Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 910 Arrives as expected
Such seemingly rational and risk-averse plans are often the beginning of uncontrollable turmoil.

"Hide?" the Dragon Lord murmured to himself, as if conversing with an invisible fate. "How long can you hide?"

He believed in Xu Xuan.

The calm we see now is nothing more than a brief and fragile illusion before the storm.

Just wait patiently.

A good show will always arrive as scheduled.

Water vapor rose and thick fog filled the air, yet the Jia family retainers within Xuyi had already set up a formidable defensive formation in a very short time.

Streaks of spiritual light appeared and disappeared in the fog, barely managing to create a relatively clear area.

The one in charge of this formation was neither a monk nor a Taoist priest, but a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes with a dignified demeanor.

His surname was Ji, his given name was Dongming, and he came from the Sima clan of Hanoi, with intricate kinship ties to the current imperial family.

In the past, when the Sima clan ruled over the nine provinces and was at its peak, it would be impossible for them to have no interest in the mystical cultivation world.

However, while the imperial dragon aura bestowed upon him allowed him to enjoy the ultimate wealth and glory in the world, it also bound him, making it difficult for him to make any progress in his cultivation.

Hence the saying, "Emperors cannot live forever, and the imperial family is hard to break through."

Only those whose bloodline has become somewhat distant, like Ji Dongming, can break free from some of the shackles and embark on the path of cultivation.

This person was recognized as a child prodigy in the clan from a young age, possessing exceptional talent and extraordinary abilities.

When he was building his foundation, he chose the most orthodox internal alchemy method, and later visited many famous teachers to learn from their strengths.

He especially loved reading widely and studying numerology. In addition to classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections, he also read rare and miscellaneous books, secret stories, and unusual records that were difficult for ordinary monks to access in the royal library.

Based on this vast amount of knowledge, he forged his own path and independently comprehended the profound and difficult art of Qimen Dunjia.

It is said that his obsession with this path was originally intended to "target" the Zhuge clan of Langya.

The intention was to one day surpass the opponent in their area of ​​expertise and restore the glory of the Sima clan, which had been overshadowed by the brilliance of Zhuge Liang.

Well, how should I put it...

Even members of the Sima clan felt that this person's ideas were unusual and somewhat impractical.

After all, there are also members of the Zhuge clan of Langya serving in the Great Jin Dynasty.

The way of survival for powerful and influential families lies in diversifying their investments; they would never be loyal to just one side.
Moreover, the Zhuge family had passed down poetry and books for generations, and no one in the family still practiced the art of Qimen Dunjia.

That extraordinary ability to reach the heavens and penetrate the earth was only possessed by Zhuge Liang alone.

Therefore, from today's perspective, Ji Dongming has a somewhat "chuunibyou" temperament, stubbornly clinging to a grand goal that is difficult for others to understand.

However, it must be admitted that his talent is indeed extraordinary. In addition, he was able to mobilize some royal resources to provide full assistance. After sixty years of cultivation, he has reached the peak of the second realm. His magical power is profound and his foundation is solid. He is the kind of genius who was cultivated through an undisputed and orthodox path.

The sealing off of the three counties of Gaoyou, Huaiyin, and Xuyi was a strict order he issued after using the art of Qimen Dunjia to deduce the secrets of heaven and was certain that Xia Ji's true form was hiding in this area.

His cooperation with the Jia family was not out of genuine loyalty, but rather a mutually beneficial arrangement.

The Jia family, as powerful relatives of the emperor, is now extremely influential and unscrupulous in their actions. This provides them with a perfect opportunity to collect rare resources needed for his cultivation, allowing him to study the Great Dao and realize his obsession with "surpassing Zhuge Liang."

Standing in the center of the formation, one's gaze seems to pierce through the mist, sensing the ever-approaching, heart-pounding pressure from the outside world.

A hint of excitement, like meeting a worthy opponent, curled at the corner of his mouth.

Even after receiving urgent reports that the entire army of Gaoyou had been wiped out and that Huaiyin was shrouded in a strange fog, he merely shook his head slightly.

