Chapter 596: First battle

Li Qi sat in the central army, mobilizing the power of the entire Formation. By his side, Balancer and Shen Shuibi, two Fifth Grades, were each doing their own things, while also protecting him from being beheaded.

This was his first real confrontation with Human Dao. Although he had done countless simulations and deductions, and knew how Human Dao generally fought from various documents and military books, it was still his first time in actual combat.

Fortunately, it wasn't a very large battle. This war of millions of people was actually just a small probing attempt, similar to a forward outpost encountering the enemy. Human Dao had only sent out ten thousand soldiers.

However, it was a good opportunity to truly confront the Tang Nation's army and test their mettle.

Those capable of participating in such infiltration actions must be elite soldiers. Tang Nation would not send them to their deaths. This could be inferred from Shen Shuibi's reaction alone.

Even Shui Bi couldn't detect the enemy's stealth, which was truly very impressive.

But, just now, the first time they revealed their traces, the Golden Core Formation was momentarily chaotic! A small portion of the Jia Yang Three Realms people forming the Formation had maintained it for too long, their cultivation insufficient, and confusion arose in their hearts.

This was a small mistake. With millions of people here, there would always be a few who suddenly couldn't synchronize, just like when ten million people march in step, there will always be one or two who make a mistake.

It was unavoidable, there was nothing to be done, but it was a minor issue that could be rectified and adjusted in an instant.

However, what Li Qi considered a minor issue was not so in the eyes of the Tang Nation people.

The moment they revealed a flaw—

Tang Nation's ten thousand strong army suddenly appeared among them.

It was as if... they had already known that a flaw, lasting only a few tenths of a second, would appear here.

The Human Dao soldiers accurately detected the flaw of a single person among millions, a weakness within a range of one or two feet within the entire 'Golden Core' grand Formation, which spanned tens of thousands of miles in a spherical range.

Then, they appeared at the location of the flaw in a ghostly manner.

The moment they appeared, it was as if evil spirits surged forth and the gates of Hell opened.

A chilling mist and dark clouds enveloped the distracted cultivators, and a cold Killing Intent floated about. In just an instant, over five thousand Jia Yang Three Realms cultivators were cut down, countless Spirit Souls floated away, quickly melting into blood after touching the surging Evil Qi.

With this layer of blood obscuring and interfering, other cultivators around them were also hindered, and one after another, they revealed flaws.

Immediately following, the massacre spread.

This led to scattered Divine Qi, and evil running rampant!

But this massacre only lasted two seconds before Balancer made his move. He flashed and appeared at the location, clapping his hands together, and the surrounding Yang Qi instantly became chaotic!

Yang Qi illuminated, and those who floated and rose instantly vanished!

The blood Qi was directly forced to explode, and a solar storm surged forth from the entire gap created by the Human Dao soldiers' intrusion, sweeping away everything with immense power!

But after the solar storm ended, there was nothing inside.

The muscles on Balancer's body twitched.

He could feel that he hadn't hit anything. The enemy had already disappeared the moment he made his move, killing approximately one hundred seven thousand people without any losses to themselves.

At the same time, he also didn't detect where the enemy had gone.

Completely undetectable.

This was also Shen Shuibi's pre-battle assessment—

“As inscrutable as Yin, moving like thunder.”

Even if they are right in front of you, you cannot sense their location. And as long as you show even a tiny flaw, that flaw will be quickly exploited by them.

It's like an omnipresent virus; you'd best pray you don't have any wounds.

Once you have a wound, it will quickly become infected, rot, and mold, and you'll have to gouge out a piece of flesh to save yourself.

Only—

Just as Balancer felt it was difficult, he suddenly received a message.

It was a message transmitted through the Formation.

“Jian Lou Ying Shi direction, southeast, ten degrees five minutes thirty-six seconds.”

“Grand Arbiterang Kui, eleven degrees eight minutes fifty-two seconds.”

“Da Huo Jiao, directly in front of you, nine degrees forty-three minutes thirty-nine seconds.”

Li Qi, on his side, instantly sent three coordinates to Balancer's ear.

Three coordinates could form a three-dimensional coordinate system, and the positions before the three coordinates were different orientations of three constellations. Through the three constellations, plus Balancer's own position, a coordinate in the Void Realm could be pinpointed.

Balancer didn't hesitate at all, and a Dharma Idol suddenly unfolded behind him!

The Dharma Idol was a chaotic mix of Yin and Yang Qi, intertwined and balanced.

Within the Dharma Idol, there was the顺 and逆 of Yin and Yang, and the gains and losses of things.

Yin and Yang were mixed, both warm and cool, giving life and death, wind and rain, light and dark, and the judgment of regulation.

