Guarding the Array

These past few days, Qin Jiu has recovered. He hasn't had time to think about anything else, and has been focusing on using his Blood Refining Technique and recuperate. Fortunately, he has no shortage of various bone-setting and muscle-regenerating pills and jade marrow to apply. Moreover, Li Fan personally used the Great Luo Heaven Scripture finger technique to transfer his power to heal his injuries and regulate his meridians. Apart from only being able to eat until he was three-tenths full, his skeleton has grown back to about 70-80%, and his skills have recovered to about 40-50%. It's just that his skin and flesh haven't fully healed, and he has obviously lost weight, still looking like a ghost.

At this moment, he climbed onto the eaves of the Hall of Light, turned his head and looked behind him, watching the brilliant pillar of light rising from the pagoda and shining straight into the starry sky. He was momentarily stunned.

No wonder Master was so careful in setting up all sorts of formations to protect his Dao body. The sight of this ritual of leaving the body was almost like the birth of some divine weapon or treasure.

Although banners and flags were planted throughout the Lonely Mountain and inside and outside the dilapidated temple, and layers of protective barriers were erected, this beam of light was still visible for hundreds of miles, inevitably attracting countless mountain demons and monsters from this Devil Domain. The layers of demonic clouds and evil winds were temporarily blocked outside the mountain by the array barriers. Knowing that True Cultivator from the Xuanmen sect had arrived first, they probably did not dare to force their way in at first. After all, if the immortals came and went quickly, they could not catch up with their escape light.

However, if the situation drags on, there's no guarantee that some greedy, treacherous individuals won't incite those brainless, reckless fools to charge into the formation, hoping to find some treasures, gain some Daoist affinity, and get a share of the spoils. Perhaps then, some truly formidable beings will infiltrate this demonic horde, breaking through the mountain formation layer by layer, causing a great calamity.

Therefore, Qin Jiu, who was guarding the first pass, certainly did not dare to sleep soundly like a certain Kun. At this moment, he was also very vigilant, arranging the banners, swords, talismans, and thunder talismans of all parties and corners in a row, so as not to be caught off guard and unable to find them in the chaos of battle.

While equally cumbersome to create, array talismans have this advantage over magic weapons: although they are one-time use items, you only need to infuse them with Dao Breath, wave the flag, and throw the talisman.

As for whether it's effective, let's put it this way: if someone is not destined to be with you, no matter how much you beg and plead, chant a bunch of spells, or break your fingers, if the magic doesn't work, it just won't work. All those cloud-script talismans and precious scrolls will just fall to the ground if you throw them away.

But Qin Jiu, a standard disciple of Mo Shan and a true successor of the sect leader, whose talismans were all personally drawn by Li Fan, how could his magic not work?

This is essentially equivalent to Li Fan setting up his main body as the array's core, waiting to be managed, and giving Qin Jiu a magic experience card so that Qin Jiuxian can use his cultivation level to rampage and kill monsters.

If he were to come in person, he would immediately withdraw the outer array, let a wave in first, then close the gates and beat the dogs, unleashing a barrage of earth fire, wind, and thunder to crush a batch of demons and monsters and have a good time first.

However, Qin Jiu didn't have that much killing intent, or rather, he couldn't do it. Right now, he was holding a compass and muttering to himself as he reviewed his lessons.

"Wei, Dingwei... Jihai... Jihai... Xun... Jisi..."

Qin Jiu didn't have a photographic memory. The way of formations was extremely complicated. The Moon Soul Sword Lord didn't seem easy to deal with, and Uncle Kun didn't seem literate either. He had no choice but to rely on himself and seize the time to study the formation diagrams and talismans passed down by Li Fan, and study how to manipulate the changes of the great formation.

During this trip, Qin Jiu received guidance from quite a few masters. If he had to give his subjective opinion, Xiao Gong's teaching was the best. After all, his methods were clear and easy to understand, and he was very good at guiding newcomers. He not only taught the way but also guided Qin Jiu to think for himself about how to make good use of various techniques. Whether it was the Dustless Easy Qi Sword or the Great Songyang Divine Skill, without his guidance and instruction, Qin Jiu would not have been able to master the techniques so quickly.

