Lin Mu and his companions reached the location that Luo Liqin had obtained.
Just as he had said, it was right in the center of the Tournament grounds. Or more accurately, it was the central crossroad that split into multiple paths, as one went further away from it.
This was the crossroad that divided the rings into four quadrants.
It was at this junction that a large Dais was being set up.
"Is this even a Dais at this point?" Lin Mu muttered as he finally saw it. "It's more of a platform."
It was two hundred and fifty thousand square meters in size. Each side of it was about five hundred meters wide, having the same width as the road itself. Hundreds of people were gathered here already, with most having come from nearby while some that came after hearing the news.
The most important people though were none other than the members of the Temple. They were standing on the dais and were personally working on a formation array. Thousands of runes were being carved into the elevated ground which was being used as the Dais.
Tens of Formation masters from the temple were involved in it, using formations tools to make the runes. The tools that were carving the runes into the platform were fine carving knives, that flew through the air, making accurate marks in the ground.
Lin Mu could see that the control of the formation masters was fine, each of their strokes perfect.
'Not just that… they seem to be working in harmony with each other. The runes they carve are complementary to what the others make, preventing any imbalance.' Lin Mu noted as he observed it.
"The main reason behind this is the elder in the center." Xukong suddenly spoke, bringing Lin Mu's attention to an old man.
Lin Mu looked over and saw that he seemed to be standing still. But when he used his immortal sense, he realized that man was actually giving out multiple orders to the other formation masters, while also making runes of his own.
He was the one coordinating everything and making sure the formations were being made perfectly.
'Sixth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm?!' But what was even more surprising was the cultivation base of the elder.
He was at the Sixth Tribulation Stage, making him one of the strongest cultivators Lin Mu had seen so far in the Rust Sky world.
"The Temple of the Guardian beasts certainly has some strong experts within them…" Lin Mu said as he gazed at the elder.
The others were observing the process too, feeling amazed by it. After all, it wasn't often that they got to see the members of the temple work personally. Even those that got to enter the temples didn't see them do much.
The members of the temple mostly kept to themselves and didn't interfere in the outside matters much. Their main duty was to look after the temple, and carry out the orders of the Guardian beasts while also maintaining relations with the established powers of the Rust Sky World.
The only times they came out to act personally were when they were either given a order, or when it was the time for the Tournament.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the Temple of the Four Guardian beasts could have become the absolute power in the Rust Sky world if they wished too. After all, they had a lot of cultivators and hidden experts that were very strong.
In fact, even the Emperors didn't know if they had Transcendent Immortals hiding within the temple either.
But it was something highly likely. After all, the only way to stop another Transcendent Immortal was to have their own.
Of course, this was for normal issues. If things went so far as to where the Temple itself was being threatened, the Guardian beasts wouldn't stand for it. Their power was well established and literal legends had been written about them.
Going after them was the same as signing your own death sentence. Only those of the Unorthodox Path or those of an equal standing to the Guardians would dare defy them and go against their will.
"This is marvelous… I don't think I've seen our Formation masters work this way." Ming Aolian spoke seeing the Temple members make formations.
"That is expected. It is said that the Formation masters of the Temple of the Guardian beasts have one of the best training in the world. Their formation elders can even go to the Immortal Court freely and practice there." Lu Xu revealed.
"Yeah… the Immortal Courts were established by the Guardian beasts anyway." Qian Wen added.
They watched the work of the formation masters in silence for a few more minutes, before Luo Liqin spoke up.
"Did you figure out something yet, Brother Mu Lin?" He questioned.
"Not yet… I need to see what kind of array they are exactly making." Lin Mu answered. "So far it is supplementary and basal formations." He added.
"I see…" Luo Liqin replied, intending to wait for Lin Mu to finish his analysis.
The others did the same, though they were more than pleased to have the chance of seeing this.
Lin Mu continued to observe the work of the Formation masters, taking note of the method they used as well. After all, this was the rare chance of observing formation masters do their work.
Lin Mu had actually not seen that many formation masters work live.
A majority of his learning had been from documents, or established formations. The actual process of making formations was still an important thing one needed to study.
Even what Xukong had taught him was limited since the skill of the Spider was skies above him.
He didn't need to use the same methods as other cultivators.
One could say that Lin Mu had seen the peak and the bottom, but was missing the middle. And it was this middle that he was finally getting to witness.
The group ended up observing for several hours. Thankfully there were many more watching, and they didn't stand out. In fact, the more time went by, the greater the number of people watching.
By the four hour mark, the crowd had reached over a hundred thousand!
While they were observing all this though, Luo Liqin and Qian Wen seemed to have seen something.
"Huh…" Luo Liqin looked over to the side, spotting someone.
"Those people," Qian Wen said in a hushed voice. "It's the Black Fin Island."
Lin Mu and the others quickly reacted to this, following their line of sight.
On the other side of the Platform, the Black Fin Island people were standing. They could see about twenty of them, but Lin Mu was sure that it wasn't all of them.
"There were over fifty of them according to the reports I got." Luo Liqin whispered. is the owner.
"Fifty, huh…" Lin Mu narrowed his eyes and spread his immortal sense.
He made sure not to alert anyone within the crowd, reducing the immortal sense to a mere hair's thickness. It weaved through the crowd with ease, avoiding the detection of all. A couple of minutes later, Lin Mu sensed that Luo Liqin was right.
"There are on all sides… Some are behind us too." Lin Mu said in a low voice.
The expressions of others turned stiff, but they didn't act out.
"What are they doing?" the others didn't have the same confidence as Lin Mu to hide their immortal sense and thus didn't do the same.
They had discussed the skills of the Black Fin Island people before and knew that they could detect foreign Immortal senses quickly. It was important to be covert to avoid any suspicion.
"They don't seem to be doing anything so far… But I think they are here to take note of people." Lin Mu guessed. "They don't seem to be observing the formations." He added.
"Hmm… all others are here for the formations. They certainly stand out in this." Qian Wen replied.
~SHUA~
Lin Mu's attention was brought back to the platform, as a wave of energy rolled off it. He wasn't the only one who sensed it either.
"Whoa!" the crowd was awed, as they felt a strong yet gentle energy.
It came from the platform and belonged to none other than the elder in the center.
"Activate!" The elder made a hand seal and directed immortal Qi into the formations.
This connected them all, turning them into an array that then sprang to life.
~HUALA~
The formations worked together and brought forth Qi fluctuations along with Spatial fluctuations as well.
This was exactly what Lin Mu was waiting for and he immediately activated his Spatial Perception.
He observed the array and the Spatial changes, analyzing them deeply.
A minute later, a smile appeared on his face. The others noticed it, and hope rose within their hearts.
"Looks like we might have a way after all." Lin Mu spoke, his head tilting to the sky. "A bit risky… but workable."