Chapter 37: Mystic Yang Skysteel Array
Seeing that Song Changsheng’s expression was turning grim, Zhu Yiqun immediately knew to shut his mouth, though his small eyes still kept sneakily glancing at him.
Song Changsheng couldn’t help but raise a hand to his forehead. Clearly, explaining things to this guy would only make it worse, he’d just be painting the lily.
He simply stopped responding to Zhu Yiqun and sped up, heading deeper into the forest ahead.
In less than half an hour, everyone arrived at the rendezvous point as planned. After confirming everything was in order, they began advancing toward the location of the ruins...
The ruins were quite a distance from the marketplace. Though they moved at top speed, it still took them two full days and one night to reach the outer area of the destination.
On a barren hillside, Zhu Yiqun pointed to the forest below and said, “That’s where the ruins are. There are still a few days before the Winter Solstice, so we’ll rest here for a bit and then begin preparations.”
Everyone had grown tired from the long journey and sat down on the ground one after another to restore their energy...
“Fellow Daoist Song, come over and take a look.” A gentle voice sounded in Song Changsheng’s ear.
He looked up to see Xu Yun, the other formation master, beckoning him over.
Xu Yun appeared to be around thirty, and her cultivation was among the lowest in the group. But she, too, was a top-grade first-rank formation master, and in terms of breaking the array, she and Song Changsheng were the main force.
“Fellow Daoist Xu, is something the matter?”
“The Mystic Yang Skysteel Array, a superior-grade second-rank formation. Are you not interested in seeing it for yourself?” Xu Yun said with a slight smile.
Song Changsheng walked over to her and saw that just ahead of her was the boundary of the formation. A dense Yang aura converged here, making it slightly uncomfortable to stand near.
“It really is a superior-grade second-rank array. If it weren’t for the approaching Winter Solstice, we would have absolutely no way of shaking this permanent formation.”
A superior-grade second-rank formation would require several Foundation Establishment cultivators working together to break it by force. Their current strength was nowhere near enough.
“Indeed, we’re lucky. Although the Mystic Yang Skysteel Array is formidable, it’s a Demon-Suppressing Array. It won’t actively attack righteous-path cultivators like us. That gives us a rare chance to study a second-rank formation up close.”
Xu Yun smiled gently, then sat cross-legged at the edge of the formation to begin studying the array patterns.
Naturally, Song Changsheng wouldn’t miss such a rare opportunity either. He picked a spot not far from her and also began his analysis.
As soon as he started, Song Changsheng noticed something unusual. This was his first time encountering the Mystic Yang Skysteel Array, yet he felt no unfamiliarity as he delved into it.
And the deeper he went, the more he realized why, the array patterns in this formation bore a striking resemblance to those on the broken array foundation he had picked up in the central plaza of the marketplace.
Though the details were different, it was clear they originated from the same source. Since he had already fully digested the patterns on the array base, analyzing this formation went remarkably smoothly.
This was good news for him. The patterns on the array base had already deepened his understanding of the Dao of Formations, though a portion had been missing and left many parts unclear.
Now, he might be able to use the Mystic Yang Skysteel Array to fill in those missing parts...
Time passed quietly. Over the past few days, Song Changsheng had nearly fully comprehended the formation. He gained tremendously and even vaguely touched upon the threshold of the next level.
Xu Yun also clearly benefited greatly, her face bearing a charming smile.
“Changsheng, how is it? Do you have confidence?” Zhu Yiqun hurried over and asked.
“I’m fairly confident. The time has come. Let’s prepare to break the array,” Song Changsheng said with full composure.
“Excellent! Fellow Daoists, take your positions. We’re preparing to break the formation.” Zhu Yiqun slapped his thigh in excitement and immediately summoned everyone to action.
“Fellow Daoist Song, to break this array, we’ve prepared a large amount of Cold Nether Stone and three Restriction-Breaking Talismans. What approach do you think would be most appropriate?”
Xu Yun left the tactical decision to Song Changsheng.
“If that’s the case, then allow me to take the lead. My plan is as follows, the two of us will use the Cold Nether Stone to set up formations at these two points to continuously deplete the Yang energy.
“Once the depletion reaches a certain point, we’ll activate the Restriction-Breaking Talismans to open two breaches. The others will stay outside to stabilize the breaches while we enter the array to search for the core and attempt to break it,” Song Changsheng explained calmly.
Xu Yun gave no opinion, but Xu Yunhe spoke up instead: “Fellow Daoist Song, how confident are you in locating the array core? We only have one chance.”
“At least seventy percent.” Song Changsheng answered conservatively.
“Seventy percent? Then let’s do it.” Li Hu shouted boldly.
“I agree.” The others nodded as well. On the path of cultivation, absolute certainty was rare, seventy percent was already very high.
“Good. Fellow Daoist Xu, let’s split up.”
Song Changsheng and Xu Yun each went to the weak points they had identified, then took out their array flags and Cold Nether Stones to begin setting up the formations.
Though both were top-grade first-rank formation masters, the gap between them was stark, Xu Yun took half an hour longer than Song Changsheng.
Once the formations were in place, they activated them at the same time.
Instantly, a torrent of Cold Nether Qi surged from the array, rushing toward the Mystic Yang Skysteel Array under their guidance.
Weng~
In a flash, the cold and Yang energies collided, and a harsh hissing noise rang out like cold water splashed onto red-hot iron.
With the Winter Solstice approaching, Yang energy was at its weakest, and its depletion far outpaced replenishment. The array quickly began to falter.
Just as the Cold Nether Stones were about to be exhausted, Song Changsheng shouted, “Prepare the Restriction-Breaking Talismans!”
Li Hu and Zhuang Yuechan stepped out from the crowd, each holding a yellowed talisman in hand.
Now Song Changsheng understood why Zhu Yiqun had insisted on waiting for Zhuang Yuechan, she had one of the Restriction-Breaking Talismans.
“Activate!”
The two of them activated the talismans simultaneously. Two dazzling black beams shot into the weak points, and with a loud boom, two swirling breaches opened in the barrier.
“Enter the array!”
Seeing the two enter the formation, Zhu Yiqun and the others quickly channeled their spiritual energy to maintain the stability of the entrances, these were the only way out.
If the breaches closed before the formation was broken, the two inside would be lost within the array and eventually trapped to death!
Inside the array, the danger level skyrocketed. One misstep could lead to being shredded by the Heavenly Gang Wind Fiends within the formation, so utmost caution was needed.
Song Changsheng focused his mind on the array patterns, continuously simulating the formation’s operation with each step. Every step forward required a new deduction.
This was an extreme test of one’s formation expertise, if he miscalculated even once, he could be pulled into a deadly abyss.
But it was also the fastest way to break the array. As long as his deductions were correct, he would quickly find the array’s hidden core…
(Chapter End)