Chapter 27: Humph, this trivial little formation

"Shishi! Senior Sister! My dear wife! It’s really not proper for us to sneak in like this. Wouldn’t it be better to just visit directly and ask openly about what’s going on?"

In the forest of Little Qiong Peak, two shadows suddenly stopped, revealing a tall and a short figure. Both were still employing spells to evade detection by immortal senses.

Jiuwu stood in front of his Dao Companion, who was a head taller than him, and earnestly advised, "Xiaojiu has grown up. We can't keep her tied to our side forever. After all, she's an immortal who is nine hundred sixty-two years, six months, and fifteen days old. She's truly not a child anymore!"

Shishi, stopped by her Dao Companion, rolled her eyes slightly and scoffed, "What could we possibly find out by visiting directly? For this kind of thing, you have to sneak in to see the truth! Have you forgotten about Little Six and Little Seven? How did we find them? If we hadn't caught them in bed, they would definitely still be denying it! Hurry up and hide; don't expose our presence!"

With a stomp of her foot, Shishi's slender hand grabbed Jiuwu's collar and lifted him directly. Their figures once again transformed into two shadows, disappearing into the shaded woods.

Jiuwu could only force a wry smile. Though he prided himself on being resourceful, in front of the woman he loved, he had no strategies at all.

However, they had barely stealthily moved a hundred zhang before they had to stop again. Their figures appeared on the treetop of a large tree, carefully surveying the area ahead.

"This formation is quite ingeniously laid out," Jiuwu praised. "The boundary of the formation blends almost perfectly with the surrounding environment; only the corners are not detailed enough, revealing a slight spiritual energy fluctuation."

"Hmm?" Shishi tilted her head, the small braids formed from two strands of hair on her forehead gently swaying. She looked closely for a few moments, then said dismissively, "A mere illusory maze formation, how could it trouble you or me? Let's go, enter the formation. Looking at your expression, are you unwilling? Do you still want to sleep in our bed tonight?"

Hearing such a threat, Jiuwu quickly surrendered, hastily saying, "Yes, yes, of course I want to. It's rare for you, Shishi, to emerge from seclusion... Fine! I'll go first. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

Jiuwu sighed, instantly submitting to Shishi's 'tyranny'. He was the first to jump down from the tree, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, absentmindedly surveying his surroundings.

What he was thinking about now wasn't whether he could break the formation—in fact, he didn't even take the formations of Little Qiong Peak seriously. After all, Little Qiong Peak didn't even have an immortal residing there; how powerful could its formations be? What he was truly pondering was, what if he actually stumbled upon Xiaojiu and Junior Brother Qiyuan later? The scene would undoubtedly be quite awkward. Especially... 'Junior Brother Qiyuan will most likely not pass this heavenly tribulation. Is our little junior sister going to become a widow right after finding her Dao Companion? What on earth should I do?'

"Hurry up," Shishi urged from behind. "If we dawdle like this, we'll be too late for everything!"

"Don't worry, I've found the formation's exit."

Jiuwu quickly deduced the vital gate of this formation and soon led Shishi out of the first illusion array. But then, Jiuwu stopped, raising his left hand in a stopping gesture.

"Huh? It's a linked array?" Jiuwu was immediately amused, stroking his chin in admiration. "Although the preceding and succeeding arrays are relatively simple illusion arrays, to be able to string them into a linked array, the formation master's skill is quite good."

"Nagging!" Shishi snorted, striding two steps to get in front of her junior brother. Her immortal sense spread out, and she quickly found the exit of this formation, coolly saying, "Follow me."

Jiuwu smiled helplessly, following behind his Dao Companion and Senior Sister, his mind still pondering how he would handle the situation if they genuinely stumbled upon something.

***

Meanwhile, in the alchemy room over ten li away.

Li Changshou, who was organizing the poisonous herbs and spirit medicines before him, slightly frowned. He subtly glanced at Jiu玖, who was meditating and recuperating, and pondered for a moment in his heart, but said nothing more. The person with Martial Uncle Jiuwu should also be one of the Nine Immortals of Wine, he thought. Conveniently, these two could help him test the actual effects of the superficial illusion formations.

