Douluo Continent: What should I do if I don't have a cheat system?

Chapter 260 Tang San Learns Formation Techniques While Searching for Treasure

Tang San was in a particularly good mood upon returning to Wuhun City.

The Spirit City possesses a treasure trove of resources but remains unaware of it.

Thinking about this made Tang San unable to contain his joy.

Although he hasn't found the treasure land yet, he believes that with a better understanding of it, he will find it sooner or later.

The three treasure lands are also known as the three treasure basins.

In the past, he didn't believe that there could be a treasure trove in the world.

However, based on Dugu Yan's description, the place in Sunset Forest is very likely the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Unfortunately, it was destroyed by a meteorite.

However, since the Yin-Yang Wells of Ice and Fire have appeared, what about the other two great treasure troves?

Tang San guessed that since the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could exist in this world, the other two great treasure basins must also have them, but few people knew about them.

Just like the people in this world who initially didn't know what herbs were used for.

Later, the Spirit Hall announced the profession of alchemist, but in Tang San's opinion, the current level of this profession is only at a basic level of using herbs.

Alchemists existed in my previous life, but they were very rare and held a very high status.

Tang San felt this was an opportunity. Others might not know, but only he knew the limits of this profession. If he could find the Treasure Trove, his future would be unimaginable.

Tang San then picked up his phone, not to look at cultivation-related information, but to look at records of terrain, local customs, and culture.

Information or similar content regarding the other two treasure sites could not be found.

However, there was one message that surprised Tang San.

In the far north, there is an active volcano whose summit emits steam that rolls and rises in the air, while the mountain itself is covered with ice and snow.

Normal mountains are usually covered with snow-capped peaks and lush greenery on the slopes.

But this volcano defied this rule; its summit steamed, as if revealing the fiery fire within. Meanwhile, its body was covered in ice and snow, creating a unique landscape.

Although it is an active volcano, its behavior is somewhat strange.

Unlike other volcanoes, its summit is shrouded in heat, as if covered by a mysterious veil.

The substance in the hot air was shrouded in white mist, making it impossible to see what was inside.

This has made people even more curious and awe-inspiring about this volcano.

Some adventurers have gone up there, but none of them ever came down again.

Many years later, an 89th-level Soul Douluo, refusing to believe it, went up there.

Six months later, it miraculously came down.

Moreover, his cultivation level has broken through to level ninety.

According to him, he lost his way when he went up there that day.

Wandering aimlessly in the white fog for many days without finding a way out, and running out of food.

Then he saw a hot spring, next to which grew many brightly colored plants that were obviously poisonous.

Hungry, he spotted a plant among the others that looked like a sweet potato.

Why does it look like a sweet potato at first glance? Because half of the sweet potato is sticking out from underground.

I was so hungry at the time that I didn't care about anything else. I dug out the sweet potato and continued to look for a way out.

This sweet potato is huge, about the size of a basketball.

After taking a bite, you'll find it contains a lot of energy, enough to last for days without eating.

He persevered thanks to this special sweet potato. As he ate fewer and fewer sweet potatoes, one day, his cultivation level suddenly broke through.

He had been stuck at level 89 for seven or eight years and thought he would never break through in his lifetime, but he did break through now.

I was so excited because I had made a breakthrough, I felt like I was floating on air.

However, relying solely on the energy from sweet potatoes is clearly not nutritionally complete. While it may not lead to starvation, it will result in insufficient physical strength.

An accident occurred; he lost his footing and fell down a slope, immediately losing consciousness.

When he woke up again, he saw ice and snow. Fortunately, he was strong and his martial soul was the Frost Dragon Lizard, so he was not frozen to death.

Seeing the ice and snow, he knew he had finally made it out.

There was still a little bit of sweet potato left, which I kept in my hand because it was something that could save my life, but I lost it when I fell down the slope.

After descending the mountain, he told others about his deeds.

Since there was nothing to prove the existence of the sweet potato, but his cultivation had indeed broken through, some fearless individuals, carrying ample food, stepped into the white mist once again.

However, these people were clearly not so lucky, and they never came down again.

The story of the sweet potatoes on the mountaintop was later passed down as a tale.

……

Upon reading this story, Tang San felt that it was definitely a true story and not something made up.

