Chapter 246: The Triad Ghost and Spirit Soul-Shocking Formation

Chapter 246: The Triad Ghost and Spirit Soul-Shocking Formation

As hundreds of shadow envoys from Evernight Valley arrived, a chaotic battle broke out instantly.

These five hundred shadow envoys were all formidable experts, not to mention the dozen or so elite experts by my lord's side.

Even with just these few hundred, they were a force to be reckoned with in the martial world.

Now that they had taken action, the blood slaves of the Youquan Cult were naturally outmatched.

However, these blood slaves were different from normal people.

Their bodies felt no pain and had no fear of death. Even injuries such as severed limbs had no effect on them.

Techniques such as striking vital points with internal energy could not kill them.

Thanks to this, even though they were no match for the shadow envoys in martial arts,

once repelled, they would immediately vanish into the shadows of the trees, making them impossible to track.

In just a short while, the surroundings fell eerily quiet, as if nothing had happened.

For a moment, the shadow envoys exchanged glances, then returned to surround my lord,

calmly observing their surroundings, ready to respond to any sudden attacks.

My lord surveyed the area and smiled faintly:

"The formation set up by the Youquan Cult in the Phantom Forest may appear bizarre and mysterious,

but it still adheres to the constraints of the sixty-four hexagrams.

Combined with the transformations of the three talents—heaven, earth, and man—it creates an illusion of reality and unreality.

Further enhanced by the sound techniques from the Youquan True Scripture, which disorient the senses,

and paired with the bizarre and fantastical Blood Sea Infinite Scripture...

this results in the enigmatic and unpredictable [Triad Ghost and Spirit Soul-Shocking Formation]!"

At this point, he paused slightly: "But ultimately, it is still a formation with discernible patterns.

Shadow puppetry and the blood slaves of the Youquan Cult operate on a similar principle.

Shadow puppetry uses strings to control puppets, appearing unsupported, but in reality, it's just difficult to see with the naked eye.

The control of blood slaves depends on the Youquan True Scripture, but they cannot stray too far.

Since they can control the blood slaves, their true bodies must be nearby.

And based on the geographical layout of this place... their true bodies are located in the Guimei and Xiaoguo positions."

As soon as he finished speaking, several black-clad figures sprang into action,

heading toward these two locations.

In the next moment, figures indeed emerged from these spots, clashing with the shadow envoys.

"My lord is truly remarkable!"

The Seven Ghost Shadows couldn't help but admire, and before the words even finished echoing, the shadow beneath their feet suddenly darted towards the disciples of the Youquan Cult.

They saw the figure spread its five fingers and slightly curl them, and the shadow immediately responded like an extension of his arm, wrapping around a blood slave in the blink of an eye.

With just a twist around the neck, the blood slave was instantly decapitated.

The shadow envoys sprang into action, but the blood slaves of the Youquan Cult fell apart upon contact.

Suddenly, as if on command, they all retreated, vanishing into the hidden recesses of the formation, disappearing without a trace.

Only a few lifeless bodies remained on the ground, which the shadow envoys collected and swiftly skinned.

Then, they retrieved porcelain bottles from their robes, poured out powder, and sprinkled it over the skins. With a flick of their wrists, the bloodstains instantly dried.

They neatly folded the skins and tucked them into their robes.

The entire process was executed flawlessly.

"Let's go. What we've witnessed so far is merely a minor trick within the Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation.

"Our old friend from the Youquan Cult is truly beyond return now, and we must not delay matters here.

"Within the Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation, there are still the Three Gates of Ghost Soul Startling... these are the primary challenges we must confront tonight."

With these words, the Night Lord stepped forward.

The group behind him promptly followed his lead.

The Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation, if it were just a formation alone, wouldn't be anything special.

But the Youquan Cult had been laboring tirelessly in the Phantom Forest, transforming trees and cultivating the area for many years, turning the entire forest into a spectral map of ghostly souls.

Entering it without knowledge of the method naturally made progress arduous.

However, the Night Lord was a master of celestial knowledge and led his subordinates deep into it without a hint of disorientation.

And the Youquan Cult, knowing the Night Lord's prowess, no longer dared to use those minor tricks casually.

