Chapter 1463: Advantages and Disadvantages

"Since all the power is at my disposal, what’s stopping me from using the Formation Immortal Technique?"

Thoughts stirring, Fang Chen tried to use a simple technique, firing a fireball from the Black Dragon Formation.

However, as soon as this thought took shape, he found the process extremely difficult. The Black Dragon Formation functioned as a single organism. The thousand Immortal Boats were like its flesh, veins, and meridians.

Spiritual power flowed freely between them, easily injecting into the Black Dragon Boat itself, sustaining the immense energy demands of the formation. But to make the spiritual energy more agile and use the formation as the core to cast a technique was a slow and cumbersome task, like a baby taking its first steps.

So this is how it is...

Fang Chen understood. It seemed that most core disciples could only tap into the power of the Black Dragon Boat, like what he was doing now. To go further and unleash a Formation Immortal Technique, a deeper connection with the Black Dragon Boat was required, one that reached a higher level of harmony.

The aura of Fang Chen’s Black Dragon Formation noticeably shifted the moment he attempted to cast a Formation Immortal Technique.

Li Shanzi, seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh. "Junior Brother Fang has just learned to walk, yet he is so eager to run already. He just tried to cast a Formation Immortal Technique, wasn’t he?"

"That’s normal. Didn’t you try it yourself when you first ascended to core disciple?" Nanming Ruyue chuckled, unconcerned.

Even though he knew Fang Chen’s talent in this area far surpassed most, trying to cast the Formation Immortal Technique on the first attempt was no more than wishful thinking. Since the inception of the Enlightenment God Palace’s formation system, no one had even been able to use a Formation Immortal Technique on their first try.

Comprehension and talent weren’t the only factors that determined that. A person also needed to reach a state of perfect unity with the Formation Heart, and the simplest way to achieve that was through years of accumulation, slowly grinding away at that barrier that stumped many. This threshold was incredibly tough to cross. Many core disciples had spent their entire lives attempting to do it, but most failed, never succeeding before their lifespans ran dry.

***

Time slipped by, and soon, two hours passed.

The sparring match between the two ended. The duel didn’t have a clear winner and ended in a draw, which was in line with Li Shanzi and the others' assessment of both of their abilities. Perhaps each person's cultivation was different, but once the Black Dragon Formation was formed, the gap in individual cultivation was reduced to the absolute minimum.

Fang Chen also felt this. If he were to face Little Immortal Honglian in a one-on-one fight without using the Black Dragon Formation, he could easily overpower her. But with the Black Dragon Formation in play, their combat powers evened out at the standard of a freshly-advanced sixth-transformation immortal.

If Ji Gang and the rest of his expedition team were present, the Black Dragon Formation’s power would increase even further.

But the disadvantages were also obvious. The Immortal Boat Formation made too much noise. It required thousands of Immortal Boats to work in unison. No matter where it went, it became the brightest star in the sky, attracting countless eyes. It wasn’t suitable for operations that required stealth, and it wouldn’t be practical for every core disciple to bring thousands of Immortal Boats wherever they went. The cultivators aboard the Immortal Boats also had to support themselves. Following a core disciple around all the time wasn’t realistic.

"The Immortal Boat Formation can only play a decisive role in special circumstances,” said Li Shanzi. “An Ancient Immortal doesn’t need to fear a core disciple who can’t use a Formation Immortal Technique. Still, an Ancient Immortal cannot outrun an Immortal Boat Formation, and they’ll be relentlessly pursued."

Li Shanzi and the others called Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian over, smiling as they asked, “Junior Brother Fang, Junior Sister Hong, did you gain anything from the duel?”

Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian both shook their heads.

“Not much.”

There wasn’t really much insight. It was more about deepening their familiarity with the formation.

Nanming Ruyue smiled. "Every core disciple experiences this at first. As time passes, your connection with the Formation Heart will grow stronger. You’ll gradually begin to understand where the true path to unity lies. It took me over four hundred years after my initiation to be able to cast a single Formation Immortal Technique."

"Fifth Brother, does that mean that once you reach unity with the Formation, you can’t casually use the Formation Immortal Technique?" asked Fang Chen, his expression shifting slightly.

