Yuantian

The Domain River can be called the mother river of every domain in the Abyss. It is also the place directly affected by the origin of the Abyss, and contains extremely special power.

Ordinary river life cannot enter the Yu River. Anyone who dares to break in will be suppressed by the power of the Yu River and fall directly.

One must be at least at the peak level of a monarch to be qualified to swim in the river.

Each river is divided into two layers: upper and lower. The lower layer is the foundation of the river, and a large number of mortal-level abyss demons are continuously born.

Even the Demon Emperors could not enter the lower level and could only stand on the upper level of the Yu River and overlook it.

The Qianze Demon Emperor likes to travel around the Yu River and watch the birth of countless abyssal demons. Although he cannot intervene, he has a sense of superiority.

Occasionally, if he encounters some talented little guys, Qianze Demon Emperor will wait for these little guys to leave Yuhe and take them away.

In his own words, it is called doing good deeds.

But today, Demon Emperor Qianze encountered something strange. An extremely vast formation appeared in front of him.

"Buzz~" Invisible fluctuations enveloped the space, time and space were distorted, and countless 'rivers' became turbid.

It's like a big stone suddenly appeared in a big river, affecting the flow of the river in the surrounding area.

The impact is very large.

In fact, the water in the upper layer of the Yu River is not a real flow of water, but is made up of the original power, the mystery of time and space, and the convergence of abilities.

"There is nothing wrong with this route. I have passed it nine times in the past hundreds of millions of years, and I have not been involved in other time and space areas." Qianze Demon Emperor quickly judged: "When I came three million years ago, this place was There is no formation."

"Besides, the formation in front of me seems to be extremely mysterious. I think I am very accomplished in the formation, but if I want to break the formation, I feel like I have no way to start."

"Let alone setting up a formation, it's absolutely impossible."

Thinking of this, Demon Emperor Qianze's heart suddenly became nervous and pounding.

He is very confident in his formation skills.

"Could it be."

"Have some immortal ruins been discovered? Or some kind of treasure land?" A thought flashed through the mind of Demon Emperor Qianze: "Has my chance come to Qianze?"

Just think about it for a moment.

"Breaking in."

"I am just Zunyuan Shen. I am facing this opportunity. Am I still looking forward and backward?" Demon Emperor Qianze felt with all his strength and carefully observed the formation, trying to find flaws in the formation's operation.

He didn't dare to wander in randomly.

Even if an unfamiliar and powerful formation cannot kill him, it is not difficult to just trap him.

...The entire formation spreads out for about 800 billion miles. Such a huge formation is extremely unimaginable in the depths of the Yu River.

And in the center of the formation.

In a place that the Demon Emperor Qianze cannot sense, there is a prototype of a world that is about tens of billions of miles away. The so-called prototype of the world only condenses matter, but does not give birth to the true origin of the world.

Without the origin, no matter how huge a world is, it will fall apart sooner or later.

but.

The prototype of this world is extremely stable under the influence of multiple formations. At the core of the world, there is a scarlet lake.

Countless scarlet liquids exude endless evil aura.

I don't know how many creatures were slaughtered to form it.

The entire lake has a maximum diameter of only more than ten million miles, and in the center of the lake, there is a nearly nine-meter-tall flower tree with a completely opposite and holy atmosphere.

The flower stem is quiet and quiet, and a bud as white as jade, ready to bloom, grows on the top of the flower stem.

The flower stems of the Flower of Sin are taller and stronger than they were 40,000 years ago.

The biggest change is the bud, which is extremely full and seems ready to bloom at any time.

"Forty-eight thousand years."

"Finally we are almost successful." Wu Yuan's body-refining deity sat cross-legged under the flower stems, watching silently, full of expectation.

"Master, I estimate that it will be done in another two thousand or three hundred years." Yun Yi, still dressed in white, said softly.

"Yeah." Wu Yuan nodded.

More than 40,000 years ago, he took Yunyi into the abyss for the second time, but he did not stay in the thirteenth domain. In order to avoid the pursuit of the Aurora True Saint, he rushed directly to the eleventh domain.

Why choose Domain 11?

Because, according to the information given by Houtu Zuwu, the eleventh domain is the only one among the thirty-six domains of the abyss that does not have a true saint born in the last nine reincarnations of heaven and earth.

