The Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation!
"Mark the ground as the bureau, open the Heavenly Gate, enter the Earth Door, close the Metal Gate, ride the Jade Chariot!"
The solemn incantation rang from Shan Liangcheng's mouth.
The bamboo flute in his hand also abruptly grew to over 3 meters long, transforming into an emerald-green bamboo stalk. At its tip hung an orange-yellow banner; as it whirled, spiritual light blazed forth.
His natal artifact: the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo!
A growth-type artifact.
At present, it was a first-tier supreme-grade artifact.
Unlike other formation masters, who needed a separate formation plate to control each formation after setting it up and had to carefully protect the formation core to ensure the formation kept running, this was different.
Just like the blood sacrifice in Liangzhou back then: once the formation eye was destroyed, the formation would cease to exist.
But in a formation master's hands, the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo could replace any formation core, and it could make the formation as responsive as an arm and hand.
"Boom boom boom!"
Each time the formation flag swung, a heavenly pillar would crash down from the sky.
All 81 heavenly pillars made the battlefield look like a divine court.
Amid the earthshaking war drums, Shan Liangcheng's voice resounded through heaven and earth:
"First decree: the Qian trigram commands the heavenly soldiers. Second decree: the Kun trigram slays demons and spirits!"
"Hmmmmmm--"
At the very front of the formation, the countless divine beasts carved lifelike upon the heavenly pillars began spewing golden radiance. Under the golden light linking them in pairs, they looked like Heavenly Gates. No matter whether soldiers or siege engines passed through those gates, a layer of golden light would coat their surfaces, like armor enveloping their bodies. It not only increased defense, it also provided a tremendous boost to combat power.
The Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation also came from the Heavenly Book.
The strength of any formation depended on the scale of the formation and the supply level of spiritual qi.
The Chang'an army was a mighty host of 1,000,000.
If they used ordinary formations, the consumption of spiritual qi would be an enormous amount every second.
A qualified formation master should know how to choose, at any time, the formation most suitable for the situation at hand.
Therefore, Shan Liangcheng chose the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation.
This formation was extremely special. Its power was stored in the 81 heavenly pillars. Through the pillars it could establish the Earth Bureau Heavenly Gates, and only after soldiers passed through the gates would they receive the empowerment of profound power.
In this way, spirit-stone resources could be utilized to the utmost.
After all, even with 1,000,000 soldiers, an assault on a city was never a single, all-at-once rush.
Of course, even so, maintaining the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation was an extraordinarily terrifying drain on spirit stones.
If Shengyun Sect were not so wealthy and deeply established, they would not be able to sustain such massive expenditures in war after war.
"Kill--"
The battle cries shook the heavens.
One siege engine after another - wooden mantlets, covered siege wagons, battering rams, assault towers, and more - all radiating golden light, was pushed by court soldiers likewise empowered with golden radiance, rolling up to the base of Kunyang City's walls.
Both sides traded storms of arrows, and the boulders hurled by trebuchets were like flying mountains in the sky!
Yet the power displayed by the two sides' engines was vastly different.
The Chang'an army's trebuchets had also been strengthened by the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation, and the boulders they launched flowed with golden light across their surfaces.
With only the 1st bombardment, huge gaps were smashed into Kunyang City's sturdy walls.
The entire city shook violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over!
"Senior Huang!"
"Is the formation still not ready?!"
On Kunyang City's walls, the Guiyuan Sect cultivators were urging the old man missing his front teeth.
At this rate, they would not hold for even 1 hour before the wall collapsed!
Not only that, the arrows fired by the Zhengtong side's archers and crossbowmen all struck the enemy, only to be blocked by armor coated in golden radiance. Aside from producing clattering "ding ding dang dang" sounds, they caused not the slightest harm, and the enemy advanced unstoppable to the base of the walls.
If this continued, there was no need to fight this battle at all!
"Alright, alright!"
Huang Laojiu fumbled in a panic. Only at the last moment, just before the enemy reached the city, did he finally succeed in activating the formation.
