Immortal Creation.

Chapter 665 Breaking the Formation?

Faced with Sun Lingtong's suggestion, Zeng Jide slowly shook his head.

"inappropriate."

"My purpose in coming here to steal is merely to take some treasures from the River of Oblivion. It's a matter of taking advantage of a weakness to gain some benefits."

"The Painted Skin Rakshasa is actually aiming to obstruct the path of the Lord of the River of Oblivion."

“If we help her escape, even if it's to cover for ourselves, it's inappropriate. It would be easy for Lord Wangchuan to think we're in the same group.”

"Obstructing his path is undoubtedly creating a deadly feud, one that he is unlikely to let go of for the rest of his life!"

Zeng Jide sent a telepathic message back to him and earnestly advised, "Our Bukong Sect is a super sect. Although we are mainly thieves, we are not afraid of offending a prefecture or a country. However, we must also consider the significant benefits."

"How can we possibly make a blood feud with the Lord of Wangchuan based solely on what we've gained? It's too much of a loss, not worth it!"

Sun Lingtong thought to herself, "Just as I expected."

Zeng Jide's reaction was not unexpected.

If he had insisted earlier, he might have already parted ways with Zeng Jide by now.

"only……"

"Xiao Zhuo is the chosen one of destiny nurtured by the heavens in the mortal realm, and is the greatest tribulation for the Lord of the River of Oblivion."

"Elder Zeng, by helping me this time, you've helped Xiao Zhuo. Regardless of success or failure, in the eyes of Lord Wangchuan, you're on our side."

Zeng Jide was kept in the dark and didn't want to offend the Lord of Wangchuan, but in fact he had already offended him to death!

However, it's not his fault.

Sun Lingtong was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and Zeng Jide never imagined that two Foundation Establishment cultivators would be so audacious as to obstruct the path of the Lord of Wangchuan.

How is this any different from an ant provoking an elephant?
Sun Lingtong frowned, deliberately making things difficult: "But if we don't use the Painted Skin Rakshasa, how can we escape from here?"

Zeng Jide assumed he was worried about his own life, and through telepathy, he laughed and scolded, "Kid, are you scared now? Where's the spirit you had when you ventured into the Forget-Love Ferry without knowing anything back then?"

"I will not lend a hand to this demon in disguise."

"This woman is a demonic cultivator, extremely cruel, who enjoys harming the innocent and skinning them to make treasures. In particular, every time she uses human skin to make painted skins, she goes to great lengths to torture them, allowing fear, resentment, and other emotions to deeply permeate the skin, so as to make the painted skin lifelike."

"I can't stand this person!"

"Speaking of which, the Immortal City of the River of Oblivion guides people towards goodness, giving soul cultivators and ghost cultivators a chance to start over and change their ways."

"I have a much better impression of the Forgotten River Immortal City than the Painted Skin Rakshasa."

The Unempty Sect is not a demonic sect, but an evil sect.

Those who belong to the evil sects are often neither entirely righteous nor entirely evil, generally existing between the righteous path and the demonic path, and are not bound by conventional customs.

"Let nature take its course, let nature take its course..." Sun Lingtong reminded herself inwardly, but on the surface she said with sudden realization, "So that's how it is. This demonic cultivator is so cruel, what if we rescue her and she repays our kindness with enmity, turning against us first!"

While continuing to meditate with his eyes closed, Zeng Jide reassured him, "Don't worry, since I was able to sneak you in, I can also get you out!"

"I just collided with that gold medal and was seriously injured."

"Once I've rested and recovered my strength, leaving this place safely shouldn't be a problem!"

Sun Lingtong asked curiously, "Gold medal? What's that?"

Zeng Jide generously offered his guidance: "That is one of the national treasures. Each use reduces the number of treasures available, making it a consumable item. Clearly, we just triggered the arrangement made by the Lord of Wangchuan here, causing one of the gold tokens to fly over."

"The national strength contained here is extraordinary. Fortunately, no one is in charge... If the Lord of Wangchuan were here in his true form and took action himself, I would probably be killed in one blow!"

Zeng Jide was still shaken, but he didn't care about exposing his embarrassment in front of his juniors.

"Alright, let's talk about any problems after we leave here and get to a safe place."

Zeng Jide is taking all his efforts to recover.

Sun Lingtong was secretly anxious, but there was nothing she could do but "go with the flow" and obediently follow orders.

Zeng Jide rested for about half an incense stick's time before slowly opening his eyes.

His injuries have mostly healed.

"Sigh, I still had to use a Nascent Soul level pill." Zeng Jide was only at the Nascent Soul stage, and without a higher-level healing pill, it would have been impossible for him to recover so quickly.

During this time, Sun Lingtong had countless thoughts swirling in her mind.

Several times, he almost couldn't resist the urge to destroy the magic array himself and release the Painted Skin Rakshasa.

But in the end, he held back and chose to believe the words of the Buddhist physician Meng Yaoyin.

Let nature take its course!
Zeng Jide stopped sitting cross-legged, stood up, and once again lifted Sun Lingtong up with one hand.

