A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 144 Eight Directions Formation, Eight Legs Moving Stones

Guoyun Valley is a canyon with steep mountain walls on both sides. The road in the middle is actually quite wide. The cliffs on both sides and the road in front are covered with new greenery in spring.

The reason why this place is considered to be in a dangerous location is actually because this area is flooded by muddy waters every May and June, and the water only gradually recedes after August.

The soil and gravel have been eroded year after year. Even when the water recedes, it's hard to say which areas beneath those seemingly flat roads will be filled with silt or have formed cavities and pits.

There are many experts in the team. Besides Guan Luoyang and An Feiyu, the others who are clearly among the top experts include Wu Pingqiang, Lu Pingdong, Jiang Jiusi, Qian Wanliang, a wealthy man from Sichuan and Hunan, "Divine Hand" Mo Liuli, and "Ghost Dragon" Jiao Gai.

In addition, although Zhao Wangui was still seriously injured, Chen Shouzhen had already returned after escorting Han Wengong. The two of them were from the same school, and when they used the Lushan sword technique together, it was naturally wonderful and almost negligible that Zhao Wangui's injury was insignificant.

If it were just these people, they could reach Xiushuo City much faster and wouldn't have to worry about the terrain's dangers.

However, with the addition of the disciples of the Sword Forging Manor, the other twenty-odd renowned martial arts masters, their disciples, followers, and so on, the overall situation of the operation had to be taken into account.

Even so, no one suggested splitting up, traveling light, or not going to Xiushuo City at all, but instead going to some ordinary people's homes to hide in.

Because if they did that, and were found by the cult's henchmen, they would have even less room to resist.

Those who received invitations to the Sword Forging Manor were all prominent figures in the martial arts world. Rather than hiding like rats and gambling on the chance of not being found, they preferred to rely on their own abilities to forge a path for themselves.

Hiding and hiding is nothing more than walking on the edge of danger with trepidation. Only when you reach Xiushuo City and borrow the veteran generals and elite soldiers there, and have the confidence to truly fight against the remnants of the Fire Luo Path and the Demonic Cult, can you be considered safe.

The group of people gradually traveled more than a mile through the canyon. Jiang Jiusi, who was riding at the forefront, suddenly raised his hand.

Everyone was already on high alert, and when he made the gesture, they immediately reined in their horses and stopped. Some of them even dismounted and gripped their weapons.

The carriage carrying the wounded was located in the center of the procession, and An Feiyu also lifted the curtain and stepped out.

"A strange formation has been set up in front of us."

Jiang Jiusi's clear and powerful voice echoed throughout the group, "It's probably that Huo Luo Dao fortune teller's doing again."

Wu Pingqiang and Lu Pingdong rode forward, each waving their palms and releasing a burst of true energy from a distance. Upon closer inspection, under the cover of night, the road ahead, interspersed with yellow earth and green grass, was indeed faintly blurry and swaying, seemingly real yet illusory—a sign that an array had been set up.

They felt a sudden tightness in their chests, followed by a strange sense of relief.

If Shao Lingxiao had personally led another grandmaster to pursue them, he probably wouldn't have needed to resort to such methods.

While the Qimen formation is indeed a threat, it also indicates that the opponent does not possess the strength to directly overwhelm our side.

Jiang Jiusi said, "The array set up by that fortune teller can reposition swords, spears, and palm strikes thrown from a distance. Only by entering the array can one find an opportunity. I..."

"Don't!"

Anfei quickly spoke up to stop them and came to their side.

In this battle royale atmosphere, the lone survivor will definitely be the first to die.

He muttered to himself, then said, "No need to risk yourselves. You all be on guard. I'll break this formation."

After tilting his head back and gulping down the entire bamboo tube of Yuhua Tea, An Feiyu knelt down and pressed his left hand to the ground.

On the steep cliffs on one side of the canyon, several figures, concealed by an array, looked down at the scene in the canyon.

"Wow, they have so many of them. I heard Yang Jichang and Lao Meng suffered a series of defeats and even lost their lives. We've only sent three people this time. Aren't we being a bit too overconfident?"

The speaker, dressed in light blue coarse cloth clothes and with her hair wrapped in a dark blue headscarf, looked like a demure young woman. Her face was unadorned, with delicate eyebrows and peach-blossom cheeks, but she was none other than Qiu Ruzui, the Eastern Venerable Envoy of the Fire Luo Path.

Bu Suanzi smiled and said, "The power that your poison can unleash when combined with my formation is quite different from those who only know how to fight head-on."

