The Eternal Way-Chapter 208: Life-and-Death Struggle

Yes, in the previous Guangyang region, no one was capable of controlling the mountain-water grand formation.

This was also one of the reasons why Chan Zhi felt at ease.

No one could control the mountain-water formation. The only possible candidate was imprisoned within his five-story pagoda.

Other Shamans and Diviners (Wu Xí) would need to be either a top-tier Rank Eight or even Rank Seven to have any chance of controlling such a formation.

If there were truly someone of that strength rushing over, he would definitely sense their presence—aura wasn't something easily concealed.

All things were formed from Qi, and the aura of cultivators was especially radiant and prominent.

Even if someone specialized in stealth and concealment, sneaking in unnoticed, how could they also specialize in conducting sacrifices?

Hosting a sacrifice was no simple matter. All taboos, precautions, coordination among various parties, and whether gods, spirits, and ghosts would believe in it—all these factors had to be considered.

Thus, Chan Zhi concluded that the mountain-water formation would inevitably remain unusable. Apart from his own Rank Seven puppet, there was nothing else in Guangyang City capable of forcibly activating the mountain-water formation.

In normal circumstances, this line of reasoning was correct and difficult to fault.

But where he went wrong—

Who could have predicted that in a small place like Guangyang, there would be two Young Masters of Wu Deity Mountain, and they were working together?

After Shen Shuibei summoned him and divided her attention...

The first thing Li Qi did was touch Shen Shuibei's tail, even pulling on it to test its texture.

The second thing he did was arrange an alliance and call for someone far away. (Refer to Chapter 197.)

At that time, the person his alliance called upon was Bo Yue, with whom he had previously formed an "alliance."

Both were Rank Nine, both Young Masters of Wu Deity Mountain. Even though Bo Yue specialized in divination, hosting a mountain-water formation was still within his capabilities.

And so, Chan Zhi fell into a trap.

Bo Yue stood a thousand miles away, positioned at the center of the mountain-water formation, manipulating the entire network with one hand.

Beside Bo Yue, a trembling little monster nervously bit her lips, terrified.

"Don't be afraid. Since you're Li Qi's subordinate and have guided me here, I won't make things difficult for you. Relax," Bo Yue said indifferently.

He had changed his clothes, now wearing a plain gray robe. He still looked like a young man, his long hair tied up and draped over his shoulder.

His expression was extremely detached, revealing nothing of his thoughts, but neither did he seem cold. His demeanor was peculiar.

Most of his energy was focused on conducting the sacrifice, leaving him less responsive to external stimuli.

A flood of information streamed past his eyes, as if the essence of the world was converging upon him.

Countless pieces of data flooded his mind. Every detail of Guangyang—the mountains, rivers, earth veins, and water veins—was crystal clear to him.

He could hear the sound of every water vein, like blood flowing through veins.

He could hear the pulsing of the mountains, like a heart beating forcefully.

Just over a month ago, when Li Qi used their alliance to summon him, he hadn't planned to come.

Why should he help him?

However, Li Qi told him that there was an unclaimed mountain-water formation waiting for him to use.

So, he came.

For someone like him, the temptation of being able to host an unclaimed mountain-water formation was immense. This was a rare opportunity to communicate with countless gods, observe them all at once, and understand the flow of a region's earth veins and water veins.

For a diviner, this meant acquiring vast amounts of data.

Divination, aside from metaphysical elements, was largely about calculations.

Whether it was Buddhism's Three Lifetimes Deduction Method, Wu Dao's divination, Daoism's Yin-Yang Numerology, or Humanism's statistical methods, they all relied on computation.

Take the Three Lifetimes Deduction Method as an example. This method observed past lives, analyzed the present life, and deduced the next life. It could predict where someone would reincarnate and what their next life would look like—an incredibly profound technique, especially for finding people.

Thanks to this method, Buddhists could constantly play tricks like "true soul reincarnation" or "rebirth cultivation," as they could calculate where souls would reincarnate next.

This wasn't an easy task.

Normally, knowing where someone would reincarnate required a Rank Five escort throughout the process, bribing underworld officials, and navigating relationships with the Ten Yama Kings and judges. Otherwise, even gods wouldn't know where someone might reincarnate.

