63: Chapter 63: Shadowy Hills

The battle of the Withered Bone Woodlands.

Although Fairy Youyue lost three fragments due to Liu Ruyan of the Hehuan Sect's interference, the Xuan Yin Cult relied on their geographical advantage and foundation to reassemble the fragments within three days.

The fifth complete fallen immortal token was ultimately born in Fairy Youyue's hands.

At this point, five complete tokens had appeared in the Ancient Battlefield:

Three for the Eternal Night Demon Sect, one for the Heavenly Sword Sect, one for the Xuan Yin Cult, and one for the Loose Cultivator, Tyrant Blade.

For the remaining four tokens, the speed of fragment collection had significantly accelerated.

The seventh was in the Shadow-Ghost Hills, with forty-two fragments already gathered.

The eighth was in Thunderclap Canyon, with thirty-nine fragments.

The ninth was in the Lake of Oblivion, with thirty-five fragments.

...

Inside the grotto, the seventh day.

The White Bone Scholar opened his eyes; his Late Nascent Soul Stage aura had recovered by seventy percent.

Although he hadn't reached his Peak, he already had the strength to fight.

Poison Lady, Yin Jiuyou, and Blood Slaughterer had also basically recovered; the trio's eyes were sharp, their Battle Intent rekindled.

During these seven days, Xiao Ran had made new discoveries in his research of the three complete fallen immortal tokens.

"When the tokens resonate with each other, they form a resonance field."

He demonstrated it to the group.

Three tokens floated in the air in a triangular distribution, connected by dark red light filaments, forming a field three feet in diameter.

"Within the field, a Cultivator's spiritual energy recovery speed increases by thirty percent, Spell power is boosted by twenty percent, and resistance to negative energy such as Yin souls and Evil Qi is greatly increased."

Ignoring the surprised looks of the others, Xiao Ran paused and continued.

"More importantly... if the three tokens are arranged in specific positions, they can trigger a Formation called the Three Talents Fallen Immortal Array. Once this Formation takes shape, it can trap and kill a Nascent Soul Great Perfection, and even briefly withstand attacks from Soul Transformation experts."

A sharp light flashed in the White Bone Scholar's eyes.

"Has Junior Brother Xiao mastered the method of setting up the Formation?"

"I have deduced seventy percent of it from the residual information in the tokens."

"But it requires time to practice, and when setting it up, three people must each hold a token, occupying the Heaven, Earth, and Human positions, and cooperate with perfect understanding."

Xiao Ran nodded and said.

In reality, he was deceiving the White Bone Scholar; he had long since mastered the complete usage of the Formation.

"Time is pressing; memorize the method first and practice on the way."

"Target: Shadow-Ghost Hills. Let's go!"

The White Bone Scholar made a prompt decision.

The five transformed into streaks of light and swept out of the grotto.

On the road.

The White Bone Scholar deployed orders while flying.

"Shadow-Ghost Hills is the territory of the Nether Hall; that group of ghost Cultivators is best at stealth and assassination."

"After we arrive, we'll observe from the periphery first to figure out the fragment distribution and the Nether Hall's arrangements."

"If the token isn't complete yet, we'll secretly seize the fragments and interfere with their synthesis."

"If it's already complete... then we'll take it by force."

Having said that, he looked at Xiao Ran again: "Junior Brother Xiao, the Three Talents Fallen Immortal Array will be presided over by you, me, and Yin Jiuyou."

"Poison Lady and Blood Slaughterer will be responsible for peripheral support and clearing out the small fry."

"Understood!"

The five flew at full speed; the three-thousand-mile journey took only two hours.

When the Shadow-Ghost Hills appeared in their vision, the sky was already nearing dusk.

The terrain here was undulating, with rolling hills.

Every hill was shrouded in dense gray-black shadows; even during the day, light could hardly penetrate, making it look like an eternal night.

Between the hills, ghost fires could be seen floating indistinctly, and the howling of the cold wind was mixed with shrill wailing.

"Such heavy ghostly Qi..."

"The people of the Nether Hall have operated here for a long time; I'm afraid they've set up layers of traps."

Poison Lady said with a frown.

Yin Jiuyou took a deep breath: "The purity of the Yin Qi here is extremely high; my Nine Nether Cold Qi can improve another notch."

The White Bone Scholar raised his hand to signal everyone to stop, hiding behind a high slope.

