Hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but wonder, "I've been on a mission with this Jiang Zhengji before. If I remember correctly, both of them were only at the mid-Golden Core stage. How could they escape from a Nascent Soul and so many Golden Core cultivators?"
Zhang Zhiliang squinted his eyes and explained slowly, "Although these two are only at the mid-Golden Core stage, they share a deep bond and cooperate seamlessly. They are well-versed in joint attacks."
"Their Golden Core manifestations are named 'Drifting White Snow' and 'Frosty Red Plum.'"
"Working together, they can form something similar to a Nascent Soul's domain, called the 'Crystal World.'"
"When the two of them join forces, even an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would find it difficult to match them."
Li Fan recalled the scene of slaughtering the red-haired exotic beasts on the island, nodding involuntarily.
As if recalling something, a hint of a smile appeared on Zhang Zhiliang's face, and he continued, "These two small Golden Core cultivators not only caused havoc in the enemy's territory but also managed to escape unscathed. The Five Elders' association couldn't let it go and sought revenge."
"But they didn't dare to send a Nascent Soul cultivator to openly engage in a battle and take responsibility."
"So, they secretly dispatched a Nascent Soul cultivator to infiltrate the Sea of Clouds, wreak havoc on Haitong Island, and vent their frustration."
"Hmph, the Five Elders' association is really pitiful."
Zhang Zhiliang sneered.
After speaking, he corrected his expression, "Let's go. Although their actions are a bit childish, the Nascent Soul cultivator did cause significant losses to Haitong Island."
"The structure of the protective formation has been completely destroyed, and even the teleportation array is unusable. We have to fly to the neighboring Youmen Island."
Led by Zhang Zhiliang, Li Fan and the others took almost a day to reach the vicinity of Haitong Island.
The island's guardians had already received notice and were waiting.
"Greetings, Master Zhang!"
Perhaps because it was close to the territory of the Five Elders' association, surprisingly, the guardian of this island was a Golden Core cultivator.
A burly man with a pale complexion, seemingly seriously injured.
"This is the guardian of Haitong Island, Daoist Pei Tuo!" Zhang Zhiliang introduced to Li Fan and others.
"Daoist Pei Tuo has now reached the peak of the Golden Core realm, with one foot stepping into the Nascent Soul realm. When the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Five Elders' association attacked, if it weren't for Daoist Pei's full efforts to activate the protective formation for defense, I'm afraid Haitong Island would have become ruins."
Pei Tuo waved his hand, somewhat embarrassed. "Pei Tuo is not capable, and I can't accept Master's praise."
Zhang Zhiliang laughed heartily and did not force the topic.
"Daoist Pei, have the ordinary people on the island been evacuated?" he asked.
Pei Tuo nodded, "They have all been moved to other islands. Master can start the repair work at any time."
Zhang Zhiliang scanned the islands below and, after a moment, said, "The damage is more severe than I imagined. Instead of repairing it slowly, it's better to redeploy."
As he spoke, he didn't seem to make any moves.
However, the sky above Tonghai Island suddenly darkened.
A massive eye appeared from nowhere in the oppressive, pitch-black clouds.
Staring directly at Tonghai Island.
Although it didn't lock onto a specific target, within the field of vision of this giant eye, Li Fan suddenly felt a stagnation in his spiritual energy, making it difficult to operate.
A sense of panic, as if everything was exposed, surged in his heart.
Fortunately, Li Fan's mental fortitude was excellent, and he had faced top-notch figures like Bai Fatian in the past.
Comparatively, the pressure from a Nascent Soul realm cultivator was nothing more than child's play.
Li Fan quickly returned to normal.
However, to avoid attracting attention, he still pretended to tremble like the other formation maintenance personnel.
Fortunately, this giant eye in the sky did not last for long.
A silver light flashed across the surface of Tonghai Island.
In Li Fan's perception, the remaining formation structures above the island were all disintegrating and dissolving in this silver light.
In an instant, there were no traces of the formation left on Haitong Island.
The sky returned to its calm and gentle state, and a hint of envy flashed in Pei Tuo's eyes. He said, "Master Zhang's prowess with the 'Law Eyes Daoist Paradise' is becoming even more extraordinary."
This was Li Fan's first time witnessing Zhang Zhiliang using his Daoist Paradise. Compared to the Nascent Soul cultivator with a volcano-themed Daoist Paradise that Li Fan had encountered before, Zhang Zhiliang's Law Eyes Daoist Paradise was evidently stronger by more than one level.
"I have cleared all the formations on the island. Now, you all follow me to rebuild the formations," Zhang Zhiliang said to Li Fan and the others.
"Our current island protection formation in the Immortal Alliance is the 'Heavenly Origin Life Formation.' The outer formation has thirty-six million seven hundred and eighty thousand nodes, with each node incorporating hundreds of formations."
"What you need to do this time is to reconstruct the external structure of the Heavenly Origin Life Formation."
"As for the internal core formations, it's too early for you to engage with them given your level of formation mastery. I will personally handle that this time."
Zhang Zhiliang spoke and pointed towards the front.
A light screen containing detailed diagrams of hundreds of formations unfolded before everyone.
"Li Fan, tell us, what basic formations are included in this diagram?" Zhang Zhiliang called out.
After a careful examination, Li Fan calmly responded, "Gathering Spirit Formation, Defensive Formation, Unity Formation..."
Satisfied with Li Fan's answer, Zhang Zhiliang nodded.
He then proceeded to explain in detail the construction of each node to everyone.
Pei Tuo, as if avoiding suspicion, distanced himself and remained vigilant in a defensive posture.
Three days and nights passed before Zhang Zhiliang finished explaining the external nodes of the Heavenly Origin Life Formation.
Although Li Fan couldn't fully comprehend everything, with the enhancement of the 'Daoism Unveiled One' secret technique, he had firmly memorized it in his mind.
"Master Zhang, I once came across ancient records mentioning an ancient formation called the 'Elemental Transformation Rebirth Grand Formation.' I wonder if it has any relation to our Immortal Alliance's 'Heavenly Origin Life Formation'?" Li Fan took the opportunity to ask.
Zhang Zhiliang was slightly surprised, seemingly not expecting Li Fan to ask such a question.
"You are indeed knowledgeable, even knowing about such obscure formations," Zhang Zhiliang praised and explained to Li Fan, "The life-generation function in the Heavenly Origin Life Formation is derived from the ancient Elemental Transformation Rebirth Grand Formation."
"However, due to the presence of the Mortal-Immortal Miasma in the bodies of ordinary people today, the formation had to undergo corresponding changes to be usable. The actual effect is far less impressive than before. It is said that the ancient Elemental Transformation Rebirth Grand Formation could convert the vitality of ordinary people into life-prolonging fruits consumable by cultivators."
"Now, it only serves to increase the concentration of spiritual energy inside the formation and nourish the physical bodies, with little other effects."
Zhang Zhiliang expressed his regret.
Next, he distributed the formation materials and instructed everyone to independently construct formation nodes.
Given the opportunity for free practice in formation deployment, Li Fan naturally wouldn't miss it.
He immersed himself in arranging the formations.
Until now, Li Fan had mostly studied formations theoretically, and practical formation deployment was relatively rare for him.
Therefore, he felt a bit unfamiliar at the beginning, with a higher rate of errors.
But soon, Li Fan discovered the extraordinary aspect of 'Daoism Unveiled One.'
(End of this chapter)