Chapter 363

Chapter 363: Escaping the Formation

As the small boat Lou Yun rode neared the area of Divine Weapon Island, it was immediately spotted by a large patrol ship. The patrol ship changed course and sailed toward them. Simultaneously, two figures flew out from the ship and, soaring atop their magical weapons, arrived at Lou Yun’s location one step ahead of the vessel.

Although they were still far away, Lou Yun had already recognized the two figures flying towards him. He had long known they would be on Divine Weapon Island, but he hadn’t expected to encounter them before even landing. However, this truly showed they were his genuine sworn brothers!

Lou Yun suddenly let out a long whistle. His Dream Emperor Sword promptly carried him off the boat, meeting the oncoming figures halfway.

Standing on the Dream Emperor Sword, Lou Yun spread his arms wide, letting the sea wind batter his face as he shouted at the top of his voice, "Good brothers, I have returned!"

Hearing Lou Yun’s voice, the two figures flying through the air visibly faltered for an instant. But immediately after, they simultaneously accelerated their speed, streaking forward like two trails of light until they reached Lou Yun.

Lou Yun laughed heartily, stepping off the Dream Emperor Sword entirely. Gathering a breath of pure cosmic energy, he kept himself temporarily suspended in the air. His arms, however, firmly enveloped the two men before him!

One of these men was tall, the other short. One had closed eyes and an impassive face; the other’s eyes were open, and a gentle smile graced his lips. They were none other than Lou Yun’s life-or-death companions, Tie Sha and Wen Hou!

Held together in that moment, even Tie Sha, with his usually expressionless face, couldn’t suppress a faint hint of a smile. As for Wen Hou, the ever-present smile on his face shone brighter than ever before.

Thus the three hugged, silent. Their bond needed no words.

Back on the patrol ship, keen-eyed crew members finally recognized the visitor as Lou Yun. They quickly adjusted course again and sped towards Divine Weapon Island; they needed to deliver this news to the people on the shore straight away!

Meanwhile, Chang Feng and Mo Bingju, who had accompanied Lou Yun, also looked up and saw the trio embracing. They exchanged bewildered glances. Having known Tie Sha and Wen Hou for far longer than Lou Yun had, they couldn’t help but feel that his connection with the two far exceeded their own!

Finally, Lou Yun released his embrace and laughed loudly once more. “Tie Sha! Wen Hou! I’m back!”

Tie Sha’s face reverted to its characteristic indifference; he merely nodded in response to Lou Yun’s words. Wen Hou, however, smiled warmly as he said, “It’s good that you returned.”

“Hmm, I haven’t just returned alone; I brought a few companions with me!”

Lou Yun’s voice boomed, easily reaching Chang Feng and Mo Bingju still on the small boat. Without waiting for Lou Yun to hail them, they promptly boarded their own magical weapons and flew out. Yet, when they saw Tie Sha and Wen Hou, both merely gave the slightest of nods in acknowledgment of the greeting.

Lou Yun descended to the small boat again, scooped up Yi Xuan and Yi Ru, and addressed the crew. “We’ll head ashore first. You can follow.”

Led by Tie Sha and Wen Hou, the group finally entered the airspace above Divine Weapon Island.

Lou Yun, holding the two children, was bantering casually with Tie Sha and Wen Hou when, in the next blink of an eye, the two men vanished!

Lou Yun sharply turned around – Chang Feng and Mo Bingju following behind had disappeared too! Now, only he and the two children remained.

Naturally noticing the strangeness, Yi Ru, being more timid, clutched tightly onto Lou Yun’s shoulder. Her eyes nervously scanned the surroundings. “Master, where… where have they gone?” she whispered.

Lou Yun managed a wry smile. “They are likely nearby; we simply cannot see them anymore.”

“Why can’t we see them?”

“Because we’ve entered a formation.”

Earlier, caught up in the joy of reuniting with Tie Sha and Wen Hou, Lou Yun had completely forgotten about the protective formation encircling the sky above Divine Weapon Island. Tie Sha and Wen Hou, it seemed, had conspired beforehand to play a prank. That’s why they intentionally hadn’t mentioned it and, after leading Lou Yun into the formation, promptly left with Chang Feng and Mo Bingju, leaving Lou Yun to fend for himself!

Though Lou Yun had begun to grasp the basics of formations – he had led Leng Cangqiong and others out of the Thousand Layer Cave using his knowledge – his understanding in this art was still fundamentally rudimentary. The formation within the Thousand Layer Cave was exceptionally basic, while the grand Illusionary Sky Formation enveloping Divine Weapon Island was the culmination of centuries of research by the Three Brothers of the Lu Family. Given Lou Yun’s current level, naturally, he couldn’t break it!