Thus, along the way, the Night Lord and his group noticed that the corpses hanging from the trees seemed somewhat different.

Apart from those long-dried mummies, the rest, which seemed to have just died, had disappeared without a trace.

Clearly, they had gathered elsewhere, waiting for a decisive battle.

The change happened in an instant. The journey had been extremely peaceful, but suddenly, the surroundings were filled with shadows.

These shadows hid behind the trees, brushing past, only their shadows visible, not their forms.

A master from Evernight Valley couldn't help but arch an eyebrow:

"The Youquan Cult is playing this trick in front of us, underestimating us a bit too much.

"There will come a time when the map is exhausted and the dagger is revealed. Why not show yourselves?"

As soon as the two spoke, layers of blood light suddenly rose in the forest.

Following that, a bloody mist spread out, and as the mist emerged, figures appeared within the blood shadows, flickering in and out.

At the same time, they raised their hands, and a dense rain of blood-red needles shot towards the group from Evernight Valley.

"They've arrived."

A soft exclamation rose from the ranks of Evernight Valley, and in the next moment, shadows darted out from beneath everyone's feet, suddenly rising before them and swelling into human-like shapes. Some shadows soared into the air, intercepting the long needles raining down from above.

"Youquan Blood Needles? Mere child's play. Send them back."

As soon as one person spoke, the human skin that had deflected the Youquan Blood Needles suddenly coiled into a tight ball and then snapped taut.

A sharp, buzzing hum filled the air!

The Youquan Blood Needles indeed flew back, but the figures in the forest didn't so much as glance at them.

They stood firm, letting the Youquan Blood Needles strike them without flinching, instead stepping forward and lunging upward.

"The Ghost Gate formation."

The Night Lord observed coldly: "Strike at the Xun position."

At his command, the shadow envoys sprang into action, lunging forward without hesitation.

But then, cold light shot from mid-air—small, palm-sized iron shards with jagged, tooth-like edges, whirling at blinding speed, slicing through the air with a relentless whir.

This maneuver perfectly sealed off the vulnerable Xun position, and in that moment, a dozen shadow envoys were caught off guard and struck by the iron shards.

Yet, when they tried to trace the origin of the iron shards, they found nothing.

The Night Lord shook his head lightly: "This is the Divine Gate formation. The enemy is at the Mingyi position."

But as the shadow envoys stormed the Mingyi position, they found it empty.

"Mingyi shifts to Wuwang, Weiji conceals danger. Strike at the Guai position."

The Night Lord stood firm, calmly issuing orders as the shadow envoys surged forward without hesitation.

No ambushes, traps, or casualties could deter them.

The Night Lord's eyes, hidden beneath his hood, remained eerily calm, and as he directed the battle, he even found time to muse aloud:

"When Evernight Valley, the Palace of Eternal Bliss, and the Youquan Cult united to assault Tianqu City, the Three Banner Orders never deployed this formation.

"The Youquan Cult's secrecy here is absolute.

"It required great cunning for me to uncover the secrets of this formation.

"The Three Gates of Ghost and Divine complement each other, and in terms of formation and terrain, they truly have the advantage of time, place, and harmony.

"So, to take the Phantom Forest, I must first make you lose one of the three.

"But now it seems that the other two of the current Three Banner Orders are no ordinary individuals.

"Now, commanding the formation, they can actually divide their attention, which is quite a talent.

"However... this formation is complex, and what you're doing now is exhausting your mental energy and exhausting your strategies.

"Such divided attention is manageable for a short while, but if it continues for long... you will eventually be worn down by me.

"In the end, you will have to fight with all your might, and ultimately, you will be captured by me.

"I value talent and do not wish to kill you. If you are willing to open the formation and serve under me, I will surely put you to great use."

As he spoke these words, the surroundings remained eerily silent, with no movement at all.

Night Lord shook his head gently, not in disappointment, but as he continued to direct the shadow envoys in dismantling the formation.

The formation was constantly shifting, and no one could tell how many were concealed within its depths.

The shadow envoys, all martial arts masters, moved through the formation and dispatched enemies as easily as plucking fruit from a tree.

Yet, after all the slaughter, the only casualties were blood slaves.

