"How about this. If Brother Han and Fairy Shi can break the grand formation, then when the time comes, the two Daoist friends can each choose one item first, and we can divide the rest afterward." Hu Yue showed a hint of embarrassment and hurriedly pulled Han Li into the arrangement, managing to smooth over the immediate situation.
That tall, thin cultivator surnamed Jian had been standing to the side the whole time with a calm expression, not saying a single word, which made Han Li rather unable to see through him.
"Daoist Hu, why not take Brother Han and Fairy Shi to examine the formation first to see if it can truly be broken? Otherwise, if the grand formation cannot be broken, any talk is useless," Jin Qing suggested with a smile.
"Right! This formation is rather strange. Daoist Jin and I once attacked it forcefully for a day and a night, but we couldn't break even a single bit of it by brute force. Instead, we completely exhausted all our magical power." Hu Yue slapped his forehead in agreement.
Thus, under the tacit agreement and with a hint of curious anticipation from the others, the group rode their treasures towards the belly of the earthen hill, finally stopping near an inconspicuous slope in the middle.
"Fellow Daoists, please look. That area shrouded in yellow mist is the location of the formation." Hu Yue pointed from mid-air to a spot on the slope, speaking solemnly to Han Li and the others.
In truth, Han Li had already seen it clearly without needing the point. A yellow mist cloud, roughly a li square, lay not far below, lurking like a huge monster, murky and silent, giving an unfathomably strange feeling.
"Hmm! It looks like a dual earth-and-wind attribute formation. That's actually quite interesting." As soon as Shi Die saw the imposing aura of the formation, her eyes lit up with a trace of excitement.
Hearing the woman's words, Han Li was reminded and couldn't help but glance at her. He then focused his gaze for a closer look, and soon his expression became solemn.
This formation was indeed as the woman said—a magic array of earth and wind attributes. At his current level, truly breaking it would be quite troublesome.
Just then, Shi Die slowly descended to the edge of the formation in mid-air and eagerly produced some peculiar magic tools to begin testing them.
First, she took out a disc-shaped tool. Holding it in one hand, she shot a green beam of light towards the yellow mist, but the beam vanished without a trace, as if a mud ox had entered the sea.
She frowned, then took out a fiery red crystal ball. She rubbed it a few times with one hand and released it, sending it flying into the yellow mist.
However, this tool also flashed a few times before its red light was swallowed up by the thick yellow mist.
This made the female cultivator blush slightly, feeling her face was a bit lost. She then produced seven or eight different magic tools one after another to probe the formation.
The result was that, except for a yellow bronze mirror that could make the yellow mist churn a little where its beam shone, the rest had no effect at all.
Seeing this, Hu Yue, Jin Qing, and the others exchanged glances and couldn't help but fly over to the slope and walk behind the woman.
"Fairy Shi, might I give it a try?" After watching for a while, Han Li saw the female cultivator seemed ready to continue producing tools and finally couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, asking in a mild tone.
"Hmph! If Daoist Han has a way, then by all means proceed. I certainly won't stop you." Clearly, Fairy Shi Die was now somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, and she didn't give Han Li a pleasant look.
Han Li felt a slight irritation in his heart.
However, being someone who rarely showed his emotions, he didn't reveal any dissatisfaction. He simply patted his storage pouch, and over a dozen small flags of various colors flew out, then gently rotated around him.
"Formation flags!" As soon as he saw these small flags, Jin Qing's sharp eyes called out first.
The others showed surprised expressions, not knowing what Han Li intended by producing these items instead of breaking the formation directly.
Han Li paid no attention to their astonished gazes. Instead, he pointed at the formation flags.
Instantly, beams of light of ten-odd colors shot up. The formation flags all flew to the space above the yellow mist and arranged themselves according to a certain pattern, vaguely forming the shape of the Big Dipper, floating gently in the air.
"The Northern Dipole Formation!" Shi Die seemed to have recognized something from the arrangement of the flags, revealing a look of surprise.
At that moment, the formation flags emitted a low, prolonged hum. Then, beams of light sprayed out from these small flags, converging in mid-air into a single, thick beam that shot straight down into the mist below, disappearing without a trace.
Seeing this astonishing sight, the cultivators, including Shi Die, hurriedly looked towards the yellow mist. However, it was still as murky and silent as before, with no signs of any change.
"Brother Han, what is this..." Jin Qing couldn't contain his doubts and was about to ask a few questions when the unexpected change finally occurred.
The yellow mist, which had originally been dead silent and still, suddenly emitted a low buzzing sound. Then, within the mist, it began to churn as if boiling water, as if a flood dragon was turning rivers and overturning seas within, instantly becoming alive.
Jin Qing swallowed the words that had just reached his lips.
At this moment, Han Li's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Without any further courtesy, he tossed several more spell arts towards the formation flags floating in the air.