Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 956 Breaking the Formation
At this moment, the team's opinion was very clear: four people agreed to continue forward. Even though Qingyue Sanren was unwilling, he had no choice but to comply, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

Zhongding Sanren cleared his throat and offered words of comfort:

“Fellow Daoist, we have been flying for sixteen days to reach this place. In another four or five days, we will be able to enter the Misty Mountains. I guarantee that we will arrive at our destination within two days.”

One of the great dangers of the Misty Mountains is the mind-altering fog, but for us, enduring it for about ten days is no problem at all.

Furthermore, if things become unavoidable and we can no longer persist, we can all return together at that time.

"Unknown dangers certainly exist, but how could I, a humble Taoist, knowingly do something that is impossible?"

Guangtong Sanren chimed in:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyue, I believe you agreed to come to accelerate the cultivation of your small world. There are actually three Heaven-Mending Lotus plants, including one of the fifth-grade superior quality plants. The risk is worthwhile."

The effects of the lotus have been proven over time, which is why it has attracted so many people.

Qingyue Sanren had been persuaded and voiced her question:

"Since there are three Heaven-Mending Lotus plants, why didn't you inform me beforehand?"

When Zhong Ding Sanren found her, he was rather vague, only saying that he had found a Heaven-Mending Lotus, without revealing that there were three.

Zhongding Sanren gently shook his head and explained with a smile:
"Three Heaven-Mending Lotus plants, plus one fifth-grade superior one, are quite a temptation for cultivators in the late stage of the Three Flowers Realm."

It's not that I don't trust everyone, but if word gets out, the consequences will be too great.

A fifth-grade superior-quality Heaven-Mending Lotus can have a very significant effect on a fifth-grade mid-quality spiritual vein. It is quite difficult for cultivators at the Three Flower Realm to improve the grade of the spiritual veins in their small worlds. Items that can improve the grade of spiritual veins have always been highly sought after.

For a cultivator in the Three Flowers Realm to break through to the Cave Heaven Realm, their small world must reach the fifth-grade top quality, preferably a level close to perfection.

In that case, if one can break through to the Cave Heaven Realm, the small world can 'ascend' to the sixth rank.

Three-Flower Realm cultivators have a lifespan of tens of thousands of years, but under normal circumstances, it is extremely difficult to cultivate the spiritual veins of a small world to the fifth-order top grade.

High-grade Heaven-Mending Lotus seeds are also highly sought after. Finding a Nascent Soul stage spiritual cultivator with exceptional spiritual farming skills to help plant them in the small world is a huge win, as long as they survive.

The reason for seeking help from a Nascent Soul stage cultivator is that a Three-Flower Realm cultivator cannot invite a cultivator of the same level to their own small world.

Zhongding Sanren chuckled twice and said in a deep voice:

"If the true news attracts late-stage Three Flowers Realm cultivators to forcibly join in, can I still maintain my dominant position?"

Qingyue Sanren was persuaded, and after a moment of silence, he nodded:
"We will give it our best, but if the danger exceeds our expectations, we must evacuate immediately."

She also coveted the Heaven-Mending Lotus, but she valued life more. If she missed this precious resource, she might encounter other resources again, but if she died, she would truly have nothing left.

Both Buddhist and demonic cultivators at the Three Flower Realm level have methods to regenerate by leaving behind a divine soul seed. Immortal cultivators do not have such secret techniques, and the substitute death treasure is one of their few reliances.

Zhongding Sanren was overjoyed, "Of course!"

Everyone arranged for Guangtong Sanren to be in charge of keeping watch tonight, while the rest of the group set up their own defensive formations and entered them.

Ji An used the Nine-Bend Heavenly River Formation, which he had bought from Miao You Sanren. After he activated the formation, the water shimmered a few times, and then the formation turned into a patch of low trees and wild grass.

In the quiet night, without moon or stars, Ji An and his group had arrived at the edge of their destination, a colorful stone mountain. After a moment of observation, he realized that it was actually a mine.

The Misty Mountains were shrouded in a thin mist, limiting his field of vision to only about ten miles; he couldn't see too far.

Miao You Sanren lowered his eyes and transmitted his voice:

Do you remember the route you took to get here?

They had agreed beforehand that if things went wrong, they would retreat. When it came time to retreat, they might not be able to follow Zhongding Sanren, so memorizing the route was essential.

Ji An calmly replied, "My limited field of vision prevents me from remembering the detailed route, but I can still determine directions."

If you really need to escape, running in the wrong direction would be fatal.

"That's good. This fog is indeed a bit strange; we mustn't be careless."

Miaoyou Sanren gave his instructions in a low voice, and the occasional whispers that sounded like human voices in the mist made him uneasy.

