Chapter 321

"Yo!"

The white deer stepped on the flying snow, walking on the frozen river, neighing anxiously, calling for Qian Chen.

Si Qingcheng sat sideways on the white deer, looking up at the sky. On the vertical and horizontal chess lines, more than three hundred and sixty stars had fallen. Between the stars, a power that froze heaven and earth and turned the whole world into an ancient ice age seemed about to descend.

"This formation is divided into heaven and earth arrays. Although the ice river array on the ground is also extremely terrifying, the star array in the sky gestates an even greater terror, which is the place that makes my heart palpitate."

"To wake up Yan Yan Shixiong, I must isolate the connection between these heaven and earth arrays!"

Si Qingcheng pinched a magic talisman stamped with the Zhang Tian Shi's seal. In her sea of consciousness, the divine talisman shone brightly. She wrote a dharma decree on the talisman, and divine power flowed from her body. The pale golden light shone brightly, making her look exceptionally sacred.

Holding the magic talisman with two fingers, with the talisman gall and talisman feet ready, Si Qingcheng raised her sword finger and pointed the magic talisman toward the sky.

A streak of golden light shot straight between the stars.

Si Qingcheng thought to herself: "I will ask the star lords to seal the stars and not let the ancient cold light descend, which should be able to cut off the Heavenly Star Array."

Compared to Qian Chen's anxiety during his first time summoning gods, feeling that his face was too big, Si Qingcheng was much calmer. She was even certain that this matter would definitely succeed just by sending the divine talisman to the higher realm.

"According to what Father said, I also attached five hundred merits to the talisman, which should be enough to invite a few star lords to take action and isolate the starlight here for an hour... Next, I have to solve this ice river array on the ground!"

…………

In the Market Enclosure of the Star Realm, the attendant boy saw a streak of golden light flying from the lower realm and dared not be negligent. He casually took the talisman, opened the dharma decree, and frowned, saying to another boy beside him: "Zongxing... a decree from the Zhang Tian Shi of the lower realm has arrived, saying that a cultivator from the Earth Immortal Realm is deducing a formation and has triggered the ancient cold light between the stars... Go and take a look! If the cold light really has any movement, seal the star gate and don't let the cold light descend."

"The courage of the lower realm cultivators is getting bigger and bigger. They actually dare to touch this kind of thing. If the cold light descends, I'm afraid even the person who triggered it might not be able to escape disaster..."

The boy Zongxing complained, but he dared not underestimate this matter and hurried away.

Watching him walk away, the boy Zongren put away the merits attached to the talisman decree.

A streak of merit golden light merged into his palm. Zongren sighed: "Zongxing, it's not that I don't want to share the benefits with you, it's just that in such a short time, the merits from both times have been obtained by me. If you lose your temper, I'll have to share one or two with you... It's better not to tell you this time!"

He said happily: "The cultivators of the Earth Immortal Realm are truly sensible. It is indeed the heaven where the Dao Ancestor was born. If the lower realm cultivators were all as sensible and interesting as the Earth Immortal Realm cultivators, the spiritual treasure I want would probably be in my hands in a few thousand years."

The boy Zongren laughed happily: "Seal the starlight of this region in the lower realm for an hour! It's all a small matter. If it were a private request, there would be a risk of offending the heavenly law. But since there is a Zhang Tian Shi's dharma decree, it is naturally appropriate."

"That little fellow Daoist should be the daughter of Zhang Tian Shi Tao! Zhang Tian Shi Tao is good at dealing with people and has many friends in the higher realm. After ascending, her divine position in the Zhang Tian Shi's Mansion might be even bigger than mine."

"Since the little fellow Daoist has entered the land of reincarnation, there will definitely be many merits in the future. I will send her a true name so that in the future, for small matters like borrowing star power, she can transmit the talisman directly to me. No need to go through the procedures!"

"This divine talisman flying to the Market Enclosure from the lower realm has been received by me and Zongxing for five thousand years. It wouldn't be good if Zongxing discovered it!"

The boy Zongren pointed his finger and cast a divine power, sealing the starlight within five thousand miles of Jin Ling Ferry.

……………

Countless talismans rushed into the star chessboard, lining up one by one, emitting pale golden brilliance, supporting a sky curtain that blocked the connection between the star chessboard above and the ice river array below.

Si Qingcheng flew up, controlling the talismans to cover the sky. She occasionally waved her sleeves, casting streaks of divine power to replenish the talismans worn down by the operation of the formation. The red cloak on her body fluttered with her movements, like a peach blossom blooming in the vast white world.

Countless talismans were pasted together, arranged under the blue sky, forming a net covering the ice river.