"Voom!"
The formation plate turned, like a mechanism coming to life.
The Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation!
"Mark the ground as the bureau, open the Heavenly Gate, enter the Earth Door, close the Metal Gate, ride the Jade Chariot!"
The solemn incantation rang out from Shan Liangcheng's mouth.
The bamboo flute in his hand abruptly grew to over 3 meters long, transforming into an emerald-green bamboo stalk. At its tip hung an orange-yellow banner; with each sweep, spiritual light flared brilliantly.
His natal artifact, the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo!
A growth-type artifact.
At present, it was a first-tier supreme-grade artifact.
Unlike other formation masters, who needed a separate formation plate to control each formation after setting it up and had to carefully protect the formation core to ensure the formation kept running, this was different.
Just like the blood sacrifice in Liangzhou back then: once the formation eye was destroyed, the formation would cease to exist.
But in a formation master's hands, the Mysterious Jade Golden Radiance Bamboo could replace any formation core, and it could make the formation as responsive as an arm and hand.
"Boom boom boom!"
Each time the formation flag swung, a heavenly pillar would crash down from the sky.
All 81 heavenly pillars made the battlefield look like a divine court.
Amid the earthshaking war drums, Shan Liangcheng's voice resounded through heaven and earth:
"First decree: the Qian trigram commands the heavenly soldiers. Second decree: the Kun trigram slays demons and spirits!"
"Hmmmmmm--"
At the very front of the formation, the countless divine beasts carved lifelike upon the heavenly pillars began spewing golden radiance. Linked in pairs by that golden light, they looked like Heavenly Gates. No matter whether soldiers or siege engines passed through those gates, a layer of golden radiance would coat their surfaces like armor enveloping their bodies. It not only increased defense, it also provided a tremendous boost to combat power.
The Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation also came from the Heavenly Book.
The strength of any formation depended on the scale of the formation and the supply level of spiritual qi.
The Chang'an army was a mighty host of 1,000,000.
If they used ordinary formations, the consumption of spiritual qi would be an enormous amount every second.
A qualified formation master should know how to choose, at any time, the formation most suitable for the situation at hand.
Therefore, Shan Liangcheng chose the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation.
This formation was extremely special. Its power was stored in the 81 heavenly pillars. Through the pillars it could establish the Earth Bureau Heavenly Gates, and only after soldiers passed through the gates would they receive the empowerment of profound power.
In this way, spirit-stone resources could be utilized to the utmost.
After all, even with 1,000,000 soldiers, an assault on a city was never a single, all-at-once rush.
Of course, even so, maintaining the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation was an extraordinarily terrifying drain on spirit stones.
If Shengyun Sect were not so wealthy and deeply established, they would not be able to sustain such massive expenditures in war after war.
"Kill--"
The battle cries shook the heavens.
One siege engine after another, wooden mantlets, covered siege wagons, battering rams, assault towers, and more, all radiating golden light, was pushed by court soldiers likewise empowered with golden radiance, rolling up to the base of Kunyang City's walls.
Both sides traded storms of arrows, and the boulders hurled by trebuchets were like flying mountains in the sky!
Yet the power displayed by the two sides' engines was vastly different.
The Chang'an army's trebuchets had also been strengthened by the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation, and the boulders they launched flowed with golden light across their surfaces.
With only the 1st bombardment, huge gaps were smashed into Kunyang City's sturdy walls.
The entire city shook violently, as if an earth dragon were turning over!
"Senior Huang!"
"Is the formation still not ready?!"
On Kunyang City's walls, the Guiyuan Sect cultivators urged the old man missing his front teeth.
At this rate, they would not hold for even 1 hour before the wall collapsed!
Not only that, the arrows fired by the Zhengtong side's archers and crossbowmen all struck the enemy only to be blocked by armor coated in golden radiance. Aside from producing clattering sounds, they caused not the slightest harm, and the enemy advanced unstoppable to the base of the walls.