The art of thievery—Shadow Escape.

The old man and the child once again transformed into a black shadow, escaping the array space like water and returning to the city lord's mansion.

The city lord's mansion remains heavily guarded.

However, Zeng Jide's strength has recovered a lot, and he is no longer in such a predicament as before.

Just as he promised, a few moments later, he successfully led Sun Lingtong away from the city lord's mansion.

The two appeared in an alley.

Sun Lingtong no longer placed her hopes on Zeng Jide: "Perhaps, I will have to act alone next. Old Zeng is no longer the key figure."

Zeng Jide, of course, had no idea what Sun Lingtong was really thinking, and said smugly, "Well? Junior, I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Sun Lingtong immediately gave Zeng Jide a thumbs up and flattered him several times.

Zeng Jide laughed a few times, a glint of light flashing in his eyes: "The kid is being a bit insincere, his praise is superficial and somewhat perfunctory."

Sun Lingtong chuckled, "This junior greatly admires your methods, senior. But..."

Zeng Jide: "But what?"

Sun Lingtong scratched her head: "But, I still feel like this theft wasn't satisfying enough."

Sun Lingtong was just speaking from the heart, but her unintentional but sincere words left Zeng Jide stunned on the spot.

Sun Lingtong asked in confusion, "Senior? Senior?"

Zeng Jide's face darkened, his brows furrowed, and he stared in the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, his face showing shame and anger: "Well done, well done, Lord Wangchuan."

He patted Sun Lingtong on the shoulder: "Kid, it's really good to travel with you. Thanks to your reminder, I almost fell into the trap of Lord Wangchuan!"

Sun Lingtong was even more puzzled: "Huh?"

Zeng Jide gritted his teeth, snorted coldly in the direction of the City Lord's Mansion, and said again, "Boy, do you dare to come into the City Lord's Mansion with me again and rob it from top to bottom?"

Sun Lingtong had not expected Zeng Jide's attitude to change so drastically.

He nodded quickly: "That's great!"

Zeng Jide laughed heartily: "Kid, you're just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet you've got more guts than me."

Sun Lingtong quickly cupped her hands in a gesture of flattery, saying, "It's all thanks to Elder Zeng. If I were alone, I guarantee I'd be rolling far away right now."

Being trusted so much by a junior he admires makes Zeng Jide even happier.

He laughed heartily, grabbed Sun Lingtong's arm, and once again vanished into the city lord's mansion.

The battlefield of the altar.

Luo Si was locked in a fierce battle with the Earthly Fiend God of Turbidity, finding himself in a precarious situation. Ning Zhuo, on the other hand, hovered before a tributary of the River of Oblivion, not daring to cross the line.

He painstakingly pushed the ice coffin into the tributary, which initially froze the river surface.

However, with the awakening of the true form of the Lord of the Forgotten River, Ning Zhuo's plan was utterly thwarted.

Lord Wangchuan held a string of beads in his hand, constantly twisting them between his fingers, using them to control the movement of the tributaries of Wangchuan.

If Sun Lingtong were here, she would immediately recognize that there are many Forgotten River Vortexes on the beaded string. Each vortex is a fully formed magic weapon-grade vortex!
These natural ritual implements often have a single function, but they are specifically designed for a particular purpose.

Man-made magical artifacts could not possibly affect the River of Oblivion to this extent, but a magical artifact like the Eye of Oblivion could easily do so.

Essentially, they were all born from the River of Oblivion and are one entity.

Lord Wangchuan's aura surged and turbulent as he maintained his magic, controlling the tributary and swallowing the ice coffin into its very center.

Here, a vortex forms, trapping the ice coffin.

The chilling air emanating from the ice coffin continued to seep out, freezing the tributaries. But the eddy continued to rotate, flinging out chunks of ice and drawing in the water.

The ice blocks, thrown into the tributary, were then affected by the magic of the Lord of the River of Oblivion and quickly turned into water.

Using this method, Lord Wangchuan encased himself in the ice coffin, keeping him far away from Ning Zhuo.

Facing two Nascent Soul level cultivators at the same time, Ning Zhuo felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

How is this played?
The gap between the two sides is truly enormous!

But the initial confusion quickly disappeared, and a sharp glint appeared in Ning Zhuo's eyes: "The true form of Lord Wangchuan... seems to be very weak."

Otherwise, Lord Wangchuan would have already flown out of the Wangchuan tributary and killed Ning Zhuo.

However, he remained stationed within the tributary, even employing a strategy of attrition when dealing with the ice coffin. For the time being, he was unable to intervene against Ning Zhuo outside the tributary.

"The Lord of the River of Oblivion is so weak, can I take this opportunity to force my way across the tributary of the River of Oblivion?"

Ning Zhu shook his head, dismissing the bold idea.

The interior of the tributary of the River of Oblivion was constantly freezing, while the exterior was turbulent with towering waves. If Ning Zhuo were to attempt to cross it, he would inevitably be swept away immediately, at which point the Lord of the River of Oblivion might seize the opportunity to kill him!