Moreover, this sweet potato is not an ordinary sweet potato; it is a kind of magical herb called Earth Dragon Golden Melon.

This explains why this Contra Legend was able to break through.

His martial soul is the Frost Dragon Lizard, and he himself possesses dragon blood.

Although it is an ice-type, dragon lizards are born with earth-type attributes.

The attributes are compatible, which is why he was able to break through.

If it were any other kind of medicinal herb, eating it directly like that would mean that even if he didn't get poisoned or explode and die, he wouldn't live for long.

All I can say is that this Soul Master was lucky; it was a case of blind cat catching a dead mouse.

After watching it, even Tang San exclaimed how lucky this Soul Master was.

If I'm not mistaken, this mountaintop, even if it's not a treasure trove like the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, is at least a place similar to it.

Treasure basins are formed only by natural terrain.

In the Sunset Forest, he confirmed that the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire had once existed, thus proving that the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire could be born in this world.

So it's not surprising that there's a Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire on an active volcano in the far north. After all, a world can't only have one treasure land, and it's possible for two identical treasure lands to appear.

The far north is Tang San's base of operations.

They then sent a message to the believers, instructing them to search for the active volcano in the far north.

Not long after, the believers sent word that they had found three active volcanoes that matched Tang San's description.

Is it that easy?

It went too smoothly, so smoothly that Tang San could hardly believe it.

Since I started studying alchemy materials, everything has been going very smoothly.

The days of struggling, overwhelmed, and impoverished when facing the Soul Master profession are gone forever.

I'm definitely suited to be an alchemist. I've chosen the right path, and everything is going smoothly with good luck.

There are three mountains that match the description; you'll have to go and check them out yourself.

If others go up there, although they might never come down again, as described in the story, it doesn't prevent them from encountering the magic herb up there. If it gets damaged, that would be bad.

Therefore, Tang San decided to go and check it out himself. However, there was a problem: if he went to search, he would definitely not be able to return in a day or two. He did not want to give up his work at the Spirit Hall Academy.

After all, he wasn't a trainee. He could access all the information just by using his employee number, and he had even bragged about it to Yu Xiaogang and the others before.

Although they registered, the information they saw was different. For example, they couldn't see the information about Soul Masters, Alchemists, and Array Masters on their phones.

There's too much material. Some of it can't be printed, and it's impossible for memorizing it all in a short time. Copying it is even more impossible. There's so much material, sometimes thousands or even tens of thousands of copies. How long would it take to copy it all?

Taking leave for a day or two is possible, but taking leave for several months is simply impossible. The number of guards is regulated, and the number of people needed for each position is arranged in advance. If there is a shortage, they must be replaced in time. It is impossible to leave a position open for one person indefinitely.

My initial excitement was immediately dampened.

This position is highly coveted, and once it becomes vacant, someone will fill it immediately. I paid a great price when I applied for the job.

His followers bribed the academy's guards to give him a high score on the written test. In addition, he also had to be strong enough to eliminate other applicants in the actual combat.

Tang San really didn't trust anyone else to do it.

Besides the immortal herbs, if the place is also a treasure land, I will also plant some medicinal herbs.

After thinking for a long time, Tang San came up with a solution: if only he knew how to set up a teleportation array.

Find someone to supervise you for a few days, and once you've found the perfect spot, set up a teleportation array. Then you can go whenever you want—wouldn't that be wonderful!

But do I have any talent for formations?

After encountering obstacles in his Soul Master career, Tang San made a special effort to learn about these professions, which all emphasize talent.

Those with talent can quickly master the basics, while those without talent, even if they dedicate their entire lives, will achieve limited success.

Talent is something that can't be tested; you can only learn and try.

Ah, if only Yu Xiaogang could help me study the formation.

Yu Xiaogang's talent is probably not great, but he is good at summarizing, which should help him learn formations better.

such a pity!

Yu Xiaogang has gone mad!

Tang San had previously looked into foods that permanently boosted attributes, but the boosts were minimal and required frequent consumption.

Not only are the prices high, but reservations are also required, which is difficult for the average person to secure.

Moreover, the more you eat the same dish, the less it improves your health; in fact, after eating too much of it, it will no longer improve your health at all.

The actual improvement is completely mismatched with the price.

After learning all this, Tang San stopped trying to find out more. Yu Xiaogang probably knew this principle too, but he was so caught up in it that no one could pull him out.