Even the Ten Yama Kings themselves didn't always know where someone would reincarnate unless a Rank Five escort followed the soul closely. Bribing officials merely allowed you to tag along with the lingering true soul.

Reincarnation wasn't confined to Tianxia (Under Heaven).

It encompassed the entire universe and infinite worlds. Following someone through reincarnation wasn't simple—it required at least Rank Five strength, and one would endure backlash from the cycle of rebirth.

Under normal circumstances, no one could follow someone through reincarnation without violating the rules of the cycle.

However, if one could bear the cost of breaking the rules, then there were no rules to speak of.

Because of this cost, even major powers rarely deployed so many Rank Five individuals to escort each soul. Only important figures received such treatment; most others were left to fate after death.

But Buddhism, thanks to the Three Lifetimes Deduction Method, could achieve feats like orchestrating ten lifetimes of reincarnation or nine lifetimes of rebirth.

The key to the Three Lifetimes Deduction Method lay in the word "deduction."

Through some unknown method, it observed the transformations of three lifetimes and deduced the next life.

The most crucial aspect was "observation." Gathering sufficient data, calculating, and deducing led to conclusions approximating reality.

Not to mention Yin-Yang Numerology, which had no metaphysical component and relied purely on algorithms and computational power.

Wu Dao's divination techniques, while heavily metaphysical, also involved significant calculation.

Thus, being able to use a regional mountain-water formation to observe the distribution of countless gods, earth veins, and water veins was immensely tempting for Bo Yue. For him, this equated to acquiring vast amounts of firsthand data.

Using this data, he could extrapolate and apply insights, drastically improving his accuracy when divining earth veins and water veins in the future.

Such opportunities were almost nonexistent under normal circumstances.

Mountain-water formations were strategic weapons for each region. No one casually activated them for fun, not even a Young Master of Wu Deity Mountain could act recklessly.

If he acted arrogantly based on his status, the first to punish him would be his master.

But Li Qi had given him this opportunity.

So, he came without hesitation.

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

A butterfly-turned-mountain god, though not yet ranked, already possessed a rudimentary golden body and personally welcomed him.

Then, this mountain god led him here and presented the diagram of the mountain-water formation.

How Li Qi obtained it was unclear.

With Li Qi's thorough preparations, Bo Yue gladly saved himself the effort.

Collaborating with smart people was indeed convenient.

After all, Li Qi only asked him to do one thing:

Connect with countless gods, activate the mountain-water formation, and hold a grand blood sacrifice visible across Guangyang Province and even the Hundred Forests Nation.

And the offering—

Was Chan Zhi.

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

The mountain-water formation was slowly activating.

This wasn't the civilian-grade array used to regulate earth veins earlier.

This was the ultimate trump card built specifically to resist the Swallowing Heaven Demon Nest.

Once the sacrifice began, with countless gods cooperating, even a Rank Seven cultivator would be instantly killed.

Thinking of this, Bo Yue suddenly realized something.

"Ah, right, Li... Li Zhufang, is it?" Bo Yue turned to look at the twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl behind him.

Though she appeared twelve or thirteen, considering the lifespan of butterfly demons, she had likely lived only four or five years.

In other words, she was still a child.

He didn't know how Li Qi had convinced her, but her talent was commendable. At this age, she was already walking the path of gods and might enter Rank Nine within a year or two.

Bo Yue remembered this was characteristic of insect demons.

Insect demons with poor talent weren't even qualified to take human form. Their lifespans were only a few months, some even living just a single day. If their talent was lacking, they wouldn't even have the chance to become demons.

"Yes, may I ask what you require of me?" Li Zhufang quickly bowed and asked cautiously.

"Nothing. Just stay back and avoid getting caught in the crossfire," Bo Yue waved his hand dismissively.

He had initially considered asking this little demon for assistance, but given her youth, he decided against it. Better to let her stay out of harm's way.

"Stay back? Shouldn't there be no aftershocks?" Li Zhufang asked, puzzled.

"Normally, there shouldn't be any aftershocks," Bo Yue nodded. "But if someone contests with me, that's another matter."

"Move back half a mile. Things are about to get violent," Bo Yue smiled and then fully immersed himself in the mountain-water formation.

---

At the same moment Bo Yue spoke, the activation of the mountain-water formation suddenly stalled.

The intense summons felt across Guangyang abruptly halted, stuck in limbo!

