Chapter 1606.2: Basic Formulas

“These basic formulas haven’t been explored to their fullest either, there’s plenty left for us to discover. We need time to excavate more and perfect them,” remarked the Formation Sovereign. “I employed formula dao just now and determined that the formulas of formation dao should resonate with the major cycle. There should be three hundred and sixty-five of them, but I’ve sadly only found one hundred and eight.”

Every basic formula discovered beyond the one hundred and eight would be a qualitative improvement for formation dao. The basic formulas were the foundation of everything; the more there were, the more advanced formulas they could coalesce and thus the more formations that could be derived.

Every formula represented a certain pattern. Patterns were the underlying rules of everything; they were the product of law and order. The existence of pattern meant trending toward a great dao.

The Talisman, Treasure, and Alchemist Sovereigns nodded in agreement. There should also be three hundred and sixty-five basic formulas for their daos as well, but their level of enlightenment wasn’t high enough to discover them all.

“And that’s not it, all of the other supplemental daos should possess basic formulas too. Even combat arts and cultivation methods are the same way,” Yun Zhongzi elaborated.

Ever since Lu Yun had raised the theory of a system of formulas, those gathered on the mountain felt the notion to be very accurate in describing the pattern of formula dao. Thus, they’d readily embraced the concept and used the word “formulas”.

Lu Yun and Qing Yu hadn’t been able to get a word in edgewise; they sat off to the side and listened to everyone chatter excitedly. The sect geniuses looked blankly at legendary characters they would ordinarily never have a chance of seeing. What a sight it was to see these titans gesticulate and debate wildly!

There were times when they agreed with each other, and times when they didn’t. When the Alchemist Sovereign disagreed with another Star Sect pill grandmaster on the notion of formula theory, they almost broke out in a fight.

“As important as the various formulas are, we should not forget that the basis of supplemental dao cultivation is soul force. Thus, the basics of formula dao should be soul force.

“Senior Yun Zhongzi’s Totality Method provides us with the basic framework of cultivating soul force in the context of formula dao. However, the current delineation of soul force in the fourth realm is a bit crude at best.” the Alchemist Sovereign suddenly raised. He sent the pill grandmaster flying with a kick—the man was still running his mouth at him! The sovereign continued smoothly, “I feel that there should be a unit of measure for soul force—not for purposes of battle, but to facilitate calculations, derivations, and refinement.

“Let us use pill refinement as an example. We can use formula dao to determine the amount of ingredients each pill recipe needs, but we overlook a crucial problem—the amount of soul force each recipe requires!

“At our cultivation levels, adding the proper amount of soul force is an instinctive action. But for those whose levels are not high enough, it remains a murky notion. Each step of cleansing, distilling, and refining requires a different amount of optimal soul force at different timings. How much soul force should be imbued in a cauldron of Purification Pills is a lesson in theory and calculation.”

“Very true, it’s definitely a problem!” the Treasure Sovereign hastily concurred. “Some of the disciples I’ve taught are enormously talented in refinement, but it’s always a problem of soul force when they fail. If we can calculate the precise amount of soul force needed for every step, our failure rate will greatly decrease. We might be able to eliminate it altogether!”

Deploying soul force was one thing, controlling the amount used was another. How much soul force necessary in refining treasures, pills, talismans, and formations would affect the quality of the final product and success rate.

These old farts were highly practiced and employed their craft as an extension of themselves, subconsciously understanding how much soul force to instill. But sometimes, even they miscalculated. Many treasures were one of a kind in the fourth realm; the slightest error resulted in total waste.

Thus, soul force was enormously important when it came to refinement.

“There ought to be a formula that calculates the amount of soul force needed in each recipe and method.”

“But… the cultivation of soul force differs from person to person, and the characteristics of each person’s soul force is different as well…”

“Those differences aren’t big enough to cause trouble, they all follow the same pattern. If we find these patterns and arrange them into formulas, that will take care of all of our troubles.”

