The current scene was absurd, and Shen Zhu couldn't help but want to take out her notebook and make a good record of it.
Taiheng Sect's Yu Zikuan and the leader of the Ling Sect were entangled? If this got out, it would probably make the people of the Jianghu laugh their teeth off.
The Taiheng Sect and the Ling Sect were at odds, and Yu Zikuan was especially one of those who hated evil. It wasn't that he was particularly righteous, most of his hatred came from pure blood feud - he had an only son who had his meridians sucked out at a young age by Lu Fengxi of the Ling Sect and was used as a material for a tool.
His wife desperately protected her son and was also killed.
His wife and son died in misery, and Yu Zikuan vowed to eradicate the Ling Sect from then on.
It was just that he was full of revenge, and his methods were really brutal, which broke the rules of Taiheng. As time passed, Taiheng had to take away his position as an elder and send him to do less visible activities.
Yu Zikuan was more than happy to do so.
His last mission was to go to Zongwu Mountain and assassinate the newly appointed Sect Master Yan Zheng. However, after a few months, Yan Zheng was safe and sound, even Lu Fengxi was unharmed, and there was no news of Yu Zikuan at all. Taiheng Sect had asked the Yueshui Bureau to help find him, and had been looking for Yu Zikuan for several years, but there was still no news of him.
Taiheng Sect had to judge that this master of a generation had died, and removed his name.
Who knew that this person was not only still alive, but also living in an unimaginable way. However, since he had set up a big killing formation against the Ling Sect, at least Yu Zikuan's head was not messed up.
Shen Zhu thought habitually, and barely resisted the urge to touch the pen. When she calmed down, a strong sense of unease rushed into her mind - Yu Zikuan was still alive and well. Yu Zikuan wanted to use the killing formation to destroy the Ling Sect, no problem. Yu Zikuan and Yan Zheng... why would Yan Zheng be here?!
Sect Master Yan was alone, protecting Yu Zikuan in front of him, and looked like he had been beaten.
Shen Zhu stiffly turned her head, and the current Sect Master had a perfectly polite smile on his face, as if he was really innocent.
...She could understand the intent of stealing the Fog-Avoiding Pill. The master and disciple pair of the Ku Mountain Sect were strong enough, so it was understandable to do something to Yan Zheng. But even stealing Yan Zheng himself was really beyond her imagination.
If it was somoene from a famous righteous sect, such behavior would be enough to officially report to the officials.
The air seemed to freeze, and the scene was quiet for a moment.
"The two's plan was told to me by Sect Master Yan on the way." Shi Jingzhi broke the silence. He turned his back with the demeanor of a master, his tone light and breezy.
Shen Zhu glanced at the unsteadily breathing Yan Zheng, suspecting that Sect Master Yan was worried that the killing formation had not been activated on time. He also ran into the group from Ku Mountain Sect, unable to fight or run away, and had to reveal the truth.
She almost began to sympathize with him.
"Sect Master Yan gathered the big shots of the Ling Sect in one place, and you attacked Vermilion Tower with a large-scale killing formation. If my people hadn't run into you, Elder Yu, the formation should have been activated, right."
Shi Jingzhi continued.
"The big sects can use magic weapons to drive away the fog, while the small sects can only find ways to get Fog-Avoiding Pill. You are worried that innocent people will mix into Vermilion Tower, so you drove people away with arrows?"
Yu Zikuan had the Hanging Shadow Sword stuck to his neck, but he said unhurriedly, "Yes, I remember you kid... Since you are not from the Ling Sect, why don't you let us go and let me continue doing my thing. Without the Ling Sect's interference, it will be easier for you to find things, right?"
He seemed to care more about the formation not being activated than about his and Yan Zheng's exposure.
"That girl earlier was talking eloquently, and I was confused by her. Now that I think about it, the formation is not something that can be created out of thin air. How could the technique activated by mere hundreds of corpses affect half of Zongwu Mountain... Hey, what exactly is the scope of this killing formation? Now you can give me a definite answer."
Hearing "covering half of Zongwu Mountain", the three newcomers were stunned for a moment and looked at Shen Zhu in unison.
The killing formation covers half of Zongwu Mountain?
