Chapter 1138: Dragon Mountain Array Diagram

The Imperial Advisor is the true slayer of beauties; the Yin Emperor's reputation pales in comparison.

Emperor Yanfeng looked at Yan Yunxi's distraught appearance. He felt a little sympathy, but more so admiration for the former Imperial Advisor of Eternal Peace, Jiang Baigui. This old friend of his had always been indifferent towards women. During his time in Eternal Peace, he was solely dedicated to becoming a sage, having no interest in romantic love whatsoever, and even saw it as a burden or hindrance. If he hadn't forced a marriage upon him, and if Qin Mu hadn't offered guidance, Jiang Baigui would likely still be a solitary man. He was certainly capable of that.

Jiang Baigui was a man of profound sincerity and unwavering character. If he didn't fall in love, he simply didn't, but once he did, he would never waver or change his affections. Even if Yan Yunxi were more beautiful or intelligent than the Imperial Advisor's wife, he paid her no mind. This was also why the Imperial Advisor's wife felt at ease with him leaving Eternal Peace. With a single sentence, Jiang Baigui stifled Yan Yunxi's innermost thoughts. His method could be described as ruthless.

Jiang Baigui bowed and said to Yan Yunxi, "Senior Aunt, I command a million divine devils. In the future, if Eternal Peace requires assistance, I ask that you aid us with these million divine devils."

Yan Yunxi's face was pale; she nodded silently.

Jiang Baigui straightened up and said in a deep voice, "Then, Senior Aunt, you may go and ask Divine King Lang Wo and Kaihuang to prepare."

Yan Yunxi departed.

Just then, a lazy voice came from below the city wall, chuckling, "Young man, you're quite impressive."

Jiang Baigui and Emperor Yanfeng looked down from the city wall and saw a ragged man sitting below, basking in the sun. He was leisurely picking lice from his body, chuckling continuously, and seemed mentally unbalanced.

Emperor Yanfeng's eyes flickered. He whispered, "When did this beggar arrive? He looks mad, and I didn't detect him. Heavenly Master Zixi is an even greater expert, yet even he didn't notice him!"

Jiang Baigui leaped down from the city wall, stood before the madman with his hands clasped behind his back, and said calmly, "Of course I'm impressive."

The madman, still picking lice, glanced up at him and chuckled, "A disciple of Wen Tiange, the Woodcutter? Your words are indeed incredibly boastful." He stood up, put a louse in his mouth, bit it with a crunch, then spat it out. He said, "Wen Tiange himself wasn't as arrogant in front of me as you are; he suffered a defeat at my hands. The Four Heavenly Masters of the Celestial Heavens are attacking, and each of them possesses extraordinary wisdom. Even if you and Zixi combine forces, you won't be able to defeat them."

Jiang Baigui said calmly, "The Four Heavenly Masters of the Celestial Heavens are old, and their skills are outdated. In battle formations, I am fully confident I can restrain them."

"But overwhelming force can crush anyone."

The madman chuckled, "How many people are there in Wuyou Township? How many Creators? How many rounds of attrition can they endure? Soon, you'll have no troops left. You're using the Creators and Wuyou Township to fight against the myriad worlds! You can't win."

Jiang Baigui frowned.

The madman chuckled, "Aren't your abilities quite impressive? Wen Tiange the Woodcutter was already overbearingly proud and arrogant because of his talent, but you seem even more arrogant than him."

Jiang Baigui said humbly, "I am not the most powerful in Eternal Peace. I have a senior brother who, at the same cultivation level, consistently surpasses me by a small margin. But compared to others, they are like triangles, while I am a straight line."

The madman paused, then after a moment's thought, understood his meaning. He said, "I was talking about stratagem, not martial prowess."

"Ah, I see."

Jiang Baigui said, "Speaking of stratagem, my second senior brother is far inferior. He's not as clever as I am. Compared to me, he's a straight line behind, a vertical one."

The madman burst into laughter, then leisurely said, "Then let's have a competition. I'll set up a formation, and you break it. If you can solve it, I'll help you resist the Four Heavenly Masters of the Celestial Heavens. If you can't, then I'll watch you die."

Jiang Baigui raised an eyebrow and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

The madman suddenly lost his deranged demeanor. He straightened his posture, looking dignified and awe-inspiring. "I am the former First Heavenly Master of the Celestial Heavens, Yue Tingge of the Dao Sect! The current Four Heavenly Masters of the Celestial Heavens are all my defeated subordinates! The Four Heavenly Masters of Kaihuang – the Fisherman, Woodcutter, Farmer, and Scholar – all suffered defeat at my hands, in both martial prowess and stratagem!"

