The so-called formation eye is the core pillar of power in a formation. Some formations have only one formation eye, while others have several. These formation eyes can be replaced by people or objects to provide power support.
There are many benefits to laying formations. If the enemy lacks a formation specialist or can't crack the array, they're forced to break it by brute force—which requires tremendous strength. That's why many sects and clans set up grand protective arrays around their headquarters, guarding against surprise attacks from powerful foes.
Some stealth formations can hide cultivators within the array, allowing them to launch powerful attacks against enemies.
Staring at the vast ocean-like Heaven-Form Aspect Art, Evan Yang felt an urge to master formations for himself. If he could someday reach the realm where he could wield them freely, it would be the highest state described in the Heaven-Form Aspect Art: boundless mastery, unhindered by heaven or earth.
"Boundless mastery—does that mean you can ignore all formations and arrange any formation at will?" Evan Yang muttered.
As for boundless mastery, the Heaven-Form Aspect Art only briefly mentions it. Even the 'immortal' who passed down this art hadn't reached that realm.
After skimming through the Heaven-Form Aspect Art, Evan Yang felt he'd only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg. There were countless formations he hadn't had time to study. But time was short, so he focused his mind on the urgent problem outside: breaking that so-called fourth-tier stacked formation.
This stacked formation was extremely intricate. Every cultivator inside acted as a formation eye—a source of power. Only by breaking all of them could the array be undone. In a fourth-tier formation like this, every three people formed a major formation eye, and each individual was a minor formation eye. To break the whole array, Evan Yang would have to destroy each major formation eye in turn, which meant attacking all three people at each node simultaneously. If the attacks weren't perfectly timed, they'd be useless. That's the principle of a stacked formation: the power is layered and multiplied by the major formation eyes.
For example, outside right now, Evan Yang used Heaven’s Eye Sight to observe forty-three people in the formation. The fat overseer was the main formation eye, and the other forty-two formed fourteen major formation eyes, boosting the fat overseer's defense to fourteen times its normal strength.
Simply put, the fat overseer was at early Core-Formation realm, but with the formation, his power was multiplied fourteenfold, making him terrifying—even a peak Core-Formation expert could be trapped. That's the overseer's advantage.
"Forty-three people—the fat overseer is the main formation eye, and the other forty-two form fourteen major formation eyes. Originally, this base had forty-nine, but six died, so it's short one." Even now, Evan Yang counted carefully. Realizing the seriousness, he withdrew his consciousness and prepared to break the fourteen major formation eyes before finally facing the fat overseer one-on-one.
He acted as soon as he thought of it. Seeing that night had already fallen outside, Evan Yang didn't want to linger. He rushed out and activated Heaven’s Eye Sight.
The fat overseer, annoyed that Evan Yang hadn't come out yet, immediately shouted when he saw him, "Kid, you finally decided to show yourself!"
Evan Yang ignored him and instead studied the positions of the forty-two others around him.
Seeing Evan Yang silent, the fat overseer mocked, "Kid, don’t bother using your eyes to snoop around. Just because your eyes are red doesn’t mean you’re special."
Evan Yang ignored the taunt and stopped near three particular people.
"What’s he doing now?" The fat overseer muttered, seeing Evan Yang ignore him and walk toward a corner.
What happened next stunned him. Evan Yang drew three throwing daggers and precisely targeted three cultivators. Just as everyone thought he’d be in trouble again, three screams rang out—three cultivators dropped dead.
"No way!" Evan Yang’s sudden strike shocked everyone, including the fat overseer. This was the Wong Clan’s top-tier formation, capable of trapping even peak Core-Formation experts, let alone someone at the peak Foundation-Building stage.
Evan Yang’s sudden move left everyone dumbfounded. They all wondered: how did he spot these people, and how did he know how to break the formation?
Evan Yang ignored the shocked stares. He closed his eyes, returned to his original appearance, and went back to the cave to recover his spiritual power. That last attack had used up most of his energy—especially since he had to target three at once with great force. It was his first attempt, and he realized he’d need more time to break the rest of the major formation eyes.
"Is he... out of spiritual power?" The fat overseer tried to reassure himself as he watched Evan Yang return to the cave, and the other disciples echoed his sentiment.
Afraid the others might flee, the fat overseer barked at the disciples, "Hold your positions—don’t let him pick us off one by one!"
The disciples knew anyone who could kill three at once wasn’t ordinary. None dared leave the formation and become a target, so they kept maintaining the array.
But over the next few hours, the fat overseer was helpless. Out of forty-two cultivators, thirty-nine formation eyes were destroyed, leaving only three at one major formation eye—and the fat overseer himself, floating in the air, staring at Evan Yang in terror.
