Chapter 1007: Chapter 1007: Breaking the Formation
Lihen Heaven!
Zhong Shan and his three companions stood amidst the vast starry expanse. The passage that had brought them here had vanished without a trace, but Zhong Shan was not one to be easily deterred by minor setbacks.
The four of them gazed out into the star-filled void, with Nangong Sheng appearing the most concerned.
"Saint King!" Nangong Sheng suddenly called out.
"What is it?" Zhong Shan asked.
"I believe... this is a super formation!" Nangong Sheng said, his voice tinged with astonishment.
"A super formation?"
"Yes, and the components of the formation aren't ordinary materials or even magical treasures—they are the countless stars themselves. Each star is a massive formation source!" Nangong Sheng explained with utmost seriousness.
"Oh?" Zhong Shan's eyes narrowed.
The thought of using stars as formation sources was staggering. The scale and power of such a formation were unimaginable.
"A starry sky formation?" Zhong Shan looked around carefully.
Though he could sense the unusual movement of the stars, understanding the intricacies of the formation was beyond him, as his knowledge of formations wasn't deep. However, Nangong Sheng's expertise was a different matter entirely.
Nangong Sheng wasn't called the greatest formation master in the Small Thousand World for nothing.
"Yes, this formation is extremely intricate. It reminds me of..." Nangong Sheng trailed off, deep in thought.
"Reminds you of what?"
"When Saint King once lent me the Taiji Diagram to study, I sensed that this starry formation has the flavor of the Taiji Two Principles," Nangong Sheng replied.
"A formation in Lihen Heaven with the flavor of the Taiji Two Principles is not surprising," Zhong Shan nodded, considering that Doushuai Palace housed the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, Taishang Laojun.
"But it's more than that," Nangong Sheng continued, shaking his head.
"Oh?"
"It also carries the shadows of the Grand Luo Zhou Tian Star Array," Nangong Sheng confirmed.
This revelation surprised Zhong Shan. While a connection to Taishang was expected, the presence of the Grand Luo Zhou Tian Star Array—an array tied to Ancient Divine Power in the Small Thousand World—was unexpected. How were these related?
"And it's far more complex than Ancient Divine Power's Grand Luo Zhou Tian Star Array," Nangong Sheng added.
"Indeed, I don't know enough about formations. Let me ask you directly—can you break it?" Zhong Shan asked bluntly.
"Breaking the formation is difficult. I cannot guarantee success because during the process, we will encounter many critical nodes. A wrong decision at any of these nodes will trigger the crushing power of the stars, which will grind us to dust. Even with our cultivation, we wouldn't survive," Nangong Sheng admitted.
"So, you can navigate the general direction, but some critical points are impossible to determine in a short time? And those critical points are a matter of life and death?" Zhong Shan clarified.
"Yes," Nangong Sheng confirmed.
"If that's the case, then let's enter the formation. When it comes to life-or-death decisions, I will make the call," Zhong Shan said decisively.
"Understood," Nangong Sheng replied immediately.
Over the years, the ministers had grown accustomed to placing absolute trust in Zhong Shan. When Zhong Shan said something could be done, it never failed—no matter how impossible it seemed to others.
Life-or-death decisions? A wrong choice meant death. While the stakes were terrifyingly high, the confidence Zhong Shan instilled in his followers outweighed their fears.
With Zhong Shan's command, the group stepped into the starry formation, fully aware of the challenges ahead.
Lihen Heaven, a specific star-filled void:
The sky was ablaze with brilliance, with countless celestial cranes flying, divine beasts circling, and the air thick with spiritual energy. At the heart of this celestial scene stood a grand palace, with a plaque reading "Doushuai Palace."
Outside the palace, two young disciples guarded the entrance, clearly bored with their duties.
Inside the palace, two figures sat across from each other.
To the south sat the Jade Emperor of Haotian Tongming Palace, and to the north, an elder in a Taiji Eight Trigrams robe—none other than Taishang Laojun himself.
Between them was a circular alchemy pool, the furnace removed, leaving behind a shallow basin. The basin was filled with water, teeming with countless tiny points of light, resembling fireflies.
"Laojun, has it not yet 'communicated with the divine'?" the Jade Emperor asked.
Taishang Laojun shook his head. "Not yet."
"I just received word—Amitabha has returned to the Great Thunderclap Temple, and the body at Sacred Corpse Mountain belonged to Tongtian. With Nuwa's death, the remaining six saints have each devised their own methods. The time is drawing near—they're almost ready to return," the Jade Emperor said gravely.
Taishang Laojun looked at the Jade Emperor and took a deep breath. "I am aware of my identity. I am the incarnation of Taishang's good corpse. The original body perished, the evil corpse and executor corpse were annihilated, but I survived, escaping the punishment of heaven by altering my consciousness. The original body is seeking resurrection, and I am the key. But something is still missing."
"What is it?" the Jade Emperor inquired.
"Although I am the good corpse, to preserve me, the original body erased all my memories. I have only the physical form, but no trace of the original consciousness remains. This is why I reside in Doushuai Palace in the Thirty-Three Heavens instead of Baguajing Palace in the Thirty-Six Heavens. It wasn't until I brought back this fragment of the 'Taiji Diagram' from the Great Zheng that I learned of my true identity," Taishang Laojun explained, frowning.
