Chapter 209: Risking for life

Yes, before, in Guangyang, no one could control the Mountain and River Grand Formation.

This was also a reason for Chan Zhi's peace of mind.

No one could control the Mountain and River Grand Formation, and the only possible candidate was currently imprisoned by him in the Five-Tiered Pagoda.

As for other Shaman, if they wanted to reach the point where they could control the Mountain and River Grand Formation, they would at least need to be an outstanding individual among the eighth rank, or perhaps even a seventh rank to be possible.

If such a powerful individual were to arrive, he would definitely be able to sense it, as their Qi is not so easily concealed.

All things are formed by Qi, and the Qi of cultivators is even more grand and conspicuous.

Even if someone specialized in stealth and slipped in, if he specialized in stealth, could he also specialize in rituals?

Presiding over a ritual is not a simple matter; all taboos, precautions, coordination among various parties, and whether the deities and Human-Ghosts can be convinced are all factors to consider.

Therefore, Chan Zhi concluded that the Mountain and River Grand Formation must be in an unusable state, and apart from his own seventh-rank Puppet, there was no other entity in Guangyang City that could forcibly activate the Mountain and River Grand Formation.

Normally, this line of thinking is correct and very unlikely to be wrong.

But the mistake lies in—

No one would have expected that in a small place like Guangyang, there would be two Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, and that they would even join forces.

After Li Qi's Divided Soul was summoned by Shen Shuibi.

The first thing Li Qi did was touch Shen Shuibi's tail, and he even stretched it out to test the feel.

The second thing was to set up a covenant and call out to someone far away (see Chapter 197).

At that time, his covenant was a call to Bo Yue, with whom he had previously formed an 'alliance'.

Both being ninth rank and both Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, even if Bo Yue specialized in the Dao of Diviner, controlling a Mountain and River Grand Formation was still not a problem for him.

Therefore, Chan Zhi fell.

Bo Yue stood a thousand miles away, at the center of the Mountain and River Grand Formation, pulling on the entire vast net with one hand.

Beside Bo Yue, a trembling little demon was biting its lip, extremely frightened.

"Don't be afraid. Since you are Li Qi's person and you led me here, I naturally won't make things difficult for you. Relax," Bo Yue said indifferently from his position.

He had changed his clothes and was now wearing an ordinary gray robe, still looking like a young man, with his long hair tied up and resting in front of him.

His expression was extremely indifferent, making it impossible to discern his thoughts, yet he didn't feel cold; his demeanor was somewhat peculiar.

Because most of his energy was currently being used to preside over the ritual, his reactions to the outside world were slower.

A large stream of information flashed before his eyes, as if the essence of the world was approaching him.

Countless pieces of information flooded his brain; every minute detail of his surroundings, all the mountain and water veins of Guangyang, and the Qi of the earth and water, were clearly perceived by him.

He could hear the sound of all the water veins, just like blood flowing in vessels.

He could hear the mountains throbbing, like a person's heart beating vigorously.

Just over a month ago, when Li Qi used the covenant to call him, he wasn't planning on coming.

Why should he come to help him?

However, Li Qi told him that there was an ownerless Mountain and River Grand Formation here, waiting for him to use.

So, he came.

Because being able to control an ownerless Mountain and River Grand Formation was too tempting for him; this was a true opportunity to communicate with all deities, an opportunity to simultaneously observe all deities and understand the flow of earth Qi in an entire province.

For a Diviner, this meant he had a vast amount of data.

The Dao of divination, apart from metaphysics, is all about calculation.

Whether it's the Buddhist Three Worlds Deduction Method, Shaman Dao divination, Daoist Yin and Yang numerology, or Human Dao data statistics, it's all the same.

Taking the Three Worlds Deduction Method as an example, this method can observe past lives, then present lives, and finally deduce the appearance of future lives, calculating where a person will be Reincarnated and what they will look like in their next life. It is a very profound method, excellent for finding people.

It is precisely because of this method that the Buddhist school can constantly play tricks like true spirit Reincarnation and Reincarnation for cultivation, because they can calculate where one will be Reincarnated in the next life.

This is not a simple task.

Normally, to know where one will be Reincarnated, unless one finds a fifth rank to escort them throughout the process and also bribes the underworld officials and establishes connections with the Ten Halls of Yama and the judges, even immortals wouldn't know where they could be Reincarnated.

Even the Ten Halls of Yama themselves are not clear where one will be Reincarnated; only the escorting fifth rank can know by keeping an eye on them all the way. Establishing connections merely allows you to follow the remaining true spirit.

