Chapter 149: The Formation Core

"Nine Sons Absolute Yin Formation?"

Ordinary cultivators never even came into contact with the path of formations. Even the simplest array required a formation diagram, a massive number of complementary talismans, and a formation core to anchor it.

Any one of these items was a rare worldly treasure. Even if someone was lucky enough to acquire them all, successfully setting up the formation required the cultivator to possess a solid grasp of feng shui, profound cultivation, and a powerful consciousness.

Because of these harsh requirements, formations rarely circulated in the mortal world despite their immense power. Anyone who could use or even understand them had to be a figure with a formidable background and deep roots.

The twin brothers assumed I knew nothing about formations, which was exactly why they grandly tossed out the grand array's name right to my face.

They had no idea I had read the Detailed Explanation of Profound Truth Dao Methods. It was all-encompassing and naturally included a section on formations.

The path of formations was divided into nine grades based on their profound variations: Two Rituals, Three Powers, Four Symbols, and so on. The more variations it held, the harder the formation was to set up.

Take the Ten Evils Spirit Rushing Formation I had encountered at the Bridge No. 3 Crematorium. That kind of grand array required gathering the Ten Evils Divine Fiends, expending ten years of yin energy, and transforming a ten-li radius into a ghost cave of yin nodes just to deploy. Its myriad variations and immense power were unimaginable.

Now Zichou was casually naming the Nine Sons Absolute Yin Formation. For a grand array starting with the number nine—not to look down on him, but to independently set up a formation with nine layers of variations, he would need at least another fifty years of cultivation.

So the moment I heard that name, I knew it was a trap. These brothers harbored ill intentions; it was highly likely they were planning to trap and kill me alongside those fierce ghosts.

"If you two are using a formation to exorcise the ghosts, what do you need me to do?" Free lunches didn't fall from the sky. I struck a completely harmless posture and beamed at the two of them.

"Simple. The two of us need to anchor the grand array and won't be able to move. When the time comes, we'll have to trouble you to lure those fierce ghosts and yin souls into the formation."

What Zichou said sounded perfectly reasonable, but then I thought about it a step further. "After I lure the fierce ghosts into the array and it activates, how am I supposed to get out? Or are you two planning to wipe me out right alongside them?"

"How could we make such an amateur mistake?" Zichou pulled a Command Flag from his coat. "The Nine Sons Absolute Yin Formation has a total of nine Command Flags. As long as you hold this flag, you can move completely unhindered within the array."

Half-doubting, I took the formation flag. Rolling yin energy billowed from it, the fabric inscribed with all sorts of bizarre Blood Talismans.

I gave it a couple of shakes, and miserable, agonizing wails faintly echoed in my ears from within the flag.

"Who knows if this formation flag is real or fake? Besides, grand arrays typically have a life gate and a death gate. If you gave me the Command Flag for the death gate, I'm afraid I'd never walk out of your formation alive." I casually tossed the flag back to Zichou. "I'm not walking into an array you set up. Let's change how we team up. You lay out the formation, have your little brother lure the enemy, and I'll guard the perimeter to ensure your safety."

The brothers' expressions turned rather awkward at my words. The younger brother, Zimao, immediately flew into a humiliated rage, pointing at me and cursing, "Don't push your luck!"

I gave a cold laugh. "When dealing with tigers, one has to be careful."

"Calm down. That works too." To my surprise, the older brother, Zichou, actually agreed. He handed the Command Flag over to his younger brother. "We're trapped inside a nightmare. If we want to get out, we have to work together."

He looked at me with deep sincerity, but the moment he spoke, the massive birthmark on his face began to twitch, sending a wave of visceral discomfort right through me.

"Since you've already compromised, I won't say anything more. Let's do it your way. Once we wipe out the resentful spirits and fierce ghosts, we can each take what we need." I nodded in agreement. Zichou also smiled, looking supremely confident.

Seeing him look so assured only deepened my suspicion that his array was a trap. But I didn't have any better options right now; I could only play along and cooperate.

"Once we head out, I'll set up the formation right where the corridor meets the emergency stairwell. Activating the array will take the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"Hold on a second." I raised a hand, cutting Zichou off. "If you set up the formation at the intersection of the stairwell and the corridor, we'll have to face off against resentful spirits from three directions at once. Isn't that putting way too much pressure on us?"

"This array has to be laid down in an open space, or it won't be able to deploy."

Zichou's answer made me frown. His explanation was incredibly forced.

"Any other questions?"

"No. Go ahead and prep the formation, I'll cooperate fully." I said the words, but in reality, I was already tallying up my trump cards.

