Chapter 1034 – Strange Central Region
After Zhao Hai returned to the s.p.a.ce, he immediately went to Wild Dragon Island to look for Gimreden. Gimreden was currently doing an experiment with the Gibbon Brothers. By this point, the target for Gimreden"s research was already s.h.i.+fted to the Gibbon Brothers" soul weapons.
Gimreden"s research had something to do with joining one"s soul with a weapon. And now, the Gibbon Brothers could actually use their souls to make their weapons take action. Moreover, their weapons had integrated into their souls. For Gimreden, this was a very precious discovery. Gimreden wanted to study how the weapons fused with the soul. As long as he figured this out, then his research would certainly gain considerable progress.
However, Gimreden"s path to this progress had just begun, and the Gibbon Brothers only had two weapons in hand. The size of these weapons wasn"t large either. Because of this, Gimreden was afraid of carrying tests on them. He was afraid that he would end up destroying these weapons. At this point, Gimreden can only make careful observations regarding the items. Because of this, his progress was very slow.
The key to this research were the materials. Although Gimreden really liked to dismantle the Gibbon Brothers" weapons, he didn"t have the guts to do it right now.
The pair of weapons were very small, ruining one would be a huge loss. After they were dismantled, they would certainly lose their function. This would put the research at a screeching halt. It was because of this that the Gibbon Brothers were always with Gimreden.
The Gibbon Brothers weren"t too reluctant to part with their weapons. Although they really needed the weapons, they were completely immersed in research at this point. For them, they would do anything for the sake of results, even if it ends up with the destruction of their weapons. Additionally, they were now inside the s.p.a.ce, so they weren"t in immediate danger. There was no point in keeping the soul weapons for themselves.
At this time, upon arriving at Wild Dragon Island, Zhao Hai immediately went to Gimreden"s laboratory. Although Gimreden needed to teach in the Undead Academy, he only had 5 teaching hours per week. Because of this, Gimreden was still able to conduct experiments in his laboratory.
In order to facilitate the exchanges in the various Academies, Zhao Hai equipped each one with a teleportation magic formation. This magic formation allowed people to go to each Academy, making the exchange more convenient. Naturally, Zhao Hai also placed a magic formation in Wild Dragon Island. However, those who can use this formation were only limited to a few chosen people such as Gimreden and the others.
Because of the Academy Alliance, Zhao Hai didn"t only send Gimreden and Kampala"s group. Those in Wild Dragon Island were also employed to teach at the other Academies. These people normally lived in Wild Dragon Island and would only go to the Academies when they do their lectures. When they were done, they would return to Wild Dragon Island in order to resume their work. To make it easier for them, Zhao Hai decided to install a magic formation in Wild Dragon Island for them to use.
Gimreden"s laboratory wasn"t too far away from Karen"s. Both sides also carried exchanges of information. At this moment, Karen"t laboratory was the largest one in the island, the others were still trailing behind.
Gimreden and the two brothers were currently conducting a microscopic examination on the soul weapons. Since they wouldn"t dare to destroy the weapons at this time, they could only use this method. These microscopes were things that Zhao Hai provided to the various laboratories in the island. Naturally, these were acquired from the science and technology backgrounds.
After seeing Zhao Hai arrive, the three couldn"t help but stare. However, they quickly responded and gave Zhao Hai a salute. Zhao Hai waved his hand and said, "As you were. How is your research going?"
Gimreden sighed and said, "Not very well. The materials are too few. We wouldn’t dare use them up. Because of this, we cannot do deeper experimentations."
Zhao Hai nodded, then he inspected Firemen’s laboratory. The place was extremely neat, reflecting Gimreden"s care. Then Zhao Hai waved his hand as he took some soul bones out, then he said, "Take a look at these bones. They"re the same as the Gibbon Brothers" weapons. You can conduct experiments on these things. We would have more of these things in the future. You don"t need to be careful anymore. Use them all up if you need to."
When Gimreden saw these bones, it was as if he had forgotten everything else. He rushed over and used his spiritual force to scan the bones. Gimreden"s eyes lit up as he took one bone, then he went to a pulverizer and placed it inside.
The Gibbon Brothers also seemed to forget Zhao Hai"s presence as they immediately tidied the laboratory up. The test equipments were prepared, the three Lich forgot to talk to Zhao Hai.
After seeing their reaction, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but smile bitterly as he shook his head. Then he turned around to leave the laboratory and return to the villa.
Laura and the others were currently in the living room.. The monitor wasn"t displaying the Underworld, instead it showed the events in the Divine Realm"s Taurus Continent. The Foreign Races and the O"Neal family still carried on fighting small conflicts here and there. Both sides had wins and they also suffered losses. But generally speaking, the Foreign Races were losing more.
However, although the Taurus Continent was shown on the monitor, Laura and the others weren"t looking. Instead, they just relaxed and had a chat.
After seeing Zhao Hai return, Laura and the others immediately stood up. They saw Zhao Hai"s fight with the Snake King. However, they didn"t expect Zhao Hai to return to the villa right after.
Zhao Hai looked at the women and smiled, "I just went to Wild Dragon Island to send materials to Gimreden. Cai"er, come here quick, I"ve managed to find out a use for those bone plants."
Cai"er immediately flew over, she looked pleasantly surprised at Zhao Hai as she said, "Young Master, are you telling the truth?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Soul snakes who have eaten those bone plants don"t leave behind fiery souls when they die. Instead, they leave pieces of bones much like the weapons used by the Gibbon Brothers. This means that the bone plants might be thing that aids magic beasts in forming soul bones. Cai"er, try it out, see if you can gather soul bones from the beasts in the s.p.a.ce. I will leave this matter to you."
Cai"er nodded before she turned around and disappeared. Naturally, she went to do the experiment on the magic beasts. Zhao Hai didn"t think about it anymore as he sat down and changed the image on the monitor to the Underworld. He stared at the regions that Addison drew.
Laura frowned when she saw Zhao Hai looking at the map. She asked, "Brother Hai, do you still plan to return to the Dark Creature"s domain? Didn"t you already discover the secret to soul weapons?"
Zhao Hai turned his head to Laura and said, "I"ll be fine. Haven"t you seen? Those Dark Creatures are not a threat to me. I want to conquer the Dark Creature Domain, isn"t that part of unifying the Underworld?"