The Lou Yun now, however, was not the same as before. After a brief moment of helpless laughter, he swiftly calmed himself. The fundamental purpose of any formation was to manipulate cosmic energy to trap or attack those within it. Since it relied on cosmic energy, which he could sense and even absorb, surely he could find a way out?

Lou Yun addressed the children. "Master needs to find the way out of this major formation now. Be good and stay quiet, alright?"

In the eyes of the children, Lou Yun was capable of anything. Hearing his instruction, they nodded instantly, harboring not a shred of doubt.

Lou Yun closed his eyes and began using his soul perception to scrutinize the existence and flow patterns of the cosmic energy within this formation.

What he perceived made Lou Yun gasp in utter astonishment. The sheer quantity of cosmic energy infused within this formation was vast beyond measure!

Formations function by altering the environment to harness cosmic energy, thereby confining or assaulting those caught within. The amount of cosmic energy harnessed directly determines the formation’s potency. The size of the area a formation covers doesn’t inherently relate to its strength.

Consider the formation in the Thousand Layer Cave – its coverage was immense, stretching through an entire mountain interior. Yet, the cosmic energy it channeled was minimal, making it practically powerless. That’s why Lou Yun escaped easily.

This Illusionary Sky Formation, stretching across the entirety of Divine Weapon Island, was certainly large. But the volume of cosmic energy it harnessed was staggeringly immense!

No wonder the Three Brothers of the Lu Family had such confidence in it!

Seeing such an ocean of cosmic energy concentrated within, a wild idea struck Lou Yun: what consequence might occur if he stayed here and directly absorbed all of this energy into himself?

Lou Yun dismissed the thought. While he potentially could do it, he emphatically would not. This formation protected the entire Divine Weapon Island; it protected the Lou Family. He desperately hoped the cosmic energy within it was as dense as possible!

Since absorption wasn’t an option, Lou Yun focused on tracing the flow paths of this energy, seeking a way to breach the formation.

He quickly noticed the cosmic energy within the formation differed markedly from ambient cosmic energy.

Out in the world, cosmic energy flowed in an overall unified current, yet each minuscule thread of energy possessed its own unique, chaotic trajectory – some tracing arcs, others crisscrossing wildly. Within this formation, however, every thread of cosmic energy, whether considered individually or en masse, flowed in one unified direction!

Why?

Gradually, Lou Yun’s entire mind and spirit merged wholly with the formation itself, becoming one with the immense cosmic energy within. His consciousness seemed to transform into a wisp of cosmic energy, joining the flow within the Illusionary Sky Formation and circulating along its fixed pathways.

Travelling this current, Lou Yun sensed an encircling force outlining the fixed path he/they were following, rigidly constraining the flow’s direction and course.

This force was clearly generated by the formation itself. But why did it enforce such rigid movement upon the cosmic energy?

Formation Momentum!

An insight blazed through Lou Yun’s consciousness, bringing sudden clarity. He understood!

Formation Momentum was the foundational structure, the essential blueprint of the formation’s overall flow. Establishing this momentum was the crucial first step for any formation to materialize. Similarly, for the harnessed cosmic energy to function effectively within the formation, its flow must align precisely with this established momentum!

To destroy a formation, the method was simple: find and destroy its core – its `formation’s eye` – and the structure would collapse. Escaping without destruction, however, required familiarity with the entire formation momentum. Just like any path, a formation had a starting point and an ending point. By finding the ending point, one could simply exit the formation path!

In truth, Lou Yun’s understanding was both correct and incomplete. If there truly were a definite start and end where cosmic energy entered only to leave immediately, it couldn’t constitute a functional formation.

Once the Formation Momentum is established, the formation bases (`formation bases`) are arranged to seal the entire structure into a closed system. Cosmic energy enters through the designated starting point, but it cannot escape. Instead, it continuously circulates within the self-contained structure, perpetuating the formation indefinitely.

This principle, however, applied specifically to the cosmic energy itself. No one normally thought like Lou Yun, merging their consciousness with cosmic energy to traverse the entire formation momentum.

Therefore, when Lou Yun fully integrated himself with the cosmic energy and followed the formation’s intrinsic path in a complete circuit, he located both its starting point and ending point. For him, as a human being standing within the formation, stepping out from either the start or the end point meant stepping outside the confining momentum – stepping free of the formation!