"But the ice coffin is lost. How can I solve the problem of crossing the river?"

Ning Zhuo frowned, feeling quite troubled.

He nearly solved this problem. But the crucial answer, the ice coffin, had been lost, and the timely awakening of the Lord of the Forgotten River's true form caused Ning Zhuo to fail at the last moment!
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and racked his brains, but couldn't come up with a solution.

He subconsciously touched the mechanical ring, but it remained silent.

Ning Zhuo's heart sank further as his previous suspicions resurfaced.

He immediately changed his mind, silently reciting his intention to forcefully cross the tributary of the River of Oblivion, and then turned back to assist Luo Si in close combat with the Earthly Fiends and the Turbid Gods...

The mechanical ring was completely silent.

"Sure enough, the talent shown in the ring was suppressed."

"Did this situation begin when we first set foot on the Black Cloud battlefield?"

The answer, the ice coffin, has fallen into enemy hands, and the mechanical ring can no longer provide Ning Zhuo with any hints.

The mechanical ring had been of great help to Ning Zhuo, which made the big-headed boy panic. He couldn't help but think, "If things don't work out, should we retreat?"

He was shaken.

But in an instant, he extinguished that wavering!

“My mother and eldest son are on another team. They are pinning their hopes on me. How can I let them down here?”

"The fate of the mortal world has brought me to this stage, surely not to send me to my death."

"Since the Lord of the River of Oblivion was able to temporarily impound the ice coffin and suppress the Heavenly Mandate of the Yang Realm from attacking him, then I am sure I can also make changes and create more opportunities."

"This is a formidable challenge!"

Thinking of this, Ning Zhuo's lips curled up slightly, his fighting spirit rebounding from rock bottom and soaring upward.

He was all too familiar with this predicament.

Wasn't it just like this back in Fire Persimmon Immortal City and Lava Immortal Palace?

Ning Zhuo's unwavering fighting spirit allowed him to calm down once again and begin to think about how to break the deadlock.

"The tide of ghosts surges, white paper is in peril, a lone goose carrying a candle breaks through the curtain of heaven. A guest star should shine on the north of the literary hub, all things are illuminated by lamplight, and calamity will destroy itself." He silently recited this prophetic poem again.

"The guest star should shine upon the north of Wen Shu..."

He pondered this sentence.

Following the order of the poem, the previous line, "A lone goose carrying a candle breaks through the curtain of heaven," has already been fulfilled. Therefore, the following line, "The guest star should shine on the north of the literary hub," should be the answer to the problem.

Ning Zhuo already had a clue about this line of poetry.

When he was in the White Paper Immortal City, he even specially gave the sacrificial text of the Heavenly Ghost Transformation Ceremony to Wen Ruanyu, a Confucian scholar, for interpretation.

Ning Zhuo not only received the answer to the mystery, but also received a lot of financial support from Wen Ruanyu!

"The matter reflected in this poem is breaking through the formation."

"So, breaking through this great formation is the right way forward?"

"What kind of formation is this? Where are its bases, its key points, and its center?"

Ning Zhuo was completely clueless about this and knew nothing about it.

He gazed at the altar, wondering, "The altar is clearly the core; it's probably the heart of the formation?"

But even if the guess is correct, it's useless.

To destroy the altar, he must first cross a tributary of the River of Oblivion, which creates a dead end.

He looked around again.

This pitch-black battlefield was enveloped in a thick barrier of earthly evil energy from all sides.

A flash of inspiration appeared in Ning Zhuo's mind: "Could it be that we should actually retreat and confront that great formation on the Black Cloud Battlefield once again?"

He felt that the answer was likely correct, but looking in the direction of Ross, he hesitated.

The Lord of the River of Oblivion could only hear the sound of rushing water.

"Yin Jiuzhu is my greatest enemy in life!" Lord Wangchuan sighed in his heart.

The Frost Abyss Ice Coffin Candle sealed the Nether Dragon Scissors. Even if the Lord of the Forgotten Rivers in his true form were to intervene, he could only gradually wear them down, and there was still a long way to go before the seal could be broken.

This is because the Cold Abyss Ice Coffin Candle is not simply of the ice element, but rather a combination of fire and water elements, with the addition of yin element to achieve the ice element.

This is one of Yin Jiuzhu's signature skills. If it were easy to counter, he would be unworthy of being the ruler of a prefecture.

"Obtain the Nether Dragon Scissors, and everything will be easy!" Lord Wangchuan kept fiddling with the string of beads.

Click click click...

Amidst the subtle sounds, cracks appeared on the surface of several vortexes in the River of Oblivion.

The Lord of Wangchuan displayed strength, but in reality, his condition was extremely poor. Even when he tried to control the tributaries, he relied almost entirely on the string of beads in his hand, which could not provide much magical support. As a result, the string of beads kept depleting its own reserves.

Ning Zhuo's insight was correct. In this state, the Lord of Wangchuan's combat strength was quite worrying, and it would be safer for him to stay in the tributary of Wangchuan.

(End of this chapter)