Laura nodded and didn"t say anything else, the same was true with Lizzy and the others. The group just proceeded to look at the map and the regions that were sectioned out. Even if the marks were clearly seen, this only involved the outskirts of the territory. The central area was still blank.
Zhao Hai rubbed his forehead for a moment before he called the Snake King over. Since the Snake King was huge, he can only wait for Zhao Hai outside the villa.
When Zhao Hai came out of the villa, the Snake King immediately gave him a salute. Zhao Hai nodded as he waved his hand. After that, an image of the Dark Creature Domain appeared. Zhao Hai pointed at the projection and said, "Snake King, take a look. Is the information about the magic beasts correct?" At the same time, Zhao Hai also said the name of the magic beasts as well as their reported power level.
Although the Snake King had intellect no less than a human, it still doesn"t know how to read. Because of this, Zhao Hai can only orally relay everything to it. After listening to Zhao Hai"s words, the Snake King nodded and said, "Answering to the Young Master. This map is basically correct. However, we magic beasts live very long lives and we also cultivate slowly. Even if there is nothing wrong with this map, I also haven"t got into contact with these fellows in about 100 years. If there were changes then I wouldn’t know."
Zhao Hai nodded, "Alright, it doesn"t matter. Just being fairly correct is already good. Right, how about the inner areas? Do you know any other dark creature?"
Upon hearing Zhao Hai, the Snake King couldn"t help but shake its head as it answered, "I"ll be unfair to the Young Master, but I don"t know much about the central area. It is covered with a white protective cover all the time. That white light is very lethal to us, so we simply don"t go there."
Zhao Hai gently knit his brows. He didn"t think that the Underworld would have such a place. But he still nodded and said, "Alright, you can go back. Cultivate well. If you need anything just tell me." The Snake King nodded before Zhao Hai sent it out.
After sending the Snake King back, Zhao Hai returned to the villa and looked at the map once more. In the end, he decided to deal with the territory beside the soul snakes. This territory was ruled by pig-shaped magic beasts named steel pigs. Their strongest member had strength fairly similar to the Snake King. Not only was the Pig King powerful, it was also defensively better compared to the Snake King. It was a fellow that was difficult to deal with.
It can be said that Zhao Hai spent too long inside the soul snake area. This was because he was looking for traces of variant snakes. Now that he knew about the function of the bone plants, Zhao Hai prepared to go straight to the strongest beings this time!
Chapter 1035 – Terrifying Five-Colored Light Wall
Zhao Hai"s operation went very smoothly. He used the s.p.a.ce"s map to find those magic beasts and then went and took them to the s.p.a.ce. It didn"t take a long time before he was done capturing them all.
Ten King-level magic beasts. Although they added strength to Zhao Hai, he didn"t plan to make use of them. He returned them to their territories in order to make them rule the Dark Creatures. This way, the Dark Creatures wouldn"t disturb him.
Zhao Hai subdued these beasts for two things; first, he wanted to collect soul bones, and second, he wanted the Dark Creatures to behave. If the Dark Creatures suddenly act up when Zhao Hai goes to war with the Dark Temple, then that would be very annoying. Because of this, Zhao Hai chose to subdue those magic beasts now.
Now that these magic beasts had been subdued, Zhao Hai moved on to his next plan, exploring the central area of the Dark Beast Domain. He wanted to see the white protective layer that the Snake King talked about.
However, Zhao Hai didn"t immediately go to the central region after subduing the ten king-level beasts. He had plenty of time, there was no need to be anxious.
Zhao Hai returned to the s.p.a.ce and rested for a few days. Zhao Hai was clear, if those with the Snake King"s strength weren"t able to enter the central region, then that was enough to explain its danger. Because of this, Zhao Hai planned to rest well in order to reach an optimum condition before he makes his move.
Zhao Hai rested for five days. In the past few days, Zhao Hai didn"t have little harvest. He gained a lot, and this was in terms of soul bones.
After being informed about the formation of soul bones, Cai"er immediately performed experiments on magic beasts. She tried magic beasts from every s.p.a.ce. In any case, there were a lot of bone plants. Therefore, there was no need to save up on materials.
The result left Cai"er satisfied. This bone plant"s main function seems to be forming soul bones. No matter what magic beasts ate it, they would drop soul bones whenever they died. However, which kind of bone was left behind was still random.
In addition to this result, determining the size of the soul bone produced had also been discovered. The size of the soul bones had something to do with the amount of bone plants a certain magic beast ate. If a magic beast only ate one leaf, then its soul bone would just be as large as a person"s tooth. If it ate a whole plant, then their bones would be as large as the weapons used by the Gibbon Brothers. The more bone plants they ate, the bigger the soul bone would be.
Cai"er first performed this experiment with Argali. After eating 20 bone plants, an Argali would die. Then after peris.h.i.+ng, the Argali would leave behind soul bones. Moreover, after eating a bone plant, as long as they don"t reach the maximum amount, the Argali would be able to live normally. They didn"t have any difference compared to the other Argali.
Since time was short, Cai"er"s experiments could only have these results. However, this information was still very useful for Zhao Hai.
They were now aware that bone plants allowed the production of soul bones. But aside from this, they weren"t able to find out about anything else. It looks like, for now, the bone plant"s function was just to make soul bones.
But Zhao Hai had a certain premonition, both bone plants and soul bones would be very important in the future. Because of this, Zhao Hai placed great attention to these two things.
After resting inside the s.p.a.ce for five days, Zhao Hai finally decided to head towards the central area to take a look. Although the Snake King said that the central area was dangerous, Zhao Hai still wanted to take a look no matter what. The Underworld would be his territory in the future, leaving behind such an unknown place unexplored would not be great.
This time, Zhao Hai didn"t dare to lower his guard. After he pa.s.sed through the Snake King"s domain, he went straight towards the central region. Naturally, the Snake King was right beside Zhao Hai.
From the Snake King"s domain, the two flew for another three hours before Zhao Hai felt that his spiritual force could no longer go forward. Zhao Hai couldn"t help but be alert, he knew that he must be close.
The Snake King stopped, then it turned its head to Zhao Hai and said, "Young Master, I can only accompany you up to here. I would be attacked if I proceed."
Zhao Hai nodded. He also knew that he wouldn"t be able to ask the Snake King for help. The Snake King gave Zhao Hai a salute before it turned around and left.
