"Please, senior brother, enlighten me!"
"The formation you speak of is merely one type of formation. What I want to ask is, what abilities do you think this formation could possess?"
Wang Yang asked, and then continued, "Don't limit yourself, think boldly!"
The strongest formation?
Sun Wukong truly didn't know how to think about it.
However, he also wanted to answer the question properly.
So after a while, Sun Wukong slowly said, "The strongest formation could trap a Saint!"
Saints cannot be killed; if one could trap a Saint, that should be the most powerful formation, right?
But upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, Wang Yang shook his head and said, "A formation, based on heaven and earth, if it reaches the peak, could transform one thought into myriad formations!"
"In the eyes of ordinary people, a formation is nothing more than a special arrangement made with props or tools, but the most powerful formation, it encompasses heaven and earth, with the formation remolding heaven and earth. Each formation is a world in its own right, a separate heaven and earth, that is the true formation!"
"Do you understand now?"
Wang Yang explained in a way that Sun Wukong seemed to half understand, and upon hearing it, Sun Wukong was completely stunned.
To encompass heaven and earth, a formation is a world in itself.
This...
Even though Sun Wukong felt that he had pushed his imagination to its limits, even thinking he might be boasting, he had not anticipated a formation could be so formidable.
To encompass heaven and earth, the formation is the world.
To integrate with heaven and earth, not just laying out a formation.
All things are the source of formation power!
He now could not even fathom how powerful a real Great Formation could be.
At this moment, Sun Wukong could no longer imagine how powerful Wang Yang really was.
A single thought births a world.
Fearfully, only a peerless great being could achieve such a feat.
And what had the senior brother taught him? Escape Skill, space-time, transformation, body refinement, and the integration of the Five Elements into one's being.
Now there was also the Way of Array Formations, just how terrifyingly skilled was his senior brother, and yet he remained so humble.
It seems he should learn from his senior brother earnestly, never to become arrogant.
Wang Yang, seeing Sun Wukong looking at him like this, breathed a sigh of relief.
Glad to have impressed his younger brother.
Although what he said appeared to make some sense, it was just a semblance of it.
Any person well-versed in formations would never believe his words.
What "a single thought creates a formation", "a formation that merges with heaven and earth".
A formation that constitutes an entire world.
Even to accomplish such a thing, a Saint arranging a formation would need a Formation Diagram or other objects.
But none of this mattered to Wang Yang, as long as one strives to be powerful, and Sun Wukong, having achieved something, won't grow arrogant, realizing that he still has to diligently cultivate.
Of course, this was also a method of painting a grand vision.
If Wukong isn't impressed, how would he ever learn the ways of support?
Although the art of formations is indeed powerful, most of what has been passed down nowadays serves mainly as support; there basically aren't any powerful formations that allow the weak to overcome the strong; at best, they serve as mere assistance.
If only the simple power of formations was mentioned, Sun Wukong wouldn't be interested at all.
However, formations are also indispensable. After all, even if offensive formations aren't strong, there are indeed powerful formations for shielding and trapping.
In the future, they could come in handy, and with Sun Wukong's exceptional understanding, it's possible he could greatly enhance his comprehension of formations. Then, naturally, he would become much more powerful in formations.
"Wukong, do you understand now?"
Wang Yang looked at Sun Wukong and slowly started speaking.
"I understand!"
At this point, Sun Wukong came back to his senses and nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with astonishment; he had never before considered that formations could be so powerful.
"It's good that you understand. However, you are still at the beginning stage of learning about formations, so you must progress step by step. Before you start your cultivation, first ponder over this summary of formation techniques. Take it and study it well. Do you understand?"
As Wang Yang spoke, he pulled out an ancient tome on formations and handed it to Sun Wukong.
With every move he made, Wang Yang commanded Wukong's admiration; it was the demeanor of a true expert. Sun Wukong hurriedly took the ancient tome, full of eager anticipation.
"Thank you, senior brother, for bestowing this book upon me!"
Sun Wukong said to his senior brother with utmost seriousness, gripping the ancient book firmly in his hand.
He also knew that one must eat their food one bite at a time and walk the path step by step; to reach the heavens in one step was simply impossible.
"Hmm, ponder over it carefully. Once your comprehension is thorough, you will have an additional means of protecting yourself, and then you'll be ready to complete the task of slaying the Ghost Shark," Wang Yang said before he turned and left, leaving Sun Wukong alone to ponder.
Wang Yang believed that Sun Wukong wouldn't disappoint him this time. With Wukong's contemplation, his own understanding of the art of formations would grow deeper. By then, Wang Yang would be more confident about concealing himself.
"I hope Wukong can move quickly; otherwise..."
Wang Yang muttered to himself, worried that Patriarch Bodhi would soon ask Sun Wukong to leave.
Meanwhile, inside the Daoist Temple, Sun Wukong was flipping through the book on formations.
Although the tome was somewhat worn, he could tell that his senior brother often consulted it. His senior brother was already so powerful, yet frequently referred to this foundational text. No wonder his senior brother was so formidable.
Soon, Sun Wukong began to read, and his admiration for Wang Yang grew even stronger. It was just so amazing that Wang Yang had managed to comprehend these basic formations.
But on the pages were senior brother's thoughts and annotations on the formations.
Although these annotations seemed quite superficial, thinking of his senior brother's strength, Wukong nevertheless shook his head.
"It's clear these were written by senior brother at the start of his cultivation. Otherwise, why would he leave such simple remarks? I can only imagine how profound senior brother's current understanding of formations must be, beyond what I can even begin to conceive!" Wukong mused to himself, nodding in agreement.
After all, gathering the energies of heaven and earth with formations and altering them—these insights into formations don't come from someone with only a superficial knowledge of the art.
So, in his view, these annotations must have been written by Wang Yang at the beginning of his cultivation journey.
And those annotations that he could not fully understand, Sun Wukong attributed to his inability to reach that realm of comprehension.
Not long after, Sun Wukong had already pondered all the formations that Wang Yang had been studying over the years.
Although he had finished reading and understood them all, he didn't rush onwards. Instead, he looked at the tome, considering whether there was anything he hadn't fully grasped yet.
"Each time senior brother taught me cultivation techniques and supernatural powers, there were deeper truths and transformations hidden within them. I'm sure these formations are the same, and senior brother mentioned that the most powerful formation uses the heavens and earth. But as I'm not yet capable of such a feat, I can only study the more basic ways of array formations," he reflected and then closed his eyes.