If this continued, there was no need to fight this battle at all!
"Alright, alright!"
Huang Laojiu fumbled in a panic. Only at the last moment, just before the enemy reached the city, did he finally succeed in activating the formation.
"Voom!"
The formation plate turned, like a mechanism coming to life.
Countless cyan-green flags began running of their own accord in neat order. Under the boost of spirit stones, one formation seal after another stacked atop Kunyang City's walls, until layer upon layer of gales swept in, transforming into a deep green, flowing sheen that covered the entire city.
Another massive boulder wreathed in golden light slammed down with a crash.
But this time, not only did it fail to shake the city again, it was quickly ground to powder by that deep green, flowing spiritual light. A wind-aspect mana barrier also unfurled, blocking the torrential rain of arrows.
Seeing this, the Guiyuan Sect cultivators finally let out a breath.
"Senior Huang!"
"You nearly scared us to death!"
"Hehe, my apologies, my apologies!"
Huang Laojiu hurriedly bowed to everyone with clasped hands. "This old man is the classic 'a little of everything, solid at nothing.' I know a bit of everything, but I am not Mastery in any of it. Especially these past years, I have mostly been farming, so the formation path has truly gotten rusty."
The Black-Armor Xun Wind Formation!
A second-tier mid-grade formation.
It shared the same core idea as the Water-Controlling Grand Formation: a one-way defense. Attacks from outside could not get in, but those inside could attack outward. Whether arrows, rolling stones, or blades, spears, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, and forks, once they passed through the barrier, they would carry wind-aspect profound power.
After the formation activated, the enemy had already surged to the base of the walls.
"Boom--"
A golden-radiant siege hammer smashed into the barrier outside the city gate, sending out muffled thuds again and again.
Huang Laojiu once more formed clumsy hand seals.
Strands of profound light fell onto bows and heavy crossbows. When the soldiers loosed their next volley, every arrow turned into a streak of green light that finally pierced through the golden radiance, dealing fatal damage to the enemy.
The bitter battle officially began!
The Golden Bow and Silver Bullet appeared in Chen Sanshi's hands. He stood on the eaves of the gate tower, looking down over the entire battlefield. His draw speed was so fast it left afterimages; streak after streak of arrows wrapped in True Force kept passing through the barrier and falling onto the battlefield.
In only a few breaths, more than 100 soldiers lost their lives, and several siege engines exploded under that terrifying power, collapsing into heaps of wreckage.
But the enemy cultivators naturally would not just watch. Several cultivators immediately spread out under the empowerment of golden radiance, resisting the arrows together, and the situation fell into a brief stalemate.
At the same time, their soldiers finally reached the foot of the wall, surging forward wave after wave up scaling ladders and climbing onto siege towers.
"Kill the rebels!"
"Kill them!"
Yet just as before, even if someone managed to scramble up onto the walls by luck, they still had to face the barrier of the second-tier formation first. The Northern Liang soldiers hiding behind the barrier, meanwhile, could raise long weapons carrying wind-aspect profound power to greet them, and for a time the court troops suffered grievous losses.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last.
As more and more enemy soldiers, dense as ants, threw themselves forward, the Black-Armor Xun Wind Formation's fluctuations grew increasingly violent. Ripples spread across the barrier's surface in layers, like someone constantly throwing stones into a calm lake.
Especially once the cultivators began ceaselessly bombarding with spells, the city's protective barrier wavered more and more.
A second-tier grand formation was naturally difficult for a group of Qi Refining cultivators to break, but that did not mean it could not be damaged. It could only keep repairing itself, and self-repair required consuming huge amounts of spirit stones.
Chen Sanshi did not simply watch from the wall. His whole body was covered in black armor, and the Dragon Gall Silver Spear appeared in his hand. He merged as one with a fire dragon and charged through the Black-Armor Xun Wind Formation's barrier, killing his way out of the city.