It was harmoniously intertwined, containing the nature of health and obedience, rising and falling, bending and stretching. The two Qi of Yin and Yang gathered to form images and shapes, giving rise to myriad changes.

Far and near, deep and shallow, useful for entering and exiting, the two Qi of Yin and Yang filled the Void Realm without gaps, without gaps and without emptiness, illuminating everything, and effective in all applications!

The reality of Yin and Yang, their qualities and talents varied, so their applications and effects also differed. If one speaks of dividing Yin and Yang by movement and stillness, bending and stretching, gathering and dispersing, it is the combination of these two Qi that acts according to the times.

Thus, as time flows and things are born, never ceasing to be born, they naturally combine into one Qi, harmonious and not mutually destructive. The inherent nature of Yin and Yang, which cannot be named or distinguished by form, is what is called 'Divine.'

This was a Dao Orthodoxy different from the Dao of the world, it was the Dao of Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms themselves.

These two worlds had always been dedicated to seeking the tranquility and Fusion of the two Qi of Yin and Yang. This was the fundamental origin of their world's birth, and also the 'grand unification' that their civilization had always pursued.

This was the 'Dao' of Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms, what they considered 'Divine.'

The Dharma Idol erupted with immense power, Yin and Yang combined, then repelled each other!

The two Qi repelled each other, thus prosperity and decline, gain and loss, were all moments of the Yin and Yang Qi opening and closing—

With a rumble, a destructive explosion erupted at the designated location, seemingly intent on devouring everything!

Such Divine Might was like disassembling matter into positive and negative sides, then annihilating them, releasing pure energy!

Matter began to annihilate, and energy surged forth, only to see bursts of blood mist explode in the Void Realm.

For the first time since its appearance, the Human Dao army suffered casualties.

The remains of over a hundred people were thrown out by this blow! They turned into dregs and floated in the boundless space outside the domain.

Balancer's face lit up with joy.

The enemy's stealth method could be broken!

As expected of the Young Master of Shaman God Mountain, he truly was capable. He couldn't see through it himself, yet a Sixth Grade could point out the direction!

“Young Master, quickly continue to report the coordinates!” he immediately responded.

But on the other side, Li Qi shook his head slightly and replied, “I can't do it. I only caught a fleeting flaw. Come back and wait for them to reveal a flaw.”

Balancer didn't hesitate and instantly returned to Li Qi's side.

Shen Shuibi continued to maintain the surrounding 'Golden Core,' while Balancer began to patrol the surroundings. The other soldiers dared not slack off, from beginning to end, from general to Private, no one dared to relax.

If they relaxed for a moment, Human Dao would surely arrive, and they would surely die.

Now, it was a battle of both sides' military quality and endurance.

As for Li Qi, he actually couldn't see the Tang Nation army either.

However, through True Knowledge Dao Resonance, he could see the enemy's 'trail.' As long as the enemy appeared and then disappeared, a massive amount of information would emerge in that instant, like a trail.

Li Qi couldn't understand this information, nor did he know what it represented.

But from where this information appeared, Li Qi could deduce where the enemy had disappeared and where they could hide in the next instant.

However, there was only that fleeting moment of opportunity. If he seized it, he could hit them; if not, he would be completely helpless.

This was with Li Qi possessing True Knowledge Dao Resonance. If he didn't have True Knowledge Dao Resonance, then Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms, facing such a Tang Nation army, could only be easily toyed with by the enemy. They could even wipe out both worlds, including Balancer, a Fifth Grade, without a single casualty to themselves, and without even showing their faces.

This was the Tang Nation Military School of Thought's military strength. And this wasn't even the main army, just a stealth infiltration detachment.

Fortunately, this time there was Shen Shuibi and Li Qi.

Shen Shuibi, with her Golden Core Formation, was incredibly sturdy, like a turtle shell, making it impossible for this detachment to escape or be killed.

If it were just a turtle, it could eventually be worn down, but there was also Li Qi. True Knowledge Dao Resonance allowed him to detect the enemy's whereabouts, which gave the turtle the power to extend its head and counterattack.

Thus, it became a war of attrition. The Tang Nation people would appear and ambush, then Balancer would strike, exchanging lives, using the lives of the Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms people for the lives of the Tang Nation people.

Although this sounds cruel and cold-blooded, to be honest...

It was a huge profit, an enormous profit.

To be able to exchange the lives of all the people of Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms for this Tang Nation detachment would be an overwhelming victory, to the point of being able to declare that Shaman Dao had achieved the first step of victory in the vanguard battle.

But what if they didn't act and just remained in a stalemate?

At most, in three days, Shaman Dao reinforcements would arrive, and then there would be no way out.

