Chapter 217: Straw Man Completion, Formation Broken, Qiyuanzi's Shock

Zhao Xing was truly impressed by Liu Tianning.

If it were Tian Yan, he would probably say, "Don't rush, don't put so much pressure on yourself, take it easy." But Liu Tianning's approach was, "You don't have enough pressure, let me push you harder."

This was Liu Tianning's style. He had an aversion to stupidity; he simply couldn't stand anyone acting foolishly. His demands on his direct disciples were even stricter, almost to an obsessive degree. This was because his self-imposed standards were similarly extreme.

Can't learn it? Then just die!

He constantly pushed himself to the limit, continuously splitting his Life Soul to control more Id Golems that embodied Myriad Laws. Such a person... even Zhao Xing, who was himself unconventional, found him extreme.

"If you can't learn it, the mission will undoubtedly fail," Liu Tianning stated. "You won't just lose war merits; the entire morale will take a huge hit. If you don't retreat and continue, sooner or later, you'll be successfully ambushed by the Holy Spirit Royal Court, losing at least hundreds of thousands of war merits."

"If you retreat," Liu Tianning said calmly, "the Six-Army Alliance will collapse, all previous efforts will be in vain, and you'll be blocked before Soul Sacrifice Pass."

Zhao Xing's breathing quickened. He was already under immense pressure, but Liu Tianning's words immediately tightened his nerves and maxed out his stress levels!

"I understand. Please, proceed."

Liu Tianning nodded and extended a hand as fair as jade. "The essence of the perfect fusion of the Five Laws is to make the Five Elements within the golem generate each other and cycle endlessly."

"The Id Golem technique is a practical application of the Yin-Yang Id Scripture."

"The Five Elements inversely derive Yin and Yang. You must not only perfectly control the Five Elements' Qi within the golem technique but also make them adapt to the Yin and Yang Dual Souls. Therefore, the foundational principle for integrating the Id Golem must include the 'Soul-Binding Golem'."

"With the Life Soul inhabiting a form, this golem will become your second physical vessel, a temporary dwelling for a wisp of your Life Soul."

As Liu Tianning spoke, his physical form began to dismantle. Normal golems collapse and disintegrate instantly, but Liu Tianning's 'disintegration' was a slow, analytical breakdown of the golem's skin, flesh, meridians, and bones. He controlled the speed, slowing it down many times over so Zhao Xing could see clearly.

The Id Golem's skin resembled human skin, but it had no flesh; when the skin broke, 'meridians' were revealed. This particular Id Golem of Liu Tianning's was made from extremely common materials, as if specially prepared for demonstration. Its meridians were surprisingly made of stalks from third-tier Elemental Rice – hollow stalks that were flexible and interwoven, twisted together like the meridians of a human body. Its internal 'bones' were also a relatively common fourth-tier material: Hollow-Core Softwood Branches. The Five Elements' Qi flowed within the rice stalks, transmitting section by section.

Liu Tianning's left hand's fingers disintegrated, while his right hand began to cast a spell. Zhao Xing could see how elemental energy flowed within his body and how it ultimately formed a spell.

"Buzz."

A cloud appeared in the palm of his right hand.

"Cloud Conjuration in the Palm!"

Zhao Xing was very familiar with this technique; Xue Wenzhong, his first teacher in Gucheng, had demonstrated Cloud Conjuration in the Palm when he first taught Zhao Xing cloud-based techniques. However, Liu Tianning's Cloud Conjuration was faster and stronger than Xue Wenzhong's, and he performed it using the golem technique! Perhaps Xue Wenzhong had learned his cloud techniques from the Liu family.

"Watch closely."

Liu Tianning ceased explaining, as all necessary principles had already been covered. Now, it was up to Zhao Xing to comprehend it himself. His left hand disintegrated, his right hand cast spells. An hour later, his left arm had completely disintegrated but still maintained the shape of an arm, albeit in an enlarged, deconstructed form.

Zhao Xing was completely absorbed. From the start, he had activated the Heavenly Eye Technique, and his Life Soul in the Sea of Consciousness opened its eyes. He observed Liu Tianning's demonstration from various angles. Immersed in the demonstration, Zhao Xing lost all sense of time.

At some point, everything before him seemed to freeze. Then, the toes also crumbled.

"Clatter!"

A pile of materials scattered across the floor. Liu Tianning's golem had completely vanished. Zhao Xing looked up and saw a translucent shadow—a wisp of Liu Tianning's Life Soul power that had detached. However, without the protection of the golem's body, this wisp of Life Soul power quickly dissipated.