Zhao Hai slowly flew forward, his heart was somewhat anxious. After flying for about ten minutes, Zhao Hai suddenly discovered the dark mist slowly turning faint!
Zhao Hai gawked. He spent a lot of days inside the Underworld, and all through that time he had been inside the Dark Mist, so he was very familiar with it. Now, the dark mist suddenly started to thin out, he began to feel strange.
Zhao Hai stopped and paid attention to the surroundings. The dark mist had turned faint, moreover, a white light began to s.h.i.+ne out. It seems like the white light scattered the dark mist.
Zhao Hai examined himself and found that the white light seems to not affect him. He tried to fly forward, only to see that the white light was becoming brighter and brighter while the dark mist turned more and more faint. Zhao Hai flew for over 20 minutes before the Dark Mist completely vanished. What was in front of Zhao Hai was a wall of gentle white light.
Zhao Hai was somewhat puzzled. He was made aware of this white light by the Snake King. According to the Snake King, this white light should be dangerous. However, Zhao Hai couldn"t feel any danger coming from it. Conversely, the white light gave Zhao Hai an unending supply of energy. It was actually very comfortable.
At this time, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but rub his temples. He can feel that dark energy was absent from the light wall. Instead of dark energy, Zhao Hai can feel the presence of the five elements. It can be said that the light wall was made out of the five elements.
This stoked Zhao Hai"s curiosity. Almost all of the energy in the Underworld was dark energy. But on this light wall, Zhao Hai could actually feel the five elements. What was going on?
Although he didn"t understand, Zhao Hai decided to fly forward. In any case, he couldn"t feel a threat coming from the light wall.
As Zhao Hai flew forward, he discovered that although the light wall wasn"t far, it wasn"t close either. It took Zhao Hai a bit more than a half an hour before reaching the light wall.
Upon reaching the wall, Zhao Hai found out that the wall wasn"t all white. Five colors constantly flashed from time to time, they were very bright.
Zhao Hai crystallized his hand before he plunged his fingertips towards the wall. Just as his fingers touched the wall, a huge twisting force suddenly came out from the wall. It was as though a large hand had come out to pull Zhao Hai in.
Zhao Hai immediately took his hand back. His hand was still crystallized, but Zhao Hai knew that if it wasn"t, then his fingers would"ve already been sucked in.
Zhao Hai was clear about the strength of his crystal body. But even so, Zhao Hai could still feel the twisting from the light wall. This was an evidence of how dangerous the wall was.
Upon the thought of this, Zhao Hai took out a high-grade steel blade from the s.p.a.ce. This blade was a superior weapon produced by the Dwarves.
Zhao Hai proceeded to stab the steel blade towards the wall of light. As soon as the blade came in contact with the wall, Zhao Hai felt the twisting force once more, but the force quickly disappeared.
Zhao Hai couldn"t help but stare, was this twisting force just a fluke? At this thought, Zhao Hai took the steel blade back before preparing to insert it back into the light wall.
However, just as Zhao Hai pulled the steel blade out, he discovered that something was wrong. The part of the blade that was inserted into the wall had disappeared. Moreover, the cross-section was very smooth, as though it has been cut by an extremely sharp instrument.
When he saw the blade"s state, Zhao Hai"s expression changed before he forced a smile, "Interesting, even this steel blade has been cut. This wall isn"t normal."
Zhao Hai threw the blade into the light wall. The blade just vanished into the wall, it was like when a water drop disappears into the big sea. There wasn"t even a hint of disturbance on the wall"s surface.
Although the light wall didn"t transmit any sound, Zhao Hai knew that the blade had been twisted into nothingness by the light wall. Zhao Hai stopped in front of the wall and looked at the flas.h.i.+ng multicolored light. After a while, he couldn"t help but smile bitterly.
This light wall was sending out a gentle light, giving people a sacred feeling. Moreover, the attractiveness of the five colors was extraordinary. However, who knew that beyond this wall was a twisting force that would strangle everything. If an ordinary human goes through this wall, then even bones wouldn"t be left behind.
However, this made Zha Hai even more curious. He felt that this light wall didn"t appear naturally. It was surely made as a defensive measure by someone. Moreover, this defensive formation seems to be much stronger compared to what Zhao Hai had seen before.
Zhao Hai felt even more curious about what was inside this wall. It was impossible for it to appear for no reason. This was guarding something, or sealing something inside.
The more Zhao Hai thought about, the more curious he was. He waved his hand and took his blood ghost staff out. Then he turned the staff into a protective sphere. After also crystallizing his entire body, Zhao Hai flew towards the wall.
As the blood ghost staff entered the light wall, Zhao Hai immediately felt the twisting force. Its strength was very huge, making the blood sphere s.h.i.+ver. It might even break at any time.
Zhao Hai stood firmly inside the blood sphere as he continued to fly forward. The blood sphere"s shaking got more and more violent, however, it still held on without no sign of bursting.
Zhao Hai didn"t dare to be careless, as he controlled the blood sphere, he made a mental message, "Cai"er, pay attention to the monitor. See whether I am progressing or just moving in circles."
Cai"er"s voice was quickly heard, "Young Master, rest a.s.sured, you aren"t going in a circle. You"ve been going in a straight line."
Zhao Hai nodded before he stimulated the blood sphere to speed up. He wanted to go through the light wall as soon as possible, but he couldn"t do anything to the twisting force.
Even so, Zhao Hai didn"t stop. He advanced bit by bit, Zhao Hai didn"t care that he was going slowly, it was good as long as he was moving.
One hour pa.s.sed, two hours, three hours,…. Ten hours pa.s.sed by. Zhao Hai"s head began to perspire. He didn"t think that it would take this long to cross the light wall. He felt that his mental strength wouldn"t be able to keep up. Zhao Hai knew that if his spiritual strength was exhausted, then the blood sphere would stop moving. Even if the blood sphere didn"t collapse, without the support of his spiritual force, Zhao Hai wouldn"t be able to proceed. When that time comes, who knows what would happen.
Because of this, Zhao Hai insisted on going through this light wall. He wanted to take a look at what"s inside the wall. He wanted to know the reason why there was a strong magic formation here.
After another hour, just as Zhao Hai felt that he wouldn"t be able to go on, he suddenly felt that a portion of the blood sphere had a reduced pressure from the twisting force. Zhao Hai stared, his gaze shook, he knew that he was about to come out of the light wall. As soon as he thought about this, Zhao Hai immediately pushed the blood sphere further. The force of the wall became weaker and weaker. Then after five minutes, Zhao Hai finally went through the light wall. He couldn"t feel the twisting force anymore.
