The Battle of Mount Shuangjing

The moment Qin Sang took the jade hairpin, he heard a soul-stirring roar emanating from the Qilin Hairpin, echoing in the depths of his heart. Without needing Madame Luo's guidance, Qin Sang understood through the talisman seal and tossed the Qilin Hairpin upward. "Roar!" A furious bellow resounded. The Qilin Hairpin transformed into a mass of azure light, circling around Qin Sang, shifting at times into the shape of a jade hairpin and at others into a small qilin. Having made all their arrangements, the two stepped out of the snow cave. Madame Luo, disguised as Qin Sang, flew straight toward the heart of the grand formation, revealing herself within it to assist Qingjun. Qin Sang, swaying with a graceful and supple figure, glided leisurely toward the front lines. He was to lead the low-stage cultivators in spearheading the assault into Sin Abyss's grand formation. Along the way, the low-stage cultivators, unaware of the truth and having no idea that beneath this voluptuous, graceful shell was actually a man, cast ardent gazes his way. Fortunately, the battle was urgent, and Madame Luo was a Nascent Soul Patriarch, so no one dared be bold enough to come up and strike up a conversation. Yet meeting someone in the know was unavoidable. "Er... Fellow Daoist Luo." Jinglin knew of their plot. With an odd look in his eyes, he greeted Qin Sang while pretending everything was normal. However, upon seeing the charming, alluring smile Qin Sang flashed, chills ran down his spine, and he fled as if on wings. Qin Sang's heart was already numb to it. Without batting an eye, he flew to the front line and looked up at the sky lake that shrouded all four quarters, convincing himself that this was a sacrifice made for the greater good. *Boom!* A tremendous crash shook Mount Shuangjing, blowing the clarion call for attack. *Whoosh...* Countless shrill shrieks of wind suddenly tore across the battlefield. Gale-force winds whipped up out of nowhere, blotting out the sky as chaotic snow danced, reducing the entire world to a bleak, vast haze. At the center of the tempest, the figures of Qingjun and Madame Luo flickered in and out of sight. Beside them were several other figures, as well as rows of bizarre wooden plaques neatly arrayed. Each of these wooden plaques was as large as a door panel, inscribed with peculiar runes. They seemed to be the very source of the furious wind. Across the battle formation, a portion of cultivators stood surrounding similar wooden plaques. These plaques were somewhat smaller, their runes shimmering as they arrayed into a profound formation. The cultivators formed hand seals to activate the plaques, resonating in tandem across the distance with Qingjun and her cohort. Every wooden plaque shone with dazzling light as spiritual energy gathered madly toward them. As a result, the winds grew even more violent, until those of weaker cultivation could barely keep their eyes open and felt on the verge of losing their footing. Just then, a strange phenomenon manifested. As the winds reached their peak, strands of grey wind-qi could be seen swimming through the void with the naked eye—the tangible manifestation of hurricane power. Then, these grey currents began to converge. Stream after stream of grey qi merged and swallowed one another, giving rise to grey funnels where they gathered. Seeing this, everyone knew the spirit formation was about to spawn terrifying tornadoes. Bound in place, the wind pillars took shape at a pace visible to the eye and swelled rapidly. Massive pillars of wind pointed straight toward the azure waters above, twisting and churning with frenzied rotations, sweeping away everything on the mountain. Loose stones, accumulated snow, withered trees... Leaving only devastation in their wake. *** "The Xun Wind Grand Formation! The Two Domains Alliance was actually willing to bring out this grand formation—they really spared no expense! Find a chance to destroy their core formation artifacts; let's see if they can refine another set!" Atop Mount Shuangjing, the Nascent Soul cultivators of Sin Abyss concealed themselves within the grand formation, looking down upon the mountain. One of them barked fiercely. "Eh? Those two seem to be the ones who intercepted Old Man Ye at the Blood Lake." One of them cast a secret technique, vaguely catching sight of two figures in the center of the grand formation, but their vision was quickly obscured by the raging winds, and their divine consciousness could not