Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 970 Keep your word

At this moment, Xiaoqing glanced at Hou Sheng, who was sweating profusely, and at the still deep and eerie nine-layered altar.

Turning to Xu Xuan, she asked in a low voice, "This old guy is making slow progress, should we... ask my sister to come and help? She seems to have quite a bit of knowledge about these kinds of formations and rituals."

"No need. Don't underestimate the potential of a senior leader of the White Lotus Sect."

Just as the two hall masters were exchanging intelligence and future tactical ideas, Hou Sheng, who was under tremendous pressure, actually managed to force a breakthrough in his desperate situation.

As the only devout follower among so many people present, he certainly has some skills.

Especially under the continuous pressure of several sharp sword intents that could instantly take his life, the extreme fear actually stimulated his potential, and even the realm that had been stuck for a long time showed a slight sign of loosening.

Indeed, fear can be a very powerful motivator.

Based on the fragmented information he had taken during the preliminary preparation phase and his own understanding of the White Lotus Secret Technique, combined with the flowing runes on the altar before him, he actually managed to glimpse part of the Great Wisdom Dharma King's plan.

He suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief, and exclaimed in astonishment:

"It's the Dragon-Slaying Formation!"

"No! That's not right! This is... a reversed Dragon-Slaying Formation!"

"But...this shouldn't be...How could the Great Wisdom Dharma King..."

The Dragon-Slaying Formation is a burial ground formation originating from the long-declining Zhongge Sect, and later incorporated many essential elements of Maoshan magic.

The core purpose is to use the spiritual power inherent in the mountains and rivers to build an indestructible barrier to protect the tomb and resist the invasion of external evils.

This formation is not a rigid and fixed diagram. Its principle is deeply rooted in the balance of Yin and Yang in nature and the changes in the earth's magnetic field. Through specific rituals and arrangements, it can stimulate and guide the power of the spirit of mountains and rivers for one's own use.

In the Maoshan magic system, mountains and rivers, like living beings, are believed to have the flow of yang and yin energy.

Mountains are generally considered yang, while watercourses are considered yin. The spirit of mountains and rivers is regarded as one of the most fundamental and powerful forces in the universe, far beyond the power of human beings, animals, or even evil spirits and resentment.

A complete Dragon-Slaying Formation requires nine key points.

These are respectively "Jianlintai", "Dingluotai", "Xingshuntai", "Kuncuitai", "Zhenxiantai", "Hezhangtai", "Kongtatai", "Kongjutai", and the most crucial "Suimentai".

Each key point of the array needs to be placed with a spiritual "suppressing object". This suppressing object can be a refined gold, stone or jade artifact, or a magic tool with special talismans drawn on it.

Anything possessing spiritual power can be used as a talisman to communicate with and stabilize the corresponding mountain and river spiritual veins.

For example, the nine-tiered stone platform in front of us is like this, most of which were collected and prepared by Hou Sheng when he helped the Great Wisdom Dharma King.

"Even so..."

My knowledge base is barely enough to recognize the influence of Maoshan magic within this formation, and I can deduce from the layout of the talisman and the platform that this is indeed the framework of the Dragon-Slaying Formation.

However, their vision and cultivation in array formations are still insufficient to see through the deeper changes.

Just as Hou Sheng was stuck in a cognitive bottleneck, Xu Xuan walked over slowly.

He planned to give the other person a crucial "buff," which was also... a farewell in some sense.

He raised his hand and gently pressed it on the top of the other person's head.

"Concentrate and look again!"

The moment the words fell, Hou Sheng felt as if a sun had been cast into the depths of his soul!
An unprecedentedly brilliant light erupted from his soul, completely engulfing his consciousness.

This light...this warmth...this sacred aura!
"This is...this is the radiance of the Holy Mother's manifestation!"

Hou Sheng was so shocked that he almost fainted.

At the same time, I heard a distant and grand chanting sound, as if thousands of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were chanting scriptures in the void at the same time.

It wasn't deafening, but rather it carried an indescribable sense of completeness, happiness, and peace, striking directly into the deepest recesses of the soul.

The scene before their eyes had completely changed. An endless, pure land, radiating the brilliance of seven treasures and lapis lazuli, seemed to descend from an unknown, mysterious dimension, enveloping them.

In this pure land, there is no pain, no strife, no deceit, only endless peace, pure joy, and the ultimate sense of security, like returning to the womb.

My soul truly felt that there was a paradise beyond life and death, a place of perfect happiness!
That is precisely the "vacuum homeland" described in the doctrine!
Under the infusion of this vast power, Hou Sheng's realm was forcibly elevated, and his perspective on problems instantly rose to an unprecedented level.

What Xu Xuan transmitted to him was not knowledge, but spiritual perception.

Wisdom seemed to be enlightened as well; previously obscure and difficult-to-understand key points were now as clear and understandable as the lines on one's palm.

The "point" he had previously discerned rapidly expanded into a complete "surface".

The principles of countless formations, the changes of yin and yang, and the flow of qi naturally merged into his mind.

