Chapter 291: Absolute Formation

Between heaven and earth, there naturally exists the Great Dao.

Heaven and earth are like a mother, the Great Dao like a seed; they nurture and give birth, becoming the supreme treasure.

The human body is a miniature heaven and earth; its myriad mysteries correspond to heaven and earth, thus forming the Great Dao.

In antiquity, those of great supernatural power took their own penetrating Great Dao, fused it into an artifact embryo, nourished it with immense heavenly-earthly primal energy, harmonized it with their own essence blood, awakened spirituality, opened the spirit apertures, and thus divine objects naturally came into being.

Endless wondrous images flickered in his mind.

Endless miraculous knowledge streamed through his thoughts.

Wu Tie's blood boiled, his meridians surged; the memories of generation after generation of ancestors never dissipated, merely hidden in his blood.

Wu Tie, using the ancient Wu tribe's heavenly sacrifice dance, awakened the power of his bloodline; the memories of his ancestors, generation after generation, revived within his body.

Tracing back generation by generation, from fathers and grandfathers to great-grandfathers and forefathers.

From recent antiquity to medieval antiquity.

From remote antiquity to ancient antiquity.

His bloodline continuously traced upward; ultimately Wu Tie saw two intertwined strands of flowing light, rapidly dancing in the void as a double helix.

Fuxi and Nüwa, holding the carpenter's square and compass, danced wildly in the boundless void.

Wind and thunder surrounded them.

Thick clouds pursued them.

Heavenly thunder and earthly fire accompanied them.

Auroras and rosy clouds guarded them.

Countless wondrous knowledge, even knowledge not contained in Lao Tie's inheritance, was reviving.

Each of Wu Tie's cells seemed like a vast library, storing the knowledge and experience accumulated by his ancestors generation after generation. In an extremely short time, it was as if he communicated face-to-face with those ancestors, frantically absorbing their experience and knowledge.

Wu Tie smiled.

Among his ancestors, there were surprisingly many astonishingly talented and extraordinary supernatural masters.

Naturally so; in antiquity, how many human ancestors were there? Nowadays, the ancestors that people actually possess, when all is said and done, are just these few; the common ancestors everyone shares are precisely those remarkable supernatural masters.

Those lacking qualification and strength cannot possibly have their bloodline continue.

Wu Tie laughed.

He was using the most orthodox method of ancient times, imitating the way heaven and earth create things in his forging.

Inscribing talismanic symbols.

Setting up formations.

Adding prohibitive seals.

Carving talismanic patterns.

All are merely lowly minor ways, not the true Great Dao of heaven and earth.

The human body is a microscopic universe, containing boundless heavenly-earthly mysteries within. If you can comprehend a single Great Dao, you can extract it via secret methods and inject it into an artifact embryo, directly achieving the embryonic form of a supreme treasure.

This is the true Great Dao of heaven and earth, the supreme forging method that imitates heaven and earth nurturing the primordial supreme treasure.

But later generations are incapable; they fail to grasp so many profound mysteries of the Great Dao, cannot fully break the heavenly-earthly shackles, cannot fully break the layered shackles, and the Great Dao they obtain is incomplete; thus they can only scrape together a few pitiful symbols and talismans they have comprehended and imprint them into the artifact embryo.

"Soul-Scattering Banner." Wu Tie looked at the gigantic banner emanating a terrifying soul-absorbing aura and smiled.

He danced wildly again, circling the altar in wild dance.

Wind and clouds rose suddenly, thunder and lightning surged, and various phenomena of wind, fire, clouds, and lightning appeared around him.

Cold light specks sprayed from the glabellar heavenly eye; Wu Tie sweat poured over his whole body as he thrust both hands fiercely into his glabella, and another stream of icy cold light surged out, making those far away like Zhu Ri and Zhu Yue feel chills, as if their souls were nearly frozen and crushed.

The streams of light Wu Tie pulled from his life pool were wonderful strands of the heavenly-earthly Great Dao.

He broke all the heavenly-earthly shackles and opened the door to the profound mechanism treasury hidden deepest within the human body.

Thus he mastered the hidden Great Dao corresponding to all mysteries between heaven and earth.

Even if not yet proficient.

Even if his cultivation is insufficient.

However, just like a newly hatched king cobra that still possesses deadly fangs and venom, the streams of Great Dao light Wu Tie drew from his life pool are essentially deadly and terrifying.

Zhu Ri, Zhu Yue, and Lao Tie were like peering at a primordial beast's fur through a bamboo tube.

Viewing a leopard through a tube, one can still discover its formidable and terrifying nature.

This stream of light, Wu Tie injected into the embryo of a long sword.

Then after another bout of wild dance, another stream of Great Dao light was drawn from his life pool and implanted into another long sword embryo.

Seven streams of Great Dao light were infused into seven long swords.

The seven long swords simultaneously emitted a gloomy, eerie cold light, tinged with gray, green, and a lifeless, withered hue.

