Three Xiao Sisters Pledge Their Hearts, the Formation Takes Shape

Three Immortals Island was wreathed in colored clouds, with immortal cranes dancing gracefully through the air.

Yet today, the island's atmosphere differed from its usual tranquil serenity, carrying an added air of solemn dignity.

Before the island's central cultivation platform, Yunxiao stood at the forefront, with Qiongxiao and Bixiao attending at her sides. All three sisters wore formal palace robes, their expressions grave.

Below the platform, Zhao Gongming stood tall with his head held high. Behind him were several dozen Jiejiao disciples with sharp, capable auras, clearly either his direct subordinates or disciples close to him.

Farther out stood disciples from other islands who had come upon hearing the news, some curious, others merely watching.

Clad in violet robes, Xuan Chuan stood in the middle of the cultivation platform, facing the Three Xiao Sisters.

"Senior Brother Xuan Chuan." Yunxiao stepped forward. Her clear, resonant voice spread across the island, while divine power silently carried it into the nearby seas.

Ensuring that the many people secretly watching this place could hear, she said, "My brother has already recounted the matter of Wuyi Mountain in detail.

Senior Brother possesses immense divine abilities and peerless wisdom. You helped my brother resolve a thorn in his heart that had plagued him for years and brought an end to his karmic ties. My three sisters and brother shall forever remember this grace in the depths of our hearts."

Her gaze swept over the crowd below before finally returning to Xuan Chuan. Word by word, she spoke with absolute clarity:

"My sisters and I once gave our word: if Senior Brother could help our brother overcome this calamity, then the lineage of Three Immortals Island would advance and retreat together with you, offering our full support without a second word!

Today, Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao swear here that from this day onward, we shall fully support Senior Brother Xuan Chuan in shouldering the responsibility of Jiejiao's foremost disciple, carrying out reforms within the sect, cleansing Karmic Force, and stabilizing its fortune!

Whoever obstructs Senior Brother's great plans or harms Jiejiao's foundations shall be the enemy of Three Immortals Island!"

The moment these words fell, they were like a stone shattering the heavens!

The Three Xiao Ladies held a special status within Jiejiao.

Though they were not close attendants like the Seven Attendant Immortals, their cultivation was profound—Yunxiao in particular had already reached the Daluo Realm—and their mastery of formations stood unrivaled within the sect. Moreover, they shared deep sibling bonds with Zhao Gongming, their branches joined and their breath connected.

They had always remained relatively detached, rarely involving themselves in the sect's affairs.

And yet now, they had so publicly and explicitly, almost in the manner of an oath, declared their full support for Xuan Chuan!

This meant that Xuan Chuan had not only gained Zhao Gongming, a formidable combatant, but also the wholehearted support of the Three Xiao Sisters, these masters of formations, and the influence behind them!

His foundations and reputation within the sect soared in an instant!

"Big Sister is right!" Qiongxiao said brightly. "Everything Senior Brother Xuan Chuan has done has been for the sect's sake. My sisters and I are convinced!"

Bixiao nodded vigorously as well. "Whoever dares make trouble for Senior Brother again is making trouble for Three Immortals Island!"

Zhao Gongming burst into booming laughter, his voice shaking the four directions.

"Did you hear that? From now on, Senior Brother Xuan Chuan's business is the business of Zhao Gongming and Three Immortals Island! If anyone has objections, they can first ask the Sea-Calming Pearl in my hand!"

The disciples from Zhao Gongming's faction below clasped their hands and shouted in unison, "We obey our master's command! We support Eldest Senior Brother Xuan Chuan!"

The waves of sound rolled outward.

Far away amid the clouds, several figures who had been spying in secret quietly withdrew, swiftly carrying this news back to their respective masters.

Xuan Chuan's heart settled. He solemnly returned the salute to the Three Xiao Sisters and Zhao Gongming. "Junior Brother Gongming, three Junior Sisters, Xuan Chuan shall remember this profound friendship in his heart.

