Four Symbols Formation!

After traveling for a day and two nights, the brothers Goku and Wuchen found themselves drawing ever closer to the third Dragon Ball.

However, the lay of the mountains and the distribution of the rivers below began to look increasingly familiar.

"Is that... Mount Fry-Pan?" If they continued any further, they would arrive at Mount Fry-Pan, the home of the Ox-King.

"Is Uncle Ox-King also searching for the Dragon Balls? That shouldn't be right." Yes, the two brothers now referred to the Ox-King as their uncle.

After all, since Wuchen and Goku had become disciples of Master Roshi, sticking to their original titles would have made things far too confusing.

"Goku, speed up!" Wuchen felt a sense of urgency. The Dragon Ball was a hot potato right now; if the flames of war were to spread here, the consequences would be unthinkable.

"It's right around here. Goku, descend!" Soon, the brothers were extremely close to the Dragon Ball's signal, and Wuchen immediately ordered Goku to land.

After descending to a certain altitude, Wuchen did not notice anything unusual on the ground, yet the Dragon Ball was still moving.

"In the sky?" Wuchen immediately dismounted from the Flying Nimbus, took flight on his own, and cross-referenced the signal with his Dragon Radar.

"There it is!" He quickly spotted a cyan Pterosaur; wherever it flew, the Dragon Ball's signal shifted accordingly.

Without a word, Wuchen closed the distance and struck the back of the Pterosaur's head with his elbow.

Like a kite with a snapped string, the Pterosaur wobbled and plummeted until it crashed into the ground.

The Dragon Ball was indeed inside the Pterosaur's mouth. Wuchen took it out and smiled; it was the Six-Star Ball.

"It's Wuchen! Have you found your grandfather's relic?" The commotion had drawn quite a crowd, including the Ox-King and his daughter, Chi-Chi.

"You've come at just the right time. I have something to discuss with you. By the way, where is Goku?"

"Big Brother... oh, it's Uncle Ox-King, and Chi-Chi, who is going to be my wife." No sooner had the Ox-King finished speaking than Goku arrived, causing the Ox-King to beam with joy.

Beside the Ox-King, Chi-Chi's face turned completely red.

Well, that settled that; there was no need for the Ox-King to discuss anything. Wuchen immediately turned to Goku: "Wife? Goku, you... what wife?"

Having been reborn for over a decade, Wuchen naturally understood the meaning of "wife"—it was a daoist companion.

"Chi-Chi said that after I finish finding the Dragon Balls, I should come back and take her as my wife. She said it several times. She seems to have many wives and wants to share some with me. Big Brother, don't you know what a wife is? Isn't it something delicious?"

Goku uttered these earth-shattering words with a look of pure innocence, which actually made Wuchen breathe a sigh of relief. There was clearly some kind of misunderstanding.

"Wuchen, I think Goku and Chi-Chi are a perfect match. They will surely become a model couple in the future. Don't you worry about it; I'll take care of their wedding entirely."

"..." Wuchen was truly speechless, but this was not the right time for a conversation. "Uncle Ox-King, let's discuss this later. Goku and I must leave here immediately, otherwise..."

Before he could finish his explanation, Wuchen suddenly looked toward a small hill. There, several sneaky auras seemed to be watching them.

And further away, even denser auras were pressing in!

Well, no explanation was needed now. His original intention had been to lure the snake out of its hole, but he hadn't expected to accidentally lead them here. The Dragon Ball was indeed a hot potato.

The situation was tricky. He and his brother had nothing to fear, but he had to consider the people of Fry-Pan Village, and it was already too late to evacuate them.

Wuchen immediately spoke to the Ox-King.

"Uncle Ox-King, quickly gather everyone together."

"Ah? Alright, alright." The Ox-King didn't understand why, but he hurried off to gather the people.

"Goku, assist me." Wuchen took out a Hoi-Poi Capsule, which transformed into a large chest filled with flags of various colors.