"Hiding their heads and revealing their tails, using demonic fog to bewitch people, it is clear that they are shallow in foundation and cowardly in their hearts."

He lightly flicked his sleeves and said to the people around him who were on high alert, "If we really had the strength to confront us head-on, why would we need to resort to such underhanded tricks? In the past, Zhuge Liang set up an altar to borrow fog and borrowed arrows with straw boats. In essence, it was also a trick he had to resort to because his troops were weak."

This is just another form of "feint".

All I need to do is learn from the lessons of my predecessors, wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, and firmly guard the core of this carefully arranged formation. Then I can be sure of victory and wait for the enemy to run out of tricks and fall into my trap.

To this end, he had already set up the "Five Elements Maze" around the Xuyi County Government Office, which follows the principles of the five elements' mutual generation and restraint. The maze is full of illusions, which can trap people's souls and deplete their magical power. He was confident that it was enough to deal with any attacking enemy.

He even sighed with a hint of regret to the Jia family confidant beside him, "It's a pity that the Zhuge family of Langya is so stubborn and unwilling to hand over the secrets of their family's Eight Trigrams Formation. If we had this diagram, and set up the real Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, let alone this mere demonic mist, even if a thousand troops came, we would have annihilated them. This time when I return to Luoyang, I must go and 'ask for advice' again."

He was completely unaware that the entire Zhuge family was thoroughly annoyed by this and felt nothing but bad luck.

The so-called "Eight Trigrams Formation" is mostly an exaggerated version of folk legends. How could the fanatics of the Sima family believe such a thing?

They even come to our door every day demanding it back; it's utterly unreasonable.

Back to the battlefield.

When the familiar, overwhelming fog finally descended upon Xuyi, engulfing everything, Ji Dongming was not surprised but delighted, his eyes sparkling with excitement and eagerness.

"Here it comes! It's finally my turn to show off my skills!"

He waved his feather fan lightly, adopting a composed demeanor that he considered comparable to that of the ancient sages, preparing to witness the scene where the enemy would lose their way and become disoriented in the midst of battle.

then……

He felt that the Five Elements Maze he had set up on the outside, the spiritual barrier built by the interaction of the five elements, dissipated and disintegrated silently the moment it came into contact with the gray-white mist, just like hot soup poured on snow, and it did not stop it in the slightest!
It was as if the formation he had meticulously constructed did not exist at all.

Thick fog billowed, and a figure as massive as a mountain and as silent as an ancient rock slowly emerged from the fog, its steps causing the earth to tremble slightly.

The Stone King's expressionless stone face "looked" towards the center of the formation.

"Boring."

After following Xu Xuan for a few days, even a stone was infected with some of Xu Xuan's demonic nature.

He actually delivered a critical hit right off the bat.

Ji Dongming's composure froze instantly, and the feather fan in his hand hung suspended in mid-air.

At this moment, the chilly early spring wind blew past his deliberately posed figure, making it look somewhat comical.

This composed sorcerer probably couldn't tell whether his elegant demeanor with the feather fan in hand was an imitation of his ancestor's refinement or a subconscious imitation of the legendary figure of his lifelong nemesis.

At this moment, he was roaring inside.

Do you look down on me?

Are you fucking looking down on me?!
The Stone King completely ignored the sorcerer who was still posing for a photo. He raised his huge stone foot and stepped into the Five Elements Formation that the sorcerer had carefully set up.

In an instant, the world changed, and the surrounding scenery underwent a dramatic transformation!
It was no longer the streets and alleys of Xuyi, but rather a violent domain composed of pure Five Elements power.

The Geng metal sword energy raged across the sky, crushing towering trees, sweeping away monstrous floods, spewing forth raging flames, and suppressing massive mountains from nowhere! Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning mingled within, creating a terrifying spectacle of world-destroying destruction within this small array space.

To be fair, Ji Dongming's formation, in terms of power and versatility alone, is absolutely outstanding among cultivators of the second realm.

A well-prepared sorcerer who is proficient in formations can unleash combat power sufficient to overwhelm opponents of the same level, and may even be able to briefly trap enemies who are half a head taller.

