Chapter 30: Peak Master of Butian Peak

In his previous life, Lu Yang had devoted himself to the painstaking study of formations. The grand array he eventually inscribed upon the Blood-Sun Sword Pill was a sword formation known as the "Blood-Washing Heavenly River Sword Array Diagram."

The formation was divided into the Three Talents and Nine Palaces, centered around a river of sword qi propelled by the Blood-Sun Sword Pill, supplemented by the Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light. Lu Yang had specifically designed three hundred and sixty array eyes; according to his vision, if he could find three hundred and sixty cultivators to occupy them, the formation's power could be pushed to its absolute limit.

He had already devised a plan for this.

Once he reclaimed his Primordial Chaos Spirit-Wielding Banner from Liu Xin, he would have the banner spirits occupy the array eyes. This would not only be effortless and convenient but would also allow him to carry the formation with him.

However, for now, he had to preside over the array personally.

"Open!" Lu Yang performed a hand seal, and the Blood-Sun Sword Pill hummed. Within the formation, a heavenly river surged from south to north, covering the entire sky, its boundaries unseen.

Lu Yuanchun, Zhao Xuhe, and the rest of the crowd were instantly cast into the midst of this heavenly river. As the waters surged, an infinite torrent of sword qi slashed down every second. A few cultivators with slightly weaker cultivation levels only had time to let out a single scream before they were transformed into splashes of blood within the river.

Seeing this, Lu Yuanchun's expression changed drastically.

"This is impossible. Although my master previously mentioned that this person understood formations, I gave him no time to set one up. How could he have trapped us in an array?"

Lu Yuanchun naturally could not understand.

This was because the Blood-Sun Sword Pill was no ordinary magic treasure, but an Array Treasure. A so-called Array Treasure used the formation itself as its essence; with a single thought, the array was formed. There was no need for a setup!

Falling into the array at this moment had completely exceeded Lu Yuanchun's expectations.

After all, formations mimicked the wonders of heaven and earth, borrowing the power of the world to claim invincibility within the same realm. Although he prided himself on his strength, falling into an array caused his confidence to waver.

Could he truly capsize in such a shallow ditch today?

At this thought, Lu Yuanchun's expression grew increasingly grim, losing the air of certain victory he had held before. Even Zhao Xuhe, standing beside him, grew uneasy

"Senior Brother, this formation..."

"Be careful, Junior Brother. I fear there has been an unexpected turn in today's events," Lu Yuanchun whispered, while simultaneously sacrificing the Golden Light Treasure Mirror into the air to protect himself.

At this moment, Lu Yuanchun still harbored a shred of hope. In his view, Lu Yang was merely an ordinary disciple who had stumbled upon some fortune. Although the boy knew quite a few things, his time in the sect was still short; even if he understood formations, how much could he truly master? As for the array before them, perhaps it was merely a legacy left by a predecessor?

However, in the next second, Lu Yang shattered his illusions.

With a cold expression, Lu Yang moved his mind and pointed a finger. The originally clear river of sword qi instantly took on a piercing, crimson hue.

Heavenly Demon Blood-Transforming Divine Light!

While this divine ability possessed immense power—reputed to "wound upon a graze and kill upon a touch"—it also meant that its efficacy relied entirely on making contact.

If you couldn't hit the target, it was useless.

However, within the "Blood-Washing Heavenly River Sword Diagram," Lu Yang had solved this flaw. As long as one was within the array, it was equivalent to being submerged in the divine light!

In other words, once deployed, it was guaranteed to hit!

In an instant, Lu Yuanchun felt the world shake. His fellow disciples screamed one after another, only to be transformed into human skins in a mere heartbeat!

"Not good!"

Lu Yuanchun's face paled instantly. Gritting his teeth, he shifted his hand seals, and the aura of the Golden Light Treasure Mirror above his head suddenly became chaotic and violent.

Lu Yang reacted instantly upon seeing this.