Zhao Hai couldn"t help but let out a long breath as he wiped the sweat off of his face. Then he looked at the place through the blood sphere. Inside the light wall wasn"t a huge place. On top of the area was a light source giving off gentle light. The s.p.a.ce was only about 100 square meters, surrounding it was the light wall. In the middle of this place was a small tree. The tree was a little more than a meter high. There were several long roots branching out from this tree. Its leaves were scattered, it seems like the tree didn"t have any proper nourishment.
Zhao Hai discovered people gathering around this tree. However, the existence of these people was strange. Some looked like Beastmen, some looked like Dwarves, some were like Elves, there were some golems, and those who looked like the Thunder Clan, Winged Pegasus, Barbarians. At the same time, there were people who were pitch black, blacker than a black person. Purple people were present as well. In any case, there were races that Zhao Hai could identify and some that he couldn"t. What made Zhao Hai even more curious was the fact that there was a giant among these people. This giant was very tall, its head as high as Zhao Hai"s entire body. Zhao Hai suddenly felt that this giant looked very familiar. Then his eyes quickly lit up, he knew that this giant was the same giant as the huge skeletons that he was collecting before. They looked fairly the same.
Zhao Hai counted and there seems to be about a hundred individuals inside this place. These people were cross legged and had their eyes closed. However, Zhao Hai knew that these people were already dead, judging by the fact that they had no life force.
Chapter 1036 – Do You Desire Immortality?
A place of about 100 square meters being illuminated by colorful lights would look attractive to any person. However, such a place had a hundred dead people surrounding a half dead tree. This made it look strange instead.
Zhao Hai stayed in place while in mid-air. He slowly received his blood ghost staff. However, he kept his crystallization, afraid of any potential danger. Only after finding that there weren"t any threats would he begin to withdraw his crystal form.
After seeing that there was still no danger, Zhao Hai felt relieved. Then he turned his crystallization off. He began to closely inspect this small s.p.a.ce. In this place, besides the small tree, the other places were occupied by those 100 people. Other than these things, nothing else was found.
Zhao Hai began to descend to the ground to look at the 100 individuals. These people were from all kinds of races. The biggest one was the giant that Zhao Hai had seen before while the smallest one was at a size of a fairy. This fairy had fairly transparent skin, showing the blood vessels and the muscles within. The other parts were as black as the darkest coal.
These people were dead, their bodies lacked the presence of life, their souls had long been dissipated. Even if Zhao Hai used his dark magic, it would be impossible for him to turn them into Undead.
However, Zhao Hai didn"t want to underestimate them. This was because Zhao Hai saw that their bodies didn"t rot. And this wasn"t because of the environment. In fact, the environment here was the same as the Ark Continent, aside from the air being a bit dry, nothing else was different.
The reason why these corpses were still in perfect condition was because these people were all peak Experts. At the very least, they were stronger than the current Zhao Hai. Since they were too strong, their bodies were preserved despite dying. It can be said that they were on the boundary of being immortal.
Immortal doesn"t mean everlasting, it meant that the body of a person had reached a very high degree of cultivation to the point where it wouldn"t be corrupted upon death.
It was clearly obvious that these 100 individuals had reached a point of immortality. But Zhao Hai knew that the Underworld, or even the Divine Realm"s experts wouldn"t achieve such a degree. Only the Cultivation Realm might have these kinds of experts. In other words, these 100 people could very well be from the Cultivation Realm.
The clothing style of these people were very unusual as well, and each of them were different. It can be seen that their clothing represented their race"s ident.i.ty. At the same time, Zhao Hai can see that their clothes were made out of high-quality materials. Who knows how long it has been since these people had died, but their clothes were still as good as new. This was evidence enough of how advanced the fabric was.
Gently touching the clothes would make it clear that the material used were tenacious and strong. In addition to the incomparably powerful multicolored light wall, it confirmed Zhao Hai"s guess. These people were most likely from the Cultivation Realm. Whether they were trapped here or had sealed themselves in was still hard to say.
Zhao Hai looked all around and saw that there wasn"t anything else. Zhao Hai hesitated for a moment before he carefully flew towards the small tree.
It was a type of tree that Zhao Hai had never seen before. Its leaves were quite fat, its bark was very smooth. It looked like any other small tree, but Zhao Hai can affirm that this was not an ordinary tree.
Looks couldn"t give enough information, so Zhao Hai couldn"t stop himself from touching the tree with his hand. Just as his hand came in contact with the tree, the tree suddenly emitted a five colored light towards Zhao Hai"s face. Zhao Hai"s eyes shook before he stood straight and didn"t move. At the same time, his eyes seem to lose their sheen. It was as though Zhao Hai had lost his soul.
In the next instant, Zhao Hai discovered that he was inside a strange place. Mist fluttered everywhere. However, this wasn’t the same dark mist of the Underworld. This mist gave one a comfortable natural feeling.
Zhao Hai looked around in confusion. At this time, the mist retreated as a person appeared in front of him. The man wore a long gown and was quite handsome. On his face was a devilish smile while under his feet was a double-edged sword. His hair was tied up in a ponytail, making him look carefree.
This person looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Do you desire Immortality?"
Zhao Hai stared as he digested the words of this person. From this person"s appearance, he"s most likely to be a cultivator, moreover his level doesn"t seem to be low. Why did he appear here? And why did he suddenly utter such words?
However, Zhao Hai took a deep breath before he answered, "Yes!"
The person looked at Zhao Hai and laughed, "In this universe, almost all people desire immortality. However, one should know that immortality goes against the will of the heavens. It is stealing life from the heavens. Everyone who desires immortality would have to do this alone. Will you?"
Zhao Hai knit his brows. Although he was an indifferent person, he wasn"t completely ruthless. It was impossible for him to sacrifice Laura and the others just for the sake of immortality. Because of this, Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "I"m unable to do this."
The person seemed to be stunned at Zhao Hai"s reply. Then he disappeared into thin air. Along with the disappearance of the man was the appearance of a kindly dressed monk. When the monk appeared, he put his hands together before smiling at Zhao Hai, "Greetings, young benefactor."
Zhao Hai stared, he didn"t understand why this monk appeared. However, he also put his hands together and said, "Greetings, Master."