"Old Liu has been very generous to me," Zhao Xing couldn't help but exclaim. This Id Golem of his could originally have been recovered, and its Life Soul power wouldn't have been damaged. The Life Soul power remaining in this golem was very strong! But now, separated by tens of thousands of miles, the Life Soul power had dissipated, and it would take a considerable amount of time to recover it. Liu Tianning had no intention of fighting, so this detached soul was purely for teaching him. Now that it had dissipated like this, it would take at least one to two years to recover, not to mention the expenditure of many precious treasures.

A heavy sense of pressure welled up in Zhao Xing's heart, and he began to construct a golem using the nearby materials.

"Rise!"

Zhao Xing once again attempted the Five-Law fusion. The five golem techniques were Valor, Flight, Detonation, Invisibility, and Soul-Binding. A single golem technique involved the Five Elements' balance across multiple parts. With the fusion of two techniques, the difficulty of the Five Elements' internal circulation increased exponentially. Each additional fused technique was ten times harder than the previous one.

Zhao Xing already knew over a dozen high-tier techniques, but other high-tier techniques reached their limit at the high-tier. For the Id Golem technique, high-tier was merely the threshold; it was known as the 'Ultimate Technique'! All spells could be integrated into it! The Id Golem technique was, without a doubt, the most difficult spell Zhao Xing had ever learned!

"Fuse!" He controlled the five golem techniques with both hands, merging them. Every step he took was precarious. Even in areas as small as a grain of rice, he had to control the circulation of the Five Elements' Qi. To perfectly merge five techniques was incredibly arduous for Zhao Xing; he quickly reached his limit.

A seemingly complete golem appeared before him, but abnormal repulsive forces emerged in various parts. The Five Element vortexes either spun slower and slower or accelerated wildly. Zhao Xing was like a firefighter, with fires breaking out all over the golem. He'd stabilize one spot, and another would malfunction; he'd secure the upper half, and the lower half would start to collapse.

Unable to cope, a sense of powerlessness washed over him. He was all too familiar with this feeling, having failed over ten thousand times, each time at the final stage.

"Five-Law Fusion, succeed for me!" Zhao Xing roared internally, clinging on with all his might. Under immense pressure, his essence, qi, and spirit now reached their peak. No matter how chaotically the Five Elements' Qi surged within the golem, he desperately tried to salvage it, repeatedly pulling the spell fusion back from the brink of collapse. Such repeated manipulation exerted immense mental strain. The elemental qi vortex in his Dan Tian spun wildly, and his Seasonal Command Talisman and Houtu Gravel were on the verge of faltering; he had truly reached his limit.

Suddenly—

"Thump!" A muffled sound resonated. Zhao Xing's vision went black, his entire body relaxed, and his heart sank to the bottom. The sound seemed like the golem had exploded again. Had he failed once more?

Opening his eyes, Zhao Xing saw 'himself' kneeling on the ground.

"Hm?"

The peculiar sight instantly made Zhao Xing realize something. He looked down and saw a pair of hands, rough and textured like tree bark.

"The Five-Law fusion worked! This is the perspective of the Myriad Law Golem!"

Zhao Xing was overjoyed. "Hahahahaha!" He laughed uproariously. But he forgot that this golem was still quite crude and lacked a mouth. In his excitement, the golem directly collapsed. The wisp of Life Soul that had unintentionally merged with the golem returned to his main body.

"Phew."

Zhao Xing let out a long breath and smiled at the remaining golem fragments before him. It didn't matter that it collapsed; he had learned it. Having crossed this hurdle, the rest was merely a matter of perfecting the minor details!

At this moment, a new spell appeared on his system panel.

**Myriad Law Golem (High-Tier)****Progress: First Rank****Effect:** Perfect fusion of five techniques, achieving the Myriad Law Golem. When this golem technique is cast, it splits a wisp of the Life Soul, allowing it to exist for a long time. As the cultivation realm increases, other spells can be infinitely superimposed!

"I've learned the strongest golem technique," Zhao Xing grinned. "This is an ultimate spell of the Elemental Qi era; in the era of spirit qi revival, its effects will be even greater, like a divine ability, yielding endless benefits."