The two elders of Mount Song were next, and their teaching style was somewhat like cramming. In order to prepare for the Yuntai Grand Competition, they only taught the Great Songyang Divine Skill, and did not give Qin Jiu a chance to think and comprehend it on his own. They just lectured him, and as long as Qin Jiu followed their requirements, every move and every style, down to the details of meridians, breathing and Qi cultivation rhythm, they would correct everything and he would strictly follow their guidance to re-cultivate, chapter by chapter, until he was satisfied.

However, Qin Jiu had to admit that after being trained by them, his Great Songyang Divine Skill had indeed become much more powerful. Although he couldn't pinpoint exactly why, it was definitely a significant improvement over when he first started. Moreover, the two old men had indeed taught him a lot about fighting the Xuanmen, which explained why he was able to hold out on Yuntai Peak for so long. He had truly benefited immensely.

The Yuan Gong then gave him another good beating, forcing his body to memorize the lessons. He learned them, but who could withstand this kind of constant beatings?

His real master, Qingyue, was the worst teacher. Well, it's not that he was bad, but Qin Jiu clearly felt that this wasn't something someone his age could learn. The other party did explain and translate sentence by sentence, but in addition to the main points, there were too many professional terms mixed in with the annotations. They were incomprehensible on their own, and when put together, they were like listening to gibberish.

What's with all this talk about square roots, quadratic squares, abacus calculations, mental arithmetic, half-circle radius products, and the coupling of similarities and differences? After a whole lesson, I still don't understand what he was saying, and there's even homework? Seriously, what's the meaning of this? Is this some kind of self-taught math book? Are you expecting him to learn arithmetic? Then teach him first! Is this something he can learn on his own???

Now Qin Jiu can do math with his eyes closed and equations with his eyes open, as if counting rods are flying everywhere. Looking at the introductory course "<Ten Books of Arithmetic>" taught by his master, he felt depressed.

If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off staying on Mount Song. At least Mount Song still has... sob

Qin Jiu suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and involuntarily squatted down. He took a while to catch his breath, unsure whether it was due to poor Qi cultivation or something else. Perhaps his injuries hadn't healed yet? Sigh! It's probably just that the thought of doing math gives him angina! That must be it!

Suddenly, a bell rang on the wind, like a cool thread tugging at my brow.

Qin Jiu immediately realized something had entered the formation.

So Qin Jiu leaped down from the roof, and in a few bounds, he reached the northeast corner. He pulled out a yellow flag and held it in his hand, took out an almond from his pouch and bit it between his teeth, and lit a yellow talisman with his Xuanhuang aura. He then stood on the broken wall of the outer courtyard and looked down the mountain.

This is a minor reconnaissance spell. Cultivators who haven't reached the Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Realm and can't separate their soul from their body can use this 'Spirit Eye Incantation' to temporarily leave their body and open their Heavenly Eye to observe changes in the aura in the distance and detect some hidden demons. Of course, there is a time limit, and at most, they can only see those demons and monsters.

If the other party is a cultivator, they have special magical artifacts and talismans for hiding, making them undetectable. Moreover, spying in the dark might alert them, and if their primordial spirit backfires, not only could they be possessed and severely injured, but they might even bite off their tongue in a moment of madness. That's why you should hold an almond in your mouth.

Li Fan's sect possesses far more powerful Gu Guan Method, so naturally, there's no need for such a useless trick. This move is from Mount Song... Oh dear, angina, angina, what's wrong with me...

After a moment's pause, Qin Jiu opened his eyes and saw that from the northeast, three, four, five, six... eighteen Nascent Soul Stage level demons were rushing into the formation.

Should we activate the formation...?

Qin Jiu hesitated for a moment because his master had set up quite a few formations and given him a large number of command flags. He was afraid of making a mistake, so he carefully arranged them layer by layer.

According to the master, from the outside in, the first layer is a simple Earth Fiend Sixteen Methods Four Gates Array to deter people; the second layer is a worthless heretical illusion that bewitches people; the third layer is the Tai Xuan Nine Palaces Three Passes Locking Mountain; the fourth layer is the Revered Heavenly Demon Five Mountain Gods Protecting the Dharma; the fifth layer is the Life, Death, Illusion, Annihilation, Obscurity and Light Six Gates Guarding the Courtyard; the sixth layer is the Three, Four, Three Stars Linked Sword Rain; and the seventh layer is the North Star Seven Stars Exterminating Demons.

