Chapter 438: The Xuanyuan Grand Formation

Dead silence.

Ding Mu had just declared himself king with supreme authority when this arrived, leaving everyone on the altar dumbfounded.

The Alliance of Nations was hundreds of thousands of miles away; even riding a peak-level savage beast would take dozens of days to get there. For a special envoy's decree to arrive directly... it was too fast!

This... impossible! Impossible!

His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; Ding Mu was going mad.

Are you messing with me?

He had just become king, forced the other side to hold back, and victory was in sight. Then this happens—how could he command the world? How could he inspire trust?

A vassal kingdom was conferred by the Alliance of Nations; if the latter didn't recognize it, no amount of talk would help!

Your Majesty, this... is indeed a genuine special envoy's decree. I have seen one before...

Seeing his doubt, a minister stepped forward nervously.

A special envoy's decree, representing the emperor on tour. The four characters 'Alliance of Nations' carried a unique majesty that no one could imitate.

One glance was enough to know it was absolutely real.

Guards! The Left Chancellor speaks nonsense, undermining the state's foundation. Execute him on the spot by beating!

Already frantic, seeing this man so tactless, Ding Mu turned abruptly and roared.

Your Highness...

Everyone looked at each other, unsure whether to obey or refuse.

You all...

Seeing that no one heeded his command as king, Ding Mu's eyes turned red with rage. Just as he was about to continue, a faint voice rang out.

The Alliance of Nations does not recognize you. Your kingship is false, and no one will obey your orders!

Turning his head, he saw Zhang Xuan standing not far away, looking at him coldly.

In truth, even he was somewhat puzzled.

He had already prepared for the worst—whether the other party was king or not, he would strike. He hadn't expected the Alliance of Nations to refuse recognition.

With this, the other party's claim to kingship was illegitimate. Even if he killed him, no one would dare say anything.

What if they don't obey my orders? Do you think I'm afraid of you without them? Your strength may be formidable, but killing me won't be that easy!

With no throne left and his subordinates refusing to obey orders, and the Master Hall no longer on his side, Ding Mu knew that there was no other path but to fight to the death.

His face twisted like a starving wolf, he stared fixedly at the young man before him, then suddenly lunged forward and grabbed the imperial seal from before the throne, holding it in his palm.

With the imperial seal in hand, his entire demeanor changed, as if he had become a towering mountain, suppressing all around him.

His aura was so powerful that even a Half-Step Mortal Transcender had to temporarily avoid its peak.

"Our Ding clan was able to obtain tens of thousands of square kilometers of fertile land to establish a kingdom, receive a title, and pass it down for a thousand years without falling, with other kingdoms not daring to attack—this was not due to mere brute force, but... formations!"

"The Xuanwu Royal City, after years of maintenance, with various buildings fused with the sun, moon, and stars, has long formed a Four-Star Initial Formation! If you want to kill me, you'll die first! Even if I can't be king, I'll drag you down with me!"

With a roar, the imperial seal in his hand flew up, instantly triggering the formation. The entire royal city seemed to awaken, and an overwhelming pressure descended from the sky.

Everyone present felt their bodies tighten, as if bound by some formation, and any rash movement would lead to easy execution.

"It's... the Xuanwu Formation... He actually activated the Xuanwu Formation!"

Among the crowd, a minister turned pale, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

"The Xuanwu Formation? What is that?"

Many were unaware and couldn't help asking.

"Legend has it that the founding ancestor of the Xuanwu Kingdom was a powerful formation master. After unifying the kingdom and establishing the state, he chose this place, using mountains, rivers, and various buildings as formation bases to construct a heaven-defying formation. Even a Mortal Transcender at the initial stage could be easily killed if trapped inside!"

"This formation is activated by the imperial seal... It is the kingdom's last defense. Once used, no one present can resist..."

The minister trembled uncontrollably.

Earlier, Ding Mu had ordered everyone to kill this master, but no one obeyed. Now, with the formation activated, trapping everyone inside, if he wanted to settle scores, how could they resist?

Hearing this and feeling the raging, violent formation around them, everyone's face changed in horror.

They had thought that since no one obeyed his orders, and his own strength was far inferior to the opponent's, he was no longer a concern. But they never imagined he had such a hidden card up his sleeve.

A formation capable of killing even a Mortal Transcender at the initial stage—it must have reached the Fourth Grade!

Without sufficient strength, there was absolutely no escape.

It seemed... this time they were truly doomed!

...

"Are you... the special envoy of the Ten Thousand Kingdoms Alliance?"

While chaos erupted below, on the back of the savage beast in the air, Wei Yuqing looked at the young man before him, clenching his fists.

He had known from the Poison Hall that this 'young master' held a high status and was revered, otherwise, he couldn't have made Gu Mu's teacher, a Four-Star Poison Master, obey respectfully.

But even so... he never expected that he was actually the alliance's special envoy.

The special envoy holding the token was as if the king of the alliance himself had arrived; any vassal kingdom daring to question him could be strangled first and reported later!

It could be said that within the alliance's territory, he possessed supreme authority.

And the one holding such great power was merely a teenager...