"Naturally not." Nanming Ruyue shook his head lightly. "Every Formation Immortal Technique is based on the Immortal Technique you are most proficient in. You need to study it for years, integrating it into the Immortal Boat Formation before you can cast it effortlessly. Even if you reach unity with the Formation Heart today, you will still need time to study the art, and only then will you be able to freely unleash a Formation Immortal Technique."

At this point, he glanced at Li Shanzi and smiled. "When Junior Brother Li went to the Formless Purgatory, he had already achieved unity with the Formation Heart. However, his understanding of the Formation Immortal Technique wasn't fully mature yet. During the journey, external pressures pushed him to break through the final barrier, allowing him to finally cast one."

"Then, Fifth Brother, how many kinds of Formation Immortal Technique can you use?" asked Little Immortal Honglian.

Nanming Ruyue smiled modestly and replied, "Me? Only three."

"Among all the core disciples of the Enlightenment God Palace, probably only Senior Sister can cast more than three types of Formation Immortal Techniques. But exactly how many she can cast, that we don’t know."

Li Shanzi wore a wry smile. "That's why she’s the Head Disciple. With more than three Formation Immortal Techniques at her disposal, I bet she could beat us with ease even if we all teamed up."

Nanming Ruyue chuckled. "Maybe if a hundred core disciples joined forces, they’d have a chance to fight back. But even if they won, the losses would be catastrophic."

Fang Chen’s thoughts churned.

Indeed, the Immortal Boat Formation really closes the gap between cultivators. Without it, even Senior Sister’s cultivation would be no match for just a hundred core disciples. Even a thousand core disciples would be no more than cannon fodder.

After chatting for a while, everyone dispersed.

In the days that followed, Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian practiced together whenever they had time, exchanging techniques and feeding each other moves. Many of the other core disciples, seeing that, would occasionally join in, sparring one-on-one or splitting into teams to engage in mixed battles.

Some of the more experienced core disciples would simulate various dangers they might face in the Qingming, such as being ambushed by other top-tier forces or surrounded by five Immortal Boat Formations. In these situations, the core disciples would offer several possible countermeasures.

According to them, the solution was simple—break through the encirclement and flee as fast as possible.

As long as you never stopped, you couldn’t be captured.

There were also other solutions, such as trading heavy losses with the enemy. But that was a last resort, to be used only when escape was impossible.

Later, when Fang Chen and Little Immortal Honglian had practice sessions, they called their respective teams.

Fang Chen summoned Huang Wujie, along with Lin Dong, Elder Qin, and Ji Gang.

As for Daoist Mi Yu, she had yet to return from the Bug Valley.

Little Immortal Honglian had a fourth-transformation immortal on her side as well, but that was about it. The rest of her team was made up of first-, second-, and third-transformation immortals. She didn’t have a single fifth-transformation immortal. Even so, the battles remained evenly matched.

Fang Chen finally concluded that his team was bloated. Many of his forces were essentially overflowing.

Ji Gang was a sixth-transformation immortal, but his contribution to the Black Dragon Boat was limited to providing power. The true strength of the Black Dragon Formation still relied on Fang Chen himself.

But having excess wasn’t bad. At critical moments, Ji Gang could step in. Together with the Black Dragon Boat, Fang Chen essentially had two sixth-transformation immortals on his side.

That was a definite advantage.

I have gained much this time. It seems the longer I control the Black Dragon Boat, the stronger the Formation Heart becomes. Does this mean the connection is getting stronger?

The improvement was most noticeable in the Immortal Boat Formation. At first, Fang Chen could control about a thousand Immortal Boats, but adding more than that became difficult. Now, after half a year of practice, he could control over 1,500 Immortal Boats. The power of the Black Dragon Formation had also significantly increased, far surpassing what it had been six months ago.

Senior Sister’s voice suddenly echoed in everyone's ears.

"

All the expedition teams from the major Expedition Stars have arrived at the outskirts of Enlightening Star.

"

Fang Chen looked up. His gaze pierced the layers of void.

In the Qingming, he saw countless Immortal Boats clustered together.

A hundred thousand? A million?