NO_NAME
patreon
Chapter 231: Large-Scale Defensive Array
🕑 Added 2024-09-23 03:45:14 +0000 UTCUpon hearing Liu Yunian's words, the captured cultivator froze, staring at him in disbelief. His previous frantic struggles ceased instantly.
After a long pause, he spoke with a voice full of despair, "You said... another cultivator was already here?"
Liu Yunian, not fully understanding, nodded instinctively in response.
Seeing this confirmation, the man stopped struggling entirely and collapsed onto the ground, letting out a bitter laugh, "It's over... It's all over..."
Puzzled, Liu Yunian asked, "What's over?"
The man turned to him with a hopeless expression, "Kid, you’d better tell your sect to flee immediately. That Wei Hai will be here in a few hours to cause trouble. He's a Nascent Soul cultivator..."
Perhaps feeling that his survival was no longer possible, the Foundation Establishment cultivator began to recount the tragic story of Shangyang Sect's downfall and how he was forced to ingest poison to locate Lingxian Sect's precise location.
Hearing his tale, Liu Yunian was still shocked by the ruthlessness of cultivators in the outside world. However, Liao Pantou's voice echoed in his mind, urging, "Don't be surprised. Go make the necessary arrangements. If what he says is true, that Nascent Soul cultivator will be here in at most two or three hours. By then, the entire village could be wiped out."
Jolted back to reality, Liu Yunian turned to leave but then remembered the man on the ground. He quickly transmitted a thought to Liao Pantou, asking, "Elder, is there any way to save him?"
Privately thinking to himself, "Just like Lin Xiao, always soft-hearted," Liao Pantou examined the poison in the Foundation Establishment cultivator's body and responded, "My talented disciple Sun Yigao’s pills can neutralize even Silver Frost Venom Serpent's poison. This simple toxin is nothing in comparison. Using our antidote on this is overkill."
Reassured by Liao Pantou's words, Liu Yunian didn't hesitate any longer. He rushed back up the mountain and instructed his sister, Liu Shengsheng, to take an antidote pill to the cultivator below. Then, he immediately informed the entire sect about the impending threat from the Nascent Soul cultivator.
He planned to have everyone work together to bring the sleeping villagers up to the mountain.
Meanwhile, Liao Pantou walked across the Heart-Testing Path and entered Shuxi Village. Although he had initially been reluctant to enter the Heart-Testing Path, fearing he might not pass, with the encouragement of his talented disciple Sun Yigao, he finally summoned the courage to step in. Despite spending two days—by far the longest anyone had taken—he eventually succeeded in traversing the path freely.
Now, he pulled out a stack of elementary-level defense array diagrams that the sect members had been mass-producing recently, preparing to set up a large-scale composite defense array in the village.
Though Liao Pantou wasn’t particularly skilled in alchemy, he had dabbled in various other disciplines. His knowledge of formations was decent, and he had some experience in setting them up.
He wasn't sure how many villagers would agree to come up the mountain when summoned, but for those who refused, staying in the village would be dangerous. So, he decided it was best to prepare for both possibilities. If everyone agreed to go up the mountain, great; if not, the defense array would at least protect the village's homes and properties.
Moving swiftly through the village, he placed each elementary-level defense array at the designated nodes. The large-scale composite defense array required a total of 199 nodes, meaning 199 individual elementary-level defense arrays were needed.
This quantity represented nearly the entire stock of elementary defense arrays that Lingxian Sect had accumulated over the past few months. Now, Liao Pantou was using them all to set up this massive protective formation.
Though each elementary defense array could sell for at least 20 to 30 spirit stones, and this setup alone would cost several thousand spirit stones, Liao Pantou considered this a minor expense. He believed that if Lin Xiao were here, he would prioritize the villagers' safety over the value of the spirit stones.
As he finished positioning the last array, the nodes scattered across the village connected, forming a giant protective shield that enveloped Shuxi Village. After a few moments, the shield faded from sight, blending into the surroundings.
Satisfied with his work, Liao Pantou nodded approvingly. The formation might not ensure complete safety, but it would at least buy them time by withstanding several full-force attacks from a Nascent Soul cultivator. Every bit of extra time could increase their chances of survival.
Sighing as he walked back to the sect, Liao Pantou thought, "If only I were back to my peak strength. If that Nascent Soul cultivator comes, I could take him to a deserted place and settle the matter myself."
Meanwhile, Liu Yunian successfully alerted all the sect members, both on the mountain and in the village. The disciples of Lingxian Sect, originally from Shuxi Village, immediately descended the mountain and began going door-to-door, trying to persuade the villagers to come with them.
Waking up in the middle of the night to hear warnings of impending disaster, many sleepy and irritable villagers angrily dismissed the disciples, refusing to leave their homes. Aside from the village chief and a few elders, most villagers were unwilling to cooperate.
Faced with this resistance, nearly all the Lingxian Sect members with sufficient cultivation simultaneously resorted to the same tactic: hypnosis. After putting the villagers to sleep, those unable to perform hypnosis carried the unconscious villagers up the mountain.
In no time, the rescue mission turned into a large-scale operation of carrying people.
However, they soon faced a dilemma. It wasn’t that they couldn’t transport the villagers—it was that the Heart-Testing Path wouldn't allow them through.
While they could carry the villagers back down, trying to bring them up the mountain was a different story.
The Heart-Testing Path seemed to say, "Sorry, but I don't agree."
To ascend the mountain, one had to pass the path's trial. Left with no other option, the disciples had to leave the unconscious villagers within the Heart-Testing Path.
Because there were so many people, the path even thoughtfully moved the villagers forward once the entrance became full, making room for more.
Seeing this, the disciples couldn’t help but wonder: What would happen if the entire path was filled with people?
Fortunately, the path was long and wide enough to accommodate the entire village, with some space left over. So, for now, their question remained unanswered.
While the others busied themselves with relocating the villagers, Liu Yunian entered the sect’s storage and retrieved the Yin-Yang Life and Death Array that Lin Xiao had previously stored there.
Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter
