Chapter 674: Sealing the Mountain

"Looks like my estimate was off. This is going to take a while." I gave Wang Shi a long, hard look. I couldn't tell if he was deliberately stalling or simply seizing the opportunity to fully utilize the power of the Mountain God Sculpture and the Black Chess Piece. Either way, he was refining it much slower than I had anticipated.

Wang Shi was far from ordinary. Thinking back, he had survived the Real Death Game almost to the very end. When he boarded the train bound for the Underworld, he had rallied an entire carriage of passengers to escape, ultimately becoming the only person from that carriage to return to the world of the living.

He always managed to make the right call at the most critical moments, acting with absolute decisiveness. Yet the man had a glaring flaw: he was utterly self-centered.

His behavior on the train proved as much. While fleeing the conductor, he hadn't hesitated to pave his escape route with his companions' lives just to buy himself some time. The moment he reached safety, he locked the carriage door, cutting off everyone else's chance of survival to increase his own.

He was rational and cold-blooded. Honestly, I often found myself thinking that Wang Shi was far better suited to be a live show streamer than I was.

Without the means to turn the tables, he made for the best possible ally.

But give him even the slimmest chance of seizing control, and he was likely to become an all-or-nothing gambler.

"I hope you aren't using your own life as a betting chip," I murmured. I had always kept Wang Shi at arm's length; I couldn't afford to completely distrust him, but I couldn't fully trust him either.

I summoned the Filthy Ghost over and had it sit by the stone bridge, blocking the cave entrance. This would ensure Wang Shi wouldn't be disturbed, while also preventing him from pulling any stunts.

Gripping the Ten Directions Talisman Order, I recalled the Desire Ghost and the Seductive Ghost into my Ghost Ring before finally leaving the ley lines.

The entire morning slipped away as I waited, yet the sect cultivators I had anticipated never arrived.

'Did something go wrong?' Phones could be tracked, and the Yang Talisman should have been sensed. Logically, the sect cultivators should have arrived here long ago.

'Did those sect cultivators go to the Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital first?' It was entirely possible when I thought about it. After all, rescuing Xu Yan and the others was their top priority. 'That works out perfectly. It avoids a direct confrontation. The moment Wang Shi finishes refining the Yang Talisman, I'll put on the Human Skin Mask, assume a new identity, and leave. With any luck, I might even be able to catch a boat across the river.'

Jinghai City sat on the opposite bank of the great river. If I wanted to find the other live show streamer, going to Jinghai was my only option.

I was a very cautious person. I refused to let my guard down until I was certain I was safe.

Gripping the Ten Directions Talisman Order, I sank my consciousness into the token to sense the shifting motes of light inside. A moment later, my expression changed as I noticed an anomaly.

'The motes of light inside the Talisman Order have grown much dimmer. Some invisible force is trying to weaken their power!' A wave of unease washed over me. I immediately set out, climbing the high mountain south of the Three Yin Sect.

This was the highest terrain in the area, offering a view of the entire valley basin.

The weather today was exceptionally clear with a bright sun, yet the sunlight couldn't pierce the dense fog blanketing the Three Yin Sect.

I used my Judging Eye to scan my surroundings. When my gaze fell on the southern foot of the mountain, my heart skipped a beat. A Command Flag had been planted there.

Interwoven with divine patterns and brightly colored, it clashed completely with the dark tones of Henshan. I was absolutely certain I had never seen this thing here before.

I turned my head and looked further out. Identical Command Flags had also been planted on the mountains to the east and west of the Taoist temple.

'Command Flags radiating Daoist resonance?' The Three Yin Sect certainly wouldn't possess such a thing, and the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation didn't require dharma artifacts imbued with divine Daoist light to coordinate with. Thinking of this, the answer was self-evident—the sect cultivators had already arrived at some point!

My caution had saved my life once again. Concealing myself within the fog, I looked due north of the Three Yin Sect.

The layout of the Three Yin Sect's Taoist temple aligned perfectly with the Dragon Burial Pit feng shui terrain. The two large mountains to the north had a gap between them that offered a view of the great river. It funneled a tributary straight into the valley basin, revitalizing the stagnant water and forming a layout of a trapped dragon emerging from the abyss.

But as I looked now, an offering table had been placed in the gap between the two mountains. What was even more exaggerated was that, behind the table, a ritual altar had been erected at some point.

A Six Ding Jade Maiden stood to the right, presiding over earthly rites; a Six Jia Divine General stood to the left, presiding over heavenly rites.

