Lu Zhou had long lost interest after looking at the Nine Twist and Turn Formation. He could see the end of it with just a glance; it was not challenging at all. He guessed it was just a small ordinary formation that Lu Tiantong left behind. However, just as he was about to leave, he felt something was amiss when he saw the young cultivators being sent flying.
Just a moment ago, the cultivators were still very relaxed. However, the fluctuation of the formation was slightly abnormal just for a brief second, which was unlike an ordinary formation.
Lu Zhou was quite familiar with formations. Based on his experience and intuition, he decided to take a look.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The force of the formation increased. Many cultivators were flung out before they were even halfway in. The invisible force had undoubtedly grown stronger. Even some of the cultivators who made it to the finish line earlier were sent flying out before they were even halfway in.
A young cultivator got up from the ground and said, “Huh? This is really strange. It isn’t usually like that…”
“You’re right. It’s really strange; it seems to have become stronger…”
The young cultivators grew wary.
“What’s your cultivation bases?”
“I have nine leaves.”
“I have eight leaves.”
“Six leaves.”
“Ten leaves.”
The strange part of this formation is that it did not judge one’s current cultivation base, but it judged one’s innate talent and cultivation aptitude. Over the years, after the major sects had studied the formation for a long time, they gradually discovered a bit of clue. The formation seemed to be selecting those who were capable of becoming Thousand Realms Whirling cultivators. Due to the formation’s strangeness, this place had become a place for people to test themselves. There was no lack of cultivators who had suffered repeated defeats.
“I’m at the Thousand Realms Whirling stage,” a middle-aged man said with a frown as he looked at the heart of the Nine Twist and Turn Formation with a puzzled expression on his face.
“Greetings, senior.”
Several young men hurriedly bowed to the middle-aged man.
“Were you ejected from the formation as well?”
The middle-aged man nodded and said, “The difficulty of the formation should have increased… I’ll try again.”
Everyone made way for the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man leaped and flew toward the center of the formation.
Halfway through the flight, the middle-aged man felt a huge force pressing against him, and he quickly brought his astrolabe out to block the force.
“Senior, hold on!” someone shouted.
The middle-aged held the astrolabe and continued to move forward. The astrolabe buzzed as he pushed it forward for hundreds of meters. His speed was getting faster as well; he was fast approaching the finish line.
“It seems like he’ll succeed!”
Everyone was overjoyed.
The middle-aged man’s speed grew faster and faster as he used his astrolabe to block the invisible force. When he arrived at the finish line in front of the stone pillar, he landed and stomped his feet on the ground to stabilize his body.
“It’s a success!”
“Senior, you’re amazing!”
The young cultivators looked at the middle-aged man in admiration.
The middle-aged man said, “It seems like the difficulty has increased slightly. There’s just a little more force halfway in, but everything remains the same…”
The young cultivators nodded.
Lu Zhou continued to look at the formation. He found the sudden change a little strange so he said, “Lu Qianshan, this is your ancestor’s formation. Aren’t you going to give it a try?”
Lu Qianshan nodded. “Alright. It is just as Senior Lu had said, this formation is too simple and boring. However, since it’s left by my ancestor, I’m willing to give it a try…”
When Lu Qianshan approached the formation, several young cultivators gathered around him.
“Are you also here to challenge the Nine Twist and Turn Formation?”
Lu Qianshan nodded and said, “However, it’s just a mere Nine Twist and Turn Formation. There’s no need to use the word challenge…”
Hearing these words, the young cultivator knew the person before them must be an expert.
“Alright, then you go first…”
The young cultivators parted and made way for Lu Qianshan.
Lu Qianshan said, “The Nine Twist and Turn Formation has nine twists to confuse and mislead…”
Lu Qianshan extended his arm and manifested his astrolabe.
“Thousand Realms Whirling expert!” everyone exclaimed.
The middle-aged man standing in front of the stone pillar looked at Lu Qianshan in shock as well.
The Cold Breeze Valley was especially lively today; there were even two Thousand Realms Whirling experts!
Meanwhile, Lu Qianshan easily reached the halfway point of the formation. He stopped and turned around to say, “From here on out, the more talented you are and the higher your cultivation aptitude, the easier it’ll be for you to advance…”
As expected, Lu Qianshan easily crossed the most difficult part of the formation and rushed to the stone pillar. The invisible force did not seem to affect him at all.
When Lu Qianshan reached the finish line, the middle-aged man cupped his fists together and said, “I didn’t expect to meet an expert here. I’ve made a fool out of myself.”