The Myriad Law Golem was the Minister of Agriculture's life-saving divine skill. Liu Tianning survived so many assassination attempts during the Martial Emperor's era, living well until his old age and natural death. As long as he didn't wish to die, no one could kill him, because no one could distinguish which of Liu Tianning's forms was his true body, nor could they locate his main body. (Of course, this excluded the Martial Emperor himself.) If the Martial Emperor at his peak wanted to kill Liu Tianning, he could still do it. After a certain period, it would no longer be possible.

"If I were in Liu Tianning's position," Zhao Xing thought, "got my hands on Mi Fu's 'Art of Analyzing Primordial Qi,' then used the Spirit Mountain Cultivation Method to nourish my spirit, breaking the drawbacks of the golem technique, and then went to various Grotto-Heavens to raise my luck to the 'Perfect Ten' state, obtaining a few treasures, even the Martial Emperor at his peak wouldn't be able to kill me."

His becoming a first-rank Grand Minister of Agriculture and Liu Tianning's becoming one were two entirely different concepts. If Zhao Xing became a first-rank Grand Minister of Agriculture, he would be far stronger than Liu Tianning!

"Now it seems, I have no choice but to accept this karmic debt from Old Liu." Liu Tianning had taught him diligently, even sacrificing his own Life Soul. Regardless, there was now a de facto master-disciple relationship, and this karmic debt was far heavier than Tian Yan's financial investment. "Since you've chosen me, I won't let you down. I will surely make your Liu family's golem technique flourish!" Zhao Xing vowed inwardly. One of Liu Tianning's greatest wishes was to prevent his Liu family's golem technique from being lost.

Having mastered the Id Golem, Zhao Xing immediately sent a message to Liu Tianning via the Earth Mirror to share the good news. In the Myriad Law Palace, Liu Tianning showed a faint smile upon seeing the message on the Earth Mirror. It wasn't just because Zhao Xing's talent was astonishing, truly learning the Myriad Law Golem. It was also because Zhao Xing addressed him as "Master" in the message. With a successor for the Liu family's golem technique, he was naturally pleased.

On the other side, Zhao Xing urgently set about refining the Myriad Law Golem. He quickly reached the Third Rank of the High-Tier level. After mastering the Myriad Law Golem, fusing other golem techniques became much easier for him. This included beginner-tier techniques like 'Scout,' 'Replicate,' and 'Might' that he had learned initially, all of which could be integrated. He could even fuse other spells, such as the Bright Eye Technique, which would allow the golem to see further. Of course, at the Third Rank of the High-Tier, Zhao Xing could only accommodate mid-tier techniques, not high-tier ones.

However, in terms of effectiveness, his main body might not even be as useful as the golem. This was because Zhao Xing himself couldn't cast spells like shapeshifting or invisibility, but the golem could.

"I can now conjure three Id Golems simultaneously. Any more would put significant pressure on my Life Soul, and these three golems cannot be easily damaged." Zhao Xing looked at the three golems before him. "If they are damaged, it will harm my Life Soul."

Due to their 'shapeshifting' ability, the golems now looked identical to his main body, especially when dressed in a coir rain cape, straw hat, and holding a staff. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"It's time to challenge the Soul-Confusing Arrays of Anping Path and Nanxiang Path!" Without hesitation, Zhao Xing immediately summoned the Logistics Officer of Tonghuo City for a meeting.

"Starting today," Zhao Xing issued the order, "supply transport teams will still pass through Anping Path and Nanxiang Path! I will personally lead the team."

Anping Path and Nanxiang Path, if they could overcome the Soul-Confusing Arrays, would be far safer than other routes. This was because these two routes could receive timely support from the three front-line armies. If Soul Sacrifice Pass wanted to harass them? Perfect. There would be no need to attack the city; they could simply target and strike the reinforcements.

A stir rippled through the ranks below, as Zhao Xing's order seemed somewhat unbelievable. He was just one person, yet he intended to lead several transport teams. Moreover, the current Soul-Confusing Arrays were more formidable than before, guarded by ghost armies. Many people thought Zhao Xing had gone a bit mad. But Zhao Xing was the one in charge here! Even if someone objected, what he wanted to do, he could achieve.

The order was issued and executed the same day. All transport teams on the original routes that had not yet departed were halted. Those that had departed recently were all tracked down and ordered to return to Tonghuo City, no longer needing to detour around enemy-occupied areas.

As soon as he made his move, the front lines reacted immediately. Liao Rulong, Xia Jing, Chen Shijie, Wen Shaoyang, and others learned the news and immediately held an impromptu meeting via the Earth Mirror.

"You're going to take Anping Path and Nanxiang Path? Can you really do it?" Wen Shaoyang asked.