I had seen this very structure in the Detailed Explanation of Profound Truth Dao Methods: a Six Ding Six Jia Divine Altar. Usually, an altar like this was only constructed when offering sacrifices to Heaven. It could correspond to the myriad laws of the world and eradicate all worldly evils.

'Opening an altar to perform a ritual?' My face darkened. True Celestial Masters rarely set up ritual altars for exorcisms anymore. After all, the world was at peace, and any occasional fierce ghost causing trouble was merely a minor nuisance that wouldn't catch a Celestial Master's eye. Xu Yan, for example, could sweep away anything in his path with a talisman order in hand.

Yet now, to deal with me, these sect cultivators had gone as far as erecting a ritual altar. The scale of this mobilization was far beyond my imagination.

'What are they trying to do? Have they discovered the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation? Are they planning to set up an even larger array right outside it?' The Five Great Upper Sects possessed profound foundations, so it wasn't surprising that someone could recognize the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation. What shocked me was their attitude.

It was worth noting that the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation had cost 1,777 talismans to construct. It had only evolved into its current scale after being constantly perfected by generations of Three Yin Sect disciples. For these sect cultivators to set up an array capable of countering the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation would be extremely difficult. It would consume a massive amount of resources and require multiple Celestial Masters to preside over it just to keep the grand array running.

'They're preparing to fight a war of attrition with me. They're dead set on capturing me.' I licked my dry lips, unable to figure it out. 'Could they have already received the news of the deaths of Xu Yan and the other disciples?'

Slaughtering an entire generation of sect disciples—just thinking about that charge was terrifying.

'Did Leng Qingxuan tell them about the Two-Faced Buddha or not? Why does it feel like these bastards all ran over to deal with me? Picking the softest persimmon to squeeze? Are they planning to capture me alive first before going to destroy the Two-Faced Buddha?' I had severely underestimated the sect cultivators' determination to catch me. I had assumed that hiding in Henshan and relying on the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation would allow me to rest easy. Now, I realized just how wrong I was.

Around noon, when the sun rose to its highest point, the divine patterns on the Command Flags in all four directions flashed, unexpectedly dispersing the dense fog around them.

The heavy fog was locked within a certain range. Only then did I see that there were far more than just those four Command Flags in the surrounding mountain forests and rock crevices; many smaller Command Flags and talismans had also been planted. Now, these Command Flags and talismans looked like a golden coiled dragon, completely sealing off the entire foggy area.

'Sealing the mountain?' I was shocked by the sect cultivators' domineering and aggressive tactics. I had guessed their methods before, feeling there was a high chance they would enter the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation to crack the array head-on. But who would have thought these guys were even more forceful than I imagined? They directly constructed an even more massive array right outside the Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation to completely seal me inside. If I hadn't exchanged for a Realm-Breaking Talisman from the Live Show in advance, I would have completely lost right here.

'Such a massive move, such grand ambition. No wonder they dare call themselves the Five Great Upper Sects of the world.' I had underestimated the sect cultivators' determination to catch me, and I had also underestimated their abilities.

'According to Leng Qingxuan, the people from the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple arrived in Jiangcheng at the crack of dawn. By now, they've probably already gone to the Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital. I just don't know what they found there to make them go so crazy.' Hidden within the heavy fog, I watched the golden dragon of talismans coiling around the four mountains, my eyes slowly growing calm.

'I still have a chance. The Ten Directions Ghost Refining Grand Formation is only one of my trump cards, and I can discard it at any time. The real key now is when Wang Shi will finish refining the Yang Talisman.' I had to keep a firm grip on Wang Shi. If I used him well, future live broadcasts would be much easier.

Under the shining sunlight, the heavy fog was forced into the valley basin. The two were sharply divided by the pine forest on the mountain peak.

'I hold the geographical advantage, while the sect cultivators hold the right time. It's hard to say who will win.' In a head-on confrontation, I didn't have a single chance of winning, but if I was merely stalling for time, I was highly confident.

Walking slowly down the mountain, I kept a close eye on the changes around me. As my Judging Eye swept across, cultivators appeared one after another to the north of the Taoist temple. They did not enter the perimeter of the dense fog.

'I'm right here. Can you catch me?' I returned to the ley lines and woke Wang Shi up, agreeing with him that as soon as I activated the Talisman Order, he would immediately mobilize the Yin and Yang forces at the array's core to assist me.

With everything planned out, I held the Talisman Order and headed toward the north side of the Taoist temple, wanting to get a closer look at whatever trick these sect cultivators were playing.