The red sun was high in the sky, and golden light spilled over Bamboo Island. As it reached noon, True Master ng stroked his long beard and solemnly commanded, "Since the ti is near, child, have those eight disciples step into the formation."
The child received the order and left. The remaining eight disciples had been inford the previous night and had been waiting at the foot of the mountain. Upon receiving the Dharma decree, they did not delay for a mont and imdiately drove their magic artifacts to charge into the formation.
According to the agreent made between the Mingcang Sect and the Three Pools, today was the last day. If they still couldn’t break the formation this ti, then the Mingcang Sect would have to admit defeat entirely in this expedition against the Three Pools.
However, it was obvious that those guarding the formation understood this logic as well. Hence, unlike the previous two days, they did not allow the operations to proceed unrestrained but instead operated the array with full force. On the ferocious formation, it seed as if turbid waves were rushing into the sky, with tens of thousands of malicious energies churning. In less than a mont after the eight disciples entered, they were all killed, transforming into eight rays of spirit light that flew out of the formation.
When those primordial spirits, protected by the jade tokens, flew to the desk, True Master ng concentrated his mind to observe, but couldn’t help frowning.
These eight disciples had only reached the thirty-sixth change at most, while this array had nearly a hundred changes within these two hours. Although he could deduce the changes for the subsequent dozens of positions based on his profound understanding of arrays, so parts inevitably seed obscure and unclear, and he could only rely on his experience to speculate and fill in the gaps.
After exhausting his thoughts for a while, he nodded, pushed the desk away, and said solemnly, "You four, co up."
The three Hua Dan cultivators and Zhang Yan stepped forward together.
True Master ng flicked his hand, and four talismans flew out, each entering their respective sea of consciousness.
Once these talismans entered the sea of consciousness, they automatically evolved the positions within the formation and the changes in the portals, as if they had experienced them firsthand.
As for how to maneuver within the formation and how to respond to various situations, after entering the formation, one only needs to unify their spiritual energy with the talisman, and by then, the talisman would leap out to guide the person breaking the formation forward.
Zhang Yan pondered slightly and found that the changes in this formation were not overly complex. He had encountered even more complicated changes during his past analysis of Erosion Texts. After watching it once, he rembered it all completely, unlike the other disciples who had to rely on talismans. He believed that even without this item, he could still break through the formation.
However, after going back and forth a few more tis, he noticed sothing was amiss in certain areas. After thinking for a mont, he stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Disciple seeks guidance from True Master ng. In the nineteenth change within the formation, the original position of life and death has changed. Why did you abandon the Kun position and take the Gen position?"
True Master ng responded casually, "That is where the Qi chanism within the array changes. Life and death are reversed, constantly rotating. The Kun position may appear to follow the flow smoothly, flat and without surprises, but in fact, it has the most changes, hiding the potential for earth-shattering upheavals. On the Gen position, though it appears fierce and intense, it has reached the extremity of changes. Although there is danger, according to my previous deductions, there is a certain level of assurance in crossing it."
Upon saying this, he suddenly stopped, surprised, "How did you know how to maneuver through this change?"
Zhang Yan smiled slightly, "Just now, after receiving the master’s teachings, I silently calculated it once more and arrived at this potential outco, which raised so doubts in my mind, prompting to ask."
True Master ng, curious, said, "Hmm, you are able to deduce it yourself? Have you studied arrays before?"
Master Sun smiled and chid in, "Zhang Yan was already quite versed in the art of Erosion Texts when he entered the Lower Court. He once deduced the Star Tablet beneath Dangyun Peak, defeating several disciples of the Guangyuan Sect. Our brother often said that those skilled in Erosion Texts would inevitably excel in array diagrams, so it’s probably for this reason."
Upon hearing this, True Master ng couldn’t help but sigh and said, "No wonder, no wonder. The changes of heaven and earth are all within the Erosion Texts. Since you excel at interpreting Erosion Texts and learn my technique for stepping into the formation, this Four Symbols God Slaying Formation isn’t too daunting. It’s not surprising that you can deduce its variations.
At this point, he suddenly thought that if he had given the jade talisman to Zhang Yan earlier, would there have been a greater chance to break the formation? However, since he had already spoken and given out the jade talismans, there was no room for regret.
He shook his head, waved his hand, and signaled the Daoist boy to deliver the magic artifacts to Zhang Yan and the others.
Zhang Yan accepted two magic artifacts from the Daoist boy, discovering that one was a pitch-black Dharma sword, of unknown material, weighing likely over a hundred pounds.
The other, however, was a Star Positioning Plate engraved with talismans. It had celestial coordinates, sun, moon, and stars, and felt as light as paper in his hand, nearly weightless.
Zhang Yan’s expression moved. The tools the disciples were holding these past few days were quite different from theirs. Recalling those few jade talismans, which were not revealed before, he thought to himself, "It seems True Master ng is using all his resources this ti, going all in."
As expected, the Daoist boy brought a few Daoist robes, saying, "I invite the uncles to change into these."
True Master ng said, "These are the Five Qi Suppressing Divine Robes of our sect. They can restrain evil demons and srizing things. It would be best if you brothers changed into them."
Zhang Yan and the three Hua Dan cultivators changed into the Dharma robes. Once prepared, the four of them bowed farewell to the true masters and then set off with their tunneling light towards the ferocious formation that transford into a sea of clouds stretching for miles.
Seeing him depart, many of the low-level disciples on the island were left disheartened. Could Brother Zhang, who once single-handedly overturned the Six Rivers and Four Islands in anger, really be dood to perish in this formation?
Not far from Bamboo Island, a Dragon Tooth Flying Boat hovered above the sky.
Feng Zhen stood at the bow with his hands behind his back. As Zhang Yan’s tunneling light flew into the sea of clouds, he couldn’t help but breathe out a long sigh of relief.
The threat was finally gone, finally cutting off his second sister’s thoughts.
He smiled at this, standing there for two days without seeing any of the master-disciple lineage exiting the formation. No matter how formidable Zhang Yan was, he was surely dood this ti.
When he first heard that Zhang Yan had single-handedly overturned the Six Rivers and Four Islands with a single sword, he was extrely shocked. After several calculations, Zhang Yan not only didn’t die but grew stronger and stronger. What on earth was the reasoning behind this?
But now, he could finally let go of this concern altogether.
His servant approached and asked, "Sir, shall we return to the residence?"
"No need!" Feng Zhen spread his arms, looked up at the clear blue sky, feeling particularly delighted, he sat down leisurely and said, "Sir, today I’m in high spirits, I plan to enjoy a drink here, relishing the disgrace of that lineage."
Though Zhang Yan set out together with the three Hua Dan cultivators, those three had cultivations above his and a much faster tunneling speed, naturally not traveling the sa path. After just a few flashes, they were out of sight.
Zhang Yan flew to a high altitude, and just as he was about to enter the sea of clouds, a black light suddenly erged from the void and pierced into the acupoint on his forehead, disappearing from sight.
Zhang Yan was startled. Upon close inspection, he found a black light standing vertically in his sea of consciousness, exuding a deep, ocean-like aura, quietly resting there, neither moving chaotically nor exhibiting any malice.
He pondered for a mont, vaguely grasping a bit of a clue. It seed to be harmless to him, so he decided not to concern himself with it and leaped boldly towards the sea of clouds.
...
...(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to go to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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