Mastering the War God’s Array

Nine days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the main hall of the Skyless Palace, over ten thousand Celestial Immortals sat cross-legged, each surrounded by floating blood-colored runic symbols. Ji Ning was surrounded by them as well—countless blood-red runes swirling around him, each radiating a shocking battle-intent. Yet the runes seemed to be missing something, constantly rotating… Finally, as a final rune coalesced before Ji Ning, all of the blood-colored runes instantly connected into a single whole, and the battle-intent explosively surged.

“Done.” Ji Ning opened his eyes, gazing at the runes floating around him. “This Xingtian Formation is truly abstruse. It cost me nine full days to master it. But it truly is the most suitable great formation for offensive warfare. No wonder it was created by the ‘Supreme War God’ Xingtian the True God himself.”

Xingtian was known as the Supreme War God of antiquity.

Extremely fond of battle. He had become a True God while continuing to fight after being beheaded, using his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth, still locked in combat. From this, one could see how fierce and crazed Xingtian’s battle-intent was.

“Eh?”

Ji Ning looked around. The Diancai Immortal and Yu Wei were still meditating, but Tonghe’s seat was empty.

“Tonghe already mastered it?” Ji Ning rose as well. The Skyless Palace was quiet, with everyone still in deep contemplation. Sovereign Xia and the five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals had temporarily left as well; after all, they wouldn’t simply sit there stupidly for half a month. Ji Ning walked toward the main hall’s exit and soon saw a crowd of Celestial Immortals on the floating clouds outside, chatting and laughing. A quick glance showed over sixty of them, all of whom had apparently already mastered the formation.

Mastering the Xingtian Formation required high comprehension. Naturally, those with a high enough Dao-realm and deep study of formations could also learn it extremely quickly.

“Fellow Daoist Darknorth.”

“So Fellow Daoist Darknorth has mastered it as well?”

“We’ve lived for billions of years, so it’s only natural we learned it quickly. Fellow Daoist Darknorth’s comprehension is truly astonishing.” The Celestial Immortals all spoke in a friendly manner.

Ji Ning smiled and responded politely. After all, these sixty-plus were the elite among Celestial Immortals, and many were comparable to Tonghe the Celestial Immortal.

“Ji Ning.” Tonghe the Celestial Immortal walked over. “I only just mastered it a short while ago. You’re only a step behind. Looks like you’ll be a major rival of mine in the competition to become one of the commanders.”

“Fellow Daoist Tonghe flatters me,” Ji Ning said, shaking his head. “This Grand Xia world is filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. To rank in the top nine among ten thousand Celestial Immortals is no easy task. Ah, I have something to discuss with Sovereign Xia.”

“Go ahead,” Tonghe nodded.

Ji Ning immediately walked to a nearby attendant and asked him to deliver a message.

“I will inform Sovereign Xia at once, Immortal Darknorth. Please wait a moment.” The attendant swiftly left to report.

…

In a side hall.

Sovereign Xia was sitting alone before a desk. On the desk lay a map of the entire Grand Xia world, and he was staring at it in deep concentration. Just then, the black-robed Ji Ning walked in from outside.

“You’ve come.” Sovereign Xia looked up.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Ji Ning bowed.

“No need for such formalities in private.” Sovereign Xia smiled. “So, what is it you need to see me about?”

Ji Ning said directly, “I have a request for Your Majesty.”

“Speak,” Sovereign Xia said.

Ji Ning explained, “I know that during this great calamity of the Three Realms, all Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals are required to fight. But I would like to ask Your Majesty to ensure that my Dao-companion, Yu Wei, does not have to participate in the battle.”

“Not participate? That…” Sovereign Xia frowned. “Why is that?”

“My Dao-companion is pregnant,” Ji Ning explained. “If the battle causes too much shock and impact, while a Celestial Immortal’s body can recover, harming the fetus within…”

Sovereign Xia immediately broke into a smile. “Fire Rainbow Immortal is pregnant? And you didn’t tell me?”

