Chapter 91: Repairing the Ancient Formation and Encountering an Attack

As time passed, Fang Hao had been a Guest Elder of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion for nearly half a year. Relying on his solid Formation attainments and cautious conduct, he successfully completed several missions, gradually accumulating prestige among the Guest Elders and amassing a significant amount of contribution points. He lived a simple life, spending most of his time Cultivating and studying Formations in his small courtyard or the Mansion’s library. His cultivation steadily rose to the Peak of the Late Foundation Establishment Stage, only a step away from Great Perfection.

However, the peaceful days did not last long. On this day, Fang Hao’s Guest Elder token vibrated urgently, and an emergency mission message from the Mansion’s Logistics Department flooded into his mind:

Emergency Mission: Earth Rank, Grade C

Mission Location: Heavenly Wolf Pass

Mission Content: Assist in repairing the core Formation Plate of the ancient defensive Formation, the "Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array." The Formation Plate has fallen into disrepair and has recently shown abnormal fluctuations, affecting border security.

Mission Requirements: Depart immediately; led by Master Zhao, accompanied by three Guest Elder Formation Masters.

Mission Reward: 800 contribution points, plus additional rewards.

"Heavenly Wolf Pass?" Fang Hao’s heart stirred. He had seen records in ancient texts; Heavenly Wolf Pass was located on the western border of Qingzhou and was a vital pass for the Mingling Empire to defend against the Great Qin Empire to the west. The terrain was treacherous, and it was heavily garrisoned year-round. The "Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array" was a legendary ancient Formation of immense power, said to be able to summon Nine Heavens divine lightning to repel enemies at its Peak. Had a problem actually occurred with this Formation?

The mission Rank was "Earth Rank, Grade C," which was already quite difficult, and the rewards were extremely generous. After a brief contemplation, Fang Hao accepted the mission. This was not only an Opportunity to earn contribution points but also an excellent Opportunity to come into contact with an ancient Formation and enhance his own Formation attainments.

He quickly packed his gear and rushed to the Mansion’s gathering point. Master Zhao was already waiting there, along with three other Guest Elders—two men and one woman. Their cultivation levels were all at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or Great Perfection, and they were all well-known Formation Masters within the Mansion. Upon seeing Fang Hao, Master Zhao nodded slightly, while the other three had varied expressions, ranging from curiosity to scrutiny.

"The situation is urgent; we’ll discuss the details on the way. Depart!" Master Zhao spoke succinctly and summoned a fast-moving Mansion-standard flying boat. After the five of them boarded, the boat turned into a streak of light, heading straight for the western horizon.

During the journey, Master Zhao informed everyone of the details with a solemn expression. The energy fluctuations of the Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array’s core Formation Plate at Heavenly Wolf Pass had been extremely unstable recently, with occasional lightning leaks. Although it hadn’t completely failed, its defensive power was greatly reduced. Border friction had increased lately, and scouts from the Great Qin Empire were active. If the Formation failed, the consequences would be unthinkable. The Formation Masters within the pass were helpless and had to seek aid from the Mansion.

"The Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array is incredibly profound, a remnant from ancient times. Our primary goal on this trip is stability; do not force a complete repair. Everything must be done with caution," Master Zhao repeatedly urged.

A few days later, the flying boat arrived at Heavenly Wolf Pass. They saw a majestic pass guarding the gap between two towering mountain ranges. The city walls were high, banners fluttered, and a murderous aura greeted them. The soldiers in the pass had fierce temperaments, clearly elite veterans of many battles.

Under the guidance of the garrison commander, the five of them went straight to a heavily guarded altar in the center of the pass city. Floating above the altar was a bronze Formation Plate over ten feet in diameter, covered in profound lightning runes—the core of the Nine Heavens Thunder Control Array! At this moment, lightning flickered erratically on the surface of the plate, making sizzling noises, and the energy fluctuations were extremely unstable.

Master Zhao led the group forward to investigate carefully. Fang Hao activated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and Ethereal Art to observe the structure of the Formation Plate. He discovered several extremely fine cracks at the core of the plate, and deeper within, there seemed to be a dormant, ancient, and violent will that was restless.

"It’s a array spirit!" Fang Hao was secretly shocked. Such ancient Formations, having endured through the ages, often birthed a trace of sentience, known as a array spirit. This Formation Plate had been in disrepair for so long that not only was its structure damaged, but even the array spirit had fallen into a state of disorder.

Master Zhao had clearly seen the problem as well, his brow furrowed: "The structural damage to the Formation Plate can still be repaired, but the restlessness of the array spirit is a major problem. Forcing a repair might trigger a backlash."

After discussion, it was decided that Master Zhao would preside while the other four assisted, first attempting to stabilize the array spirit before repairing the structural damage.

The repair work began. Master Zhao sat in the center, using his profound Late Golden Core Stage spiritual power to gently nourish the Formation Plate, attempting to soothe that restless sentience. Fang Hao and the other three took positions at the four cardinal points, following Master Zhao’s guidance to carefully direct the plate’s energy and repair those fine cracks.

The process was extremely slow and mentally taxing. In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Most of the cracks had been repaired, and the fluctuations of the array spirit seemed to have smoothed out. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a sudden change occurred!

