Deep within an underground chamber, there was an enormous room, spanning three to four hundred square meters. The space was filled with a cold, ominous atmosphere that created an unsettling feeling, making one's skin crawl instinctively.

Wu Di carefully pointed toward the underground chamber and said, "Senior, this is the place."

"This place is rather interesting." Lin Zheyu surveyed the chamber before asking curiously, "Were the formations here and the ones on the island all set up by you?"

Lin Zheyu had always been deeply interested in formations. Ever since cultivating the golden runes, his fascination with formations and restrictions capable of connecting with heaven and earth and drawing upon the power of the Great Dao had only grown stronger.

His golden runes contained the profound truths of heaven and earth, along with the Dao resonance of natural laws. Likewise, formations and restrictions carried similar principles. Perhaps the two shared common ground and could be studied together, with insights from one illuminating the other.

"Yes, Senior," Wu Di replied. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Though visibly nervous, Wu Di's face inevitably showed traces of pride and confidence when the conversation turned to formations. Despite lacking the backing of a powerful sect, he was confident that when it came to formations, very few disciples of major sects at the same realm could surpass him.

"Very good. Later, organize everything you know about formations and give me a copy. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly," Lin Zheyu said calmly.

Lin Zheyu had long been eager to learn about formations, but the knowledge was extremely costly, and the openly available material was often superficial and incomplete. Despite this, Wu Di, who seemed to lack a strong background, exhibited such deep expertise in formations that he was clearly an excellent person to learn from.

The path of Immortal Martial Cultivation more or less reached its limit upon entering the Shackles Realm. Even the alliance leaders of the Martial Alliance had to study other paths and integrate them into martial cultivation to forge entirely new ones.

Some individuals converted to the Immortal Dao, others merged it with martial cultivation, and some practiced demonic arts. Bai Lin, the leader of the Martial Alliance in this region, had chosen to combine shamanic arts with martial cultivation, cultivating both at the same time in an effort to forge a previously unseen path. Until these pathways were fully explored, it was uncertain whose approach was truly correct.

Although Lin Zheyu had yet to advance to the Shackles Realm, he had already begun walking this path long ago. Back when he was still in the Blood Qi realm, he laid down an incomparably solid foundation and cultivated ordinary blood qi far beyond what normal martial artists could achieve. That was when he first stepped onto this road.

Later, he condensed the true origin and, despite neither opening the Bridge of Heaven and Earth nor unlocking the three great divine repositories, still attained strength comparable to that of peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivators. Such overwhelming power allowed Lin Zheyu to glimpse the immense latent potential of the path he had forged for himself. But even that was still not enough.

Lin Zheyu's realm was still too low, and his accumulation of knowledge and understanding of Dao resonance and natural laws remained far from sufficient. Up until now, he had been crossing the river by feeling for stones, advancing while standing upon the shoulders of giants.

Alongside martial cultivation, he had also drawn support from the Immortal Dao, the barbarian totem, and demonic patterns, which together allowed him to reach his current achievements. However, once he entered the Shackles realm, he would no longer find stones to guide him. From then on, everything would depend entirely on his own efforts.

As a result, Lin Zheyu had to take every chance to gather, refine, and deepen his understanding. Regardless of how strong Origin Force became, it still relied on Lin Zheyu as its base. Origin Force is like fire, while his knowledge and understanding of the Dao and natural laws serve as the fuel. Only by collecting enough dry wood could the flames of Origin Force burn brighter.

"Yes, Senior!" Wu Di answered. Though he quietly let out a breath of relief, a trace of unwillingness still flashed through his eyes.

Wu Di felt that, from the senior's tone, it seemed his life had been spared for now, though the price would be the formation knowledge he had painstakingly accumulated over the years. The thought filled him with bitterness, but he did not dare reveal it. Strength dictated all things. When facing a powerhouse like Lin Zheyu, simply surviving was already fortunate enough.

"What is that?" Lin Zheyu pointed toward a purple fruit within the chamber. It resembled the ginseng fruit from television dramas in his previous life and gave off a tantalizing fragrance.

The fruit's aroma was incredibly rich, carrying an aura that seemed capable of intoxicating the soul itself. Even with Lin Zheyu's unwavering will, he could not help but feel the urge to swallow it whole in a single bite.

Wu Di quickly suppressed the entranced look on his face and hurriedly explained, "My Lord, this is the Thousand-Year Purple Infant Fruit. It is a treasure used by cultivators who have no hope of reaching the Golden Core realm, allowing them to cultivate a False Core instead."

In Wu Di's view, someone who had cultivated to Lin Zheyu's level could recognize the extraordinary nature of the Purple Infant Fruit even without knowing its exact use. Rather than trying to hide anything, it was better to answer honestly and perhaps earn a sliver of goodwill in return.

"So it's actually a Thousand-Year Purple Infant Fruit. In this era, for such a treasure to still grow outside the grotto heaven realms..." Lin Zheyu said in surprise.

"This world is vast beyond imagination, while there are only so many grotto heaven realms. It would be impossible to draw the entire world into them. This underground chamber was something I discovered by chance. The Purple Infant Fruit will fully mature in less than ten years. If you wish, I can continue tending to it and personally offer it to you once it ripens."

