On the Sun Star, three figures were exceedingly busy.
Sun Essence Stones?
Collected.
Purple Sun Grass?
Collected.
Sun Essence Gold?
Collected.
Blazing Sun Grass?
Collected.
...
These were Li Yi's three avatars, collecting heavenly treasures on the Sun Star.
At the same time, within the innate grand formation of the Sun Star, Tongtian was completely engrossed in its profound mysteries, unable to extricate himself.
Initially, Tongtian had merely traced the formation's operational trajectory with his divine soul. He hadn't anticipated that this formation, being the Sun Star's protective array, was exceptionally profound.
Even with Tongtian's extraordinary talent, it was difficult to grasp the formation's workings simply by observation. Tongtian made a resolute decision: he would project his divine soul into the formation's core.
With a flash of white light, the Twelve-Grade Pure World White Lotus was unleashed by Tongtian, hovering above his head and emitting a white radiance that enveloped him.
Just as Tongtian manifested his divine soul and was about to enter the core of the formation, Li Yi was greatly alarmed. This formation was an innate killing array; wouldn't entering it with one's divine soul be courting disaster? A single misstep would surely lead to death and oblivion.
The moment Tongtian revealed his divine soul, Li Yi quickly summoned the Xuanhuang Tower, charging into the formation. The instant Tongtian's divine soul vanished, Li Yi's Xuanhuang Tower immediately flew above Tongtian's divine soul, emitting a strand of Xuanhuang Qi that enveloped it.
After Tongtian's divine soul disappeared, Li Yi said indignantly, "Third Brother is too reckless. I'll have a good talk with him when he comes out."
Having said that, he dared not be careless and quickly activated his divine abilities to protect himself and Tongtian's physical body.
Tongtian's soul body entered a special space. The Xuanhuang Tower above his head emitted a strand of Xuanhuang Qi that enveloped his entire being.
Tongtian gazed at his elder brother's Xuanhuang Tower, his eyes filled with tears, lost in thought.
"This grand formation is incredibly profound. I found it difficult to comprehend merely by tracing its operational trajectory, so I had to risk it. I never expected elder brother to use his own supreme defensive treasure to protect my divine soul. When I first entered, I saw elder brother also enter this formation. Elder brother is not proficient in formations, and without the protection of the Xuanhuang Tower, if anything were to happen, my sin would be immense," Tongtian murmured.
After speaking, he turned to leave, but this space was created by the formation itself.
It was not a place one could enter and exit at will.
If he could not comprehend this formation, he might never return.
Just as Tongtian wanted to go back, he found he could no longer find the way. Tongtian's mind was filled with worry for Li Yi's safety, leaving him no heart to comprehend the formation's mysteries. Unable to find his way back, he became agitated and unleashed a barrage of attacks upon the space.
Although the Way of Formations was not Tongtian's primary path, his mastery of it was likely unparalleled throughout the Primordial World.
In his agitation, he had no intention of comprehending the grand formation. Seeing he could not find his way back, he decided to break through it by force.
Tongtian's attacks all fell like stones into the ocean, causing not even a ripple.
Tongtian knew that if he could not comprehend this formation, he might truly never return.
He then calmed himself and began to analyze: "Elder brother's cultivation is far beyond mine. Although he knows nothing of formations and lacks the Xuanhuang Tower's protection, elder brother's talent is extraordinary. He should be able to protect himself for a short while."
With no other options, he had no choice but to calm down and comprehend this grand formation. Only by comprehending it himself could he ensure his elder brother's safety.
Li Yi, deprived of the Xuanhuang Tower's protection, could only rely on his own divine abilities to defend against the formation's sudden attacks.
Although Li Yi did not cultivate the Way of Formations, his innate talent and aptitude were extraordinary. Based on several waves of the formation's attacks, he had discerned the rules of its offensive.
This formation was not being controlled by anyone; the attacks generated by its autonomous operation were not too difficult to withstand.
Within the formation space, Tongtian was diligently comprehending the formation's profound mysteries. His divine soul entering this space was indeed extraordinary. Although he hadn't fully grasped it yet, he had a lead.
Tongtian extended his consciousness, quietly capturing the ripples appearing in the space as the formation unleashed its attacks.
In the blink of an eye, a thousand years had passed.