Therefore, when Wu Yuan hides here, he does not have to encounter the arrival of the true holy eternity. At most, he will encounter the eternity of the Path.

Then, Wu Yuan plunged into Yuhe in the eleventh domain.

finally.

Deep in the Yu River, after a long search, Yunyi selected the most suitable area as the breeding ground for the Flower of Sin.

Wu Yuan's body-refining deity, Dharma body, and Yunyi cooperated with each other and were able to set up three major formations.

The core is the Eternal Sin Array, which can be called an upgraded version of the Blood Sacrifice Holy Demon Array. It is the best auxiliary array for nurturing the Flower of Sin.

As for nourishment?

First, the Eternal Formation of Sin can directly absorb the original power of Yuhe.

Secondly, the billion-mile sea of ​​blood left by the Blood-Bone Demon Emperor is already astonishing.

The combination of the two meant that when Wu Yuan was gestating the Flower of Sin, he no longer had to deliberately kill or refine it, he only had to wait patiently.

This also greatly reduces his own risk of exposure.

The second most important formation is the 'Nine Glory Tianhe Formation', which is a first-level protective formation. If it is blessed on Wu Yuan, it can make Wu Yuan burst out with even more terrifying strength.

However, because it is located in the Yu River, the power of the guarding formation has been greatly weakened.

The third major formation is the 'World Illusion and Confusion Formation', which can distort time and space and minimize the impact of the first two formations on the Yuhe River. Secondly, it can conceal the aura of the Eternal Formation of Sin.

The ultimate goal is to reduce the possibility of Wu Yuan being discovered.

"If it weren't for you Yunyi, I would have been discovered long ago in the past forty thousand years." Wu Yuan said with a smile.

At the beginning, Yunyi took a large amount of Wu Yuan's materials and treasures and set up three large formations one after another, leaving Wu Yuan stunned.

so amazing.

Yunyi's attainments in formations completely exceeded Wu Yuan's imagination.

He realized that many eternal beings who have deduced formations for endless years may not be as good as Yunyi.

"It's the master's work, the formation is just an auxiliary." Yunyi smiled and said: "Even if it is the eternal formation of sin, under normal circumstances, it will take millions of years to make the flower of sin grow from eight meters to nine meters."

"But the master can shorten the growth rate of the Flower of Sin by a hundred times, which is simply scary." Yunyi said sincerely.

Although she was created, she knew everything by birth and knew the power of a large number of formations.

Wu Yuan couldn't help but smile.

Scary?

The original mark of the Ancestral Tower is indeed extremely powerful. Although the original Ancestral Tower cannot directly improve the strength, it has many unexpected and wonderful uses.

For example - the flower of sin.

"The phantom of the Ancestral Tower makes the Flower of Sin grow dozens or hundreds of times faster." Wu Yuan secretly said: "In addition, it is located in the Yu River, and there is the Eternal Formation of Sin..."

Many factors allowed Wu Yuan to quickly make this flower of sin bloom in just tens of thousands of years.

From this, it can also be seen that Hou Tuzu Wu has a high vision. Before Wu Yuan knew everything, he could roughly judge the time that would eventually take.

"Obviously, Houtu Ancestral Witch has a very clear understanding of the Flower of Sin and the Ancestral Tower." Wu Yuan thought to himself.

After contact, there will be more Tuzu witches.

The more you can feel the greatness of the other person.

After exchanging a few words with Yunyi, Wu Yuan continued to meditate.

For tens of thousands of years, in addition to presiding over formations, he has also been practicing with all his strength, whether it is the Qi Refining Deity or the Body Refining Deity, hoping to have the strength to stand at the top of the Yuhe River before the Xuan Huang Yu Realm opens.

Wu Yuan did not want to place all his hopes on the Flower of Sin.

After all, although the Flower of Sin is good, Wu Yuan obtained the information of the ancestral witches and knew that since the many reincarnations of the abyss, many demon kings have obtained the Flower of Sin, but in the end, more than half of them failed to even create the eternal secret skill.

All auxiliary cultivation treasures are only auxiliary after all, and the most important thing is oneself.

"pity."

"Creating the ultimate mastery of mastery Yi."

"But it is indeed difficult to create an eternal secret."

"It's even more difficult to break the shackles of the great road and open up your own path." Wu Yuan thought to himself.

