Cool moonlight shimmered across the Moon Star. This was Wang Shu's Dao field, and also the source of the Primordial Wilderness's most yin power. Guanghan Palace had basked in clear radiance for countless years. A Moon Laurel Tree, towering ten thousand zhang high and exuding a secluded, icy fragrance, had rooted itself atop the star's core. As its branches and leaves swayed, specks of pure moonlight scattered down.
Not far from the Moon Laurel Tree, two masses of the purest Taiyin Origin pulsed slowly like enormous cocoons of light, drawing in the essence of the Moon Star. Within them, two graceful female figures could vaguely be seen taking shape. Their auras shared the same origin as Wang Shu's, yet were gentler and more delicate. They were the future Xi He and Chang Xi.
After returning, Wang Shu secluded herself in this tranquil place to cultivate. Her discussion of the Dao with Li Cha, especially the Enlightenment Tea that contained a unique Dao rhythm and the unprecedented Great Dao of Tea, had given her tremendous inspiration. Two hundred years passed. When she opened her eyes once more, the starlight around her had become even more brilliant and profound, while her aura surged like a vast sea. She had astonishingly broken through to the Late Quasi-Sage stage!
Her gaze softened as she looked toward the two masses of Taiyin Origin. Nourished by the immense stellar power that had naturally spilled forth during her breakthrough, the two life cocoons developed noticeably faster, and their auras became increasingly lively.
"Soon. It will not be long before you are born," Wang Shu murmured, her eyes filled with the tender affection of a mother looking upon her daughters.
Meanwhile, outside the sealed valley.
A figure wreathed in violet qi had lingered here for nearly two hundred years. It was Daoist Hongjun. His expression was calm, yet anxiety inevitably stirred in his heart. The day to slay the demon was drawing near. Yang Mei had clearly refused, and he still could not find a suitable candidate for the fourth person capable of opposing the Zhu Xian Sword Formation. He had once divined the heavenly secrets and vaguely sensed a trace of opportunity here. Yet the formation was too profound for him to enter, and he could not sense what lay within. He had waited fruitlessly for nearly two hundred years without seeing even a shadow of anyone.
"It seems the opportunity here has not yet arrived. I must make other plans." Hongjun sighed inwardly and was already preparing to leave.
Just then, a stream of cool moonlight descended from the nine heavens, revealing Wang Shu's slender figure. She had come this time to discuss the Dao of formations with Li Cha once more...
Hongjun's eyes immediately lit up upon seeing Wang Shu! The Moon Star Lord had already reached the Late Quasi-Sage stage and commanded the power of the Grand Celestial Stars. If he could enlist her aid, her strength would surely not be inferior to Yang Mei's!
He immediately went forward. After exchanging pleasantries, he passionately described how Luohu had demonized the Kun Clan and ravaged the Primordial Wilderness. He declared that if this demon was not eliminated, all beings of the Primordial World would surely fall into a boundless calamity, and even the order of the stars might be disrupted. His words were earnest and carried the righteousness of the Heavenly Dao as he painted a picture of a peaceful world after the demon was slain.
Wang Shu's nature was aloof, but she possessed a compassionate heart. Moreover, this concerned her responsibility over the movement of the stars. Hongjun's speech about "righteousness" moved her, and she considered that Luohu's Demonic Energy might indeed contaminate stellar power. Coupled with her recent great advance in cultivation, she felt that she could contribute to the Primordial Wilderness. As if guided by fate, she nodded in agreement.
"Daoist Brother speaks wisely. Luohu acts with utter perversity, and I cannot simply stand by. In that case, a thousand years from now, I shall accompany my fellow Daoists to the West and slay this demon together!"
Hongjun was overjoyed. "With Fairy's assistance, this demon will surely be eliminated! A thousand years from now, we shall gather at the edge of the West!" Taking the opportunity, he also asked Wang Shu about the valley's master. Wang Shu only knew that Li Cha's Daoist title was Yun Hua, that he was at the Late Da Luo stage, and that his attainments in formations were extremely high. As for his true origins, she did not know much either.
