# Chapter 255: Sixth-Rank Formation
Han Qiu's speed was slightly faster than Zhang Ruochen's, and she quickly caught up to him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Even if we join forces, we are definitely no match for Huo Jingcheng. I was already injured when I fought with Zhenling Princess. I might even be more seriously injured than you."
"Then what do we do?"
"Escape! If there's no other choice, we'll have to fight him to the death."
Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu were already moving extremely fast, but Huo Jingcheng was even faster, closing the distance between them.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Flying within the gale, Huo Jingcheng swung his arm and slashed out two more wind blades.
In their current state, there was no way they could withstand the power of the wind blades.
Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu both lunged to the left almost simultaneously, rolling on the ground and narrowly dodging the attack.
After they fled the forest, thick white fog suddenly appeared in the air. The ground was littered with broken walls and ruined buildings—crumbling city walls, shattered streets, and bones of humans and barbarian beasts scattered everywhere.
"What's going on? Where is this place?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Han Qiu, however, showed a hint of joy. "I know! This is a low-level ruin called 'White Fog Ancient City.' It's said to be the place where White Fog Half-Saint once lived. But after a long time has passed, it's been completely abandoned. We actually escaped to White Fog Ancient City—we're saved!"
"Low-level ruins might pose some threat to Mysterious Extreme or Earth Extreme martial artists, but for Heavenly Extreme martial artists, they're not dangerous at all. Do you think a low-level ruin can stop Huo Jingcheng?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu said, "I remember there's an underground palace in White Fog Ancient City. Maybe it can hold him off. Zhang Ruochen, follow me."
Huo Jingcheng chased behind them, continuously sending out wind blades that shattered the broken buildings in White Fog Ancient City into pieces.
"Rise!" Huo Jingcheng roared.
A powerful wind force lifted an entire wide street into the air, and massive stone blocks hurtled toward Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu.
Zhang Ruochen activated Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, transforming into a phantom dragon that weaved between the stone blocks, dodging them with ease.
"Pfft!"
Han Qiu, however, didn't have Zhang Ruochen's superior movement technique. She was struck in the back by two stone blocks, spat out blood, and her delicate body was sent flying forward.
With a *swish*, Zhang Ruochen shifted sideways, caught Han Qiu, held her in his arms, rolled once, and charged straight through the entrance of the underground palace.
Huo Jingcheng pursued closely, also trying to rush in.
"Boom!"
The stone door of the underground palace fell from above, blocking Huo Jingcheng outside.
The stone door was over fifty meters tall, crafted from hard diamond iron sandstone. Even for a Heavenly Extreme martial artist, blasting it open was no easy task.
"Thump! Thump!"
Zhang Ruochen, holding Han Qiu, tumbled down the stone steps and landed at the bottom of the underground palace.
Zhang Ruochen was already covered in wounds. This fall felt like his entire body was falling apart. He lay on the ground, not moving, breathing heavily.
It had been too close—they had almost been caught by Huo Jingcheng.
Han Qiu was held in Zhang Ruochen's arms, pressed against his body, also not moving. Earlier, she had been struck in the back by two stone blocks, suffering severe internal injuries, and had nearly fainted.
She lay on Zhang Ruochen's chest, her arms around his neck, and whispered, "Thank... thank you..."
At this moment, they were almost in zero-distance contact, an extremely intimate position.
Feeling the two soft mounds pressing against him and catching a faint fragrance with his nose, Zhang Ruochen immediately snapped back to his senses. His fingers touched Han Qiu's back, gently pushed her body, and moved her aside.
Zhang Ruochen sat up with difficulty, took out a light-attribute spirit crystal, and infused it with true qi.
The spirit crystal emitted a bright light, illuminating the underground palace.
The underground palace was extremely spacious, about one hundred and twenty meters high, two hundred meters long, and eighty meters wide—a vast empty space, like an underground training ground.
On the stone walls of the palace were carved many ancient patterns, which seemed to be some kind of formation markings.
Han Qiu had also sat up, her face somewhat pale. She looked at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Thank you for saving me earlier."
Zhang Ruochen looked at her with some curiosity. "Didn't you already thank me?"
"Did I?" Han Qiu's cheeks grew hot. Afraid that Zhang Ruochen would dwell on what had just happened, she added, "I completely don't remember what happened earlier."
"If you don't remember, then forget it. Hurry up and heal your injuries! This underground palace has been abandoned for too long. The defensive formation has long since lost its effect. A single stone door won't hold Huo Jingcheng for long."