Although Li Yi had discerned the attack patterns of this high-temperature formation, the thousand years had taken a considerable toll on him.
The heavenly spiritual energy on the Sun Star was filled with scorching fire elemental energy, which was incompatible with his own Great Dao. After absorbing it, he had to spend time refining it.
Li Yi glanced at the three figures beside him, who were also showing signs of exhaustion.
These three figures were the Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing avatars that Li Yi had manifested through the "One Qi Becomes Three Pure Ones" technique.
Li Yi had summoned them back five hundred years ago. The three of them had been collecting heavenly treasures on the Sun Star, and in those five hundred years, they had gathered quite a lot.
Five hundred years ago, Li Yi had already begun to feel his strength waning and had summoned them back. The four of them took turns using their divine abilities to hold out until now.
Li Yi looked at Tongtian's physical body, which was sitting cross-legged on the ground, and murmured, "I wonder how much longer Third Brother will take."
"Hahaha! So that's how it is! Formations can work like this!" a voice suddenly echoed in the silent formation space.
Tongtian suddenly stood up from the ground. It turned out that the formation operated according to the principles of the Innate Eight Trigrams, but this space had the ability to twist space, making it the opposite of the outside.
After Tongtian comprehended this formation, his bottleneck in the Way of Formations had also loosened considerably. As long as he comprehended another formation of the same level, he would surely break through.
Having comprehended the formation, Tongtian waved his hand, and ripples spread across the space. A luminous archway appeared in the void. Tongtian stepped into it and vanished from the space.
At the same moment, an archway appeared in front of Li Yi, and Tongtian's divine soul emerged from it.
As Tongtian appeared, the Xuanhuang Tower above his head immediately flew to Li Yi's side, circling happily.
Li Yi also reached out and stroked the body of the Xuanhuang Tower. After all, it was his companion spiritual treasure, equivalent to his brother. Li Yi's feelings for the Xuanhuang Tower were no less than those for Yuan Shi and Tongtian.
As soon as Tongtian emerged, before his divine soul had even returned to his body, he began to apologize to Li Yi.
"Elder brother, please forgive me. Little brother knows he was wrong."
After all, a thousand years had passed, and Li Yi was no longer as angry. Seeing Tongtian return safely, his worried heart finally settled. Li Yi said calmly,
"Return your divine soul to your body first!"
Seeing Li Yi's calm tone, Tongtian knew his elder brother was truly angry this time. He dared not even breathe heavily and quickly complied.
After Tongtian's divine soul returned to his body, he immediately stood up from the ground and came to Li Yi's side, softly calling out, "Elder brother!"
"You've gotten bold, don't you have me as your elder brother anymore? You left your divine soul without a word. If anything had happened to you, how would I explain to Father God? How would I explain to your second brother?"
"Elder brother, please calm your anger. Third brother knows he was wrong. This formation is incredibly profound, and I found it difficult to comprehend merely by observing its operational trajectory, so..."
"So what? So you ran off without a word? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Elder brother~, it was also my first time doing this, and I didn't know the consequences. How could I dare bring elder brother with me? If something happened to you, how could I face living in this world!"
Tongtian spoke, his face already covered in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Li Yi could no longer utter harsh words. He stepped forward and embraced Tongtian, gently saying, "Alright, alright, it's good that you're back safe. Promise me, you'll never do this again, okay?"
Tongtian nodded slightly and said, "I won't, I won't. Elder brother, please give me the Xuanhuang Tower. I was also afraid that something might happen to you without the Xuanhuang Tower's protection. I would never forgive myself then."
Li Yi's heart warmed, and he said, "Alright, alright, you're so old now, why are you still crying?"
Tongtian said sheepishly, "Elder brother is talking nonsense. Where am I crying? It's just that the wind here is too strong, and sand blew into my eyes!"
Hearing Tongtian's clumsy lie, Li Yi laughed, "Yes, Third Brother is right, it's the strong wind. My Third Brother is a man who stands tall, how could he cry?"
"By the way, how is your formation cultivation?"
"The bottleneck has loosened somewhat. As long as I comprehend another grand formation of the same level, I am confident I can break through."
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!"
Li Yi was overjoyed.
"I'll take you to another place. The formations there are no less than this one! Come with your brother."
With that, he led Tongtian towards the pearl shining with silver light in the distance.