Yin Ci lowered his head and looked at the formation on the ground. From this angle, he could only see a corner of the formation. This formation was quite unusual, several times more complex than ordinary killing formations, and he couldn't figure out its structure for a while. But just looking at the size of the formation, it was pure nonsense to say that it could affect half of Zongwu Mountain -
The size of the pot matches the size of the lid. As Yu Zikuan said, formations cannot create something out of nothing. The reason why Shi Jingzhi could quickly set up a formation to deal with the secret scripture was also because there were mountains of corpses nearby, and the secret scripture itself was not big. In the end, it was still a matter of timing and geographical advantage.
Shen Zhu was not a simple person, and she probably deliberately exaggerated a bit earlier to put on a show.
However, Shen Zhu did not smile casually as usual and come out to smooth things over. She put away the relaxed expression on her face, walked up to Yu Zikuan, and slowly squatted down.
"Elder Yu, there are indeed 'something out of nothing' abnormal formations in the world."
Her eyes were on Yu Zikuan's eyes, her tone making people feel a bit uncomfortably stiff. The bit of relaxed expression from before was like fine dew, blown away by the night wind. When she said this, Shen Zhu deliberately raised her voice, obviously not just for Yu Zikuan to hear.
The formation quietly flickered with a faint light under everyone's feet, as if breathing. The night was very dark, coupled with the demon fog permeating everywhere, the group seemed to be wrapped in a huge cocoon, with no way out in all directions.
"Formations that need to be drawn on the ground, as long as they are precise and error-free, must not damage the strokes when activated. Even if you are not from Mi Mountain Sect, you should know this." She moved her injured shoulder and deliberately swept her gaze over the people from Ku Mountain Sect. "Look, if my judgment is correct..."
She stretched out a hand and poked at the formation lines on the ground. The lines were made of blood-mixed glue-like substance, lying on the ground in a semi-solidified state. Shen Zhu's hand was neat and ruthless, fiercely turning over the stiff soil layer, shattering the soil blocks into pieces. The mud debris and sticky glue mixed together, and the formation lines were broken in a mess.
If this was an ordinary formation, this part of the formation would definitely have problems. More seriously, the entire formation would be ruined.
...This should have been the case.
But the sticky glue seemed to have life, they drilled out of the broken soil, slowly gathering into the original lines, and then gently sticking to the uneven pits. In just one breath, the formation restored itself to its original state and began to flicker slightly again.
Like a brand engraved in the earth.
Yu Zikuan's rock-solid momentum finally dissipated a bit, he frowned at the formation, his face looking a bit ugly.
On the side, Yin Ci moved the sword in his hand, and his gaze also shifted away.
In the hundreds of years, he had never seen such a bizarre formation. Yin Ci suddenly felt that he had been seeking death all the way, but he might have completely gone in the wrong direction - if he had instead sought a way to survive like Shi Jingzhi, the things he found might have been able to kill himself long ago.
"This formation is not an ordinary battle formation, it's the 'Deity Summoning Formation' of the Immortal Gathering. Even to this day, I'm not clear about the source of its power, but regarding its range of effect, half of Zongwu Mountain is even a conservative estimate."
Shen Zhu said with a gloomy face, wiping the wet mud off her fingertips.
"The Deity Summoning Formation was not created by the Mi Mountain Sect, it only circulates among the high levels of the Immortal Gathering, and should not fall into the hands of unrelated people. Once this thing is formed, destroying the formation is even more troublesome than setting it up. Hero Yu, where exactly did you get it from?"
Shi Jingzhi also stepped forward two steps: "Senior Yu, now we are at the advantage in our situation, my friend here won't exaggerate. This matter has far-reaching implications, please enlighten us."
Seeing Shi Jingzhi's expression gradually becoming serious, Yin Ci sighed inwardly.
The reason for the internal strife in the Ling Sect, whether Vermilion Tower would be blown up by the killing formation, originally had nothing to do with the purpose of the Ku Mountain Sect. Getting the Fog-Avoiding Pill from Yan Zheng, they could safely search for Kongshi's Tomb and leave this troubled place early. Whether Shi Jingzhi abducted Yan Zheng to probe for information or to add fuel to the fire of the Ling Sect's chaos, Yin Ci didn't care much.
If Yan Zheng behaved, he would be kept alive, if not, he would be killed. Either way, the Ling Sect would not have peace from now on. As for Yu Zikuan's formation, it was even more irrelevant, they should have passed by this mess.
