Chapter 37: Deduction to Break the Formation

Shao Laoye’s claim of inviting cultivators to heal his son was a lie—his true intent was to lure them here as sacrifices for the array. Most of those present were wandering cultivators, and even those with sects were from obscure places like Qingyang, with no powerful backing. That was why Shao Laoye acted without fear.

The Convergence Array, as its name suggested, was a formation that gathered the fortune of the world. A man blessed with fortune would sail through life, wealth and success at every turn. No wonder the Shao family had risen to become the richest in the county. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time Shao Laoye had used the array—he had long been stealing the luck of others.

“Don’t be afraid.” Shao Laoye’s grin widened. “Very soon, the array will drain you dry. Your souls will be bound here, becoming one with the formation’s ghosts, forever ensuring the Shao family’s prosperity.”

The cultivators collectively drew a sharp breath. Not only would they be sacrificed, but their spirits would be trapped, enslaved eternally to feed the array.

Panic surged. Everyone threw their strongest spells at the formation, but each attack fizzled against the red glow and rebounded uselessly.

“What do we do? Girl…” Bai Yu, rattled, instinctively turned to Yun Jiao—only to freeze. She was squatting on the ground, scratching calculations into the dirt with a twig.

“Shut up. Be quiet!” Yun Jiao snapped, her eyes locked on her calculations.

Bai Yu leaned closer and realized—she was… deducing the array? But formations required complex, lengthy deductions. Could she really break one on the spot?

“You’re wasting your effort,” Shao Laoye sneered, his once-amiable face twisted with sinister delight. “You’ll never break this array. In less than a quarter hour, you will all be part of it.”

From his robes, he pulled out a talisman, clearly to accelerate the process.

“Father, don’t!” A weak voice rang out. From within the cave staggered a pale figure—Shao Xian. Leaning heavily on the wall, his body looked ready to collapse at any moment. “Please, father, let them go. Don’t kill again.”

“What are you doing here?!” Shao Laoye snapped, eyes blazing. He looked nothing like the doting father from earlier. “How did I sire such a useless son? Everything I do, this formation, is for the Shao family’s wealth and future!”

“But… we’re already wealthy enough. We don’t need to…” Shao Xian tried to reason.

“Silence!” Shao Laoye roared. “Don’t think I don’t know. Last month, the Daoists I had prepared for sacrifice—you let them escape! If I hadn’t sent men to intercept, you’d have doomed us!”

“Intercept…” Shao Xian trembled violently, horror dawning on his face. He had only wanted to save lives, but in the end, they had still died. His body shook, his will crumbling.

“You think I’d let those Daoists walk away alive?” Shao Laoye’s sneer deepened. “Cast off your worthless mercy—or don’t blame me for cutting off father-son ties.”

“…” Shao Xian’s eyes were full of despair. His faith shattered, he staggered back step after step. Meanwhile, within the array, cultivators screamed as their qi was stripped away. Some coughed blood.

Finally, Shao Xian’s eyes flickered with determination. He lunged forward, clutching his father’s sleeve, his voice desperate. “Please, father, let them go. I… I will try to appease the wraiths, keep them from rioting. Just spare them!”

Appease the wraiths?!

Yun Jiao’s calculations paused—then a spark lit in her mind. A clear answer unfolded in her deductions.

So that’s it…

“Enough talk!” Shao Laoye bellowed, kicking his son aside. He slapped the talisman to the ground. At once, the crimson glow flared, crushing down harder.

The cultivators cried out, blood spraying from their lips. Even Bai Yu clutched his chest in pain, teeth gritted. He turned toward Yun Jiao, gasping, “Girl… is it ready?”

“It’s done!” Yun Jiao stood sharply. She pointed and barked commands. “Old man, forty-five degrees right, thirty feet! Old Zhou, sixty degrees left, fifteen feet!”

Her gaze shot to a nearby Daoist. “You—seven meters forward.”

The man frowned, reflexively resisting. “Why should I—”

“Get. Over. There.” Yun Jiao’s eyes cut toward him, her aura surging. The man felt a terrifying pressure wash over him, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. He stammered, “Y-yes!” and scrambled to obey.

Terrifying… scarier than the ghosts themselves!

Yun Jiao continued calmly, “You, ten feet left front. You, twenty feet right front. You, sixteen feet back left…”

One by one, she placed every cultivator precisely. Strangely, none of them questioned her—whether out of desperation or instinct, they obeyed. Even those too wounded to walk crawled to their designated spots.

“When I count down, pour all your qi into the ground beneath you.” Yun Jiao’s voice was sharp.

Shao Laoye sneered, “You want to break the formation? Futile. The Hundred Ghost Convergence Array is built from a hundred wraiths, shaped with the Five Elements. All your abilities are within the Five Elements—you cannot break it.”

Yun Jiao ignored him. Her voice rang clear. “Three… two… one—activate!”

With a roar of defiance, the cultivators poured every drop of qi they had into the ground.

A white glow flickered weakly to life beneath their feet. Slowly, a new formation spread, connecting them together. Its light was faint—like fireflies against the blazing crimson glow—but it was there.

Shao Laoye laughed, his fat jiggling with mirth. “Hahahaha… useless! This is the Hundred Ghost Convergence Array, fueled by wraiths and bound by the Five Elements. Your meager efforts are nothing before it!”

(End of Chapter)