Chapter 44: Ten Formation Arrays

The four from Hundred Beasts Peak, the four from Moon-Biting Cliff, and the four from Nine Palaces Island each obtained a lower-grade immortal artifact at their respective locations. Yet, faced with the need to abandon one member, none of the factions wanted to do so.
Thus, the strong warriors from the three factions simultaneously set out to search for Qu Yi in three different places.
These three demonic cultivation sects thought they could rely on their good relationship with Qu Yi to persuade him to help carry one person out of the Metal World.
But when the strong warriors from the three factions reached halfway, Emperor Hao’s voice rang out.
“Congratulations, you have found ten lower-grade immortal artifacts. You may now leave the Metal World. You have only three breaths—anyone who hesitates will die!”
It turned out that once all ten lower-grade immortal artifacts were found, they had to leave the Metal World immediately.
At that moment, the strong warriors from the five factions in the Metal World—Jinyang Sect, Cangyang Valley, Hundred Beasts Peak, Moon-Biting Cliff, and Nine Palaces Island—became panicked and started fighting among themselves.
Each of these five factions had four strong warriors, but they only had one lower-grade immortal artifact each, so they could only take three people with them. Since the lower-grade immortal artifacts were held by their respective sect leaders, as soon as Emperor Hao’s voice faded, the leaders sacrificed their lives to claim ownership of the artifacts.
As a result, the other three strong warriors from each faction fought to the death for the remaining two spots.
Three breaths meant just three moments of breathing—extremely short time.
The three strong warriors from each of the six factions fought with all their might to secure a spot within those three breaths.
In the end, each faction, along with the golden orbs formed from their lower-grade immortal artifacts, arrived at a location in the Metal World where there was a spatial transmission array.
The four from Taiyuan Gate: Tai Ming, Shan Zhen, Shan Ren, Shan Zhen.
The three from Qingyun Sect: Qing Xu, Bi Feng, Bi Jiu.
The three from Yingtian Faction: Ying Hua, Shun Hou, Shun Shi.
The three from Jinyang Sect: Jin Xiong, Feng Han, Feng Jian.
The three from Cangyang Valley: Cang Huang, Heng Ping, Xi Bo.
The three from Hundred Beasts Peak: One-Claw Green Dragon, Howling Wind Dragon, Green-Eyed Blue Phoenix.
The three from Nine Palaces Island: One-Claw Water Dragon, Three-Eyed Dragon Turtle, Ice-Eyed Crocodile Dragon.
The three from Moon-Biting Cliff: One-Claw Earth Dragon, Abyssal Fierce Monkey, Thousand-Form Insect.
And Qu Yi.
A total of twenty-six people safely arrived at the spatial transmission array.
Qu Yi looked at the twenty-five strong warriors from the eight factions. Seeing their grim expressions, he simply smiled faintly and stared at the spatial transmission array.
The strong warriors from the eight factions quickly regained their composure. Although they had fought among themselves earlier, it was out of necessity, and they couldn’t let this affect the competition for the immortal realm.

All the powerful warriors watched Qu Yi warily, each determined not to let him teleport away first this time. They secretly guessed that Qu Yi managed to leave first every time because he received special favor from Emperor Hao, which allowed him to pass the challenges smoothly. Therefore, everyone wanted to be the first to teleport away and gain Emperor Hao’s special favor.

Just as their thoughts were swirling, Emperor Hao’s voice rang out. “Congratulations, everyone, on successfully passing the Western Wasteland region and the Metal World. The next challenge is the Northwest Wasteland, where ten major formations are set up. You may choose one of these formations and teleport there.”

As soon as Emperor Hao finished speaking, the twenty-six of them were confused—where could they choose a formation from?

Soon, ten silver metal tablets suddenly appeared next to the spatial teleportation array, each containing descriptions of one of the ten formations.

There were five offensive formations: the Five Swords Violent Energy Formation, the Mysterious Qi Nine Transformations Formation, the Five Elements Thousand Machines Formation, the Separation and Union Blood River Formation, and the Star Transformation Void Formation. There were three defensive formations: the Five Movements Adaptation Formation, the Heaven and Earth True Harmony Formation, and the Dust to Star Transformation Formation. There was one trapping formation, the Five Curves Entwining Formation, and one illusion formation, the Sumeru Ten Thousand Spirits Formation.

In the offensive formations, the formation would attack actively, forcing the entering warriors to defend until its energy was exhausted. Of course, the warriors could also counterattack while defending.

In the defensive formations, it was up to the warriors to attack actively and completely destroy the key points of the formation to escape.

For the trapping formation, the offensive spells it emitted were not very powerful, matching only the strength of the entering warrior. They would drain each other’s energy—more energy on the side of the formation meant the warrior’s death, while more energy on the warrior’s side allowed them to survive.

