Across the world, there exists a dazzling variety of formations, but among them, the most commonly used undoubtedly are the lethal formations.
When Song Changsheng was just starting, he once explored an ancient cultivator's cave residence with Zhu Yiqun and the others. The owner of the cave was He Yunxuan, a formation master from the Formation Dao Academy.
Although He Yunxuan's inheritance wasn't directly from the Formation Dao Academy, renowned as the holy land of formation masters, his teachings still had many unique insights. They allowed Song Changsheng's understanding of formations to improve by leaps and bounds, and he mastered several profound formation techniques as a result.
Among them was a killing formation known as the "Wuchang Slaughter Formation." In terms of grade, it was a solid third-tier formation, extremely powerful in its lethality, perfectly in line with Song Changsheng's expectations.
But there was another key reason why he chose this particular formation.
According to He Yunxuan's notes, within the Formation Dao Academy, there was a secret realm, an ancient battlefield where many mighty cultivators had once perished.
It was in one of the dangerous zones of that battlefield that He Yunxuan stumbled upon a broken stone stele. Inscribed on it was the formation pattern for the Wuchang Slaughter Formation. Just one glance was enough to captivate him completely; he fell into a deep obsession.
Unfortunately, the stone stele was broken in half, and the formation pattern was incomplete. He Yunxuan sat before that stele for half a year, eventually comprehending what would become the Wuchang Slaughter Formation.
Later, he searched the Formation Dao Academy's Scripture Repository for more information about the stele and finally discovered that it was very likely related to a legendary grandmaster of formations.
This legendary master had once created a peerless formation known as the "Tenfold Absolute Slaughter Formation," revered as the greatest killing formation in all of history.
It was very likely that the inscriptions on the stele were fragments of this now-lost formation. Unfortunately, He Yunxuan only obtained a small portion of it; the rest was either destroyed or scattered throughout that miniature world.
Out of selfishness, he never spoke of the discovery. He only told his beloved, Gu Yiyi, and planned to return together to search for more fragments when the secret realm opened again.
Regrettably, the secret realm only opened once every hundred years, and He Yunxuan passed away from his injuries before he could witness its reopening. It became one of the great regrets of his life.
If the Tenfold Absolute Slaughter Formation was truly unmatched in its power, then even the incomplete Wuchang Slaughter Formation born from it could not be underestimated.
Most importantly, Song Changsheng wanted to attempt to complete the missing portions of the Wuchang Slaughter Formation.
Given his current level of formation mastery, that would normally be a fool's dream. But the advantage of primordial formation patterns lay in their ability to evolve on their own. By carefully guiding the process, even if he couldn't recreate the legendary Tenfold Absolute Formation, a simplified version might still be within reach.
And with that, in the world of cultivation within Great Qi, such a version would allow Song Changsheng to walk sideways without fear.
At the thought of this, a wave of excitement surged in his chest.
Once he had the idea, he immediately put it into action. Following the formation diagram left behind by He Yunxuan, Song Changsheng used his body's primordial formation pattern to begin evolving toward the Wuchang Slaughter Formation.
In just one day and night, the transformation was complete.
"As expected of a formation born from the Tenfold Absolute Slaughter Formation, it's incredibly profound. I need to find a place to test its power."
Although the Wuchang Slaughter Formation was originally third-tier, Song Changsheng had evolved it from a primordial pattern, so even he didn't know its true power.
Looking around, he finally descended sword-in-hand to a humble little hill not far from Cangmang Peak.
Clearing his mind and focusing his spirit, Song Changsheng activated the Wuchang Slaughter Formation within his body for the very first time.
In the very next instant, all of the spiritual power in his dantian and meridians was completely drained.
The speed was so fast it left his mind momentarily dazed.
Before he could react, a gray sword energy shot out from his Shenque acupoint with explosive force.
"Boom!"
The hill in front of him was cleaved in half by the strike, and the sword energy continued its unstoppable momentum, slicing into another nearby hill and blasting open a massive fissure. The upper half of the hill teetered, ready to collapse.
Song Changsheng didn't even have time to marvel at the power of the attack. The moment the grey sword energy was unleashed, it drained all of the spiritual energy within his body, causing him to collapse onto the ground.
This sudden development stunned him. he hadn't expected that activating the Wuchang Slaughter Formation would completely deplete his spiritual energy.
After that strike, he had lost all ability to resist. In his current state, even a mere Qi Refining cultivator could easily take his life.
