Chapter 286 Setting Up the Formation! Welcoming the Million-Year Tribulation!
[In the scene depicting the sky.]
In the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Bai Xuanzi stood with his hands behind his back in the center of the open space. His gaze swept over the ancient trees and terrain around him, his mind already racing with ideas. Di Tian stood behind him, and Gu Yuena stood beside him; neither of them spoke.
After a long while, Bai Xuanzi spoke.
"Let's use an array," Bai Xuanzi said. "Setting up a large defensive array will weaken the power of the lightning tribulation and also shield us from the divine sense of the God Realm. If they can't see it, they naturally won't interfere."
Di Tian nodded and asked, "What do you need me to do?"
"You don't need to do anything," Bai Xuanzi said. "Just watch from the side. Setting up the formation is my job."
Bai Xuanzi stopped speaking and began to act.
He raised his right hand, a golden light gleaming from his fingertips. The light wasn't dazzling, but it was very solid. He bent down and began to trace patterns on the ground with his fingertips. Golden light flowed from his fingertips, leaving intricate lines in the soil. These lines weren't chaotic, but rather followed a certain pattern, as if adhering to some ancient law.
Di Tian stood to the side, observing the patterns, his golden vertical pupils slightly contracting. He could sense that as Bai Xuanzi's fingertips moved, the surrounding spiritual energy began to become more active. The energy seemed to be drawn towards the center of the formation, slowly converging as if drawn by some force.
Gu Yuena sensed it too; her eyes lit up.
"This is..." Gu Yuena said softly.
Bai Xuanzi did not answer, continuing to inscribe. His movements were swift; golden light from his fingertips danced across the ground, lines extending, intertwining, and overlapping. In less than half an hour, the basic framework of the formation was complete.
But this is just the beginning.
Bai Xuanzi stood up and walked to an ancient tree at the edge of the clearing. He stretched out his hand and placed it on the trunk, golden light seeping into the trunk through his palm.
[Buzz—]
The ancient tree emitted a deep hum, and golden patterns appeared on its trunk, echoing the array patterns on the ground.
"These are the nodes of the formation," Bai Xuanzi explained. "Each ancient tree is an energy node. When the tribulation lightning strikes, its power will be distributed among these nodes, preventing it from being concentrated entirely on Di Tian."
Looking at the golden patterns, Di Tian couldn't help but ask, "How much energy does this require?"
"They're huge," Bai Xuanzi said. "That's why we need to use the root systems of these ancient trees. They're deeply rooted underground and can absorb spiritual energy from within a radius of dozens of miles. This spiritual energy will be converted by the formation to counteract the lightning tribulation."
Bai Xuanzi continued his setup. He walked through every ancient tree in the vicinity, carving golden patterns on their trunks to connect each tree to the core of the formation. The golden patterns spread across the trunks like the tree's own veins, radiating a soft light.
The ferocious beasts arrived one after another from afar. Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, the Demon King, the Crimson King, and several other high-level soul beasts stood on the outer edge of the open space, watching Bai Xuanzi set up the formation.
At first, they were just curious. But as Bai Xuanzi's arrangements became more elaborate, their expressions changed from curiosity to shock, and from shock to stunned silence.
[The Bear King's mouth gaped open, unable to close for a long time. The Demon King's hand, which was stroking his beard, froze in mid-air, his eyes fixed on the golden patterns. The Crimson King's breathing became rapid, and Bi Ji covered her mouth.]
"What...what kind of formation is this?" Xiong Jun stammered. "I've never seen anything like this before!"
"That's right, you haven't seen it before." The Demon King's voice was hoarse. "This is an array created by Bai Xuanzi himself. At our level, we have no way of knowing anything about such a thing."
"Those golden lines, each one contains a law of order," the Crimson King said. "I'm not watching him draw lines; I'm watching him rewrite the rules of this region."
[Biji took a deep breath and said, "With him here, Di Tian should be able to get through this safely."]
Xiong Jun nodded, said nothing more, and continued watching.
Bai Xuanzi's process of setting up the formation lasted a full day. From dawn to dusk, and from dusk to late at night, he hardly stopped. Golden light flickered continuously at his fingertips, the patterns on the ground grew increasingly dense, and the golden veins on the ancient tree became clearer and clearer.
As the last ancient tree was etched with golden patterns, and the final array rune connected to the core, the entire open space lit up.
[Buzz—]
A deep hum emanated from underground, and golden light surged from the patterns on the ground, spreading upwards along the veins of the ancient tree to its crown. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of dozens of miles seemed to be summoned, rushing wildly towards the center of the formation.
The spiritual energy coalesced into a tangible band of light, intertwining and swirling in the night sky before being absorbed, compressed, and stored by the array.
The ferocious beasts were completely dumbfounded by what they saw.
Bai Xuanzi withdrew his hand, turned around, and looked at Di Tian.
"The formation is set up," Bai Xuanzi said calmly.
Di Tian looked at him and bowed deeply: "Xuanzi, you've worked hard."
"Don't be so polite," Bai Xuanzi waved his hand.
In the plaza of the Dark World, the Soul Masters witnessed this scene, and their discussions erupted once again.
"Bai Xuanzi really set up the formation." A Soul Master's eyes widened. "Did you see those golden patterns? Did you see those bands of light where spiritual energy gathers? What level of formation is that?"
"Anyway, I've never seen it before," someone next to him said. "Those ferocious beasts were dumbfounded, and even Xiong Jun couldn't close his mouth. This shows that the formation set up by Bai Xuanzi is far beyond their comprehension."
"Moreover, Bai Xuanzi only used one day," another Soul Master said. "Such a large formation, such complex patterns, he completed it in just one day. This speed, this precision, is truly something that ordinary people cannot achieve."
"I'm getting more and more curious," someone said. "How will the formation operate next? How will Bai Xuanzi handle the lightning tribulation? And what will be the reaction from the God Realm?"
"Don't rush," said an older Soul Master. "The Heavenly Curtain will be lowered soon. Di Tian needs to start preparing, and the God Realm should be sensing it as well."
All eyes were once again focused on the sky.
[In the scene depicting the sky.]
The next morning, sunlight streamed into the core area of the Starry Sky Forest.
Di Tian stood in the center of the open space, surrounded by golden array patterns. The golden veins on the ancient tree shimmered faintly in the sunlight. Bai Xuanzi stood not far away, hands behind his back. Gu Yuena, Bi Ji, Xiong Jun, the Demon King, the Crimson King, and others stood on the outer perimeter, each with a face filled with tension and anticipation.
"Are you ready?" Bai Xuanzi asked.
Di Tian took a deep breath and nodded: "Ready."
"Then let's begin," Bai Xuanzi said. "Release your aura and trigger the tribulation lightning."
(End of chapter)