When the monk saw Zhao Hai"s conduct, his smile couldn"t help but deepen. He immediately replied, "Benefactor has answered well. In this world, there are many paths in order to achieve immortality. With Buddhism, you will receive the grand dao."
Zhao Hai replied, "These paths, Master, please enlighten me."
The Monk said, "All living things aim for immortality, but this is a selfish aim. Why not follow the teachings of Buddha. Receive happiness, and enter the everlasting!"
Zhao Hai gave a faint smile as he said, "Those who are not fish would never know the happiness of one. The Buddha has transcended humanity, so how could he know our pains? I do good deeds, but I"m not a monk nor do I wors.h.i.+p to Buddha. In such case, won"t I be a living Buddha? If I am wicked, dress myself in gold, burn books, and break wooden fish, then wouldn"t I be a great Demon?"[1]
When the Monk heard this, he began to vanish, replacing him was a person with a scholarly appearance. In this person"s hand was a book, he looked at Zhao Hai and smiled, "Those who are not fish will never know a fish"s happiness. Good, good. Those who can save the world are only saints and sages. Are you willing to follow the saint"s path with me in order to achieve immortality?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Only commoners can save the people of the world. Where do saints and sages come from? They are also ordinary people!"
The Scholar vanished, in his place was an Old Daoist. The Old Daoist had snow white hair, beard and eyebrows. In his hand was a bone dust pouch. He Old Daoist looked at Zhao Hai and said, "Little friend is persevering and wise. You are a good candidate for spiritual cultivation. Little friend, are you willing to explore nature with me? We will take the mountains and the rivers as our teachers, treat the heavens as our friend. To pursue the path to immortality together!"
Zhao Hai actually chuckled as he replied, "What is the grand dao? The grand dao is the dao of the heavens, a path of humanity, and a bitter life to some people. But if I become immortal alone, then what is the point? People can be happy without being immortal, is that part of the dao? The Dao is life, the heavens are the dao. The dao is my heart and my heart is the dao!"
The Old Daoist vanished. At this time a giant appeared in front of Zhao Hai. Zhao Hai had seen this giant before. It was the dead giant back in that small place. When the giant appeared, he gave Zhao Hai a salute before he said, "This one has met Little Friend. This one is Scattered Spirit of the Spirit Giant race."
Zhao Hai stared, then he returned the greeting, "This one is Zhao Hai."
Scattered Spirit looked at Zhao Hai and said, "I have seen Little Friend Zhao Hai. My Spirit Giant race is one of the races that coexisted along with the other 99 from the Spirit Realm. Our clan, along with the others, don"t vie for supremacy nor do we indulge in conquest. The 100 races lived harmoniously. But one day, a severely wounded Human arrived at our Spirit Realm. The 100 clans did our best in order to rescue and befriend him. However, n.o.body expected that Human to call other Humans in order to attack our realm. They destroyed our civilization. In the end, we could only call for 100 brave warriors for one last struggle. We created a s.p.a.ce to save and protect our sacred relic, the Hundred Spirit Tree, up until a destined friend arrives. Little Friend Zhao Hai, you are that destined friend. Little Friend, please take the Hundred Spirit Tree away from this place. Let it recover. If you do, then we will be deeply grateful to you."
Zhao Hai couldn"t help but stare. He looked at Scattered Spirit and said, "You made this s.p.a.ce? Didn"t you die, how are you able to speak to me?"
Scattered Spirit replied, "Little Friend doesn"t need to be confused. Me and the other 99 sent our spiritual force to the Hundred Spirit Tree before we died. Upon meeting you, our spirits would start to dissipate. My current appearance is the amalgamation of all our spiritual forces."
Zhao Hai nodded, he looked at Scattered Spirit and said, "Did you also arrange the magic formation? How can I remove it?"
Scattered Spirit replied, "This formation was arranged by the hundred clans. It is named Divine Soul Five Element Killing Formation. It cuts both yin and yang energy of the five elements. Breaking this formation is easy, as long as you throw our corpses towards the formation, then the formation would dissipate. You can also obtain the formation itself."
Zhao Hai stared as he listened to Scattered Spirit. At this time, Scattered Spirit gave Zhao Hai a last salute before saying, "Little Friend, my divine soul is starting to vanish. I ask Little Friend to take good care of the Hundred Spirit Tree, our 100 clans would forever be grateful to you." After he said that Scattered Spirit became more and more pale before he completely vanished.
- I"m not sure about this. I didn"t manage to find any relevant resources to translate this segment.
Chapter 1037 – Insane Level Ups
After Scattered Spirit vanished, Zhao Hai discovered that he had returned to the small tree. HIs hand was on the tree, the same action that he had earlier.
Zhao Hai stared, he can affirm that he wasn"t dreaming. He was just sent to another place and this place was actually his own sea of knowledge.[1]
Zhao Hai frowned. He was sure that he had just talked with Scattered Spirit. But that happened not in another place, but instead inside his own mind.
But what made Zhao Hai confused were the people who appeared before Scattered Spirit. What"s the purpose of the Immortal, Monk, Scholar, and Old Daoist?
Although he was left with questions, Zhao Hai recalled Scattered Spirit"s wish. Inside this formation called the Divine Soul Five Element Killing Formation was a tree he was meant to protect.
Zhao Hai had no problems agreeing to Scattered Spirit"s request. This was a tree species that Zhao Hai had not seen before, and the s.p.a.ce would definitely take it in. Moving the tree to the s.p.a.ce would be beneficial to it, and it would also give the s.p.a.ce some experience.
Zhao Hai turned his head to look at the corpses of the 100 individuals. Scattered Spirit said that throwing these corpses towards the Divine Soul Five Element Killing Formation would turn it off. Moreover, Zhao Hai could also obtain the formation itself. However, Zhao Hai didn"t want to do this.
Zhao Hai heard Scattered Spirit say that all of them used their final strength to establish the formation in order to protect the Hundred Spirit Tree. So even if Zhao Hai broke the formation and obtained its method of activation, it was still impossible for Zhao Hai to use it. He alone wasn"t enough to establish the formation.
Throwing these corpses to disintegrate inside the formation wasn"t something that Zhao Hai could bear to do. He was a Dark Mage, but he would only be impolite to the corpses of his enemies and turn them into Undead. As for people on his own side, he would only turn them into Undead if necessary, otherwise he would give them the greatest respect.
