The Nine Sparks Petalstorm Formation cost two to three billion saint spirit stones to construct altogether. It was a shockingly intensive project. Only first rank sects could spend a sum like that with ease. The average third rank sect simply couldn’t provide that much, period. A second rank sect had the ability, but would feel severe strain if they did so.

First rank sects had the budget for this kind of blatant consumption, but spending that much on a single formation seemed overly extravagant. Formations represented continued consumption over time. Without additional investment, its power would wane. Therefore, the two or three billion could only be considered starting capital. Thankfully, any stone outflows at a later date would be much less than this.

At completion, the formation had enough energy to run for a few decades. If there were gaps in the spirit stones within the formation after that, then considerations for later-stage reinforcement could be made. The exact amount required wouldn’t be too far-fetched. 

The cost in spirit stones was one thing, but the process of setting the formation up was something else...