A few months after he entered the sect and before he went to the spirit valley, little Xi decided to test himself on a trial by fire set by the formations peak. He thought the best way to understand eastern magic diagrams would be to physically study them and not just read about them. He just reached level three by this point and thus qualify for the test.
The test was located in the valley of spells behind the formations peak. The valley had three regions in total with differing types of tests, the last of which is a special place that only those who had special permission can enter.
For the first region a disciple who wishes to do the test just needs to unravel the formations on the entrance of the valley. As one goes deeper the formations become harder.
After unravelling and passing one formation it will automatically reform for the next test taker. The main goal for the first region is to get to the next region where the rewards can be found. However actually passing through the first region is pretty hard.
It is a kilometer in total with a diagram every meter, that is a thousand of diagrams total, each harder than the next. Even ordinary advanced class disciples can only pass five hundred meters at most if they stayed at the valley for long periods of time.
After a thousand meters is the second region. The second region is actually a huge diagram array on itself. It creates a space within that is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside.
It is one of the more mysterious areas within the sect along with the Alchemy Garden of the medicine peak and the Flame Caves of the Artifice peak.
In the second region are different paths. Each path is riddled with formations a test taker unravels. It is believed that once all the formations of their chosen path is unravelled the test taker will receive a direct transmission and be able to learn a powerful formation spell.
This is why it's called the valley of spells. It is another way to learn formations aside from using points. However even passing the first region is quite hard. How much more the second region.
It is believed that only inner court disciples and those truly amazing advanced disciples were able to obtain a formation spell from the second region.
As it is still early in the year only a few disciples can be seen on the valley. Little Xi has casted an illusion charm on himself making him look like a teenager with forgettable common features.
When he stepped into the valley those who were there only spared him a glance and then totally ignored him. He had read a few scrolls in the scriptures pavilion, however even he knows that wouldn't be enough for him to advance even ten meters inside the valley.
What he has is his extreme sensitivity and control over energy, so he can easily see the core diagrams of these formations. Along with the memories in his mind he is able to easily comprehend each stroke and symbol of any diagram formation he will see, as long as he spends enough time that is.
The first diagram was quite simple. It was only a barrier type formation and he was able to easily see its structure. He was also familiar with the symbols from what he had read in the scriptures pavilion. The next one was a simple defensive formation and he also easily unravelled it. He continued to unravel each diagram after studying them a bit noting the different functions of the symbols and their interaction with each other depending on the type of diagram they are used.
Some of them are new to him which he took special care to understand. He can easily dismantle them after identifying the weak point but he was there to learn, and so he did.
As he advanced to the twentieth meter the formation became more difficult and symbols he was not familiar with started appearing. However, after understanding the structure and relationship of each symbols with how the energy interacted with the formation, he was able to easily deduce the functions of each new symbol. Thus he learned more about the basics of eastern magic as he advanced further in.
If he wanted he could actually be able to learn each of these formation diagrams. Of course simply unraveling them is different from actually learning to cast them. As the latter would require a lot of time, unless a scroll is available to explain the step by step procedure. Trying to learn a formation just by dissecting it is truly too hard. It's like trying to learn how to sew an intricate dress by unraveling the thread one by one.
However as he already had a huge arsenal of spells that he only need to modify with eastern magic standards, he wasn't keen on memorizing more spells aside from those that is actually helpful to him. He only needs to conform the magic information in his memory and with eastern magic.
When he reached fifty meters he passed a few intermediate disciples who looked at him enviously. At most intermediate disciples would reach about a hundred meters within the valley. However seeing how slow he was advancing these disciples gave a sneer. What they didn't know is that little Xi was only a beginner class and is actually trying to learn from these diagrams like how one would study scrolls. If they knew this they would surely be puking blood.
As he neared seventy meters he realized that the formations were actually quite similar and there were no more new symbols appearing. The twenty meter was a special spot where the difficulty of the formations increased by a level. I suppose the first twenty diagrams can be considered as low grade. He thought. Since there are more types of diagrams in the midgrade level I suppose the difficulty of diagrams will once again increase on the hundredth meter.
Having this conjecture and since the diagrams are not giving him new information he started to unravel them faster.
When he reached the ninety meter spot, more disciples have already taken note of him. Seeing that he doesn't look familiar but is now advancing fast these disciples assumed that he was an advanced disciple who had been away for a long time and have recently come back. Naturally he would be faster than them. Hence they hid their envy and returned to their own task.
Reaching the hundredth diagram his theory was proven. The difficulty increased as there are new symbols appearing again. He again proceeded to study them slowly, understanding their purpose and effects.
When the other disciples noticed he slowed down they sighed in relief, at least he isn't one of those monstrous advanced disciples who liked to show off, they thought.
There were those monstrous advanced or inner court disciples who would unravel diagrams so fast they only seemed to be walking in their garden. They, as ordinary disciples however need to be careful. Although lowgrade and midgrade formations are not deadly for them, if triggered they can still cause painful injuries, especially attack formations.
That is why disciples who challenge the valley of spells are adviced to bring recovery pills in case of accidents. As for high-grade diagrams, a single misstep can cause serious injuries even death.
Although there is supposed to be an elder responsible for the valley that will act in case anyone is in danger, no one has ever seen him or her.
