Upon hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but ask, "Junior has previously undertaken a mission with Jiang Zhengji. If I recall correctly, these two were only at the mid Golden Core stage. How could they escape from the pursuit of a Nascent Soul True Lord and so many Golden Core cultivators?"
Zhang Zhiliang squinted his eyes and explained slowly, "Although these two are only at the mid Golden Core stage, they share a deep understanding and seamless cooperation. They are highly proficient in combined attacks."
"Their Golden Core Dharma Bodies are named Floating White Snow and Lingering Frost Red Plum."
"Through mutual cooperation, they can create something similar to a Nascent Soul's Dharma Domain."
"When the two of them join forces, even ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators would find it difficult to match them."
Recalling the scenes of slaughtering the red-haired beasts on the island, Li Fan nodded involuntarily.
As if remembering something, Zhang Zhiliang's face revealed a hint of a smile. He continued, "These two insignificant Golden Core cultivators not only caused some chaos in the hinterland but also managed to escape unscathed. The Five Elders Association will certainly not let this slide and will seek retaliation."
"But they didn't dare to take on the responsibility of deploying Soul Transformation cultivators and initiating a war."
"So, they quietly sent a Nascent Soul cultivator to infiltrate the Cong Yun Sea and wreak havoc on Haitong Island."
"Hmph, the Five Elders Association is really petty."
Zhang Zhiliang sneered.
After saying this, he corrected his expression, "Let's go. Although their actions are a bit childish, the intervention of Nascent Soul cultivators has indeed caused considerable damage to Haitong Island."
"The island guardian formation structure has been completely destroyed, and even the teleportation formation is unusable. We need to fly from the nearby Youmen Island."
Led by Zhang Zhiliang, Li Fan and the others took nearly a day to reach the vicinity of Haitong Island.
The island's guardian had long received a notification and was waiting there.
"Greetings, Master Zhang!"
Perhaps because it was close to the Five Elders Association's territory, but the guardian of this island was unexpectedly a Golden Core cultivator.
He had a sturdy and robust appearance, but his complexion was pale, indicating that he had suffered some injuries.
"This is the guardian of Haitong Island, fellow Daoist Pei Tuo!" Zhang Zhiliang introduced him to Li Fan and the others.
"Fellow Daoist Pei Tuo is now at the peak of the Golden Core realm and is already one step into the Nascent Soul realm. In the recent attack by the Five Elders Association's Nascent Soul cultivator, if fellow Daoist Pei Tuo hadn't exerted his best efforts and activated the island guardian formation for defense, Haitong Island might have turned into ruins."
Pei Tuo waved his hand, somewhat embarrassed. "Pei Tuo is incompetent and cannot live up to Master Zhang's praise."
Zhang Zhiliang laughed heartily and did not force the issue.
"Fellow Daoist Pei Tuo, are the mortals on the island evacuated?" he then asked.
Pei Tuo nodded, "They have all been moved to other islands. Master can start the repair work anytime now."
Zhang Zhiliang glanced at the islands below and, after a moment, said, "The extent of the damage is worse than expected. Instead of repairing it slowly, it's better to rearrange it."
As he spoke, he made no apparent movements.
However, the sky above Haitong Island suddenly darkened.
Densely packed clouds appeared out of nowhere, and a giant eye emerged from the clouds.
It stared directly at Haitong Island below.
Although it didn't lock onto a specific target with its gaze, within the field of vision of this giant eye, Li Fan suddenly felt his spiritual energy stagnate, and his movements became difficult.
A sense of panic surged as if all his secrets were being exposed.
Fortunately, Li Fan's mental fortitude was outstanding, and he had faced top-tier experts like the Heavenly Doctor before.
Compared to that, the pressure of the Nascent Soul realm was just a small obstacle.
Li Fan quickly regained his composure.
However, to avoid drawing attention, he still pretended to shiver like the other Formation Repairers.
Fortunately, the giant eye in the sky did not last long.
A silver light flashed across the surface of Haitong Island.
In Li Fan's perception, the remaining formation structures above the island were all dissolving and disintegrating within this silver light.
In an instant, there were no more traces of formations on Haitong Island.
The sky returned to its serene state. Pei Tuo's eyes flashed with a hint of envy as he remarked, "Master Zhang's prowess with this Heaven's Eye Dharma Domain is becoming increasingly extraordinary."
This was Li Fan's first time witnessing Zhang Zhiliang employing his Dharma Domain. Compared to the Nascent Soul cultivator with a volcano Dharma Domain he had slain before, Zhang Zhiliang's Heaven's Eye Dharma Domain was clearly superior by more than one level.
"The formations on the island have all been removed by me. Next, follow me to rebuild the formations," Zhang Zhiliang said to Li Fan and the others.
"Now, our Cong Yun Sea's island guardian formation is the 'Heavenly Yuan Transformation Formation.' The outer formation consists of 367,800 nodes, with each node incorporating hundreds of formations."
"What you need to do this time is to reconstruct the external structure of the Heavenly Yuan Transformation Formation."
"As for the core internal formations, considering your level of formation mastery, it's too early for you guys. I'll handle the construction personally this time."
Zhang Zhiliang spoke and pointed towards the empty space ahead.
A light screen containing detailed diagrams of hundreds of formation structures unfolded in front of everyone.
"Li Fan, tell me, what basic formations are included in this diagram?" Zhang Zhiliang singled out Li Fan.
After a brief examination, Li Fan calmly answered, "Spirit Gathering Formation, Fixed Defense Formation, One Qi Formation..."
Satisfied with Li Fan's response, Zhang Zhiliang nodded.
He then proceeded to explain in detail the construction of each node to everyone.
Pei Tuo, avoiding suspicion, distanced himself from the area and remained vigilant in a defensive posture.
Three days and three nights passed before Zhang Zhiliang thoroughly explained the external nodes of the Heavenly Yuan Transformation Formation.
Although Li Fan didn't fully comprehend all of it, with the assistance of the [Divine Transformation Dao] technique, he had firmly memorized it in his mind.
"Master Zhang, I once happened to read in ancient texts about an ancient formation called the 'Life Transformation Grand Formation.' I wonder what connection it has with our Cong Yun Sea's 'Heavenly Yuan Transformation Formation'?" Li Fan took the opportunity to inquire.
Zhang Zhiliang was slightly surprised, not expecting Li Fan to ask such a question.
"You are quite knowledgeable to be aware of such obscure formations," Zhang Zhiliang praised and explained to Li Fan, "The regenerative function in the Heavenly Yuan Transformation Formation originates from the ancient Life Transformation Grand Formation."
"However, due to the presence of the Immortal-Mortal Miasma in mortals' bodies today, the formation had to undergo corresponding changes to be usable. The actual effect is far from what it used to be. It is said that the original Life Transformation Grand Formation could transform the lifespan of ordinary people into Longevity Fruit that could increase the lifespan of cultivators."
"Now, it's only left with the minor function of increasing the concentration of spiritual energy within the formation and nourishing the physical body."
Zhang Zhiliang expressed regret.
Next, he distributed formation construction materials and instructed everyone to independently build the formation nodes.
With a chance for free practice in formation deployment, Li Fan naturally wouldn't miss it.
He immersed himself in arranging the formations.
All this time, Li Fan had mainly studied formation theory, and practical experience in formation deployment was relatively scarce.
Therefore, he was a bit unfamiliar at the beginning, and his error rate was relatively high.
However, he quickly discovered the abnormality of [Divine Transformation Dao].