Ten Heavenly Lords Arrive, and Lin Yuan's Eyes Nearly Turn Green

Lin Yuan talked about the weather, but his eyes remained fixed outside the military camp.

Streams of immortal light descended from between the clouds.

Qin Wan was the first to appear.

He wore a dark Daoist robe, carried a formation banner on his back, and exuded a steady, weighty aura.

Zhao Jiang, Dong Quan, Yuan Jiao, and the others followed close behind, each distinct in their own way.

The ten of them stood in a single row.

Though they had yet to set up their formations, the auras radiating from them already kept the ordinary soldiers near the camp gates from daring to approach too closely.

Golden Light Holy Mother in particular, the sole female immortal among them, had faint golden radiance flickering behind her, so dazzling that people found it difficult to look directly at her.

Lin Yuan examined them one by one.

Qin Wan.

Zhao Jiang.

Dong Quan.

Yuan Jiao.

Golden Light Holy Mother.

Sun Liang.

Bai Li.

Yao Bin.

Wang Bian.

Zhang Shao.

Ten.

Not one was missing.

The system notifications were remarkably cooperative as well.

[Detected predetermined fatal calamity target: Qin Wan.]

[Detected predetermined fatal calamity target: Zhao Jiang.]

[Detected predetermined fatal calamity target: Dong Quan...]

Ten messages swept through his consciousness in succession.

Lin Yuan's feelings were rather complicated as he watched them.

The last time the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island had appeared together, he had thought a four-pull draw was already outrageous enough.

Only now did he realize.

What did a four-pull draw even count for?

Senior Brother Wen Zhong had gone out once and directly carried a ten-pull card pool to the gates of the military camp for him.

Wang Mo followed his gaze for quite a while before he could not help asking:

"Junior Brother."

"Do you know Qin Wan and the others?"

"I've never met them before."

"Then why are you staring so intently?"

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment.

"I admire the Dao of formations."

Wang Mo glanced at the Ten Heavenly Lords, then at Lin Yuan.

No matter how he looked at it, the kid's expression did not resemble admiration for the Dao of formations.

It looked more like someone who had been poor for eight hundred years and had suddenly seen ten boxes of spirit stones lined up neatly before him.

Still, he was already used to Lin Yuan occasionally acting strangely.

So he did not press the matter further.

Wen Zhong strode out to greet them.

"Fellow Daoists!"

"You've had a difficult journey!"

Qin Wan laughed heartily and cupped his hands.

"What are you saying, Fellow Daoist Wen?"

"We are fellow disciples of the Intercepting Sect."

"You sent word that Explanatory Sect disciples in West Qi had been descending the mountain time and again. How could we not come?"

"Besides..."

Qin Wan's gaze passed over Wen Zhong and fell upon Wang Mo's group of four behind him.

"The four fellow Daoists of Kowloon Island have been quite impressive lately."

"Even word of it has spread back to the Eastern Sea."

Gao Yougan immediately perked up.

"What impressive?"

"We were only being chased around and plotted against."

"Fortunately, we have a little junior brother on our side who can calculate and divine."

Qin Wan and the others followed his gaze toward Lin Yuan.

"Lin Yuan?"

"That's right."

Gao Yougan threw an arm around Lin Yuan's shoulders.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that his cultivation is only at True Immortal."

"He's extremely useful."

Lin Yuan's face darkened.

"Senior Brother Gao."

"Can you stop making it sound like you're introducing a magic treasure when you praise someone?"

Laughter immediately rang out all around them.

Wen Zhong also introduced both sides to one another.

Qin Wan had clearly heard Lin Yuan's name before.

After all, the matters involving Shiji and the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island had long since spread through the Intercepting Sect.

"So you are Junior Brother Lin."

Qin Wan smiled.

"We discussed your deeds before coming here."

"You saved Junior Sister Shiji in time."

"And the four fellow Daoists of Kowloon Island are now all standing here hale and whole."

"Not bad."

Lin Yuan felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise.

"Good luck, that's all."

Li Xingba immediately exposed him.

"Don't believe him."

"This kid always talks about luck, but when something really happens, he runs faster than anyone."

"When I was ambushed that time, he, a Heavenly Immortal, dared to charge headlong into a killing trap set by a Profound Immortal."

"He even took a Lock-Meridian Nail for me."

The way the Ten Heavenly Lords looked at Lin Yuan changed somewhat again.

Among fellow disciples, what won recognition most easily had never been pretty words.

When danger truly came, daring to lend a hand.

