Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
With the never-ending changes of the heavens, earth and oceans, there may be spell formations born from these natural phenomena, capturing the spiritual energy of nature, complex and mystifying.
These ancient formations are vastly different from the current ones employed by human and demon cultivators passed down from older generations. Most sects and tribes actually derive their inspirations for their spell formations from these ancient formations, which gradually evolved to their current forms. And due to the frequent conflicts and clashes between the human cultivators and demon tribes, the ancient formations born from natural phenomena have become exceedingly rare, like this complete and enormous ancient formation atop the Yingzhou Celestial Mountains.
If an ancient formation is still surviving today, there must have either been people intentionally looking after and preserving it, or the ancient formation itself possesses concealing and teleportation abilities, hiding amidst the countless forms of nature and not swirling as if it did not exist, hence could not be discovered by anyone.
Right now before Zhu Yi, Shi Tianhao and the rest, a natural ancient formation appeared before them, and it was gigantic and complex, endlessly mystifying.
Unlike standard spell formations, it did not present complicated and enigmatic formation runes in front of them, instead showing highly clustered spots of light like a starry galaxy. From afar, the spots of light resembled fragmented bits of corn, but every spot was actually a gigantic ball of light, each one an acre wide.
These balls of light drew in all the mountains, rivers, grass and trees of this area of the Barren Expanses. Every mountain peak, every river flow, every grassy plain, and every hill was being dragged into the formation.
The boulders from the towering mountains and lofty peaks, the trickling water of the rivers and streams, the grass and trees of the great plains, the mud from the hills, as well as all the flora and fauna, all creations of life, all the lifeless mud and rocks, all blend together in those individual balls of light. Even the formless winds, drifting clouds, and the rays of sunlight descending down from the heavens have been attracted by the formation.
Li Yuanfang creased his eyebrows tightly as he watched the scene unfold before him. “This formation …”
Zhu Yi muttered in a low voice, “This formation has the ability to deliver objects with tremendous and terrifying effects. Once it unleashes its power to the extreme, it can instantly traverse boundless distances of void space, drawing in all the spiritual energy around it until the mountains and rivers vanish to nothingness. This way, it can instantly escape our grasp and even eradicate any clues for us to continue our pursuit.”
The disciples all communicated through their Supernatural Awareness, transmitting countless messages and ideas. Wang Lin then asked, “Can we stop this swirling formation?”
Li Yuanfang shook his head. “We’re too late. The formation has already spun past its peak, and the only way to break the formation is to enter it. We cannot interfere with the formation, and these ancient formations are far more primitive and complicated than modern formations, hence we would need a bit more time once we stop it from the inside.”
“Little Junior’s parents are in the hands of King Chujiang. We cannot destroy the formation forcefully from the outside, or the people trapped inside may perish,” said Zhu Yi.
Shi Tianhao’s face was void of expression. “Did King Chujiang ally himself with the Great Void Sect, or did the Great Void Sect manipulate him in another way?”
If they had not received Lin Feng’s message beforehand, and if they had not been informed of the Great Void Sect’s general practices from Miao Shihao through Zhu Yi and Wang Lin’s avatars, Shi Tianhao and the rest might have assumed that this was a trap set by the Emperor of the Dead and his Hall of the Dead. Or perhaps, King Chujiang may have been extremely lucky to chance upon such an ancient formation with the ability to deliver and teleport, aiding in his escape. Although this possibility was miniscule, it was not impossible.
The Emperor of the Dead and his minions at the Hall of the Dead suffered greatly and would not dare to show their faces in this period of time. Even with such a magnificent ancient formation, they would only use it as a means to escape and to impede Shi Tianhao’s pursuit. At best, they could use it to kidnap Shi Tianhao’s parents for future bargaining purposes.
All these scenarios were possible, but after receiving a tip-off from Lin Feng and Miao Shihao, Shi Tianhao and the other disciples had a clearer idea of what was going on, especially after locating a suspicious area upon closer inspection.
Wang Lin explained, “King Doushi of the Ten Kings of Hell has fallen into the hands of the Great Void Sect. Despite the Emperor of the Dead’s emergency precautions, changing many of his communication methods to avoid being tracked by the Great Void Sect, he still could not avoid their sensors entirely. They have very likely traced King Chujiang’s tracks. Since we’ve chased this fiend to the end of the line, he would hold on to even the feeblest lifeline, only giving his prior doubts a second thought after he escapes our grasp. Under such circumstances, if the Great Void Sect wishes to extend a helping hand in the dark, feeding him some bait without exposing their identity, it wouldn’t be that difficult.”
Wang Lin glanced at Zhu Yi, “It’ll be especially easy if one of the Great Void Sect’s elite powerhouses does this personally.”
Masking one’s actions from Wang Lin, Zhu Yi and Shi Tianhao was not an easy feat, especially with Zhu Yi’s Higan Golden Bridge in tow. They did not notice this before they received Lin Feng’s message, but after taking this point into consideration, only four of the Great Void Sect’s elders was capable of doing this, and even they require some special methods to boost their abilities.
“This formation has the ability to deliver objects, and if we want to severe it, we must enter the formation ourselves …” Zhu Yi’s eyes shimmered and looked towards Shi Tianhao and Li Yuanfang, saying, “I’ll enter the formation with Third Junior. Little Junior and Sixth Junior shall stay outside. If necessary, we’ll use the Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm to swap places with our avatars to aid our escape.”