Looking back on the tens of thousands of years of cultivation, the two deities have made great progress.

Like the Qi Refining Master, who has comprehended the Great Way of Time and Space and has reached the eighth level of the Tao Realm, it is possible to step into the ninth level of the Tao Realm at any time.

This speed is extremely terrifying.

Of course, it is extremely difficult to break through to the ninth level of the Dao Domain. Many saintly geniuses in history have been trapped at this step.

After all, there are very few people who can break through as quickly as Wu Yuan's body-refining deity and become a true master, and only a few will emerge in one cycle of heaven and earth.

"enough."

"The speed of cultivation of the Qi Refining Lord is destined to be slower than that of the Body Refining Lord. Assistance is the biggest role." Wu Yuan was extremely satisfied.

If it weren't for the invisible influence of the original rules, the Qi Refining Master would never have thought of cultivating so quickly.

Like Zhushan, as far as Wu Yuan knows, the current enlightenment of the Tao may not have reached the eighth level of the Tao realm.

certainly.

Compared with the Qi Refining Deity, the Body Refining Deity's strength has improved even more astonishingly.

However, after tens of thousands of years, there have been no earth-shaking changes.

For Wu Yuan, the true qualitative transformation of the body-refining deity is either the breakthrough of the material path to the level of dominance, or the creation of eternal secrets.

As for making a way?

That is the ultimate pursuit of Changhe’s life stage.

Except for this, other breakthroughs are just stronger strength, but not fundamental transformation.

"The flower of sin is born from endless sins, but it is extremely pure." Wu Yuan silently stared at the flower of sin, feeling the breath emanating from the buds.

As one of the most miraculous creations of the abyss, Wu Yuan gained a lot from observing it for tens of thousands of years.

In just over 40,000 years, he was able to create a stronger secret technique, which was attributed to the Flower of Sin.

..."The secret of matter." Wu Yuan's body-refining deity is multitasking. In addition to comprehending the Great Way of Creation, he has also been devoting part of his energy to comprehending the original force map.

He has comprehended and analyzed more than 4,700 of the five thousand original force diagrams.

The further back you go, the harder it is to break through the analysis.

Because these force diagrams represent the ultimate analysis of matter in Changhe's life stage.

"The ninth level of the monarch."

"Now, with just my strength, I can explode into the ninth level of the monarch's strength with one punch." Wu Yuan was extremely eager to break through and patiently understood: "If my material path and law path all reach the dominance level, my overall strength will still be there." A huge improvement.”

There is no shortcut to understanding the mysteries of matter.

Just analyze and deduce it over and over again, and the rest depends on understanding and time.

Time passes day by day.

suddenly.

"Huh?" Wu Yuan suddenly felt something while he was meditating and couldn't help but open his eyes.

Wow~

In an instant, Wu Yuan's consciousness merged with the three large formations covering hundreds of billions of miles, and he immediately noticed the purple-clothed figure in the outermost formation.

With a powerful aura, he was obviously a master.

He was trying to break the formation, and even boldly went deep into the formation.

If not, Wu Yuan wouldn't even be able to sense his presence.

"It's really stupid." Wu Yuan shook his head slightly: "This large formation has illusions in reality, reality in illusions, intertwined with each other, almost the ultimate in heaven and earth. How can it be so easy to break the formation?"

By observing in secret, Wu Yuan could confirm that it was extremely difficult for this master to break the formation.

"Yunyi, if a master has arrived here, why don't you send a message to tell me?" Wu Yuan asked directly.

"Owner."

"For the peak monarchs who passed by the formation before, I directly triggered the formation to kill them." Yun Yi came to Wu Yuan in a flash: "As for this Demon King, he is very careful. Just rely on the formation itself. It’s hard to kill him with strength.”

"only."

"I have been secretly observing him for a long time, and I feel that he cannot break the formation. If I informed the master before, he would kill him and expose his existence, which might cause a bigger trouble." Yun Yi said: "It is better to ignore it."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly, feeling that Yun Yi was right.

If you ignore it, it might delay it for a long time.

As long as there are another two thousand years, the flower of sin will truly bloom, and you don't have to worry about being discovered.

"Okay, I understand." Wu Yuan nodded and followed Yunyi's suggestion.

that's all.