“Only very few know of it,” Ji Ning said. He hadn’t made a public announcement, precisely because he feared someone might target Yu Wei. Only those closest to him knew. However, after his Primaltwin had overcome its tribulation, his master Bodhi’s words had made Ji Ning realize that as long as word spread to even a second person, the Seamless Gate might learn of it.

Ji Ning also understood… that the Seamless Gate likely already knew that Yu Wei was pregnant. He had to be even more cautious.

“Don’t worry. Since she’s pregnant, naturally Fire Rainbow Immortal won’t have to fight,” Sovereign Xia said. “But once she gives birth to the child, she will still need to participate in battle. During a calamity like this… no one is allowed to shirk their duty casually.”

“I understand,” Ji Ning nodded.

Just then, someone walked in from outside.

Ji Ning sensed it and looked over. “Greetings, Senior Dongyan.” The newcomer was Dongyan the True Immortal.

Dongyan the True Immortal smiled. “I heard that you had awakened from your meditations, so I wanted to see you. I didn’t expect to find you here with His Majesty.”

“May I ask what Senior wishes to see me about?” Ji Ning asked.

“I was hoping you could do me a favor,” Dongyan the True Immortal said.

“A favor?” Ji Ning was surprised. “Senior’s power far surpasses my own.”

Dongyan the True Immortal shook his head. “What use is higher power? In this great calamity, even major powers will fall without it being unusual. I was thinking… if I die, I hope you will take care of Nine Lotos on my behalf. Not that you need to watch over her personally—just a bit of protection so that she can live on safely.”

Ji Ning was startled. Nine Lotos?

He had long since cut off his feelings for Nine Lotos. However, in the heartforge illusion world, he had spent thirty thousand years entangled with her, which had left a considerable mark on him.

“If it is within my power, I will naturally provide my protection. After all, Nine Lotos is my senior apprentice-sister,” Ji Ning said.

“With your word, that’s enough.” Dongyan the True Immortal sighed emotionally.

“Dongyan, you’re too cautious,” Sovereign Xia said. “You became a Pure Yang True Immortal long ago, yet you always used your Primaltwin to show yourself. Now that the calamity has arrived and you can no longer hide, you sent your entire tribe to your master long ago. And now you’re entrusting things to Ji Ning as well?”

Ji Ning was shocked to hear this. So Patriarch Dongyan had long since become a Pure Yang True Immortal. The ‘Celestial Immortal’ everyone had known was merely his Primaltwin.

“Showing your true strength in a calamity only gets you killed faster,” Dongyan the True Immortal said with a shake of his head. “By the way, Xiamang, among these eleven thousand Celestial Immortals… I fear there are spies from the Seamless Gate. If those nine commander positions are taken by spies…”

Ji Ning also looked at Sovereign Xia.

“There are definitely spies, but knowing that, what can we do?” Sovereign Xia shook his head. “The spies of the Seamless Gate are simply too hard to discover. They swear Heavenly Dao oaths, yet even if they violate them, they are not punished by the Heavenly Dao. They have infiltrated even the sides of the various Daofathers. I suspect that the spies we have found are merely a small fraction.”

“Infiltrating to the sides of the Daofathers? Swearing Heavenly Dao oaths without being punished?” Ji Ning was shocked.

Sovereign Xia looked at Ji Ning and nodded. “That’s right. You are still weak and are mainly focusing on preparing to overcome the Empyrean Tribulation. So I imagine your master hasn’t told you much. Once you become an Empyrean God, you will be told everything. The methods of the Seamless Gate… are beyond your imagination. Their intelligence-gathering methods, their infiltration methods… truly, they are ‘seamless!’ Seamless, seamless… they seep in through every crack!”

Ji Ning felt a chill run down his spine. “But how can they swear a Heavenly Dao oath and not be punished for violating it? That makes no sense.”

