My best friend asked me if I was still doing system tasks.

The higher the floor, the more complex the formation. Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying stayed in Xuemeng Tower for a day and a night, their eyes fixed on nothing but the formation.

Ruan Chayan stopped on the ninth floor. Feeling dizzy and lightheaded, she said, "Xiaoxue, I can't go on. I can't concentrate at all. I don't even know what time it is. Should we leave?"

Luo Hanying sat inside the formation, rubbing her eyes: "I'm so tired too. Let's go back and rest."

Ruan Chayan asked, "I'm waiting for you on the ninth floor. What floor are you on now?"

Luo Hanying cleared her throat, stood up, and said, "I'm still on the fourteenth level. I really don't understand it. This formation is nested together, using characters to extend into eight directions. I've never seen anything like it before, and I have no clue what to do with it."

As Ruan Chayan tidied up her array plate, she said, "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it anymore. If you can't, ask the elders of Xuemeng Tower on your way down later."

"That illusion sword formation on the eighth floor seems really useful in actual combat. I've engraved the array plates on each floor; let's memorize them later for better use."

"Okay, okay."

Undeterred, Luo Hanying used her divine sense to observe the formation again. The turbulent energy from the formation caused her pain. She clutched her head and said, "Ouch, what a failed attempt! I'll come down and find you right now."

Ruan Chayan scolded her helplessly: "You're about to leave, yet you still linger a little longer."

After the two met up, they went together to find the young Taoist priest guarding the Snow Dream Pavilion to inquire about the details of the formation inside the pavilion.

The young Taoist explained that the array formations within the Snow Dream Pavilion, except for the first level, were not recorded, precisely so that each new disciple could study them on their own.

Therefore, if Luo Hanying wanted to know the key to the formation, besides asking the elders, she could only consult the senior brothers and sisters who were good at breaking the formation.

Luo Hanying asked curiously, "Do you know which senior brother or sister has solved the formation on the fourteenth level?"

"The fourteenth level?" The young Daoist looked quite surprised. "You ask about the fourteenth level? Could it be that you've reached the fourteenth level? You're not a disciple of Hidden Peak, are you?"

Luo Hanying smiled and said, "Yes, I am not. I am a Confucian scholar from the Dancing Terrace of Luanjin Pavilion. I came to class yesterday."

"You're incredibly talented! Even our peak disciples couldn't reach the fourteenth floor in just one day and one night!"

The young Taoist exclaimed in surprise, "With such talent in formations, why don't you come to our Hidden Peak?"

Luo Hanying blushed at the praise: "I just like Confucianism."

Seeing that the two of them were getting further and further away from their conversation, Ruan Chayan reminded the young Taoist, "You haven't said whether you know or not yet."

The young Taoist hurriedly replied, "Oh, right, the fourteenth level is already quite difficult. I remember that Senior Sister Tongming and Senior Brother Sheng Sichen from my peak, Senior Sister Xu Fengyu from the Discipline Hall, and Senior Brother Shen Weixia from the Asking Peak passed it. I don't know about the others."

Ruan Chayan and Luo Hanying exchanged a glance, thanked each other, and left. By this time, many cultivators had already arrived for their classes.

Ruan Chayan soared into the air on her sword: [“Xu Fengyu, speaking of Xu Fengyu reminds me of that main quest.”]

Luo Hanying followed closely behind: "Oh my, me too, time really flies."

I previously met Xu Fengyu and Fu Yuanzheng at the Discipline Hall, but we had absolutely nothing to talk about. This is a good opportunity for me to try and build a better relationship with them.

After thinking for a moment, Ruan Chayan said, "Then let's rest for a while, and I'll go with you?"

I'm a little worried about you being alone.

Luo Hanying chuckled: "What's there to worry about? I'm a grown woman."

"Don't think about that too much right now. Let's go back and get some rest first. We're both exhausted right now; even if we went to ask, we wouldn't be able to understand that formation."

"That's true."

That afternoon, Luo Hanying went to the Discipline Hall alone to visit Xu Fengyu, who was on leave.

Luo Hanying explained her purpose, and Xu Fengyu's expression was somewhat enigmatic and strange: "You've come to ask me about formations? You climbed to the fourteenth floor yourself?"

Luo Hanying guessed that Xu Fengyu might be like that Daoist boy, doubting her strength.

Luo Hanying explained the details of the formation on the twelfth and thirteenth floors one by one, proving that what she said was true.

Xu Fengyu listened and nodded, then said calmly, "Since you have such comprehension, I don't need to explain it too clearly. You'll understand if you think about it yourself."

Luo Hanying bowed and said, "Senior Sister Xu, please speak."

Xu Fengyu explained in detail: "Since you study formations, you should have read the relevant jade slips on Qimen Dunjia, Taiyi, Liuren, etc."

That formation was derived from the original Bagua formation, and the eight characters naturally imitated the eight gates, so there were eight formation eyes.

Among the eight gates, there are three auspicious gates and two neutral gates. This means that the fourteen-layer formation has five true formation eyes, while the three inauspicious gates naturally represent false formation eyes.

Once you can identify one of the key points of the formation, the interconnected formations will make finding the other key points effortless.

"You are a Confucian scholar, you know that every character has its own unique five elements, and I mentioned the eight directions earlier, do you understand what I mean?"

Luo Hanying nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite: "The Eight Gates represent the human figure, and also have the symbolism of the Five Elements..."

Xu Fengyu smiled and nodded: "That's right."

After a moment's thought, she took out an array plate from her storage bracelet and handed it to Luo Hanying: "This is an array plate that I replicated after breaking the array on the fourteenth floor. You can take it and study it."

Luo Hanying looked delighted and accepted the array plate with a reserved expression, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sister Xu!"

Senior Sister Xu, let me transfer some contribution points to you. It's not much, but it's a small token of my appreciation.

Xu Fengyu politely declined, saying, "No need. It's our duty as your senior sister to help you."

I still remember this formation; you can take it.

Luo Hanying accepted the array plate with profuse thanks, but then remembered her other purpose for coming, and didn't know how to bring it up.

Xu Fengyu noticed that Luo Hanying seemed to have something left unsaid, and considerately asked, "Is there anything else, Junior Sister Luo?"

Luo Hanying hesitated for a moment, then changed the subject: "I wonder how Senior Sister Xu joined the Discipline Hall? I'm quite curious. I know that disciples of the Hongyan Hall are selected to enter, but I don't know about the Discipline Hall."

Xu Fengyu's gentle expression turned cold, and she stared at Luo Hanying with a meaningful look in her eyes: "Junior Sister Luo, you're asking about this...?"

In addition to the two elders, our Discipline Hall also has selection criteria. Some disciples are those who have not made any mistakes in the past ten years, while others are those who have made repeated mistakes. The reasons are complicated and cannot be explained in a few words.

"Does Junior Sister Luo want to join our Discipline Hall?"

Luo Hanying smiled politely: "No, it's just a casual question. I only have some ideas for now, but given my current level, I don't think the Discipline Hall would want me, would they?"

Xu Fengyu said bluntly, "You're right. Our Discipline Hall doesn't accept just any disciple. Disciples who are consistent inside and out and have good character are hard to come by."

Luo Hanying chuckled a few times, thinking to herself, "Why do people in the cultivation world always have such an indescribable accent when they speak?"