Tang San genuinely looked down on these dishes. If he could obtain the immortal herbs, even without refining them into pills, he could gain permanent attribute effects simply by eating them, and the effects would be far superior to those of the dishes.

Now I have no choice but to learn formations myself. Once I learn formations, I can set them up anywhere and there will be no problem of getting lost.

The idea was wonderful, but when he opened the array information on his phone and saw a bunch of rule runes, he was immediately confused and his head was spinning.

Even a basic formation was written over sixty pages long.

The first-level fire-starting formation is the simplest and most basic formation.

Tang San followed the instructions in the document blindly and set up the plan more than ten times. Unexpectedly, he succeeded once.

This success greatly boosted Tang San's confidence.

It turned out to be the case.

Formations can be learned simply by inscribing their patterns.

The only difficulty is that the formation needs to be drawn in one go, which requires a high level of mental strength.

Tang San successfully inscribed a level one fire-generating formation using his level nine spiritual power.

Having succeeded in just over ten attempts, Tang San felt that his talent was absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled.

It's a pity that the fire-lighting formation was created as the simplest and most basic formation so that there would be enough people to learn formations.

Most people can learn it in ten or more tries.

Tang San had no one to guide him and worked in isolation, which is why he felt very capable.

It is indeed impressive that they managed to create it through multiple attempts without understanding the details of the formation, which surpasses most people's abilities.

The premise is that most people are like him, knowing nothing and mechanically copying the formation.

A fire-starting formation, great! I'll never have to worry about not having fire in the wild again.

The next formation we'll learn is the attack formation, the fireball formation.

Once activated, this formation will condense ten large fireballs to attack the target at once, with a power equivalent to that of a Soul Saint.

Is this second formation that powerful?

Are we starting to learn formations equivalent to Soul Saint attacks?

That's right, that's it.

Attending the Spirit Hall Academy and graduating from the advanced academy almost always leads to becoming a Spirit King or Spirit Emperor, with those possessing exceptional talent directly becoming a Spirit Saint.

At this point, there is an opportunity to apply to the research academy to continue studying. Only in the research academy can one come into contact with professions such as Soul Master, Array Master, and Alchemist.

With such high individual strength, it would be difficult to arouse their interest if the formation they learn is of low power.

Interest is the best teacher.

Jerry advocates an interest-based teaching method.

In the realm of formation masters, the first formation helps you quickly get started and boosts your confidence; the second formation is designed to pique your interest.

The subsequent learning is like playing a game, progressing level by level. If you don't understand the previous level, it's difficult to learn the material for the next level.

This kept everyone's interest in learning alive.

such a pity!

Others have teachers who personally guide them and teach them step by step.

But Tang San didn't have that!

The second formation is more than ten times more complex than the first.

Of course, it's a different story if you have a teacher to guide you.

Tang San was unaware of these things.

After buying the materials and reading the information on the second formation, I started to blindly apply it.

Tang San had enough mental strength, but when the formation was finally completed, it was a cyclical process and couldn't be activated only once.

When it comes to loops, the starting and ending points are very important.

Tang San didn't understand any of this, so he simply copied the formation.

If even one route is drawn incorrectly, the formation cannot be completed.

Besides the rules and runes mentioned above, there are thousands of possible patterns for the fireball formation, but only one is correct.

One in a thousand.

The difficulty can be imagined.

For someone like Tang San, the only options are to either insist on drawing all the array patterns once, or to gamble on luck.

The premise is that he can deduce all the array patterns on his own.

If we only deduce a few dozen possibilities, there's no guarantee that any of them will be correct.

Before Tang San began to depict the characters, he did some research and found twenty routes. It would be easier to start depicting the characters from these routes.

Tang San really does have the protagonist's halo!

Of the twenty routes, one is correct.

Moreover, the correct route was found during Tang San's fourth portrayal.

He mastered it in just four tries, which made Tang San realize that array masters could be wiped out in the blink of an eye!

At this rate, I'll be able to learn the later formations very quickly.

He couldn't help but marvel at his own exceptional talent in formations.

With great enthusiasm, Tang San created several fireball formations, succeeding each time, which boosted his confidence to the max.

Having fully mastered the second formation, Tang San opened the information on the third formation.

……

(End of this chapter)