Chapter 3: Xingtian

When the Great Xia was first unified, all the immortals paid homage. But that time, after a long and bitter war that defeated gods and demons, the losses were heavy, and few celestial immortals survived. Now, after long years of peace in Great Xia, the number of celestial immortals has reached a staggering peak.

"This unprecedented calamity—I wonder how many will survive when it ends?" the Xia Emperor sighed inwardly as he looked down. "Even I cannot say for sure whether I will live."

"Rise," the Xia Emperor said. "Take your seats."

Ji Ning and the others all sat down. On the low tables before them were placed immortal fruits and immortal wine, but none of the immortals had their minds on these; they were all waiting for the Xia Emperor to speak.

"Junior apprentice-brother, look—among those five Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, there seems to be Patriarch Dongyan," Yu Wei suddenly transmitted.

"Patriarch Dongyan?" Ji Ning was startled and immediately looked.

Indeed.

Among the five Celestial Immortals and True Immortals was a man in simple blue robes, seemingly ordinary, but his aura was that of a True Immortal.

Patriarch Dongyan was the pillar of the Dongyan clan! Senior apprentice-sister Jiuyue was the current clan leader of the Dongyan clan. At the last Immortal Fortune Convention, Ji Ning had seen Patriarch Dongyan in person, but at that time he was only a Celestial Immortal. Unexpectedly, when he appeared this time, he had already become a Pure Yang True Immortal.

Ji Ning suddenly recalled what his master, Patriarch Subhuti, had said and sighed inwardly: "This Great Xia world truly hides dragons and crouching tigers."

"Fellow immortals," the Xia Emperor said, looking down at them.

Immediately everyone looked at the Xia Emperor, and Ji Ning stopped thinking and listened.

"I believe you all know the current predicament," the black-robed Xia Emperor said in a low voice. "The Fraternity of No-Name has unleashed a calamity that sweeps across the Three Realms. Now, throughout the Three Realms, several hundred weak major worlds have been completely conquered by them. Over a thousand major worlds are engulfed in war, and our Great Xia world is about to fall into war with the Fraternity of No-Name."

Everyone below felt their hearts tighten.

Several hundred major worlds conquered? If the Xia Emperor hadn't said it, they wouldn't have known. After all, there were only three thousand major worlds in the entire Three Realms. As for the billions of minor worlds, they were far weaker. Any tribe or sect could easily conquer and rule a minor world. Thus, the ownership of minor worlds had little significance in the short term; the real contest was over the major worlds!

"The Fraternity of No-Name is indeed powerful," the Xia Emperor nodded. "If we were scattered like sand, we would probably have been defeated one by one long ago."

"But we are very united," the Xia Emperor's eyes blazed with divine light. "The Fraternity of No-Name's strength is unfathomable, but we also have the Dao Ancestors and Buddha Ancestors of the Daoist and Buddhist paths, True Gods born from chaos, and many mighty figures of unpredictable power. Our strength is equally great. If the Fraternity of No-Name could completely suppress us, they would have swept across the Three Realms long ago, instead of attacking one place at a time, being so cautious and stirring up trouble everywhere."

Everyone present nodded.

The reason so many Celestial Immortals had come was that they were confident in their own side.

After all, their camp was also very powerful. They were under the command of Dao Ancestor Redbright, who in turn served under Nuwa. With so many mighty figures... it was an inconceivably terrifying force.

"Since it's war, some things must be abandoned and some preserved," the Xia Emperor said. "Our strength cannot protect every one of the three thousand major worlds. So we can only abandon some and concentrate our forces to protect the more important ones."

"And Great Xia is one we must protect!" the Xia Emperor's voice carried a terrifying battle intent.

Those below felt uneasy.

Probably, before other major worlds were conquered, the Celestial Immortals and True Immortals of those worlds also told their subordinates that this was a world that must be protected; otherwise, why would those Celestial Immortals risk their lives?

The Xia Emperor looked down and swept his gaze, understanding the thoughts of the immortals, and said: "The fortune of our Great Xia world is among the top in all three thousand major worlds. When calamity descends, the struggle for fortune is even more important. Ten weak major worlds conquered are probably not worth one Great Xia."

Everyone below nodded; this was true.

"So Great Xia must never be lost," the Xia Emperor said solemnly.

"This time!"

"Our side has eleven thousand Celestial Immortals and over a million Loose Immortals!" the Xia Emperor said. "I have discussed with several True Gods and Dao Ancestors the method to welcome the enemy in Great Xia."

The ten thousand immortals immediately tensed up. Several True Gods and Dao Ancestors? They listened carefully.

Eleven thousand Celestial Immortals and over a million Loose Immortals—everyone already knew this when they gathered and saw the Loose Immortals like an ocean.

"Then a plan was decided," the Xia Emperor said. "Of the eleven thousand Celestial Immortals in Great Xia, two thousand will be directly under my command. The remaining nine thousand will be divided into nine army corps, each with a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals. They will all cultivate the 'Xingtian Formation,' a great formation personally approved and granted to me by True God Xingtian during our discussions."

"Xingtian?"

Everyone showed joy.

True God Xingtian was very famous in the Three Realms. He was a legendary figure. In the ancient Pangu world, Xingtian was a Celestial Immortal, a powerful general under the ancient human imperial clan. In ancient times, although humans were powerful, the human imperial clan was recognized as the true imperial clan.

