"Don't think that way either. Let's look at it from another perspective. Precisely because the art of formations has declined and fewer people practice it, it highlights your unique value.
Think about it, when facing enemies without formation-breaking artifacts, you only need to set up a formation to trap them, and then they're at your mercy, aren't they?
After all, most people in the Immortal Realm nowadays don't understand formations."
"What you said makes sense."
Wan Lei was not one to underestimate himself. Formations were just one of his many skills; his primary identity was still that of a cultivator, and his forte lay in the Way of Lightning.
Considering that Chai Yan was a prodigy of the Five Elements Hall and likely possessed a formation-breaking artifact, Wan Lei decided not to deploy the immortal realm formations he had learned. Instead, he created one himself.
This formation was named the Dead Yin Kui Water Formation. While the name might not sound impressive, it was actually a formation Wan Lei had conceived by integrating various types of deathly, gloomy energies with the properties of the Purple Rain, which could devour all living energy and vitality.
The extremely Yin and dark energies, coupled with the Purple Rain's characteristic of devouring all life energy and vitality, naturally countered the fire-attribute disciples of the Five Elements Hall to a great extent.
Most importantly, Wan Lei had incorporated numerous illusions within the formation, meaning he had designed many false formation cores, with only one being the true one.
The patterns of many dao rhyme runes within the formation would direct towards the false formation cores, serving as a form of deception.
The formation Wan Lei had set up was practically prepared for dueling against Grandmaster-level formation masters of the same rank. Even a Grandmaster-level formation master would find it difficult to break the formation before perishing.
After completing all this, Wan Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief and concealed the formation.
Then, he took out some fine wine and food and invited everyone to partake, creating an atmosphere of casual gathering and feasting.
This was also a ploy to deceive their enemies.
After all, if the few of them appeared vigilant and serious, the enemy would immediately realize they were waiting for the Five Elements Hall disciples, possibly suspecting a trap.
The group sat on the ground. Dada, without any hesitation, grabbed a wine jar and began guzzling it down. After tasting Wan Lei's wine last time, he felt that the alcohol in the bars was merely sweet water.
The four little ones were munching on snacks brought by Xia Yubing.
"Here, have a drink. You guys shouldn't just eat," Wan Lei said, handing over a wine jar.
The four little ones paused their snack eating, exchanged glances, and showed hesitation.
"What's wrong?"
"Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol."
Wan Qianxin said very seriously.
"...What kind of rule is that? Children in our hometown start drinking at a very young age."
"This is our family's strict rule."
Bao Bao said timidly, her large eyes constantly darting towards the wine jar in Wan Lei's hand.
It wasn't just her; all four of them had the same expression, a look of curious desire coupled with the fear of being discovered, much like innocent maidens wanting to experience their first forbidden fruit, playfully resisting yet yielding.
Wan Lei, on the other hand, resembled a disheveled young hooligan seducing innocent maidens.
"It's fine, just take a sip. Haven't you ever tasted alcohol before? Look how happily Dada is drinking."
"We haven't, but we can't drink."
"Why?"
"No matter what we do, our family can find out."
Ah, Saints. They are omniscient, aren't they?
Wan Lei nodded, but he didn't give up. It was about coaxing children; the approach needed to change. The key wasn't about temptation, but about helping them overcome their inner resistance.
"Have you forgotten where we are?"
"Isn't this the Lava Death Domain?"
"No, it has another name: the Land of Lawlessness. It means that no law can reach here, including your family rules.
Even if your family finds out, you can say that we are in the Land of Lawlessness, so shouldn't we do lawless things?"
"Right!"
The eyes of the four little ones lit up, finding Wan Lei's words very reasonable.
"Come on, we are good friends, good companions, good brothers. Naturally, we should share meat, drink wine, and fight battles together. Don't you agree?"
"Agreed!"
"If we are brothers, then we drink this whole jar!"
Wan Lei handed each of them a wine jar. The four little ones beamed and started drinking.
Fang Xiaoyu kicked Wan Lei fiercely upon seeing this.
This guy, even deceiving children.
Wan Lei grinned. He didn't have any ulterior motives for letting the children drink; he simply found it amusing.
It was akin to how men enjoy seducing virgins, deceiving innocent girls into prostitution, or persuading prostitutes to turn over a new leaf…
It was simply about breaking someone's boundaries and having them do something they'd never done before.
"Cough, cough, cough, it's so spicy, spicier than chili snacks."
Bao Bao's face was flushed red. She clutched the wine jar and wiped the wine from the corners of her mouth.
"Spicy? Then try this. It's ice-cold. This is wine from Yuan Jun's hometown, Jingxian Shuang."
"So cool, so cool."
"This is wine from Qingwu's hometown…"
"This is wine from Huofeng's hometown…"
In the Lava Death Domain, there was no sun or moon, no distinction between day and night. For countless years, the sky had been filled with an eternally unchanging fiery glow. Therefore, the group had no idea how long they had been drinking until all four little ones were thoroughly intoxicated.
Boasting after drinking is ageless. Wan Qianxin clamored that he was the foremost sage of the prime dimension, Xia Yubing shouted that she would marry Han Xiaoyun when she grew up, Han Xiaoyun slapped him back and suggested he pee to see his reflection, while Bao Bao incessantly declared she would kill ten thousand demons.
Wan Lei, Fang Xiaoyu, and Dada watched them, roaring with laughter.
Suddenly, the radar scanner placed on the ground emitted a sharp beeping sound.
Wan Lei picked it up and saw that at the foremost edge of the scanner, hundreds of dazzling red dots had appeared.
The enemy had arrived.
"Everyone, keep drinking. Don't reveal anything. The enemy is here."
"The enemy is here? Kill them!"
"The humble Five Elements Hall, I shall turn them to dust with a flick of my finger!"
"Beat the Five Elements Hall! The Five Elements Hall are all bad guys!"
"There's not a decent person in the Five Elements Hall, kill them!"
The four little ones, swaying drunk, stood up, shouting their intent to fight the Five Elements Hall to the death.
And Bao Bao, braver still, hugged Fang Xiaoyu and puckered her small lips.
"Sister Xiaoyu is too beautiful. I want a kiss, a kiss… mwah…"
Bao Bao's small mouth was pushed away by a fair and translucent little hand.
Wan Lei and the other two stared dumbfounded. Holy hell, have these four little ones gotten drunk?!
We were just pretending. We're supposed to fight the enemy to the death later. Can you four handle this?
Although this wine was meant for cultivators and could nourish the body and replenish energy, one could still get drunk if they didn't intentionally suppress the effects.
Cultivators also had their troubles. Sometimes they needed to drown their sorrows in wine and get drunk, and during such times, they generally wouldn't intentionally suppress the alcohol's effects.
If they needed to fight, they could simply expel the alcohol with spiritual energy. However, the four little ones clearly lacked this experience and had no idea how to expel the alcohol. They were even deaf to Wan Lei's shouts.
Soon, the disciples of the Five Elements Hall appeared on the horizon, flying rapidly towards them.