Chapter 452: West Land Troop Formation

Dragon Qilin looked around nervously, extremely anxious that these buildings, houses, and palaces might come alive again.

Juncity was eerily quiet; no one else could be seen throughout the entire city. According to the geographical map of the Western Lands, Juncity should have been a large city with over a hundred thousand inhabitants, but its residents had now completely disappeared.

The person capable of making an entire city's population abandon their homes must possess unimaginable power.

Juncity was deserted, with only Qin Mu and his companions present. The city, which had just been so vibrant, now seemed to have suddenly died.

The silence made it all the more terrifying.

Suddenly, the entire city began to tremble violently. The ground beneath their feet churned, and buildings, houses, and palaces sank one after another. In an instant, Juncity was reduced to a desolate, blank expanse.

Dragon Qilin hastily soared into the air on fire clouds. Qin Mu leapt onto his back, while Xiong Qi'er tightly gripped Dragon Qilin's mane, looking down nervously.

The empty city below suddenly split apart, and square stones began to rise from the ground. These stones stacked layer upon layer, forming square stone pillars that rose with incredible speed. In less than a breath's time, a forest of square pillars had appeared around Qin Mu and his companions!

Standing in this forest, they appeared incredibly tiny.

These pillars were actually moving rapidly, likely concealing changes within a formation. Each time a pillar moved, it would suddenly lengthen or shorten, as square stones automatically shifted horizontally or moved upward, integrating into other pillars.

Some pillars also rose horizontally, spanning between others like beams. Yet, the length of these beams was constantly changing, alternating between long and short. A path might be clearly visible one moment, but the next, pillars would suddenly merge, forming an incredibly thick and heavy wall.

Juncity seemed to have come alive again, though it was utterly different from when the entire city had moved rapidly to devour everything. Now, Juncity was like a constantly changing three-dimensional space.

The Juncity from moments ago was merely a colossal entity that devoured everything; though seemingly dangerous, it was actually clumsy and not very threatening. But now, Juncity had become three-dimensional, operating as a formation, and its threat level had greatly increased!

The six faces of these square stones were each imprinted with different runic patterns. As these stones moved and reassembled, the runic cross-section of one stone would perfectly connect with that of nearby stones.

This was the most peculiar aspect: the reassembly of the stones was merely superficial; the true killing intent lay within the constantly splitting and combining runic structures.

Different combinations of runic patterns formed different formations. This city contained countless stone blocks, each with varying runic patterns, allowing for an infinite number of combinations and thus, endless variations of formations!

Qin Mu immediately realized that if they stood still, they would not trigger any of the formation's power, but if they moved, they would activate it!

"The divine arts of the Western Lands are truly splendid!"

Qin Mu praised them sincerely. Although the divine arts of the Western Lands did not prioritize destructive power as much as those of Yankang Nation, these imaginative and whimsical arts still filled him with deep admiration!

He had studied the Myriad Gods Natural Art but had not put strenuous effort into this particular aspect. Yet, Juncity revealed to him the wisdom of countless divine artists from the Western Lands!

Juncity's space was shrinking, constantly compressing. As the city moved to its final state, it would likely transform into a massive, perfectly square cube, composed of layers of formation structures. If Qin Mu, Xiong Qi'er, and Dragon Qilin couldn't break out, they would naturally be crushed into a pulp.

Dragon Qilin also perceived the terrifying nature of the current Juncity and immediately began calculating a path to survival. Since it was a formation, there had to be a triggering process, and that process would contain the key to escape.

The formation changes in Juncity were determined by the movement of its stone blocks, and this process of movement held the key to survival.

However, breaking the formation was incredibly difficult. The paths that seemed to lead out of the cube were, in fact, dead ends; attempting to escape through them would inevitably lead to a gruesome death!

"Juncity's cubic cage contains extremely complex arithmetical transformations!"

Dragon Qilin looked around nervously, his eyes darting like a revolving lantern. Using his mental power to calculate the movements of all the cubes within the massive structure, he was exhausted to the point of frothing at the mouth. He quickly said, "If given time, I could calculate a way out! But I'm afraid I'll be crushed before I can figure out where the escape route is! Cult Master, your mathematical attainments are higher than mine; do you have a way to calculate that path to survival?"

Qin Mu's eyes gleamed, and he said happily, "I suddenly thought of a way to deal with Xing An! If Xing An's limbs could develop spirits, wouldn't his limbs be completely out of control? Killing him would be much simpler then!"

Dragon Qilin was exasperated: "Cult Master, we're about to die, and you're still thinking about this?"

Qin Mu chuckled, "The person controlling Juncity has extremely high mathematical attainments, not inferior to mine. If it were a fair duel, I could still defeat him. But this person ambushed me, made the first move, and gained the upper hand, making it extremely difficult to break his formation. By the time I solve his mathematical puzzle, we'll also be crushed to death."

Dragon Qilin despaired.

Qin Mu suddenly called out loudly, "Senior Brother Yu, long time no see. Don't you want to chat before I die?"

"No," came the reply. "I'm afraid I'll die from talking too much."

Yu Bochuan's voice came from somewhere unknown, laughing cheerfully: "For a figure like Cult Master Qin, of course, the faster he dies, the better. I won't be at ease even if you die a moment later. Only a dead Cult Master Qin is a reassuring Cult Master Qin!"

Qin Mu's face turned as dark as iron.

"But Brother Qin can rest assured," Yu Bochuan continued, "when facing your corpse, I will certainly sit down and confide my inner journey to you."