If someone can fight their way in and reach the throne despite this setup, their skill is enough for him to meet them in person.

That being said, Qin Jiu had never actually seen his master Qingyue, in action, and didn't know his true abilities. However, seeing how many arrays he had set up just for the sake of fighting, he was quite cautious. With array formations, arithmetic, and expertise in various talismans, pills, and healing techniques, he was probably a traditional mage proficient in the Five Arts and mystical arts, but not particularly skilled in close combat. In that case, it was best to avoid letting demons rush into the array.

So Qin Jiu looked at the eighteen demons, estimated their location, found the corresponding number and flag on the array diagram, raised the command flag and infused it with Dao Breath, and shook it... Hmm, shake it a couple more times, just in case...

"Boom!!" "Bang!!" "Whoosh!!"

Then Qin Jiu saw three mountains fall from the sky, crushing the screaming monsters into biscuits...

The demons were terrified! The demonic wind fled! In the blink of an eye, it dispersed across the horizon, and for a moment, the starry sky was clear and pure...

"Gulp..." Qin Jiu stared blankly for a moment with his jaw agape before swallowing hard and carefully planting the flag back in.

This level of effort is a bit excessive. What are they trying to prevent? Is it really necessary to be this careful...?

"Bite!"

Suddenly, another bell rang, this time crystal clear, like a needle piercing my brow!

"What! They've already broken in!"

Qin Jiu was shocked! He leaped up and ran back and forth on the wall, looking Fourth Department and scanning the entire mountain with his Divine Sense at full speed.

The bell is ringing so loudly! That means they've already passed the first two layers and broken into the third layer of the formation! Damn it! They didn't even notice!

Qin Jiu carefully examined the situation and discovered that it was his sudden violation of the rules that caused the outer mountain formation to change the Tai Xuan Mountain Array, thus unexpectedly trapping the person who had infiltrated the formation and causing them to make a mistake!

It must be a human. Normal demons can't read, so it's hard for them to sneak in silently and break through the formation so quickly. Moreover, Qin Jiu observed carefully and clearly saw that one of the three barriers of the Tai Xuan Nine Palaces had already been broken, yet he couldn't find a trace of his presence or figure when he performed the ritual! Could it be Hengshan?

Qin Jiu dared not be careless at the moment. He jumped onto the roof and raised the flag to activate the fifth layer of the Six Gates- gate formation. In an instant, brilliant light burst forth, clouds and mist spread, and the energy of heaven and earth churned. It was as if two dragons, one black and one white, crawled out from outside the temple and from the earth's veins, wrapping around the entire desolate mountain Solitary Temple layer by layer and shrouding it in thick smoke and clouds!

Although he was in charge, Qin Jiu's Divine Sense was insufficient to activate all the formations simultaneously. He could only treat most of the formations like minefields, waiting for the demons to step on the mines themselves, while focusing his energy on manipulating the formations in front of him.

Although the invaders are still trapped in the third layer of the Tai Xuan Array, that formation is exceptionally complex. Qin Jiu needs to consult the formation diagram and cannot master it yet. So he first uses the Six Gates Formation to protect himself and guard against other demons infiltrating. Then he turns back to the courtyard and, following the instructions on the formation diagram, performs the Yu Step, bowing and kowtowing three times. He walks to a clay statue of the Celestial Devil Statue in the courtyard and removes the seal on the Heavenly Demon's head.

Then the clay figure transformed into flesh and blood, and the Revered Heavenly Demon, bathed in the moonlight, grew taller in the wind, stepping out of the temple gate step by step, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble, heading straight down the mountain to meet the uninvited guest.

A moment later, Qin Jiu stopped, and a fierce wind arose below the mountain, accompanied by thunder and shouts of battle! Then, with a deafening roar, an orange-red fireball rose slowly, and the throne of the Celestial Devil Statue shattered with a crack! The talisman flag in Qin Jiu's hand ignited with a 'boom'! The emerald green evil flames almost stung him!

"What! That's amazing!"

