Chapter 1054: The Star-Inversion Formation

Princess Qinghe wore a light blue dress embroidered with several delicate flowers.

Her appearance was unremarkable—plain, even—lacking the stunning beauty of the other princesses.

As the battles in Group A concluded, Li Qing slowly ascended the platform. His eyes held no trace of contempt.

This was his first time fighting a formation master since his ascension to the spirit realm. Without knowing what kind of formation the opponent controlled, he had no choice but to give it his all.

Through Xia Wushuang's formation techniques, he had learned that the art of formations in the spirit realm had already reached an incredibly profound level.

Once trapped within a grand formation controlled by an opponent, even if his cultivation was higher, it would become a very troublesome matter.

Formation masters were, by nature, the most adept at fighting opponents of a higher cultivation level.

Therefore, Li Qing planned to suppress the princess with thunderbolt methods before she could set up her formation, preventing her from even deploying it.

But the princess seemed to know her own weakness. Upon ascending the platform, she spoke directly to Li Qing:

"Brother, your dao cultivation is profound, and I admit I am no match for you. How about this: I will set up a formation, and if you can break it, I will concede defeat."

Hearing this, Li Qing chuckled bitterly in his heart.

Since she had made such a request, refusing would make him seem petty and lacking in magnanimity.

Moreover, this was the Imperial Palace—her home turf. Li Qing had no choice but to agree.

"No problem. I shall experience Her Highness the Princess's formation skills. Please, Your Highness, proceed freely."

Princess Qinghe's expression turned utterly serious. She nodded, then tapped the storage bag at her waist with a deft hand.

Soon, a formation plate and eighteen formation flags flew out.

The formation plate settled in the center, while the eighteen formation flags, each carrying a piece of formation spirit material, landed in various corners of the Dao Discussion Arena and plunged firmly into the ground.

Buzz!

Spiritual light spread from the ends of the formation flags, forming an extremely complex and profound grand formation.

After completing the setup, Princess Qinghe said calmly, "This is the Inverted Star Formation, a simplified version of the Great Heaven Star Array. I have made some modifications to make the formation core—the Star Eye—even more threatening."

"If I were the one controlling this formation, I could unleash its full power and make the formation core within it unpredictable."

"However, I will not take unfair advantage of you. I shall have a formation spirit control this formation and fight against you."

As her voice fell, a phantom spirit body appeared in Princess Qinghe's hand, resembling a long-eared rabbit.

This was a formation spirit, a derivative of the Spirit Realm's formation arts, similar to an artifact spirit.

A formation spirit could replace the formation master themselves in controlling and operating certain formations. Some powerful magical formations required multiple people to control and activate, but with the existence of a formation spirit, this manpower could be spared.

Refining each formation spirit was extremely difficult. Not only did it require a powerful and condensed demon spirit as a foundation, but it also needed the engraving of mysteries related to formations into it.

Often, refining a single formation spirit would consume dozens or even hundreds of demon spirits. Formation masters who were not exceptionally wealthy would rarely refine such formation spirits as their assistants.

However, the formation master before him was the princess of a nation, and she was clearly able to afford the refining of a formation spirit.

"Brother, please enter the formation!" Princess Qinghe said.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing nodded and stepped directly into the Inverted Star Formation.

Buzz!

The moment he entered the formation, the scene of the Dao Discussion Platform vanished. His surroundings plunged into darkness, making Li Qing feel as if he had returned to the void during his ascension.

"It also has an illusory effect. It seems to incorporate some illusion formation techniques," Li Qing muttered to himself. He then summoned his divine sense power, concentrating it within his eyes.

As his pupils turned pale gold, the pitch-black night sky grew slightly translucent.

His divine soul was so powerful that ordinary illusion magic had little effect on him. Even the inner demon tribulation he faced when advancing to the void refinement realm hadn't threatened him.

Just as Li Qing was about to use this ability to locate the formation core and break the formation, the surrounding black night sky suddenly lit up with stars. These shimmering stars adorned the sky like scattered gemstones.

Boom!

Li Qing sensed a powerful surge of qi mechanism. He turned around to see the stars behind him aligning into a perfect Nine-Star Conjunction.

The brilliant starlight transformed into an arrow, shooting directly toward his position.

Just as Li Qing was about to dodge, streaks of starlight erupted from the starry sky beneath his feet, entangling him.

Outside, many spectators watching the spell duel showed expressions of astonishment.

"This Formation Spirit is incredibly clever. Its attacks are so cunning and unpredictable."

"Hehe, this Formation Spirit was crafted by a great master at Qinghe's request. To secure it, even I had to make a personal appearance," the Empress said with a gentle smile.

"In Yujing City, formation masters capable of refining such a spirit are few and far between. The only one who would require your personal intervention, Empress Mother, must be the venerable Master Ying, right?" Prince Huai chimed in.

"Indeed. That old man is as stubborn as a mule. Your Imperial Father personally visited him several times to invite him to the palace, yet he never even gave him a friendly glance," the Empress sighed, shaking her head.

"Her Highness Princess Qinghe's talent in formations is also quite remarkable. Ordinary formation masters can only set up arrays by the book, but she can modify existing ones. That's no small feat."

"However, it seems this formation can't completely restrict a cultivator who has mastered the Fire Dao."

Indeed, Li Qing remained calm within the formation. Seeing that he couldn't evade the attack, he immediately activated the Golden Thread Treasure Robe.

Boom!

A layer of golden light surged from his body, completely blocking the onslaught from the Inverted Star Formation.

During the process, Li Qing did not forget to unleash his Heavenly Spirit Fires.

This time, all four Heavenly Spirit Fires began to orbit his body. Although he couldn't draw upon the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth while trapped in the formation, it was no issue for him.

His own mana was already profound enough, and with the circulation formed by his Five Elements Spirit Root, he had no worries about running out of mana.

Li Qing formed hand seals, and the four Heavenly Spirit Fires expanded outward from his body.

"Fire Extreme Dharma Body!"

The four spirit fires completely enveloped him, transforming him into a flame giant that towered within the star-filled void.

Originally, he had planned to find the formation core to break the array, but it seemed that was no longer an option.

The formation spirit was remarkably clever, knowing how to conceal the true core and even creating pseudo-cores to deceive Li Qing.

Testing them one by one would simply take too much time.

Therefore, Li Qing decided to shatter this formation with overwhelming power.

He unleashed the four heavenly spirit fires to their absolute limit. Among them, the Great Sun Golden Flame was the most dazzling, transforming into a Golden Crow that charged wildly through the starry sky.

Boom!