Chapter 1610: Mysterious Celestial Formation

Taiyue Sect.

Located in the Southern Border, Taiyue Sect might not be as adept at using Gu poison as Myriad Poison Mountain, but many of its disciples cultivate related divine abilities, especially the use of toxins. This often yields extraordinary results during battles among low-level cultivators. Furthermore, some potent poisons can be acquired externally, saving time from arduous cultivation and proving more effective than practicing other divine abilities. For this reason, disciples from other sects are extremely wary of both Taiyue Sect and Myriad Poison Mountain.

Everything appeared normal within the sect.

With the Dharma Assembly approaching, many Taiyue Sect disciples went to observe the ceremony. Some followed their elders, while others, disliking restrictions, called upon friends, embarked on ships northward, and traveled the world along the way. The sect had become much quieter. In earlier days, Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators would constantly enter and exit the sect gates, but today, not a single one had been seen for several hours. The disciples on gate-guarding duty were bored and drowsy.

“It’s almost noon,” a young-looking disciple stretched and squinted at the sun overhead. “Senior Brother Wu and the others will be here to relieve us soon. Oh! The Ghost Festival Assembly is about to begin. It’s a pity I chickened out at the last moment and didn’t dare to attempt breaking through my bottleneck. Otherwise, I would have had a chance to go observe the ceremony. This is a grand event that happens only once every five hundred years! Golden Core cultivators only live for about five hundred years, so missing this is truly a lifelong regret!”

The lanky young man next to him looked lazy. “The sect doesn’t restrict our movements. If you want to go so badly, find someone to cover your shift. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to travel with friends like Senior Sister Liu Si?”

The young disciple showed fear and shook his head repeatedly. “I heard that demonic cultivators from the Northern Barrens are frequently moving south, and Jinyu Province isn’t safe. Those devils don’t care which sect’s disciples they encounter; they’re bloodthirsty, and anyone who falls into their hands meets the same fate! With my level of cultivation, I’d be swallowed whole, flayed alive, with nowhere to cry for justice.”

“Coward!” the lanky young man scoffed.

The young disciple retorted, “Senior Brother Li, if you’re so brave, why don’t you go?”

“I’m not interested in that ridiculous Dharma Assembly. I’d rather spend this time practicing more spells and increasing my life-saving abilities,” the lanky young man said disdainfully.

The young disciple wasn't so easily fooled. “I heard there’s a combat segment at the Dharma Assembly, where Nascent Soul Patriarchs from various sects will personally participate. Wouldn’t watching powerful cultivators fight be better than you just practicing behind closed doors?”

“Small skill, big ambition! Nascent Soul battles, do you even understand them?” The lanky young man retorted, intending to scold his junior further, when he suddenly felt a chill. He instinctively looked up at the sky, froze on the spot, his mouth agape for a long time. At the same time, the young disciple also felt the light suddenly dim.

In their sight, a black curtain appeared in the sky, extending outwards from within the sect. It didn't look like dark clouds, but rather a swift-spreading black shroud that eventually covered the entire Taiyue Sect. Beneath the curtain was pure darkness; not even the scorching sunlight could penetrate it.

The black curtain originated from within the sect, seemingly near the forbidden grounds. It was unclear if this was due to some upheaval within the sect or a powerful divine ability being cast by a sect patriarch. As the curtain covered them, night fell. It became pitch black, and they couldn't even see their companions.

“What time is it now?”

“Why is it dark?”

Chaos erupted all around them.

The lanky young man finally reacted, quickly forming a hand seal. Yellow light flickered from his fingertips, and a luminous orb slowly rose. With his other hand, he pressed the communication token at his waist. However, the token remained unresponsive. Receiving no response, the lanky young man grew increasingly uneasy and shouted, “Quickly, form the array!”

Immediately after, the surrounding disciples stirred briefly, followed by an eerie silence. The lanky young man's heart sank. Using the yellow light, he saw that the young disciple he had been bickering with moments ago now had a stiff expression, an ashen face, like a walking corpse. Terror welled up in his heart. The next moment, before the lanky young man could do anything, he froze in place, the light quickly fading from his eyes, following in the young disciple’s footsteps.

In front of Taiyue Sect's main gate, the gate-guarding disciples stood stiffly like wooden stakes. Until their deaths, they never knew why they died, nor who the culprit was!

An ominous wind swept through, and a streak of grey mist shot forth, passing through the corpses and materializing into a figure in front of the gate. The figure was clad in a grey robe, with its face completely obscured. Judging by the physique beneath the robe and the slender fingers, it appeared to be a female cultivator.

The female cultivator took out an empty crystal bottle, uncorked it, and gently waved her finger. Ethereal soul shadows flew from the corpses and were collected into the bottle.

“These are all low-level disciples, hardly worth collecting. Junior Sister, if you’re short on soul bodies, I can give you a few bottles.” A sinister voice approached from a distance, materializing next to the female cultivator. He also wore a grey robe, but he was a man.