Si Qingcheng had just repaired the talisman net that isolated heaven and earth when she saw a divine talisman fall from the sky and land in her hands. Scanning the true name on the divine talisman, Si Qingcheng put it away casually, not taking it too much to heart.

She had many such divine talismans and had never worried about where to seek gods.

Only when the heaven and earth arrays were isolated and the star chessboard was covered by the talismans did Xie Daoyun recover from her confrontation with Qian Chen.

She saw that she was covered in snow, and there was a vast expanse of white on both sides, like the ninth month of winter. Behind her, Wang Ningzhi huddled in the canopy boat, trembling while holding sixteen ink dragons.

Xie Daoyun looked back and saw Si Qingcheng repairing the sky with talismans, and said happily: "It's Little Sister Sixteen!"

Si Qingcheng floated in the void, surrounded by the figures of countless Daoist believers and the ancestors who sacrificed on both sides of the Dajiang.

With the guidance of divine power, the power of vows manifested many illusions: ancient great demons and strange beasts that roamed the Dajiang; human ancestors who sacrificed to the river under the leadership of witch priests; scholars who threw themselves into the river; cultivators who fought over the Dajiang during the Middle Ancient Immortal Tribulation...

Si Qingcheng used the talismans stamped with Zhang Tian Shi Tao's private seal to send a letter to the mountain, water, and city gods of the Daoist temples on both sides of the Dajiang. She whispered: "I ask the mountain gods, water gods, and city god uncles to seal the various earth veins and spiritual veins leading to the Jin Ling Ferry for an hour!"

Streaks of talismans flew out, and wherever they landed, divine light of various colors responded. Gradually, the atmosphere between heaven and earth stagnated, and the nearby earth veins began to operate slowly.

Seeing this, Xie Daoyun smiled bitterly: "That's right! Xu Daofu's five-element mysterious light is nothing. When it comes down to it, Little Sister Sixteen is the one who most restrains my formation. The Daoist temple monitors the ghosts and gods of the world. Once there is divine Dao assistance..."

Only then did she know why the records and notes at home often had records of unremarkable Daoist temple disciples walking the world and defeating demons ten or a hundred times stronger than themselves.

"If it were in the Wu region of Jiangzuo, Xu Daofu could also send out a few talismans to reduce the power of the formation I set up by more than half!"

"Sister Xie!" Si Qingcheng dispersed the countless illusions, fell from the sky, and coquettishly grabbed Xie Daoyun's sleeve: "Why did you fight with my Yan Yan Shixiong?"

Xie Daoyun said helplessly: "Is Daoist Yu Chen a disciple of Zhang Tian Shi Tao?"

"Yu Chen?..."

Si Qingcheng reacted immediately and shook her head slightly: "That's not it. Yan Yan Shixiong is a true transmission of the Supreme Dao."

Xie Daoyun was stunned: "Supreme Dao? Don't those Supreme Dao bull-noses only know how to refine pills? How are they so proficient in formation strategy?"

"Because Yan Yan Shixiong is even better at refining pills!" Si Qingcheng laughed, then shook Xie Daoyun's arm: "Lingjiang, hurry and help me wake up Yan Yan Shixiong, and I won't blame you!"

Xie Daoyun had always treated her as a younger sister. Seeing this, she could only sigh: "No need for you to blame me, your Yan Yan Shixiong is... Sigh! If you hadn't taken action, I would have been in danger this time too! I'll follow you once!"

She pointed her finger, and eight pairs of yin-yang fish broke through the ice, forming a simple Eight Gates formation to protect Wang Ningzhi, isolating the chill that froze heaven and earth.

"That fellow Daoist and I deduced the formation, and together we turned this Eight Gates-based formation into a freezing intent that combined with the celestial stars. Now that it has evolved, it has a hint of the power of the legendary Ice Absolute Formation."

"Now, wanting to disperse it is really too difficult. Breaking the formation is a small matter, but if the cold intent gathered in the formation spreads, the counties on both sides will have heavy snow, which can pile up three feet high in one night. At the end of July, with such a sudden change in weather, how many people will die?"

Xie Daoyun frowned slightly: "You go and wake up your Yan Yan Shixiong, and I will maintain the stability of the formation. After he wakes up, we will work together to resolve this disaster!"

"Little White!" Si Qingcheng summoned the Bai Lu and climbed onto the deer's back, hugging its neck.

The Bai Lu galloped, turning into a white streak of light, turning several times in the air, and ran toward Qian Chen's location.

After the talismans isolated the heaven and earth arrays, the snow gradually stopped.

Yuan Hao and the others outside the formation saw a white deer leaping on the frozen river, and a woman in a red cloak on its back cast a spiritual talisman. The spiritual light leaped, and wherever it went, the freezing was resolved.

Zhang Huaien stared, muttering: "Princess Sixteen!"