Lu Qianshan waved his hand and said, “There’s no need for that. It’s not worth mentioning at all.”
Truly, in front of Lu Zhou, Lu Qianshan did not dare to show off at all.
Meanwhile, the young cultivators’ confidence was greatly boosted now that they saw two people reaching the finish line.
Suddenly…
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The stone pillar suddenly started to spin, making a buzzing sound.
Lu Qianshan and the middle-aged man were stunned; they looked at the huge stone pillar in confusion.
The stone pillar spun faster and faster. It was spinning so fast that it created a vortex above the stone pillar. The stone pillar was aimed at the center of the vortex.
An even more powerful elastic force suddenly erupted and swept toward Lu Qianshan and the middle-aged man.
The duo paled in fright and hastily brought out their astrolabes to resist the force.
“Something’s wrong!”
“Retreat! Retreat!”
The young cultivators looked at the stone pillar with fear and trepidation.
Only Lu Zhou remained standing in his spot. The feeling that something was wrong grew stronger and stronger.
At this time, a young man bravely stood in front of Lu Zhou to block the invisible force and said, “Brother, retreat! It’s best to be careful!”
“You called me brother?” Lu Zhou glanced at the young man.
The young man said, “Those who come here are all friends! Hurry up, retreat!”
The stone pillar continued to spin at an astonishing speed.
Lu Qianshan and the middle-aged man were still standing by the stone pillar, but they did not last long before they were thrown out by the strange force.
“This… I feel like I’ve seen a ghost today…” Lu Qianshan said as he staggered back. He looked at the pillar at the center of the valley in surprise. “The difficulty has increased again!?”
Some of the cultivators near the entrance of the valley could not even hold on and lost their balance.
The middle-aged man said, “The power of the formation has only gotten weaker with time. This is the first time I’ve seen it becoming stronger…”
The young cultivators wore dejected expressions on their faces and sighed.
“Even Thousand Realms Whirling expert were swept out. It’d be impossible for us to make it to the finish line…”
“Let’s try again.”
The young cultivators continued to charge into the formation, but they were sent flying out every single time. They tried over and over again, and their attempts all ended in failures. At most, they could only advance a few dozen meters in.
The middle-aged man at the Thousand Realms Whirling stage only went in one-third of the way before he was sent out this time.
Lu Qianshan turned around and said to Lu Zhou, “Senior Lu, the Nine Twist and Turn Formation has never been like this before. Why don’t you try it out?”
Everyone was puzzled.
“?”
“You… called him senior?”
Realization dawned on the young cultivators quickly. It seemed like the young cultivator in front of them was the real expert. All of them bowed at Lu Zhou.
The young man who stood in front of Lu Zhou to shield Lu Zhou looked embarrassed. He hurriedly stepped back and stammered, “I… I…”
Lu Zhou’s attention was focused on the Nine Twist and Turn Formation; he did not pay attention to Lu Qianshan and the others.
“Excuse us. Senior, please give us a demonstration.”
“Yes… Please widen our horizons.”
In their opinion, some who could make a Thousand Realms Whirling expert like Lu Qianshan so respectful was definitely not an ordinary person. It was not surprising that everyone was curious.
Lu Zhou walked toward the formation. Since this matter was related to a Venerable Master, it was better to keep a low profile. Therefore, he used a Concealment Card.
Following that, Lu Zhou walked into the formation.
“Hmm?”
Lu Zhou continued walking in. He did not feel anything at all.
Meanwhile, everyone looked at Lu Zhou in confusion.
“Has the formation returned to normal?”
“It’s so easy now?”
Lu Zhou felt as though he was walking on flat ground, and he did not feel any resistance at all.
At this moment, the middle-aged man leaped into the air and said, “Let me try again.”
The middle-aged man had just flown a few meters in before the stone pillar suddenly stirred up a wave of energy seals.
“Be careful! Energy seals!”
Bang!
The middle-aged man was caught off guard and was hit by the energy seal. He grunted and flew back in the air. He quickly manifested his astrolabe to block the remaining energy seals.
At this moment, everyone wore shocked expressions on their faces.
“Since when can the Nine Twist and Turn Formation condense energy seals?!”
This meant that the formation was not as harmless as they had thought.
On the other hand, Lu Qianshan frowned, and his heart was filled with doubt.
“Why is he fine?” Someone pointed at Lu Zhou who was slowly advancing in the formation.
The energy seals that were flying in the air did not affect Lu Zhou at all.
“That’s right! How come he’s not affected?”
