Chapter 639 639 - Dark

Noah dived toward the terrain as soon as he made sure that the area was safe.

The lines stretched for a while, they created a large formation that covered an area a few hundred meters large.

Noah knew that such a formation could be considered big according to usual standards, but he didn't have much knowledge about that field.

He had seen many teleportation matrixes and the shining lines of the copying formation in Chasing Demon's old training area, but he had never studied that inscription method.

Yet, June had given him a brief explanation.

Generally speaking, formations worked as large diagrams that only required "Breath" to function once set.

Their effects originated from the precious materials and meanings that the formation master put inside the lines when the formation was created.

Inscriptions added meanings and effects to certain items through the same process, but the will used was far denser compared to other inscription methods.

Runes were condensed meanings that took specific forms, and that could produce the intended effects only when a large number of them were used.

Instead, formations used faint meanings, precious materials, and vast arrays to work.

Those were the three leading schools when it came to inscriptions, and all three of them had variegated branches.

The Elemental forging method was a branch of the first category that used incredibly strong wills to fuse precious materials and make them surpass their natural limits.

June's Perfect circuit was a branch of the third category that used her centers of power as cores and her body as a precious material.

Countless branches had appeared through history, but only so many of them had managed to survive the discoveries and achievements that happened through the years.

For example, Divine Demon's inscription method was a branch that made use of both Attunement method and formations and could be considered quite innovative even in the current era.

Of course, Noah knew only the general description of each category, but he had never studied them since the Elemental forging method was a perfect match for his peculiar situation.

He had only learnt from June that formations required a long period of study due to the nature of the materials and lines used to create them.

Each material would express a different effect depending on the meaning applied and the form of the lines.

Formation masters could only learn to predict those effects by testing every material in different ways and adding that knowledge to their studies, it was a vast field filled with long periods of collection of data.

June was better off compared to most students of the formations' filed since she inherited Eccentric Thunder's accumulated knowledge in the matter.

Yet, she would have to perform those tests once her path led her in areas that Eccentric Thunder didn't explore.

'The materials used to trace these lines appear quite consumed. How old is this formation?'

Noah thought as he analyzed the lines of the array inside the mystical fog.

The lines of the formation were still intact, and no trace of erosion could be seen on its surface.

However, the materials inside them were old and rotten, Noah could even smell traces of mold from it.

'I can recognize some similarity with the teleportation matrixes that I've seen, but there are also a lot of differences. I wonder if it works.'

Noah could only compare that array to the others that he had encountered through his life, but there was a limit to how much he could understand.

'A teleportation matrix would explain the complete lack of clues concerning the Flying demon sect and Dreaming demons sect. Might as well try it.'

Noah took a few hundred Credits from his space-ring and threw them inside the formation.

The formation autonomously absorbed the "Breath" contained inside those shining crystals, and some light began to be radiated by its lines.

However, the light soon vanished, and the Credits turned into dust when the "Breath" inside them was depleted.

'It works, but the energy wasn't enough to activate it.'

Noah thought as he observed the process.

It was needless to say that the formation interested him.

It was something that had remained hidden in the depths of a danger zone for who knows how long, that array wasn't mentioned even when he studied the records concerning the mystical fog.

Noah flew again in the air and decided to finish his exploration of the danger zone.

He would focus on the formation only after he made sure that no clues about the two demon sects could be found inside the fog.

The exploration turned out to be fruitless, he didn't even find other rank 5 creatures in the lower tier to hunt.

He didn't expect to find traces left by the demon sects after discovering the formation, but he still wanted to finish his exploration.

The mystical fog seemed suitable to become his hunting area in the future, and he wanted to have a clear understanding of it before focusing on other matters.

In the end, he returned to the spot where he found the array after sending a few mental messages with his inscribed notebook.

The messages had been sent to the rank 5 elders of the Hive, but even their knowledge carried no trace of that array.

'This formation might be as old as the mystical fog, even Chasing Demon knew nothing about it.'

Noah guessed when he heard the elders' answers.

Ordinary cultivators had no reason to explore the mystical fog, and those in the heroic ranks wouldn't venture in an area that couldn't provide them any benefit.

Not all danger zones could be turned into sources of income, the desert on the southwestern coast was an example of that.

Also, the mystical fog was easily crossable in the Efrana nation, there was no need to venture through its deepest parts to reach the opposite area of influence.

'Let's see where it goes.'

Noah began to throw Credits inside the formation as soon as he took that decision.

The array absorbed the "Breath" inside the Credits, and its lines began to shine as more and more energy filled their surface.

The power radiated by the lines soon surpassed the human ranks and reached for the heroic ones, but the formation kept on absorbing "Breath" nonetheless.

Noah continued to throw Credits until all the lines began to exude a white light, and their functioning appeared to have reached some sort of harmony.

The formation was active and stable.

Noah didn't dare to step inside it blindly and summoned Havok to test it.

The Night falcon came out of Noah's sleeveless arm and left a trail of corrosive black smoke as it flew inside the light.

The formation flickered at that point, and Noah lost control of his Blood companion.

Havok's body was destroyed when that control was severed, but it soon reformed over his shoulder as if nothing had happened.

Noah kept his eyes closed as he focused on the foggy images that his Blood companion had shared with his mind during the teleportation.

A vast, dark-blue sky had filled Havoc's vision for an instant.