"Seven Star Soul-Slaying Sword." Wu Tie murmured to himself: "Using the Ancient Wu Clan's Divine Art of the Nail-Head Seven Arrows as a template, I draw upon the power of the netherworld's Yellow Springs, inviting the Northern Dipper's killing opportunity—hehe… you shouldn't have tried to trap me with those heavenly-earthly shackles."

"Heavenly-earthly shackles, heavenly-earthly shackles… this is also a bridge between heaven and earth."

"You actively sent your own aura into my grand formation."

Wu Tie grinned widely.

He raised his hands high and loudly recited the mantra spell transmitted by Mo Zhangwang for controlling the Three Linked Cities grand formation.

Twelve massive light pillars shook violently; then these pillars suddenly spewed forth torrents of intense flowing light, like great rivers pouring into the altar Wu Tie built, and into the Soul-Scattering Banner and Seven Star Soul-Slaying Sword he had just successfully forged.

"There is one named Xie Mo You Cang, unknown birthdate, unknown origin, possessing only a trace of supernatural aura… I beseech the gods and spirits of the eight directions of heaven and earth, lend me strength to pursue soul and spirit, to curse and kill this person." Wu Tie, acting like a madman, extravagantly danced around the offering table.

The long banner swayed violently, vast amounts of heavenly-earthly primal energy continuously being swallowed into the banner.

The seven long swords slowly revolved around the long banner; each revolution sent up an intensely murderous aura shooting into the sky.

Gradually, the murderous aura enveloped the entire Three Linked Cities.

Zhu Ri and Zhu Yue instinctively reacted to this murderous aura, their hairs standing on end, brows furrowed as they continually retreated backward.

Lao Tie also projected the phantom of the Reincarnation Tower; black divine light enveloped him and the witch, protecting them as they slowly retreated.

Only Grey Master stood calmly on the black clouds; he not only did not retreat, but continually flew toward the altar.

"Wu Tie, Master will lend you a hand." Grey Master's smile was extremely radiant: "Colluding in wickedness, the wolf‑nature inherently boosts a wolf's combat power… hehe, this divine ability of Master's, this is also the first time I'm using it."

Grey Master chuckled as he came before the altar.

Black eerie light spewed from every pore of his body; the gloomy black light fell on the altar, and the originally chilling, bone‑piercing killing aura suddenly gained thirty percent more power out of thin air.

Within Triple‑Linked City, all things froze stiff; even the vast inland sea became mirror‑still, with not a ripple on its surface.

"Master, this divine ability is wonderfully beyond words." Wu Tie chuckled as he stretched out his hand; his fingertips split open, and strands of Cold Qi‑laden essence blood fell upon the three straw effigies on the offering table.

Within the essence blood, faintly visible were countless extremely fine, dark‑blue double‑helix ice patterns, their luminous flow appearing and disappearing.

You Cang used a secret art to place new shackles on Wu Tie and the others.

And within these new shackles lingered the aura of You Cang.

Wu Tie began to chant the incantation, walking slowly around the altar step by step as if bearing a heavy mountain, his steps heavy and movements slow as he commenced a new ritual dance.

The banner forged by Wu Tie and the seven sharp swords drank in the light‑dragon torrent spewing from the twelve light pillars of Triple‑Linked City; the Dao‑flowing light that Wu Tie had poured into them began to slowly grow and strengthen, gradually emanating a formidable aura.

To comprehend the Dao, to inhale and exhale the primordial energy of heaven and earth, to nourish the Dao‑flowing light so that it continually grows—this is the true meaning of the cultivation of the ancient great cultivators.

This banner, these swords—at this very moment they are manifestly Wu Tie's incarnations.

Sharing the same aura and spiritual affinity, Wu Tie murmured the incantation, drawing forth the soul‑scattering power within the banner and following that faint trace of Cold Qi‑laden shackle aura to trace its source, reaching out into the dim void.

It was a thousand li away from Triple‑Linked City.

Within a stone cavern spanning three to four hundred li, a castle had just been washed clean with fresh water, yet the air still reeked of a strong bloody odor.

You Cang draped himself in a spacious robe and leisurely walked out of a bedchamber.

On the bedchamber's cot, several faint pink‑white silhouettes could be seen, curled up on a pile of soft animal hides, softly sobbing.

Xuan Zhu crossed her arms over her chest, standing in the hallway before the bedchamber door, looking at You Cang with a half‑smile.

"Do you now understand why I have frequently descended these past years?"

Xuan Zhu gazed at You Cang with a pleased smile: "It's not just for those merits; it's also for this supreme enjoyment."

You Cang narrowed his eyes, giving Xuan Zhu a cold look: "Depraved, meaningless fleshly pleasure… You Jieya, you have fallen…"

He shrugged his shoulders, and You Cang suddenly laughed: "Still, this depraved pleasure isn't bad. Since these aren't our original bodies, using these rapidly cultivated forms to enjoy pleasures we normally can't—it's quite nice."