As for the illusion formation, various illusions would appear within it, disturbing the mind and inducing inner demons, causing the entering warrior to harm themselves.

Qu Yi and the other twenty-six quickly read through the descriptions of the ten formations and gained a clear idea. The leaders of each group immediately exchanged spiritual energies to discuss which formation their group would use.

The offensive formations meant enduring constant attacks once entered, which was naturally unbearable. The defensive formations allowed them control over attacks, but Emperor Hao’s defensive formations were not easy to break. In the trapping formation, even if they managed to escape, they would likely run out of spiritual stones and pills, making it difficult to proceed further into the areas beyond the Haotian Immortal Mansion. As for the illusion formation, those who hadn’t studied formations thoroughly would probably get trapped forever and never be able to escape.

Just as the powerful warriors from the eight sects were nervously exchanging words, Qu Yi smiled faintly. He had already reached the ten metal tablets and reached out to take the one corresponding to the “Sumeru Myriad Spirits Array” illusionary array. Soon, to the astonishment of everyone, Qu Yi entered the space teleportation array with the metal tablet in hand. “Everyone, in the Northwest Wasteland, be careful. I hope we’ll meet again in the Northern Wasteland,” Qu Yi said with a smile. A flash of white light, and Qu Yi’s figure disappeared. “How could Qu Yi alone choose an illusionary array? Is he crazy?” “I think Qu Yi will surely be trapped in the Sumeru Myriad Spirits Array this time. With his cultivation at the early stage of tribulation and no knowledge of array formations, how could he possibly escape?” “Hmph, fine. Let Qu Yi die trapped in that illusionary array.” The powerful warriors from the eight sects openly expressed their resentment toward Qu Yi, all hoping that he would die right there in the Haotian Immortal Mansion. Soon, they finally agreed on the array formations they would face. The Taiyuan Gate chose the “Heaven and Earth Harmony Array,” the Jinyang Sect chose the “Five Movements Conformity Array,” and the Hundred Beasts Peak chose the “Dust to Stars Array.” These three strongest sects all opted for defensive arrays, preferring to use their own offensive methods to break through them. The Qingyun Sect chose the “Five Elements Thousand Machines Array,” the Yingtian Sect chose the “Five Swords Violent Origin Array,” the Cangyang Valley chose the “Mystic Qi Nine Transformations Array,” the Xianyue Cliff chose the “Starry Sky to Void Array,” and the Jiugong Island chose the “Separation and Union Blood River Array.” These five sects chose five offensive arrays, ready to withstand the attacks. No one chose the trapping array, the “Five Twists Entwining Array,” as no one wanted to waste all their spirit stones and pills—that would be seeking death willingly. Soon, the powerful warriors from the eight sects were transported away in waves. … After leaving the space teleportation array, Qu Yi immediately arrived at another magical place where his surroundings kept changing. Sometimes he stood on grassland, sometimes floating on a lake’s surface, and at other times perched on tree tops—changes were extremely rapid. As the scenery shifted, countless strange beasts appeared in the surrounding space, along with various terrifying spells such as lightning, earthquakes, and poisonous gases. Whenever Qu Yi arrived at a new location, he was attacked by bizarre spells, and he quickly realized he had entered the “Sumeru Myriad Spirits Array.” All of these scenes and spells were illusions.

“Qu Yi, this is already the Sumi Wanling Formation. You don’t need to worry about finding a way out of this illusionary formation now; instead, just sit quietly and wait for the heavenly calamity to arrive,” the Voice of the Artifact God immediately spoke up.
Indeed, Qu Yi’s 69-layer heavenly calamity was approaching, and it would take more than three days to escape this illusionary formation. Therefore, the Voice of the Artifact God advised Qu Yi to rest for now.
“The Voice of the Artifact God, you’re right. I’d better enter the Xingluo Ding first to get through these three days,” Qu Yi said with a smile.
The defense of the Xingluo Ding was extremely powerful; all the spells in these illusionary formations had no effect on it at all.
Soon, Qu Yi took out the Xingluo Ding and immediately flew into it.
“Hehe, Qu Yi, I still need to tell you why I had you choose this Sumi Wanling Formation,” the Voice of the Artifact God said proudly. Seeing that Qu Yi was indeed eager to hear more, it added triumphantly, “The 69-layer heavenly calamity is essentially a calamity for the original spirit, designed to foster evil thoughts within it. But this Sumi Wanling Formation is also an illusionary formation that can help disrupt those evil thoughts during the calamity, allowing you to overcome it easily.”
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi’s eyes shone with excitement, and his face showed joy—clearly very pleased with this news.
“Voice of the Artifact God, thank you,” Qu Yi said simply, filled with gratitude.