Therefore, the Tang Nation people only had one choice: to break through Shen Shuibi's Golden Core. This way, whether they fled or fought, they would have a chance.

It was just... this was truly difficult. The combat power displayed by this current Tang Nation detachment was far from enough.

Shen Shuibi was very strong.

Unless the enemy's general pulled out some other tricks, it would be difficult for him to retreat unscathed.

He didn't know what they were thinking, bringing ten thousand people and daring to rush over for a beheading attempt.

Thinking carefully, Li Qi seemed to understand.

After all, neither Shen Shuibi, Li Qi, nor Balancer could see the enemy. If there was no True Knowledge Dao Resonance, these ten thousand people could cut through Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms as easily as eating, finishing in at most a day.

However, the problem was...

Didn't Human Dao know that Li Qi had True Knowledge Dao Resonance?

They certainly knew. Not only did they know, Li Qi had personally seen a Human Dao First Grade, that Grand Tutor. The other party must have been able to see all of Li Qi's foundations clearly at that time.

Why would they still send such an army? To die? Or was it that his progress had exceeded the Tang Nation people's expectations, causing them to miscalculate, and the army that was originally capable of destroying him was now unable to do so?

Li Qi frowned slightly at this thought.

But he continued to maintain the Formation, while also mobilizing other support.

Shen Shuibi remained silent, maintaining the Golden Core.

Balancer watched every possible flaw like a tiger eyeing its prey.

After that, three full days passed.

After three days, reinforcements arrived.

A Fifth Grade World Master arrived with his subordinate legion.

“Young Master, reinforcements have arrived!” the World Master shouted from outside, his voice penetrating space through magic, reaching Li Qi's ear.

“World Master of Bound Heavenly Eye, please open your eye and see if there are any traces of Tang Nation inside!” Li Qi immediately responded.

“As Young Master commands!” the Fifth Grade World Master said. Then, he opened his eyes, which merged into a single beam of light, and a Heavenly Eye opened within it, beginning to scan.

This was a genuine Heavenly Eye, from the Divine Dao Heavenly Court, a Bloodline Legacy of a Great Power.

Most of the descendants of this Great Power inherited this pair of Heavenly Eyes.

It was said that there were also Heavenly Eyes on the forehead, with even greater Divine Might than this clairvoyant eye, but those were not things that could be inherited through Bloodline; one had to cultivate them oneself or be born with them.

In any case, Li Qi also knew that to find the enemy, he had to find an outside helper skilled in observation, which was why he summoned this world with the Divine Blood of clairvoyance.

But...

The Fifth Grade World Master scanned around and then said, puzzled, “Young Master, there's nothing! I can't see anything!”

“World Master, look carefully. This is the Human Dao Military School of Thought's 'as inscrutable as Yin' method. None of us can see through it,” Li Qi immediately responded.

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Grade World Master frowned slightly, then formed a hand seal, and a Dharma Idol rose.

That Dharma Idol was not human-shaped, but a spherical eyeball. The eyeball was not made of flesh and blood, but of metal.

It was engraved with runes and depicted images: a simplified armillary sphere, an armillary sphere, a sighting device, a sundial, a gnomon and sundial, and a clepsydra.

The outer surface was divided into three hundred and sixty degrees, with an equatorial circle inside. It rotated east and west around the north and south poles, tangent to the inner surface of the circle. The diameter of the circle was the circular axis, with a cylindrical column at the center of the axis, as well as a sliding pointer, a plumb line, intersecting beams, and screw posts, both sides engraved with the celestial sphere.

To call it an eyeball was less accurate than to call it... an armillary sphere.

When that eyeball Dharma Idol fixed its gaze and scanned, even Li Qi felt as if all the magic on him had been penetrated.

After scanning again like this, the Fifth Grade World Master quickly put away his Dharma Idol. His eyes were red, indicating that this type of magic was a great burden for him as well.

After putting it away, he replied to Li Qi, “Young Master, still nothing!”

This made Li Qi frown.

Then, he said to Shen Shuibi, “Shui Bi, stop the Formation.”

Shen Shuibi withdrew the Golden Core Formation upon hearing this, and the other Jia Yang Three Realms and Jia Yin Three Realms cultivators who had been maintaining the Formation finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been three days. They could finally catch their breath.

Although there were Great Powers helping to maintain the Formation, the pressure they bore was not small. This Formation truly couldn't function without them.

The moment the Golden Core was dispelled—

Li Qi suddenly received information from other parts of the world cluster he controlled.

Human Dao had launched an offensive elsewhere!

On his side, the enemy was just trying to divert his attention.

That Tang army had already retreated!