“I wouldn’t dare take anything from Senior Brother Liao.” Seeing the man approach, the female cultivator instinctively stepped aside, recapped her bottle, and shook it with satisfaction. “After all, these are disciples of a major sect. Their foundations are solid, and their nascent spirits are firm. Your soul body quality, Senior Brother, might not even compare to theirs.”

The man cackled strangely. “Buddhists have Joyful Meditation; why should we demonic cultivators be bound by common customs? Today, with the sky as our canopy and the earth as our mat, is truly a joyful day! Junior Sister, when will you stop being so guarded against your senior brother?”

“Once my demonic cultivation is perfected, my chastity will eventually be for sale. If your offer, Senior Brother, is higher than Master’s, I wouldn’t mind being a temporary partner with you.”

The female cultivator’s words silenced the man. She turned her head towards Taiyue Sect’s forbidden grounds. “It’s a pity the sect master assigned us to guard the gate; we won’t encounter any high-level cultivators.”

The man said indifferently, “Can’t you tell Master is protecting us, Junior Sister? This is Taiyue Sect. A full counterattack from an entire sect would be no small matter… Hmm! Someone’s coming!”

The black curtain stopped extending once it reached the edge of Taiyue Sect. Taiyue Sect was utterly silent, yet from the outside, it appeared sunny, with birds singing and flowers fragrant—everything seemed normal.

Two streaks of escape light flew from afar, a man and a woman, both Taiyue Sect disciples. They had just returned from the Southern Border with considerable gains and planned to cultivate in seclusion within the sect to assimilate them. Little did they know the sect had already been occupied by demonic cultivators. They flew into the sect gate, chatting and laughing. In an instant, their smiles froze on their faces, and they perished silently, their bodies crashing hard onto the ground.

Similar scenes were frequently enacted around the periphery of Taiyue Sect, transforming one of the top immortal sects in the Nineteen Misty Rain Provinces into a bloody hell!

Taiyue Sect Forbidden Grounds.Soaring Dragon Cliff.

This place was where successive Taiyue Sect Masters meditated in seclusion. Only Grand Cultivators, or Nascent Soul cultivators nearing a breakthrough, were qualified to choose a cave dwelling on Soaring Dragon Cliff. Below Soaring Dragon Cliff was an abyssal chasm, infinitely deep. Legend has it that in ancient times, a hidden dragon leaped from the abyss and ascended, thus giving the cliff its name. Soaring Dragon Cliff had a strange wind that blew perpetually, possessing the power to erode souls and bones. Without sufficient cultivation, one could not even stand on the cliff.

At this moment, a group of figures appeared on the rarely visited Soaring Dragon Cliff. This group was divided into two parts. Some stood in a scattered formation on protruding rocks on the cliff face, most of them being Golden Core cultivators. After standing there for only a short while, some couldn't endure it and flew back to the cliff top. These individuals all wore grey robes, their identities obscured. However, judging by the divine abilities they displayed to resist the strange wind, it seemed to be a collaboration of several factions.

In front of the cliff face, other figures stood suspended in the air. A black, eerie wind blew up from the abyss, its force comparable to a hurricane, but it silently parted near them, unable to even stir the corners of their robes, creating a stark contrast with those on the cliff face. These individuals maintained a certain distance from each other, their affiliations clearly delineated. They no longer needed to conceal their identities. Among them were some of Qin Sang's old acquaintances.

Su Zinan and Mo Xingdao remained inseparable, though this time there were no Underworld Moon Guards by their side. The Man with the Strange Face and the Crying Spirit Cave Master stood side-by-side. The two seemed to be discussing something via telepathic communication. The centipede scar on the Man with the Strange Face’s face was even fainter than last time, barely allowing the outline of his features to be discerned.

With these two factions on either side, in the center was another group, the largest in number, led by a white-haired old man. Among them was Old Leng, who had given the Gu God Token to Qin Sang's avatar. At the outermost edge of the crowd, two other individuals stood apart, belonging to no specific faction. However, their aura was no weaker than Su Zinan’s or the others’; they were clearly Grand Cultivators.

One was a burly man with a heavy sword wrapped in white cloth on his back, its material unknown. This man had an unremarkable appearance and ordinary features, but his eyes were extraordinarily deep, seeming impervious to any ripple of emotion regardless of what he beheld. He held a token upside down in his hand. The character ‘土’ (Earth) was inscribed on the back of the token. The man with the sword watched the white-haired old man’s actions intently, without saying a word.

The other wore a white robe and a blue mask covering his face. The mask appeared very soft, like a flow of water, yet outsiders could not see his features through this 'water'; it only reflected their own image. The white-robed man sat cross-legged in the air, his hands folded on his knees, a piece of profound ice in his palm. Its style was similar to the sword-bearer's token, yet significantly different, as if it were a replica. Similarly, Su Zinan held a scorching red jade in his hand. The two cultivated their tokens while observing the white-haired old man.

“Done! The Heavenly Curtain Profound Array is complete!” The white-haired old man exhaled softly, glanced around at everyone, and addressed those behind him: “Old Man Yue must be plotting something at the Dharma Assembly, as he took many experts with him. However, several formidable figures remain within Taiyue Sect. Everyone, be very careful! Junior Brothers, I will now trouble you. You must seal off Taiyue Sect to prevent anyone from escaping or sending out messages.”

