purpose of a Spirit Gathering Formation was to gather spiritual energy . As such, one would be affected by the disturbances in the spiritual energy while inscribing the formation plate . As Guild Leader Zheng had never tried it before, he didn't dare give his word .
How long will it take?" Zhang Xuan asked .
"This . . . I've never inscribed it before so I might take some time to grasp it properly . At worst, it might take an entire month . However, if no hiccups occur, I should be able to finish it within . . . half a month!" Guild Leader Zheng said .
"Half a month?" Zhang Xuan shook his head .
Too long .
He was supposed to meet Luo Zhu tomorrow and set off for the soul oracle tomb . Before that, for his and his students' safety, he had to at least reach Transcendent Mortal 1-dan . By the time the formation plate was done, it would already be too late .
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