Immortal Road.

Chapter 173: Do something big before leaving

At night, the waning moon hangs high in the sky and the north wind blows fiercely.

The Gongsun family's internal protective formation was opened, and the surroundings were covered by a sky-high light curtain. The light pollution caused by the strong light brought by the formation directly blocked out the starlight in the nearby sky.

At this time, deep in the cemetery, the atmosphere was solemn, with two to three hundred people gathered in a circle.

Leading the group were three old men in the Jindan stage. Two of them had slightly similar angular faces, with crucian carp noses, thin lips and a short beard. They were the patriarch and the great elder of the Gongsun family. They were half-brothers and the two greatest geniuses of the Gongsun family three hundred years ago.

Later, they both entered the Golden Core Stage and became the pillars of this cultivation family in the cultivation world.

The other person was a peaceful old man in a black robe, with tiger eyebrows, high nose, sharp eyes, tall stature, and deep aura. He was the outer sect elder of Qianyun Pavilion, Master Mang, who came to Gongsun Family to inspect the transmission formation.

On the open space ahead, after nearly two months of preparation by hundreds of people from the Gongsun family, a complex and profound octagonal formation covering an acre of land was set up. At this moment, driven by the treasure "Teleportation Stone" provided by Master Mang of Qianyun Pavilion, it was slightly shaking the void.

The air around him felt distorted and empty, as if boiling water was steaming inside. The gravel on the ground began to jump frequently, and dust began to rise.

Most of the people present were feeling uneasy, especially those from the Gongsun family, who were filled with tension and anxiety.

They didn't know how many righteous monks would be teleported over from the other side, whether they would teleport over and turn against the Gongsun family and then take over the Gongsun family. Or whether they would be stronger and more numerous than the Gongsun family, forcing them to raise the flag and respond to the rebellion, and become the vanguard to fight the evil ways.

As for Master Mang, his heart was surging with emotion. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. After running around in the eastern hinterland for several months, hiding and fleeing under the pursuit of the Demonic Path Joint Law Enforcement Detective Team, he successfully joined forces with others to instigate the rebellion of dozens of eastern forces.

Now, he is personally leading the teleportation formation of the Gongsun family in Shangdang County in the north, which can be said to be a great achievement!
By that time, when the battle between good and evil is over, he might be able to gain enough qualifications because of this achievement to be promoted to the inner sect and become the deputy master of a peak. At that time, he would also be qualified to establish his own sect.

Even if the competition pressure within Qianyun Pavilion is too great and he misses the position of Peak Master, at the very least he can be promoted to become the Master of a hall in the inner sect, which is definitely a lucrative job!

At that time, all the people in my lineage will rise with me, and my disciples will have the opportunity to enter the inner gate, and I can also obtain more cultivation resources for my disciples.

Especially Qi girl, she has a good talent for cultivation, and her brother was originally the favorite disciple of the master of Qingyang Peak. If she trains her well after entering the inner gate, maybe she will have a chance to enter the master's sight, making this powerful master think of her brother Qi Zhong, and then love her brother Qi Zhong as well.

I might also be able to benefit from it, and it is very likely that I will be able to gain a firm foothold in the inner sect Qingyang Peak.
As he thought about it, an expectant smile appeared on Master Mang's face. He looked around and was about to say something to encourage Miss Qi, but found that she was nowhere to be seen.

"This girl is really impetuous. She is running around at such a critical moment tonight. It seems that her character is not calm enough. She needs more training, otherwise it will be difficult for her to catch the eye of the peak master."

While Master Mang was thinking secretly in his heart, he was paying close attention to the final debugging of the transmission array. This was the top priority of his mission and he could not be careless at all. The matter of Qi girl could only be put aside for the time being, and he would find time to advise her later.

While he was dreaming of a bright future, he didn't know that his chance of promotion had already been snatched away by someone, and the culprit had even sneaked out of the underground passage.

……

A cloud slowly floated back to the foreign guest loft from the forbidden area in the back mountain. Lin Shan activated the concealment and phantom cloud inscriptions of the Cloud-Falling Banner and escaped safely.

Even though it is already late at night, the Gongsun family disciples from all over the place are still on guard along the way, keeping a tight watch. The more critical the moment, the more afraid they are of accidents.

Fortunately, Lin Shan has reached the Foundation Establishment stage and has a high-level magic tool for concealment, so it is not a problem for him to hide from ordinary cultivators.

