Chapter 559: Forbidden Sky Immortal Formation

"How's the formation set up, Huang Tianshangren?" Qi Yuan, standing in the dust‑filled desert with a face cloth, asked.

Huang Tianshangren smiled: "It's already completed. If our estimate is correct, we can simply wait for the Black Sand Storm to pass, then go to Frontier Blade Imperial City to find that thief."

Qi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Catching that guy would be ideal!"

One must know that their Fire Core Imperial City coordinated with imperial cities across the lands, expending manpower and resources, both gathering intelligence and commissioning the making of Accumulation Devices to locate missing Spiritual Materials; moreover, Huang Tianshangren precisely pinpointed the thief's position, and now the formation has been set up...

If we catch him, everyone will rejoice; if we fail... the reputations of the imperial cities will be ruined, and they'd become a laughingstock in the cultivation world.

"Rest assured, this time we will definitely catch that thief; as long as everyone works together and makes no mistake, the thief can't escape!" Huang Tianshangren said confidently.

Qi Yuan was also a bit worried: "In theory there shouldn't be any errors; this time each City Lord is personally intervening, blocking the thief's retreat. As long as we can force him into the formation, he can't run."

Huang Tianshangren nodded and looked toward the desert ahead.

Beneath the desert, a six‑turn Forbidden Sky Immortal Formation has already been set up; those within the array cannot teleport through space nor fly, and to be safe Huang Tianshangren even suggested not placing any formation markers. As long as everyone surrounds the thief within the array, even if he possesses the Instant Movement Technique, he certainly cannot withstand attacks from several Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Though the idea is good, Huang Tianshangren still feels uneasy, thinking that some problem will inevitably arise.

"Then I'll first inspect the formation's condition; to avoid any mishaps, I won't return for now."

"Alright, I'll keep sending people to watch the area around Frontier Blade Imperial City."

At this moment Frontier Blade Imperial City is engulfed by the Black Sand Storm; even though they have used Accumulation Devices to confirm the thief is inside the city, traversing the storm is no simple task, especially with the risk of encountering powerful demonic beasts.

The group decides to bide their time, waiting for the Black Sand Storm to pass before forcing the thief out of Frontier Blade Imperial City, driving him into the formation to capture him!

"But why do I keep feeling a flutter in my chest? Did I misjudge that person's strength? Or have I missed some detail...?"

Huang Tianshangren walked within the formation, checking each area.

A formation involves not only the array plates and flags that control the great array, but also the crucial Dao Mark insertion. The formation can already alter the nature of a region of heaven and earth; only a great power cannot be unleashed!

Even a six‑turn formation can at most restrain a Cultivator of the Transformation God stage, let alone a mere Golden Core stage...

"Golden Core stage... what if that person isn't at Golden Core? No, even if not Golden Core, a Nascent Soul stage couldn't escape the formation... Right, that's what I was worrying about."

Huang Tianshangren suddenly realized something: he thought the plan was already quite perfect—having pinpointed the opponent's location, with so many people and the formation's aid, escape was impossible.

But what if he does run away?

Although such a thing is unlikely, if he later has to keep watching the schemer who helped these people, Huang Tianshangren lacks confidence in battling to the death against a cultivator with Instant Movement Technique, mastery of disguise and stealth—unless he returns home.

"Indeed, leave a margin for oneself; it'll make future meetings easier."

Huang Tianshangren suddenly stepped to a spot within the formation, looked at the flowing sand on the ground, furrowed his brows and counted on his fingers: "So it's here, no wonder I've been uneasy. This patch of quicksand is small, but it's a place where a ley line flows... that means that person might have mastered some secret method of manipulating ley lines, allowing them to evade the formation and escape, right?"

Huang Tianshangren muttered incoherently for a while, and the events that would follow became increasingly clear.

For him, discovering this issue explained his restless mind. It turned out that person had many tricks, able to escape via the ley lines. The six‑turn Forbidden Sky Immortal Formation blocks the sky, not the earth, so it cannot dare to stop the flow of ley lines—that would violate great causality.

"If that guy truly can slip here from among the many Nascent Soul cultivators, hmm... that wouldn't count as my failing promise," he thought, bringing his two fingers together, reciting a mantra and firing a beam of light into the quicksand.

After completing all this, Huang Tianshangren finally returned to his residence. It was an Accumulation Device belonging to a City Lord, a structure akin to a fortress—though not very combat‑effective, it was convenient and offered some defense, fully equipped with furnishings and capable of housing many people.

At this time, while some were stationed nearby to keep watch, several imperial cities mobilized a large number of Golden Core Cultivators to the area; the grand display was meant for a swift victory!

Huang Tianshangren furrowed his brows but said little else.

"Huang Tian Xiaoyou, you're back—how's the formation?" Fire Core City Lord asked with a smile as he approached.

Huang Tianshangren clasped his hands and said, "City Lord, the formation is all set; we only await that thief's capture!"

"Hahaha, excellent. This time, thanks to Huang Tian Xiaoyou's assistance, we not only smoothly locked onto the thief's location, but the formation itself was also his work. Speaking of which, the item Huang Tian Xiaoyou needed has been searched for by all of us for a long time, and we finally found it."

Huang Tianshangren's eyes lit up and he asked, "Really?"

"Of course it's true; now watch." Fire Core City Lord smiled, took out a key‑like object from his satchel, and handed it to Huang Tianshangren.

Huang Tianshangren took it, carefully sensed it, and finally exhaled, "Thank you, City Lord! Thank you all!"

"Don't mention it; Xiao You helped us so much, these are all yours by right."

Huang Tianshangren hesitated a bit, saying, "But that thief hasn't been caught yet; is it really okay to give me the reward now...?"

The Fire Core City Lord laughed loudly, "Hahaha, this time that thief absolutely cannot escape! Moreover, Xiao You is the one who contributed the most, so whatever was promised must be given, win or lose. Besides, how could that thief possibly get away?"

Huang Tianshangren gave a slight smile, clasped his hands, and said, "Indeed so!"

But it's hard to say if that's truly the case; although Huang Tianshangren doesn't want to dampen their enthusiasm, he constantly feels that his own conjectures might actually come to pass.

Moreover, having helped them so much, if they truly let the thief escape from the place I anticipated, I can't be blamed.

I was just trying not to offend either side...

At this moment, Huang Tianshangren still said, "That thief is cunning; with our grand display now, we might scare the snake before we catch it."

"No problem; the City Lords have already ambushed near Frontier Blade Imperial City, he can't run! Even with Instant Movement Technique, he can't cross a vast domain!"

Huang Tianshangren nodded: "With all the City Lords acting together, we will surely capture the thief!"