Yu Bochuan laughed even more cheerfully: "Your humble servant has a rather bad habit: when locked in a life-or-death struggle with an opponent, I prefer to do everything possible to eliminate them. I only become talkative after my opponent is dead, to have a good chat with their corpse and explain why they lost to me. I won't make an exception for Cult Master Qin."

Qin Mu remarked with emotion, "What a good habit. I am trapped here, already destined to die by your hand, yet you are still so cautious. You are indeed a good opponent. As the saying goes, when a worthy opponent meets a talented adversary, I want to draw a painting for you, to conclude our mutual appreciation."

The constantly shifting stone walls around them became increasingly dense. The cubic cage that Juncity had become was transforming too quickly, with every step containing profound mathematical structures.

The mathematical structures of the stone blocks transformed into formation structures. The outer blocks that had stopped moving had already become layers of killing formations, trapping them tightly. Meanwhile, the inner layers of blocks successively stopped moving, also becoming killing formations.

One killing formation nested within another, making their escape increasingly impossible. Once the last layer of killing formations was complete, it would become a total death trap.

Whether Qin Mu and his companions moved or remained still, death awaited them.

Qin Mu chose to stand still, picked up his brush and ink, and painted with swift strokes, rapidly creating a painting.

Pillars and beams continuously advanced towards them, as the formation constantly evolved, finally encompassing them from all sides.

The formation evolved to its final stage, transforming into six walls that pressed inward towards the center. On these six stone walls, blocks continuously protruded and advanced, emitting loud thumping sounds.

Finally, the six walls violently collided, unleashing an incredibly heavy force. The outer layers of formations activated, and runic markings on countless stone blocks lit up, transforming the six walls into a terrifying crushing force. Under this violent collision, the entire three-dimensional Juncity trembled violently!

This strike was so powerful that even Cult Master-level experts of the Divine Bridge Realm, let alone skilled individuals like Qin Mu and Dragon Qilin, could not have escaped death!

"Good, truly good!"

Yu Bochuan's voice, clapping his hands and laughing heartily, came through. He praised, "The Formator is indeed a Formator. This formation skill is unmatched under heaven; no one can resist it. Though the Heavenly Devil Cult Master is full of tricks, when facing the Formator's formation, he can only die submissively, without a single complaint."

A woman's voice sounded, saying indifferently, "Young Master Yu, you flatter me. I heard that Cult Master Qin once clashed with the Poison Master. Mu Yingxue has always been arrogant, yet she was defeated by him, which shows he truly has extraordinary qualities. However, he focused too much on poison, and his attainments in mathematics and formations are far inferior to mine. I used my preparedness against his unpreparedness, which is why I was able to trap him and force him to face his execution."

Yu Bochuan laughed loudly: "He thought Juncity could only be defeated by brute force, so he rushed in to show off, not knowing this was just the Formator's tactic to lure the enemy deeper. As a result, he fell into an ambush. The Formator, the Poison Master, the Sword Master—my Western Lands' Three Absolutes—are indeed all extraordinary. Formator, please unlock this formation; I still want to see the painting Cult Master Qin left for me before he died."

Clanking sounds continuously echoed as Juncity's massive formation structure slowly disassembled. Huge stone blocks sank into the ground, and houses and palaces slowly rose. Before long, Juncity returned to its original state, leaving only a stone wall where Qin Mu, Dragon Qilin, and his companions had stood, with a painting hanging on it.

Yu Bochuan rode his perfumed carriage towards the stone wall, a smile on his face. Behind the carriage followed a group of Western Lands experts, numbering around a hundred. At the forefront was a woman with a delicate appearance, holding a cubic metal object in her hand.

In her hand, the metal object suddenly clattered apart into pieces of various sizes, then clattered back together again.

She was He Yiyi, the Formator of the Western Lands, renowned alongside Mu Yingxue, the Poison Master, and Luo Yinyu, the Sword Master.

The Three Masters of the Western Lands were all women, each possessing unique and ultimate skills, ruling their own territories.

Formator He Yiyi ruled Juncity, famous for her formations. Her skills were unparalleled in the Western Lands, and her attainments in formations were unmatched.

Although True Heaven Palace was a sacred land in the Western Lands, the Three Masters also had their own unique strengths and were not subordinates of True Heaven Palace. However, due to True Heaven Palace's influence, the Three Masters also held some reverence for it and would offer assistance if True Heaven Palace had requests.

Behind He Yiyi were the experts of Juncity, the heads of its major aristocratic families. They were powerful, even stronger than those from Fangxiu City, and their ability to rule their own territory was certainly no small feat.

Yu Bochuan drove his carriage to the stone wall and gazed at the painting on it. He saw that the painting on the wall depicted Qin Mu, Dragon Qilin, and Xiong Qi'er, all lifelike.

"Lifelike!"

Yu Bochuan's face was beaming as he laughed to the female disciples of True Heaven Palace in the perfumed carriage, "It's truly lifelike! Cult Master Qin paints so well; with such painting skill, if he sold paintings, he could at least earn a living! Hahahahaha!"

The women in the perfumed carriage all chuckled, "What a pity he's dead. Young Master, look, Cult Master Qin in the painting is still smiling!"

Another True Heaven Palace woman giggled, "He died by the Formator's hand. Seeing a perfect formation, this must be a smile of no regrets, right?"

Yu Bochuan laughed heartily, rose from the carriage, and, admiring the painting on the stone wall, said leisurely, "Cult Master Qin, I've come to chat with you now."

"Alright."

Qin Mu in the painting suddenly turned his head and chuckled, "I also wanted to chat with Senior Brother Yu! Sword Stride Across Rivers and Mountains—"