A moment later, the light faded, and the chanting subsided, but the elevated perspective and wisdom remained. Hou Sheng slowly opened his eyes, his gaze gleaming with all-knowing insight. He let out a long sigh, his voice filled with understanding and awe:

"I see."

Then a lecture on the formation began.

"Master Dazhi borrowed the principle of using the Dragon-Slaying Formation to communicate with the spirits of mountains and rivers and stabilize yin and yang, but he reversed and distorted its core principle!"

It's not about using the spirit of mountains and rivers to defend anything, but about utilizing the power of thought accumulated in people's hearts.

In particular, the belief in and yearning for the subversive concept of "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?", as well as the symbolic significance of the "first uprising" that Dazexiang itself has accumulated in the long river of history, act as a powerful source of disturbance, actively disrupting the yin-yang balance and the earth's magnetic field of this place!
If this formation is used as a starting point in the mortal world, and simultaneously a ghost king-level being like Chen Sheng in the underworld coordinates from within and without, unleashing their power at the same time...

When the two forces collide violently at the weakest point of the Yin-Yang boundary, it is enough to forcibly tear open a gap between Yin and Yang!
But such methods are undeniably brutal!

If the passage is to be kept clear for the underworld army to pass through, it will inevitably violently impact or even sever the earth's veins, tearing out an extremely unstable and traumatic passage that is difficult to heal naturally!

When the formation is first activated, the area within a hundred miles will likely suffer the calamity of the Yin-Yang reversal, resulting in widespread death and destruction!
Upon hearing this, Xu Xuan smiled slightly, his tone carrying a completely different meaning:

"The old white lotuses only care about killing and not burying, but we new white lotuses... are different."

"We are responsible for both killing and burying."

He glanced at everyone and proposed a new plan: "In that case, let's do the opposite. Without making such a fuss, we can simply use this existing setup to open a small, temporary portal, enough for just the few of us to go down."

“Let’s go to the underworld ourselves, meet that King Chen, and have a good talk with him.”

This suggestion immediately received a warm response from Xiaoqing and others.

Xu Xuan always has a lot of fun every time he storms into the underworld.

Of course, he would never admit it himself.

But one of the "Three Wonders" was particularly fond of sharing the "heroic deeds" of "Master Xu and me".

In addition, Xiaoqing also went down to the underworld to cause a great disturbance during the last hunt for the Yin-Yang Dharma King. After returning, she boasted to the younger generation about the "wonderful" trip to the underworld.

Therefore, these young people from Shushan were already filled with curiosity and anticipation for the legendary and mysterious underworld, and they were all eager to try it out.

Even Yu Ji, who had been silent all along, had a knowing and expectant look in her beautiful eyes, though she didn't say anything.

Perhaps, some clues about the Overlord can be found there.

Seeing that no one objected, Xu Xuan turned his gaze to Hou Sheng, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority:
"Hou Sheng, you once said that you were willing to give everything for the Holy Mother."

"Now, it's time."

Upon hearing this, Hou Sheng's body trembled violently, and the last glimmer of struggle in his eyes quickly vanished.

Instead, an extreme frenzy was unleashed!
At this moment, his will was completely suppressed, and he became the most devout martyr.

An abnormal flush appeared on his face, and his body began to radiate a visible spiritual light.

He was actually sacrificing his own divine soul essence to forcibly enhance his deductive abilities, frantically throwing himself into the analysis of formations!

With the help of the Stone King's inhuman silicon-based computing power, Hou Sheng, based on his familiarity with the White Lotus Secret Technique and the rituals of this place, painstakingly reverse-engineered the specific steps to activate this small Yin-Yang portal.

Even for a master of array formations, reverse-engineering a complex array meticulously set up by the Four Realms Dharma Kings would take a long time.

For Hou Sheng, who was only at the second level, to complete this task in a short period of time would naturally come at an extremely high price.

Hair turns gray and withers at a visible rate, skin loses its luster and becomes covered with wrinkles, and a person's vitality is rapidly lost like a flood.

But the fervor in his eyes burned ever brighter, as if he wanted to burn out the last of his life in this "sacred" mission.

When he and Shi Wang finally came up with a complete and feasible activation plan, they were already exhausted and withered like a dead tree.

The price he paid was too high; even the last bit of value left after being refined into a "fruit" was gone.

Just as the flame of life was about to be completely extinguished, the forcibly imposed fanatical will receded like a tide, and a sliver of clarity returned to Hou Sheng's turbid eyes.

He looked at Xu Xuan, a bitter smile on his face that was too complex to describe in words, a mixture of realization, resentment, mockery, and a hint of relief.

She seemed to want to say something to Xu Xuan, her lips moved a few times, but in the end, all her words turned into a faint sigh and a barely audible murmur:

"I, Hou Sheng... am truly a man of my word..."

As the words fell, the last glimmer of light in his eyes vanished completely, and his body fell silently to the ground like a candle flickering in the wind, turning into specks of spiritual light and returning to the world.

　I didn't sleep a wink all night after the typhoon hit; the wind was rattling the windows so loudly, it was really scary. I've used the last of my strength to finish today's update, and now I'm going to sleep.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)