Zhixia suddenly realized: "So she is Princess Qingcheng. No wonder she came riding Daoist Yu Chen's white deer!"

Du Xiuniang beside him also looked at Yuan Hao, secretly thinking in her heart: "That princess has finally appeared. She is indeed peerless!"

Si Qingcheng's divine talisman was the divine position originally achieved by Qian Chen, and it naturally had a mysterious connection with him. The "As per Supreme Decree" dharma seal spiritual light on it was imprinted on Qian Chen's heart, and the Dao Dust Bead leaped, touching Qian Chen's original self.

Qian Chen, immersed in the formation strategy, finally woke up.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the woman who had come riding his white deer, and couldn't help but smile: "Ning Ning Shimei Si!"

"I was cooking tea in Jiankang waiting for Yan Yan Shixiong, but Yan Yan Shixiong is good. Along the way, you defeated Zhu Wuchang, broke Wang Ningzhi, beheaded Xu Daofu with your sword, and even Sister Lingjiang was almost trapped to death in her own formation. The commotion here shocked half of Jiankang City. There were so many interesting things, yet you didn't call me!"

Si Qingcheng said with a slight pout.

"This is not an interesting thing. Half of Jiankang City was shocked, and I was blocked at Jin Ling Ferry for three hours. Didn't only one Liu Yu come to help? It shows that everyone knows this is muddy water!"

Qian Chen stretched and said: "Oh! Hearing that Ning Ning Shimei has cooked tea, I'm greedy too!"

"Hurry up and clean up the aftermath here and leave!... I can't afford to offend Sun En now, and I have no way to deal with Xu Daofu and Wang Ningzhi. Let's go, let's go!"

Si Qingcheng led the white deer and asked: "Since Yan Yan Shixiong knows this is muddy water, why did you get involved?"

"The one who got involved is Daoist Yu Chen, what does it have to do with me, Qian Chen?" Qian Chen said nonchalantly.

"This can't be hidden from those with hearts!" Si Qingcheng shook her head slightly.

"If it can't be hidden, then so be it. I am the only one in the Louguan Dao, and there are no elders to manage me. Why fear those causes and effects? I will cut them off with one sword..."

Si Qingcheng pointed to the ice river: "What does Yan Yan Shixiong think should be done?"

Qian Chen thought for a moment and said: "The cold qi in the formation is too heavy to be easily withdrawn. If there were time, I could slowly gather this cold qi and refine it into a piece of supreme magic treasure. But I don't have the leisure time to spend one or two sixty-year cycles."

"Hmm! Simply seal this formation under Zhenjiang Island and use the power of the Dajiang to slowly wear down the cold qi! After five hundred years, it will probably disperse!" Qian Chen pointed to Zhenjiang Island at Jin Ling Ferry.

Si Qingcheng sought stability and asked: "Are there any hidden dangers?"

"In the five hundred years, on this day every year, Jin Ling Ferry will freeze the Dajiang, forming an ice bridge, which will also be convenient for pedestrians crossing the river. The ice bridge will dissipate the next day! On this section of the river, some unmelted black ice might rush out from time to time."

"That is a good material for refining magic treasures. Besides that, as long as no one destroys the formation, there won't be any major problems!"

Qian Chen pinched his fingers and calculated, muttering: "Why do I always feel that in a few decades, there will be a military disaster here, and this formation might affect the destiny of the north and south?"

Qian Chen and Xie Daoyun worked together to strike the eight jade mountains and more than three hundred formation flags under Zhenjiang Island. The frozen Dajiang split into nine ice mountains and was filled into the water eye. As the formation momentum gathered, it was suppressed under Zhenjiang Island, and the cold intent was deeply hidden in the water eye, turning into an ice mansion.

Xie Daoyun took back the chessboard in the sky, and the yin-yang fish in the river turned into cloud pieces, falling into two chess baskets. She pulled Wang Ningzhi, rode the canopy boat downstream, and went far away quietly.

Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Xu Daofu also turned into mysterious light and escaped. Liu Yu urged his horse and led the Beifu knights to chase for a while symbolically.

The blue sky hung down, turning into the Heavenly Net Umbrella hanging above Qian Chen's head...

The Battle of Jin Ling Ferry—Wang Ningzhi drawing a river, Qian Chen playing the zither by the river, Xu Daofu striking across the river, Liu Yu leaping across the river on horseback, Xie Daoyun setting up a formation to seal the river, Princess Qingcheng riding a deer across the river... all these things became legends among the cultivators on both sides.

At the end of the curtain, Zhang Huaien, Zhixia, and others took the tower ship downstream. From here to Jiankang, it was already a smooth road.

But Qian Chen and Si Qingcheng led two white deer and went downstream along the Dajiang...

Riding the deer to the east, returning to Jiankang.