"Not good, we've entered a formation." One of the elders of the Dayang Sect had evidently understood the situation and spoke bitterly.

The other elders of the Dayang Sect, upon hearing this, were quite shocked. They hadn't realized that they had unknowingly stepped into a formation. They were curious to know whose formation it was, when they had entered it, and why the other party would target them. Was this place truly a forbidden area?

"This is an ancient formation."

At this moment, Ding Fan spoke with a calm demeanor. He knew the answers to the group's questions. The formation here did not belong to anyone; it was an ancient formation passed down from ancient times. No one was ambushing them; they had simply activated the formation by accident. Ding Fan sensed that they had likely stepped into this ancient formation at the fork where they separated from the main group.

Upon hearing Ding Fan's words, everyone felt a wave of tension. It was indeed an ancient formation. Though they knew little about formations, as cultivators, they understood that ancient formations were not something ordinary cultivators could handle—they were formidable and could even spell certain death for cultivators at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage. To cultivators, ancient formations were nearly synonymous with forbidden areas.

The group also realized why those bandits avoided this area despite its rich Spiritual Energy, and treated it as a forbidden area. The bandits must have known about the formation here. For the elders of the Dayang Sect, this formation was extremely challenging, let alone for the bandit cultivators who probably couldn't withstand even one strike of the Mysterious Thunder.

"How can we be a match for the ancient formation? What should we do, Sect Master?" one elder asked anxiously.

Rumble...

At this moment, apart from Ding Fan, the rest were beginning to struggle physically. Ding Fan, observing the scene, released the Pure Thunder Pill. Instantly, all the Mysterious Thunder above their heads were attracted to Ding Fan's Pure Thunder Pill. The group immediately felt much relieved. They were astonished; they never imagined the Sect Master had such a method—it was simply unbelievable.

"Remarkable, Sect Master!"

...

The elders, observing the Sect Master's actions, couldn't help but praise in admiration. They couldn't believe the Sect Master possessed such a treasure—it was truly incredible.

However, although the group enjoyed a brief respite, their hearts remained heavy. They were still trapped within the opponent's Mysterious Thunder Formation. Although the Sect Master's Pure Thunder Pill absorbed much of the Mysterious Thunder, the group's situation was still not very optimistic. Each wore a grave expression. Even Wang Hu, standing beside Ding Fan, looked worried and asked:

"Big brother, what should we do?"

Ding Fan was clearly less anxious than the others and said calmly:

"While this is an ancient formation, it has been here for hundreds of years. The formation is quite loose by now. Though it still retains some effect, I have a way to directly break it. Moreover, this is an excellent place; it's the perfect choice for establishing a sect."

Wang Hu was taken aback. It was unbelievable that big brother claimed he could break this formation. Ding Fan had already set his sights on this place, intending to establish a sect here. While Wang Hu knew the area was indeed good, with very dense Spiritual Energy, the ancient formation covering it made him wonder whether establishing a sect here was really feasible.

Wang Hu's face showed a trace of doubt, finding Ding Fan's words quite incredible.

Not only Wang Hu, but the other elders who heard the Sect Master's words also looked incredulous. They simply couldn't believe what the Sect Master said. Breaking an ancient formation was astounding enough, and the Sect Master even planned to make this the sect's base. The spiritual energy here was extraordinarily dense, an ideal choice for a sect, but the pervasive ancient formation made establishing a sect here a daunting challenge.

Rumble, rumble...

At this moment, the sky was still filled with mysterious thunder, yet the thunder above Ding Fan and his group had significantly diminished. Even so, everyone's mood was still extremely heavy. Although the sect leader's Thunder Pill could absorb significant amounts of this thunder, it was not a long-term solution. Without a way to quickly escape from here, everyone might meet their end today.

While everyone was deeply worried, Ding Fan suddenly and alone threw out several array flags. Immediately, a relatively large formation appeared, enveloping everyone within it. Suddenly, the noise around them quieted considerably; the mysterious thunder in the sky was no longer attacking them, all blocked by the array set up by Ding Fan.

For a moment, everyone was stunned by Ding Fan's move, filled with shock in their hearts. Clearly, they hadn't expected the sect leader's formation skills to be so advanced, to the point of arranging one formation within another — it was almost unbelievable! However, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to trust the sect leader's words. Indeed, the ancient formation wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, otherwise, the sect leader wouldn't have been able to set up a formation at all.

