Chapter 412: Chang Wuxing

“I’m asking you a question!” Xu Sanyan’s tone sharpened.

“Ah! Ah? What did you say, Uncle?”

The County Magistrate’s Wife looked dazed, her cheeks flushing crimson. She resembled someone who had indulged at a masked ball, spent the night with a stranger, and then, upon removing her mask the next morning, discovered the man was her own younger brother—a truly mortifying realization.

“Has anyone arrived from the prefecture yet?” Xu Sanyan repeated, oblivious to the woman’s chaotic thoughts.

“Oh, not yet. The Junior High Priest is busy and might arrive later, but two Golden Blade Envoys from the Grand Temple of Eternal Harmony have come.”

“Golden Blade Envoys?”

The County Magistrate’s Wife explained, “The Grand Temple of Eternal Harmony has five ranks: High Priest, Junior High Priest, Golden Blade Envoy, Silver Blade Envoy, and Bronze Blade Envoy. These correspond to the void harmony realm, Soul Refining Realm, Dao Seeking Realm, Foundation Establishment Realm, and below Foundation Establishment, respectively.”

This information she had gleaned from her father.

“So, two Dao Seeking Realm cultivators have arrived?”

“Exactly.”

“Hmm.”

Xu Sanyan chose not to engage with them. After informing the County Magistrate, he ventured alone outside the city walls. Staring at the ancient fortifications, he slipped two fingers into his storage pouch. When he withdrew them, his fingertips were stained with blood.

He was about to begin inscribing the formation.

As spiritual power surged, his blood-stained fingers glowed with a faint crimson light. He pressed his fingertips against the city wall, leaving behind a complex, scarlet pattern—the first formation pattern.

Using his fingers as a brush and blood as ink, Xu Sanyan appeared casual, but his mind remained tightly focused. He had to control the intricate patterns while simultaneously maintaining a steady flow of spiritual power.

The patterns couldn’t break, and the power supply had to remain stable and continuous, demanding immense mental and physical exertion.

Moreover, setting up the formation required a comprehensive vision. He had to mentally map out the position and sequence of each stroke, execute them without hesitation, ensure the formation patterns remained coherent, and maintain seamless connections between the patterns.

Multitasking at this level was no easy feat.

As the formation pattern slowly seeped into the city wall, it left only a faint imprint on the surface, nearly undetectable without close inspection.

Xu Sanyan nodded in satisfaction.

In truth, he wasn’t worried about discovery. The Soul-Gathering Brilliance-Preserving Grand Formation possessed a unique characteristic: it could serve multiple purposes simultaneously.

Xu Sanyan could disguise it as a city-protecting formation. Even if a Grand Formation Master came to investigate, they would find nothing amiss—because it was genuinely a city-protecting formation!

A single formation serving multiple purposes offered boundless utility, a testament to the divine ingenuity of the four immortals who had jointly created it.

As Xu Sanyan’s understanding of the Formation Dao deepened, he increasingly grasped its profound mysteries. Awe often filled his heart, reminding him of a saying:

“If you don’t walk this path, you’ll see me as a frog in a well gazing at the moon. But once you do, you’ll see me as a mayfly beholding the vast blue sky!”

All he needed to do was conceal his bloody deeds until the formation was complete. Then, he could reverse the Great Formation,

Slaughter myriad spirits, silence the desolate void,

Defile the heavenly dao, refine his own being!

Each time Xu Sanyan thought of this, he felt invigorated.

People often say, “Where there’s hope in the heart, there’s strength in the body.” He found this to be true; his current fervor proved it.

Watching the bustling street—women carrying baskets of vegetables, children chasing each other in play, and martial artists with swords at their sides—he imagined them all soon becoming stepping stones on his path to the Great Dao. This thought filled him with joy, and his smile grew wider.

In truth, they should feel honored. Without Xu Sanyan, these ordinary people would never have had even the slightest connection to an immortal in their entire lives.

But now, they had a chance. If Xu Sanyan ascended to immortality, they could claim some indirect credit, couldn’t they?

Thinking this, he suddenly felt he was being too kind.

As he drew more formation patterns, their profound mysteries gradually revealed themselves. Interconnected lines formed a shape like a rare flower about to bloom, possessing a natural, eerie beauty.

The formation patterns were deeply embedded within the city walls. Though they appeared to be on the surface, they actually existed in a separate spatial dimension, merely intersecting and overlapping at this location.

The city walls served as an initial medium, but once the formation patterns were complete, the walls became irrelevant. Even if the walls were destroyed now, the formation patterns would remain intact.

The easiest way to destroy the formation now would be to erase the patterns with spiritual power. However, once the Great Formation was fully formed, countless patterns would coalesce into a unified whole, requiring a complete dismantling of the entire structure.

As twilight deepened, the city’s residents returned to their homes, and Zhangzhi City grew noticeably quieter.

Xu Sanyan sat beneath the city wall, resting briefly. He gazed at the small patch of formation patterns before him and sighed inwardly. At this pace, he wondered when he would ever finish.

After working for most of the day, he had completed less than one percent of the patterns. Just this single city would take him nearly half a year to complete.

Perhaps his speed would improve with practice, but it would still be a long and arduous task.

Suddenly, Xu Sanyan sensed a presence and whirled around. In the darkness behind him stood a figure, its gaze fixed beyond him, staring blankly at the formation patterns on the wall.

“Who are you?” Xu Sanyan demanded.

Xu Sanyan had a suspicion but still asked, “Who are you?”

Instead of answering, the man countered with a question: “Are you a Formation Master?”

“Yes,” Xu Sanyan replied.

“Do you have a Mutual Identity Token?”

The Mutual Identity Token was an identification badge issued by the Grand Temple of Eternal Harmony. Every cultivator registered with the temple received one, which recorded their basic information. If Xu Sanyan were a Formation Master, that would also be noted on the token.

Xu Sanyan shook his head. “No, I’ve only recently arrived in the Qian Kingdom.”

“Who authorized you to draw this formation at this hour?” The man’s tone remained flat, like that of a precise machine.

“My Senior Brother, Yu Huisheng, the County Magistrate of Zhangzhi City.”

The man nodded. “Come with me.”

Though his tone hadn’t changed, the interrogative edge had softened.

Xu Sanyan didn’t move. Even though he had already guessed the man’s identity, he still retorted haughtily, “You’re awfully arrogant. I’m not your subordinate, so don’t order me around.”

The man showed no anger. Instead, he flipped his hand and produced a token, its surface etched with a flood dragon in gold thread—a symbol of extraordinary grandeur and refinement.

Judging by his expression, the token seemed to serve as irrefutable proof of his identity.

“Hmph!”

Xu Sanyan remained unimpressed, his expression unchanged as he snorted coldly. “Don’t bother showing me that thing. I don’t recognize it!”

The man took a deep breath and declared, “I am Li Wuxing, Junior High Priest of the Grand Temple of Eternal Harmony, and I oversee all cultivators in Qian Prefecture. Since you’ve entered Qian Prefecture, you must abide by my rules. Come with me to see the Zhang County Magistrate. If your claims prove true, I will release you.”

“Oh, you’re the Junior High Priest Senior Brother mentioned. Very well, I’ll accompany you. Let’s see what you can do to me.”

Xu Sanyan deliberately adopted the arrogant demeanor of a young man who had achieved early success, hoping to project an image of naive simplicity.

Li Wuxing shook his head. Though he couldn’t identify the formation painted on the city wall, his instincts told him it was far from ordinary.

This person might possess considerable skill and should be approached with caution.

(End of the Chapter)