Those who met with accidents would only find themselves wrapped in a shadow which would remove them from the valley. Hence there had never been a known casualty within the first and second region.
As for the third region no one really knows anything about it except those who enter. And they aren't able to divulge anything.
Little Xi ignored the other disciples as he immersed himself in learning the symbols, diagrams, and formations. His understanding about eastern magic grew as he advanced further and further. This allowed him to gain ideas on how to modify the spells in his memory. Ofcourse he would need to test them out first before he is one hundred percent sure they will work.
He truly was consumed with his work that he didn't notice that he is now reaching the five hundredth diagram.
And by now the other disciples were making bets if he would be able to pass the five hundredth diagram. It was another special spot which delineate a change in the quality of diagrams. And everyone knows only those talented advanced disciples are able to pass through the five hundredth mark. As he neared the 500th diagram everyone grew excited. Some said he was only an ordinary disciple and wouldn't be able to unravel it. Some actually hoped he could so that they would be able to witness a true talent in person.
Finally he paused and everyone else looked at him. He had reached the five hundredth diagram. Although there are no more new symbols in this diagram meaning it is still a high grade diagram its difficulty in unraveling has actually increased.
This is because the relationship of the symbols became more complicated. He studied it further determining the difference of the five hundredth diagram from the previous ones. After a few breaths his eyes gleamed.
So that's what it is! He thought.
It's actually a combination of diagrams. There isn't a single diagram but two, making it more complicated. Combining diagrams needs precision, a single mistake can cause instability making the whole array fail.
The diagram does not only double the effect but actually multiply it a few times. A truly good formations master can combine diagrams seamslessly making the effect ten times more effective. Aside from that, combining diagrams can also cause a totally different effect. Hence the energy and symbol relationships become very complicated.
As he studied the diagram he was able to identify the two different components. After that by studying the energy flow he was able to understand how it was able to become stable and what the effect of the combined diagram is.
Ingenious! he thought. He then made a hand symbol and pointed at the core of the diagram allowing it to unravel. After studying it although it was ingenious, it was still something that isn't particularly helpful to him. It did however widen his perspective about eastern magic.
Seeing him unravel the 500th diagram at first, the disciples thought it was only a fluke. However as they watched, little Xi continued to unravel the following diagrams after studying them a bit.
After he realized that these were combination of diagrams he already knew what to look for. If a formation is interesting to him he would spend a bit of time studying them. Especially those that is similar to a spell in his memory. If not however he would only check them for a few minutes to understand the energy flows and structure.
As he advanced further the other disciples were finally convinced. A rare talent! They were in the presence of rare talent. Who exactly is this person. Is he on par with disciple Wei? Or disciple Xue? Maybe he is even on par with the innercourt disciples? No, they shook their head. If he was on par with the innercourt disciples then we should've heard of him before.
Little Xi didn't really notice these things that were happening. He was focused on learning as he advanced to six hundred meters, then seven hundred, and eight hundred.
Don't tell me he will reach the second region? Everyone had their eyes bulging as they watched the fading back of little Xi. If that happened, today would be quite a day for them to witness someone who is able to enter the second region, a place where only innercourt disciples are able to step into and also those monstrous advanced disciples.
They wouldn't be really able to see him cross the second region. Although as cultivators they have quite a good eyesight, they would need to be at least a qi condensing level to see past a thousand meters.
As afternoon came little Xi have reached 990 meters in. There had been no more disciples near him since he passed the five hundreth mark, as everyone was more than a few hundred meters behind. He had seen a lot of possible diagram combinations and a lot of different effects depending on the combination.
And it had truly made his understanding grow wider. He was already sure that he would be able to reach the thousandth and final diagram. It truly had been quite an informative journey for him. After this he plans to hole himself and perform experiments to modify his arsenal of spells.
He wasn't particularly keen on the second region. As he wasn't really looking to learn a new, albeit powerful spell. He thought maybe he would come back next time after he finished with his experiments. He then looked at the final diagram and smiled.
This was the most difficult so far. But with his new understanding he was able to easily see the structure and function of the diagram. He then made a few handsigns before pointing at the diagram allowing it to unravel. What happened next was unexpected to him. In the information he got the first region was only a test so that one can enter the second region where the real rewards lay. However, when he unravelled the thousandth diagram a voice rang in his mind.
Congratulations disciple, you have passed the test of the first region and will be rewarded with points. A jade suddenly came flying which he caught and scanned. It actually had two thousand points inside. It can be exchanged for a midgrade artifact or a midgrade pill or even a midgrade spell. This was a bit generous of them he mused. Right now he wasn't in particular need for points, but having more is still good.
The voice continued, if you wish to continued step on the right portal which will bring you inside the second region. If not step on the left portal for you to leave the valley.
Two portals appeared in front of little Xi. He has already planned to leave as he had finished his objective for today. Thus he stepped unhesitatingly at the left portal. After he disappeared a figure appeared where he was.
Interesting the figure thought. A disciple who didn't wish for anyone to know his achievements he felt the need to cast an illusion spell on himself. The figure chuckled but didn't really act. He only find little Xi a bit interesting, only those who have something to hide didn't want fame and glory.