Shi Tianhao promptly exclaimed, “Once this formation is unleashed to its full potential, you might not be able to pull yourselves free using the Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm once the void space becomes chaotic, especially since we cannot pinpoint the delivery destination. If Mister Miao is correct that the Great Void Sect is targeting us, then the most likely destination would be the Black Sea, occupied by the Dragon Tribes.”
“We are unsure of the situation at the Black Sea, neither can we confirm the viability of the Dual Dimension Vacuum Charm. I cannot let the both of you risk your lives for my sake. Capturing King Chujiang is not a difficult task, I’ll go in myself. It’ll be easy for Second Senior to receive me with you and your Higan Golden Bridge outside.”
With that, Shi Tianhao stepped into the void space and travelled towards the centre of the ancient formation. He suddenly spotted a horizontal ray of golden light shooting across the path, blocking him outside the formation. Then, a magnificent golden bridge like a long rainbow extended into the ancient formation.
Shi Tianhao lifted his eyes up and saw Zhu Yi’s back disappear into the ancient formation. He heard Zhu Yi’s calm voice in his ears, “Don’t worry, Little Junior. I’ll definitely bring our parents out safe and sound. I also wish to see what techniques does the Great Void Sect or the Emperor of the Dead actually yield.”
Beside Zhu Yi, Wang Lin’s white hair drifted and fanned out behind him. He did not utter a word, like a moving magnificent yet silent mountain, following Zhu Yi into the ancient formation.
The majestic Higan Golden Bridge shot out rays of soaring golden light like falling petals raining down without order,altering the atmosphere continuously.
Zhu Yi stepped onto the golden bridge as the spell conjured in his hands changed continuously. With the golden light from the Higan Golden Bridge, he instantly stabilized the gigantic formation that had swirled to terminal velocity and was about to unleash its full power.
The countless balls of light drifting about in the air suddenly became completely still in midair. Everything that they were drawing in also stopped moving. The grey dust seemed to be suspended in midair, and could be seen with extreme clarity in an instant. The void space seemed to have been frozen, as if time had stopped.
Inside the formation, King Chujiang’s body abruptly froze like a clay doll, unable to move, with even his flow of thoughts coming to a sudden pause.
Wang Lin looked indifferent as he extended his palm, grabbing King Chujiang. It looked like an incredibly simple move, but he grasped the void space and seized King Chujiang’s entire body into his hand.
But at this very moment, the entire formation shook violently. Everything regained their vitality – the countless balls of light began moving again, and not only that, they started expanding continuously, as if linking up into a single shape, with the boundless radiance about to devour the giant formation and blanket the lands.
Zhu Yi’s gaze became still. With the surging power of the Higan Golden Bridge, the spreading light gradually stabilized again, but the entire formation has descended into utter chaos, about to explode.
“This was indeed a trap. Someone is purposely manipulating the formation and channeling its power to the extreme. It wouldn’t affect its final delivery, but after that, this formation would vanish to nothingness.” Zhu Yi discerned the multiple changes in the blink of an eye. “The manipulator has a high mastery level, with intricate manipulation that even borrows the energy of the formation to impede the Higan Golden Bridge.”
Rays upon rays of mystifying yet immense energy surged within the formation, draining the power of Zhu Yi’s Higan Golden Bridge, inciting the formation to a state of complete violent chaos while preventing Zhu Yi from escaping using the Higan Golden Bridge.
Zhu Yi and Wang Lin could sense that their opponent was a powerhouse in the Vipralopa Stage, but they could not determine his exact abhijina.
To be more specific, it bore some vague similarities with the Emperor of the Dead’s tribe, yet it did not feel exactly the same either, which made it difficult to ascertain its source.
Zhu Yi remained calm, not panicking at all. “You’re hiding your head but showing your tail. Are you afraid to show yourself despite doing all this?”
He gently slapped his palm onto the surface of the Higan Golden Bridge. The magnificent golden light grew even more grandiose, delivering Zhu Yi and Wang Lin, with King Chujiang in his grasp, out of the formation. The entire ancient formation was about to be punctured by this immense outburst of power.
Three figures stood amidst the void space. The Qing Yi Holy Woman stood in front, with Yun Yuanzhen and the Xuan Lin Holy Man standing behind her.
The Xuan Lin Holy Man frowned. “If Zhu Yi didn’t carry his Magic Treasure of Creation, this operation would have been easy. But now, your presence and abhijina may very likely be detected by them, and if Zhu Yi and the others survive, it may be disastrous for you in the near future.”
“No worries about that. Concealing ourselves is still possible but we’ll need the Supreme Heavenly Mirror to exert more power. Although troublesome, this was still within our expectations.” The Qing Yi Holy Woman remained calm and cold without any changes in her expression. Clouded light from the mirror cloaked her entire body from her head.
The Qing Yi Holy Woman clasped her hands and summoned a spell. The obscured mirror glow above her head grew brighter, but her eyes revealed a hint of anxiety.
Yun Yuanzhen looked at her. “Master?”
The Qing Yi Holy Woman closed her eyes gently. “I’m feeling a little uneasy, as if something unexpected is about to happen.”