penetrate it. Puzzled, the speaker said, "It seems the ones attacking Mount Shuangjing are indeed those two. Cowards to the core, not even coming up to attack in person. Could there be other experts?" "Perhaps they are in no hurry to take Mount Shuangjing at all, but are merely testing and pinning us down. Their main force is bound to be the armies at Wangdong City and Mount Shiqu. Officiating the Xun Wind Grand Formation is no simple matter. Those two had little fame before and rose out of nowhere. Powerful though their treasures may be, their foundations surely cannot match Old Man Ye and his peers. They must join hands just to maintain the grand formation..." Someone speculated, and the reasoning sounded plausible enough. "For now, focus primarily on defense and see what they are planning. Watch for an opportunity to destroy the core of the Xun Wind Grand Formation, and await news from Senior Canghong!" The purple-robed woman made the decision and turned back to oversee the grand formation in person. *** The hurricane seemed fierce enough to tear open the vault of heaven. The force of the wind carried to the summit of Mount Shuangjing. The lake in the sky was affected, ripples appearing across its surface before waves began to surge one after another. Yet the spray was breaking downward—an exceedingly bizarre sight. Qin Sang stood amidst the battle array, maintaining an elegant, graceful posture. Slender, scallion-white fingers curled slightly around a palm-sized wooden plaque. This was the wind plaque capable of linking with the power of the Xun Wind Grand Formation. It ensured that once they breached the enemy's spirit formation, they could sense one another and maintain the battle array, preventing them from inadvertently straying beyond its protection and being hunted down by the enemy. The might of the Xun Wind Grand Formation was no trivial matter; it was one of the most formidable grand formations refined by the Two Domains Alliance. Not only was officiating it exceedingly difficult, but the spirit stones it consumed also amounted to an astounding sum. The ever-thickening pillars of wind gradually showed signs of slipping out of control. Suddenly, all the wooden plaques blazed with bizarre light and shuddered violently, as though on the brink of shattering. At that moment, an eerie calm settled over the battlefield for a fleeting instant. Then, all the wind pillars ripped out of the ground like wind spears, shooting in unison toward the summit of Mount Shuangjing! Sensing the threat, layer upon layer of ripples converged across the sky lake toward this point, turning deeper until the azure was so dark it verged on black. Yet the might of the Xun Wind Grand Formation was not inferior to the restrictions Sin Abyss had painstakingly laid down. Moreover, under Qingjun's deliberate manipulation, all the wind pillars focused their strike on a single area. Under countless watching eyes, the wind pillars plunged into the sky lake without hindrance, driving deep into the waters before an ear-splitting boom finally erupted. *Rumble...* It was like heavy hammer blows striking Mount Shuangjing, and also pounding against everyone's hearts. The lofty mountain that had stood here for countless years suddenly seemed somewhat fragile, as though about to collapse. The terrifying spectacle in the sky was seared into everyone's eyes, inspiring horror in some, yearning in others, and anticipation in the rest... *Crash!* The power of the Xun Wind Grand Formation detonated deep within the sky lake. The terrifying force tore the lake surface wide open. Water surged in reverse, yet the rift grew only wider, unable to close for a long time. Through the breach, everyone could clearly see the Sin Abyss cultivators standing in battle readiness, and could even make out their horrified expressions. The two grand formations clashed. As the strongest wave of aftershocks dissipated, the battle fell into a stalemate of mutual consumption and destruction. "Kill!" A cannon blast boomed. War cries echoed across heaven and earth. Along the sloping mountainside, countless dark silhouettes charged boldly, surging toward the great lake in the sky. War was cruel, yet it was also breathtaking. Qin Sang had experienced war more than once, but this was his first time leading troops, charging at the very forefront in a battle of such immense scale. Even in the cultivation world, where supreme might resided in individual prowess, low-stage cultivators could still unleash astonishing energy.