No sooner had Zhang Ruochen finished speaking than a loud crash came from the direction of the stone door, shaking the entire underground palace slightly and sending dust falling.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
Huo Jingcheng began attacking the stone door. Each wind blade he slashed left a deep mark on the door.
Almost every second, the door would shake from the impact.
Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu didn't dare delay. They immediately took healing pills, sat cross-legged, and began to recover.
An hour later, Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and stood up. Hearing the loud noises from outside, deep worry showed in his eyes.
After an hour of recovery, Zhang Ruochen's injuries had healed about ten percent, but full recovery would take at least two more days.
Given the defensive power of the underground palace's stone door, it wouldn't hold for two days—probably not even two hours.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the formation patterns on the underground palace's stone walls, pondered for a moment, and walked over.
Han Qiu also opened her eyes and saw Zhang Ruochen's actions. "What are you doing?"
"In our current state, once the stone door is breached, we're dead for sure. We won't even have a chance to escape."
Zhang Ruochen cupped his chin, staring at the patterns on the wall, gently tracing them with his fingers. "If we can repair the formation inscriptions of this underground palace and activate the defensive formation, then even if Huo Jingcheng's cultivation were ten times stronger, he probably couldn't break in."
Han Qiu shook her head. "It's useless. The formation here was personally inscribed by White Fog Half-Saint—very profound. A formation master from Yuntai Sect Manor studied it for three months and still couldn't figure it out."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I'm not a formation master, but I've read many advanced formation books and have some understanding of formations. Maybe I can repair part of the formation inscriptions here."
Han Qiu gave Zhang Ruochen a disdainful look. "I don't know where you get your confidence. If even a formation master couldn't figure it out, do you think you can understand it thoroughly in one hour?"
"That formation master from Yuntai Sect Manor is at most a fourth-rank formation master. Do you think he's read fifth-rank formation books? Sixth-rank formation books?"
"Have you?" Han Qiu asked.
The corner of Zhang Ruochen's mouth curled up slightly. "If I'm not mistaken, the formation inscriptions on the underground palace walls are a sixth-rank formation."
Formation masters were a highly respected profession in the Kunlun Realm.
A city or a sect without a formation's protection could easily be breached by barbarian beasts, leading to massacre or annihilation.
Therefore, every city would set up a city-protecting grand formation, requiring at least a third-rank formation master to complete the setup.
For example, the city-protecting grand formation of Yunwu Commandery's royal capital required a fourth-rank formation master to supervise its construction. Its power was enough to crush a Heavenly Extreme martial arts myth.
In the thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge, a fourth-rank formation master was already at the pinnacle.
As for the sixth-rank formation Zhang Ruochen mentioned, it was something Han Qiu dared not even imagine.
Sixth-rank formation books—not even Yuntai Sect Manor or the inner academy of the Martial Market Academy in Heavenly Demon Martial City would have them.
Han Qiu looked at Zhang Ruochen with some shock. "That formation master from Yuntai Sect Manor also said these were sixth-rank formation inscriptions. Do you really understand formation inscriptions?"
"Not understand, just read many sixth-rank formation books," Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
The complexity of a sixth-rank formation was unimaginable to ordinary martial artists. To fully explain a formation, a sixth-rank formation master would need to write at least a book's worth of material.
In other words, one formation was one book.
If a sixth-rank formation book were to circulate, it would be fiercely contested by formation masters. Even gleaning some insights from it could elevate their formation mastery to a higher level.
But hearing Zhang Ruochen's implication—that he had read many sixth-rank formation books—made Han Qiu find it incredibly hard to believe.
If Han Qiu knew that Zhang Ruochen had also read many seventh-rank and eighth-rank formation books, what would she think?
Han Qiu asked, "How confident are you that you can set up a sixth-rank formation?"
"Set up a sixth-rank formation?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "With my current understanding of formations, there's no way I could set up a sixth-rank formation. But repairing this sixth-rank formation—there's some possibility. And I don't need to fully repair it. Even repairing just one-tenth would be enough to stop Huo Jingcheng."
Zhang Ruochen took out an inscription brush and, based on his understanding, began the repair work.
The inscriptions of a sixth-rank formation were extremely complex, profound, and delicate, severely testing a formation master's spiritual power. Even a single small mistake could prevent the formation from functioning.
A sixth-rank formation master was someone Zhang Ruochen himself had to look up to.
Their spiritual power had already reached forty or more levels.
They could use spiritual power to communicate with birds and beasts, or transmit messages to people a thousand miles away.
Repairing a sixth-rank formation was a significant challenge for Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen didn't dare to touch the complex inscriptions casually. He could only repair some simple ones. Even so, he was extremely cautious, fully concentrating as he immersed himself in the formation inscriptions.