Chapter 466: Qi is the Mother of Water!
Chapter 466: Qi is the Mother of Water!
The fact that Qiao Baiyang had left two children behind indicated that whatever lay inside would violently react to the touch of a cultivator.
Ordinary mortals without the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi or Magic Power, however, would not trigger it.
As for the Formation, it was likely left behind by Qiao Baiyang’s accomplice to keep outsiders at bay.
Having seen through the underlying mechanics, Jiang Chen murmured with a half-smile, “It is a good thing my mastery of Formations has already reached the Miracle Hands level, allowing me to see through it all.
If Shen Peng and the others had come instead, lives would certainly have been lost.”
Knowing this, he was in no rush.
He would simply play the oriole waiting behind the mantis that stalked the cicada.
With a prize hidden in the mountain, Qiao Baiyang would never give up so easily.
He had surely left to attend to another matter and would return sooner or later.Naturally, Jiang Chen could not just idle his time away here; he had to make ample preparations.
Jiang Chen swept his Divine Sense back and forth, muttering thoughtfully, “Using the mountain as a prison, the Earth Veins as chains, and the miasma as a maze. This is a standard Mountain-Locking Formation.”
Breaking it silently would be somewhat difficult.
Low, mid, and even high-grade Formation Masters would find it practically impossible.
Fortunately, he was different. Not only were his Formation skills at the very pinnacle, but he was also a Heavenly-Grade Golden Core expert.
After pondering for a moment, he devised a countermeasure and immediately began circling the area.
Since the other party used the mountain as a prison, the Earth Veins as chains, and the miasma as a maze…
Then Jiang Chen would alter the terrain, reverse the Earth Veins, and transmute the turbid miasma, turning it all to his own use.
Simply put, he was going to quietly steal ownership of the other party’s Formation.
That way, once Qiao Baiyang and his accomplices returned and stepped inside, they would be the ones trapped. Unless a True Lord at the Nascent Soul realm intervened, not a single one of them would escape.
The main peak of Azure Rock Peak resembled an eagle’s beak pecking downward, with its flanking cliff faces gripping the earth like talons, forming a natural, man-devouring feng shui layout.
Within the mountain’s belly, the ambient qi flowed in reverse, throwing various energies into chaos.
At the foot of the mountain, thick miasma bred and festered, refusing to dissipate even in broad daylight.
After circling the area, Jiang Chen pinpointed the locations of the three formation eyes.
They were embedded at three crucial nodes across the peak, arranged in a triangular lock.
One rested at the eagle’s beak on the summit.
One lay within the frigid pool below.
The third was more hidden, concealed deep within the miasma.
Since he could not enter the mountain, he could only work from the outside.
Thus, Jiang Chen circled the perimeter until he mapped out the external corresponding Spirit Qi nodes.
The Eagle Beak Cliff’s node lay in the outer valley.
The frigid pool’s node was in the western mountain pass.
The miasma’s node was in the southern hollow.
Jiang Chen headed to the outer valley first. Utilizing his ability to control earth Spiritual Qi, he raised a half-moon embankment, diverting the stream into a new channel and creating a reverse-bow water layout.
As the saying went: Qi was the mother of water, and a reverse bow could deflect malignant energy.
He then uprooted seven weeping willows and planted them along the new embankment, channeling the Four Seasons Scripture to forcibly accelerate their growth.
As Spiritual Qi continuously gathered, a dense web of roots rapidly extended along the reverse-bow stream, reaching straight toward the mountain’s Earth Vein.
Once he finished, Jiang Chen cast his gaze toward the summit. Sure enough, the azure eagle’s man-devouring layout—specifically the malignant energy it generated—had been neutralized.
Seeing his success, he immediately hurried to the western mountain pass.
Upon arriving, he noticed the temperature here was alarmingly low, entirely at odds with the surrounding environment.