Reincarnation is not just within this world.

It encompasses the entire universe, infinite worlds, and following all the way is not simple; it requires at least a fifth rank to keep up, and they will also suffer the backlash of Reincarnation.

Under normal circumstances, no one can follow all the way, as that violates the rules of Reincarnation.

However, as long as one can bear the cost of violating it, there are no rules to speak of.

Because of this cost issue, even major powers find it difficult to deploy so many fifth ranks to escort individuals one by one, so apart from important figures, most people after death are left to chance.

But the Buddhist school, thanks to the Three Worlds Deduction Method, can achieve this, allowing them to constantly stage dramas like ten-lifetime Reincarnation and nine-lifetime Reincarnation.

And the reason the Three Worlds Deduction Method can achieve this lies in the word 'deduction'.

Through some unknown method, it can observe the transformations of the three worlds and deduce future lives.

The most important part is 'observation'—obtaining sufficient data, then calculating and deducing, finally arriving at a conclusion similar to reality.

Not to mention Yin and Yang numerology, which has no metaphysical component at all, relying purely on algorithms and computing power to derive conclusions.

Although Shaman Dao divination has a large metaphysical component, it also has a significant computational component.

Therefore, being able to borrow the Mountain and River Grand Formation of a province to observe the distribution of all deities, and the earth Qi and water Qi脉络 of that province, held immense allure for Bo Yue. For him, this was equivalent to being directly provided with countless pieces of first-hand data.

Using this data, he could draw inferences from one instance to others, and his accuracy in divining and calculating earth and water veins in the future would greatly increase.

Normally, such an opportunity is almost nonexistent.

Mountain and River Grand Formations are strategic weapons in various places; no one would activate them just for fun. Even as a Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, he couldn't be so willful.

If he truly acted arrogantly based on his status, the first one to deal with him would be his Master.

And Li Qi gave him this opportunity.

So he came without hesitation.

After arriving, he discovered that Li Qi had already prepared everything for him.

A mountain spirit transformed from a butterfly, though not yet ranked, already had the雏形 of a golden body, personally came to greet him.

Then, this mountain spirit led him here and presented him with the Formation diagram of this Mountain and River Grand Formation.

He really didn't know how Li Qi got his hands on it.

Since Li Qi had prepared so thoroughly, he was happy to save effort.

Working with smart people is good.

Anyway, Li Qi only asked him to do one thing.

Connect with all deities, activate the Mountain and River Grand Formation, and hold a grand blood sacrifice visible throughout Guangyang Province, and even the Bailin Kingdom.

And the sacrifice—

Was Chan Zhi.

The deities receiving the sacrifice were all the demon rats of the Rat Soil Mound.

The Mountain and River Grand Formation was slowly activating.

This was not the previous civilian Formation used to regulate earth Qi.

This was a final trump card specifically established to resist the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

Once the ritual began, with all deities working together, even a seventh rank would only be instantly killed.

Thinking of this, Bo Yue suddenly realized something.

"Ah, right, Li... Li Zhufang, right?" Bo Yue looked at the twelve or thirteen-year-old girl behind him.

Although she looked twelve or thirteen, considering the lifespan of a butterfly demon, she probably only lived for four or five years.

Which means, she was still a child.

He didn't know how Li Qi managed to trick her into coming, but her talent was indeed good. At this age, she could already walk the divine path, and she would probably reach ninth rank within one or two years.

Bo Yue remembered, wasn't this a characteristic of insect demons?

Insect demons with poor talent weren't even qualified to take human form; their lifespan was only a few months, some even living from dawn to dusk. If their talent wasn't good, they wouldn't even have the chance to become demons.

"That's right, may I ask what your instructions are, sir?" Li Zhufang quickly bowed and asked cautiously.

"Nothing, just get far away so you don't get caught in the aftermath," Bo Yue waved his hand.

He had originally thought of letting this little demon help him, but she was so young, so he decided against it and told her to stay far away.

"Get far away? There shouldn't be any aftermath, should there?" Li Zhufang was a little confused.

"Normally, there wouldn't be any aftermath," Bo Yue nodded. "However, if someone tries to contend with me, that's another matter."

"Retreat a mile; it's about to be a fight," Bo Yue smiled, then fully immersed himself in the Mountain and River Grand Formation.

— — — — — — — — — —

At the same time Bo Yue spoke.

The activation of the Mountain and River Grand Formation suddenly stalled.

The strong summoning that the entire Guangyang could feel had stopped at this moment, stuck in the middle!

Another force had intervened midway.