Year after year, more than a hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, and Wu Yuan never paid attention to the Lord of Ganze.

"Eternal secret art." Wu Yuan studied hard, constantly perfected his own unique skill, and pondered the insights he had gained from thousands of people who had opened up the eternal path, eager to create an eternal secret skill.

"boom!!!"

Suddenly, an astonishing fluctuation suddenly came from the void hundreds of billions of miles away. Time and space tens of billions of miles away began to oscillate, and then tried to impact the space and time further away.

At this moment, the Jie Huan Confusion Formation showed faint signs of collapse.

"What?" Wu Yuan's expression changed while he was meditating.

A blind cat meets a dead mouse?

This seemingly ordinary Demon King actually destroyed most of the Realm of Fantasy and Confusion in just a hundred years?

"Master, I made a mistake." Yun Yi rushed over quickly. She was also surprised and looked nervous.

For fear of being punished by Wu Yuan.

"You are right. It was my decision not to kill him in advance." Wu Yuan shook his head and said, "But, who would have thought that he would hit the formation's operation node by such a coincidence?"

Breaking a formation is mostly a matter of the level difference between the one who sets up the formation and the one who breaks it.

It's a game between both sides.

But sometimes, it’s also about luck.

Obviously, this time the Demon King Qianze broke the formation, there seemed to be some invisible luck surrounding him.

"It seems that the fate of the abyss does not favor me very much." Wu Yuan thought thoughtfully.

It stands to reason that he was hidden deep enough, but first two monarchs passed by, and now there is a master who is good at formations.

This master, after more than a hundred years, broke the formation by such a coincidence?

"Master, what should we do now?" Yun Yi couldn't help but said: "The core node of the formation has been destroyed. If he is allowed to continue to deduce it, I am afraid that he will completely destroy the Jie Huan Cang Formation in just a few years."

In order to arrange the three large formations, a large amount of rare materials that Wu Yuan carried with him were almost consumed, and it was difficult to rearrange them in a short period of time.

"Luck is illusory after all." Wu Yuan smiled faintly: "Since the fate of the abyss is not in my hands, then I don't care."

"Strength defeats skill!"

"I want to see who can stop me from giving birth to the flower of sin." Wu Yuan's eyes flashed with murderous intent.

The flower of sin has been gestated to the most critical moment. The origin of the flower and the origin of the abyss are closely connected and are about to bloom.

At this time, it was difficult for Wu Yuan to move it.

Once it is removed and continuously disconnected from the source of the abyss, the source of the flower of sin will be greatly damaged. Even if it is conceived again in the future, the effect will be 10% or less.

Now!

He will kill anyone who blocks Wu Yuan's way.

"Go and get rid of this Demon King first." Wu Yuan took a step forward and disappeared on the island in an instant.

Watched Wu Yuan leave.

Yunyi, who originally looked quite nervous, returned to normal, with an undetectable smile on her lips.

…

Yu River, the edge area of ​​the Jie Huan Confused Formation.

"this?"

Demon King Qianze looked at the time and space in front of him that was gradually returning to normal, and his heart was shocked.

Just now, he was obviously still pondering the secrets of this formation, and he was not sure at all about breaking it.

But extremely weird.

When he tried again, the huge formation that distorted time and space in front of him suddenly began to collapse, and the world returned to normal for tens of billions of miles, revealing the scene of a wider area.

"Is it possible that I am so lucky?" Demon Emperor Qianze couldn't believe it for a moment: "After just a little try, the core of the formation was broken?"

Such good luck?

"Somewhere, the fate of the abyss is protecting me?" Demon Emperor Qianze was moved: "This may be my great opportunity."

"It's just that there are deeper formations?" Demon Emperor Qianze faintly sensed the existence of Jiuyao Tianhe Formation through most of the Jiehuan Confusion Formation that had collapsed.

The power is endless, and there is a great threat in the dark.

Among the three major formations, the outermost Jie Huan Micang Formation is difficult for even the monarch to kill. It focuses on the word "mystery", so Demon Emperor Qianze can calmly explore the formation.

But the Jiuyao Tianhe Formation is a killing formation.

"No rush!" Demon Emperor Qianze calmed down: "I will completely destroy the outermost formation first to make sure there are no traps."

He is very careful.

And just when he was about to take action.

boom!