Although the outside of the attic looked pitch black, it was actually brightly lit inside. The Black Skull Demon Lord, a master of formations, had set up layers of restrictions to cover up their actions and paralyze the members of the Gongsun family who were being monitored.

When Lin Shan came back, he saw more than twenty of them gathered in a circle, running around anxiously like ants on a hot pan.

"It's almost midnight and the boss hasn't come back yet!"

"It's over, it's all over. Something big must have happened in the outside world!"

"The entire Gongsun family is under martial law now. We can't even step out of the attic door."

"Could it be that the righteous army has already come to attack us?"

……

Human fear comes from the unknown. After being cut off from the outside world, people are left in the dark and at a loss as to what to do. It is no wonder that these people are so anxious.

However, once a backbone stands up at this time, everyone will have the thought that "there are tall people to hold up the sky if it falls", and their hearts will instantly calm down.

"Squeak~"

The attic door was pushed open, the howling cold wind from outside blew in, and a familiar figure strode back.

All the younger brothers were overjoyed, and they came up to him one after another, fawning on him as much as they could, and started to suck up to him, changing their attitude faster than turning the pages of a book.

"Hey~ Master Envoy, you are back from your training. We were just talking about you!"

"Boss, did your trip go smoothly? Why don't you continue to consolidate your realm in the earth veins? We will help you keep watch up there, so that nothing will go wrong."

"My Lord, you really take good care of me. There is really no need to leave so early. We should focus on our own strength. We can still hold on for a day or two~"

"With you as a pillar of support, I'm sure the Gongsun family will definitely treat us as honored guests again!"

……

Lin Shan took away the Cloud-Subduing Banner and did not engage in any useless polite conversation with them, because he knew very well that these people did not know as much as he did.

If he had not met the woman in the bamboo hat before coming out, he might have been kept in the dark and just thought that the situation on the front line was confusing and that the Gongsun family had temporarily placed them under house arrest in order to bet on both sides.

So after he comes out, he might quietly find out the situation before taking any action.

But after a "threat" from the woman in the bamboo hat, they learned that the front line was about to launch a general attack, and that the Gongsun family had actually already had rebellious intentions, and had quietly built a large teleportation formation, and would start airdropping troops tonight with the support of both inside and outside forces!

Who can sit still like this?
He immediately shared all the information with the Black Skull Demon Lord. As for the other brothers, they were just listening. Their role was limited at the critical moment. The Black Skull Demon Lord had now recovered to the middle stage of foundation building and had the strength to truly help him.

The Black Skull Demon Lord did not have any extreme reaction. Soul fire was burning in his dark eye sockets, as if he was detecting something.

After a moment, when Lin Shan finished telling him what he knew, it nodded slowly.

"I see. I was wondering why I could sense that the spiritual energy near the Gongsun family was so chaotic tonight. I guess it was because of the debugging of the teleportation formation, which disrupted the flow of vital energy in a radius of dozens of miles. It seems that what the little girl you mentioned was true."

It is a creature in the Nascent Soul stage and has a unique way of controlling the vitality of heaven and earth. Although it has not recovered its full strength at the moment, it can still infer the information that Lin Shan said based on clues, and combine its own judgment to confirm the authenticity of the last words of the woman in the bamboo hat before her death.

"Then let's just run away tonight before they can react!"

Lin Shan did not waste any time, as he felt that the timing was just right tonight. The top leaders of the Gongsun family gathered on the other side, accompanying the visiting Jindan Zhenren to inspect the teleportation formation, so this group of people could just slip away secretly.

"It's not that simple. The Gongsun family's protective formation was obviously created by a formation master, whose skills are not much worse than mine. Moreover, the formation has been activated ahead of time, and most of the hidden tricks we set up before have been wasted. Now we can only stop its operation for about ten breaths at most."

The Black Skeleton Demon Lord tapped the table with his bone claws and began to deduce in his mind.

Lin Shan did not dare to disturb its thinking too much, but asked cautiously: "In that ten breaths, can you..."

"Seventy percent! I'm only seventy percent sure!" The Black Skull Demon Lord stood up and paced back and forth.

"The Gongsun family's protective formation is in full bloom, with no danger of human damage or disrepair. The hidden hand I hastily left behind can buy me ten breaths of time. At most, I can use this time as a seesaw and spend another ten breaths to open a narrow passage that can last for five breaths."

"That is to say, it will take us a full twenty-five breaths to evacuate, and I cannot be disturbed during this period!"