...Now it seems that the vortex of conspiracy on Zongwu Mountain is much more troublesome than they had imagined.
This night, it was not only the Ku Mountain Sect that could not sleep peacefully.
Although spring had arrived, the nights were still chilly. Late at night, only the shrine in the National Teacher's Manor still had lamps burning. The Red Hook Sect spy sneaked up to the side of the shrine and stuffed another Breath Hiding Pill into his mouth.
Having received orders from Dark Blood Witch, the spy had been transferred from the Prince Rong's Manor to the National Teacher's Manor for some time.
Judging from his daily routine, Jiang Youyue could be considered a truly great philanthropist - even though the National Teacher's lineage was hated by the Emperor, he still gave sincere advice. When he had nothing to do, he studied water conservancy and agriculture, never attending banquets or playing, and did not seem to be suspected of forming cliques for private gain. Jiang Youyue also treated his subordinates well, not exactly approachable, but never making things difficult for anyone.
If it weren't for the serious wording of the orders from above, the spy would almost think this was a retirement place arranged for him by the Red Hook Sect.
Unfortunately, Dark Blood Witch had indeed never been wrong in judging people.
Lord Jiang was good in every way, the only thing unusual about him was that he would often run to the shrine in the middle of the night. It was not unusual for generations of National Teachers to go to the shrine to meditate from time to time, strictly speaking, this could not be considered suspicious. But as time went on, the spy really found some clues -
Behind that small shrine, there was actually a secret passage hidden. The entrance to the secret passage was extremely hidden, close to the shrine. If it weren't for the Red Hook Sect's deep knowledge of tunnel mechanisms, the spy would have almost been kept in the dark.
Having obtained this information, he should also withdraw. Thinking of leaving the National Teacher's Manor, the spy felt a little reluctant.
He sighed silently while using a magic tool to conceal his figure, quietly following behind Jiang Youyue. The National Teacher seemed to be completely unaware, he carefully turned the mechanism and stepped down the long stone steps, heading deep underground.
There was a strange smell of plant juice in the air, the spy wrinkled his nose and barely suppressed a sneeze.
At the end of the stone steps was a spacious hall, with an extremely complex formation carved on the ground. In the center of the formation were piled bloody demon corpses, surrounded by twelve black-robed people kneeling neatly, wearing sacrificial masks. The formation glowed with a dim light, and the black-robed people were all touching their foreheads to the ground, not making a sound.
"What's going on?" Jiang Youyue's tone was calm.
"My lord, there is something unusual about the Deity Summoning Formation on Zongwu Mountain." The leading black-robed man raised his head, "After Yu Zikuan completed the formation, we were supposed to chant the blessing words to formally summon the deity. But before we were ready on our side, someone on the other side chanted the blessing words prematurely."
Jiang Youyue glanced at the formation in the center of the hall, his tone still without any fluctuation: "So what?"
The black-robed man was stunned: "There may be traitors within the Immortal Gathering, my lord, you..."
"Even if the other side wants to destroy the formation, you twelve people still can't defeat a possible 'traitor'?"
Jiang Youyue sighed, his tone like teaching a child.
"Since the Deity Summoning Formation has been successfully completed, it will definitely be activated. No matter what means the other side uses, it's just a mantis trying to stop a chariot... As for the suspicious person, after the deity summoning is completed, just check the survivors on Zongwu Mountain and you'll know."
"Your subordinate understands."
Jiang Youyue looked at the formation on the ground again: "Considering that you are remotely controlling it, the power loss is great, I will give you another six hours. Before sunset tomorrow, not a single living person should be left on Zongwu Mountain."
The spy almost choked, the Red Hook Sect still had a large team left on Zongwu Mountain. He had to go out and report quickly...
Before the thought was finished, the spy's neck was grabbed by something. The next moment, he found himself thrown into the formation, mixed in a pile with the foul-smelling demon corpses.
"After all, variables can be seen everywhere, you don't need to be so nervous. Master often said that there is no absolutely perfect plan in the world."
Jiang Youyue looked down at the terrified spy, showing a gentle smile. The formation rumbled, the demon corpses slowly melted, and the surrounding air suddenly became icy cold.
"...After all, mortals cannot touch the divine realm, it's good to make timely corrections and eliminate evil." Jiang Youyue shook his head, withdrew his gaze, his tone even more gentle.
That was the last sentence the spy heard in the human world.
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