Qin Chuan had been observing the old man's movements. From the moment he started pretending to break the formation, he knew the old man would use a special method.
When the old man produced the Sun Crystal Bead, Qin Chuan's eyes lit up. This thing was incredibly powerful; the aura it emitted was extremely sharp and destructive.
This was the power of the sun, the power of the great sun. Even if Qin Chuan's formation was several levels higher, he wouldn't be able to withstand it, let alone his level sixteen formation.
Even a single Sun Crystal Bead the size of a walnut was enough to destroy a high-level formation the size of a small town.
But using a Sun Crystal Bead to break his own manor's protective formation seemed too extravagant, didn't it?
Qin Chuan felt it was too extravagant.
However, Qin Chuan wasn't worried. His formation would only be completely destroyed if it was destroyed three times in a row—three devastating destructions.
The old man couldn't possibly have three Sun Crystal Beads, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't use them three times in a row; once was already painful enough. He'd
use them at most twice, and if the formation remained intact after that, he wouldn't continue. So, Qin Chuan wasn't worried.
Furthermore, even if the opponent possessed three or more Sun Crystal Beads and recklessly destroyed the formation,
Qin Chuan could immediately relocate. He had a backup plan, so he wasn't worried. Besides, one Sun Crystal Bead was already quite a feat.
Xu Lao regained his confidence. Having done his job, he once again adopted a confident posture and made a grand entrance. Those who had come with him looked at him with admiration.
After all, he was the most powerful formation master in the Five Continents. Experts saw the intricacies, while laymen only saw the spectacle. These people simply felt that Xu Lao was powerful and charismatic—the charisma of a great figure, the charisma of someone who accomplishes great things, the charisma of someone who stands alone.
*Whoosh!*
Xu Lao seized an opportunity and placed a Sun Crystal Bead on the formation, something he had tampered with.
Xu Lao felt a pang of regret after throwing out the Sun Crystal Bead. If it weren't for protecting his reputation and status, he would never have used it. After all, he only had two Sun Crystal Beads, which he treasured like precious gems.
The formation shook violently, and fine lines appeared on its surface—cracks.
Old Xu still wore a faint smile. Although he had used a Sun Crystal Bead, the progress was still good; barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would be successful.
He also needed to capture the person who set up the formation and bring them to him. He would then make them pay for the lost Sun Crystal Bead. He
also needed to extract all the formations he knew, and finally kill them to silence them, thus further enhancing his formation skills.
Thinking about this made him smile. He hadn't expected that at his age, he would make such a significant leap forward—a qualitative change.
The more he thought about it, the more pleased he became, even laughing heartily.
But then he sensed something was wrong. The atmosphere around him was off; he felt Bei Chuyang and the others looking at him strangely.
His heart skipped a beat; his intuition told him something was amiss. What he saw made his expression change.
The formation was perfectly fine…
How could this be? He had witnessed the formation's destruction earlier; the cracks and lines on it indicated it was going to explode—he was certain of that.
This is why he was so smug, but now, looking at the formation before him, it was completely unharmed. Everything he had seen before seemed like an illusion.
Impossible, impossible…
"Tell me what happened before," Old Xu said anxiously. He had been too smug and hadn't seen how the formation master recovered.
Bei Chuyang spoke up: "The formation disappeared for a moment, but then reappeared. The cracks and everything else have disappeared."
Old Xu was stunned, his face breaking out in a cold sweat. The problem wasn't with the Sun Crystal Beads, but with the formation itself.
He had read in historical records that formations were alive, that they could be reborn from the ashes. In the instant of destruction, they could automatically repair themselves, completely repairing themselves, only consuming a certain energy at the formation's core.
This energy was the essence of heaven and earth, the origin of all things, the source of all growth. It could slowly refine the primordial energy of heaven and earth to form this power.
This power allowed the formation to repair itself instantly upon destruction.
To break such a formation, it was necessary to continuously destroy it, making the formation's power insufficient.
There couldn't be a long gap, otherwise, once this power recovered, all the previous destruction would be in vain.
So now, Elder Xu was in a dilemma, struggling with his decision. He hadn't expected the legendary formation to appear, and he didn't know how many times it could be repaired.
He still had a Sun Crystal Bead; if he could destroy the formation twice, that would be fine, but if he couldn't and it was repaired again, he would have suffered a huge loss.
The more he thought about it, the more anxious and indecisive he became. He had already used it once; if he stopped now, the previous one would have been wasted.
Should he try again?
Elder Xu was in a real pain; using it once was already painful enough, should he use the last one?
Bei Chuyang frowned slightly: "Elder Xu, keep trying. Let's see if it repairs faster or you can break it faster."
Elder Xu was now in a difficult position. Bei Chuyang thought he was breaking the formation himself, not knowing that he was using an extremely precious treasure.
Moreover, there were only two of these treasures, and one had already been used.
Elder Xu had boasted earlier, and now he was in a bind. For the sake of his reputation, he had no choice but to use it one more time, hoping that this time it would succeed.
As long as he succeeded, he would recoup his losses from the person who set up the formation. This thought calmed him down a bit.
He pretended to prepare again, taking out the Sun Crystal Bead, this time keeping a close eye on the formation.
Cracks!
Shattering!
Old Xu breathed a slight sigh of relief. It shattered, it broke! He couldn't be wrong now; he hadn't seen it clearly before, but this time he saw it clearly.
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, the formation before him flickered and then disappeared. A smile appeared on his lips.
Success!
Hmm?
In just an instant, the disappeared formation reappeared, perfectly intact, as if everything he had seen before had been an illusion.
He was stunned again. This time, he saw it with his own eyes, but to him, it felt like the sky was falling, because he didn't know what to do next.
"Old Xu, hurry up, break it again! I don't believe we can't break it!" Bei Chuyang urged anxiously from the side.
Bei Chuyang had great confidence in Old Xu, and seeing Old Xu easily destroy the formation once more, he gradually calmed down.
He calmed down, but Old Xu was now filled with unease. Two one-time use treasures—the Sun Crystal Pearl, comparable to a one-time use supreme treasure—had been wasted.
Not only had the problem not been solved, but he had also been placed in an awkward position: he couldn't advance, lacking the ability; but retreating would bring unknown consequences and losses.
Furthermore, he couldn't get past his own conscience.