Upon hearing that Li Cha was merely at the Late Da Luo stage, the bit of regard Hongjun had originally held because of the formation instantly vanished. In his view, once he successfully slew the demon, he would immediately attain sainthood through merit and Primordial Violet Qi. At that time, a mere Grand Unity Golden Immortal would not be worth his attention. He did not linger any longer. After making arrangements with Wang Shu, he returned to Purple Cloud Palace in satisfaction and informed the two ancestors, Qiankun and Yin Yang, that they would head to the West together in a thousand years to slay the demon!
Wang Shu remained outside the valley and waited quietly. This wait lasted nearly another hundred years.
On this day, the long-silent Qiankun Seal and Sever Formation finally rippled. Its light barrier undulated like water, and a figure in green robes leisurely stepped out. It was Li Cha.
"Fairy Wang Shu? When did you arrive?" Li Cha was pleasantly surprised to see Wang Shu. He had been in seclusion for three hundred years. With the Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation assisting him and his terrifying comprehension, he had deduced most of the formation's reconstruction. Yet he always felt that the final crucial point lacked a trace of inspiration, preventing it from reaching perfection. Now that he had encountered Wang Shu, a master of formations, he could seek her advice.
"Daoist Friend Yun Hua, I have been waiting for quite some time." Wang Shu smiled faintly.
Li Cha quickly invited her into the valley. Though the final reconstruction had not yet been carried out, the spiritual qi within the valley was already more than ten times denser than before. Spiritual springs gurgled, exotic flowers and herbs covered the ground, and the thousand-zhang Enlightenment Tea Tree at the center scattered clear radiance. The place had begun to take on the air of an immortal abode.
After they sat down, Li Cha did not stand on ceremony. He directly explained his ideas for reconstructing the grand formation and detailed each bottleneck he had encountered, particularly the key points of how to steadily guide Buzhou Mountain's divine power and efficiently gather stellar power without damaging the foundation of the original formation.
Wang Shu listened with great focus. As the lord of the stars, no one could rival her understanding of the movement of stellar power. Combined with her profound attainments in formations, she often pinpointed the root of each problem and offered ingenious suggestions for improvement. At times, the two debated; at times, they encouraged one another. Their thoughts collided and sparked with wisdom.
Their discussion of the Dao continued for a full hundred years.
When they finally overcame the last problem together, a composite reconstruction plan that perfectly fused the Earth Vein Spirit Attraction Formation and the Heavenly Stars Gathering Yuan Formation was at last thoroughly perfected! Li Cha felt as though a veil had been lifted, and the joy in his heart was beyond words.
With the plan established, Li Cha immediately began work. He brought out the many spiritual materials he had accumulated, including the Star Crystals Wang Shu had gifted him, as well as various five-element essences and innate spiritual objects he had obtained while traveling through the Primordial Wilderness. He used the Chaos Pearl to suppress the formation core and the Spirit Origin Ruler to carve Dao patterns. After another hundred years of effort, he finally embedded the new formation system perfectly into the Qiankun Seal and Sever Formation!
The instant the reconstructed grand formation was completed and officially activated, the entire valley shook violently!
Visible to the naked eye, streams of heavy, ancient yellowish-brown energy—Buzhou Mountain's divine power—seeped forth from the Earth Vein. At the same time, stars appeared in broad daylight. Countless brilliant pillars of starlight crossed endless space and precisely descended upon the preset stellar nodes throughout the valley! The two supreme powers converged, causing the spiritual qi within the valley to surge in an instant and transform into misty spiritual fog. Plants grew wildly at a visible rate, the spiritual springs turned into divine nectar, and spiritual dew even began condensing in the air!
In just a thousand years, this place that had once been a dead land and a prison had become a true blessed land overflowing with spiritual qi and Dao rhythm, not inferior in the slightest to any grotto-heaven beyond it! It could be called—Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven!
Wang Shu watched this miraculous transformation, and her heart was deeply shaken. Her admiration for Li Cha's methods grew even greater.