"Since you know your identity, why can't you reverse the process and communicate with the divine?" the Jade Emperor asked, puzzled.
"I can't. I still need the Grand Taiqing Yin-Yang Dust Formation! The original body set up this formation for a reason—perhaps the method to reverse the resurrection lies within it. If we can decipher this formation, we can solve everything!" Taishang Laojun said.
"This formation is extremely difficult to break," the Jade Emperor acknowledged.
"More than that! This formation is a deadlock, an unsolvable situation. There are forty-nine nodes; a single mistake at any point would lead to total annihilation. Even an Ancestor Immortal wouldn't survive," Taishang Laojun said, gazing at the starlight within the alchemy pool.
"Since your original body set up the formation, you should be able to break it eventually, right? Even if not, we could have someone else try," the Jade Emperor suggested.
"A deadlock—because I have a deep understanding of formations, I can see that this is an unsolvable formation. There are very few in the world today who surpass me in formation techniques. If I can't break it, who can?" Taishang Laojun shook his head in resignation.
"Wait," Taishang Laojun suddenly murmured.
Following his gaze, the Jade Emperor looked at the central water basin, where a few tiny star points had begun to move.
"What's this? Someone is attempting to break the formation?" the Jade Emperor remarked with a hint of curiosity.
"It appears so," Taishang Laojun nodded, unconsciously moving closer to examine the shifting points in the miniature representation of the grand formation.
Lihen Heaven, at the exit from the Heavenly Court's passageway:
Haomeili, Xidu Huang, Nezha, and several Heavenly Court officials hovered in the void, gazing into the endless starry sky.
"Zhong Shan seems to have entered the formation," Nezha said, his face grim.
Haomeili's expression was icy as she scanned their surroundings. "Let's head back first," she ordered.
"Yes!" The Heavenly Court officials immediately responded.
It wasn't long before they all returned to the grand hall from earlier. Once outside the hall, Haomeili remained silent, her gaze cold as she stared at an ice sculpture nearby.
The ice sculpture was surrounded by black mist, and within a radius of ten zhang, all the vegetation had withered and died. Within the ice, a faint figure could be seen, glowing with a sickly green light as if afflicted by a severe and malicious poison.
"Eighth Princess, perhaps we should lift the curse on Yang Jian?" Nezha suggested with a hint of a pleading tone.
"Why should I?" Haomeili replied icily.
"Yang Jian is a key official of the Heavenly Court. Cursing him like this over some outsiders... Won't that—" Nezha began to reason.
"Hmph, I don't care. I want to curse him. I want to curse him until his organs rot, his limbs decay, and his lineage is severed!" Haomeili snapped, her voice filled with anger.
As she spoke, the black mist around the ice sculpture thickened, growing even more ominous.
"Girl!" Xidu Huang suddenly called out.
"Old man, don't interfere, and don't plead for him. I've had enough of him. This is his own doing. Besides, old man, it was Zhong Shan who avenged you. The fact that you're alive now isn't thanks to Plague God, the Jade Emperor, or Taishang Laojun. Your complete resurrection is entirely due to Zhong Shan and me!" Haomeili declared stubbornly.
Xidu Huang smiled bitterly. "I know, and I wasn't planning on pleading for him. I just want to know how we can save Zhong Shan."
"Yes, saving Zhong Shan is more important! Nezha, how can we rescue Zhong Shan? Tell me!" Haomeili demanded.
"I don't know. Perhaps Taishang Laojun would know how to break the formation! But right now, there's no way to get to Doushuai Palace," Nezha replied, clearly troubled.
"Exactly. I don't know what's wrong with that old guy—my curse doesn't even affect him. If I could curse him, we could notify him right away!" Haomeili nodded as if she had just realized something.
Nezha: "..."
The other officials: "..."
"Come up with something! Go ask around and see if anyone can break the formation or at least find a way to inform Taishang Laojun!" Haomeili commanded.
"Yes, yes!" The officials responded immediately.
"And what about you?" Xidu Huang asked.
"Me? I'm going to keep cursing this bastard!" Haomeili pointed at the ice-bound Yang Jian.
Lihen Heaven
Zhong Shan, Luo Xingchen, Mr. Corpse, and Nangong Sheng stood atop a star.
"Saint King, this is the first node. There are three possible paths from here, but I can't determine which one is correct. A single misstep could lead to eternal damnation!" Nangong Sheng said with a frown.
Zhong Shan closed his eyes, focusing on the Red Luan Pink Lotus at his brow. Blue indicated great misfortune, while red indicated great fortune.
"We go this way!" Zhong Shan pointed in one direction.
"Understood!" Nangong Sheng replied, and they moved forward.
Inside Doushuai Palace
"They made it through. They actually made it safely past the first node?" Taishang Laojun said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
A little while later.
"The second one... they passed the second node as well?" Taishang Laojun's eyes gleamed as he watched the miniature array in the alchemy pool.
"Since when did the Heavenly Court have someone whose formation skills rival yours?" The Jade Emperor asked, a trace of confusion on his face.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8
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