The Formation of Armies

Two floating fortress-cities hung in the air, facing each other from a great distance.

The Seamless Gate camp was the first to send out a vast army, issuing a challenge to battle in the desolate wilderness below.

The first time they issued their challenge, the Nuwa Alliance camp did not respond at all. They completely ignored it. When the Seamless Gate challenged a second time, the Nuwa Alliance still refused to engage.

Issuing a battle challenge…

The insults slung were vicious beyond measure. The more vicious, the better! These Immortals and Fiendgods were crude and savage in their provocations.

The third challenge came. Still, none went out.

“Master, the Seamless Gate is challenging us again,” a yellow-robed youth said respectfully.

Suiren (Flaming Humanity) was seated at his desk, leisurely flipping through a book. Hearing his disciple’s report, he chuckled softly. “As expected of Daofather Demonhand. If the Seamless Gate had sent any other Daofather, they likely wouldn’t be so aggressively sharp-edged.”

To know your enemy and know yourself was how you seized victory.

The Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance had once coexisted peacefully for a long, long age. Everyone knew the history of Daofather Demonhand in the ‘Seamless Chaosworld’. Though this Daofather Demonhand was a madman amongst the mighty, she was exceptionally skilled in leading armies. Her disciples were all women, and those female disciples of hers—each and every one—was just as insane.

A pack of madwomen swept across the world. In their prime, they had conquered the vast Seamless Chaosworld. It took the ‘Lord of the Heartlord’ to finally suppress Daofather Demonhand.

In head-on warfare, the Lord of the Heartlord was no match for Daofather Demonhand.

But when it came to delving into the hearts of men, to controlling the very Heartfiends themselves… who could surpass the ‘Lord of the Heartlord’? Conquering a world was not merely about war. In the end, it was the Lord of the Heartlord who unified the Seamless Chaosworld.

“Mm.” Suiren set down his book and gave a slight smile. “Pass the order. We will answer their challenge.”

“Oh…” The yellow-robed youth was just about to respond with his usual calm, but suddenly his eyes widened in shock as he stared at Suiren.

“What are you waiting for?” Suiren stood up.

“Yes, yes. This disciple will go at once.” The yellow-robed youth immediately flew out, beginning the muster.

Suiren walked outside and stood at the railing, gazing down at the immense city below. As the orders were issued, the vast armies within the city began to assemble with incredible speed. Suiren nodded gently to himself. “The fourth challenge. Just about right. This is the pivotal battle. If we win this, the struggle for the fate of the world is as good as half-won.”

Despite his calm and composed demeanor, Suiren was utterly focused, cautious, and reverent.

In the ancient times, when he had fought for supremacy over the human race, a loss meant little. The Three Sovereigns of Humanity had all lived on; it was merely a change in leadership. But this war against the Seamless Gate was a war of camps, a war of life and death. There was not the slightest margin for carelessness.

“We must win.” A terrifying light flickered in Suiren's eyes.

…

On the city walls.

Patriarch Subhuti, Suiren, and Flintlord all stood side-by-side, gazing into the distance at the opposing armies on the desolate field.

Ji Ning, the yellow-robed youth, and a few other disciples followed behind them, not daring to breathe too loudly. All of them understood the immense weight of this battle.

“Boom.”

“Rumble.”

“Huuum~~”

On the distant wilderness, both armies were forming their various battle formations.

The Seamless Gate possessed three great formations: the ‘Seamless Limitless Formation’, the ‘Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation’, and the ‘Boundless Demonfiend Formation’. Each required two to three hundred Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to form and was terrifyingly powerful. There were also puppets—some of which possessed an aura even more fearsome than the ‘Daofather Puppet’ of old, their names unknown even to Ji Ning—glowing with a violet light that inspired dread.

The Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation was arrayed in three instances. Above each of those three great formations, countless black dragons writhed and swam. Each one of those wandering dragons was not inferior to an Empyrean God in power. And their numbers… were simply too immense.

The Seamless Limitless Formation had two instances.

The Boundless Demonfiend Formation also had two instances, transforming into two towering pillars of white-haired, red-eyed demon gods.

On the side of the ‘Nuwa Alliance’…

They too possessed three great formations: the ‘Zhou Tian Star Formation’, the ‘Myriad Immortal Annihilation Formation’, and the ‘Pangu Genesis Formation’. They had three instances of the Zhou Tian Star Formation, a full five instances of the Myriad Immortal Annihilation Formation, and only a single instance of the Pangu Genesis Formation!

In addition, there were over a hundred ‘Seven Radiance Sky Gods’ scattered throughout their ranks, providing flexibility.

As for puppets? The Nuwa Alliance had none at all. It was clear that at this level of engagement, only puppets powerful enough truly mattered. The Nuwa Alliance simply didn’t have puppets of this caliber.