“Why doesn’t it make sense? Daofathers have fully comprehended the Heavenly Dao and mastered it; Heavenly Dao oaths are useless against them,” Sovereign Xia said. “Heavenly Dao oaths are useless against Daofathers. They might also be useless against others. It’s just that not everyone can use such methods. Clearly, the Seamless Gate can!”

“They can detect everyone who undergoes a Heavenly Tribulation.”

“Heavenly Dao oaths are useless against them.”

“Some of them have even become disciples of the leaders of the Daoist school and the Buddhist school!” Sovereign Xia sighed. “The two leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist paths have vast divine powers and have discovered some clues. They have uncovered some spies. But I fear those are merely the tiniest fraction of the total.”

Sovereign Xia lamented, “And that is what makes this a true calamity!”

Ji Ning nodded.

Yes.

Even his master Bodhi, a being of such vast power, had to be extremely cautious. The Seamless Gate was far too mysterious, its methods too unfathomable. Ji Ning even had the feeling that the Seamless Gate could manipulate the very laws of Heaven and Earth, able to detect the time and location of any Heavenly Tribulation. They were even immune to Heavenly Dao oaths.

“I will be extremely cautious regarding these nine commander positions,” Sovereign Xia said. “I will not allow them to fall into the hands of spies. Honestly, I think that among these eleven thousand Celestial Immortals, even if there are a few spies, the chances of them seizing the top nine positions are extremely low. Afterwards, I will constantly investigate with great care. The moment I find anything suspicious, I will immediately capture them.”

Soon, the fifteen days given to the Celestial Immortals to comprehend the Xingtian Formation came to an end.

Skyless Palace, main hall.

Sovereign Xia sat high on his throne, looking down at the assembled crowd. He smiled. “Fellow Immortals, the fifteen days are up. I trust you have all mastered the ‘Entry-Level Scroll’ of the Xingtian Formation.”

The Celestial Immortals present all laughed.

The Xingtian Formation was divided into the Foundation Scroll, the Entry-Level Scroll, and the Complete Scroll.

The Foundation Scroll was taught to the Loose Immortals. It was quite simple; even a Loose Immortal could learn it in a single day.

Mastering the Entry-Level Scroll was a bit harder, but for Celestial Immortals, even the slowest only took two days.

The difficulty of mastering the entire Xingtian Formation skyrocketed by a factor of a thousand or even ten thousand.

“Those of you who have mastered the complete Xingtian Formation, please come to the center of the great hall,” Sovereign Xia announced.

Immediately, one after another, they rose.

Ji Ning and Tonghe the Celestial Immortal also rose and walked to the center of the hall. A crowd of Celestial Immortals stood below the throne.

“We have a total of three hundred and fifty-nine,” Sovereign Xia said with a smile. “One short of the full number of Heavenly cycles. Perfection is rarely achieved in Heaven and Earth. Fellow Immortals… please prepare yourselves. One hour from now, I will have each of you lead a thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals to form the Xingtian Formation. I will test the power of the Xingtian Formation under your command. The nine with the most power will be the nine commanders.”

…

A short while later.

In the imperial palace square, over a million Loose Immortals had gathered, stretching out beyond the visible horizon.

By now, the Loose Immortals had all retreated, leaving an empty space a thousand li in circumference. Surrounding this empty space stood over ten thousand Celestial Immortals, as well as Sovereign Xia and his retinue.

“A thousand Celestial Immortals and a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, enter the arena,” Sovereign Xia commanded.

The pre-assigned thousand Celestial Immortals and hundred thousand Loose Immortals soared into the air, then flew into the thousand-li expanse.

“Fellow Daoist Beichen, you shall go first,” Sovereign Xia said.

Beichen the Celestial Immortal respectfully acknowledged: “As you command.” He then stepped into the thousand-li space. The moment he entered, a hazy light enveloped the entire thousand-li range, forming a massive sealing formation.