The single-use Heavenly Capital Thunder Talisman was the only reason I dared to speak so forcefully to Zichou. On top of that, I still had a few Lower Vehicle Talisman Papers left from Lu Jin.

Beyond that, my greatest trump card was the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends. Those twins thought that wiping out the fierce ghosts and resentful spirits would give them the upper hand, but the most terrifying thing in this Dream Realm wasn't the ghosts at all—it was the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends that had dragged everyone into this nightmare in the first place.

It was fused with the Paulownia Mulberry Talisman. If we didn't eliminate it, this Dream Realm would never be broken.

Of course, I wasn't about to share that little detail with the twins. Wiping out the resentful spirits and fierce ghosts should also drain away a portion of the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends' strength. Plus, I could use the opportunity to gauge the twins' true power. Why wouldn't I take that deal?

I cast a backward glance at the frail, skinny Guo Junjie. I couldn't sense even a trace of the Primal Destiny Divine Fiends' sinister yin energy radiating from him. That was exactly why I hadn't used the thunder talisman to obliterate him the moment he appeared.

"It looks like we still have outsiders in this room. Let me clean them up first." The younger brother, Zimao, tightened his grip on his Precept Blade and marched toward Guo Junjie and Xiu Mu. His blade was slathered in Buddhist oil, making it highly lethal to resentful spirits.

"Don't kill the wrong target. This one is with me." I reached out and pulled Guo Junjie behind me. My action caught everyone in the room entirely off guard—including Guo Junjie himself.

"What is that supposed to mean? He's clearly formed from pure resentment." Zimao bristled with irritation; he couldn't stand the sight of me to begin with.

"Do whatever you want with the one in the corner, but these three are with me." I pointed at the girl, Guo Junjie, and Huang Xue.

"Quite the entourage you've got there. You really dragged your whole family along into a dream?"

I curled my lip and stayed quiet. 'If I told you I had over a thousand livestream viewers going wild in my channel right now, it'd probably scare you to death!' I thought.

Zimao clearly didn't buy it, but he didn't press the issue either. He simply swung his Precept Blade and stabbed Xiu Mu to death.

Meanwhile, Zichou finished his own preparations. Taking out nine infant finger bones, he walked over to the intersection of the corridor and the stairwell. "I'll lay the array here. Until my formation is complete, you absolutely cannot let the ghosts harass me, or all our efforts will be wasted."

"Don't worry, leave it to us." Sakurako, the others, and I guarded the stairs, while Zimao held the corridor. It looked completely foolproof.

"Alright. I'll trust you this once." Zichou divided the infant finger bones into three sets, arranging them into the shape of three tiny hands with the fingertips pointing upward, as if they were clawing at something.

'Merging three into one. This is definitely not the Nine Sons Absolute Yin Formation. It should be an evil array with only three layers of variations,' I thought, watching Zichou lay out the formation. Setting up a three-layered array independently was already incredibly rare for someone his age. 'Just what kind of formation is this? Why is he hiding its real name?'

I stayed on high alert, shielding Huang Xue behind my back. Out of everyone present, she was the only ordinary person who had been innocently dragged into this mess.

Once the nine finger bones were in place, he pulled out exactly twenty-seven Talisman Papers. Working in sets of nine, he pasted them around the infant bones in the pattern of the Nine Palaces.

I could tell he was bleeding his own capital for this. Complete sets of Talisman Papers were ten times more precious than single sheets. Yet, seeing him so willing to burn through his resources only made me feel more uneasy.

'This guy definitely has an ulterior motive,' I thought.

With the Talisman Papers set, Zichou sat cross-legged in the center of the corridor and silently chanted an incantation. All twenty-seven talismans began to emit a faint red glow, looking exactly like wide, blood-red eyes.

"Infant spirits clear the path, gather the yin and absorb the fiends!"

As he chanted the final line of the incantation, an ugly infant manifested above each of the three tiny bone hands. The moment these resentment-fueled infant spirits appeared, they turned toward the living people around them and unhinged their jaws, baring mouthfuls of fine, needle-like teeth.

"Return to your positions at once! No messing around!" Zichou barked. Only then did the three infant spirits obediently squat down on the finger bones. Each faced a different direction and opened their mouths as wide as possible, stretching the flesh until the corners of their lips nearly tore open.

"I'm going to activate the array now. I absolutely cannot be disturbed during this process." Zichou's expression was dead serious, and the massive birthmark on his face seemed to have darkened considerably.

"Bring forth the formation core!"

Reaching both hands into his coat, Zichou pulled out an ancient Talisman Paper. Painted across its surface was the striking image of a nine-tailed Blood Fox holding up the sky!