Chapter 9: Array Formation

"Cousin, no need to see me off."

In midair, Ji Ning bid farewell to Princess Xiyue.

"Didn't you say earlier you'd stay longer at my Yan Prince's estate? Why leave right after buying things at Mount Tianbao?" Princess Xiyue was reluctant. Her grandfather, Prince Yan, had only recently become a Celestial Immortal, so he often went into seclusion to meditate and rarely accompanied her. Moreover, her cousin was of the same generation, and there were many things she couldn't say to her grandfather.

She had many things she could only share with Ji Ning, her younger cousin. Naturally, she wanted him to stay longer.

"The Great Xia world is turbulent now. I need to return early and set up layers of grand formations around my Ji clan's Yanshan," Ji Ning said. "From now on, I'll be living permanently at Yanshan's Serpentwing Lake. If you have nothing to do, cousin, you can come to Yanshan to find me."

"Permanent residence?" Princess Xiyue was surprised.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

He had obtained many techniques at Mount Cuihua—whether Qi Refining, Divine Demon Body Refining, or sword manuals—all pointing directly to 'Da Luo.' He also had the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, the Star Picking Hand, Houyi's Archery, and the Candle Dragon's Eye, the most supreme divine abilities in the Three Realms. All required dedicated cultivation.

With the Three Realms in turmoil, Ji Ning indeed planned to live long-term at Serpentwing Lake, while also waiting for Yu Wei to return.

"Permanent residence is good; then I can find you anytime. You have to be careful—my grandfather told me things are very chaotic lately. Even several Celestial Immortal Patriarchs have died," Princess Xiyue said.

"I know. Don't worry. Others might kill a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, but killing me is difficult," Ji Ning said.

"Oh?" Princess Xiyue looked surprised.

Ji Ning smiled. "Don't forget, I've returned after studying under a master. Alright, enough talk. I'll be off now."

With that, Ji Ning, along with Xiao Qing and Uncle Bai, performed a spatial teleportation and vanished above the Great Xia imperial capital.

"This younger cousin of mine seems to have had an extraordinary thirty-plus years," Princess Xiyue said, relieved. The stronger Ji Ning was, the easier she felt. "But that's quite a boast—saying it's harder to kill him than a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, as if he's more powerful than one. I guess his master gave him some life-saving treasures."

Swoosh.

Princess Xiyue dove down toward the Yan Prince's estate below.

This time, Princess Xiyue was wrong. In terms of strength, Ji Ning was already at the level of a Celestial Immortal Patriarch. Most importantly, he had the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, making it hard for anyone to harm him. With the 'Seventy-Two Transformations,' he could even transform into the Great Xia Emperor, and even Prince Yan staring at him would see no flaw.

Thus, those who cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Art had top-tier life-preservation abilities, which was why Patriarch Subhuti allowed Ji Ning to leave his tutelage.

...

"Master, Ji Ning suddenly left Anchang City and appeared in the Great Xia imperial capital."

"The imperial capital is the most dangerous place in this major world, not suitable for assassination. Continue investigating."

"Yes."

...

"Master, Ji Ning has left the Great Xia imperial capital and returned to his hometown, Yanshan!"

"Good. Yanshan is a wild place, suitable for assassination. Make sure to track his whereabouts. Order the 'Earth Nine' team to prepare a detailed assassination plan and get ready to act. Your task is to find out exactly where Ji Ning is."

"Yes."

...

Yanshan.

After teleporting back from the Great Xia imperial capital, Ji Ning immediately summoned the high-ranking members of the Ji clan. Some of the younger generation's Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples gathered together. Those like Ji Mo, whom Ji Ning had once guided, had benefited from the clan's improved conditions and received better training than Ji Jiuhuo or Ji Liuzhen had in their day. Ji Mo, for instance, was already a Wanxiang Adept.

At this gathering, they learned that Ji Ning had returned. Everyone was overjoyed. The younger members of the Ji clan had long worshipped Ji Ning—after all, winning first place in the Immortal Fate Convention was incredible! It was a competition where geniuses from across the entire endless earth gathered.

"Agreed, of course agreed. With Anchang Commandery in chaos, Uncle Ji Ning wants to set up layers of grand formations around Yanshan. This will give our Ji clan a foundation for endless prosperity!"

"Right, with these formations, we won't have to fear the Shaoyin clan."

"Agreed."

"I agree too."

No one in the Ji clan opposed.

Because Ji Ning's proposal sounded excellent: once the formations were complete, even a Celestial Immortal Patriarch couldn't break in; only beings surpassing that level could possibly do so. In the entire Great Xia world, even ancient clans like Anchang's Beishan or Shaoyin, which had existed since the Divine Demon era, only had Celestial Immortal Patriarchs at the top.

With these formations, Yanshan would be absolutely safe, allowing the Ji clan to thrive and multiply steadily.

True major clans always had some extremely safe places, some even in hidden minor worlds. The Ji clan naturally craved such a place.

Ji Ning wasn't lying!

Among the three peerless deadly formations, there were 'sealing' types. Sealing formations couldn't be bypassed by trickery; they had to be broken by force. Without the strength of a True Immortal or Heavenly God, one couldn't break them.

...