Qin Jiu was shocked! The three palaces, the barrier, and the guardian demon had been breached in the blink of an eye! This was definitely not something a mere demon could accomplish!

Qin Jiu hurriedly threw away the burning Dharma flag in his hand, ignoring everything else, and then unveiled three more Heavenly Fa Yin in turn. However, these guardian demons seemed completely powerless against him, shattering with a series of crackling sounds! The Dharma flags in the courtyard burst into flames one after another! It was as if a large area of torches had been lit in the Buddhist temple!

"Damn it! It's too late!"

The fifth Revered Heavenly Demon didn't have time to unseal it either. Qin Jiu leaped onto the Hall of Light, took the black and white triangular flags in his hands, and waved them, causing the two dragons coiled around the temple to awaken and raise their Dragon Head to look towards the mountain path.

A line of emerald green wildfire could be seen burning straight up, as if a fire dragon was roaring and hissing as it emerged from the dark mountain ridge.

Qin Jiu swallowed hard, staring nervously at the mountain path in front of the temple gate. Then he saw the withered pine trees turn into a sea of fire, and then a figure slowly walked out from the emerald green flames.

This was a boy who looked to be about the same age as him. He was wearing armor that looked like it was made of monster scales. He had sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a jade-like face, and red lips. His face was actually somewhat similar to his master's, except that his pupils were emerald green, like Demon Race who came out to hunt at night. He had a full head of long crimson hair, which was tied up with a phoenix-winged purple-gold crown. On his forehead, it seemed that the two seal characters 'Si Jiu' were tattooed with ink marks.

The young man raised his head, gazing at the soaring starlight, then lowered his eyes to look at Qin Jiu standing atop the Hall of Light.

"So you're the nineteen they were talking about... No, you're too weak, but you sound like one of their kind..."

Speaking of kindred spirits, the boy suddenly grinned, pointing to his forehead.

"Come on, let's have a contest. If you beat me, this is yours."

"Who would want words tattooed on their face?!" Qin Jiu couldn't help but glare at him, pointing the flag, "Beat him up!"

The Twin Dragons of Heaven and Earth emerged in response! A soaring sword aura swept towards them!

"Si Jiu" laughed loudly, stomped his foot on the ground, leaped into the air, and shouted "Break!"

With a powerful burst of air, emerald flames erupted, surging forth! They actually blasted the Qiankun Sword Storm head-on into obliteration! No, not extinguished! They ignited the Qiankun Qi itself! The flames surged along the sword storm, billowing back and raging into the formation!

Qin Jiu remained calm upon seeing this. He waved the flag, and the clouds gathered. The emerald wildfire blasted into the formation, shattering the clouds and mist. However, the shadow of the Lanruo Ancient Temple disappeared, and it inexplicably struck a barren white wasteland. Hot winds blew, turning the ground into scorched earth!

"Hmph, resorting to such tricks."

'Si Jiu' landed on the ground, looked around, and found himself somehow transported to the foot of the mountain, his vision once again obscured by clouds and mist. But turning his head to look at the starlight soaring into the sky above the mountain, he sneered...

"But can you really hide? The sound is so loud, it can be heard from miles away!"

In the next instant, he soared and leaped! He transformed once more into a ferocious beast of azure fire! He charged wildly forward, igniting a raging inferno against the mountain path! He charged towards the heart of the formation!

"Who is this guy? Is he a monster? Or a demon god?"

Qin Jiu waved the flag, directing the rotation and changes of the Six Gates Formation, while simultaneously coordinating with Jian Lan and talismans to bombard and smash the emerald green wildfire, but with little effect.

The 'Si Jiu' was completely unaffected by the changes in the formation. Neither the Tai Xuan Array nor the Six Gates Formation could confuse its direction. It charged straight toward the temple gate.

Moreover, that emerald flame was strangely eerie; its Dao Breath aura and malevolent energy seemed capable of igniting, suggesting that the Revered Heavenly Demon Protector's magic was broken so quickly earlier because he was being restrained.

So, we'll have to use the sixth level of the sword formation now...?

Hmph! What a joke! Do you think Qin Jiu is made of clay? He won the Yuntai Grand Competition!

"Change formation!"