"Moreover, the biggest difference is that this time we have Master Xu, a grandmaster-level expert, here with us."

"If it weren't for the fear that one or two lucky ones might slip through the net, neither of us would have needed to come at all; the leader alone would have been enough."

Xu Miyuan remained silent about his praise, took a step forward, and suddenly his body moved more than twenty meters into the air, stepping over the edge of the cliff, and then plummeted straight down.

Although Bu Suanzi's words were flattering, they were not wrong.

Both Xu Miyuan himself and Shao Lingxiao, who sent them, naturally regarded Xu Miyuan as the absolute main force in this interception.

The highly poisonous formation was merely an auxiliary measure to ensure absolute safety; the power of the two envoys was negligible compared to that of a grandmaster wielding a divine weapon.

Thus, regardless of whether those below had entered the formation, the attack from the sky had already fallen squarely into the ranks.

It was a bronze drum that appeared out of thin air, emanating light from Xu Miyuan's palm.

It has a copper frame, is shaped like a waist drum, and has a drumhead that shines like gold.

The bronze drum fell to the ground with a lingering shadow, its sound reverberating, followed by a deafening roar.

The martial arts practitioners around them, whether elite disciples or sect leaders, had their outer robes ripped apart and scattered. Before they could even utter a cry of surprise, they all collapsed, mouths agape in bewilderment.

Xu Miyuan followed closely behind, falling from mid-air. Before he even hit the ground, shouts erupted from all directions. From among the crowd, dozens of people skilled in hidden weapons unleashed a barrage of arrows.

Hidden arrows, throwing knives, death traps, and flying stones—all were aimed at the figure in the air.

In particular, the gold bead that Qian Wanliang flicked out went the fastest. He was known as the "Golden Bead Divine Bullet, Ten Thousand Taels of Gold," and most people thought he used gold as a hidden weapon.

In fact, that golden hidden weapon is even rarer than gold. The seemingly round bead surface has countless facets and holes that are difficult to see with the naked eye. It was made by the Imperial Workshop in Chang'an and is specialized in breaking through protective true qi and piercing through the gale.

Even within the Imperial Guard, which was directly under the command of the Tang emperor, only a small number of people had access to such exquisite artifacts.

The air around Xu Miyuan suddenly trembled, and most of the hidden weapons were frozen in place, like insects encased in amber.

Only that golden bead suddenly emitted a sharp shriek, piercing through the protective aura several feet thick, which was even harder than a hundred-times-forged steel.

He struck him squarely in the chest.

But he casually pinched the rapidly approaching golden pearl in his left hand, without any fanfare, and the shrieking sound stopped abruptly.

"Nice beads, here you go!"

With a wave of his left hand, Xu Miyuan sent all the hovering hidden weapons around him flying back in shock.

After he infused the golden bead with his true energy, it actually expanded its incredibly intricate internal structure several times over, growing from the size of a longan to the size of a fist.

Every point of the metal structure was forcibly stretched, becoming thinner and weaker, and the tiny pores on the surface also continued to enlarge in the process, letting in air and emitting a fierce roar like a ghost's wail.

Those who had just launched the hidden weapons fled in terror, causing chaos in the ranks.

When Qian Wanliang saw him catch the golden bead, he knew something was wrong and had already made a dodge move in advance. With a sway of his body, he was able to retreat diagonally to a distance of more than thirty meters.

Who would have thought that Xu Miyuan had completely seen through Qian Wanliang's movements? As soon as Qian Wanliang dodged, the golden bead struck his head with perfect speed.

A hand suddenly emerged from the side of the carriage, catching a throwing knife that flew past. With a flick of the wrist, the knife accelerated instantly, transforming into a scorching red ray of light in the air before being launched from the hand and striking the perforated golden sphere.

The golden ball and the throwing knife exploded together, and the shattered metal fragments severed a lock of hair from Qian Wanliang's temple.

Before Qian Wanliang could recover from his shock, everyone at the front of the group turned around to look. They drew their swords and drew their knives. The gazes of these top-notch experts, filled with pressure that could break an ordinary person, swept over Xu Miyuan, trying to find a flaw.

Xu Miyuan, however, was only focused on the hand that was reaching out from the carriage.

"Huh? You took a blow from his palm, yet you can still fight back."

Decades ago, Huoluo Dao had already planned to enter the Central Plains through Yumen Pass. Although the scale of its protectors and its rules and regulations at that time were incomparable to those of today, Xu Miyuan, a master with the appearance of a Western Regions person, had inevitably been exposed to Central Plains culture since childhood.