But everyone was somewhat skeptical of the sect leader being able to unravel the ancient formation, something clearly beyond the capability of regular cultivators, and even formation masters couldn't achieve this step. After all, ancient formations were incredibly formidable. Could the sect leader really do it? There was a lot of doubt in their hearts; although the sect leader was a high-level formation master, this was an ancient formation.

Formation masters know that the skill level of modern formation masters is nowhere near what it once was, and the formations they arrange can't compare to the ones before. The path of formation has indeed regressed significantly, primarily because formations are passed down orally. The departure of former formation masters was a huge loss to the discipline.

If those former masters managed to teach a few outstanding disciples before they passed, things might be alright. But if their disciples didn't learn well, subsequent generations could become increasingly inferior. Obviously, this phenomenon is very common, which is why formation masters today are not as good as those before. Many ancient formations remain unbreakable even by high-level formation masters; truly an embarrassment for the field.

But there's no choice, because the tradition of the formation world lags behind. Formations are considered the most mysterious and powerful existence in the Cultivation World. Even transcendence tribulation stage cultivators become powerless when trapped in a Nine Stars Formation, only existing to be obliterated.

Thus, upon realizing the formation before them was an ancient one, everyone was troubled, as even high-level formation masters couldn't tackle such a thing. Could the sect leader genuinely manage this? Although they knew the sect leader wasn't someone easily thwarted, at such a youthful age, could a formation master truly reach the level of a high-level formation master?

Even as high-level formation masters, those would struggle to unravel an ancient formation...

At this moment, Ding Fan did not share the elders' concerns. After completing the formation for the group, Ding Fan and the others could remain within his arranged formation and move a bit freely. As long as they didn't leave the array, the outside thunder wouldn't attack them. Next, Ding Fan started moving within his formation, extending his divine sense to examine the ancient formation outside. Ding Fan believed that regardless of the formation type, once the core is located, it can be unraveled. Although the formation was ancient, it had existed for a very lengthy period — if not a thousand years, then it's surely been hundreds.

From this, Ding Fan clearly felt the ancient Mysterious Thunder Formation was already notably weak, otherwise, not to mention setting an array inside this ancient formation, even the Pure Thunder Pill would be unable to absorb its thunderbolts. Ding Fan also felt great respect for this ancient Mysterious Thunder Formation — for it to have sustained its power after so long was truly unbelievable!

As Ding Fan continued to search for the formation's core, he set up defensive arrays. Though these wouldn't last long within the Mysterious Thunder Formation, they'd hold for a while, even allowing the complete protection of Wang Hu and the others beyond the formation. But this didn't mean Ding Fan could endlessly set up such arrays.

Materials for array arrangement were starting to run low for Ding Fan, especially after he had set numerous arrays last time, including a high-grade Seven Stars defensive array, which consumed a significant amount of materials.

But Ding Fan didn't choose to immediately lead everyone to escape due to dwindling formation materials. Escaping now would deplete these resources, making returning to unravel the formation uncertain timing. Additionally, after his sect disciples eradicated the bandit group, Dayang Sect was exposed.

Hence, finding a concealed place to set up camp was imperative, and clearly, this spot was perfect. Not only did it have the ancient formation for concealment, but the spiritual energy here was extraordinarily dense. Establishing a sect here would accelerate the disciples' cultivation progress drastically, especially with provided medicine pills, including supreme quality ones.

Ding Fan believed constructing Dayang Sect here would significantly abbreviate the time to regain its shining past, possibly within two years.

At that point, he'd fulfill He Zenfen's wish. His responsibilities would be largely completed, granting him freedom to do as he pleased. The thought filled Ding Fan with eagerness.

As Ding Fan relentlessly searched for the ancient Mysterious Thunder Formation's core, Wang Hu and some other elders of Dayang Sect closely followed, their hearts nervous for Ding Fan. They clearly understood the implications if the sect leader couldn't find the formation core, as the ancient formation was not easily handled — not something they could confront.

Yet Ding Fan had no alternatives; only to gamble. The stakes were their lives and Dayang Sect's future!