Had I not seen him throw the token with my own eyes and witnessed what just happened, I would not have believed it was true.

"Mm."

"Young Master" nodded, offering no explanation, but instead looked down at the formation already in operation below, his brows furrowed.

After a moment, he turned to the old man beside him.

"Is there a way to break it?"

"Young Master knows, I am not skilled in formations!"

Jin Conghai's face flushed red.

Though he was a Mortal Transformation realm expert, he was only proficient in using poison, not in formations. The formation below, vast and expansive, would be difficult even for a true Four-Star initial stage formation master to solve, let alone him.

"This formation, drawing on the terrain of the mountains and rivers, and having been set up for a long time without ever being used, has already accumulated immense power. Not to mention me, I fear... even if Hall Master Kang came, he would have no way to deal with it!"

After a moment's hesitation, the teacher of Gumu continued.

Even if he was not skilled in formations, as a Mortal Transformation realm expert of the Ten Thousand Nations Alliance, he still had the insight and experience to easily perceive the terror of this formation.

Not to mention him, even Hall Master Kang, I'm afraid, could not resolve it.

Hall Master Kang was not only the head of the Master Teacher Hall but also the most powerful formation grandmaster in the entire Ten Thousand Nations Alliance.

If even he could not break it, it was enough to show how terrifying it was.

"I know this formation is formidable, but... do you have a way to save him?" "Young Master" could not help but ask.

Breaking a formation and saving someone within it were completely different; the latter was much simpler.

"No way."

Jin Conghai shook his head again, saying, "This formation has accumulated great momentum, with boundless power. Life, death, plunder—all are at the whim of the formation master! To break it, at least sixteen Mortal Transformation experts would be needed, stationed in sixteen directions... Even just to save someone, at least five people of my strength would have to act simultaneously to stop it..."

The power of a formation depended first on its level, and second on its scope and size!

The larger the area covered, the stronger the formation of the same level.

This was also why formation plates were so weak in power.

The great formation below, built according to the terrain of the entire Royal City of Xuan Yuan, covered no less than several hundred kilometers, and had accumulated energy for over a thousand years without ever being used. Once activated, it would surely be earth-shattering and draw everyone's attention.

Even though he was a Transformation Mortal expert, encountering such a powerful killing formation, being able to protect himself was already good enough. Saving others... was simply impossible!

"Then... what do we do? You know, he is Liu Cheng!"

Hearing that even his own guard could not save him, the 'young master' grew anxious.

"Don't worry. If it really comes to it, I'll just try to break in..." Jin Conghai gritted his teeth.

He knew the debt of gratitude that Physician 'Liu Cheng' owed to the 'young master.' This time, they had come all the way from the Alliance of Ten Thousand Nations specifically to find him. If they watched him die before their eyes, wouldn't they regret it for life?

"Break into what?"

Before the two had finished speaking, a puzzled voice sounded from the room. Then everyone saw that Sun Qiang had finished his cultivation and stood up again.

At this moment, Sun Qiang had not only consolidated his cultivation at the Aperture Opening Realm but had even opened a full three acupoints. His aura was full, and his spirit was vigorous.

Zhang Xuan's previous 'Heavenly Bestowal of Teachings' had little effect on those of other levels, but for him, who was also at the Peak Strength Realm and on the verge of breaking through at any moment, it was of great help.

"Your young master is trapped by Ding Mu's great formation and is in great danger. If you can contact Teacher Yang, hurry up. I'm afraid... he might not be able to hold on!"

Seeing that he had finished his cultivation, the 'young master' quickly said.

To be honest, when he had thrown out the envoy's token earlier, he should have directly arrested this Ding Mu.

If he had done that, this situation would not have occurred.

He had come to repay a debt of gratitude, but not only had he failed to repay anything, he had instead caused his benefactor to die before his eyes—how could he face returning? (In his view, if he hadn't thrown out the command token, he wouldn't have driven Ding Mu into a corner, forcing him to activate the grand formation directly.)

"Formation?"

Glancing down through the window, Sun Qiang said with utter indifference, "I thought it was something serious. Just this? Don't worry, it's nothing."

Hearing this was worse than not hearing it at all. Jin Conghai staggered, nearly fainting: "Do you know what this formation is? And how powerful it is?"

Down there is your young master, trapped in a formation that even a Mortal Transcendence Realm expert cannot break, yet you show no concern at all, looking so nonchalant... Are you thick-skulled or just brainless?

"I don't know!"

Sun Qiang waved his hand grandly: "No need to know. It's just a minor formation, nothing special."

The Tianxuan Kingdom didn't even have formation masters, so how could he understand formations? To be honest, even the simplest formation placed before him would be incomprehensible.

Although he didn't know, he had heard Zhao Ya and the others recount the scene of the great闹林家 hundreds of times, plus he had seen with his own eyes the young master kick to a halt the formation of the Lu Chong ancestral home.

He knew that the young master's understanding of formations was unmatched.

In other words, this thing might be terrifying to others, but to the young master... it was ineffective.

"Nothing special? Just a minor formation? Is this how you serve your master?"

His face darkened, and the 'young master's' chest heaved, as if he might explode.