Xuan Zhu let out a light laugh.

A thread of extremely fine cold light flickered at her fingertip, scattering specks of ice crystals; Xuan Zhu said leisurely: "The Dark Guild's reinforcements have arrived—we now have enough sacrificial fodder on hand… shouldn't we launch the general assault?"

You Cang gave a faint smile, glanced at Xuan Zhu, and gently shook his head.

"You Jieya, my sister, remember—we are not the block‑headed Tianjing gods, nor are we the war‑mad Barbarian God tribe."

"Compared to resorting to violence, why can't we think of a more proper solution?"

You Cang murmured: "I haven't had the chance to tell you—I've left some interesting little things on them. They will submit."

"Triple‑Linked City holds great strategic value. Rather than destroy them, it's better to subjugate them and make them our slaves." You Cang pointed his finger at his own temple: "Use your brains—this is the way of our Ice Spirit clan…"

You Cang couldn't finish his words.

His body swayed, his vision darkened, and his tall, upright frame suddenly pitched forward.

He struggled desperately, staggering forward seven or eight steps before crashing headfirst into a square table, his hands flailing as they hit the ground.

He shook his head violently, and two extremely fine, rapidly flashing blue rays shot from You Cang's eyes.

"You Jieya… there… there is an evil force eroding my soul… Good heavens, how can this energy reaction be so powerful? No… no… save me…"

"You Jieya, your true self—hurry to the Central Divine Temple and have them wield the power of the chief divine artifact… protect me… my…"

You Cang's body slammed heavily to the ground.

The thread of soul within this body vanished, as if a black hole had suddenly erupted inside him, silently swallowing his soul.

Xuan Zhu stared blankly, then let out a shriek and snapped her gaze upward.

A single thread of extremely fine blue cold light shone down.

Xuan Zhu's body stiffened abruptly, then she collapsed heavily to the ground.

In the pitch‑black void surrounding Mu Dalu, upon the vast icy glacier, inside the colossal vessel formed of condensed ice crystal, within the splendid ice‑crystal palace, the true form of Xuan Zhu—You Jieya—was leisurely drifting within a huge crystal ball.

Suddenly her complexion shifted slightly, and both eyes flashed with a sharp cold light.

She burst forth from the crystal ball, flicked her long tail, and turned into a shaft of cold light that shot out the door.

"Who is on duty today? My elder brother You Cang has suffered a soul attack… you…"

You Jieya's shriek had just echoed when, in a neighboring ice‑crystal palace, several lovely‑faced mermaid maidens screamed and rushed out.

"Lord You Cang, Lord You Cang's soul has vanished!"

"Boom!"

Within this ice‑crystal palace, inside the majestic ice hall at its core, a cluster of dazzling blue divine light shot up into the sky.

The blue light transformed into a frost‑spanning rainbow ten thousand li wide, surging toward Mu Dalu.

Above Mu Dalu, layer upon layer of faint, seemingly fragile light curtains quivered as they unfurled; each layer was pierced by the blue frost‑spanning rainbow, which in turn was weakened layer by layer.

Finally, as the frost‑spanning rainbow neared the surface of Mu Dalu, a towering figure with a dragon's head and a human's body stepped out from a great mountain.

The semi‑translucent, hazy figure slowly unfurled both hands to spread an enormous scroll.

"Heaven's mandate…"

A tremendous chanting voice issued from that figure's mouth.

As soon as the four words left his lips, heaven and earth underwent a tremendous upheaval; the remaining frost‑spanning rainbow, only a few hundred li thick, shattered with a boom, exploding into a sky‑filling blizzard that rolled over tens of thousands of li of mountains and rivers.

The figure, its body suffused with a faint golden glow, slowly sank into the massive mountain.

Upon the glacier, within the Ice Spirit god clan's main divine hall, a regretful voice echoed softly: "One step too late—You Cang's soul has already been snatched. Yet I cannot fathom how the enemy captured his soul‑aura; what did he do that he shouldn't have?"

"Have you forgotten that in several past descents during war, our clansmen died under evil arts such as the Nail‑Head Seven Arrows Scripture?"

You Jie Ya rushed swiftly toward the Main God Hall, she screamed hoarsely: "Save You Cang's soul, I am willing to pay any price."

You Jie Ya's face turned deathly pale.

She suddenly remembered the masters of that continent below, and the terrifying divine abilities they wielded.

In Three Linked City, on the altar, the three straw figures suddenly began to shake violently.

A faint silhouette of a young man with a human body and fish tail abruptly appeared on the altar.

Before he could make out the surroundings of the altar, Wu Tie shook his hands, unfurled the long banner, and had already drawn him into it.

Then a long sword fell, piercing a straw figure straight through.

Within the Ice Palace, the fallen true form of You Cang suddenly spat out a mouthful of semi-transparent blue blood.