He asked others, and Guangtong Sanren said that this was a unique situation in the Misty Mountains, and as long as he didn't stay there for long, he would be fine once he left the environment.

Zhongding Sanren took out a white animal skin scroll about ten feet long and six feet wide, and unfolded it to reveal a detailed map.

"Please look above, everyone. This is a detailed map of the Gold-Eating Beast's territory."

He tapped a few times with his finger at a certain location in the lower left corner of the map. "This is our current location. There is a valley in the center of the Gold-Eating Beast clan, and in the valley there is a peach-shaped pool of water that is seventy or eighty acres in size."

The fog in the valley was very thin, and there was no fog at all above the water.

The Heaven-Mending Lotus grows in the shallow water at the southeast corner of the pool. If we can break through the outer natural formation, the Heaven-Mending Lotus will be ours for the taking.

After speaking, he looked at the array masters and said:

"We'll have to rely on you two from now on."

"I wouldn't dare, it's my duty," said Miaoyou Sanren after carefully examining the map.
“Natural formations must have special environments. Next, we need to conduct an on-site survey of the mountains and terrain of the entire Gold-Eating Beast territory.”

Qingyue Sanren nodded slightly, "Yes, it is necessary to do this. No matter how detailed the map is, it cannot show the details. Only by conducting on-site inspections can we grasp the formation."

Zhongding Sanren nodded, "We will do as you two suggest, but we need to do it as soon as possible."

Ji An stroked his chin, lost in thought. The other party had provided very detailed information, and he wondered how they had obtained such detailed intelligence.

Any magic array involved will inevitably create a 360-degree, no-dead-angle seal, and the airspace will naturally be sealed as well.

Miao You Sanren nodded slightly and said:

"Let's set off now. Remember to stay hidden when you activate your magic."

Originally, it would be quick for two array masters to patrol in different directions and then meet up to share information, but splitting up is a foolish decision, so they should continue to stick together, even if it wastes some time.

Zhongding Sanren smiled gently, “The Gold-Eating Beast is lazy by nature and has no enemies nearby, so there are rarely any patrolling Gold-Eating Beast teams.”

Even if there are patrol teams, they would at most be at the Golden Core level, giving them no chance to detect us in advance.

If the enemy cannot discover them first, they will inevitably be avoided.

The group spent a day surveying the outskirts of the Gold-Eating Beast's territory before returning to their starting point.

Half a day later, Miaoyou Sanren excitedly spoke:

"Through my deduction, this natural formation functions similarly to the Earth Soul Profound Gold Formation, possessing considerable defensive strength, but its most important function is to cultivate the metal element spiritual veins within the formation."

If I'm not mistaken, there must be a considerable amount of gold ore beneath this territory. This spiritual vein is of the fifth rank, and if I can obtain a sum of fifth-rank resources as I wish, it will undoubtedly be a windfall.

Zhongding Sanren understood the meaning behind the words and couldn't help but beam with joy.

He looked at another array master and asked:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyue, what is your conclusion?"

Qingyue Sanren's face also showed joy. "My conclusion is the same as that of Fellow Daoist Miaoyou. At the same time, I have also discovered a few weaknesses."

Naturally formed magic arrays always have various flaws. I discovered a particularly noticeable area where the energy flow of this array is obstructed; this could be a key point for improvement.

She was happy to receive more resources after winning the battle; no cultivator would complain about receiving too many resources.

Miaoyou Sanren then spoke up, "I have also discovered a few weak points. I wonder if they are the same as yours."

We can't let the other side steal the limelight. A formation master's reputation is very important; a good reputation naturally brings more opportunities.

Zhongding Sanren immediately took out the map, spread it out, and laughed:
"Why don't you two point out at the same time which location has the weakest point in the magic array, and let's see if your judgments are consistent?"

The two array masters exchanged a glance and spoke simultaneously:
"can."

"Alright, I'll count down from three: three, two, one."

The moment the words left his mouth, he pointed two fingers at the same spot.

Ji An looked closely and smiled:

"Both of them discovered the same major weakness, so we should focus on that weakness."

Qingyue Sanren nodded, "Although the formation has weak points, it has reached the fifth level after all, so it is not easy to break through. We can use the method of breaking the formation with the formation itself to break it."

As long as we can resolve the issue quickly, we won't encounter any unforeseen complications.

"I possess a low-grade, fifth-tier 'Triple Wave Formation,' which is perfect for this. To achieve a swift victory, we need everyone to work together. Simultaneously, the two formation masters must guide everyone's attacks to converge, maximizing the effectiveness."

