Chapter 693: Cultivation Does Not Determine Victory or Defeat

The battle to conquer Qianfenglin and the battle with the Lord of Wangchuan Mansion allowed Ning Zhuo to accumulate more than three digits of golden elixirs.

Most of them came from the Black Cloud Battlefield.

Luo Si's counterattack determined the outcome of the battle. After the two Nascent Soul-level leaders fell, many Jindan-level Imperial Guards monks were also defeated.

Therefore, most of the golden elixirs in Ning Zhuo's hands were cultivated through the ghost and soul techniques.

Facing Chen Xi's doubts, Ning Zhuo smiled and replied, "The Five Elements Kung Fu is the most popular. Therefore, there is no shortage of Five Elements Golden Pills, which is just what I need."

In his heart, he was planning: the golden elixirs of the Ghost Path and Soul Path techniques were not suitable for the Five Elements Golden Elixir Roulette. Perhaps he could trade them for golden elixirs of the Five Elements.

In this regard, the Tongshang Hall of the Wanxiang Sect should be able to meet Ning Zhuo's needs.

"Of course, I won't be changing it in the near future."

"Even if I exchange it in the future, I will try my best to use an assumed name and disguise myself, or ask Boss Sun to help me."

"I'm new here, so I can't just show off."

Su Lingkou glanced at Ning Zhuo, feeling that his tone was a bit too arrogant, and thought to himself: "You are only at the foundation-building stage, but you don't take the golden elixir seriously. My cousin is more humble and down-to-earth..."

Ning Zhuo looked at Chen Xi and asked him about his opinion on the Five Elements Golden Elixir Roulette.

"Interesting." Shen Xi expressed his opinion with great interest.

Ning Zhuo considered it carefully and asked about the difficult obstacles one after another.

Shen Xi answered them one by one.

The two talked more and more closely.

Chen Xi got to know Ning Zhuo better. "Ning Zhuo's attainments in the art of formations are indeed not as deep as mine, but his foundation in the art of formations is extremely solid. Yes, children of wealthy families always have a solid foundation in the four great arts of cultivation."

This understanding did not lower Chen Xi's evaluation of Ning Zhuo at all.

"It seems that Fellow Daoist Ning Zhuo has devoted decades of cultivation energy to the Five Elements."

"So much so that he is only at the middle stage of foundation building now."

"It's very normal for the formation to be like this."

If Ning Zhuo has some impressive accomplishments in the art of formations, then Chen Xi would begin to doubt whether he is an old cultivator who has achieved great success in maintaining his youthful appearance.

Yu Heye looked at it in surprise.

During the communication, Ning Zhuo kept a humble attitude, without any arrogance, and was always humbly seeking advice.

This made Yu Heye discover another side of Ning Zhuo.

Su Lingkou took all this for granted. During her time with her cousin, she had seen many monks asking for advice and discussing matters with Chen Xi.

Chen Xi became more and more interested in talking.

He no longer just answered, but began to explain his understanding of the Dao of Formation.

"Among the ten classic formations, the one I'm best at is the Nine Palaces Formation."

"Personally, I think the Nine Palaces Formation has a unique mechanism that is quite different from the other nine formations!"

The formation can be roughly divided into static formation and dynamic formation.

There are ten static formations, each a classic among classics, holding an unshakable position. Dynamic formations are numerous and have a much shorter history than static formations, often seen in battle formations. Examples include the Iron Bucket Formation, the Red Flower Formation, and Sun Lingtong's Thief's Breeze Formation.

The ten major static formations are: Hunyuan Formation, Yiqi Formation, Liangyi Formation, Sancai Formation, Sixiang Formation, Wuxing Formation, Liuhe Formation, Qixing Formation, Bagua Formation, and Jiugong Formation.

Chen Xi explained his reasons: "Most of the formations in the Liangyi Formation and the Sancai Formation focus on mutual generation and mutual restraint, using directions to establish a cycle. The core of the formation is basically the hub where magic power and divine energy converge."

