Chapter 1171: The Tian Gang Great Formation

The Desert Palace!
Truly worthy of being the Desert Palace!!
Happy had marveled at it countless times in his heart!!!
The passage was barely opened by the black storm that occurred once every fifty years, changing the colors of the world… A passage hundreds of meters long, though narrow, had claimed the lives of hundreds of experts at the Mythical Realm level;
Lethal traps where only one in ten could survive;
Masterfully crafted sandwaterfalls;
Ancient, mutated black sand scorpions;
Precious metals used to forge divine weapons—
All of this was merely what could be obtained just outside the Desert Palace!
Now…
There were even more remarkable rewards inside the main hall!
A long sword that had withstood centuries of erosion still stood quietly in the hall, retaining its original sword spirit and aura. It was obvious this must be another divine weapon—one of top quality.
Happy’s heart burned with excitement as he quickly glanced at the dozens of large pits in the hall. The master-level figures around him held their breath, their gazes fixed intently.
“Master…”
The Faceless Fox couldn’t contain his enthusiasm and impulsiveness. He swallowed hard, wiped the sweat from his palms, and whispered to Happy, “The sword in that pit is definitely a top-quality divine weapon, worth a fortune… I really wonder which royal family created this formation. If each pit contains a top-quality divine weapon, then the forty-nine pits in this hall must hold forty-nine such weapons! Tsk tsk! After ten years wandering the martial world, it’s better to just stroll around the outside of the Desert Palace.”
“Don’t act rashly.”
Happy knew that the Faceless Fox, known as the greatest thief in the land, must be itching to act. He quickly sent a message to warn him, “So many Heavenly Dao experts are watching. If you don’t want to die, hold back.”
In fact, many of the experts present were tempted to descend and claim a top-quality divine sword. Even a master might not easily obtain a decent weapon, so who wouldn’t be tempted by a priceless sword right in front of them?
But with eight Heavenly Dao experts present, along with a mysterious assassin who killed at will, no one could guarantee they’d survive if they went down.
In contrast, the Heavenly Dao experts seemed much calmer.
The Martial Lord frowned slightly before speaking, “This sword might be a key mechanism in this hall.”
“…Hmm.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The Mythical Realm experts present grew solemn, their enthusiasm for the top-quality divine weapons fading slightly.
“That’s not right.”
The Evil King spoke up:

“There are forty-nine such pits in the hall. If we pick one at random, we’ll get a divine sword. It’s too early to draw any conclusions yet.”
Ye Gucheng, Bi Xuan, Old Master Qin, and the others nodded in agreement:
“True.”
“I’m not able to do it myself. Please help me remove all the yellow sand from the remaining forty-eight pits…” Dongfang Bubai covered her mouth slightly and tried to speak in a seductive tone, which made many people feel uneasy, though they dared not show it.
“Ahem.”
Ye Gucheng pretended to cough to draw everyone’s attention back and said, “Since Dongfang doesn’t want to do it, we won’t force her. Let’s each take charge of seven pits. Once all the yellow sand is removed, we’ll carefully check whether there’s a divine sword in each pit and if there’s any connection between them.”
“Good!”
“I’ll start right away.”
“I’ll take care of this side.” Old Master Qin and Ye Gucheng were the first to move, followed by the Mysterious Fanged Man and the Evil King, who slowly turned around…
Bi Xuan gave a cold glance at the Evil King and the Dark Queen, then his gaze fell on Osaaya. Without saying a word, he turned and left as well.
…
The Evil King and the Dark Queen worked together, clearing one pit in the blink of an eye.
Everything went as expected!
Indeed, a precious sword was deeply embedded in each pit. By the time all the yellow sand from the forty-nine pits had been removed, the expressions of those in the hall had become grave!
Because alongside the discovery of the divine swords, the lingering sword energy from each sword seemed to create an inexplicable resonance throughout the hall.
Vroom…
The divine swords began to resonate!
The forty-nine divine swords trembled slightly together, creating a powerful aura of sword energy in the air above the hall. Everyone felt a sharp sword energy directed at them.
This sense of being targeted made everyone forget that there were forty-nine priceless, easily obtainable supreme divine swords beneath their feet!
“What kind of formation is this?”
“No one controls it, yet it has existed for hundreds of years and still possesses such power!” As Old Master Qin spoke, his voice sounded like metal scraping, extremely harsh.
One of the eight Heavenly Dao masters practiced the Way of the Sword…
Ye Gucheng!
Among the crowd, only Ye Gucheng was most sensitive to this formation.
“A sword formation!”
“It’s a sword formation!”
“Everyone knows that…” No one dared say this out loud in front of Ye Gucheng, so they could only mutter it to themselves.

Fortunately, there was a professional master by his side—the all-knowing multi-faced fox who had studied The Records of Extraordinary People in Mountains and Seas. Ever since discovering the second divine sword, it had followed behind, muttering as if having figured out something.

“Master, something serious has happened.”

“What is it?”