Scattered Spirit and the others weren"t people on his own side, but they were surely not his enemy. For Zhao Hai to throw their corpses towards the killing formation was something that Zhao Hai cannot do.
Although he doesn"t know another way to break the formation, Zhao Hai can still leave using the s.p.a.ce. Zhao Hai plans to leave using the s.p.a.ce along with the 100 corpses. Then he would find a good place to bury them in.
There was another reason why Zhao Hai chose to bury the bodies of the 100 people from the Spirit World. This was because these people were all experts. All of them deserved to rest with dignity. And from Scattered Spirit"s words, what happened to them was caused by the Human Race. When he thought about this, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but feel guilty.
Zhao Hai sighed, then he waved his hand to take all of the corpses. After that, Zhao Hai inspected the small tree. His spiritual force searched underground in order to find the tip of the tree"s roots. This way, it would be easier for it to be moved to the s.p.a.ce.
Scattered Spirit said that this tree was their most sacred artifact, the Hundred Spirit tree. Upon facing such a treasure, Zhao Hai didn"t dare to be negligent. Because of this, he was very careful in searching for the tree"s roots.
However, Zhao Hai didn"t expect the tree to have such strong roots. Moreover, the roots of the tree spanned the entire 100 square meter area. At the same time, the main root of the tree stretched up to 1 kilometer into the ground.
A meter high tree actually had a kilometer long root? This caused Zhao Hai to be startled.
Zhao Hai opened a spatial rift using all of his strength. The huge spatial rift appeared on top of Zhao Hai"s head.
Zhao Hai used his finger to lead the spatial rift"s dimensions towards the light wall. It must be said that Zhao Hai was thankful for the existence of the Divine Five Element Killing Formation. The formation kept the roots of the tree contained. Without the formation, who knows how large the tree root"s span would be. If that happened, Zhao Hai would have to spend more effort in moving the tree.
Zhao Hai also discovered that the Five Elements inside this small s.p.a.ce was completely isolated from the Underworld. And unlike the Underworld, the soil in this place was common dirt. Any presence of blood also couldn"t be found. It looked like this place wasn"t in the Underworld at all.
Zhao Hai didn"t dwell too much on this as he directed the spatial rift to push downwards. And since the tree didn"t expand too much aboveground, the spatial rift had a smooth path downward. It proceeded downwards until it had fully swallowed the Hundred Spirit Tree.
When the Hundred Spirit Tree was finally absorbed, Zhao Hai decided to place it by the s.p.a.ce"s villa. As the Hundred Spirit Tree was sent in, the s.p.a.ce immediately issued a prompt, "High-grade plant discovered. Level required to scan is too high, Host currently has no permission to view data. Since host has acquired a high-grade plant, the s.p.a.ce has been upgraded to level 110. Host can now purchase 10 low-ranked cultivation backgrounds as well as 20 common backgrounds. Hoping for the Host to continue your hard work."
This caused Zhao Hai to stare, the Hundred Spirit Tree was truly astonis.h.i.+ng. Not only could Zhao Hai not view its properties, it even made the s.p.a.ce level up 8 times, making it level 110. This was truly a great harvest.
However, this wasn"t the end. After Zhao Hai planted the Hundred Spirit Tree and watered it with the s.p.a.ce"s water, the tree began to grow at a rate visible to the naked eye. It didn"t take long before the tree"s root grew to a kilometer deep. Then Zhao Hai began to feel the energy inside the s.p.a.ce quickly flowing towards the tree"s trunk, making the Hundred Spirit Tree the center of an energy whirlpool. As the energy of the s.p.a.ce was vigorously absorbed, the tree began to grow bigger and bigger. In the end, the Hundred Spirit Tree reached an astonis.h.i.+ng height of a kilometer, surpa.s.sing the Tree of Life"s record height by about 100 meters. The tree gave shade to the villa, giving it a quaint atmosphere.
At this time, the tree stopped its growth and cut off its absorption of the s.p.a.ce"s energy. And then it began to release some energy to the s.p.a.ce for some time before it stopped.
Zhao Hai discovered that the energy released by the Hundred Spirit Tree gave the s.p.a.ce more vitality. Zhao Hai was able to faintly feel the plants in the s.p.a.ce cheering.
At this time, Laura and the others went outside of the vila. All of them were shocked upon seeing the huge Hundred Spirit Tree.
Zhao Hai also began to discover that 100 flowers had appeared on the Hundred Spirit Tree. These 100 flowers looked different from each other. Some were single flowers, while some came in clumps. However, each flower had a size of about a meter, they were very beautiful.
Zhao Hai stood below the tree, feeling the delicate fragrance that it gave out from time to time. This fragrance was quite special. Initially, it wasn"t very thick, feeling quite pale. But after some time, it gave people a plain and sincere feeling, it seems as though it refreshed one"s soul.
Laura and the others couldn"t help but lift their noses up. Then Megan said, "It"s fragrant, it smells very good. Big Brother Hai, was this that half-dead tree? Did you use magic? Or accelerated time?"
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, "I didn"t use magic or anything else. It"s a mystery why it grew to this height."
Laura smiled and said, "I"ve always wanted to plant a huge tree next to the villa. With this tree, everything looks perfect."
Zhao Hai smiled and said, "This is the Hundred Spirit Tree. Those people surrounding the tree are from the Hundred Spirit Clan. It"s possible that they are from the Cultivation Realm. They were attacked by the Humans. Because of this, they escaped with the tree to the Underworld. With the tree being their sacred relic, they surrounded it with the killing formation. After I rushed through the light wall, the people from the Hundred Spirit Clan asked me to take care of their tree. Because of this, I decided to plant the tree inside the s.p.a.ce."
Laura looked confused at what Zhao Hai said, so she asked, "Brother Hai, how did you know about all of these?"
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and said, "Those 100 people sent their final spiritual force into the Hundred Spirit Tree. They directly sent a message to me when I touched the tree."
Laura replied, "Didn"t you just rub the tree? How can you obtain this information?"
Zhao Hai stared, "Rub that tree? Haven"t I been out for some time?"
Laura shook her head and said, "No, we just saw you rub the tree. It wasn"t that long."
Zhao Hai began to understand the problem. He felt that it he took a long time inside that dream-like world. But in fact, it only took a very short time.