That was enough.

Qin Wan patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder.

"From now on, we're all brothers of the same family."

"When you have time, you can come take a look at my formation."

Lin Yuan's eyes immediately lit up.

"Senior Brother."

"You said that."

Qin Wan froze for a moment.

"Isn't it just looking at a formation?"

"Of course."

Lin Yuan answered extremely quickly.

For some reason, Qin Wan felt as though he had just agreed to something enormous.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wen Zhong did not let them continue exchanging pleasantries at the camp gates.

He swiftly led them into the central command tent.

He explained the current situation in West Qi, the Explanatory Sect disciples who had already appeared, and the methods used several times against the Four Sages of Nine-Dragon Island.

After hearing it all.

The smiles on the Ten Heavenly Lords' faces faded considerably.

Dong Quan said coldly:

"Using cultivation to oppress others, then specifically setting ambushes."

"Their Explanatory Sect truly hasn't changed at all."

Golden Light Holy Mother added:

"Since they have already entered the fray, then let us have a battle."

Wen Zhong nodded.

"That is precisely why I invited you all here."

Qin Wan did not immediately say they should go out and challenge them one on one.

Instead, he turned to look at the other nine.

The gazes of the ten met.

They had clearly thought out their method long ago.

"Fellow Daoist Wen."

"Over these years, each of us has studied formations and gained something."

"If West Qi wishes to contest Daoist arts."

"Then this is the perfect chance to let them have a taste."

Lin Yuan's heart stirred.

It was here.

Qin Wan and the others rose to their feet.

That very day, they selected an open expanse before the Shang camp.

Ten formation platforms were erected one after another.

Every grand formation had an utterly different aura.

The Heaven-Absolute Formation surged with killing intent.

The Earth Inferno Formation roiled with blazing fire.

Within the Wind Roar Formation, wind and thunder intertwined.

The Ice Formation was so cold that frost quickly formed even across the nearby ground.

As for the Golden Light Formation, streams of golden radiance darted through it, and even one glance made people's eyes ache.

After all ten grand formations had been fully deployed.

Even Wang Mo and the others began studying them seriously.

"Fine formations."

Wen Zhong could not help nodding.

Qin Wan was clearly quite confident.

"These are the fruits of our ten men's years of study."

"Together, they are called—the Ten Ultimate Formation!"

Lin Yuan stood behind Wen Zhong, but he did not feel entirely at ease.

The formations truly were powerful.

In the original Investiture of the Gods storyline, the Ten Ultimate Formation had indeed made the Explanatory Sect suffer.

The problem was...

The Ten Ultimate Formation's final outcome had been equally tragic.

The Ten Heavenly Lords were basically sent off one by one.

Lin Yuan slowly walked along the ten formations.

His Innate Spiritual Perception and his sense for battlefield killing intent unfolded together.

He did not understand the complete Dao of formations.

At least, not yet.

But danger was something he was far too familiar with now.

When he reached the space between the Heaven-Absolute Formation and the Earth Inferno Formation.

Lin Yuan suddenly stopped.

To the left.

The Heaven-Absolute Formation radiated murderous intent.

To the right.

The Earth Inferno Formation was equally perilous.

The two formations were not far apart.

Yet in Lin Yuan's perception, they felt like two completely disconnected, independent regions.

He walked farther ahead.

The Wind Roar Formation.

The Ice Formation.

The Golden Light Formation...

It was still the same.

Every one of them was powerful.

Yet each fought its own battle.

Lin Yuan stood at the center of the ten formations, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.

Qin Wan noticed his expression.

"Junior Brother Lin."

"What is it?"

Lin Yuan raised his head.

"Senior Brother Qin."

"May I ask a question?"

"Ask."

Lin Yuan pointed at the ten great formations before him.

"If someone entered the Heaven-Absolute Formation."

"Could the other nine senior brothers and sisters..."

"Help?"

Qin Wan froze for a moment.

"Of course not."

"Each of the ten formations has its own mysteries."

"How could one interfere at will?"

Lin Yuan asked again:

"Then what if the enemy knew they only needed to break one formation at a time?"

"What if they gathered their experts and came one by one?"

The surroundings suddenly grew quieter.

The relaxed expression on Qin Wan's face slowly faded as well.

Lin Yuan looked at the ten formations.

They always reminded him of ten lavishly decorated detached villas.

Every anti-theft door was quite thick.

But if someone really brought a demolition crew over—

There was not even a single doorway connecting the ten households.

That was more than a little dangerous.