Shen Xi clapped his hands and laughed, "The one who understands me is Daoist Fellow Ning Zhuo."
He spoke with great interest, "There are many who have used the Nine Palace Formation to defeat the strong with the weak. Let’s take someone from my Flying Cloud Country as an example."
"For instance, fifteen years ago, the Qingyun Sect was attacked by demon cultivators."
"The Qingyun Sect was just a small sect, with their strongest being Chu Ping, at the peak of the Golden Core stage, who was skilled in formations."
"He alone, along with twenty-seven Foundation Establishment disciples, held steadfast at the Qingyun Sect’s mountain gate."
"His opponent was the infamous Nascent Soul demon cultivator, the Blood Corpse Old Demon, along with three thousand Blood Coagulation Corpses."
"Chu Ping had the Foundation Establishment disciples defend the Nine Palaces separately, while he himself entered the central palace as bait, luring the Old Demon into the formation for annihilation."
"After the Blood Corpse Old Demon entered the formation, Chu Ping immediately transformed the palace configurations, focusing the main battlefield on the Li Palace and Kun Second Palace."
"The final erupting flames, after the eighty-one-fold amplification at the Li Palace, further magnified fourfold by the Kun Second Palace, incinerated the flesh of the Blood Corpse Old Demon, forcing his Nascent Soul to escape, and the three thousand Blood Coagulation Corpses were all burned to ashes."
Shen Xi continued, "And then seventy years ago, one of the four major loose cultivators of my Flying Cloud Country, the Chess Fanatic, fulfilled his dying friend’s wish by designing an array to test and entrust his friend’s inheritance to those who could pass."
"The Chess Fanatic used nine peculiar stones in the valley to lay out a Nine Palace Formation, which sword cultivator Ling Xiao charged into."
"Both the Chess Fanatic and Ling Xiao were at the Nascent Soul level, but the latter was acknowledged to be just a step away from the Transforming Spirit level and was considered a quasi-deification."
"Initially, Ling Xiao advanced with unstoppable momentum, breaking through four palaces in succession. But after the palace gates changed, he was led by the Chess Fanatic to the Dui Seventh Palace."
"The Chess Fanatic then arranged the Qian Sixth Palace behind, creating a cycle of ’ze qi rising to heaven, heavenly thunder returning to ze.’
"Ling Xiao fought with all his might to break this cycle but instead unbalanced the Zhen Third Palace, triggering the reflection of the Qian Sixth Palace, which caused Ling Xiao’s Sword Qi to increase thirty-six times, rebounding back on him."
"In the end, Ling Xiao was no match and retreated from the formation, coughing blood."
Ning Zhuo listened carefully, opening his eyes to new insights.
He nodded in agreement and added, "As far as I know, the most famous example of the Nine Palace Formation enabling the weak to overcome the strong is none other than the story ’The Boy Traps the Dragon.’
This is a story often told in formation books.
A Foundation Establishment stage fisher boy, Yu Xiaoman, was chased by a flood dragon and accidentally escaped to a strange place at the river bottom.
There was a page of the Luoshu, lost here and buried in the river mud.
Over time, the surrounding environment gradually transformed according to the principles recorded in the Luoshu page, forming a natural Nine Palace formation structured along the water veins.
Xiaoman, pursued to this place, obtained the Luoshu page and used his only nine water-repellent copper coins to activate the Nine Palace Formation, then daringly lured the evil flood dragon into the formation.
The evil flood dragon, unfamiliar with formations, severely injured Xiaoman but was trapped here as well. Each struggle sealed its Nascent Soul to one-twentieth of its strength. After several struggles, the evil flood dragon was heavily sealed by the Nine Palace Formation, ending as the antagonist in a legendary battle where a Foundation Establishment defeated a Nascent Soul.
This happened a very long time ago.
But the story was so widely circulated that it was recorded in many texts.
"Luoshu?" Yu Heye finally found a chance to speak up after listening for a while, "I know this; it is the source of numerical reasoning and has great research value in formations, divination, and so on."
"The Luoshu was scattered a long time ago, and the page that Yu Xiaoman had also went missing after he failed to overcome a tribulation."
Yu Heye’s expertise in formations was not as profound as Ning Zhuo’s.
He came from a humble background and didn’t lay any foundations in his youth, nor was he interested in this area.
Ning Zhuo and Shen Xi were engaging in an enthusiastic exchange, and he almost yawned, grateful to finally get a word in, which revived his spirit.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to speak, he introduced the delicious dishes on the table, trying to steer the topic back.
Although he was also clueless about spirit chef skills, at least he had lived long and eaten many spirit stones, a field he was familiar with.
But after taking a few bites and sips, Shen Xi redirected the conversation back to the Nine Palace Formation.
He had made significant achievements in formations, thanks to his family’s early training and his personal interest and passion.
Passion is often the best teacher.
Without this passion, Shen Xi would not have such profound expertise in formations. He invested a lot of time and energy into it, sacrificing many opportunities to cultivate different techniques.