It took 4 Qi Refining perfection-stage cultivators joining forces just to barely receive a single strike, and even then they were forced back hundreds of meters.
Chen Sanshi was about to press his advantage when he sensed an icy, bone-piercing sword qi coming from behind. His body turned with the agility of a bird in flight, and at the same time he thrust out his spear, colliding with a force as black as ink, like the silt at the bottom of a thousand-year cold pool. Under the terrifying impact, he crashed to the ground outside the city gate like a blazing meteor, leaving a huge crater. The shockwave alone killed more than 10 soldiers.
Feeling the chilling cold within his body, he slowly lifted his spear.
On the shaft of the Dragon Gall Silver Spear clung a sticky black liquid that could not be shaken off, continuously corroding his fire-aspect True Force.
If the one who came was not the Ling family's ancestor, Ling Kui, who else could it be?
In midair, Ling Kui appeared on the battlefield aboard a flying boat driven by cultivators. He carried a broad sword on his shoulder and held a foxtail weed between his teeth. In the slightly narrowed pupils of his eyes, cold killing intent seeped through.
He looked at the other Shengyun Sect cultivators and said, word by word, "All of you, attack the city with everything you've got. Leave this man to me."
"Senior Ling, do not underestimate him!"
The cultivators expressed concern.
"Get lost."
Ling Kui barked coldly.
The Shengyun Sect cultivators naturally would not warm their faces against a cold backside. They skirted around the white-robed man and rushed straight toward the city walls, joining their fellow disciples to attack the city's protective grand formation.
Ling Kui, meanwhile, slowly passed through the Heavenly Gate, letting the golden radiance empower his body, and walked step by step toward the white-robed man. His cold, sinister True Force gradually spread out. The broad sword dragged across the ground, leaving behind a layer of pitch-black frost, like someone had splashed ink across ice.
True Force middle stage!
With realm suppression on top of water-aspect restraint, from 10 steps away Chen Sanshi's fire-aspect True Force dimmed by several parts even before they traded blows.
"Surnamed Chen, weren't you running pretty fast last time?"
With the foxtail weed between his teeth, Ling Kui sneered. "Now that you see me, why are you just standing there? Why not hurry up and hide inside that turtle shell behind you?"
Facing the mockery, Chen Sanshi neither angered nor annoyed. He only replied calmly, "What's the rush? We should at least spar a little first."
"Peh--"
Ling Kui spat out the weed. "Fine."
The instant the word fell, his figure was already in front of the white-robed man. A sword called the Yingui Netherworld Sword was wrapped in sticky black liquid, and at some point it was only half a step from the throat!
Fire-aspect True Force!
"Clang!"
Silver light and firelight interwove. The sound of metal colliding was like a great bell being struck, then it came again and again, like a smith hammering iron, the tempo faster and faster until it merged into one continuous roar.
On one side was the black, sticky liquid slashed out by fierce sword moves.
On the other side were blazing arcs of flame whipped up by peerless spear arts.
The two streams of True Force collided without pause, until they stirred up a bizarre True Force tornado, sinister yin energy mixed with scorching flames.
Every time Ling Kui chopped out a sword strike, the white-robed man would retreat at least 1 step.
And with each collision of weapons, more of that black gui-water clung to the long spear, until it nearly coiled around and wrapped the entire shaft. A perfectly good silver spear became pitch-black and filthy.
From far away, it looked as if someone had buried it deep in sludge, and it could never be scrubbed clean again.
It was not just the weapon.
The scene-god shrines within Chen Sanshi's body seemed to be entangled and suffocated by that black liquid as well, severely affecting his strength, dropping from full 10 parts, to 9, then to 6...
If he kept forcing a head-on clash...
He would...
Lose his True Force!
In a short time, his True Force would be completely sealed off!
How bizarre was the other man's True Force!
Forget him, even his master had never mentioned anything like it!
You had to know, the other man's realm was higher than his to begin with. Being able to trade more than 10 exchanges was only because of the empowerment of Unrivaled Battle Intent; otherwise, he probably would not even last 10 exchanges!