After he thought about this, Zhao Hai nodded and said, "I just felt like time pa.s.sed longer than what it should have taken. Alright, we"re done here. Let"s continue exploring the Underworld. Make sure to tell the Snake King and the others to refrain from getting close to the killing formation, or else they would be smashed to pieces."
Laura nodded and said, "Alright, we"ll relay this matter to the Snake King and the others. Brother Hai, that Divine Five Element Killing Formation is too dangerous. Don"t go into such danger in the future, you"ll worry us to death."
Zhao Hai looked at Laura and then smiled, "Alright, you can rest a.s.sured. After all, it was a risk worth taking. Also, don"t forget that I have my staff and my crystal form. I"m not that easy to damage."
Laura knew that urging Zhao Hai further would prove useless. Moreover, this risk was truly worth it. If Zhao Hai didn"t do this from time to time, then the s.p.a.ce wouldn’t" develop. Therefore, she decided to just nod and say nothing else.
- It"s 识海(Shì hǎi) or sea of knowledge. This is the first time this appeared.
Chapter 1038 – Heaven Defying Hundred Spirit Tree
Zhao Hai"s figure flashsed out of the s.p.a.ce as he returned to the Underworld. He was planning to head towards the Snake King"s territory.
However, Zhao Hai suddenly discovered that he had arrived in his sea of knowledge once more. Last time, he was made aware of this because of the dreamy mist surrounding it, and by the fact that it didn"t look like any other place.
While Zhao Hai was puzzled, Scattered Spirit suddenly appeared in front of him. In their previous meeting, Scattered Spirit was unemotional. But this time, Scattered Spirit had a smile on his face. He looked at Zhao Hai before he bowed and greeted, "Little Friend Zhao Hai."
Zhao Hai stared, he looked at Scattered Spirit and said, "Scattered Spirit? Is that you? You didn"t dissipate?"
Scattered Spirit smiled faintly and said, "Correct. Little Friend Zhao Hai is truly a good man."
Zhao Hai knit his brows, "Scattered Soul, what do you mean? Are you saying that you don"t dissipate? Are you going to stay here?"
Scattered Spirit felt that Zhao Hai was starting to get annoyed, so he immediately said, "My friend, you misunderstand. The reason why I appeared is because you have fulfilled the requirements of the Hundred Spirits Clan."
Zhao Hai still couldn’t understand, "What do you mean? Scattered Spirit, explain it to me clearly."
Scattered Spirit smiled faintly and replied, "My friend, don"t worry. What you saw last time is truly my remnant soul. However, my task is still not complete. Before seeing me, you saw a Demon Path Pract.i.tioner, a Buddhist Monk, a Confusian Scholar, and a Dao Sect Pract.i.tioner. Those are tests. I told you last time that we rescued a Human who brought other Humans to slaughter our clan. In order for us to establish trust, we needed to make a test."
After hearing this, Zhao Hai"s expression changed, "So in other words, if I agreed to any of those Cultivators, I would have died?"
Scattered Spirit replied, "Cultivator? What are those? I don"t understand. Those people are all Immortal Pract.i.tioners. But you don"t have to worry. Even if you agreed to any of them, you would not die. You would just be expelled from the formation since it would be impossible for you to handle our request."
Zhao Hai looked at Scattered Soul and said, "Is it really that simple?"
Scattered Spirit smiled, "Naturally, it"s impossible for it to be that easy. If you followed what I said and threw our bodies into the Divine Five Element Killing Formation, then not only could you dissipate the formation, you would also fail to obtain it. Instead, you would detonate the formation, burning everything inside."
Zhao Hai knit his brows, "So is there another way to break it?"
Scattered Spirit smiled and said, "There"s another way to break the formation. The formation would only dissipate when our requests have been accomplished. Little friend, you should know that since you met us, then there"s no need for you to break the formation in order to escape that place. If you threw our corpses into the formation, then this meant that you are a person with no compa.s.sion. So how could we possibly hand over our Hundred Spirit Tree to a person like that?"
Zhao Hai began to understand. The Hundred Spirit Clan died in order to protect the Hundred Spirit Tree. This showed how important the tree was for them. So how could they have a piece of mind if they just hand it over to anyone.
Scattered Spirit looked at Zhao Hai"s expression as he smiled faintly and said, "It seems like you understand why we did all of that. My Hundred Spirit Clan surely won"t make Little Friend lose out on this matter. Now that the Divine Five Element formation is about to be broken, by remnant soul would no longer be able to hold out for long. However, Little Friend can rest a.s.sured, you don"t need to destroy our corpses nor the Hundred Spirit Tree in order to obtain the formation. The formation will be absorbed inside your body and reside outside your sea of knowledge. No matter what kind of spiritual attack, the formation would block them all. Moreover, from now on, the formation would be under your control. Even if you destroy the Hundred Spirit Tree, the formation wouldn"t retaliate against you. This is my Hundred Spirit Clan"s gift to you. I ask you to accept it."
Zhao Hai gawked. He didn"t expect to gain another good thing. It was actually a defensive measure. Moreover, it protected his sea of knowledge.
Scattered Spirit continued, "My friend, there"s no need to take revenge for the Hundred Spirit Clan. The Universe is a complex being, and being extinguished is part of nature’s laws. The Humans eliminating our Hundred Spirit Clan goes according to nature’s laws. Actually, this Hundred Spirit Tree is actually not the one from our Hundred Spirit Clan. When the Humans destroyed the Hundred Spirit Tree, they only destroyed the main tree. They were unaware of the seedling growing under the tree. This is enough to prove that the Universe wanted the tree to survive. Therefore, Little Friend, please take good care of the tree. These trees existed in the Spirit World long before the Hundred Spirit Clan existed. And even after 1 million years of research, we still had yet to unlock the full capabilities of the tree. Now, I will relay the abilities of the Hundred Spirit Tree to Little Friend."
After he said that, Scattered Spirit emitted a five colored light as he drilled into Zhao Hai"s body. Before long, Zhao Hai was bombarded with information. However, even before Zhao Hai managed to digest it all, he noticed that Scattered Spirit had appeared once more, but now his body was fainter than before. While Zhao Hai was stunned, Scattered Spirit said, "Little Friend, we have waited for a long time. Now that the Hundred Spirit Clan has been eliminated from this universe, we hope that you can take care of the Hundred Spirit Tree. Little Friend, this will be my last farewell."
