"Check it," Wan Lei said impassively, feigning nonchalance as he continued observing the formation, not daring to look back at Liu Naiweng.
At this moment, he couldn't afford to let the other party see his face. His shock had not subsided, nor had he recovered from the chilling realization of the conspiracy. He feared any slightest unusual change in his expression might alert the other party.
Even a pig, if it lived for nearly ten thousand years, would develop a mind as cunning as a demon's.
"You still need to check?"
"Of course, I'm a professional formation master. Every formation is my creation. Before its final completion, I always give it a final check. I won't allow even the slightest flaw in my work."
"Have you finished checking?"
"Finished. There were a couple of minor flaws, two positions were reversed. I'll switch them later. The crucial thing is, the red crystal you gave me is broken."
Wan Lei spread his hands, presenting the hexagonal red crystal to Liu Naiweng. A faint crack marred its surface.
"Where did that crack come from?" Liu Naiweng frowned slightly.
"How should I know? Perhaps it was there before you gave it to me, or maybe I accidentally bumped it while setting up the formation. Do you have another one? Give me a replacement."
"This one is too precious. I only have this one. However, there's another one in the family. I'll have someone deliver it now. Don't break it again, or you'll stay here to accompany this demon."
"Hey, what do you mean by that? You're talking as if I broke it on purpose! If that's the case, I'm quitting." Wan Lei feigned anger.
"Hmph." Liu Naiweng snorted coldly and flew up again.
Wan Lei also snorted and flew to a position, picked up a piece of material, then flew to the opposite side to replace the previous piece with this one. He then carried the replaced material back to its original position and set it in place.
He had mentioned earlier that two positions were reversed. Liu Naiweng witnessed all these actions.
Subsequently, Wan Lei, pretending to be bored while waiting for the crystal, began observing the crystal he held. Ostensibly, he was observing it, but in reality, he was pushing his formation-eye technique to its absolute limit, analyzing this formation material he had never seen before.
Wan Lei had encountered at least tens of millions of formation materials, both from the immortal realm and the Lei Feng realm. He had even entered the treasure vault of the Heavenly Formation Pavilion. Yet, he had never seen this particular material.
In Wan Lei's eyes, this red crystal was completely exposed from within. The wisps of bizarre, thread-like red energy within made his heart palpitate. If his guess was correct, this should be a crystal from the demon realm.
The two reversed positions earlier were actually intentional misplacements by Wan Lei. He wanted to subtly sabotage the grand formation without being discovered by Commander Qiong Shen or Liu Naiweng. Although he was confident they wouldn't notice, and indeed they wouldn't, such subtle changes could only be detected by a formation grandmaster like himself. If the demons possessed such skill, wouldn't they have set up the formation themselves?
Simply reversing those two positions was not enough. He had to do something with the stone in his hand. He dared not damage the stone, nor could he inject even a trace of energy into it. The fake crack he had deliberately created earlier was also erased. He extended his spiritual sense into it, altering the energy structure within the stone. Although it remained thread-like red energy, its distribution was different from before. It had even become inverted.
The Liu family's efficiency was remarkable. In less than fifteen minutes, another red crystal was delivered. Liu Naiweng took the crystal and approached Wan Lei.
"This is the last one. Be careful. If you break it, the demon might break free. You understand formations better than I do; you should know that a complete grand formation can often be ruined by an inconspicuous crack."
"I know." Wan Lei nodded calmly, took the red crystal, and turned to fly downwards.
"Wait a moment, give me back the original one." Liu Naiweng's voice echoed again.
Wan Lei paused and raised his hand. He had just received the new crystal with his right hand and casually placed it together with the one in his left. Now, both were in his left hand. With a slight pressure from his left index finger, a crack identical to the previous one appeared on the new hexagonal crystal. The difference was that the previous crack was fake; this one was real.
Wan Lei opened his palm, controlled the new crystal with the crack, and flew it towards Liu Naiweng, muttering dismissively, "What, do you think I'd covet a broken crystal from you?" As he spoke, he sounded a little guilty, deliberately making the other party think he was trying to pocket a crystal.
"Hmph, you greedy brat. You want to snatch any benefit you see, without considering whether you can handle this thing?"
"Why can't I handle it? Give it to me, and I'll eat it for you to see." Wan Lei pouted and walked to the front of the demon commander, looking up at Commander Qiong Shen. "Hey, this is the final step. Don't try to sneak attack me. My people are watching from above. If you dare to attack me, you won't kill me in one blow, but you will surely die."
After warning the other party, Wan Lei crouched down and placed the last red crystal at Commander Qiong Shen's feet. Then, he traced the patterns, connecting all the pre-reserved patterns to the red crystal. As these red threads entered the crystal, the entire grand formation immediately reacted with a chain reaction. Chains appeared on Qiong Shen's body, and his demonic energy and blood surged back into the formation along these chains.
This absorption, even for Qiong Shen, who had endured seven years of torment, caused him to involuntarily groan, his face contorted in pain.
"Hahaha, you were so arrogant just now. Now that I have you suppressed, you're the prey. You called me names, you dog. Taste the formation I personally set up! I guarantee you'll wish for death but find it a luxury, making you feel like death is an unattainable hope, hahahaha!"
Wan Lei flew upwards, grinning smugly and arrogantly, muttering, "Made a fortune, made a fortune. This time I earned spirit stones, suppressed a demon commander, and got to see him suffer. This experience is enough for me to brag for years."
Liu Naiweng did not stop him; instead, he flew back to the ground with Wan Lei.
"Was it successful?" Fang Xiaoyu hurried over.
"It must be successful. With your husband's skills, are there any formations I can't set up?" Then, Wan Lei clasped his hands to Liu Naiweng, "Senior Liu, this junior will take his leave. If you have any more matters like this in the future, just find me. This junior will not refuse."
"Good, see you later." Liu Naiweng nodded faintly.
Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu, led by Fang Xiaohui, flew outwards. Watching their receding figures, a sharp glint suddenly flashed in Liu Naiweng's eyes.
"Little thief, your words today... were a bit excessive."