"Not bad spearwork. No wonder those few juniors of mine fell to your hand."
Ling Kui's swordplay grew ever more ferocious, the moves he swung out almost forming a blooming black lotus in front of him. "But don't talk about you being only in the early stage of True Force. Even if you broke through to True Force middle stage right this instant, you still might not be my match!"
The Yingui Nether River Breathing Method!
A mutated variant of a water-aspect Breathing Method!
And also...
The Ling family's greatest foundation!
This Breathing Method could, in the process of exchanging blows, continuously weaken an opponent's mana or True Force until it reduced them to a mortal!
The white-robed man before him had cultivation at the early stage of True Force.
In theory, he should at most be evenly matched with a Qi Refining perfection-stage cultivator, yet he could crush Qi Refining perfection.
But ever since Ling Kui began training the martial path, within the same realm, when had he ever met an enemy?!
What was more...
He was 1 realm higher than the other man!
Ling Kui began practicing the sword at 12. At only 22, he was already at the early stage of True Force, a genius sword cultivator famous across the world.
If resources had been sufficient...
He should have stepped into the 3rd realm of the martial path before 45.
But...
Fate toyed with him!
In his 26th year...
The Ling family's previous ancestor was ambushed. Not long after, he died of grievous injuries that could not be healed.
Enemies came one after another to the clan.
At the time, the Ling family could not even produce a 2nd True Force middle-stage expert, and the clan was on the verge of annihilation!
At the critical moment...
Ling Kui abandoned his original ordinary water-aspect Breathing Method and switched to the clan's trump card, the Yingui Nether River Breathing Method. With realm at the early stage of True Force, he slew an enemy ancestor at True Force middle stage across realms, turning the tide.
But after that...
His road ahead was severed!
The Yingui Nether River Breathing Method was an ultimate yin, ultimate cold Breathing Method. The True Force it cultivated could weaken opponents, but it would also completely seal his own scene-gods, making it impossible to advance even a step further for the rest of his life.
However, Ling Kui could already kill across realms when he was at the early stage of True Force. Now that he was at True Force middle stage, with the empowerment of the Six Ding Six Jia Golden Radiance Formation and the restraint of the five elements, he could even hold the upper hand without risking his life!
By the current situation, if they continued the direct duel head-on, within 20 rounds he could chop off the white-robed man's head!
"Sizzle sizzle--"
Another 2 rounds passed.
Chen Sanshi began to feel his arms turning icy, and the fire-aspect True Force he unleashed was as feeble as a flame in snow. He could not even purge the Nether River True Force on the surface of the Dragon Gall Silver Spear in a short time.
The other man's strength...
Was stronger than he had imagined.
Fortunately, Chen Sanshi had only been probing in the first place. Knowing that a hard clash would put him at a disadvantage, he pinched a Swift Speed Talisman, stepped onto a flying boat, and retreated straight back into the second-tier city-protecting grand formation.
Only after a full 7 to 8 breaths...
Did he clear away the "bone-clinging ulcer" inside his body and regain his strength.
It did not sound like long, but in the midst of exchanging blows, forget 7 to 8 breaths - even 1 breath of time was enough to be fatal!
Back in Liangzhou, Chen Sanshi could still rely on both martial and spell cultivation to escape, and the other side could do nothing to him. But now he had to defend the city, so naturally there was nowhere to retreat.
"Heh heh."
"It really is the Yingui Nether River Breathing Method!"
Huang Laojiu's voice came from beside him.
Chen Sanshi glanced sideways. "Senior Huang, you recognize this Breathing Method?"
"I've heard of it, but this is my first time seeing it with my own eyes."
In a hoarse voice, Huang Laojiu explained, "Long ago, martial cultivators ranked all Breathing Methods on a list. This Yingui Nether River Breathing Method ranks 6th among tens of thousands of Breathing Methods."
The world's martial path...
Ranked 6th!