After assessing the general topography and feng shui, he once again used his earth-controlling abilities to excavate the soil, revealing a layer of black sand beneath.
A faint, foul stench of fish permeated the air. While not pungent, it was stomach-turning.
Seeing this, Jiang Chen manipulated the surrounding earth to form a three-tiered terrace directly over the black sand, with each step rising higher than the last.
He then scattered sunflower seeds across the soil and activated the Four Seasons Scripture once more, forcefully catalyzing their rapid growth.
The yang qi they attracted flowed down the terraced steps, continuously seeping into the black sand below and gradually melting away the yin-cold aura.
Even the faint fishy stench dissipated along with it.
Originally, not a single plant or blade of grass had grown in this vicinity.
Yet now, as the temperature and soil transformed, tiny green shoots actually began to emerge.
Going against the natural flow yielded no merit; by realigning it, the second node was successfully broken.
Next was the third node. Compared to the first two, this final one was quite tricky.
Miasma was born from a confluence of factors, never a single cause.
Thus, resolving the southern hollow would be rather complicated.
Jiang Chen first identified twenty-four specific positions and dug a deep pit at each one.
He then drew upon the Golden Core in his sea of qi, releasing a wisp of Magic Power to mold the surrounding earth into twenty-four clay jars.
In each jar, he mixed a ratio of seven taels of sulfur to three taels of cinnabar, using the principles of fire and earth to give birth to metal.
He then procured a pure yang herb—mugwort.
And a yang-in-yin herb—photinia.
He planted the photinia and ignited the mugwort.
Through this, he altered the very nature of the qi within the miasma.
However, it did not end there; a fourth step was still required.
He needed to use these three external positions to form an outer triangular formation that would resonate with the formation eyes inside the mountain.
Jiang Chen retrieved three pieces of jade, carved talismanic runes into them, and placed them respectively into the valley, the mountain pass, and the hollow.
With a single thought, the original Mountain-Locking Formation designed to repel and trap outsiders would invert, transforming into a Three Forces Formation.
By the time he finished, night had already fallen. Jiang Chen grinned. “This feeling of crushing an opponent with vastly superior technique is simply too satisfying.”
From start to finish, he had never triggered the other party’s Formation.
He had merely tweaked the feng shui, the terrain, and the flow of qi.
Once Qiao Baiyang returned, he would undoubtedly receive an unexpected surprise.
Or perhaps, a terrible fright.
…
…
In a flash, five days passed.
During this time, Li Muyao and Sun Shangxiang had been trapped in the mountain, trying to kill the extraordinary-looking tree.
They tried time and time again.
Ultimately, it seemed only Sun Shangxiang could affect it. The moment she touched it, the tree would tremble continuously, and the luster on its leaves would dim at a visible rate.
Consequently, the entire tree grew increasingly withered and listless.
Suddenly, a massive lotus leaf floated over from the horizon.
Standing atop it was not only Qiao Baiyang but also a female cultivator.
She appeared to be in her forties or fifties, though her actual age was masked by excellent preservation. She was not particularly tall, but possessed a rather voluptuous figure.
She had round, almond-shaped eyes that drooped slightly at the corners, framed by three faint wrinkles.
Her hair was tied back into a low bun, with two loose locks framing her temples.
A jade pendant dangled from each ear, engraved with intricate talismanic runes.
She wore a long yellow dress embroidered with patterns of flowing water.
Qiao Baiyang’s attitude was incredibly fawning. “Fellow Daoist Shi, Rong Long is undoubtedly dead. Why bother waiting for him?”
Shi Qinxian raised an eyebrow. “If not for him, I could never have become a Formation Master. We shared the bonds of master and disciple, as well as the intimacy of husband and wife. How could I ever forget him?”
Qiao Baiyang looked somewhat indignant. “But he is dead, and I am still alive!”
Shi Qinxian looked him up and down before sneering in disgust. “The only thing hard on your entire body is your mouth, isn’t it?”