His Central Plains dialect was spoken with such perfect intonation that anyone could hear the playful, manipulative, and nonchalant tone in it.

Inside the carriage, Guan Luoyang withdrew his hand, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The older of the two Taoist priests who had been lying nearby coughed and slowly woke up.

His white hair was disheveled, his Taoist robe was rumpled, his skin was loose, and his sallow face was covered with wrinkles. But when he opened his eyes, his pupils were not cloudy like an old man's, nor did they show the confusion that one would expect from someone who has just woken up from a deep sleep.

The old man's eyes were extremely clear and calm, and he just happened to catch the hint of anger and murderous intent that Guan Luoyang had not yet had time to conceal when he lowered his eyes and swept over.

Xu Miyuan heard the cough from inside the carriage and slowly landed beside the bronze drum: "So Master Yu Tu was in the carriage all along. I have long admired your name. Not long ago on Mount Laojun, we missed each other. Now, overnight, we have the chance to meet again. Won't you come out and greet me?"

As he spoke, he touched the drum with his toe, and the drum flew up. He then slapped the drumhead with his right hand.

The sound of this drumbeat was even more powerful than when the bronze drum fell earlier.

The single drumbeat caused many people in the valley to fall into a state of dizziness, with their minds reeling and turbulent.

The sound of drums echoed repeatedly across the cliffs and valleys on both sides.

With Wu Weiyang's whistle, the disciples of the Sword Casting Manor changed positions within the ranks, forming the Wind-Stabilizing Sword Formation.

The seven-holed Wind-Stabilizing Sword, gleaming with cold light, released its true energy as the formation activated. The invisible wind was almost manipulated, guided into a tangible turbulence that weaved through the crowd, pressing down on their clothes, stirring the horses, and disrupting the drumbeats.

Xu Miyuan immediately felt several turbulent currents crisscrossing and intersecting around him.

Before he could break through the formation that he considered child's play, Wu Pingqiang raised his sword and drew it. In the darkness, the sword light soared upwards, like snowflakes in the sky.

With a swift sword strike, before the sword light even arrived, countless ice crystals and jade flowers had already sprung up from the turbulent currents formed by the Dingfeng Sword Formation, rapidly slicing back and forth and sweeping towards Xu Miyuan.

Lu Pingdong leaped and spun from the other side, slashing with his sword. His stubborn and arrogant sword aura, even when facing a grandmaster, still maintained an overbearing attitude, issuing a condescending judgment and delivering a fatal blow.

The seemingly ordinary swordsman Mo Liuyi delivered a sword strike from behind Xu Miyuan. The ancient iron sword in his hand was like a gnarled branch of a thousand-year-old pine tree extending beyond the cliff, perfectly natural, yet impossible to avoid.

Ghost Dragon wielded his spear, aiming straight for Xu Miyuan's ankle amidst the crowd. Jiang Jiusi, wielding the Lushan Twin Blades, and even Qian Wanliang regrouped and launched another attack.

Eight top-tier experts made their move, arriving from different directions. By the time they reached Xu Miyuan's side, they had even vaguely formed a formation.

The Wind-Stabilizing Sword Formation can only be performed with the help of the Wind-Stabilizing Sword, and apart from the people of the Sword-Forging Manor, no other experts have learned it.

Therefore, when they made their move this time, they used the "Eight Directions Annihilation" formation, which was created by Su Xing, the Duke of Zhuang, in the Tang army.

Wu Pingqiang, Mo Liuli, Guilong Jiao Gai, Zhao Wangui, and others all learned this formation during the Southwest War. Lu Pingdong was once a grain transport officer in the Southwest War, and Jiang Jiusi, as the son of the Minister of War, even if he had not practiced it in his early years, had read related classics.

The group had already discussed that if they encountered a master enemy, they would use this formation to defend themselves. Once it was used, the top-notch experts, with their keen eyesight, speed, and reaction ability, showed no signs of unfamiliarity.

Normally, when a top-tier expert faces a grandmaster, the flow of their true energy cannot be concealed, and they are full of flaws.

However, once this formation that annihilates all eight directions is completed, the energy flows become interconnected.

Xu Miyuan felt as if the surroundings suddenly darkened, falling from the extreme vibrant colors and the mysterious perspective of directly observing the true energy within others to a dim and colorless environment where he could only see their clothes, swords, and flesh, all accompanied by air currents as they slashed towards him.