“In terms of formations, the Seamless Gate is far inferior to us,” Patriarch Subhuti said calmly from the city walls. “The Seamless Limitless Formation was created by the Lord of the Heartlord himself. As for the Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation, the Seamless Gate stole it from us through espionage. We never imagined things would come to this, so we passed on such formations. As for the Boundless Demonfiend Formation… it was likely created by Master Stonerule. It’s the most formidable of the three, but it still cannot compare to our own ‘Pangu Genesis Formation’.”

“The Pangu Genesis Formation was created by Lady Nuwa after she broke through to become a World God. She spent a great deal of time perfecting it, and it is one of the three clan-guiding formations she left behind before she departed.” Suiren laughed. “How could they possibly match it?”

“It is fortunate that Lady Nuwa foresaw this. She strictly ordered that these three clan-guiding formations must never be leaked to outsiders. Only now do we have the confidence to suppress our enemies,” Patriarch Subhuti said with a sigh.

Flintlord nodded gently. “Indeed. We can thank the heavens for these three clan-guiding formations.”

Ji Ning, listening from the side, nodded to himself.

He had also heard of this…

If the Nuwa Alliance was envious of the Seamless Gate’s puppets, then the Seamless Gate was equally covetous of the Nuwa Alliance’s ‘three clan-guiding formations’. These three clan-guiding formations were all created by Lady Nuwa after her breakthrough to the World God level. She had poured endless blood and spirit into them, worried that after she left, terrible foreign races like the ‘Lord of All Demons’ might appear once more, leaving the Three Realms defenseless. So she created these three formations.

The three clan-guiding formations typically used a True God or Daofather as their core, supported by a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, unleashing a power that shook the heavens and the earth!

Simplified versions could use Empyrean Gods and True Immortals at their core, but naturally, their power was significantly reduced. Even so… they were far beyond what the Seamless Gate could match.

“The Pangu Genesis Formation.” Ji Ning looked into the distance.

This particular Pangu Genesis Formation had Immortal Jimin, the ‘Sky-Exceeding Sword Immortal’ and disciple of Daofather Fuju, at its core. Five hundred and eighty Empyrean Gods assisted him, forming a formation of overwhelming might! Its power was comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather. The key factor was that Immortal Jimin was the sole Empyrean God or True Immortal in the Three Realms to have mastered the ‘Five Treasures Sword Art’.

His sword-art, which transcended the limits of the Heavenly Dao, was what allowed this Pangu Genesis Formation to unleash its truly terrifying potential.

“I remember… in my past life, after I died and entered the Netherworld Kingdom, I encountered this same Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation.” Ji Ning felt a wave of emotion. That long-ago formation, which had devastated the very heavens and earth and even shattered the Six Paths of Reincarnation, now appeared before him once more. Back then, in the Netherworld Kingdom, Ji Ning had merely been a weak mortal soul.

A single brush from even one of those calamity dragons would have been enough to scatter his soul.

“It has begun.”

Everyone on the city walls felt a surge of tension.

Patriarch Subhuti, Flintlord, and Suiren were all watching intently. Suiren, in particular, was using his divine sense to cover the entire battlefield, continuously adjusting his troop placements and coordinating the Seven Radiance Sky Gods alongside the various great formations.

…

The Nuwa Alliance had nine great formations, each with a single core.

Three of Patriarch Subhuti’s disciples were commanding formations of this magnitude: Phoenix Sky, Golden Crow, and Jun Wu.

Senior apprentice-brother Golden Crow commanded one instance of the Seamless Limitless Formation.

Senior apprentice-sister Phoenix Sky and senior apprentice-brother Jun Wu each commanded an instance of the Myriad Immortal Annihilation Formation.

“Go.”

The towering and vast Myriad Immortal Annihilation Formation was composed of one hundred True Immortals, one hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and over a hundred million Loose Immortals. It gathered the limitless power of heaven and earth.

Above the formation, a colossal human figure manifested—it was Senior Apprentice-Brother Jun Wu, clad in flowing white robes. He held a painting brush in his hand, and with a casual stroke across the sky, countless blades and soldiers appeared in the air, charging straight at the distant Seamless Gate forces. With another stroke, endless heavenly soldiers and generals materialized and surged forward.

“Senior apprentice-brother Jun Wu.” Ji Ning looked on with anticipation. This senior apprentice-brother Jun Wu was the child who had loved to paint, whom Patriarch Subhuti had accepted as a disciple so long ago. After meeting Patriarch Subhuti, he had only received a single sentence of guidance, and in a single night, that child had comprehended a complete Dao—the ‘Dao of Brush and Ink’. He was widely considered the most talented disciple under Patriarch Subhuti’s tutelage.

Fighting against Jun Wu was the most headache-inducing experience imaginable. His methods were too vast and complex. That single brush in his hand could paint nearly anything in the world. Yet, perhaps because his methods were far too diverse, Senior Apprentice-Brother Jun Wu had still not become a Daofather to this day.