"Martial Uncle Jiu?"

"I'm here. Are we starting?"

"We'll have to wait a bit longer," Li Changshou chuckled. "If anyone asks Martial Uncle Jiu what you've been doing here when you return to Potian Peak, just tell them the truth. However, it would be best to keep the specific formation layouts and the number of formations here confidential for your disciple."

"Don't worry! I understand everything!" Jiu玖 patted her chest emphatically. "This Martial Uncle isn't the type to take benefits without doing anything. Considering you just honored me with so many alluring elixirs, I promise to keep quiet!"

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, continuing to adjust the weights of various herbs. The Immortal Fusion Elixir was finally about to be refined. However, he still had to wait until the two True Immortals outside had left.

***

In the forest.

Half an hour after the two True Immortals of the 'Jiu' generation entered the formation.

"You break the formation," Shishi mumbled. "My main study is artifact refinement; my mastery of formations has always been inferior to yours and Third Senior Brother's."

Jiuwu smiled calmly, walked in front of his beloved with his hands behind his back, an aura of masculinity surging from his not-so-tall frame!

"Stay close to me. This formation is called the Lingyue Six-Revolving Array; it's actually a relatively basic illusion array, but its vital gate is set in a rather peculiar way. The vital gate is above."

Before he finished speaking, Jiuwu had already found the formation's exit, and he and Shishi jumped up together, entering the next formation. The surroundings immediately inverted...

Another half an hour later.

"Strange, it seems we've circled back to the same spot," Jiuwu's expression gradually grew serious as he calculated with his fingers. "The twenty-four formations we just passed through are interconnected, but these twenty-four linked small arrays together form a hidden large array. Guided by the vital gates, they led us directly back to where we started. This method of array arrangement is somewhat clever, not necessarily profound, but it's very interesting. Yes, extremely interesting."

Shishi put a hand to her forehead and complained, "A way to break it! How long has it been already?! By your usual timing, this has taken three or four times as long!"

"Ahem," Jiuwu cleared his throat. "Alright, this humble Daoist is going to get serious now. Follow me!"

Immediately, he grabbed his Dao Companion's hand, quickly stepped back into the illusion array, and their figures swiftly disappeared into the dense forest.

Another hour later...

"This makes no sense; this shouldn't be happening." Jiuwu sat cross-legged in a clearing covered with fallen leaves, his hands constantly performing calculations.

Shishi paced back and forth, stroking her smooth, slightly pointed, beautiful chin, muttering incantations for formations she knew, but at this moment, they were no help.

The problem now was no longer how to quickly find Jiu玖 within the grand formation. The most crucial issue was that they had... become completely disoriented within the linked array! Even if they flew directly upwards or climbed downwards, they would only enter another illusion array! Round and round, they couldn't find a way out, even if they wanted to retreat!

Shishi said, "Why don't we just blast open this grand formation?"

"No, absolutely not. Are we here to catch someone or to demolish a mountain?" Jiuwu said with a wry smile. "Besides, if word gets out that you and I, a married couple, were trapped on Little Qiong Peak, a place without an immortal residing there, where would we put our faces?"

Shishi complained, "Aren't you skilled in formations?"

"These are indeed very basic formations, but linked arrays don't have a fixed solution. One can only continuously explore to break them or look for flaws between the arrays. However, the person who laid out these formations here has truly concealed the flaws too perfectly."

Jiuwu slapped his forehead. "Come on, I've thought of a way to break the array. Let's try again!"

So, another hour later...

Thump! About five feet off the ground, a flat forehead repeatedly struck the trunk of a large tree.

The short Daoist's eye sockets were sunken, his usually bright eyes were now dull and clouded, and his brown Daoist robe was stained with some withered grass and fallen leaves. His entire aura trembled chaotically.

He hit the tree trunk with his forehead again, letting out two 'hehe' cold laughs, murmuring, "It's all fake, isn't it? The Dao of formations this humble Daoist comprehended before, it's all fake, isn't it...? So basic formations can form the most profound illusion and containment arrays. So this humble Daoist has been on the wrong path for so long... Has this humble Daoist's Dao also gone wrong? Is the Wuwei Sutra wrong too? Hehe... So this humble Daoist is only a True Immortal of this level, hehe..."