After he said that, Scattered Spirit faded for the last time. Then another Hundred Spirit Clan member appeared in his place. This person gave Zhao Hai a bow before he disappeared and was replaced by another person. In the end all 100 members of the Hundred Spirit Clan had given Zhao Hai their respects. Then after that, Zhao Hai saw nothing else.
Zhao Hai knew that this was the Hundred Spirit Clan expressing their gratefulness towards him. Zhao Hai wasn"t impolite and returned each salute given to him. After that, Zhao Hai felt his sea of knowledge being surrounded by a five-colored light, forming four light walls that firmly protected what was inside.
Zhao Hai used his spiritual force to search, and as he did that, he heard the s.p.a.ce"s prompt, "Five element protective light wall detected. Extracting function and integrating it to the s.p.a.ce. The s.p.a.ce"s defenses have increased. Without the host"s permission, anybody who dared to enter a spatial rift to the s.p.a.ce would be strangled to death by the five element light wall. Any spiritual force with evil intention who attacks the host would also be strangled by the five element wall."
At the same time, Zhao Hai could also feel control over the five element light wall. He began to feel relief. He didn"t expect to receive the light wall at this time. And since it protected his sea of knowledge, those who plan to attack him using spiritual force would face a violent retaliation.
After gaining control of the five element light wall, Zhao Hai began to examine the information that Scattered Spirit gave him. Zhao Hai used his spiritual force to sweep his sea of knowledge before that clump of information came out.
This knowledge included matters about the Hundred Spirit Tree as well as the method to arrange and dismantle the Divine Five Element Killing Formation.
The Hundred Spirit Clan"s Hundred Spirit Tree was actually called Hundred Stars Tree. The tree would live for one hundred years before blooming for 100 days. If one was fast and harvested the tree"s parts after 100 days, then one would obtain great benefits The bark of the tree can be used as medicine in order to heal even fatal wounds. If it was used alongside other medicinal plants, then the effect would be strengthened.
Also, if one soaks a leaf of the tree in water and drank it, then their cultivation would be increased, their physique would be strengthened, and their spiritual force would recover much faster. It can be said that it was a very good spiritual force restoration medicine.
The most unusual thing about the Hundred Spirit Tree was the fact that flowers would bloom after one hundred years and would stay that way for 100 days. After 100 days, the flowers would begin to form fruits. Then the mature fruit would begin detaching themselves from the tree. The fruits would then begin to grow larger and larger. The largest fruit would turn into an island that was not less than 10 thousand square meters in surface area and not more than one million square kilometers. This small island would hover in the air and would have its own gravity. This island wouldn"t be able to detach from the land much further, but the island could be farmed and occupied. However, there wouldn"t be any minerals on this island.
As for the other 99 fruits, they could be turned into airs.h.i.+ps. This airs.h.i.+p was actually a mix of a vessel, a planting area, and an energy source. No matter who it was, as long as they drop their blood on the fruit, then they would immediately turn into these airs.h.i.+ps. This s.h.i.+p would act like a small island with its own gravitational force. People could also live on its surface and even farm. The area of these s.h.i.+ps wouldn"t go further than 10 thousand square meters, but this wasn"t a small area.
Moreover, this s.h.i.+p would provide energy to its owner. If its owner runs out of energy during combat, then the s.h.i.+p would provide some. If the s.h.i.+p was planted with high-ranked plants, then the energy supplied would be greater. If the s.h.i.+p wasn"t cultivated, then the energy it provides would be low.
During the war between the Humans and the Hundred Spirit Clan, the Hundred Spirit Tree"s fruits were turned into floating s.h.i.+ps. This gave the Humans enormous losses. Because of this, the Humans sent out powerful experts in order to erase the Hundred Spirit Tree. Because the tree was destroyed, and the fact that the Hundred Spirit Clan was not that populous, it didn"t take long before the Spirit World was taken over by the Humans.
If n.o.body uses the Hundred Spirit Fruit, then the fruit would still last forever. This was because these fruits can absorb the energy of the universe in order to support its existence. The energy absorbed would also allow another Hundred Spirit Tree to grow. And when the tree grows up, it would release the same energy it borrowed back into the Universe. This would form a loop of interdependence between the universe and the tree.
As for the fruit that turned into an island, it was impossible to be owned by someone. This island would just float above the ground. However, if this island existed for a very long time, then it would ascend and become a planet. They would also have natural source transmission formations inside them. These formations form a direct link towards the place where the original Hundred Spirit Tree grew. In other words, as long as an island existed for a very long time, it can roam the universe as a planet. And with the transmission formation, the island could return to the planet where it originated.
Also, the small planet that the fruit turned into would be able to attract the energy of the Universe and then grow its own Hundred Spirit Tree. And this tree would return to the origin place of the planet.
After knowing these functions of the Hundred Spirit Tree, Zhao Hai couldn"t help but be shocked. He didn"t expect the Hundred Spirit Tree to be this heaven-defying. It can actually form islands and planets that have their own gravitational field. This was too inconceivable.
Zhao Hai could now understand why the Hundred Spirit Clan appointed the Hundred Spirit Tree as their sacred relic. In fact, any race that obtains this tree would no doubt make it their most precious treasure. This tree was just too heaven-defying.
Besides the Hundred Spirit Tree, there was also information about the Divine Five Element Killing Formation. This formation involved the five elements of the heavens and the earth. It can be said that no matter what type of energy, it could still be influenced by the formation, this includes spiritual force. There were rules to establis.h.i.+ng this formation. The person who wanted to set it up would have to balance the power of the five elements. There must also be enough energy and spiritual force to power the formation. The reason why the Hundred Spirit Clan was able to establish this formation was because they had already sacrificed more than a million of their kin during tests. In the end, 100 people succeeded in establis.h.i.+ng the formation. Those who failed were all consumed by the backlash.
On the other hand, dissolving the formation was actually very simple. To break the formation, one should meet the requirements set by the one who established the formation, just like what the Hundred Spirit Clan did. As long as you don"t destroy their bodies, not destroy the Hundred Spirit Tree, and then giving the tree some security, then the formation would break apart.
If Zhao Hai establishes the formation, then he could make his own requirements. For example, Zhao Hai can make a rule that as long as a person says the word "h.e.l.lo", then they would break the formation. It was that simple, using other methods would just get them killed. No matter what, accomplis.h.i.+ng the requirements was the only way of breaking a Divine Five Element Killing Formation.