Shen Xi said, "Speaking of the Nine Palace Formation, we are currently inside one."
Ning Zhuo was puzzled, "Daoist Fellow Shen, are you saying that the protective array of Vinebrace Cliff here is a Nine Palace Formation?"
Shen Xi nodded slightly, "Exactly."
"No, no," Yu Heye shook his head, "The protective array of Vinebrace Cliff is called the Thousand Vine Drinking Cloud Formation, I’m sure of it."
Shen Xi nodded again: "That’s right."
This made Ning Zhuo and Yu Heye even more puzzled.
Shen Xi smiled and explained, "Don’t you two feel that the peaks surrounding Vinebrace Cliff are somewhat close?"
"This is actually a deliberate arrangement."
"The nine peaks, including Vinebrace Cliff, Xuanming Peak, Thunder Shock Island, Yunmo Peak, and Jade Marrow Hill, each have their own Mountain Protection Array, yet overall they form the pattern of the Nine Palace Formation."
Ning Zhuo couldn’t help but feel a slight movement in his heart.
His mother’s cave mansion, Shuyu Pavilion, was on Yunmo Peak.
Yu Heye raised an eyebrow: "Is that really so?"
Shen Xi nodded: "This Nine Palace Formation was precisely arranged by Mechanism Director Xie Hall from Heavy Array Peak..."
After Shen Xi’s introduction, Ning Zhuo and Yu Heye finally understood the details.
Xie Hall was a Nascent Soul-level cultivator who had once served as an official in the Flying Cloud Country, holding a high position, hence the title Mechanism Director.
He was extremely skilled in creating arrays. After stepping down from his official duties, he returned to the sect to fully dedicate himself to cultivation.
Once during an exchange, he came to Nine Palace Immortal City to give a lecture. In the class, the case he cited was this very Nine Palace Formation.
Shen Xi recalled: "Senior Xie Hall’s mastery of formation left me in awe at that time. This Nine Palace Formation is indeed his proudest work in life; he even said on the spot that he left an unused Array Dao treasure hidden within this formation, waiting for someone fated. This remark left a particularly deep impression on me."
Ning Zhuo’s eyes flashed with interest, putting on a look of being intrigued: "Oh? What kind of Array Dao treasure is it?"
Shen Xi shook his head: "Daoist Fellow Ning, this treasure is a hot potato; it cannot be taken lightly."
Ning Zhuo feigned innocence: "Why is that?"
Su Lingkou covered her mouth with a smile: "This is actually Senior Xie Hall’s filtering method, selecting cultivators with a certain mastery in Array Dao, making it easier for him to draw them to Heavy Array Peak."
"Many seniors in Myriad Images Sect do it this way, like baiting a fish."
"Taking his Array Dao treasure means forming a fate with him, owing him a debt, and you’ll be marked by Heavy Array Peak."
"Therefore, cultivators with other aspirations never actively pick up this Array Dao treasure."
Ning Zhuo nodded: "Thank you for the explanation, it was not far off from my guess."
He looked at Shen Xi and naturally asked what he truly wanted to know: "Daoist Fellow Shen, you must have the capability to take this treasure but didn’t do so..."
Shen Xi nodded: "Senior Xie Hall’s arrangement is not difficult to break. But I am not a loose cultivator; I represent my family."
"Before I came, I had been repeatedly reminded by my family elders not to align myself prematurely. I believe Daoist Fellow Ning can relate to this."
This was not the case.
Ning Zhuo was the Clan Leader of the branch family. The entire Ning Clan branch listened to him.
Moreover, he had significant influence in Liangzhu Country, especially close ties with the Three Generals Camp. His identity as the "Old Monster in Stone" also held considerable prestige in the Thousand Peak Forest.
He was even the Deputy City Lord of White Paper Immortal City.
Shen Xi hesitated here, but eventually said, "This time the Feiyun Conference might be different from previous ones. We intend to first form a small faction to observe the situation."
Ning Zhuo felt a movement in his heart and immediately understood that Shen Xi was subtly referring to the struggle between the new and old factions concerning Purple Thunder Peak and Flowing Cloud Peak.
Yu Heye widened his eyes, full of confusion: "What is different?"
He was the oldest and had been in the Myriad Images Sect the longest, yet he wasn’t even aware of this.
He was ultimately from a loose cultivator background and lacked this awareness. His cultivation technique was the "Reverse Five Elements Demon Technique," which had a limit of only Nascent Soul level. The highest achievement in his life was almost being recognized as a Golden Core True Transmission.
It’s noteworthy that the Myriad Images Sect has a considerable number of Golden Core True Transmissions.
Yu Heye had never been part of the power departments, his experiences were too singular, and most of his energy and focus was on "avoiding deviation."
Cultivation involves mastering a hundred skills, and life has a hundred faces.
Cultivation level cannot determine all victories and defeats.
There are plenty of means to defeat the strong with the weak.
Arrays are one, strategies are another.
No matter how high the cultivation level, not understanding the situation can still lead to being manipulated or reduced to a pawn or tool.