“A unit of measurement should be easy to determine though.”

“There are ten levels of soul force, from level one to grandmaster. Each level is determined by strength of soul force. As long as we locate their commonalities and standardize measurement, we’ll find other similarities as well,” the Formation Sovereign expounded with gusto.

……

Qing Yu leaned against Lu Yun’s shoulder and stared off into space at existences she was overawed at. She pulled a long face, “I don’t even understand what they’re talking about anymore. Do I have to learn all this?”

Lu Yun dropped a gentle kiss onto her cheek and caressed her hair. “Nope, don’t worry about it. We don’t need to learn any of this and you don’t even need to cultivate soul force. You’ll be the direct beneficiary as soon as they perfect formula dao. Everything will be accessible to you with a thought.

“Formula dao is an independent great dao in the fourth realm, but soul dao falls under the immortal dao in the world of immortals. Immortals have immortal force as their base and possess innate soul force.

“Most importantly is that what they’re describing will be illustrated in the Dao Flower. It will be a theorem that appears in the immortal dao. We don’t need to spend effort to learn it, but it would be better for the other immortals to bend their minds to the task,” Lu Yun gently whispered into her ear, prompting a sigh of relief.

“Let’s go, they’re immersed in dao and no longer need us. Let me go raise your cultivation level.” He wrapped his arm around Qing Yu’s waist and prepared to leave Divine Alchemist Mountain.

She was now a true king, a powerhouse in the Hongmeng, but not one of the greatest. The third realm grew more disorderly by the day as all sorts of unsavory characters had emerged after Lu Yun’s departure.

The various plans that the Curse King and other fourth realm factions had made in the Central Hongmeng revealed themselves, igniting flames of war across the realm.

Fortunately, Qing Yu could easily deal with them thanks to the sword “Quiet” that Lu Yun had left for her. If she could ascend to potentate level, however, it would lessen the danger around her.

Most importantly was that the last key to the Hongmeng Tower had appeared in the past one hundred years, but contrary to their expectations, the little fox hadn’t obtained the Hongmeng Tower.

……

“Wait, don’t go yet!” Yun Zhongzi called out to Lu Yun and transmitted the rest, “Quiet is in that lass’ hand, correct? The two of you should visit the Sword Clan when you have a moment.”

Lu Yun started.

“The Quiet Sovereign King’s passing will be public knowledge soon. I employed formula dao a moment ago and realized that the clan faces the risk of extermination. Since you two wield Quiet, you should visit the clan and help them resolve their danger,” Yun Zhongzi’s tone turned gravely solemn.

After the demise of the Hallowed Emperor, the Di Clan had moved to the Central Hongmeng. It was no coincidence that they’d obtained the divine sword that the Quiet Sovereign King had turned into upon his death.

However, too many things had changed in the tomb, so there’d been many secrets that Yun Zhongzi couldn’t tell Lu Yun. Too many pairs of eyes in the fourth realm kept constant watch over the tomb. He only dared slightly mention Quiet when they were on the Divine Alchemist Mountain on the World Star.

Lu Yun nodded slightly.

“The full heritage of Argent Snow is with the Sword Clan as well. That is one of the reasons why they face annihilation.”

The legacies of the eight soul weapons were a major mystery that the assembly sought to solve with formula dao. However, this was possibly one of the most complicated topics in the fourth realm. Lu Yun had died two hundred and thirty-four times despite detailed tutelage from the spirit of Argent Snow, and he’d only grasped a tiny bit of understanding to manifest the ripples on the snowflakes.

He’d gifted that knowledge to the Star Sect.

As it stood now, formula dao, the theories and formulas it’d given rise to were insufficient to determine the full legacies. Lu Yun had also come up empty-handed after a hundred years, which was why he’d shifted to studying formula dao and establishing it in the fourth realm.

<blockquote><b>Translator's Thoughts</b>NGL, I hated translating this chapter soso much. Did you guys enjoy reading it, at least?

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