However, the Stone King remained completely unmoved in the face of the Five Elements Firepower that was enough to obliterate ordinary second-realm cultivators.

Like a stubborn rock that has been silent for thousands of years, it allows the violent torrents of energy to wash over its ancient moss-covered rock body without breaking off a single piece.

In its perception, which has been developed over many years, this power of the five elements can only be considered so-so and ambiguous.

The howling wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were utterly insignificant compared to the might of heaven and earth summoned by the former Lord of Dongting, Yunzhongjun, with a wave of his hand. He didn't even bother with any elaborate techniques to break it; he simply raised his colossal foot, comparable to the bedrock of a mountain, and gently stomped it towards the core of the formation.

"Boom!"

A dull, deafening roar seemed to strike the very foundation of the formation's operation!

The entire Five Elements Formation space shook violently, with spiritual light flashing wildly. The energy lines that formed the illusion instantly became chaotic and showed signs of collapse!

Ji Dongming, standing outside the formation, suddenly turned pale, his blood surging. He could no longer care about waving his feather fan. He hurriedly formed hand seals and poured all his magical power into the formation without reservation, barely managing to stabilize the formation that was on the verge of collapse.

My heart sank deeper and deeper. This brute had seen through the formation?
Now that things had come to this, he was completely tied down and had no choice but to devote himself entirely to a unequal struggle against the Stone King in the formation.

Thus, the two sides, one inside and one outside, were temporarily locked in a stalemate.

As for the Jia family's retainers and elite guards outside the formation... they were naturally handed over to the two young female swordsmen who were already eager to fight and whose sword energy soared to the sky.

The time of a stick of incense passes quickly.

The bombardment of the five elements within the formation never ceased, while Ji Dongming outside the formation was covered in cold sweat. The feather fan in his hand, a symbol of elegance, had long been worn down and broken, yet it had not been able to do anything to the stone figure within the formation.

He even secretly tried to activate a secret technique that influenced celestial phenomena, attempting to disrupt the Stone King's connection to destiny.

However, those meager tricks were like a mud ox sinking into the sea before the Stone King's vast demonic power and the foundation of the earth, which had been accumulated over countless years, failing to even stir up a ripple.

"Boring."

Every sound of boredom in the formation is the most vicious mental attack.

The pressure drove a certain ambitious and brilliant villain to madness and then despair.

Even at this moment, Ji Dongming, who was as confident as he was, clearly felt the enormous gap between himself and the boulder, as if the world were an abyss.

This is not a contest of skill or talent, but an absolute crushing of so-called "geniuses" by time!

The gap between the second and third realms is an insurmountable chasm.

The Stone King is a top-tier innate demon king among the three realms, and his power is simply unbelievable to ordinary cultivators.

In terms of pure combat strength, within the Baoan Hall, where hidden talents abound, Shi Wang would definitely be firmly ranked in the top five!
The chuunibyou sorcerer felt his magic power was about to be exhausted, his soul was being pierced by the excessive burden, and a cold despair finally seized his heart.

He felt he might... be about to die.

At this critical moment, an absurd yet logical thought suddenly popped into his mind:
"Could it be... that ancient curse concerning Xia Ji... is actually true?"

At this moment, he began to lament the "tragedy" of his own fate, and terrifying legends about that stunningly beautiful corpse demon flashed through his mind:
“Killing Yu Shu, slaying Ling Gong, slaughtering Xia Nan, expelling Kong and Yi, causing the downfall of the Chen state… Now, must we add another one—killing me, Ji Dongming?”

Even on the verge of death, he still had the mind to add a dramatic footnote to his ending.

He truly lived up to his mystical and eccentric nature as a sorcerer.

On the outside, the battle situation also presented a one-sided and brutal picture.

Having broken free from all constraints, Yu Yingnan and Li Yingqi, like tigers among sheep, are wreaking havoc and running rampant in the enemy ranks.

The brilliance of the Five Elements Formation, the misty clouds of Dongting Lake, the aftershocks of the astrological secrets, the sharp sword energy of the Purple and Green Twin Swords, the purifying blue flames of the Southern Bright Fire...