Another force had intervened.

All the gods connected to the mountain-water formation could sense that the host of the sacrifice was no longer one person, but two!

How could there be two hosts?

They were confused.

The carefully arranged formation and the already connected gods were bewildered.

They didn't know whom to obey.

Wasn't the activation of the mountain-water formation a serious matter? It required consensus among countless gods to succeed, but now... how could the two leaders conflict?

The multitude of gods didn't understand why.

But Chan Zhi and Bo Yue knew.

As Bo Yue initiated the sacrifice, Chan Zhi finally shed all pretenses.

He understood. Li Qi intended to kill him here.

Though he didn't know how a mere Rank Nine could gather so much support, there was no doubt the preparations were thorough.

But Chan Zhi realized that Li Qi had overlooked one thing.

He still had a puppet.

Guangyang Sima, a practitioner of witchcraft.

This puppet could also host the mountain-water formation.

Thus, Chan Zhi split his focus. On one hand, he manipulated Guangyang Sima to immediately intervene in the mountain-water formation, preventing its activation. On the other hand, he unleashed his full power to confront the Rat King.

"Damn it!" Chan Zhi cursed inwardly, seething with anger.

Seizing control of the mountain-water formation wasn't easy.

He had avoided using it because he didn't know how!

Hosting a sacrifice? Conducting Buddhist rituals and ceremonies was one thing, but this mountain-water sacrifice was completely beyond him.

But now, if he allowed the other side to host the formation, he would surely die here.

Even if it was forcing him into unfamiliar territory, he had to stop the other side.

He didn't aim to seize control of the mountain-water formation, only to ensure the other side failed.

He had to obstruct this person!

At the same time, he acted without hesitation.

Defeat the Rat King as quickly as possible and kill everyone present! Then find that suddenly emerged sacrificer and kill him too!

This was his only chance now.

And that Li Qi... he couldn't be spared!

What audacity! He had been lenient with Li Qi. Had Li Qi appreciated it and cooperated sincerely for a year or two, he would have granted him freedom, benefiting both sides.

But Li Qi chose to court death instead!

Once this situation was resolved, he would turn Li Qi into a human torch, burning his soul and flesh dry! Let him suffer in hell's flames for a hundred years!

This was the price for plotting against him!

Did Li Qi think this could kill him?

What a foolish dream!

A mere Rank Nine couldn't comprehend how strong he was!

Chan Zhi's wrath burned fiercely, his killing intent surging violently. His body expanded a thousandfold, crushing mountains and collapsing rivers, transforming into a colossal demon!

Seeing this, the Rat King, who had been engaging Chan Zhi, bristled with alarm and immediately retreated!

He knew Chan Zhi well. They had traveled together from the Western Heavens to Baiyue.

When Chan Zhi emitted this kind of aura, it meant he was going all out!

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Then, Chan Zhi held a flower in one hand and a palm aloft in the other, chanting loudly: "All beings' bodies decay and their lives end! The three calamities of beasts, hungry ghosts, and Asuras arise, devouring all beings without remainder. Humanity perishes entirely, this world collapses, becoming a disaster!"

As he spoke, the Three-Inch Demon Realm exploded, transforming into a vortex.

From the vortex surged calamities.

The gates of the lower three realms of the Six Paths—Beast, Hungry Ghost, and Asura—opened.

This wasn't the illusionary hell created by the Three-Inch Demon Realm.

The hellish illusions were merely phantoms of souls slain and absorbed by Chan Zhi within the realm.

What opened now was real—a genuine calamity.

From the Beast Path, Hungry Ghost Path, and Asura Path of the Six Paths, countless beings poured out!

A great black storm erupted! Countless beasts, hungry ghosts, and blue-faced, fanged Asuras surged forth, devouring the souls within the Three-Inch Demon Realm. Eerie, piercing screams filled the air.

Almost visibly, the souls within Chan Zhi's Three-Inch Demon Realm began to dissipate. These souls were devoured by the emerging hungry ghosts, beasts, and Asuras, causing Chan Zhi's cultivation to regress.

But it was worth it.

Sacrificing some cultivation was a small price.

Soon, there wouldn't be a single living person left in Guangyang Province.

As long as he prevented the mountain-water formation from being seized, everything would be restored—and more!