"Not good! The other villages might have already taken action, otherwise Lei Yan wouldn’t have summoned Chen Tongjiang back to the village!"

"Mr Jiang, we might not be able to practice with you on the plains. Luckily, with the seniors of the Gold-devouring Rat Clan here, you don’t need to worry about finding the Dead Spirit Gathering Point."

Lu Xian exclaimed and then said apologetically, "We need to go back to join the battle. The sooner we attack Lei Yang Village, the better. Securing territory is more important than obtaining any Necro Sphere."

"Senior Lu Xian, there’s no need to be polite with me. Please set off as soon as you can."

Jiang Chen also understood the benefits of securing territory. For a force like Wind Thunder Valley that has been here for years, seizing a few Dead Spirit Gathering Points could be more valuable than obtaining a few Necro Spheres temporarily.

Lu Xian nodded, cupped his fists to Jin Liang and the others, turned around to call out to the people of Wind Thunder Valley, and quickly leaped toward the inner region.

In the crowd, Jin Hu hesitated for a moment and then turned to look at Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen signaled to Jin Hu to follow and join the battle for territory, which would help Jin Hu to integrate quicker into Wind Thunder Valley.

Jin Hu’s Blood Soul Mark had already been removed by Lei Yan automatically, so Jiang Chen didn’t need to help him clear it.

After watching Lu Xian and the others leave, Yun Tao and the others came to Jiang Chen’s side.

"Junior brother, is Gui Ying really from the Nether Kui Snake clan?"

Even though Lei Yan had verified it through a message to Chen Tongjiang, Yun Tao and the others still found it a bit unbelievable; it was too much of a coincidence.

"It’s true, this news will soon spread across the Abandoned Plains."

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, glanced at the departing figures of Lu Xian and others, and said meaningfully, "Let’s go to the Central Region. The inner area is about to get lively. Fortunately, the Necro Spirits in the Central Region are relatively strong, so the eight major villages can’t settle down there easily. Otherwise, once this incident breaks out, the Central Region could become chaotic!"

"This is also a good thing; at least there will be fewer competitors for the gathering points in the Central Region."

Jin Wenhao said with a light chuckle.

"Not necessarily! With the eight major villages around, the forces coming in from outside are somewhat intimidated because the people from the eight major villages entered after offending significant forces outside. Using power to pressure them is not really feasible."

Jiang Chen gently shook his head, "Those from major forces may restrain somewhat, but now with the people from the eight major villages not present, other village members might not be able to intimidate the incoming powerful forces, and the upcoming struggles might become even more brutal."

The crowd paused at his words and nodded in agreement after some contemplation.

People here have experienced or heard of incidents during the unearthing of ruins; many forces bear feuds due to conflicts over ruins and are later destroyed by enemies’ elders, such occurrences are common on the continent.

"Where are we going next?"

Jiang Chen turned to look at Jin Wenhao.

Jin Wenhao smiled faintly, "Let’s go to a gathering point first, after handling things there, move to the ruins of several Integration Realm Peak experts. As for the ruins of the Semi-Saint experts, we’ll need to wait for those outside Necro Spirits to be cleared by outsiders before going in; otherwise, with just us, it might not be possible to break through."

"Alright, I’ll follow your lead!"

Jiang Chen smiled and nodded.

Led by Jin Wenhao, the group headed toward the Central Region.

...

"Spirit Seal Formation is a skill Array Masters must master; if you only use Spirit Stones to set up formations without understanding Spirit Seal Formation, it’s very easy for someone to disrupt in a battle!"

In a deep canyon, Su Qingluan, deep in the gorge, explained softly while arranging formations.

Jiang Chen stood to the side carefully listening, while Yan Hu and others scattered throughout the gorge to attract Necro Spirits.

This was the first Dead Spirit Gathering Point they reached after arriving in the Central Region. As Jiang Chen led them to the canyon’s depths using methods similar to those in the Valley of the Dead, he became a student, attentively listening to Su Qingluan’s lecture, while the task of arranging formations to slay Necro Spirits fell upon Su Qingluan.

Through Su Qingluan’s introduction, Jiang Chen gained a deeper understanding of the titles within the formation path than the names such as Divine Infant Formation Master or Virtual Refinement Formation Master.

Array Masters are mainly divided into three levels: Array Master, Formation Grandmaster, and Great Formation Grandmaster.

These levels are not judged by the grade of formations but by the methods of formation arrangement.

An Array Master uses Spirit Stones for arranging formations, which is prone to disruption.

Jiang Chen has never been disrupted in arranging formations because he has not fought against enemies who are also Array Masters, and his formation arrangements are often unexpected.

A Formation Grandmaster uses Spiritual Seals to set up formations, much like Jiang Chen’s body formation method, but not using Spiritual Seals internally; instead, they form formations externally with Spiritual Seals, which is slightly more challenging.

Of course, not all Formation Grandmasters understand how to use body formation, which is a method neither taught at Lian Cang Spirit Academy nor available elsewhere, brought by Su Qingluan from her family.

Both Array Masters and Formation Grandmasters can arrange formations comparable to the Integration Realm Peak and lower realms.

Meanwhile, Great Formation Grandmasters use Primordial Spirit Power, Power of the Great Dao, or even Domain Power for formation.

At this level, formations can be integrated into attacks, meaning when facing such a grandmaster in combat, you need to be cautious because after evading or blocking their attack, you might fall into their set formation.

To become a Great Formation Grandmaster, two prerequisites are required: to condense Primordial Spirit and break through Dao seeds to form a Domain.

Therefore, Great Formation Grandmasters are all Saint-level experts. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

However, not all Formation Grandmasters become Great Formation Grandmasters upon reaching the Saint Realm. Array Masters are rare, with perhaps one in ten thousand cultivators becoming an Array Master, one in a thousand Array Masters becoming a Formation Grandmaster, and out of a hundred Formation Grandmasters capable of reaching the Saint Realm, only one might become a Great Formation Grandmaster!

Each Great Formation Grandmaster is a notable expert within the Saint Realm!

Su Qingluan is currently a Formation Grandmaster, and Formation Grandmasters include only Spirit Array Masters, not Dao Array Masters, because Formation Grandmasters use Spiritual Seals composed of Spiritual Power.

Generally, the richer the Spiritual Power of a Formation Grandmaster, the stronger the Spirit Array they can arrange.

Su Qingluan wants to teach Jiang Chen about formations; apart from recognizing his formation path talent, Jiang Chen’s rich Spiritual Power is also a crucial factor.