Various powerful and diverse energy fluctuations collided, intertwined, and annihilated each other, converging into a turbulent energy current so intense and striking that it seemed to ignite a giant beacon tower on the Huaihe Plain.

If such a large-scale battle were to take place on the banks of the Yangtze River, the Dragon King, who loves watching a good show, would surely be leisurely "eating melons" and commenting on everything.

However, this place is the Huai River.

Gulu gulu...

In the unfathomable depths of the Huai River, some inexplicable changes seem to have taken place.

A pair of ancient and majestic golden eyes opened silently in the dark depths of the water, quietly and indifferently watching the bloody massacre on the shore.

Whether it was the immovable and boundless demonic power of the Stone King, the Five Elements Formation that Ji Dongming activated with all his might, or even Yu Ying's Nanming Fire that burned away all evil...

These powers, enough to make even highly skilled cultivators take notice, failed to elicit any further ripples from those golden eyes, as if they were merely a gentle breeze brushing across the water's surface.

Even Li Yingqi's chilling aura bearing the destiny of a killer star, and his pair of infamous purple and green swords, seemed to fail to attract much of his attention.

But the problem lies precisely in the names of the Yue Maiden Sword moves.

As is widely known, the swordsmanship tradition ranked first in Baoan Hall does not originate from Mount Shu, but from the Yue region where Gan Jiang and Mo Xie lived, specifically the Yue Maiden Sword, which is said to have been taught by a white ape.

This sword technique has a minor but significant characteristic: its moves often have extremely exaggerated names, and are rarely repeated.

More importantly... their moves and names often lack an intuitive connection, relying entirely on the user's whim.

As Qing Guniang's personal disciple and the second-generation successor of the Yue Nu Sword, Li Yingqi is usually quite restrained. However, when he gets carried away and acts recklessly, the mischievous gene he learned from his master is revealed.

The move "Splitting Mount Hua" is already powerful enough, but she felt that if it were changed to "Yu the Great Opening the Mountain", wouldn't it be even more powerful and imposing?

Furthermore, the name can be used to leverage its influence. Master Xu said that if you frequently recite the name of King Yu, you will surely receive blessings.

Then she shouted, "Yue Maiden Swordplay - Yu the Great Opens the Mountain!"

The sword energy cleaved down with tremendous force.

The golden eyes at the bottom of the water remained completely still.

The legend of Yu the Great taming the floods runs through the entire history of humankind, especially along the banks of the Huai River, where mentioning the name of Yu the Great is perfectly normal.

However, the next move...

Li Yingqi shifted her sword stance, her movements as agile as a leaping ape, yet the tip of her sword traced an extremely cunning and ruthless arc, piercing through three magical artifacts and seven layers of barriers, aiming straight for her opponent's throat, all while letting out a sharp cry:
"The Yue Maiden's Swordplay: Yu the Great Stabilizes the Flood!"

Actually, it's just a random shout; the real name of this move should be...
Yue Maiden Swordplay - White Ape Offering Fruit.

However, some information can be felt by powerful beings even if they don't say it out loud.

The golden eyes at the bottom of the deep water suddenly froze for a moment.

The Huai River flowing around us seemed to stop flowing at that moment.

The story of King Yu opening up the mountain to receive a white ape offering fruit is quite interesting.

But this little girl probably doesn't know that, right?

But this faint aura of King Yu is really hard to ignore. Where did he get it from?

Lets see.

As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune have no fixed gate; they are brought upon oneself.

In the old story of the Investiture of the Gods, Li Nezha, who was also a Heavenly Star of Slaughter and held the title of Vanguard Officer, caused countless troubles in his youth because he was reckless. In the end, he had to rely on his master, Taiyi Zhenren, to step in and help him overcome the tribulations.

Now, another Li Xianfeng seems to be... very energetic.

Sometimes, stirring up trouble goes unchecked, regardless of one's own conscience.

At this moment, Xu Xuan was still leisurely sitting on the edge of the mist outside Xuyi County, happily waiting for the internal "fast track" results.

　Today's update is a whopping 12,000 words!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)