That person accepted the order and departed. Everyone, including those waiting on the cliff face, followed and left.

The Man with the Strange Face said to the Crying Spirit Cave Master, “Please go as well, Cave Master, to prevent any mishaps that might jeopardize our efforts. After today, the Formless Immortal Sect will reappear in the world; we have only one chance.”

The Crying Spirit Cave Master assented and was about to leave when Su Zinan called out to him. “Perhaps Daoist Mo could accompany the Cave Master. That would ensure absolute certainty.” Su Zinan finished refining the red jade and looked at the white-haired old man. “Activating the Formless Immortal Sect’s grand array later shouldn’t require so many people, right?”

The white-haired old man glanced at the others and nodded. “With three Five-Phase Tokens and two imitation Five-Phase Tokens, operated by five Grand Cultivators, we should have a seventy percent chance. It wouldn't be too late to ask Daoist Mo for reinforcement if needed. Although Daoist Su does not follow the Great Path of Fire, your ability to evolve other paths through the Blood Dao is truly remarkable, and I admire it! Without Daoist Su’s assistance, I fear we would have at most a fifty percent chance.”

Su Zinan said with a half-smile, “It’s only because you kept things hidden from me. The Formless Immortal Sect is merely a Nascent Divinity legacy. How do your patriarchs compare to my foster father? Could I possibly be led astray? You remember that enemy I asked you to investigate for me? If you had helped me capture that person, we would have gathered all five Five-Phase Tokens long ago!”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

“What do you mean by that, Daoist Su?” the white-haired old man asked curiously.

Su Zinan snorted, “You were the host of the Six States Hall auction back then; surely you know that person’s divine abilities? His fire manipulation techniques were incredibly powerful. When ambushed by demon cultivators, he swiftly killed two mid-stage Transformation Form great demons, forcing a late-stage Transformation Form demon king to flee in panic. Unless the legends of the Formless Immortal Sect are exaggerated, there’s no contemporary sect or power skilled in fire manipulation that can compare to the Formless Immortal Sect’s legacy. This person is likely the Fire Phase successor of the Formless Immortal Sect!”

The white-haired old man mused, “That person’s divine abilities are indeed extraordinary. However, it’s said that he was able to counter-kill the demon cultivators because he had an unknown helper. The spiritual fire he wielded was also completely different from what is recorded, unlike a Fire Phase successor. Moreover, he only appeared once before vanishing again, his whereabouts mysterious. Unless he reveals himself, there’s no way to investigate.”

At this point, the Man with the Strange Face, who had been listening, couldn't help but interject, “Why does Daoist Su say we could have gathered all five Five-Phase Tokens? Are you certain that person possesses both the Water and Fire Five-Phase Tokens?”

Su Zinan, however, looked at the white-robed man who was intently refining the profound ice and said in an enigmatic tone, “We’d have to ask this fellow Daoist first to know.”

The white-robed man slowly raised his head, his expression hidden by his mask. “What do you mean by that, Daoist Su? I have no connection to this person. This is the first I’ve heard of such an individual from you today.” His tone held a hint of displeasure; he suspected Su Zinan was unjustly slandering him.

Su Zinan eyed him up and down, then changed the subject. “I wasn’t asking about him, but about the whereabouts of the Water Phase Token. Since you are the Water Phase successor, why don’t you possess the Water Phase Token?” This was almost an accusation.

The white-robed man’s tone carried a hint of coldness. “Why must this old man possess the Water Phase Token? This fellow Daoist holds the Earth Phase Token, yet he is not the Earth Phase successor. Are you going to question the origin of his token as well, Daoist Su?”

The sword-bearer had been watching the drama unfold, surprised to be implicated. He glanced at the white-robed man.

Su Zinan smiled faintly. “Don’t be angry, fellow Daoist. I’m merely curious about what happened to the Formless Immortal Sect back then. So, you only received a partial Water Phase legacy, and are not the true Water Phase successor?”

The white-robed man reluctantly, stifledly, replied, “Indeed!”

The white-haired old man interjected to ease the tension. “When the Formless Immortal Sect was attacked by villains, its disciples fled for their lives, most only managing to take away a portion of the legacy. The true successors might not even have survived.”

“No wonder! It was my ignorance, fellow Daoist, please don’t take offense.” Su Zinan suddenly understood and apologized. “I have seen a tomb suspected to belong to the Master of Water Phase.” Before anyone could respond, he spread his hands, a regretful expression on his face. “Unfortunately, someone got there first. By the time I arrived, only ruins remained, so I can’t be certain.”

“Was it that person?” Everyone finally understood why Su Zinan had been relentless in pursuing that person; it wasn't merely about revenge. Upon learning this news, their hearts also stirred. Unfortunately, that person had not appeared.

“Yes, it was him.” Su Zinan nodded. “I didn’t expect you’d be more interested in the second prize than me... It was a Huawei mobile phone.”