The last thing Happy wanted to hear right now was this, but he had to suppress his urge to hit him and ask what was wrong.

“The 77×49 Tian Gang Formation is indeed a powerful ancient formation, but its actual strength depends on the quality of the formation flags…” The multi-faced fox’s expression turned grim upon sensing the astonishing sword energy in the air, and he explained in a trembling voice, “If an ordinary expert operates the Tian Gang Formation, they can rival experts of the Heavenly Dao… but it still has weaknesses… But if 49 spirit-infused divine swords are used as the formation flags…”

At that point, the multi-faced fox gasped sharply!

Happy’s heart sank in his throat:

“What will happen?”

The multi-faced fox turned his head with difficulty and stared at him, his tone unusual as he spoke slowly, word by word, “The Tian Gang Formation is invincible—there are no more weaknesses!”

“…What threat can a formation without anyone to control pose?” Happy knew the multi-faced fox wouldn’t lie to scare him, but he still didn’t believe that just 49 swords could hold off those experts of the Heavenly Dao. He stubbornly replied.

As soon as he said this, the multi-faced fox smiled bitterly:

“My master, I originally thought the same way. Such a massive sword formation surely requires someone to oversee it. But guess what I saw just now…”

“…”

Seeing Happy’s grim expression, the multi-faced fox quickly sped up his explanation: “The Tian Gang Sword Formation, powered by the Earth’s core magnetism.”

“What does that mean?”

“There’s a passage in The Records of Extraordinary People in Mountains and Seas that mentions the Earth’s core magnetism has a strange ability—objects attract each other. Any divine sword infused with it can unleash a speed comparable to a full-power strike from a being at the Mythical Realm when it comes into contact with it.”

Hearing this, Happy’s expression turned even darker as his gaze swept downward:

“…You mean…”

“The entire palace is made of Earth’s core magnetism,” the multi-faced fox revealed the news Happy least wanted to hear: “The ruling emperor at that time had immense wealth and power, allowing him to infuse an entire such large palace with Earth’s core magnetism.”

“But how does the sword formation function? Without living beings, how can it work?”

“Good question…”

The multi-faced fox stared at Happy with a strange expression.

Kai Xin’s expression changed instantly. He stretched out his finger, pointed at himself, and said with difficulty, “You mean… it was us who triggered this grand formation, and it’s also us who control it?”
“…”
The Thousand-Faced Fox nodded, then gave a bitter smile:
“Obviously, this hall has precisely calculated the attraction of the earth’s core magnetism, and deliberately created a mechanism that requires a living being to activate it… If I’m not mistaken, only by breaking the Tian Gang Grand Formation can we leave this hall and find the real Desert Palace! If we fail, we’ll either be killed by the formation or trapped inside forever.”
As if in response to the Thousand-Faced Fox’s explanation, the long swords in the forty-nine pits all emitted even clearer and more melodious ringing sounds…
In an instant!
The sword energy in the air became even sharper and more intimidating, causing everyone in the hall to become tense. Watching the divine swords shake wildly as they slowly emerged from the deep pits, everyone’s expressions turned serious as they drew their weapons…
“The situation is bad!”
“This is a sword formation that can be triggered without anyone controlling it—this is a huge problem…” Ye Gucheng’s face turned grim as he said urgently, “We can only take things one step at a time for now. Keep going and see if there’s a way to leave this hall!”
As soon as he finished speaking, forty-nine dazzling lights shot out from the pits at incredible speed!
“So fast!”
“That speed is almost on par with a full-power strike from a master in the later stages of the Mythical Realm—this is no ordinary thing!”
“Everyone, be careful!”
Martial Lords like Bi Xuan, Ye Gucheng, and Dong Fang Bu Bai all looked extremely serious!
Having received the warning from the Thousand-Faced Fox, Kai Xin and his group dared not slack off in the slightest. They quickly separated from the main group and formed a triangular formation, each taking a position!
“Zz…”
“Zzzi!!!”
Inside the hall, the sword formation didn’t seem to activate immediately after being activated.
The forty-nine sword lights rushed out of the pits like lightning and shot in all directions.
Under Kai Xin’s keen perception, the divine swords moved closely along the smooth walls, sparking and producing harsh noises;
The divine swords moved rapidly along the circular walls of the hall, so fast that they resembled winding fire snakes, looking both spectacular and eerie.
This sight made everyone in the hall brace themselves even tighter, holding their breath.
“The one who designed this formation must be a pervert!” the Thousand-Faced Fox whispered in Kai Xin and Aosaya’s ears.
“What?” Aosaya was stunned.
But Kai Xin somehow understood something from the Thousand-Faced Fox’s words. Frowning, he quickly asked, “Did you discover something?”

“The one who built this sword array must have thought this palace would be buried for a long time. The first step of the sword array is actually sharpening the swords… See? The rust is gradually wearing away…” The Thousand-Faced Fox smiled bitterly. “When they regain their former sharpness, that will be the moment the sword array truly activates!”