They still hadn’t caught a glimpse of the Youquan Cult disciples’ true faces.

Suddenly, Night Lord spoke:

"Enough... I wanted to give you a chance, but it seems that while I choose the world, the world chooses me in return."

He fell silent, saying no more.

Instead, he pointed in a direction.

In the next moment, the dozen experts guarding him sprang into action.

They charged straight toward the spot he had indicated.

As they pushed through the thicket, the scene before them suddenly unfolded.

At least a hundred Youquan Cult disciples stood there, meticulously surveying the formation’s inner workings.

Seeing the dozen figures charging at them, they were completely taken aback.

How had they been discovered?

The Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation, with its three interlocking components, created a layered, step-by-step array.

Their figures were concealed within the maze; even if someone with overwhelming power disrupted the surroundings, finding them within the formation would remain nearly impossible.

Because they, too, were in constant motion.

Destroying one part would instantly unleash the formation’s hidden perils.

Leaving those trapped inside struggling to survive.

Moreover, the Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation wasn’t a small-scale martial array with just a few people.

Instead, it was a colossal formation hiding thousands!

Those inside the formation obeyed orders relayed through Youquan’s voice transmission, with each section divided into over a dozen subsections, each governed by its own rules.

A single command from above could trigger dozens of shifts below.

Once activated, the formation’s power became inexhaustible.

Even if lives were sacrificed, escape from the formation was impossible.

This was why the eastern factions of East City, despite multiple joint assaults on the Ghostly Forest, had always been forced to retreat.

In sheer numbers, the Ghostly Forest hid thousands of Youquan Cult members.

In terms of formations, entering it meant being manipulated at every step.

These two points alone have made Chimei Forest as solid as a fortress, difficult to breach.

Today, Lord Ye led several hundred experts into this formation, but it was because the Three Yuan formation had been breached.

The Youquan Cult disciples stationed here did not know that Lord Ye had previously commanded the Shadow Envoys to break the formation, while secretly observing the flaws in its operation.

The unremarkable figure within the Three Banner Orders, though capable of multitasking, ultimately couldn't grasp every nuance of the formation.

Initially, it was manageable, but by now, Lord Ye had already discerned the flaws within the Three Yuan.

At this moment, a dozen elite warriors infiltrated the formation of over a hundred people and immediately launched a fierce attack.

The air was filled with relentless screams.

These dozen warriors hailed from Evernight Valley, and the shadows of the Seven Ghost Shadows surged forth. These shadows, wielded in their hands, were each razor-sharp, sinister, and deadly.

The other experts also deployed the Five Demons Heavenly Demon Qi and other secret techniques of Evernight Valley, far beyond the capabilities of these Youquan Cult disciples.

In mere moments, the hundred or so disciples lay dead or wounded.

Moreover, the Shadow Envoys took advantage of the situation to attack, utterly decimating the Youquan Cult disciples.

Lord Ye then gestured towards another sector.

At times, the dynamics of a formation shift unpredictably: once there is a flaw in one place, flaws appear everywhere.

Previously, they had been on the defensive, but now, the tables had turned between offense and defense.

Not only that, with Lord Ye's abilities and his understanding of this formation, he could even use the formation's layout to engage in a series of skirmishes with the Second Banner Order.

By this point, the momentum of the battle had subtly shifted.

But just then, Lord Ye, who had remained unflappable throughout, suddenly looked down.

The next moment, two ghostly hands emerged from the earth and grabbed Lord Ye's ankles.

Lord Ye smiled faintly, and his entire body was pulled into the ground.

This was yet another stratagem by the Second Banner Order.

With someone like Lord Ye attacking this place, how could they dare to underestimate him?

Breaching the formation was inevitable, and engaging in direct combat with Lord Ye was even more unfeasible.

Their sole chance of survival lay in isolating Lord Ye from his cadre of experts.

Without Lord Ye's command, these people would immediately lose the ability to utilize the changes in the formation's terrain, and the outcome would be unpredictable.

As for Lord Ye...

No matter how many lives it cost, they had to hold him back.