In fact, this latter state is what a top-tier expert can see, and it is much clearer than what an ordinary person can see.

But for a grandmaster, it truly feels like falling from the heavens into a quagmire; no matter their state of mind, they will inevitably feel some discomfort.

Xu Miyuan was indeed uncomfortable, so he made a move with his displeasure.

The bronze drum spun rapidly above his head, and without even looking, he raised his arms to the sides—Eight Winds Tremble!

The surrounding air was pressed outward, forming layers of film, which stacked on top of each other, sealing the dust between those thick films and causing each tiny dust particle to be stimulated and vibrated.

Then, it erupted.

Within the shockwave, streams of torrents composed of fine dust shot out in all directions. These tiny dust particles, seemingly insignificant matter, gathered together at this moment, vibrating at high frequencies. Each stream could penetrate metal and stone, and could kill even the most elusive soul.

The attacks of the eight masters were all deflected, evaded, and even forced to defend and retreat.

The circle, originally composed of eight people and tightly surrounding the enemy, was suddenly expanded to twice its original size.

But as they were using their skills to defend themselves, suddenly the two men from the east and west raised their swords to the ground, while the two men from the north and south raised their palms to the sky.

Hundreds of rapidly shooting dust particles, vibrating incessantly, were guided by a massive aura and dispersed in all directions. Some struck the ground, creating unfathomable holes, while others converged into a hazy yellow stream of air, blasting into the sky.

This Eight Winds Tremor was originally meant to shatter the entire formation, but the combined energy of the eight people was released through four outlets, while the other four attacked again simultaneously.

The pressure from the grandmasters actually ignited the full energy and focus of these eight experts. The "Eight Directions Annihilation" formation operated so smoothly that it made one suspect they had secretly practiced it hundreds of times.

On the precipice, Qiu Ruzui looked down at the wing-like blades flashing in the southeast and northeast directions. A hint of irritation appeared on her face. A two-foot-six-inch blade slid out from her sleeve. The blade was silver-white, except for a blood groove on the spine.

Bu Suanzi watched her actions but did not stop her.

Even if they had great faith in Xu Miyuan's strength, since the situation was currently at a slight stalemate, it was only natural for the two of them to step in and quickly defeat this group.

But at that moment, the array of mist that had been concealing their figures suddenly dissipated.

Qiu Ruzui stopped in her tracks and looked down at the strange changes in the canyon below. She saw that the formation she and Bu Suanzi had set up together was now in disarray, with boulders shifting, soil trembling, and roads and grass churning up like mud.

A nearly twenty-meter-long, yellowish python was lifted up from the churning soil.

Bu Suanzi looked closely and realized something was wrong. It wasn't a python at all, but a huge tentacle made of soil, covered with suckers.

After one tentacle burst from the ground, another one followed.

Eight tentacles emerged from the ground in succession, and then the soil in the center bulged up to form the octopus's head.

There was also a patch of grass leaning against his head.

Activate the contract, Armlet Demon Lord!

This behemoth, which should belong to the ocean, has a head that is more than twice the height of an average person.

Even though it was too heavy to use its tentacles to prop its head up higher, at Anfeiyu's command, the tentacled monster formed from earth and stone began to wriggle forward frantically.

Originally, this Qimen formation was enough to deflect a powerful impact several times larger than this, but the eight-legged octopus rose from the ground, directly collapsing the foundation of the formation, and the Qimen's effectiveness was reduced to less than one-tenth.

The crushing head and spreading tentacles swept away all the boulders that had been arranged in the formation, causing bursts of highly toxic smoke to erupt and spread into the air in an overly vivid red.

The amphibole then condensed the air into two cranes, which followed the brachiopod's voice and swept away the poisonous creature.

The two Venerable Envoys of the Fire Luo Path had meticulously prepared a formation, confident that they could trap and annihilate the entire Sword Casting Manor team.

Anfeiyu used this method to defeat them in one fell swoop, clearing the way ahead.

"Controlling the earth to create beasts... such a massive amount..."

Witnessing this scene, Bu Suanzi murmured, "What kind of technique is this? If someone possesses such profound and powerful remote internal energy, they might as well just go and fight Xu Miyuan directly..."

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed through the canyon, drowning out his rambling monologue.

Apart from the eight masters, the rest of the group seemed to have received orders beforehand, and without hesitation, they spurred their horses forward and galloped wildly, determined to break out of the canyon and head towards Xiushuo City.

(End of this chapter)