Jiang Baigui's expression changed. He said unhurriedly, "Former Imperial Advisor of Eternal Peace, Jiang Baigui. I await your instruction!"

Yue Tingge's presence was imposing. He manifested a formation with vital qi, which transformed into figures of soldiers and shapes of treasures, arranging them into battle formations. This formation was extremely peculiar. It faintly took on the form of the world's most supreme treasure, the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, divided into twenty-eight heavens. Within these twenty-eight heavens were various treasures, surrounded by soldiers arranged in formations. Their numbers were not vast, but they integrated perfectly with the treasures, forming thousands of intricately arranged formations. Each of Yue Tingge's formations was unique, with myriad treasures forming ten thousand different layouts, and each layout seamlessly merged people and treasures. What was even more terrifying was that he used very few personnel, yet the structure of each formation allowed for a perfect, inseparable unity between the formation, the people, and the treasures, making it truly easy to defend and difficult to attack!

Once Yue Tingge had set up the formation, he said in a deep voice, "This formation is called the Great Formation Diagram of Recluse Longshan. It was created after the Second Heavenly Master, Shang Pingyin, was defeated by Recluse Longshan, an ancient hermit. Shang Pingyin went mad for tens of thousands of years trying to reconstruct and compile Recluse Longshan's diagrams into a book. He then gathered wise individuals from across the world to break the formation. For hundreds of thousands of years, countless strategists tried, but none succeeded. I was the one who ultimately broke the Great Formation Diagram of Recluse Longshan, earning me the title of First Heavenly Master of the Celestial Heavens."

The Imperial Advisor of Eternal Peace looked at the formation, which resembled the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, and was greatly shaken. "Many of the formations in this layout seem to be those developed during Eternal Peace's reforms! Who is this ancient Recluse Longshan?"

Within the Great Formation Diagram of the Lapis Lazuli Azure Heaven Banner, too many of the formations were Eternal Peace's own. The three individuals with the highest mastery of formations in Eternal Peace were the former Imperial Advisor Jiang Baigui, the God-eyed Blind Man of Crippled Old Village, and the Western Land Formation Master He Yiyi. These three had pioneered many different types of formations, arranging troops and entering the Dao through changes in battle layouts. Besides these three, there were also figures like General Qin Jian Qin Baoyue, renowned for his killing formations; Situ Xiuleqing, known for arranging formations by harnessing the forces of heaven and earth; and General of Agile Cavalry Quan Dingwu, famed for his combat formations. Each excelled in their own area.

Astonishingly, half of the layouts used in Recluse Longshan's Great Formation Diagram were Eternal Peace's own! The other formations were mostly variations of Eternal Peace's formations, but more refined. Only about a thousand types of formations were unfamiliar to Jiang Baigui, but breaking them would not be difficult for him. However, as he scrutinized it, he couldn't help but admire Recluse Longshan. This formation was a synthesis of ten thousand formations, integrating all of them into one vast killing formation! All ten thousand formations worked in concert, perfectly integrated!

Yue Tingge coughed, reminding him, "Jiang Baigui, these twenty-eight heavens can be freely rearranged!"

Jiang Baigui was greatly shocked. He nodded slowly and said, "Truly formidable. No wonder it stumped wise individuals for hundreds of thousands of years!"

However, he still perceived that the person who set up the formation seemed to have done so in haste. In fact, Recluse Longshan could have made the layouts even more intricate, but it seemed he lacked the energy or focus to arrange them perfectly, leaving many flaws in the formations. His guess was correct. At that time, Qin Mu's divine consciousness had been severely injured by the Grand Emperor, leaving him muddle-headed, sometimes conscious, sometimes in a coma, which led to many oversights when setting up the formations. Furthermore, he had set up the formations through Long Qilin, solidifying Long Qilin's reputation as the world's foremost Heavenly Master. However, because Long Qilin was merely relaying his formations, there were numerous imperfections.

The most terrifying aspect of this Great Longshan Diagram was that the twenty-eight heavens could be rearranged at will, which would render all attempts to break the formation utterly useless! Because the opponent only needed to reorder the twenty-eight heavens to nullify all your previous efforts!

"Eternal Peace Heavenly Master, how many troops do you need to break this formation?" Yue Tingge asked.

Jiang Baigui pondered for a moment: "Five hundred thousand divine devils."

Yue Tingge was stunned. He had used a million divine devils to break the formation.