An extremely terrifying aura suddenly erupted from the void in the distance, causing Demon Emperor Qianze's pupils to shrink slightly, and he was shocked and angry: "No, retreat!"

Wow~

A layer of hazy light enveloped the Demon Emperor Qianze, causing him to disappear instantly.

"Wow!"

A dazzling and strange sword light suddenly passed through the void, slashing through the void where the Qianze Demon Emperor had just stood, and then the space was shattered layer by layer.

The difference between the two sides is just a hair.

Only a few seconds later, this terrifying sword light chopped the Demon Emperor Qianze alive.

call!

Demon Emperor Qianze, who used his life-saving secret treasure, instantly appeared in the void hundreds of billions of miles away, completely out of the reach of the formation.

"this?"

"Knife light!" Demon Emperor Qianze's face was full of fear, and he looked at the end of the void in shock, the terrifying sword light that tore apart hundreds of millions of miles of void.

ferocious! Terrible!

"This kind of sword technique?" Demon Emperor Qianze's heart trembled: "I can never stop it, absolutely."

"The fourth level of the Demon Emperor! He is a strong person at the fourth level of the Demon Emperor!" Demon Emperor Qianze howled in his heart.

Although there is a formation to cover it up, half of the Jie Huan Confused Formation has been destroyed and cannot be completely covered up.

so.

With the strength of Demon Emperor Qianze, he could easily sense that this terrifying sword light was definitely an attack from a formation, but it came from a super strong person.

He has felt the other party's spiritual aura.

Very strange.

"The secret of creation, swordsmanship? The fourth level of the Demon Emperor?" The thoughts in Demon Emperor Qianze's mind were running at high speed, and a lot of possibilities emerged in an instant.

"There is also such a super formation, which seems to have just come out recently."

"Hidden so deeply!"

The answer is already ready to come out. After all, looking at the entire abyss, there are only about twenty fourth level experts of the Demon Emperor.

"escape!"

At the same time as the thought flashed across his mind, Demon King Qianze, who was using the secret treasure to save his life, retreated as fast as lightning.

The speed continued to skyrocket, a thousand times the speed of light, three thousand times the speed of light... and fled madly into the distance.

boom!

A figure exuding a terrifying aura finally walked out of the huge formation. He was wearing black armor and a black cape, and was millions of miles tall.

One step makes the void tremble.

The river is churning.

There was a faint roar in the sky and the earth. He rushed towards the fleeing Lord Ganze, his speed kept soaring, three thousand times the speed of light, nine thousand times the speed of light, ten thousand times the speed of light...

"boom!"

"boom!"

Lord Ganze fled in front, while the black-armored figure holding a sword stepped into the void to pursue him. Both sides quickly soared to ten thousand times the speed of light.

As soon as they speed up, the countless 'rivers' in the Yu River suddenly become turbulent and have amazing binding power.

The river is no different from other abyss worlds and realms in the abyss.

Here, the abyss operates according to rules, and ten thousand times the speed of light is the flight speed limit of most masters.

"Xia Demon Emperor."

Demon King Qianze fled frantically, and his voice suddenly spread through the avenue: "I am not a strong man in the Thirteenth Domain. I just bumped into you accidentally. Why chase me? If you let me go, I will never Don’t reveal your whereabouts.”

"I make an abyssal oath that I will not hunt you down." Wu Yuan's voice was cold and spread loudly.

In fact, Wu Yuan also felt that he had made a mistake. He did not expect that the other party had such a life-saving secret treasure.

In that sudden attack just now, Wu Yuan relied on the power of the formation to kill the Demon Emperor Qianze instantly with one strike.

But the result fell through.

He never expected that Demon Emperor Qianze would have such a secret treasure. Although it was a one-time use, its value was probably close to that of an innate spiritual treasure.

After all, this kind of secret treasure can save lives at critical moments.

"There is no need for the Abyss Oath, Demon Emperor Xia, I will absolutely control my promise..." Demon Emperor Qianze said repeatedly.

Make an abyss oath?

He also thought about using the other party's whereabouts to perform meritorious service, but he was not willing to make an abyss oath.

"Then go to hell." Wu Yuan finally lost patience.

"Broken!" An angry shout echoed through endless time and space.

He waved the sword in his hand.

Mo Yuan Dao! !