All the deities of the mountains and rivers could feel that the one presiding over the ritual was no longer one person, but two!

How could there be two people?

They were all confused.

The Formation that had been arranged, the deities that had already been connected, were all confused.

They didn't know whose orders to follow anymore.

Wasn't the activation of the Mountain and River Grand Formation a very serious matter? This was a feat that required each deity to reach a consensus to complete, but now... why were the two leaders fighting?

Many deities didn't know why.

However, Chan Zhi and Bo Yue knew.

Just as Bo Yue began the ritual, Chan Zhi finally completely tore off all his disguises.

He had understood that Li Qi intended to kill him here.

Although he didn't know how a mere ninth rank had managed to gather so much assistance, there was no doubt that the other party was indeed very well prepared.

However, Chan Zhi discovered that Li Qi had overlooked one point.

He still had a Puppet.

Guangyang Sima, who cultivated the Dao of Shaman Dao.

This Puppet could also control the Mountain and River Grand Formation.

Therefore, Chan Zhi immediately split his attention, on one hand manipulating Guangyang Sima to immediately intervene in the Mountain and River Grand Formation to prevent its activation, and on the other hand going all out to confront the Rat King!

"Bastard!" Chan Zhi cursed inwardly, filled with anger!

Seizing control of the Mountain and River Grand Formation was not an easy matter.

The reason he hadn't used it all this time was because he didn't know how!

Presiding over such a ritual, for a monk like him, performing Buddhist rituals was one thing, but he was truly clueless about this kind of mountain and river ritual.

But at this moment, if the other party took control of the Mountain and River Grand Formation, he would truly be in trouble here.

So, even if he was being forced into it, he had to stop the other party now.

He didn't seek to control the Mountain and River Grand Formation himself, only to make the other party fail.

He must obstruct this person!

At the same time, he also acted without hesitation.

Defeat the Rat King as quickly as possible, kill everyone present! Then find that sudden ritualist! Kill him!

The only chance he had now was this.

And then, that Li Qi, he couldn't be allowed to live!

He was truly ungrateful! He had been extremely lenient towards him; if he had sincerely appreciated it and cooperated well for a year or two, he would have been granted freedom, and everyone would have been happy, beneficial to both sides.

But he insisted on seeking his own death!

Once the matters here were dealt with, he would turn Li Qi into a sky lantern, slowly burning his Spirit Soul and Physical Body dry! He would make him suffer in the fires of Hell for a hundred years!

This was the price for scheming against him!

Did Li Qi think this was enough to kill him?

Dream on!

A mere ninth rank, he simply didn't understand how strong he was!

Chan Zhi's anger burned, murderous intent surged in his heart, and his cruelty intensified. His body suddenly expanded thousands of times, crushing mountains and collapsing rivers, directly transforming into a great demon!

The Rat King, who had been maneuvering against Chan Zhi, saw this, and his fur stood on end; he immediately retreated!

He understood Chan Zhi very well, as they had traveled together from the Western Heavens all the way to Baiyue.

When Chan Zhi emitted such an aura, it meant he was fighting for his life!

Then, he saw him holding a flower in one hand and a palm in the other, chanting loudly: "Living beings' bodies decay and lives end! Beasts, hungry ghosts, and Asura, the three scourges, emerge, devouring all living beings without remainder, leaving no humans, and this world decays, becoming a disaster!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the three-inch demon kingdom directly exploded, turning into a whirlpool.

From within the whirlpool, disaster surged forth.

The gates of the lower three paths of the Six Paths opened.

It was no longer the semblance of Hell formed by the three-inch demon kingdom.

The semblance of Hell, to be honest, was merely an illusion created by the Spirit Souls that Chan Zhi had killed and collected within the three-inch demon kingdom.

What opened now was true, genuine disaster.

The paths of beasts, hungry ghosts, and Asura among the Six Paths of Reincarnation, living beings from these three paths, swarmed out!

A great black wind erupted! Countless beasts, hungry ghosts, and green-faced, fanged Asura rushed out, devouring the Spirit Souls within the three-inch demon kingdom, and immediately, shrill wails filled the world.

Almost visibly, the Spirit Souls in Chan Zhi's three-inch demon kingdom began to dissipate. These Spirit Souls were eaten by the swarming hungry ghosts, beasts, and Asura, directly causing Chan Zhi's cultivation to regress as well.

However, this was worth it.

Just sacrificing some cultivation.

Soon, there would not be a single living person left in the entire Guangyang Province.

As long as the Mountain and River Grand Formation was prevented from being seized, everything would be recovered!