Li Cha was in high spirits. To express his gratitude, he naturally brought out his finest things to entertain her. Once again, he took out the Five Elements Furnace and the Shouyang Pot, using the Sacred Spirit Table as a base as he carefully brewed the Innate Enlightenment Tea.
"Fairy, please!"
Wang Shu accepted the Tea Cup and tasted the Enlightenment Tea once again. Though she was already at the Late Quasi-Sage stage, the miraculous effects of the tea entering her mouth—clearing her mind and elevating her comprehension—remained striking. She could not help but marvel, "Each time I taste your tea, Daoist Friend, it brings a new surprise. It truly is an unparalleled treasure of the Primordial Wilderness."
As they drank tea, they chatted casually. Wang Shu was in an excellent mood, so she told Li Cha about agreeing to join Hongjun in heading to the West in a thousand years to eliminate Luohu. Regarding it as a righteous act for the Primordial Wilderness, she spoke with a faint trace of pride.
Li Cha's hand holding the Tea Cup suddenly froze, and the smile on his face instantly stiffened.
"What?! Fairy, you... you agreed to Hongjun's request to kill Luohu?!" Li Cha's voice carried a trace of disbelief.
"Yes. Is there anything wrong with that?" Wang Shu was puzzled by his intense reaction. "Luohu has demonized living beings and harmed the Primordial Wilderness. For us to act is also in accordance with the Heavenly Dao..."
Li Cha set down his Tea Cup, his expression turning solemn. "Fairy, do you know that this demon-slaying expedition will be exceedingly dangerous?! The Zhu Xian Sword Formation cannot be broken without four saints! According to my original... ah, according to my deductions, Daoist Friends Qiankun and Yin Yang may face their tribulation in this battle. The original four meant to slay the demon were Hongjun, Qiankun, Yin Yang, and Yang Mei. Now, I do not know whether those earlier deductions will still come to pass."
He had nearly let something slip, so he hurriedly changed his words and presented it as a deduction.
At his words, Wang Shu's lovely face instantly turned pale. "D-Daoist Friend, is that true?! Daoist Friends Qiankun and Yin Yang will... perish?"
"Would I speak recklessly?" Li Cha said heavily. "This battle is the final act of the Dao-Devil War and also part of the greater course of the Heavenly Dao. It is incomparably dangerous! That Hongjun... hmph, I fear he has long calculated every crucial detail." He did not explicitly mention Hongjun's schemes, but his meaning was already clear.
Wang Shu stood frozen in place. She had believed this was an act of justice carried out on Heaven's behalf. She had never expected so many plots and calculations to lie beneath it, nor that she had unknowingly been drawn into such a terrifying killing trap!
Li Cha looked at her pale face and sighed inwardly. Sure enough, his existence as a variable had still triggered a butterfly effect. The place that should have belonged to Yang Mei had somehow been taken by Wang Shu instead. He had only met Wang Shu twice, but their discussions of the Dao, her gift of Star Crystals, and his appreciation for her character made him unable to bear watching her meet her tribulation. It might even affect the two beings on the Moon Star who had not yet been born.
After a moment of silence, determination flashed through Li Cha's eyes. "Fairy, there is no need to worry too much. Since this matter was indirectly brought about by my discussion of the Dao with you, I naturally will not stand by and do nothing. When you depart in a thousand years, I will secretly accompany you as well."
His gaze was deep as he looked toward the West. "At a critical moment, I may be able to lend Fairy a hand."
Wang Shu looked at Li Cha. His confident expression and steady tone gave her an inexplicable sense of security. Thinking of his unfathomable mastery of formations and his mysterious origins, which dared even to contend against the Heavenly Dao, her heart calmed slightly. She said gratefully, "Then... I shall trouble Daoist Friend. Wang Shu will remember this favor in her heart."
Li Cha waved his hand and looked once more toward the newly transformed Yun Hua Grotto-Heaven. Yet his thoughts had already drifted a thousand years into the future, toward the battle in the West that was destined to change the Primordial Wilderness's entire landscape. Because of his involvement, would the outcome of this Dao-Devil War be different?
Before you continue