A tremendous sense of danger instantly overwhelmed him. Forcing himself to stand, he remained alert, scanning his surroundings. The Wangyue Mountains were never short of demonic beasts. If one happened upon him now, he'd be a dead man for sure.
Fortunately, he hadn't gone far from the Cangmang Peak. The deafening sound of his earlier attack had already alarmed members of his clan. A streak of rainbow light shot down from the mountain, landing right in front of him.
"Young Patriarch, what happened to you?" Song Yushi covered her mouth in shock as she saw Song Changsheng's face as pale as paper. She hurried forward to help him.
He hadn't expected Song Yushi to be the first to arrive. Forcing a smile, he waved her off and said, "Don't worry, cousin. I just overexerted myself a bit. I'll be fine after some rest."
But in his current state, his words were hardly convincing. Song Yushi frowned and scolded, "Still trying to act tough? Let me help you over there to rest."
Song Changsheng didn't refuse further. He simply thanked her and let her support him to a nearby rock, where he sat down.
He then took out a golden-yellow gourd.
Ever since the Soul-Slaying Gourd had fused with the Earthheart Cold Flame, it was no longer suitable for holding liquor. So, he had taken time to craft a new gourd just for drinking.
He popped the cork and took several deep gulps. As the liquor transformed into spiritual energy and flowed through his meridians, his dry dantian began to regain vitality, and his complexion improved significantly.
Seeing his recovery, the concern in Song Yushi's eyes eased somewhat. Only then did she notice the hill not far away that had been sliced clean in half.
Looking at the smooth cross-section, she exclaimed in surprise, "You did this?"
Song Changsheng gave a wry smile and said, "I was testing the power of a new spell. I didn't expect it to drain all my spiritual energy at once."
"What kind of spell has such terrifying power? Even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator would have trouble pulling this off," said Song Yushi. Coming from a Golden Core family, she naturally understood how much strength it would take to cause such destruction; it was practically the limit of what a Foundation Establishment cultivator could do.
Had Song Changsheng been at the peak of Foundation Establishment, she wouldn't have been so surprised. But he was only at the mid-stage, which made it all the more unbelievable.
Even a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator would struggle to withstand such an attack.
Aside from minor divine abilities, Song Yushi had never heard of a spell so powerful. Realizing her words may have been inappropriate, she quickly added, "I was just curious…"
"No harm done," Song Changsheng waved it off, understanding what she meant. He didn't bother to explain further.
Just then, Song Luzhou arrived as well. Seeing Song Changsheng's weakened state, he frowned and asked, "What happened to you, boy?"
"It's a long story. But nothing serious, just overexerted myself a little. I'm feeling much better now."
Song Luzhou's eyes flicked between the two of them suspiciously, but he didn't press further. He was used to the fact that Song Changsheng was full of secrets.
The group returned together to Cangmang Peak. After thanking Song Yushi, Song Changsheng headed back to his courtyard to replenish his spiritual energy.
Several hours later, he slowly opened his eyes and let out a deep breath, still a little shaken.
"I didn't expect the Wuchang Slaughter Formation to unleash such a devastating attack by draining all of my spiritual power...
Good thing I had the foresight to test it first. If I'd recklessly used it in real combat, especially against multiple enemies, it would've been game over for me."
Song Yushi could only judge the power of the strike based on the destruction it caused at the scene, but Song Changsheng had a clear understanding in his heart that he had felt a sense of dread from the force he had just unleashed.
He knew his strength well. He had only barely reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, yet he had no confidence that he could withstand that strike, not even with the added protection of the Lu Wu Bell. Even then, his chances wouldn't exceed ten percent.
In other words, among Foundation Establishment cultivators, almost none would be able to block that attack.
"The power is impressive, but the consumption is insane. It's a one-and-done move. If it kills the enemy, fine. But if it doesn't… then I'm the one who's dead."
Song Changsheng shook his head. The Wuchang Slaughter Formation was only suitable as a last-resort trump card. The higher his cultivation, or rather, the more spiritual energy in his body, the more powerful the formation would become when unleashed.
With a single strike, it was either you or me.
It was extreme, yes, but right now, Song Changsheng needed something like that.
He pushed open the courtyard gate and looked at the sun slowly disappearing behind the mountains, his heart full of worry.
In that direction, two colossal powers were currently clashing. Regardless of who won or lost, the coming turmoil in the entire Qi Kingdom cultivation world was already inevitable.
Perhaps it had already begun; it's just that Lingzhou was remote and hadn't yet felt the impact.