Just as he was about to reach the temple gate, 'Si Jiu's' vision blurred again. The clouds gathered, as if breaking through the mist, and moved him back to the foot of the mountain. He frowned for a moment.

"... What kind of technique is this? Illusion? No, teleportation? But... um!"

Before 'Si Jiu' could react, a sudden gust of wind swept behind them, and Qin Jiu emerged from the clouds, holding a flag in one hand and a talisman in the other!

"Kui Shui Yin Lei!"

The talisman in his palm instantly activated, unleashing a torrent of electric lightning that struck directly at his eyes!

"A trivial skill!"

'Si Jiu' swept his hand back! Azure flames transformed into wolf claws, covering his forearm and shattering the Yin Thunder with a single blow! Then, with another backhand claw, he pulled out five fire blades, slashing towards Qin Jiu's chest!

But Qin Jiu certainly wouldn't stay put to fight him. After finishing off the Thunder Talisman, he waved his flag and teleported behind 'Si Jiu'! He then unleashed a sword strike!

"The Dustless Easy Qi Sword!"

"Superficial!"

This time, 'Si Jiu' was attacked again, but he turned around instantly! He raised his hand to block the qi sword! The emerald fire in his palm collided with the Xuanhuang sword qi! It bloomed with dazzling light, and Qin Jiu's qi sword, which had been invincible in Yuntai, was actually slowly pushed back in the opposite direction!

But Qin Jiu also knew that this guy was at least at the Nascent Soul Realm, so he didn't expect to subdue him in just two moves.

There's always a third, fourth, and fifth move!

It's another flag-waving teleport! This time, it's an attack from the side!

"Sword Talisman!"

"Roar!!"

Sword Light slashed out, 'Si Jiu' dared not catch it with his bare hands, and in fact, he couldn't catch it either, being severed diagonally at the shoulder! But he roared, and a large ball of Sword Light burst forth from the wound, burning it back together! Leaving only a shallow scar!

But if you can injure someone, you can kill them!

"Thunder Talisman!"

"Sword Talisman!"

"Fire Talisman!"

"Any talisman will do!"

"Sword Qi!"

"Sword Qi!"

"Talisman! Talisman! Sword! Sword!"

"Ugh! Are you ever going to stop?!"

'Si Jiu' was enraged! He was also beaten down by the continuous stream of talismans and Daoist magic! Being beaten by a kid a level lower than himself was simply humiliating! Immediately, his bones bulged and his skin cracked! He roared and was about to reveal his Devil Form!

Qin Jiu certainly wouldn't let this opportunity slip by! So what if this 'Si Jiu' relied on his extraordinary talent and strong physique to pass through five trials! Clearly, no one had taught him that if he couldn't be like Qin Jiu, using the advantages of the formation and terrain to maneuver and remain invincible, he should never lower his defenses and cast spells in front of others! Take a loud breath!

"Blood Radiance Flying Star!!"

Qin Jiu held no sword, but the blood seeping from beneath his bandages transformed into a sword!

specks of red sand coalesced into the sword's embryo! A flash of red light, and the flying sword shot forth like a star!

The Blood Talisman sword pierced Si Jiu's heart!

'Si Jiu' was also exhausted from the beating. His core was not in his heart. He originally wanted to rely on his demonic body and thick blood to withstand the attack and use demonic fire to heal his injuries. However, the moment the sword broke through his heart chamber, the blood sword and the green fire around him suddenly disappeared and vanished!

Having only undergone half of demonic transformation, and with his body doubling in size, almost no longer recognizable as human, 'Si Jiu' suddenly froze. He looked down in disbelief at the massive veins bulging across his chest like a spiderweb.

"What, what is this...?"

Qin Jiu was too lazy to waste words with a dead man. He took out a sword talisman from his pocket and smashed it directly into 'Si Jiu's' face. The Sword Light flashed wildly and instantly cut 'Si Jiu' into pieces!

Amidst the shattered flesh and blood scattered on the ground, specks of red sand flew back into Qin Jiu's palm, but he felt no joy of victory whatsoever; rather, he was sweating profusely.

Ring ring ring, ring ring ring

The bell rang loudly, as if someone was stabbing his head with a handful of needles!

The demons have entered the fray!