"Demon." The survivors cursed in their hearts as they watched thirty-nine companions fall.
Evan Yang ignored them. With dawn approaching, he knew he had to leave quickly—if the Wong Clan arrived, the consequences would be unimaginable.
When Evan Yang entered the cave again, the three remaining cultivators, as if awaiting execution, pleaded in terror, "Boss, we don’t want to die. Can we leave now?"
"Leave? You think you can get away? That demon killed so many—step outside and you’re dead!" the fat overseer scolded, though he knew their fate was sealed. He could only use their lives to stall for time.
Intimidated, the three reluctantly stayed put, still supporting the formation. The overseer tried to rally them, "Hang in there! Dawn’s here—our clan leader will arrive soon."
(Irrelevant webnovel notice skipped.)
Hearing the Wong Clan patriarch was coming, the three disciples perked up again.
Looking at the three, the fat overseer thought bitterly, "I’ll have to sacrifice you for the Wong Clan and the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore." He felt frustrated that he’d only possessed the ore for less than a day.
When Evan Yang reappeared, dawn was almost here. He took extra time to prepare, intending to deal with the last three disciples before facing the fat overseer directly.
With thirteen of fourteen major formation eyes destroyed, only one remained and the array’s power was greatly weakened. Evan Yang approached the three and smiled, "You’re free to leave."
The three exchanged glances. One asked, "Are you really going to let us go?"
"I have no grudge against you. You were only forced into being formation eyes. If you want to leave now, you can. If not, don’t blame me for what happens next." Evan Yang spoke, his aura radiating.
His words tempted the three disciples.
Of course, the fat overseer couldn’t let Evan Yang break the last formation eye so easily, so he immediately threatened, "Anyone who tries to escape, I’ll kill first!"
"Fatty, is this how you treat your own people?" Evan Yang challenged, hoping to break the formation without violence.
The three disciples weren’t stupid. Hearing the fat overseer’s words, they felt resentful. They were going to die anyway—if they ran now, maybe they’d survive and let Evan Yang and the fat overseer fight it out.
Sure enough, Evan Yang’s words worked. The three nodded, backed away, and bolted, terrified of being caught by either Evan or the fat overseer.
Seeing the last formation eye fail like this, the fat overseer cursed, "You traitors!"
"Fatty, now that there’s no one left to be a formation eye, you, the last lonely node, should just step down." Evan Yang grinned.
"Don’t get cocky!" the fat overseer yelled, still floating in the air.
Without another word, Evan Yang hurled two daggers with his strongest attack straight at the fat overseer.
Predictably, the fat overseer, thinking the array would protect him, was struck down, falling from the sky with blood pouring from his body.
Evan Yang walked up and said, "If you’d just handed over the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore, none of this would’ve happened!"
"Kid, whoever you are, the Wong Clan will never let you go," the fat overseer spat, glaring viciously at Evan Yang.
"The Wong Clan never said they’d let me go anyway," Evan Yang replied, saying something the overseer couldn’t understand.
To stall for time, the fat overseer continued, "You think no one will know what you did today? Once the Wong Clan finds out, you’re as good as dead."
"You talk too much. Just hand over the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore already," Evan Yang demanded again.
Unwilling, the fat overseer took out the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore, glanced at Evan Yang, and threw it away with one hand.
That was top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore. Evan Yang would never refuse it—he rushed to where it landed. Just then, he sensed a surge of power behind him. Without thinking, he grabbed the ore, spun around, and jumped away from his original spot.
When Evan Yang looked back, the fat overseer was already dead.
"Why bother?" Evan Yang muttered, watching the fat overseer self-destruct his core for one last attack.
The miners, seeing the fighting was over, hurriedly left, afraid of crossing Evan Yang. He sighed, "Do I really look like a demon?"
Just as Evan Yang was about to pack up and leave, two people appeared before him.
One of them glared at Evan Yang and growled, "So it was you!"
The other held a severely wounded fleeing disciple. That disciple pointed at Evan Yang and said, "Patriarch, it’s him."
These two were none other than Warren Wong and Marshall Wong, who had just arrived.
Hearing 'patriarch,' Evan Yang felt uneasy. He didn’t know the Wong Clan leader’s true strength, but anyone who could become one of the Four Clan Heads must be formidable.
"Warren, is this Evan Yang?" Marshall Wong finally asked, unable to hold back.
Warren Wong glared at Evan Yang. "That’s him. He’s the one—he killed my brother!"
"Kid, our family had no grudge against you. Why did you treat my son this way?" Marshall Wong threw the wounded disciple aside, killing him outright.
"Am I really going to die here today?" Evan Yang sensed Marshall Wong’s aura rising rapidly.