Chapter 139 — Formation Defense Style

That pile of materials, heaped like a small mountain, was mostly prepared for the *Heavenly Ring Moon Chime Formation*. If this talisman-chess were successfully set up, Zuo Yan reckoned that a cultivator in the Condensation Pulse stage who fell into it would have little chance of getting out. Moreover, the *Heavenly Ring Moon Chime Formation* was profoundly mysterious—brute force simply could not break it, unless one found its formation eye.

But at the formation eye, Zuo Yan had just carefully arranged a great big "alchemy furnace"!

Unfortunately, there was no time to daydream about the image of his enemy being roasted golden-brown. Zuo Yan needed to finish setting it up quickly.

Seventy-two sub-formations would take a great deal of time to lay out. So Zuo Yan's plan was to first set up an eighteen-sub-formation *Heavenly Ring Moon Chime Formation*, then use that as a foundation, add eighteen more, and form a thirty-six-sub-formation *Heavenly Ring Moon Chime Formation*. Step by step, expanding it, lest someone come knocking while he had no means of fighting back.

That he could conceive of such a brilliant idea filled him with immense self-satisfaction.

If my cultivation's no good, then I just won't compete with you on cultivation!

Glancing at the talisman-chess already laid down, Zuo Yan was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Centered on the puddle, talisman-chess pieces were densely packed—jade slips, bronze furnaces, iron nails—their radiance dazzling to the eye. The puddle itself was half a mu in size, and now this talisman-chess belt had already reached five mu. At first, many people had not noticed Zuo Yan, but once the five-mu talisman-chess belt was complete, beams of every color crisscrossed the air. By comparison, the giant golden-armored guardian summoned by the talisman soldiers seemed utterly insignificant upon this glittering expanse of talisman-chess.

This talisman-chess belt was simply too eye-catching. The spectators at Eastern Float could easily spot it at a glance within the immense mirage projection.

And so, many people unconsciously turned their eyes toward that glittering expanse.

Their expressions were remarkably uniform—every one of them gaped, dumbstruck, frozen where they stood.

Pei Xu and the others wore exceptionally grim expressions, for their cultivation was high enough that they could hear the surrounding chatter quite clearly.

"I hear this guy's from the Wukong Inkstone—not your ordinary top-grade talent!"

"Are you sure it's not the Wukong Talisman Sect?"

Pei Xu's eyebrow twitched. The other three wore faces dark as water. All four felt an unprecedentedly powerful urge—to charge straight into Pine Wave Pavilion and chop Zuo Yan to pieces with their swords as penance to the generations of founding masters!

Meanwhile, another discussion was drifting over from elsewhere.

"I've got it!" A cultivator shot to his feet, his face alight with sudden understanding, beside himself with excitement.

His companions crowded in at once: "Got what?"

The cultivator was flushed with excitement: "Zuo Yan's real aim is to seize Pine Wave Pavilion! Feint on one road, strike on another! He wants to take over Pine Wave Pavilion bit by bit—yes, the books call it 'nibbling away'..."

By now it was not only Pei Xu; every Wukong Inkstone disciple was so ashamed they wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

"We are unworthy disciples! We have brought shame upon the generations of founding masters!" Tears streamed down Pei Xu's face, his voice thick with grief.

Xin Yan's hand drifted unconsciously to his flying sword, his voice seeming to rise from the depths of the ninth hell: "I'll make sure he knows—he'll never reach the Wukong Talisman Sect."

Yan Le, usually all smiles, was now grinding his teeth: "Starting next month, all his provisions are cut off! He won't get a single crystal stone out of me!"

Shi Dai, by contrast, was quite calm, her face placid: "Don't worry. I'll tend his wounds. He absolutely won't die. You can all take your time with him."

The surrounding disciples had long since fallen silent as cicadas in winter, unconsciously edging away from their sect elders, who were on the verge of exploding.

Utterly unaware that he had stirred up public fury, Zuo Yan was immensely pleased with himself, transformed into a tireless worker ant, diligently pressing on with his grand expansion project.

Only five mu—really too small!

Once the seventy-two-sub-formation *Heavenly Ring Moon Chime Formation* was successfully laid, it would complete a super-large talisman-chess belt covering more than fifteen mu!

Zuo Yan named his creation: the Formation Defense Style—in full, the All-Talisman-Chess Formation Defense Style.

Today was destined to be the day the Formation Defense Style made its name!

Zuo Yan was brimming with pride, his heart full of ambition!