"Yes, I can!" Zhao Xing replied. "You all keep an eye on the movements along these two paths and strike down any reinforcements sent by Soul Sacrifice Pass. Soul Sacrifice Pass won't remain indifferent to this route change, and this is also an opportunity."

Seeing Zhao Xing's confidence, no one questioned him further. Xia Jing and Chen Shijie both cautioned Zhao Xing to be careful before disconnecting to discuss their interception plan.

On the other side, Qi Yuanjun, Yi Yue, and Nangong Ye also held a small private meeting.

"Zhao Xing of the Divine Might Army says he wants to retake Anping Path and Nanxiang Path, asking us to be ready to support the transport teams and strike Soul Sacrifice Pass's reinforcements," Qi Yuanjun said. "Nangong, what do you think?"

"Can he get through the Soul-Confusing Array?" Nangong Ye frowned. "If he can't, it won't just be a waste of our troops; it'll also cause the supply line to collapse."

"Let him try," Yi Yue said. "He's already agreed that if he fails, we can send our own people over."

"Alright, then we'll take this risk with him," Qi Yuanjun said. "His and the Divine Might Army's performance so far has been commendable. If he can't manage it, then we can propose other solutions."

To be honest, up to this point, Qi Yuanjun, Yi Yue, and Nangong Ye were quite satisfied with the Divine Might Army overall. Apart from Yi Yue having some reservations about Zhao Xing's previous delays, overall, Zhao Xing's work had been very thorough. If they sent their own people, it probably wouldn't be any better. If Zhao Xing succeeded, they would maintain the current cooperation. If Zhao Xing failed, they would have an excuse to deploy more troops, increase their influence within the Six-Army Alliance, or even operate independently.

The generals on Soul Sacrifice Pass's side were also discussing the situation. Morik and Qiyuanzi, who were responsible for a section of the Anping Path Soul-Confusing Array deployment, had just received orders from the allied forces' leader to intercept.

"Zhao Xing from Tonghuo City isn't actually going to attempt the Soul-Confusing Array, is he?" Morik said, receiving the order with disbelief. "Does he really dare?"

"The transport teams on other routes have all withdrawn; that's a fact," Qiyuanzi replied. "As for whether he's truly attempting it or faking it, or if there's a conspiracy, we'll know once we try."

"Morik, we must take this seriously. If he genuinely manages to pass through Anping Path's array, we'll have to retreat," Qiyuanzi said, frowning deeply. "I always feel this person is not simple. Prepare to withdraw back to Soul Sacrifice Pass."

Over the past month, Zhao Xing's ability to maintain the front-line armies' supplies without shortage, despite immense pressure, had also exceeded Qiyuanzi's expectations. The method of saturated transport wasn't something just anyone could implement. Tonghuo City's transport capacity, military supply production, and reserves had all surpassed their calculations. If he could also resolve the Soul-Confusing Array, then he and Morik's savage field army shouldn't even think about staying along Anping Path. It would be best to withdraw quickly to within the pass.

Among the multi-ethnic allied forces at Soul Sacrifice Pass, Morik's forces had the smallest numbers and the least influence. If Soul Sacrifice Pass were lost, they wouldn't bear primary responsibility. "If Soul Sacrifice Pass is lost, it can be retaken later. But if we lose our lives, they can't be retrieved."

"You're right," Morik agreed profoundly. As a member of the Holy Spirit Royal Court, he had little resolve in defending the Flame Demon tribe's territory under the Golden Feather Royal Court; it wasn't his homeland.

"All Dragon Bone Warships advance 1200 meters! Land Skyship Battalion retreat 600 meters!"

"Overturning Sea Warship, hard to port, turn!"

Over Anping Path, on a warship flying at low altitude, Zhao Xing stood on the dragon-head prow of the deck, continuously issuing commands.

"Che Shihai, you're flying too high, descend 200 meters!"

"Boss, but if I descend another 200 meters, I'll hit a mountain!"

"I told you to descend, so descend! That's an illusion!"

"Yes, sir!!" Che Shihai gritted his teeth, wide-eyed, and descended 200 meters, heading straight for the mountain ahead. Strangely enough, even though he felt certain he was about to collide, the skyship he controlled simply flew past. Once the lead skyship passed, those behind followed suit, flying over together.

"Damn, this is truly uncanny," Che Shihai murmured, a cold sweat breaking out on his palms. He had been flying for two hours, experiencing such incidents multiple times. But each time, he couldn't help but tremble. It was purely the Soul-Confusing Array creating illusions for him, impacting his Life Soul, making him instinctively feel fear and dread.