"The Nine Palaces Formation emphasizes mathematical calculations! The palaces of the Nine Palaces interact and rotate with each other. Each palace holds a concentration of magical or divine power, making them relatively independent. The core of the Nine Palaces must be responsible for calculations and inferences."

Chen Xi knew that Ning Zhuo was good at the Five Elements, so he did not mention the Five Elements Formation in the conversation.

Ning Zhuo nodded: "Among the hundred arts of cultivation, formation is one of the four great arts. Among the ten static formations, the Nine Palace Formation is indeed the most effective in amplifying combat power."

Chen Xi took Ning Zhuo's face into consideration and did not mention the Five Elements Formation, but Ning Zhuo was humble and studious by nature and never took this to heart.

Ning Zhuo's solid foundation in formations made him quite aware of the advantages of the Nine Palace Formation.

He then gave an example: "Let's take the most basic ten static formation prototypes as an example. The Five Elements Formation's mutual generation amplification is only three to five times, while the Eight Trigrams Formation's hexagrams amplify the image by about six to eight times. However, the Nine Palaces Formation has a nine to twelve-fold amplification."

"And this is just the most basic prototype formation."

After a pause, Ning Zhuo continued, "I once did some calculations outside of class."

"If we use the Five Elements Prototype Formation to create a light shield to resist an attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator, we'll need at least 50,000 spirit stones."

"But if we use the Nine Palace Formation, we only need to move the Nascent Soul cultivator to the Xun Fourth Palace and then withstand the attack. The required spirit stones are only over 9,000 pieces, which saves about 80% of the cost!"

"Using the Bagua Formation to trap three Jindan cultivators would cost three thousand spirit stones. However, the Jiugong Formation can save 75% of the spirit stones for the same amount of time."

Su Lingkou complained again, "Why does Ning Zhuo always use Jindan and Yuanying cultivators as examples? Has he forgotten that he's only a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"

Why can't cultivators with lower cultivation levels use cultivators with higher cultivation levels as examples?

Ning Zhuo has never had such a fixed mindset.

As early as when he was in Huoshi Xiancheng, his imaginary enemy was the City Lord's Mansion, a Nascent Soul cultivator like Meng Kui, and his Jindan-level subordinates.

He had been pondering how to defeat the strong with the weak since he was a child. This spirit of research was deeply ingrained in him.

Ning Zhuo's example made Chen Xi understand directly that Ning Zhuo was not complimenting himself, but really held such an opinion.

Chen Xi clapped his hands and smiled: "The one who understands me is my humble Taoist friend."

He became excited and said, "There are many people who have used the Nine Palace Formation to defeat the strong with the weak. Take the people of my Feiyun Kingdom as an example."

"For example, fifteen years ago, the Qingyun Sect was attacked by demonic cultivators."

"Qingyun Sect is just a small sect. Its strongest person is Chu Ping, who is at the peak of the Golden Core stage. He is good at setting up formations."

"He is the only one Jindan disciple, and twenty-seven foundation-building disciples, defending the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate."

"His opponent is the notorious Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator Blood Corpse Old Demon, and three thousand blood-coagulated corpses."

"Chu Ping asked the foundation-building disciples to guard the nine palaces, while Chu Ping himself entered the middle five palaces as bait, luring the old demon into the formation and attacking him."

"After the Blood Corpse Demon entered the formation, Chu Ping immediately changed the palace grid, locking the main battlefield in the Li Jiu Palace and Kun Er Palace."

"The blazing flames that were finally unleashed were amplified eighty-one times by the Li Jiu Palace and four times by the Kun Er Palace. They instantly burned the Blood Corpse Demon's body, allowing its Nascent Soul to escape. The three thousand Blood Corpses were also burned to ashes."

Chen Xi continued, "More than seventy years ago, a chess fanatic, one of the four great wandering cultivators of Feiyun Country, carried out his friend's dying wish and designed a formation test to pass on his friend's inheritance to the cultivator who passed the test."

"The chess fanatic used nine rare stones from the valley to create a Nine Palace Formation, and the sword cultivator Ling Xiao charged into the formation."

"Although Qi Chi and Ling Xiao are both at the Nascent Soul stage, the latter is recognized as being only one step away from the Divine Transformation stage, and can be considered a quasi-Divine Transformation stage."

