Lin Xiao attempted to use his vital energy, converting it into spiritual power to touch the glowing orb.
However, he found that his spiritual power couldn't penetrate it at all.
He then tried using his vital energy directly, but the result was the same.
Both spiritual power and vital energy were like hitting a resilient mirror, tightly blocked outside without being able to seep in even the slightest.
But when he brought the formation stone close to the orb, the outer layer of light did not resist. In fact, it seemed to welcome the formation stone as if it was eager to invite it in, like a host excitedly urging a guest to enter.
The pull, however, was not strong, and it didn't force the formation stone inside.
When it came to Lin Xiao's hand holding the formation stone, though, the light stopped at his fingertips, and the stone only made it partway in before halting, unable to move further.
Lin Xiao didn't let go.
He retrieved the formation stone and stood to the side, contemplating the space and the glowing orb in front of him, occasionally glancing at the stone in his hand.
This formation stone was something he had obtained from Wei Hai.
Wei Hai was from Pusi Kingdom, and Lin Xiao had heard that Wei Hai frequently traveled between the mortal realm and the cultivation realm. Most of his cultivation had taken place in the cultivation realm, and if not for the spiritual stone mine he had discovered in the mortal realm, he might not have returned at all.
Given this, Lin Xiao reasoned that the formation stone was likely something Wei Hai had acquired in Pusi Kingdom.
Of course, this was assuming such formation stones existed only in the mortal realm.
There was always the possibility that Wei Hai had traveled to other countries while in the mortal realm, as Lin Xiao didn't know much about him. The information he had came mostly from the royal family.
But regardless, the fact that Lin Xiao had encountered two identical formation stones within a year suggested that their quantity couldn't be limited to just two.
Given the frequency of his encounters, it was likely that these stones existed in large numbers—possibly even many.
Hmm…
But all of this had little to do with the immediate situation.
Right now, Lin Xiao's most pressing issues were the problems in Huyang Village and how he was supposed to leave this place.
Perhaps the solution lay within this very space.
Lin Xiao scanned his surroundings, his gaze returning to the formation stone within the glowing orb.
When he first entered, he had felt a sense of familiarity in this space, though he couldn't quite place it at the time.
But when he thought of Huyang Village and the aura there, which was very similar to that of Jishi, he suddenly realized why this space felt so familiar.
The sensation of being inside this space was very much like the feeling he had whenever he stepped into the Jishi mine—at the moment he crossed into the cave.
Back then, he had felt that an invisible force seemed to be isolating the aura of the Jishi within the cave.
He hadn't given it much thought at the time, but now…
It turned out that the Taiyin Sealing Formation was the very formation used to seal Jishi!
And this place was one of the nodes of the Taiyin Sealing Formation.
With this realization, everything made sense.
The Taiyin Sealing Formation must have been sealing the Jishi for many years. The formation was likely vast, and the Jishi deposits beneath the land must be extensive, possibly scattered far and wide.
It seemed the formation had loosened over time, which provided the opportunity for the Jishi faction to exploit it.
As for the formation stone that Wei Hai possessed, it was likely something he had found when a node of the formation loosened—or perhaps was even damaged by the Jishi.
Of course, it was also possible that Wei Hai had taken the stone without realizing its importance. But that didn't matter.
Based on this reasoning, these events were likely recent.
If the dangerous Jishi had appeared much earlier and had more time to accumulate power, the world would already be in chaos!
By "recent," this could mean within the past year or several years, but it was unlikely to be more than a decade…
Lin Xiao's thoughts spun wildly, growing more and more distant from the issue at hand.
Fortunately, he remembered that his purpose was to find a way to resolve the problem in Huyang Village.
Bringing his focus back to the current matter, he considered how to eliminate the Jishi aura that was leaking from this node of the Taiyin Sealing Formation.
Judging by the progression of the villagers' illnesses, it seemed the aura had only begun leaking within the past two weeks.
And the leakage was likely due to a loosening of the formation at this node.
Given recent events, it was possible that the activities of the Jishi faction had caused the formation to loosen, especially at the node closest to the Jishi mine in Huanyou Kingdom.
The formation had likely fallen into disrepair over time, and with the Jishi gaining external allies, an internal-external response had resulted in the current situation in Huyang Village.
It was likely that the Jishi faction's activities were aimed at fully breaking through the Taiyin Sealing Formation.
Lin Xiao had tried using several sealing formations before, but none of them had been able to seal the Jishi.
All the formations he had used that relied on spiritual power either couldn't take shape or were absorbed by the Jishi the moment they were completed.
The large sealing formation he had set up outside the Jishi mine had only held because the mine was already sealed by the Taiyin Sealing Formation.
Now, his only option was to find a way to repair this node of the formation that could fully seal the Jishi.
But he had no idea how to go about repairing the node…
As he pondered, Lin Xiao suddenly recalled the way the glowing orb had reacted to the formation stone in his hand.
Could it be that the glowing orb's response wasn't just due to the stones being of the same origin, but because it needed the formation stone?
Maybe the stones could communicate with each other and provide mutual support?
Thinking of how the glowing orb had clung to his formation stone, Lin Xiao decided it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
So, he brought the formation stone closer once again.
As soon as the stone touched the glowing orb, the outer layer of light clung to it gently, just as before, while still rejecting Lin Xiao's fingers. The light stopped at his fingertips, refusing to move further.
This time, Lin Xiao didn't resist. Instead, he relaxed his grip and let go of the formation stone.
Without his interference, the formation stone was quickly drawn fully into the glowing orb.
Lin Xiao stood outside, quietly observing the situation inside the orb.
Once the stone was completely inside, the two formation stones began to rotate around each other.
As they spun, tiny currents of energy—resembling faint sparks of electricity—began to form between them. These currents grew thicker as the stones' speed increased.
As the energy grew stronger, the outer surfaces of the two stones began to change.
Gradually, their rough, rock-like surfaces smoothed and became polished.
This process continued for about half a day before the two stones finally slowed down and came to a stop.