「Years ago, on a rainy night.」

Li Sanbai had actually planned for all his disciples to die at Harbour City's Spirit Vein. They simply knew too much. However, these disciples seemed to have sensed something and went abroad ahead of time, vanishing without a trace.

「Then, later on.」

Dongfang Xun became a disciple under Li Sanbai. Sometimes, Li Sanbai was quite fond of this disciple who looked sharp as a tack but was actually quite foolish.

At that moment, the satisfied voice of No-Face resonated, "Was it you who informed Dongfang Xun and had him lure Xu Lai here? You've done well."

"Yes."

Li Sanbai bowed his head in response.

In truth, he hadn't been able to contact Dongfang Xun at all recently, nor did he have any idea why the man had shown up now. But his master rarely praised him, so Li Sanbai certainly wasn't going to ruin the moment.

"Hmm, very good."

No-Face whispered, "Let this rain fall even harder."

Although Li Sanbai knew his master's avatar was not actually before him but was underground, he still kept his head lowered in utmost respect, as if he dared not glimpse its master's seductive form.

As if heeding the whispers of the Faceless Demon, the heavens conveniently began to pour down a winter rain.

This winter, on this mountain, it was likely that many, many people were going to die.

"Set the Formation!" Li Sanbai roared. As if in perfect coordination, a peal of thunder rang out from the heavens.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Standing on the mountain peak with lightning flashing behind him, Li Sanbai was framed like the Thunder God descending to the mortal world.

「One kilometer away.」

Zhao Nan and two other Daoists exchanged glances, their faces gradually flushing red with excitement. They weren't actually orthodox Daoists, having merely taught themselves things like the I Ching, the Eight Trigrams, and Formations. Even though their Boundaries had reached the required level, no orthodox Daoist sect would recognize them!

But today, as key members of the 'Spiritual Vein Project,' they were about to add a Spirit Vein to the Jiangnan Region of Hua Country.

After this, who would dare not recognize them? If anyone refused, they'd just smash a Spirit Vein in his face!

Moreover, after today, they could forge a connection with Li Sanbai, which was an enormous stroke of luck.

At that moment, as Li Sanbai's roar echoed, Mount Fu was gradually shrouded in a veil of mist. Zhao Nan and the other two Daoists quickly approached Li Sanbai.

A light rain.

A veil of mist.

The Formation rises!

***

"It's starting!"

Zou Qingsheng and the others felt their breathing quicken. This was especially true for Gao He, one of the main proponents of the 'Jiangnan Spiritual Vein' project. If the plan succeeded, it would be a joyous occasion for all.

If it failed…

He would obviously be the biggest scapegoat.

Gao He felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach and subconsciously looked around for Tan Chang to talk to, but his friend was nowhere in sight. Gao He exhaled a murky breath and forced a bitter smile.

He had forgotten. His confidant didn't come today. With Tan Chang absent, he suddenly lost all desire to speak. Gao He now understood why Yu Boya had smashed his zither after Zhong Ziqi's death. The terrible loneliness of looking around and finding no one to talk to, no one who could understand you, was truly fearsome.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Massive impacts echoed from the mist-shrouded area. One after another, jade stones emitting a faint glow were tossed into the air, each engraved with exceptionally strange runes. As they interwove, they emitted heart-pounding ripples.

These jade stones were extremely precious Spirit Stones. Although they were only low-grade, their price on the black market was terrifyingly high. And those runes were Array Patterns!

Setting up a Formation could be both simple and complex. It was merely a matter of inscribing different runes onto Spirit Stones, then arranging them into various combinations to trigger different reactions. Then, on that foundation, the process was repeated thousands, even tens of thousands of times.

Of course, it sounded like anyone with hands could do it. But inscribing runes on Spirit Stones was incredibly draining on the mind. Not even a Ninth Grade Martial Ancestor could inscribe more than a few.

These Spirit Stones being thrown out by Li Sanbai were the ones he had accumulated over the past few decades at the Faceless Demon's request, originally intended to upgrade or stabilize Harbour City's Pseudo-Spiritual Vein. They just so happened to be put to use here today. Otherwise, without three to four years of prior preparation for this Spirit Vein Formation, the idea of creating a Great Array in such a short time would be nothing but a fool's dream.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Invisible Spiritual Energy spread down from the peak of Mount Fu, defining the boundary of the Formation and, thus, the Spirit Vein. It was vast, enveloping more than a dozen peaks of one to two thousand meters in height, as well as a great expanse of forest.

Within the forest was a huge man-made lake. Everything from the fish and shrimp in the lake to the birds and other small animals in the woods seemed to sense something and looked up toward the peak. A flicker of human-like confusion passed through their eyes. As native creatures, they were the most sensitive to fluctuations in Spiritual Energy and knew that something significant was about to happen here.

But was it good or bad?

The small creatures didn't know, so some of the birds chose to spread their wings and fly away, intending to observe from a distance first.

***

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Rain fell in continuous lines.

At the foot of the mountain, the Martial Artists and Daoists of lower Boundaries were soaked to the bone, not having brought umbrellas. Among them were members of families from Jiangnan and Jiangbei. With their weaker constitutions, they began to shiver after just a few moments in the downpour. Luckily, their cars were parked nearby, and everyone hurried to take shelter.

「Midway up the mountain.」

Standing here and gazing toward the peak were Sixth and Seventh Grade Martial Ancestors.

From the Seventh Grade and above, one could control Spiritual Energy. In the pouring rain, these Martial Ancestors stood with their hands behind their backs, not a single drop of water touching them, looking exceptionally dashing.

The Sixth Grade Martial Ancestors, however, were soaking wet, and they looked at the higher-ranking Martial Ancestors with eyes full of envy and helplessness.

Meanwhile, Xu Lai and his group were slowly making their way up the mountainside.

Although Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba were ordinary people and Dongfang Xun had lost his entire cultivation Boundary, not a single raindrop fell on them.

A Martial Ancestor on the mountainside saw the four of them and couldn't help but frown. "You can't go any higher," he warned. "When the Formation activates, the closer you are to the peak, the more dangerous it becomes. Only those at the Eighth Grade or above should ascend."

This was the truth. The moment the Formation was completed, a massive amount of Spiritual Energy would pour into it, with the peak bearing the brunt of the impact. This was why the Martial Artists of lower Boundaries and the ordinary people all stood at the foot of the mountain instead of crowding the peak to watch the show. That single, brief moment was enough to utterly annihilate a person!

"Eighth Grade?" Dongfang Xun sneered.

He wasn't worried about this in the slightest. Although he didn't know Xu Lai's exact Boundary, Dongfang Xun believed that as long as he stayed by Xu Lai's side, he would be perfectly safe. A mere surge of Spiritual Energy could never harm them.

He just waved his hand dismissively. "Thanks for the warning."

The Martial Ancestor who had offered the advice snapped in frustration, "Why won't you listen to reason!"

"That's Xu Lai..." a Seventh Grade Martial Ancestor from Jiangbei muttered, his eyes narrowing. He had recognized Su Daiyi and Old Jiang Ba, and from there, deduced the identity of the man with them.

The first Martial Ancestor who had spoken was taken aback for a moment. Then, his expression turned icy. "He's just asking to die," he sneered.

He said no more, evidently content to watch the show unfold.

And so, under the dozens of varied gazes from behind, Xu Lai and his companions arrived at the mountain peak.

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