"Wang Ji, have the Dragon Bone Warship's Fire Crossbow Battalion prepare!"

"Left compartment aim for the Fourth Trigram position, Gen position, Zhongfeng zone. Saturated fire in ten breaths!"

"Don't stop until I tell you to."

"Yes, sir!" Wang Ji immediately shouted to the engineers operating the warship: "Left compartment Fire Crossbow Battalion, get into position! Adjust ballistas to the Fourth Trigram position for firing! Target area: Gen position, Zhongfeng zone!"

"Fire!"

The Great Zhou's Fire Crossbow Battalions generally referred to warship-mounted Fire Crossbow Battalions, which could only be equipped on at least fifth-tier supreme warships. This was because if the ship was too small, there truly was no place to put them. A single ballista was 108 meters long and 15 meters wide. A ballista was divided into five parts: base, ignition stone, trigger mechanism, firing port, and bolt. A fifth-tier ballista was a 1600-round type, capable of firing eighty fire crossbow bolts per second. Though called bolts, they were more akin to gigantic spears.

Fifth-tier crossbow bolts possessed extensibility. Before firing, they were five meters long and wrist-thick; after being launched, they would expand to be as thick as a thigh and fifteen meters long. The fire crossbow bolts were three-sectioned, with the latter two sections carved with a total of 1285 intricate array patterns. These provided propulsion to the leading tip during flight, allowing them to accelerate to at least five times the speed of sound! The arrowhead of the fire crossbow bolt was a three-layered telescopic design. It could break through barriers, penetrate warships, and upon impact with an object, it wouldn't immediately detonate its internal array but would explode several seconds after penetration. Its inner two layers, or core layers, were made from fifth-tier explosive core material.

Armies capable of deploying Fire Crossbow Battalions were generally powerful forces. Ordinary armies would run out of materials in the middle of a battle. To construct them, the engineers had to be elites like Master Wang. Ordinary craftsmen couldn't master such exquisite array pattern craftsmanship. Furthermore, fifth-tier explosive core material couldn't be mass-produced by common Ministers of Agriculture.

"Whizz!" Streaks of cyan light shot out from the Dragon Bone Warship's left rudder. There was no tearing sound through the air because wind resistance was nullified by the windwalking arrays on the bolts. This was also why they appeared cyan. Only when they hit a target would the arrowheads turn red.

After giving the order, Wang Ji also stared intently at the target area ahead. The area Zhao Xing wanted to bombard appeared to him as an unobstructed expanse of high sky. But after the ballistas fired, he quickly saw fiery red light blooming, which meant they had hit a target. Yet Wang Ji still couldn't see what had been hit.

Zhao Xing stood on the deck, his Heavenly Eye active. He saw a fleet of entirely black skyships, adorned with ghostly skull soul banners, being shot down in that part of the sky. "These are the aerial array foundations of the Soul-Confusing Array," Zhao Xing mused, "possessing mind-bewildering effects as well as offensive power. As soon as one gets close, their Life Soul will be impacted. At best, their Life Soul will be damaged, turning them into an imbecile; at worst, their Life Soul will directly perish."

"There were 300 skyships suspended along the path. With so many, it seems I'm about to fly out of this Soul-Confusing Array."

Sure enough, after the Fire Crossbow Battalion on the Dragon Bone Warship shot down these skyships, in less than two quarters of an hour, Zhao Xing saw the city ahead. The weather had returned to normal, the almanac no longer warned, and directions and times were all aligned correctly. This indicated that his team had already exited the Soul-Confusing Array.

"Old Liu is indeed incredible; he's actually proficient in the Way of Arrays too," Zhao Xing couldn't help but praise. "This person is a Military Minister of Agriculture, yet he's also proficient in the Way of Arrays. Truly extraordinary!"

After Zhao Xing's warship fleet flew past, in a valley below, Morik watched, dumbfounded, as black soul banners plummeted from the sky one after another. This was a setup they had prepared long ago.

"This person is not simple. With the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth as the foundation and Yin Soul vessels as the array, he can still get through." Qiyuanzi's eyes were filled with shock. "This array of my Profound Heaven Sect, capable of blocking heaven and earth, actually couldn't stop him."

"Morik, let's retreat. Don't even think about intercepting him anymore. We need to withdraw immediately, or we might be surrounded by the main army ahead! If we're late, we won't be able to escape this encirclement!"