Since we are fellow disciples, we should join forces as one and cross the waves of tribulation together. At present, there is indeed one matter in which I must rely on the strengths of my three Junior Sisters."

"Senior Brother, please speak freely," Yunxiao said.

"Although the matter of Martial Uncle Winged Immortal was temporarily settled by Master, its hidden dangers have not been eliminated, and opposition within the sect still runs high."

Xuan Chuan spoke bluntly. "I wish to gather the disciples willing to follow the new rules and loyal to the sect, then train them in a formation known as the simplified version of the Myriad Immortals Joint Defense Formation.

This formation originates from Master Tongtian's supreme concepts of formation Dao. Its purpose is to gather the strength of many immortals, turn scattered forces into a whole, and unite offense and defense. It can face powerful enemies and protect more fellow disciples amid the great tribulation.

However, though I have some ideas regarding formations, in matters such as detailed deduction, rune inscription, and the linking of vital energies, I am far inferior to my three Junior Sisters. Thus, I hope you will lend me your aid to perfect this formation together and teach it to trustworthy disciples."

"A simplified Myriad Immortals Joint Defense Formation?" Yunxiao's beautiful eyes lit up. Obsessed with formation Dao, she immediately knew this name was extraordinary. "Senior Brother has such a concept? Quickly, explain it to us in detail!"

Xuan Chuan nodded and immediately transmitted his thoughts through divine sense, combining memories from a later age,

the superficial knowledge he had gained from Tongtian's formation Dao, and the concept of The One That Escaped, to thoroughly explain the preliminary framework of the simplified Ten Thousand Immortals Formation he had deduced to the Three Xiao Sisters.

This simplified formation abandoned the terrifying power and complex arrangements of the original Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, which required ten thousand immortals each performing their own duties and mobilizing the Baleful Intent of the Primordial World. Instead, it focused on "joint defense" and "combined strength."

Its core lay in using a particular method to temporarily connect the formation disciples' mana, divine consciousness, and even a portion of their fortune, forming an all-encompassing "spiritual net."

The formation could be large or small. With only three to five people, they could form a formation, support one another like horns, and multiply both offense and defense;

At its largest, it could encompass thousands or tens of thousands of people, their auras joined together as they became a "formation spirit," capable of resisting or even suppressing high-level cultivators.

Yunxiao listened as though intoxicated, while Qiongxiao and Bixiao's beautiful eyes shone with repeated flashes of wonder.

The framework Xuan Chuan had proposed was grand and ingenious, but many details were indeed crude, even containing contradictions and flaws. And this was precisely the field in which they excelled most!

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Yunxiao said in great excitement. "Senior Brother's formation has lofty intent and fits practical needs perfectly. It is exactly what Jiejiao requires right now!

These few nodes for spiritual energy circulation, and these runes for divine-sense resonance... mm, they need to be adjusted like this... Second Sister, Third Sister, look at this defensive conversion..."

The three sisters immediately plunged into fervent discussion, occasionally asking Xuan Chuan about the finer details of several core concepts.

Xuan Chuan answered them from the perspective of the Dao. The four rapidly communicated, deduced, and refined the formation through divine sense atop the cultivation platform.

Zhao Gongming watched in amazement, clicking his tongue in wonder, then instructed his disciples to spread out and stand guard.

This discussion lasted seven days and seven nights.

Seven days later, Yunxiao opened her bright eyes, which were filled with the radiance of wisdom and the satisfaction that followed exhaustion. Qiongxiao and Bixiao were likewise glowing with renewed vitality.

"We have not failed our mission!" Yunxiao said to Xuan Chuan with a smile. "Senior Brother, the simplified formation has been preliminarily perfected!