But in reality, the other myriad races were not weak either; the demon race was second only to humans. So many mighty figures established the Heavenly Court, and the Heavenly Emperor of the Heavenly Court was meant to mediate among all parties and stabilize the ancient world.

At that time, the human imperial clan was the true hegemon.

And the Heavenly Emperor was just a mediator.

When Xingtian had a conflict with the then Heavenly Emperor, he directly attacked the Heavenly Court. Xingtian was a general under the imperial clan, extremely skilled in battle. The Heavenly Emperor, though surrounded by some Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, could not withstand Xingtian. Later, only with the Heavenly Emperor's desperate struggle and the help of other Celestial Immortals and True Immortals was Xingtian suppressed, and even his head was cut off!

But as a god-demon, losing his head would not kill him. However, Xingtian was too proud—just as Three Lives Daoist refused to regrow his arm after losing it, Xingtian, after losing his head, did not grow a new one. Instead, he used his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth. Who would have thought that this mad battle would cause Xingtian to break through from Celestial Immortal to True God? He then killed the then Heavenly Emperor.

The ancient imperial clan gained another True God and was naturally overjoyed. They strongly protected Xingtian, and the other mighty figures did not make too much of a fuss, since Xingtian was now a True God. Later, a new Heavenly Emperor was established.

True God Xingtian, a member of the ancient imperial clan, granted the Xia Emperor the 'Xingtian Formation,' clearly standing on the Xia Emperor's side.

That the Xia Emperor had the backing of the ancient imperial clan was also why many Celestial Immortals were willing to fight for him. After all, the ancient imperial clan was too powerful! They had a host of mighty figures, especially the oldest human emperors like Suiren and Shennong, who were undoubtedly at the peak of the Three Realms. Even the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist paths were friendly to humanity, showing how strong the ancient imperial clan was.

"The Xingtian Formation requires a commander, a thousand Celestial Immortals, and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals to jointly execute, forming a great formation," the Xia Emperor said. "Such a formation channels the power of heaven and earth. With the hundred thousand Loose Immortals as the foundation and support, it can draw upon all the power of heaven and earth within a million li. Guided by the Celestial Immortals, it converges into a Xingtian god. This body is so powerful that even Celestial Immortals and True Immortals find it hard to damage."

Ji Ning and the others listened in awe.

A grand scheme.

If the Loose Immortals were scattered without a commander, they would be slaughtered. But when a hundred thousand Loose Immortals are used to channel the power of heaven and earth, the range is enormous. A single Loose Immortal can easily channel all the power of heaven and earth within ten thousand li. A hundred thousand Loose Immortals can channel the power within a million li—how terrifying would that be? Even Celestial Immortals and True Immortals are not that outrageous!

Of course, the Loose Immortals can channel it but cannot control it. So a thousand Celestial Immortals are needed as the skeleton and branches to mobilize it, and a commander is needed as the brain to unify the mobilization, only then can the power of the Xingtian Formation be unleashed.

"I will teach all the Loose Immortals the basics of the Xingtian Formation," the Xia Emperor said. "They will be the foundation of this formation."

"All Celestial Immortals present will receive the complete Xingtian Formation," the Xia Emperor said. "Of course, the most crucial techniques will be omitted."

"The commanders of the nine army corps will be chosen from among you," the Xia Emperor said, looking down. Immediately, everyone stirred. To command a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals—who wouldn't want that? Everyone wanted to be the leader, not a soldier under someone else. They had thought the commanders would be Celestial Immortals or True Immortals, but it turned out they would be chosen from among the Celestial Immortals present.

"In the Xingtian Formation, the key is the Loose Immortals channeling the power of heaven and earth. Even if the commander is a Celestial Immortal or True Immortal, the increase to the formation is limited," the Xia Emperor said. "So it's better to choose from among the Celestial Immortals. As for the Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, they will assist you at critical moments and can also greatly weaken the Fraternity of No-Name."

"I give you half a month," the Xia Emperor said. "Within half a month, those who have fully learned the Xingtian Formation I taught you can compete for the commander positions."

"At that time, I will assign a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, and let each contender try to command the entire formation," the Xia Emperor said. "The nine Celestial Immortals who are best at commanding the formation and making it most powerful will be the nine commanders."

Ji Ning and the others were all convinced.

Whoever could make the formation more powerful would be the leader—this was fair.

"The final nine commanders will receive the most crucial key techniques of the Xingtian Formation," the Xia Emperor said. "Without those key techniques, the formation can still be used, but its power is only comparable to other ancient formations. With them, the power is multiplied dozens of times."

This was also a secret of the ancient imperial clan; naturally, not everyone would be taught the key techniques.

...

Bamboo slips were delivered to the low table before each Celestial Immortal. The ten thousand immortals all extended their divine sense and easily obtained the Xingtian Formation. But learning it would take time.

"You have only half a month. After half a month, only those who have fully learned it can compete for the commander positions," the Xia Emperor said. "Alright, everyone, hurry and study the Xingtian Formation."

That night.

A million Loose Immortals sat cross-legged in the palace square, learning the basics of the Xingtian Formation.

The ten thousand Celestial Immortals sat cross-legged in the main hall of Tianmang Hall, contemplating the entire Xingtian Formation. Ji Ning, Yu Wei, Celestial Immortal Tonghe, and Celestial Immortal Diancai also sat cross-legged in silence, contemplating.

...