"Self-detonating a magic treasure? Naive!"

The Golden Light Treasure Mirror was clearly a high-grade treasure. If Lu Yuanchun detonated it, he might indeed have a chance to tear through the array diagram and carve out a path to survival.

But that was predicated on the assumption that Lu Yang did not understand formations.

An ordinary formation, even with a conductor, could only operate according to fixed rules; it was a "dead" array. However, it was entirely different when a formation master was presiding.

A qualified formation master could adjust the array on the fly based on the changing tides of battle. Thus, a dead array became a living one, and its power became incomparable. Not to mention, the "Blood-Washing Heavenly River Sword Diagram" was Lu Yang's own creation; he wielded it as easily as his own limbs.

Therefore, the moment Lu Yuanchun attempted to detonate the treasure, Lu Yang moved.

With one hand calculating the flow and the other manipulating the array patterns, he instantly dispersed the force of the explosion—which was originally concentrated on a single point—throughout the entire formation.

Once the explosion was dispersed, its power was reduced several times over.

The array, which should have been broken, remained unscathed. It even seized the moment of the Golden Light Treasure Mirror's destruction to swallow both Lu Yuanchun and Zhao Xuhe in one fell swoop.

Zhao Xuhe didn't even have time to scream before he was instantly turned into a dried corpse.

"Impossible! This thief is actually a formation master!?"

Lu Yuanchun's face was deathly pale. He felt his flesh and blood pouring out like a breached dam, and it looked as though he was about to follow in Zhao Xuhe's footsteps and meet a violent end.

"Blood-Transforming Divine Light..."

In the face of death, intense terror quickly extinguished his rage. Lu Yuanchun's eyes were bloodshot with desperation, yet he was helpless; he finally bowed his head as if accepting his fate.

*Boom!*

In the next second, a jade pendant at Lu Yuanchun's waist quietly shattered, erupting with infinite brilliance that actually tore through Lu Yang's grand array in an instant!

Lu Yang's pupils contracted. He looked up toward the sky.

As far as his gaze could reach, the brilliant light traced the outline of a calm, solemn, and majestic giant face in the vast sky above him!

The face showed no emotion, and its eyes were as bright as the sun and moon. Even a mere momentary glance from Lu Yang caused his eyes to tear up from the stinging pain, and seventy to eighty percent of his true qi was instantly drained, nearly causing him to lose his flight light and fall from the sky.

The face looked down, and a voice like thunder rolled from the mountains

"Presumptuous!"

The voice was not loud, yet it carried the weight of divine law, making Lu Yang feel like an existence loathed by heaven and earth. The surrounding spiritual energy even seemed to recoil in avoidance.

The invisible gaze pressed down on Lu Yang with the actual weight of Mount Tai.

The ground around him even began to crack inch by inch.

Such a scene naturally alerted the entire Heaven-Mending Peak.

In an instant, countless disciples in seclusion across the peak woke in shock. They emerged from their caves, staring at the giant face in the sky with expressions of terror.

"Greetings, Peak Master!"

"Greetings, Peak Master!"

The older disciples of Heaven-Mending Peak recognized the face. Feeling their scalps go numb, they knelt on the ground without a word, continuously kowtowing in salute.

The Peak Master of Heaven-Mending Peak!

Lu Yang finally learned the identity of the mysterious master behind Zhao Xuhe: the Peak Master of Heaven-Mending Peak, a Foundation Establishment True Person who governed one of the four inner peaks of the Primordial Saint Sect!

*Rumble!*

As the voice fell, the array diagram Lu Yang had painstakingly refined in his previous life began to crumble. Large sections of the array patterns even exploded on the spot.

Seeing this, Lu Yang could not help but feel a sense of helplessness.

The gap between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment was far beyond his imagination. The culmination of twenty years of his life's work was actually no match for the mere authority of a Foundation Establishment True Person!

Was a single light reprimand truly enough to cause this?

(End of Chapter)