We have designated its core as 'Three Talents Return to Origin, Ten Thousand Methods Joint Defense.' According to the cultivation, numbers, and magical treasure attributes of the participating disciples,

it may be divided into several foundational formations: Three Talents, Nine Palaces, Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems, Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, and even the Zhou Heaven. They may also be nested and transformed together. Here are the formation diagrams and mnemonic verses."

She handed Xuan Chuan a warm jade slip.

Xuan Chuan swept it with his divine sense and immediately knew that its contents had reached the pinnacle of subtlety, far surpassing his original rough conception. It was also highly practical, and joy welled up in his heart.

"My three Junior Sisters' attainments in formations truly reach the heavens and penetrate the earth! Xuan Chuan offers you his thanks!" He bowed deeply and sincerely to the ground.

"You are too courteous, Senior Brother. This is also part of our cultivation," Yunxiao said with a smile. "Time waits for no one. Shall we begin selecting the first batch of trustworthy disciples and teach them the formation?"

"Precisely so!"

Very soon, under the joint direction of Xuan Chuan, Zhao Gongming, and the Three Xiao Sisters, around three hundred disciples were selected. Most were from the Outer Sect, along with some from the Inner Sect who clearly supported Xuan Chuan,

and who possessed relatively upright dispositions. In a designated area of Golden Turtle Island, the Three Xiao Sisters personally began teaching them the simplified Myriad Immortals Joint Defense Formation.

Formation training was not something that could be mastered in a day or two. However, the Three Xiao Sisters taught skillfully, and the formation itself was designed with both subtlety and accessibility.

After little more than a month, these three hundred disciples could already proficiently form the basic Three Talents and Nine Palaces formations. Their auras linked together, their advances and retreats orderly, and the combat power they displayed far exceeded the sum of their individual strengths.

When the three hundred disciples successfully practiced the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Formation for the first time, the vast spiritual power stirred by the formation shot straight into the heavens. A simple phantom of a formation spirit faintly manifested, its might actually no weaker than that of a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal!

Countless Jiejiao disciples witnessed this scene, and their hearts were shaken.

The disciples supporting Xuan Chuan rejoiced, their morale greatly boosted.

But those harboring dissatisfaction—especially Golden Light Immortal, Lingya Immortal, Qiu Shou Immortal, and their followers—felt the pressure growing ever heavier.

Inside Golden Light Cave, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than before.

"The Three Xiao Sisters... actually declared their allegiance publicly, and even helped that brat Xuan Chuan train some so-called grand formation!"

Lingya Immortal ground his fangs until they creaked. "Now that the disciples supporting him have learned the formation, their momentum has grown even stronger! If this continues, will there still be a place for us to stand?"

Golden Light Immortal's face was gloomy as he remained silent. The disciples he had sent to secretly observe the formation training had reported that the formation was truly wondrous, by no means an empty bluff.

Qiu Shou Immortal's eyes flickered as he asked in a low voice, "Has there still been no response from Junior Brother Winged Immortal...?"

"I have activated that feather communication talisman several times already." Golden Light Immortal shook his head. "Perhaps Junior Brother is still cultivating deep within the Northern Netherworld and has not received it; or perhaps... he has other plans."

"Are we simply going to let this go?" Lingya Immortal asked unwillingly.

"Of course not." A cold glint flashed through Golden Light Immortal's eyes. "But now that the Three Xiao Sisters have openly given their support, Xuan Chuan's wings have grown fuller.

To confront him head-on at this time would be exceedingly unwise. We should wait and see what Junior Brother Winged Immortal says when he returns.

For now... we shall endure and watch how events unfold. But some matters need not necessarily be handled by our own hands..."

He looked toward Qiu Shou Immortal. "Junior Brother Qiu Shou, you said last time that the Western Religion seemed to still bear us some 'goodwill'?"

Qiu Shou Immortal's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained calm. "Senior Brother Golden Light, what do you mean...?"

Golden Light Immortal did not answer. His gaze merely grew increasingly deep and unfathomable.