Chapter 4841: A Stronger Formation Is Needed
Using the strongest Dao heart World as the core and six slightly weaker Dao heart Worlds as foundations seven in total the Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation's power became immense, forcefully suppressing the Primordial Savage Fiend.
The fiend howled in fury yet could not break free; its resistance was feeble.
From its hate filled eyes, Lin Moyu could see a trace of panic.
He understood why he had located its fatal weakness.
It did not know how many years it had been trapped in this hall, and over that vast void, it had left behind countless drops of its own essence blood.
These were hidden in the void like spare blood reserves.
As long as they existed, it could nearly regenerate endlessly and was incredibly hard to kill; this was its source of confidence.
Trying to fight a war of attrition with him might have sounded nice in theory, but reality was cruel.
Even if he had never discovered the blood, he would still be the one standing at the end; it would simply have taken much longer.
Now, with multiple Shattered Void Arrays working together, the entire hall's space twisted, dragging out the essence blood and erasing it.
The fiend's recovery began to slow.
Gradually, it could no longer heal as fast as it was being injured.
Its wounds deepened and multiplied.
"This thing's defense is frightening.
"Even without those blood reserves, I would still have to grind it down slowly."
"Unfortunately, my Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation can currently hold only seven worlds at once.
"If I add more, the formation itself might collapse."
"It seems I must strengthen not only my body and soul, but also my formations.
"The Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation is not yet perfect; there is room for improvement."
Comprehending flaws in the midst of battle and refining techniques on that basis was far more effective than dry contemplation.
Studying the array before him, Lin Moyu sensed that the Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation had reached its limit; the space left for upgrades was small, and even successful improvements would offer only minor gains.
"This formation is strange.
"It feels like something I knew long ago and only remembered upon reaching a certain realm then simply used it."
"Improving it will not be easy.
"At its absolute limit, it can hold ten worlds.
"To make it stronger, I would have to arrange multiple Nine Heavens Slaughter Formations and create a formation cluster."
"I have done that before, with excellent results.
"Boosting power dozens of times should be possible but even then, the cluster's foundation is still the Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation.
"If the root is limited, the cluster will have its own ceiling."
"The best solution is to create a new, stronger formation one whose essence is not simply maximum killing power, but absolute stability."
His thoughts turned sharp.
He knew exactly what he needed.
He had to forge a new grand array that pursued extreme stability along with respectable offensive strength.
Once the array was stable enough, it could hold more Dao heart Worlds.
The more worlds it held, the more its power would grow its killing strength would naturally follow.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"If it could work like the Word God Heaven and Earth and the Little Tree, that would be ideal.
"The two support each other; the stronger the tree, the stronger the realm, and the stronger the realm, the stronger the tree."
"If my formation gained stability with every added Dao heart World, and the worlds in turn made the formation more solid, then theoretically it could hold infinite Dao heart Worlds.
"The array would become infinitely stable, and its power would have no upper limit."
"Yes that is the goal: mutual reinforcement, a positive cycle."
He now fully understood the kind of formation he wished to build.
No matter how stable a grand array might be, it always had a maximum capacity for Dao heart Worlds.
Only if the worlds themselves strengthened the array could that limit be removed.
The more Dao heart Worlds there were, the more stable the formation would become, allowing it to hold infinitely many worlds this was his true target.
Such an array would be difficult to create, but in theory it was possible, and he believed he could achieve it.
"Hard or not, it deserves serious study.
"This might be the greatest breakthrough in my Formation Dao."
"Formation Dao should be like this boundless, limitless.
"How can it tolerate being confined?"
"But before that, the Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation will have to do for these creatures."
"I will not sit in meditation.
"I will comprehend in battle and use these fiends as test subjects."
In his eyes, the Primordial Savage Fiends were no longer terrifying enemies, but ideal experimental material.
He would use these stubbornly hard to kill beings to test and verify his new grand array.
He realized he was the type who wanted everything, greedy for every advantage but so what?
At this level, was that not exactly how he should be?
If he sought nothing at all, there would have been no reason to cultivate to this point.
The Nine Heavens Slaughter Formation slowly ground the fiend to death while he watched the entire process, drawing insights into formations from live combat.
When the fiend finally perished, the hall's void shattered with a boom.
From the depths of the hall flew a pure white bead, which stopped before him.
It turned into mist, surrounded him, and seeped into his body, then into his soul.
He did not resist.
He knew this was the hall's reward.
Wounds ripped open all over his body, and a searing pain tore through his soul as if both were about to collapse.
Even someone long accustomed to pain furrowed his brow; it was far from pleasant.
Wounds opened and healed in rapid succession, and the same happened within his soul.
Amid the agony, his body and soul began to grow rapidly.
The speed was astonishing unlike anything he had ever experienced.
It felt as though his limits were being smashed again and again, driven higher without pause.
If he failed to endure it, both body and soul would crumble on the spot.
The greater the benefit, the greater the price; to gain enough, one had to be able to bear enough.
After a brief but intense period, the pain began to recede, replaced by an indescribable sense of comfort.
The torment faded, and a flood of power surged forth from the deepest parts of his body and soul.
This single, nameless bead surpassed all previous rewards.
Just one had doubled his body and soul.
Joy flickered in his eyes.
"One little bead equals the rewards of the past ten halls.
"In that case, if I clear this set of ten, my body and soul can be strengthened tenfold."
"As expected, just as I guessed Nine Heavens Divine Lord has calculated everything.
"If I follow his plan, my body and soul will be taken care of."
He understood why the Divine Lord had arranged things this way.
If such a bead had been given at the very beginning, his foundation would not have been strong enough to withstand it; he would have died outright.
By traversing the first seventy halls, his body and soul had already grown several times stronger, enough to survive the bead's violent changes.
From the start of his cultivation until this reward, his body and soul had grown slowly and steadily, like a frog in warm water.
Only now had his foundation become fully solid, allowing this bead to catapult his strength to the skies.
And this was likely only the beginning.
From here on, his body and soul would soar even higher, straight into the ninth heaven.
Only then would he be able to carry a vast number of Dao heart Worlds.
As his body and soul strengthened, his Dao heart also benefited; his radiance shone brighter, and more worlds surfaced within it.
Chuckling softly, Lin Moyu stepped out of the hall, set foot once more on the divine road, and walked toward the next.