It was expected that even if Lord Ye's martial arts truly surpassed all in the Eastern Wilderness, and he could slaughter all thousand of them, by the time he concluded, the broader conflict would already be resolved.

Therefore, while Lord Ye had indeed seen through the flaws in the Three Yuan Ghost Soul Startling Formation under the command of the Second Banner Order, the true goal of the Second Banner Order lay elsewhere.

At this moment, Lord Ye suddenly disappeared, along with the hundreds of Shadow Envoys and the dozen or so top experts.

Indeed, it was like a rootless waterweed, caught in the formation and only able to cope with the surrounding changes, no longer able to turn the tide.

But at this moment, blood suddenly welled up from the ground.

As if a bloody fountain had sprung from the ground.

Immediately after, Night Lord suddenly sprang up, casually clutching two corpses in his hands and throwing them aside.

"Good plan, but unfortunately, with these people, trying to stop me is just wishful thinking."

He reached out with both hands, grabbing at the air towards the ground:

"Arise!!!"

The ground suddenly churned, and then one corpse after another was yanked out from beneath the ground.

This technique was truly otherworldly!

It made people's hearts and gall bladders quake with fear.

Even the disciples of the Youquan Cult, witnessing this, were nearly driven to despair:

"Night Lord is not just a martial artist of the rivers and lakes, he is a deity... a deity!

"We are mere mortals; how can we possibly fight against a deity?"

Everyone who witnessed this scene couldn't help but feel a deep sense of terror.

Even Su Mo, upon seeing this, couldn't help but be somewhat taken aback:

"How is this trick done?"

But after a closer look, he suddenly realized: "So it's just another shadow trick."

Shadow tricks may seem mysterious and profound, but in reality, Duan Song had once told Su Mo.

The so-called shadow tricks are actually quite similar to the mechanical puppets from the Western Region.

The art of mechanical puppets involves connecting with thin threads, using internal energy to control, and forming external objects to attack the enemy.

Shadow tricks work in much the same way. If you carefully observe figures like the Seven Ghost Shadows, no matter which one, when they use shadows, their fingers will spread out, and with a hook of their fingers, the human skin moves accordingly.

They hook their fingers, tugging on the threads.

Internal energy flows through the threads connected to the human skin, driven by the demonic arts of Evernight Valley, as if commanding their own limbs with perfect precision.

This point was also mentioned by Night Lord just now.

And the reason why the distance between the shadow and its master is limited to about ten to twenty meters is simply because the threads are only that long...

Beyond that range, the shadow naturally can't reach.

If the human skin arrives and the thread breaks, the internal energy cannot attach to the human skin... then it becomes just delivering human skin.

Completely stripped of any mystical power.

Night Lord's methods are actually the same.

Su Mo followed them into the Phantom Forest, and the first thing he saw was one of the shadow envoys, clearly unable to defend in time, about to be injured by the blood slave.

With a flick of the Night Monarch's finger, the situation suddenly changed.

This let him block the blood slave's strike and escape the danger.

Su Mo saw this and started to piece things together.

But the movement was so slight, it was hard to make out.

Now he could see clearly: dozens of threads shot out from the Night Monarch's palm, attached to the corpses.

After killing them, he leapt from the ground and yanked hard, making the corpses burst out of the earth.

Suspended in the night air, it was a bone-chillingly horrifying sight.

"No wonder they call it a trick... it's all smoke and mirrors.

"Threads hidden in the dark—unless you've got sharp eyes, who could spot them?

"The skin's painted black on purpose to look like a shadow...

"But the unusual martial arts of Evernight Valley are something else.

"Pulling off something like that with just a thread is pretty eerie.

"But... when folks start acting like ghosts, even the real ghosts might get spooked."

Su Mo gave a slight shake of his head and looked away from the Night Monarch.

He'd entered the Phantom Forest with the hundreds of Shadow Envoys.

Plus, when he first watched the Night Monarch, it seemed like he'd been spotted.

After watching this long, neither the Night Monarch nor the Second Banner Commander seemed to be paying attention to anything else.

"Maybe I should use this chance to look for the Wraith Courtyard?

"On the ninth day of the ninth month, with all these phantoms and wraiths around... could there really be a clue hidden in the Wraith Courtyard?"