Jiang Ziya obeyed the command and went to Mount Qi, where he built a general's platform and made all the arrangements. He fashioned a straw effigy according to the prescribed method, let down his hair, wielded a sword, paced the steps of the Dipper, wrote talismans and formed hand seals, then bowed to it continuously for three to five days.
He bowed Zhao Gongming into a state where his heart blazed like fire and his mind seethed as though fried in oil. With nowhere to turn, Zhao paced from the front of his tent to the back, scratching his ears and rubbing his cheeks.
Seeing Zhao Gongming so restless, Grand Tutor Wen was deeply displeased and had no mind to attend to military affairs either.
Unable to take the field, Zhao Gongming was of no help. As for Ling Qing and Daoist Lingguan, because of the earlier banquet incident, they were unwelcome and were not in the camp.
With only the generals in Wen Zhong's camp, they naturally could not stand against Daoist Randeng and the Twelve Immortals of the Yuxu Sect.
Celestial Lord Bai Li of the Blazing Flame Formation could no longer sit still. Six of the Ten Absolute Formations had already been lost, yet not a single formation had succeeded.
If they continued to sit by and watch, when would they ever succeed?
Thus, ignoring Grand Tutor Wen's attempts to stop him, he turned and left the camp, entered the Blazing Flame Formation, and shouted, "Who under the Yuxu Sect dares come test my formation?"
Seeing that no one around him answered, Lu Ya asked Daoist Randeng and learned that it was the Blazing Flame Formation. He smiled. "I'll go test him myself."
After fighting for three to five exchanges, Celestial Lord Bai Li retreated toward his