Shishi beside him was utterly flustered, not knowing what to say. She quickly knelt on one knee and, in one motion, hugged her Dao Companion.

"Junior Brother, don't scare me. We'll just blast open the grand formation."

"No, absolutely not. How could someone capable of setting up such a grand formation not guard against direct bombardment? It might immediately transform into a killing array... Senior Sister?"

Jiuwu's lips trembled. He looked up at the beautiful and moving immortal in front of him and gave a desolate smile. "So I've always been unworthy of you."

Shishi quickly hugged Jiuwu tightly. "Don't say such things. We swore an oath to the Grand Dao, to never abandon each other for all eternity!"

"I really, am unwo—"

*Whoosh*— A gentle breeze swept through, and white mist suddenly filled the forest, but these mists quickly dissipated. At the same time, they heard a conversation from not far away:

"Martial Uncle Jiu, let's go over the practice once. Later, when I put these two herbs into the furnace, you will..."

"Mm, no problem."

Jiuwu and Shishi exchanged a glance. The latter immediately cast a spell, transforming them into two shadows, and sped towards the direction of the voices.

Soon, they discovered that their previous location was only a mere hundred zhang away from Jiu玖, whom they had been searching for!

Hiding behind a large tree, the two quietly peeked out, looking towards the alchemy room. At this time, since they were about to begin refining elixirs, the windows on both sides of the alchemy room were open. From Jiuwu's and Shishi's angle, they could just see Li Changshou and Jiu玖 standing in front of the alchemy furnace, discussing something.

Unbeknownst to them, it was already near dusk. A sliver of slanting sunlight streamed through the window, falling upon Jiu玖. She stood with her hands behind her back, the tip of her left foot touching the ground, her body slightly leaning forward, attentively listening to the tall, slender figure in front of her explain the detailed steps for the upcoming elixir refinement.

In the sunlight, the tips of her hair, which had just fallen to her shoulders, shimmered with light. Her skin was radiant and soft, and her eyes, like stars, were clear and luminous. Her slender neck and gracefully curved figure exuded a spiritual beauty.

As for the male cultivator beside her, dressed in a sky-blue robe with his long hair simply tied back by a Daoist hairband...

Jiuwu murmured softly with a puzzled expression, "Nephew Changshou? These formations here, could it be..."

As soon as he finished speaking, his mouth was immediately covered by a soft hand. Shishi chuckled softly beside him and transmitted a message: "Shh! Let's go. We'll talk about it back home. Don't disturb them."

Jiuwu was immediately bewildered. "We're leaving just like that?"

"What else? He's quite handsome, this junior. And he seems quite reliable, though his cultivation is only at the Void Return Realm... That's not really a problem, though."

Shishi smiled slightly, pulled Jiuwu, and began to cast stealth Daoist magic.

Just then, a tender green leaf detached itself, swayed gently, and landed on Jiuwu's head...

***

Finally gone. Li Changshou breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. He reactivated the surrounding grand formations and checked various parts of them repeatedly.

Fortunately, nothing was exposed. The containment formation's effect was unexpectedly good, and the information the containment formation itself conveyed to those who entered it also matched Li Changshou's initial expectations.

"Let's begin refining the elixir," he said. Then he turned and walked to a nearby empty space, took out a treasure bag marked 'Xuan Eleven', shook it in front of him, and a pile of objects fell onto the ground.

An artifact robe resembling a spacesuit, a myriad poisons glove capable of withstanding most 'fierce poison' corrosion, anti-poison talismans, detoxifying spirit elixirs, corrosion-resistant tweezers and clamps, strangely shaped containers...

"What are these?" Jiu玖 asked, puzzled.

"Some necessary preparations when refining poisonous elixirs," Li Changshou said with a smile. "I've prepared a set for you too, Martial Uncle. Let's put them on together. Although your immortal power is abundant, poison can permeate everywhere, so it's best to be careful."

"Alright, my little junior nephew is quite thoughtful towards this Martial Uncle." Jiu玖 blinked, then, full of curiosity, leaned in from the side.