"At the beginning, Ling Xiao was unstoppable, breaking through four palaces in a row. But after the palaces changed, he was led to the Dui Seventh Palace by the chess fanatic."

"The chess fanatic also placed the Qianliu Palace at the back, forming a cycle of the marsh qi ascending to the sky and the heavenly thunder returning to the marsh."

"Ling Xiao fought with all his might, forcing the cycle to break. However, this caused the Zhen San Palace to become unbalanced, which in turn triggered a reverberation in the Gan Liu Palace. This caused Ling Xiao's sword energy to increase thirty-six times, and then it rebounded against the original owner."

"In the end, Ling Xiao was defeated and retreated after vomiting blood."

Ning Zhuo listened carefully and broadened his horizons.

He nodded in agreement and continued, "As far as I know, the most famous example of the Nine Palace Formation defeating the strong with the weak is 'The Boy Trapped by the Dragon'."

This is a story often told in books on formations.

Xiaoman, a fisherman boy in the foundation-building stage, was chased by a dragon and accidentally escaped to a strange place at the bottom of the river.

There is a page of Luoshu here, lost here and buried in the mud in the river.

Over time, the surrounding environment gradually changed according to the principles recorded in the pages of Luoshu, forming a natural Nine Palaces Formation constructed with water veins as the lines.

Xiaoman was chased here and obtained the pages of Luoshu. He used his only nine water-proof copper coins to activate the Nine Palace Formation, and then took the risk to lure the evil dragon into the formation.

The evil dragon, unfamiliar with the formation, severely injured Xiaoman but also trapped within it. Each time it struggled, its Nascent Soul was reduced to one-twentieth of its previous state. After struggling several times, the evil dragon was deeply sealed within the Nine Palace Formation, ultimately becoming a supporting villain in the legendary battle of Foundation Establishment defeating the Nascent Soul.

This happened a long, long time ago.

But because it was so widely circulated, this story was recorded in many books.

"Luo Shu?" Yu Heye listened for a while before finally finding a place to interject. "I know this. It's the source of mathematics and physics. It's extremely valuable for studying formations, divination, and so on."

"The Luoshu was scattered long ago. Yu Xiaoman's Luoshu page also disappeared due to his failure in overcoming the tribulation."

Yu Heye's attainments in formations are not as profound as Ning Zhuo's.

He came from an ordinary family, had no foundation in childhood, and was not interested in this area.

Ning Zhuo and Chen Xi were communicating with great interest, and he was almost yawning. Finally, someone interrupted to talk, which cheered him up.

Taking the opportunity to speak, he introduced the delicacies on the table, trying to change the topic back.

Although he was completely clueless about spiritual cooking, at least he was quite old and had consumed a lot of spiritual stones, so this was an area he was familiar with.

However, after eating and drinking a few mouthfuls, Chen Xi brought the topic back to the Nine Palace Formation.

He has made great achievements in formations. On the one hand, it is due to his family's training since childhood, and on the other hand, it is also his personal interest and hobby.

Love is often the best teacher.

Without this love, Chen Xi wouldn't have achieved such accomplishments in formations. He invested a lot of time and energy in formations, sacrificing many opportunities to practice.

Chen Xi said: "Speaking of the Nine Palace Formation, we are currently in a Nine Palace Formation."

Ning Zhuo was puzzled: "Fellow Daoist Shen, are you saying that the protective formation at the Embracing Vine Cliff here is a Nine Palace Formation?"

Chen Xi nodded slightly: "That's right."

"No, no." Yu Heye shook his head. "Bao Tengya's protective formation is called the Thousand Vine Drinking Cloud Formation. I can confirm that."

Chen Xi actually nodded again: "That's right."

This made Ning Zhuo and Yu Heye even more confused.

Chen Xi explained with a smile, "Don't you two think that the peaks around Baoteng Cliff are a little close?"

“This is actually a deliberate layout.”

"The nine peaks, including Baoteng Cliff, Xuanming Peak, Jinglei Island, Yunmo Peak, and Yuzui Hill, each have their own mountain protection formations, but overall they form the pattern of the Nine Palaces Formation."