With his hands behind his back, Song Changsheng pondered what consequences this upheaval would bring to the Song Clan and what opportunities it might offer.
A war between two sects would undoubtedly result in the decline of some powers and the sudden rise of others.
The path the Song Clan should take next needs careful planning.
He had already received a secret report from Song Luyao. It contained intelligence on Lieyang Sect; not only had He Tai emerged from seclusion, but the sect's elite forces had mobilized in full.
What Lieyang Sect could see, so could Song Changsheng and the others. If the Song Clan hadn't been weakened and still recovering, this battle between the two sects would have been a rare opportunity.
Given the clan's heritage, as long as they were willing to pay the price, earning three thousand merit points wasn't out of the question. If they succeeded, it would greatly increase the chances of Song Xianming breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm.
Thinking of this, Song Changsheng turned to gaze at the distant summit. Song Xianming had been in seclusion for over half a year; it should be nearly time for him to emerge.
Sigh… "If only we had enough manpower, I'd be willing to gamble on a future for the clan. But unfortunately, we're too few and too weak."
Song Changsheng sighed inwardly. It wasn't that he hadn't considered fighting alone, but fortunately, he still had his senses. On a battlefield where experts from both sects gathered, going in without backup was just throwing his life away.
"Best to prepare well and wait for things to unfold."
The battle between the two sects was only just beginning, and the situation was still unclear. For now, all the Song Clan could do was wait.
Others might not know, but Song Changsheng was very clear that Xia Qingxue's ambush had nothing to do with Heavenly Vein Sect. It was the Blood Demons who had framed them.
Although Song Changsheng didn't know why the Golden Crow Sect ultimately went to war with the Heavenly Vein Sect, he was certain that this was exactly what the Blood Demons wanted.
Now that their goal had been achieved, their next move shouldn't be far behind. This made Song Changsheng uneasy.
After all, traces of Blood Demon activity had already been discovered in Lingzhou more than once.
Precautions had to be taken in advance.
With that thought, Song Changsheng went straight to the Administrative Hall and found Song Xianyun to express his concerns.
After discussing the situation together, they ultimately decided to temporarily scale back the clan's external operations and dispatch personnel to patrol the Wangyue Mountain Range, checking for any signs of unusual activity.
At present, this was all they could do.
...
In the dim and spacious grand hall, the Blood Demon Cult Master, Hun Sha, sat high upon his throne, his fingers gently tapping the armrest in a rhythmic pattern.
Flap flap flap...
A raven flapped its wings and flew in through the window, landing on Hun Sha's forearm. Its scarlet eyes glowed with an eerie light.
"The plan is proceeding smoothly. Two Purple Palace cultivators from the Heavenly Vein Sect have already fallen. There's no turning back for them now," a hoarse voice rasped from the raven's beak, echoing chillingly in the empty hall.
"Excellent. Though that useless Blood Concubine let Xia Qingxue escape, it doesn't matter. Su Ding, that old fool, finally couldn't hold back." A faint smile appeared on Hun Sha's face, as if he could already see the day the cultivation world of Great Qi turned into a living hell.
"Don't celebrate too soon. Xia Qingxue is still alive. If Su Ding truly completes that step, the mission the Holy Lord gave us will have failed!" the blood-eyed raven said coldly.
"Relax. Someone will take care of her." Hun Sha spoke casually, as if Xia Qingxue's life was already in the palm of his hand, his to take or spare.
"You have someone in mind?" the blood-eyed raven asked, a trace of doubt in its voice.
"That's not something you need to concern yourself with. What we need to focus on now is how to make the two sects bleed more." Hun Sha shot it a sidelong glance.
"You want the Mie unit to take action?"
"No rush yet. Let them keep tearing each other apart like dogs. Not enough have died. Once they're truly bloodthirsty and blinded by rage, then we can alert our branches in each province to carry out the plan."
The blood-eyed raven didn't respond to that, merely said coldly, "Don't forget about Luoxia City. They're not as simple as they seem."
"I nearly forgot about them if you hadn't brought it up. Indeed, they're a troublesome bunch. If I'm not mistaken, Hun Wugui should be there too. That Blood Bat King cub is very important to us; we must find a way to take it back."
"What are you planning to do?"
Hun Sha stood up slowly and said indifferently, "It's been too quiet in the south lately. Let's stir up some trouble. Also, inform the Blood Concubine to find Hun Wugui's whereabouts."
The raven's eyes grew even more sinister. It didn't reply. It simply flapped its wings and flew out the window...
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