"From the moment the clan protection formation stops, the Gongsun family will definitely notice the abnormality and will come to prevent us from escaping. So you must find a way to buy me 25 breaths to stop the cultivators of the Gongsun family!"

Although the Black Skull Demon Lord had no brain, the soul fire in his skull was burning more and more vigorously, and it was obvious that it was the most critical moment of calculation.

"According to the speed of a Jindan-stage cultivator, the teleportation array is only five miles away from here. This is enough time for them to arrive."

"When they discover something is wrong, they will search around to find the source of the anomaly, or they may notice that the attic is empty and come to interfere with our efforts to break the formation."

"If we can't stop it, then all of us will be forced to stay and become trapped!"

Lin Shan was so shocked after hearing this that he almost bit his tongue:

"You mean, you want me to help you stop the Jindan stage cultivator?"

The Black Skull Demon Lord counted on his fingers and reluctantly gave a calculated limit.

"Five breaths, you only need to help me intercept five breaths of time, and we can almost all escape danger. After we get out, I can temporarily tamper with the nature of the formation, turning the Gongsun family's protective formation into a trapping formation, and trap them inside for about a quarter of an hour.

Then I will use my secret method to wipe out everyone's aura and escape."

"Five breaths!"

Lin Shan couldn't help but feel cold all over. One breath was equivalent to about 3 seconds in his previous life.

Five breaths, that is 15 seconds!
He is in the middle stage of foundation building, how is it different from seeking death when he tries to stop a Jindan stage immortal for five breaths?
If someone casually threw a magic weapon at him, he would be unable to block it.

Not to mention that he couldn't use the Wind Escape Talisman to dodge, and had to passively defend himself to buy time for the Black Skull Demon Lord to break the formation.

"Impossible! Let alone five breaths, I can't even stop it for a breath. High-level magic tools are like paper in front of magic weapons. What can I use to stop it?"

"If we can't stop it, everyone will die." The Black Skull Demon Lord said solemnly, sitting back in his chair. Lin Shan couldn't help but look at it suspiciously. This guy is a big man in the Nascent Soul stage. Even if he is not a lucky child like Lin Fan, he should have the means to resist a Jindan stage cultivator for five breaths for a short time, right?
Shouldn't we give him a guarantee for this?
However, the Black Skull Demon Lord said that he was penniless in this world and did not have any trump cards that could surpass his level.

But what made people feel something was wrong was that not only did it not show any sense of urgency, but it drank the tea leisurely, with water dripping from it as it drank. It seemed not to be panicked at all, and it gestured to Lin Shan's storage bracelet frequently.

Lin Shan was a little confused when he saw its look, and it took him a long time to understand what it meant. It turned out that its real intention was not to drink, but to get the Virtual Star Disk, and it wanted him to lend it to help it break the formation.

With the powerful deductive function of the Xuxing Plate's innate spiritual treasure, it might take less than 25 breaths to break the formation, and it might even be possible to shorten the time by half!
This is indeed a good way to break the current situation.

But Lin Shan hesitated.

That's right, he didn't trust the Black Skull Demon Lord.

The only person he believes in in this world is himself.

You have to know that the two of them rely on nothing more than a silver contract as a bond, and apart from a contract mark between their souls, there is no written condition that can restrict their actions.

What if at that time I was standing guard in front, and this guy was following behind with my innate spiritual treasure, opening the formation and running away directly? Where could I find him in the chaos?
As for what's so weird? Close connection? The two are tied together and if one suffers, all suffer?
What a joke! In front of the innate spiritual treasure, all of this is bullshit!
Wait until this guy recovers to the Jindan stage outside, forcibly cancel the soul contract, and live freely with the innate spiritual treasure that you have spent a huge amount of ancient rhyme to strengthen. If you want to be even more ruthless, just give up this clone and take the treasure back to the fifth world of hell. Even if a true immortal comes, don't think of making him spit it out!

Lin Shan knew the nature of this skeleton very well, and everything was based on profit.

When he was in seclusion in the East China Sea, he used the sapling of the ancient Phantom Spirit Tree to test it. He didn't expect that the old guy could actually sit still and not escape by climbing up the tree. The two of them barely restored their trust.

However, the innate spiritual treasure is not as good as the sapling of the ancient phantom tree. The difference in value between the two is too great, and no one dares to gamble on human nature with this.

What's more, this guy is not a human being at all!