Ning Zhuo couldn't help but feel a little moved.

The cave where his mother lived during her lifetime, Shuyuzhai, was on the top of Yunmo Peak.

Yu Heye raised his eyebrows: "Is that so?"

Chen Xi nodded: "This Nine Palace Formation was set up by Xie Tang, the Ji Shulang of Chongzhen Peak..."

After Chen Xi's introduction, Ning Zhuo and Yu Heye finally understood the whole story.

Xie Tang is a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage. He once served as an official in the Feiyun Kingdom and held a very high position, so he was given the title Jishulang.

He was very good at setting up battle formations. After resigning from his official position, he returned to the sect and devoted himself to cultivation.

During one of his exchanges, he came to the Nine Palaces Immortal City to attend a class. In the class, the case he cited was this Nine Palaces Formation.

Chen Xi recalled, "Senior Xie Tang's mastery of formations astounded me at the time. This Nine Palace Formation was truly his greatest achievement. He even said in class that he had left behind a magical formation weapon that he couldn't use, hidden within this Nine Palace Formation, waiting for someone who was destined to find it. This also left a deep impression on me."

Ning Zhuo's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam, and he pretended to be intrigued: "Oh? What kind of magic weapon is it?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "Fellow Daoist Ning, this magic weapon is hot, you can't take it casually."

Ning Zhuo pretended to be puzzled: "Why is this?"

Su Lingkou covered his mouth and smiled: "This is actually Senior Xie Tang's screening method. He selects cultivators with a certain level of attainment in the art of formations so that he can be introduced to the Heavy Formation Peak."

"Many seniors in the Wanxiang Sect do this, just like baiting a fish."

"If you take his formation magic weapon, you will have a connection with him and owe him a debt. You will also be marked with the mark of the heavy formation peak."

"Therefore, cultivators with other aspirations will never take the initiative to pick up this array magic weapon."

Ning Zhuo nodded: "Thank you for clarifying my doubts. It's not much different from what I guessed."

He looked at Shen Xi and naturally asked what he really wanted to ask: "Fellow Daoist Shen must have the ability to take this magic weapon, but he didn't do so..."

Chen Xi nodded: "Senior Xie Tang's plan is not difficult to break. But I am not a casual cultivator, I come here on behalf of the family."

"Before I came here, I was warned many times by my family elders not to join a team casually beforehand. I believe that Fellow Daoist Ning understands this very well."

That is not the case.

When the Ning Zhuo family split, he was the head of the branch family. The entire Ning family branch listened to him.

Furthermore, he had considerable influence within the two states, at least within the Three Generals' Camp. His status as the "Old Monster in the Stone" also commanded considerable prestige within the Thousand Peaks Forest.

He is also the deputy city lord of Baizhixian City.

Chen Xi hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "This Feiyun Conference may be different from the previous ones. We plan to first establish a small base and observe the situation."

Ning Zhuo's heart moved, and he immediately understood that Chen Xi was alluding to the confrontation between the old and the new, and the affairs of Zilei Peak and Liuyun Peak.

Yu Heye's eyes widened, his face full of confusion: "What's the difference?"

He was the oldest and had been in Wanxiang Sect the longest, but he didn't even notice this.

After all, he was a casual cultivator, so he had no awareness of this. The techniques he practiced were still those like the "Reverse Five Elements Magic Art," which only reached the Nascent Soul stage. His greatest achievement was barely being recognized as a true Golden Core disciple.

You know, the Wanxiang Sect has quite a few Golden Elixir disciples.

Yu Heye had never been in a department of power, and his experience was too limited. He focused most of his energy and attention on "avoiding going astray."

There are hundreds of arts in cultivation and hundreds of aspects of life.

The level of cultivation cannot determine victory or defeat.

He has plenty of means at his disposal to defeat the strong with the weak.

Formation is one, strategy is the second.

No matter how high your cultivation level is, if you don't understand the situation, you will be calculated by the scheming person and become a thug or a pawn.

(End of this chapter)