He took out an ancient bronze mirror; the mirror surface glowed with a faint light, shining toward the depths of the hills.

The scene in the mirror appeared.

Seven hills were arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper; atop each hill stood a black Soul Banner, its surface fluttering without wind, emitting dense Nether Ghostly Qi.

Between the seven Soul Banners, there were dark red light filaments connecting them.

In the center floated a token that had already absorbed forty-five fragments, only three short of completion.

And throughout the hills, at least twenty Nether Hall Disciples were lurking.

Their cultivation was at least at the Golden Core Stage, and three of the auras were particularly powerful, all of them Nascent Soul experts.

"The Nether Hall's Seven Star Soul-Locking Array."

The White Bone Scholar said solemnly.

"This Formation uses the seven Soul Banners as a base to gather souls and ghostly Qi; it can trap enemies, seize souls, and refine them."

"The higher the cultivation of the controller, the stronger the power."

He pointed to the three strongest auras in the mirror.

"Those three should be the Three Nether Sons of this generation of the Nether Hall—Gui Li, Gui Sha, and Gui Qi. All three practice the Nether Ghost Canon and are skilled in combined attack techniques."

"If they join forces, I'm afraid even Senior Brother Li would find it hard to compete within the Nascent Soul Stage."

Blood Slaughterer grinned, looking quite disdainful.

"Then we'll scatter them and slaughter them one by one!"

"No rush."

Hearing this, the White Bone Scholar shook his head.

"The Seven Star Soul-Locking Array is already set; a frontal assault won't be easy."

"When their final three fragments are in place, the Formation will briefly shift to use the token as its core; that will be the best time to break the Formation."

Having said that, he looked at Xiao Ran again.

"Junior Brother Xiao, can you sense where those three fragments are?"

Xiao Ran closed his eyes and, through the resonance of the three complete tokens, vaguely perceived fragment fluctuations in three directions on the periphery of the hills.

"Five miles northeast, eight miles southwest, and ten miles due west—there's one fragment in each direction, and they are currently being fought over."

"Who is fighting for them?"

Xiao Ran sensed carefully: "The northeast direction feels a bit like... people from the Supreme Dao Palace!"

Everyone's expression changed slightly.

The Supreme Dao Palace has made a move again!

Last time, they almost snatched a complete token right on the Eternal Night Demon Sect's home turf; this time, they've come again.

"To the southwest is Liu Ruyan of the Hehuan Sect; I can smell her stench from here."

"In the due west direction, the auras are mixed; at least three parties are in a chaotic battle."

Hearing this, the White Bone Scholar's eyes flickered.

"Ling Jianxin has come in person to seize the fragments... It seems the Supreme Dao Palace is determined to get the seventh token."

He paused and made a new decision.

"Plan change. Ling Jianxin is already at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection stage, only a step away from Soul Transformation. If we clash with him head-on, we will certainly suffer heavy losses."

"But the Nether Hall is equally unwilling to see the Supreme Dao Palace obtain the fragments."

"We don't need to act directly; we just need to observe in secret and wait for Ling Jianxin to clash with the Nether Hall, then we can reap the benefits."

Poison Lady frowned: "But if Ling Jianxin really gets the fragments, the seventh token will likely fall into the hands of the Supreme Dao Palace."

The White Bone Scholar sneered.

"How could it be that easy?"

"The Nether Hall has operated in the Shadow-Ghost Hills for many days; when the Seven Star Soul-Locking Array erupts with full force, even Ling Jianxin will have his hands full. Besides..."

He looked at Xiao Ran.

"Junior Brother Xiao, do your three complete tokens have a pulling force on the fragments?"

Xiao Ran closed his eyes and tried; after a moment, he opened them.

"Yes, but they must be within a hundred-zhang range to produce a significant pull; if the distance is too far, the effect is weak."

"A hundred zhang... that's enough."

A sharp light flashed in the White Bone Scholar's eyes.

"We'll lurk on the periphery first. The moment the fragments are gathered and the token is complete, the instant the Formation shifts, that will be our best chance to strike."

"At that time, Ling Jianxin, the Three Nether Sons, Tyrant Blade, Liu Ruyan... everyone will be fighting for the complete token."

"And with the Three Talents Fallen Immortal Array in our hands, plus the resonance boost from the three complete tokens, we might just have a chance."

The five quickly concealed their auras and looked for the best observation point on the periphery of the Shadow-Ghost Hills.