Nine swords came out at once, each sword being the ultimate in mid-grade innate spiritual treasures. At this moment, part of the ultimate power contained in them was finally revealed under the guidance of Wu Yuan.

On the surface of each sword, there are countless secret patterns of the avenue revealed, followed by light bursting into the sky.

"Wow!" "Wow!"

The dazzling and endless sword light finally bloomed in the chaotic and turbulent river.

Wu Yuan's aura exploded to a terrifying level, and his whole person was dimmed.

This vast space and time seemed to be completely suppressed.

"This? Not good!" Demon Emperor Qianze's expression changed, and he felt an unprecedented threat.

In an instant.

The nine swords united into one, just like blooming from the legendary Nine Netherworld, slashing towards the nine heavens, directly blasting open a layer of heavenly gates, and directly tearing apart a layer of space constraints in the river.

The water of the river receded, the fluctuations of the avenue were suppressed, and the fluctuations of all superior laws disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, in the vast river, in the vast space and time, there is only one sword.

The second form of self-created secret technique - the Nine Heavenly Paths!

The first form, 'Wheel of Life and Death', explains the rise and fall of the universe from life to death, and initially reveals Wu Yuan's understanding of the great path of creation.

As for this second form, Wu Yuan had been deducing it for tens of thousands of years, and finally observed the flower of sin to be completed, which can be said to have exhausted his understanding of the great road of creation.

From death to life!

"Endless sins are born into holiness. Only in the nine layers of netherworld can one reach the nine heavens." Wu Yuan's eyes were cold. This secret technique can truly be called the ultimate master technique.

Wow! The light of the sword swept across everything and traveled hundreds of billions of miles of time and space, causing all obstacles in front of Wu Yuan to dissipate. His speed instantly exceeded 10,000 times the speed of light, and then continued to soar, 20,000 times the speed of light, 30,000 times the speed of light... the so-called limit of the Yu River. , unable to suppress Wu Yuan at all.

Limits are meant to be broken.

It can't be broken, it's just that it's not strong enough.

boom!

Wu Yuan waved the sword again and again to display his unique skills, and the speed finally reached an exaggerated 40,000 times the speed of light, quickly approaching the Demon Emperor Qianze.

"Xia Demon Emperor!"

"Why kill them all? If you kill me, I will definitely spread your whereabouts, I will definitely do it!" Demon Emperor Qianze sent a message frantically.

He was shocked by the terrifying strength Wu Yuan unleashed.

When he saw the first knife, he was completely shaken.

"Originally I didn't want to be exposed, but you want to seek death, so I sent you on your way." Wu Yuan's eyes were cold, bursting with extremely terrifying confidence: "Know my whereabouts? Spread the word!"

"Haha, spread the word."

"I want to see who can kill me in this area of ​​Hanoi." Wu Yuan said with absolute confidence in his voice, "You can come all the time."

boom!

Wu Yuan finally got closer, and another terrifying sword light swept across the vast void, directly sweeping across the Demon Emperor Qianze.

"Rumble~" Demon Emperor Qianze tried his best to resist.

But his origin body only has the second level strength of the Demon King, how can he stop him?

The whole person was instantly chopped away by the light of the sword, and he could barely hold on to the weapon in his hand, and his life force was fading wildly.

"Come again." Wu Yuan shouted angrily, and another sword light illuminated the vast river.

finally.

After carrying more than ten swords, the life breath of Qianze Demon Emperor became weaker and weaker, and was completely annihilated.

"call!"

Wu Yuan waved his hand and put away the many treasures left by Demon Emperor Qianze. After a little exploration, he found only one low-grade innate spiritual treasure.

Other treasures can be ignored.

"I would rather die than take an oath of the abyss." Wu Yuan's eyes were cold and he murmured to himself: "It seems that he is determined to seize the Flower of Sin."

"It's a pity that I don't know which Demon King he is. He never said his name, but he should be from this domain."

"However, if you are exposed, you are exposed."

"As long as the True Saint Eternity cannot come, we can still fight even if we have to open up a way to eternity." A trace of madness flashed across Wu Yuan's eyes.

no solution anymore.

Wu Yuan thought to himself that his strength was still inferior, and he did not want to fight against the eternal existence, but if he did encounter it, there would only be one battle.

boom!

Wu Yuan moved, quickly left this space and time, and returned to the formation.