A snow-white great dog stood in midair. Before him, one hundred and eight glowing stones appeared out of nowhere.

The snow-white dog gazed at a distant mountain peak.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The stones floating before him shot out like meteors, all embedding into the mountain peak. Then the peak vanished, and in its place, rings of hazy light appeared, like clouds.

"The last foundation of the 'Eighteen Illusory Mind Confusion Formation' is finally set," the snow-white dog sighed in relief.

"Rise!"

With his activation, various locations across Yanshan—some peaks, some lakes, some wilderness—all began to draw in the power of heaven and earth. Some foundations resonated with each other, forming larger combined arrays, which in turn interwove intricately.

Soon, the entire Yanshan region, spanning about a hundred thousand miles, became a true illusory mind-confusing land. Without the signal talismans issued by the Ji clan, anyone who entered would be forever lost.

"Buzz buzz buzz..."

Around Serpentwing Lake, ordinary mosquitoes were flying, some often entering Brightheart Island.

In the wild, mosquitoes were too common. Even Ji Ning's divine sense would only detect them as ordinary insects, not even 'demons.' But the core of the 'Eighteen Illusory Mind Confusion Formation' was at Serpentwing Lake. As the formation activated, the core area—Serpentwing Lake—still looked ordinary, yet no matter how the mosquitoes flew, they couldn't reach Brightheart Island.

...

Inside a mansion in an ordinary Great Xia city.

Swoosh.

A lean man with green-glowing eyes quickly appeared in the courtyard, where a long-haired man in black robes with a vertical mark on his brow sat leisurely drinking tea.

"Master," the lean man said respectfully.

"Mm?" The long-haired black-robed man grunted. "What is it?"

"The entire Yanshan region is suddenly shrouded in a strange illusion formation. My children can't probe it anymore; they're completely lost. They can't even return," the lean man said, his green eyes showing reluctance. Those mosquitoes were ordinary but connected to his mind, which was hard to achieve.

"Oh?" The long-haired black-robed man frowned. "An illusion formation? So Ji Ning returned to Yanshan to set up formations. It's fine. The Ji clan wants to make 'Yanshan' their clan's breeding ground. They'll have to interact with the outside world, so they'll send out merchant caravans. The Ji clan will naturally guide the caravans so they don't get lost... You don't need to worry about that. I'll arrange for others to investigate. You rest well; your children are probably lost for good."

After all, sending others wouldn't recognize the special nature of those mosquitoes.

"Yes," the lean man replied softly, then withdrew.

The long-haired black-robed man soon gave orders to another subordinate. This seemingly ordinary city was actually an important stronghold of the Blood Cloud Tower.

...

Time passed.

The Blood Cloud Tower's various probing methods—mosquitoes, merchant caravans, mind-control arts, even possession techniques—began to infiltrate Yanshan continuously.

But as 'Whitewater Marsh' set up layer after layer of formations, especially around Serpentwing Lake with its heavy restrictions, even Ji clan members rarely saw Ji Ning. Only Ji Liuzhen, Granny Shadow, and a few others could visit directly. People like Ji Mo had to report first to be granted an audience.

Thus, the Blood Cloud Tower found it hard to determine whether Ji Ning was at Serpentwing Lake.

"Master," an old white-haired man said in a low voice in the same city mansion, "Yanshan now has layers of formations. I observed with a merchant caravan using an incarnation, and the formations I discovered alone would trap a Celestial Immortal. Only a 'Greater Teleportation Talisman' could escape. It seems Yanshan has become Ji Ning's territory. Inside Yanshan, Ji Ning can use the formations; killing him there is nearly impossible. Just to map out all the formations, especially the dangerous ones, would require sacrificing lives—probably a bunch of Earth Immortals."

"Mm." The long-haired black-robed man nodded. "Since you say so, Elder Chu, it seems Yanshan is unsuitable for assassination. Then we wait—wait for Ji Ning to leave Yanshan's Serpentwing Lake."

...

On the same day Elder Chu reported, heavy snow fell over Brightheart Island at Serpentwing Lake.

"After forty-nine days without rest, I've finally set up the first of the three deadly formations," Uncle Bai said, dressed in white, his eyes full of exhaustion. "I couldn't afford any carelessness; one mistake would throw everything into chaos, and some materials would be shattered by the power of heaven and earth."

"Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Bai." Ji Ning understood formations well and knew that setting up peerless deadly formations required the skill of a 'Formation Grandmaster.' The level of intricacy made even Ji Ning dizzy, let alone setting them up.

"It's fine. With one of the three deadly formations in place, Yanshan is already stable. The other two can be done slowly," Uncle Bai said with a smile.

As they spoke,

"Ji Ning!" a voice called from afar.

Ji Ning stood up. It was the clan leader, Ji Liuzhen.

"Ji Ning, the Mad Immortal Wu Feng from the Black-White College is here." Ji Liuzhen approached, with Mad Immortal Wu Feng beside him.

"Brother Wu Feng." Ji Ning walked over. As a returned Earth Immortal, according to the Black-White College's rules, he had to address fellow disciples as peers.

"Ji Ning, your master has emerged from seclusion. He plans to undergo the tribulation in nine days!" Mad Immortal Wu Feng said solemnly.

"The tribulation in nine days?" Ji Ning was startled.