At this time, Lin Shan suddenly thought of another level. Xiao Xin, the spirit of the Xuxing Disk, also understood formations and was even a formation master. His attainments were higher than those of the formation master Black Skull Demon Lord. Perhaps he could avoid being constrained by him?
Seeing Lin Shan's uncertain expression, the Black Skull Demon Lord seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. He pulled out the plan he had prepared long ago and coughed twice with some uneasiness:
"The hidden tricks left by the Gongsun family's protective formation are all unique to this demon lord. No one else can use them except me."

"hehe."

Lin Shan sneered and watched it quietly perform the skeleton drinking tea performance.

At this time, the Black Skull Demon Lord was still holding the teacup to hide his embarrassment, and his mouth was still "clicking, clicking" to hint earnestly, hoping that he could take out the Void Star Disk and lend it to him.

"Brother, you are good in every way, but your only shortcoming is that you are like a miser. You should know that as long as you have the green mountains, you will never be short of firewood. When we were in the Storm Sea, I asked you for money or my life, but you insisted on money and refused to retreat even though you were guarding a pile of array materials."

"The result is that you cheated me of a high-level magic weapon, the White Bone Banner!" Lin Shan's face turned unfriendly when he thought of this. He didn't expect it to have the nerve to mention this.

"Cough cough." The Black Skull Demon Lord coughed twice guiltily, and realized that he had stepped on a minefield, so he began to change the subject.

"It's not important. You have another problem, which is short-sightedness. Last time we went to the Dirty Poison Canyon, I advised you to help me recover my strength as soon as possible, but you kept suppressing me. In the end, the Dirty Poison Canyon was in danger of overturning, and Qi Zhong, a true disciple of Qianyun Pavilion, almost let him escape."

"The result is that you secretly formed the Skeleton Artillery Regiment without my consent!" Lin Shan's face became uglier, realizing that this guy always wanted to set up his own business and secretly armed himself behind his back.

"Ahem, this is not important." The Black Skull Demon Lord was a little embarrassed and turned his head away unconsciously, so he had to change the subject again.

"Have you forgotten the interrogation by the Demonic Church? I helped you hide the ancient tree seedling in your storage bracelet. If it weren't for me, you would have almost exposed your worth. I have always been thinking about you!"

"As a result, you took the opportunity to force me to give up the pursuit, and you secretly recovered to the Foundation Establishment Stage!" Lin Shan felt that this guy was more and more unreliable. When he thought of the fact that he violated the agreement between the two and secretly crossed the red line, he couldn't help but hate him so much that his teeth itched.

"Hehe, this is not important." The Black Skull Demon Lord found that the more he talked, the more he went against his original intention, so he had to continue to change the subject.

"Later, when I returned to the East China Sea from the front, I helped you solve the mission assigned by the head master, so that you could complete the commission smoothly without any effort. This can be considered as assisting you wholeheartedly, right?"

"The result is that the three-headed hellhound from the third world of hell was forcibly driven back by you before it even arrived!"

Lin Shan became more and more angry. He had finally failed to summon a monster, and a normal summoned creature descended. Maybe it would become his new right-hand man, but when he was messed up by this skeleton, he offended another big boss of the third world of hell.

"Hehe, that's not important." The Black Skull Demon Lord couldn't help but speak in a weak voice. He felt that he had never done things right every time and had cheated Lin Shan in many ways. It was no wonder that others didn't trust him.

But it still sat up straight.

"Brother, the situation is different now. We are trapped in the Gongsun family and are about to become lambs to be slaughtered. This is truly a critical moment for survival!"

"You knew it was a life-or-death situation, but you still set a trap for me to fall into?"

"No, we are all on the same boat now. Why should we divide a treasure between you and me?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes, mine is yours, and yours is still yours, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, I am glad that you have such awareness. No, I mean, we should act accordingly and not dwell on these details."

"So you're planning to make a big profit this time?"

"What are you talking about? Why do you always insult my noble character with your suspicious eyes?"

"Bah! You, a skeleton, what the hell are you talking about? I've already seen that you're not a good person!"

As the two quarreled, new and old grudges came up, and they were so eager to jump up and fight.

The Black Skull Demon Lord was not only in the wrong but also had something to hide. His eyes were dark with soul fire flickering, and he stammered and was unable to defend himself.

Most of the younger brothers nearby were confused. They knew something about the "Windswept Sea" and "Skeleton Artillery Regiment", but had no idea what the "ancient tree seedlings" and "the master's commission" meant.