This magic array was her most treasured possession, something she rarely used. If it weren't for the considerable danger of spending a long time in the mist, she probably wouldn't have used it.

Since Miaoyou Sanren didn't have a fifth-order magic array, he could only cup his hands and say:

"I am willing to obey your orders, fellow Daoist."

Zhongding Sanren's eyes gleamed, "If everything goes smoothly, I am willing to set aside some resources to reward Fellow Daoist Qingyue after the matter is accomplished."

Everyone, get a good rest tonight and restore your mana. Make sure you're in peak condition so we can launch a full-scale attack tomorrow.

Ji An asked:
"An attack on the enemy's formation will inevitably be a massive undertaking. Will this attract other powerful demon beast clans?"

He knew nothing about the Misty Mountains, so he hoped to learn more so he could be better prepared.

Zhongding Sanren's smile did not diminish. "Fellow Daoist, please rest assured. The powerful demon beast groups in the Misty Mountains are all quite far apart, so our attack will not attract other groups."

The only thing to do is unleash a barrage of attacks to break through the magic array's defenses as soon as possible; the longer you stay in the mist, the more likely things are to go wrong.

The next day, led by Qingyue Sanren, the group arrived near a steep cliff, where two array masters began to direct everyone to set up array plates and array flags.

It took more than half an hour of hard work to finally complete the task. The smoother the magic array operated, the stronger its power would be.

The entire magic array has twelve core nodes, covering an area of ​​about ten acres. Qingyue Sanren assigned one node to each person.

"There is only one requirement for all of you fellow Daoists: to input your mana into the array flags located at the nodes at a constant speed, and to control the use of your mana while maintaining a good rhythm."

Use all means to restore mana whenever possible, don't be stingy, and try your best to ensure that your mana does not fall below half.

If we cannot break through this formation within five days, I request to leave immediately. Waiting until the full power of the mist is unleashed will make it too late to leave.

Ji An and Miao You San both nodded, "Agreed."

This was their fourth day in the mist, and they all felt that the flow of magic power within their bodies had slowed down slightly, and strange noises occasionally appeared in their ears.

No one can explain why this phenomenon occurs; the unknown can trigger fear in people.

Guangtong Sanren chimed in, “Agreed.”

Zhongding Sanren shook his head slightly and said half-jokingly:
"Of course I agree, but it seems you don't quite trust me!"

After the brief incident, everyone began to take action.

Magical power surged from everyone's bodies and flowed into the array flags, creating a thunderous roar, like the sound of a cascading waterfall.

Black streams of light continuously emanated from the front of the formation, striking the natural array and revealing an earthy yellow aura.

Not long after the magic circle was activated, two burly men with bronze skin and fierce faces flew over, shouting in a blustering but cowardly tone:
"Humans, this is not a place for you. Retreat quickly and you may still have a chance to survive."

They were transformed from two gold-eating beasts. Judging from the intensity of the spiritual pressure they emitted, both of them were at the Three Flowers Realm level, with one of them likely reaching the mid-stage of the Three Flowers Realm.

They were furious that their stronghold had been attacked, but seeing that the enemy outnumbered them and was hiding in a magic circle, they tried to soften the blow with words.

Only the two of them in the clan had reached the Three Flowers Realm, while there were five enemies. With the formation concealing them, they couldn't judge the strength of the enemies, but they guessed that they must all be opponents of the same level.

The group completely ignored the two transformed demonic beasts and continued their attack with their heads down. Retreat was out of the question; this was just the beginning.

Perhaps sensing that they had been slighted, the two gold-eating beasts revealed their true forms, which resembled pangolins in size, but with colorful and shimmering scales, making them much more appealing.

The human form allows them to cultivate more efficiently, but in battle, using their true form is still more efficient.

They spewed out torrents of silvery energy, which was compressed to the extreme.

Qingyue Sanren said loudly:
"My magic array also has a certain defensive effect, so we don't need to pay attention to the attack. If there are only two gold-eating beasts, we will definitely win."

Although being attacked will weaken the attack strength of the magic circle, the attack launched by the Triple Wave Array can still cause significant damage to the natural magic circle.

The silver torrent crashed into the edge of the magic array, rippling out circles of black waves. Ji An felt the array flags suddenly become heavy.

The attack from the Gold-Eating Beast had no real effect, but the natural formation was constantly being depleted, and its spiritual light slowly dimmed.

After a day of relentless attacks proving futile, the two gold-eating beasts turned and retreated back into the magic array, never to emerge again.

Three days later, the natural magic array was broken, exploding into a sky full of spiritual light.

Things went more smoothly than Ji An had expected; it succeeded just like that.

(End of this chapter)