"Take all the red and gray flags and set up a formation in the south. Do you remember the Southern Seven Mansions I taught you—Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Extended Net, Chariot, and Wings? Use the red flags as the base to lay out the Vermilion Bird of the South, then use the gray flags to connect the east and west, linking them to the center."

Regardless of how much Goku understood or remembered, Wuchen took the remaining flags to set up his own sections.

Using black flags as the base, he laid out the Northern Seven Mansions: Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Danger, Encampment, and Wall.

Using white flags as the base, he laid out the Western Seven Mansions: Legs, Bond, Stomach, Hairy Head, Net, Turtle Beak, and Three Stars.

Using cyan flags as the base, he laid out the Eastern Seven Mansions: Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, and Winnowing Basket.

He then used purple and yellow flags in the center to lay out the Five North Pole Stars and the Four Auxiliary Stars, respectively.

Afterward, together with Goku, he used the gray flags to supplement the Four Symbols and the Twenty-Eight Mansions, corresponding to the Nine Stars of the center!

Yes, Wuchen was setting up a formation—the Four Symbols Formation, or rather, a Lesser Four Symbols Formation.

A true Four Symbols Formation could not be created simply by planting a few specially made flags.

However, even this Lesser Four Symbols Formation was sufficient.

"Uncle Ox-King, have everyone stay in the center of the flag formation and don't move around." Setting up this formation was, first and foremost, to avoid collateral damage.

Furthermore, he intended to devour all the snakes he had lured out, weakening the enemy's strength and restricting their movements as a show of force.

The Ox-King's prestige was high, so Wuchen left the maintenance of order to him.

The Ox-King relayed Wuchen's instructions, and everyone, regardless of age or gender, obediently crowded into the center of the flags.

Although he was no longer fierce and barbaric, his lingering authority remained, and his words were effective.

Wuchen then channeled his spiritual energy into the flags, and the formation activated!

The Four Symbols in the four directions underwent strange changes; the formation diagrams projected four-colored pillars of light, which then dispersed into a gray mist, enveloping the crowd like a thin membrane.

"What is this?" Not only were the villagers inside the formation stunned, but even General Blue and Colonel Violet, who had just arrived, were shocked beyond measure.

General Blue, in particular, immediately ordered his troops to surround them.

The armored division, machine gun guard, artillery unit, and aerial combat force deployed rapidly, surrounding Wuchen and his companions along with the entire Lesser Four Symbols Formation until not even a drop of water could leak through.

"Artillery unit, commence saturation fire! Aerial combat squadrons, take turns bombing!"

Following General Blue's command, the artillery and tanks unleashed an indiscriminate barrage of covering fire.

Hundreds of gray aircraft split into several V-formations, sweeping over the formation in turns and dropping specialized bombs like eggs to intensify the density of the firepower.

In an instant, smoke and dust filled the entirety of Mount Fry-Pan. Bombs, shells, and missiles, spent as if they cost nothing, bloomed like fireworks, sustaining a display of pyrotechnics meant only to harvest lives.

Indeed, having watched the footage of Silver's defeat, General Blue dared not be careless.

He could no longer concern himself with mechs or the like. As long as he could bring back the three Dragon Balls, even if he gained no merit, he would at least be free of blame.

Under such reckless and costly bombardment, Mount Fry-Pan seemed to revert to its former self, engulfed in flames that burned year-round!

Witnessing such a scene, no one could possibly believe that anyone could walk out of it alive. No! Not even an earthworm could have been left as anything more than dust.

"Cease fire! Mobile units and special operations forces, prepare yourselves. Search for the Dragon Balls immediately once the smoke clears."

With that, General Blue was already prepared to conduct a carpet search for the Dragon Balls amidst the ruins.

Yet, he was still too young, unaware of the ironclad rule: where there is much smoke, there is no harm.

As the smoke dissipated, Mount Fry-Pan had indeed been razed to a... basin, yet a single pillar stood tall—a massive column of earth and stone.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but atop the earthen pillar, it seemed as though a gargantuan turtle-like creature was shielding the group, leaving them completely unscathed!