More importantly, the two of them seemed to be mentioning an unknown treasure, which seemed to be the key to cracking the Gongsun family's formation, but the envoy did not trust the Black Skull Demon Lord, so the internal negotiations came to a deadlock.

Lin Shan and the Black Skull Demon Lord could quarrel as much as they wanted, but of course they couldn't talk about treasures like the Lingbao Xuxing Plate in front of others. Even though those present were their own people, some things still had to be kept secret.

Finally, after a series of tests, Lin Shan was finally convinced that the Black Skull Demon Lord was definitely planning to kill his treasure, but time was running out and there was no room for internal strife.

If he bypassed it and used the Void Star Disk to break the formation by himself, since he did not know how to use the formation, the spirit Xiaoxin would have to come out personally to break the formation. The secret of the spiritual treasure would be made public, and not only his subordinates would find out, but people from the Gongsun family might also find out.

At that time, if the secret of me, a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator possessing a magical treasure, were to spread outside, I would probably be attacked by those in the Nascent Soul Stage who would smell the scent!

But if the Virtual Star Disk is lent to the Black Skull Demon Lord as a tool to break the formation, that would be even worse.

If you use it yourself, there will be a risk of exposure. If you use it on others, it may be like throwing a meat bun at a dog, and there will be no return.

Lin Shan's expression changed for a while, and he had to make a choice after thinking about it. He pointed at the bridge of the Black Skull Demon Lord's nose and said harshly:

"Let's not talk about borrowing treasures. Let's go back to the original discussion! You break the formation, and I'll buy you some time!"

The Black Demon Lord was confused by this move: "That Jindan-stage cultivator from the Gongsun family..."

"Isn't it just buying five breaths of time? Five breaths is five breaths, I'll block it for you!"

Lin Shan gritted his teeth and warned it for the last time: "Don't play any tricks on me this time, or we'll be separated!"

After hearing this, the Black Skull Demon Lord stood up suddenly, unable to hide his surprise.

It is impossible for it to part ways completely. Since it has not yet obtained the innate spiritual treasure, it will naturally refuse to leave the forest even if it is beaten to death.

But the question is, what other trump cards does this kid have? Can he really resist a Jindan-stage cultivator for five breaths?

"Are you sure you're not kidding? You know, if you fail at the critical moment, all of us will be finished!"

Lin Shan pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a "Lin Fan's signature" crazy and evil smile. It must be said that this smile was really addictive, and it looked very pretentious when used by people from the Lin family.

All the younger brothers were shocked when they saw this. It was the first time they saw the envoy being so "crazy"! Could it be that the boss really had some super trump card that he had never used before?

"This is a small magical power that is comparable to a full-strength attack from a late Jindan. It is also a ranged group attack magical power. If it is detonated directly on the Gongsun family, do you think we can buy five breaths of time?"

Lin Shan's sinister voice came, and his eyes glowed green, as if he was a gambler who was risking everything to survive and made an extremely difficult decision. A cold wind blew in the house for no reason.

Everyone shuddered suddenly. When they heard the explosive news, their calves began to tremble and their temples began to beat violently.

The late stage of Jindan is perfect. Also has group-wide attacks. Minor magical powers and talismans?
I didn't expect that the boss was so well hidden and had such a killer weapon. Oh my god, why didn't you tell me earlier that you had this thing?
Everyone present knew the deterrent power of a late-stage Jindan Great Perfection. That was equivalent to Master Gui during the heyday of the East China Sea. Such a person had dominated the East China Sea for hundreds of years, and countless sects, aristocratic families, and independent cultivators came from all directions to pay homage.

After that, he fought in the battle of Diaobie Island, and fought against three Jindan masters of the Demonic Sect and escaped unscathed. After that, he was chased by more than a dozen Jindan stage masters of the Demonic Sect for more than three years, but he was still alive and well and escaped many times.

This is the value of the Golden Elixir!

Now that the envoy has the full force of this person in his hand, isn't this wave stable? Not to mention resisting for five breaths, if this thing is thrown at someone when they are not paying attention, even if the Jindan stage doesn't die, it will be skinned alive!

just
Do you want to play this big?
You threw this group attack talisman, it was fun, we escaped, but the aftermath remained in the formation, once it spread and raged, it would cause huge property losses.
I'm afraid your victim will have to hunt you down to the ends of the earth.

At this moment, everyone was no longer worried about their own safety, but instead felt sorry for the owner of this place.

The Gongsun family has been unlucky for several lifetimes, to have to deal with a disaster like you?

(End of this chapter)