Wu Di spoke with utmost respect, his attitude completely cooperative.

He had encountered far too many geniuses and powerhouses from great sects and major factions. Such people were often arrogant by nature and could be described as yielding to softness but not force. If he cooperated obediently enough, they might not even care about the little he possessed.

After studying the Purple Infant Fruit for a while, Lin Zheyu quickly lost interest as he said, "No need. Keep it for yourself."

The fruit was truly very valuable, but that was all there was to it. Wu Di's suspicion was correct. Despite killing numerous people throughout his journey, Lin Zheyu still considered himself fundamentally good. He upheld the belief that even minor kindnesses should be repaid generously. Wu Di was unusually cooperative from the start, offering no resistance and causing no harm to Lin Zheyu.

As a result, Lin Zheyu felt no desire whatsoever to kill him and seize his treasures. He was not some utterly depraved devil. If he could casually commit murder and robbery without reason, it would mean his values had already completely collapsed.

"First, organize the formation knowledge related to the formation outside your cave dwelling for me. As for the rest, compile everything into a complete and systematic set."

After sweeping the chamber with his senses and finding nothing else besides the Purple Infant Fruit, Lin Zheyu casually gave the order before his figure flickered and vanished from the chamber.

"Yes, Senior!" Wu Di responded respectfully.

Watching Lin Zheyu disappear in the blink of an eye, Wu Di finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.

This senior doesn't seem like a bad person. At least he's not one of those bloodthirsty devils from the Chaotic Star Sea. Wu Di secretly rejoiced.

If some other powerhouse from the Chaotic Star Sea had discovered the secret hidden on his island, not only would the Purple Infant Fruit be gone, but he himself might have ended up refined into a puppet.

***

Two days later, Lin Zheyu sat cross-legged within Wu Di's cave dwelling, holding an ancient piece of hide in his hand. The parchment appeared to be crafted from the hide of some unknown spirit beast and carried the heavy aura of countless years. Upon it was recorded the Heaven-Deceiving Formation.

As Lin Zheyu gazed at the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation recorded on the hide, his heart filled with amazement.

The Heaven-Deceiving Formation... a formation capable of deceiving even the heavens themselves, concealing heavenly secrets and obscuring fate. Truly heaven-defying.

When cultivated to the absolute peak, the path of formations could likewise attain heaven-reaching power. If Wu Di were ever able to fully comprehend the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation recorded on this hide, then no matter how powerful Lin Zheyu's perception became, he still would not be able to pierce the formation and detect Shi Weiping's aura.

The Heaven-Deceiving Formation possesses the power to deceive the heavens. Though this is only an incomplete formation, if I can comprehend even part of its mysteries, I may be able to use it to conceal my aura and hide my presence...

Lin Zheyu's thoughts raced rapidly as countless flashes of inspiration surfaced within his mind.

In Lin Zheyu's eyes, demonic patterns, totems, and formations all shared a common foundation. They were all mediums constructed from patterns that embodied the profound truths of heaven and earth, allowing one to communicate with the immense power of the world itself.

If he could integrate the Dao resonance patterns contained within the Heaven-Deceiving Formation into the golden runes on his body, then Lin Zheyu would no longer need to fear others using secret arts to track his location. Of course, reaching that level was still a distant goal. Even now, he had yet to fully unravel the mysteries hidden within the golden runes on his body.

Lin Zheyu casually played with the cyan glass-like bracelet, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his lips as he thought, But with this thing, I should at least be able to manage for now.

The bracelet had been taken from Shi Weiping. After studying it, Lin Zheyu discovered that it could briefly obscure heavenly secrets. However, the ability consumed an enormous amount of energy, so under normal circumstances it was primarily used for warning and concealing or altering one's aura.

With this bracelet, if that old fellow from Soaring Cloud Pavilion uses some special method to pinpoint my location, I'll be able to detect it in advance as well.

Once he understood the bracelet's functions, Lin Zheyu immediately realized how Shi Weiping had managed to escape ahead of time every single time before. The moment the bracelet issued a warning, he would briefly activate its heaven-concealing ability, immediately flee, and retreat to one of the hiding spots he had prepared beforehand.

By repeating that process, he could evade pursuit again and again. Lin Zheyu could do the same when facing that old fellow from Soaring Cloud Pavilion.

"Senior, is there anything else I can help with?" Wu Di, who had been waiting quietly nearby, asked cautiously after seeing Lin Zheyu return to his senses. He had just been summoned over to answer a series of questions regarding the Heaven-Deceiving Formation and its related formation principles.

"Nothing else for now. Finish organizing the formation knowledge into a complete system as soon as possible. Oh, right, has the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation outside the main hall been repaired yet?" Lin Zheyu asked.

When he first attacked the island, his slash was extremely powerful. It not only damaged the massive formation surrounding the island but also affected the incomplete Heaven-Deceiving Formation outside the main hall of the cave.

"It was repaired last night. However, activating this formation requires a huge amount of resources, and one of the key materials is almost used up. Even if activated, it can only function for less than a day. If needed, I can activate it now and go buy the resources right away," Wu Di said nervously, hesitating slightly.