Just as Fang Hao used a trace of Chaos Qi to attempt to communicate with that ancient sentience and guide the final critical energy circuit, the dormant array spirit seemed to be startled awake by this wisp of Origin aura and suddenly became violent!

"Not good!" Master Zhao’s face changed drastically!

Rumble!!!

The sky above the altar darkened instantly as dark clouds gathered and lightning snakes danced wildly! The massive power of thunder was triggered by the disordered Formation, transforming into a bolt of purple heavenly lightning as thick as a bucket, crashing down toward the center of the altar! The target was Fang Hao, who was currently guiding the energy!

Thunderstorm backlash!

"Fang Hao, look out!" Master Zhao cried out, pushing his spiritual power to the limit to try and control the Formation Plate, but the array spirit had gone berserk and was difficult to suppress for the moment!

Fang Hao’s scalp tingled as the shadow of death instantly enveloped him! The power of this heavenly lightning far exceeded the attack of a Golden Core Cultivator! He did not hesitate and erupted with his full power! The Five Elements Spirit Shield was instantly stacked! The empty clarity mirror was sacrificed, its mirror light attempting to warp space and deflect the lightning! Simultaneously, he executed the Divine Spirit Steps to the limit, retreating violently to the side and rear!

BOOM!!!!

The heavenly lightning struck! The Five Elements Spirit Shield shattered like paper! The light from the empty clarity mirror warped violently, barely deflecting a portion of the lightning’s might, but a large part of the thunderous power still slammed heavily into Fang Hao!

"Pfft—!" Fang Hao felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, spraying blood as he was blasted away, smashing heavily into the edge of the altar. His body was scorched black, his clothes were shredded, and his aura instantly withered to the extreme! Had his Physical Body not been tempered many times and protected by Chaos Qi, this single strike would have been enough to annihilate his soul and body!

The altar was in Chaos. Master Zhao and the others were doing their best to suppress the Formation Plate and had no time to spare for anything else.

At this critical moment when everyone’s attention was drawn by the thunderstorm, a ghost-like black shadow, as if merging into the shadows, appeared silently behind the heavily injured Fang Hao! A short sword coated in a faint blue cold glow, carrying icy killing intent, stabbed straight for Fang Hao’s heart!

The timing was incredibly cunning and ruthless! It was exactly the moment when Fang Hao’s old strength was spent, his new strength had not yet risen, he was heavily injured, and his mind was shaken!

An assassination! A Golden Core assassin from the Gongming Family of Black Rock City had finally found this once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity and launched a fatal blow!

Only when the cold blade touched his body did Fang Hao suddenly realize, but under his heavy injuries, his physical reaction was half a beat slow, and it was too late to completely dodge!

"Die!" A savage look of delight appeared in the shadow’s eyes.

At the moment of extreme peril, the chaos pill cauldron that had been nurtured within Fang Hao’s Dantian seemed to sense its master’s fatal crisis and suddenly vibrated! A wisp of pure Chaos Qi overflowed on its own, instantly flowing through Fang Hao’s entire body!

At the same time, the Guest Elder token that Fang Hao always kept close to him also seemed to be drawn by the Luck of the Mansion and grew slightly warm!

Puchi!

The short sword pierced into Fang Hao’s back, but it was as if it had struck an invisible barrier. It did not penetrate deep before being firmly blocked by a hazy power of Chaos! The poison on the sword tip was also instantly purified by the Chaos Qi!

"What?!" The shadow assassin’s pupils shrank in disbelief!

This split-second delay gave Fang Hao a glimmer of hope! He endured the intense pain, using the momentum to lunge forward while his mind frantically communicated with his storage ring!

"golden puppet!!!"

Boom!

A massive dark-gold figure appeared out of thin air, blocking the path between Fang Hao and the assassin! Although the golden puppet had not been fully repaired, the material and pressure of the Nascent Soul Level were still there!

The moment the golden puppet appeared, it threw a punch at the shadow assassin!

The assassin was pale with fright. Feeling that terrifying Nascent Soul pressure, how could he dare to continue the fight? He withdrew his short sword, his body turning into a wisp of black smoke, and instantly fled into the shadows of the pass city’s buildings.

From the thunderstorm backlash to the assassin’s surprise attack, and then to the golden puppet scaring off the powerful enemy, everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Master Zhao manage to stabilize the Formation Plate, and the thunderclouds gradually dispersed. He turned to see Fang Hao lying heavily injured on the ground with a nascent soul puppet standing beside him. Sensing the lingering sharp killing intent, he immediately understood what had happened, and his face became extremely unsightly.

"There’s an assassin! Seal Heavenly Wolf Pass! Search!" Master Zhao roared his orders, while quickly approaching Fang Hao and taking out a sacred healing medicine for him to swallow.

Fang Hao took the medicine and barely suppressed his injuries. Looking in the direction the assassin had fled, his eyes were as cold as frost.

The Gongming Family... they finally came knocking! And their timing was so precise!

This trip to Heavenly Wolf Pass had not only resulted in a backlash from an ancient Formation but had also drawn a fatal killing intent. It was fraught with danger, but it also made Fang Hao realize that his two trump cards, the chaos pill cauldron and the golden puppet, could save his life at a critical moment. And his grudge with the Gongming Family had already reached a point where only one side could survive.