74: Chapter 74 Deployment of Passes

The wind at Black Wind Pass carried the scent of rust and dust, howling as it swept past the jagged cliffs.

Lin Hu wiped the grime from his face, looked at the thirty-second grotto just carved into the rock wall, and grinned.

These grottos extended from the entrance of the pass all the way to the innermost corner, like a string of cold eyes embedded in the rock, quietly waiting for prey.

"Boss, this rock is way too hard." A Sharp Soldiers Camp Cultivator swung his aching arm; the rock-breaking hammer in his hand had several chips in it.

"If it weren't for the 'Spirit-Breaking Chisel' given by the Clan Chief, we wouldn't have finished one in three days."

Lin Hu weighed the chisel engraved with a miniature Spirit-Breaking Talisman in his hand.

He pointed to the mouth of a grotto: "Stop complaining and hurry up and put on the spirit wood camouflage. The leaves must be placed in the direction of the wind; don't leave any clues."

The thirty Sharp Soldiers Camp Cultivators were divided into two groups.

One group continued to carve new hiding spots deeper into the pass, while the other used vines soaked in spirit liquid to fix fresh spirit wood planks covered in dew to the grotto openings.

These spirit wood planks blended with the natural, sparse shrubs on the cliffs, appearing almost indistinguishable from reality.

In the afternoon, the formation eye of the Seven Star Formation was also set up.

Lin Hu crouched on the ground in the center of the pass, where seven intersecting arcs were drawn with cinnabar.

He dipped his fingertip into spirit spring water and carefully touched the core where the arcs intersected; that was the hub of the Spirit Gathering runes and the 'heart' of the entire Formation.

As the last drop of spirit water fell, the cinnabar lines on the ground suddenly flared with a faint golden light, faintly resonating with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi drifting in the air, forming a spiritual energy barrier difficult to see with the naked eye.

A curious Cultivator reached out to touch it, and as soon as his fingertip hit the barrier, he was bounced back by a soft force, with a few specks of golden spiritual light sticking to the back of his hand.

"Hey, it actually worked! This Formation is even more effective than the ones we practiced in the trial tower!" the Cultivator said in surprise.

Lin Hu stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes:

"Don't be careless, this is just the basic Formation frame. Later, we need to bury an 'Explosive Flame Talisman' at each formation eye and connect them to the grotto mechanisms with spiritual energy fuses. Once the people from Black Stone City step inside, we'll let them taste the 'Spiritual Qi fireworks'."

He looked up toward the top of the cliffs, where a few small black dots were faintly visible; they were the sentries responsible for keeping watch.

They were equipped with 'Eagle-Eye Mirrors' made from medicinal Materials newly blended by Lin De and lenses polished from spirit crystals by Lin Shi; these were more reliable than an ordinary Cultivator's Divine Sense, especially suitable for this misty mountainous terrain.

Meanwhile, inside the Magical Artifact Workshop of Sunset Town, the roar of forging made the roof tiles rattle.

Lin Shi was bare-chested, his muscles bulging as he swung a spirit-patterned iron hammer larger than a human head, striking heavily against a red-hot iron billet.

This iron billet originated from refined spirit iron ore secretly transported back from the border of Black Stone City, and it had been tempered by the afterglow of a Lightning Tribulation, glowing with a faint purple light.

"Quench!" Lin Shi barked.

An apprentice immediately brought over a basin of dark green, viscous liquid, in which crushed numbing bone grass and Heart-Clearing Grass juice were soaked.

The red-hot iron billet was submerged, and with a 'sizzle', a cloud of white smoke mixed with a medicinal fragrance rose, while the iron's color quickly turned to a deep, profound black.

"It's done!" Lin Shi used iron tongs to pick up the iron billet; fine lightning patterns had naturally emerged on the surface, which was the prototype of the Spirit-Breaking Talisman Lin Yue had requested.

"This lightning-tempered spirit iron is indeed overbearing. Combined with the numbing bone grass juice, the arrowheads will have a paralyzing effect in addition to breaking spiritual energy—two birds with one stone!"

The surrounding apprentices gathered around, holding newly made spirit gathering shields in their hands.

"Master, can this shield really reflect attacks?" A young apprentice couldn't help but reach out and tap the surface of the shield.

A layer of faint light immediately rippled across the shield's surface, and the counter-shock force made his palm go numb.

"Be gentle!" Lin Shi slapped the back of his head.

"The Materials used for this shield have been nurtured by the Spiritual Vein in the back mountain for a long time. It can reflect about thirty percent of the power of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator's attack. Later, go to the trial tower and test it with a mirror image phantom to see."

Inside the Pill Workshop, the medicinal fragrance had almost condensed into a physical substance.

Lin De sat cross-legged in front of a Pill Furnace, holding a handful of Spirit-Returning Grass between his fingers, adjusting the furnace fire.

Burning beneath the furnace was not ordinary wood, but 'Spirit-Fire Charcoal' produced from the first floor of the trial tower; it released gentle spiritual energy when burned, helping the medicinal properties evaporate.

"Xiao An, divide the Clear-Accumulation Powder into three-qian packets, wrap them properly with moisture-proof spirit paper, and distribute them to the brothers of the Sharp Soldiers Camp," Lin De instructed without looking up.

"The moisture at Black Wind Pass is heavy; don't let the medicinal powder get damp and lose its efficacy."

The medicine boy Xiao An ran over holding oil-paper packets, the tip of his nose stained with medicinal powder: "Master, the numbing bone grass juice is ready. Should it be mixed into the arrowhead coating?"

Lin De lifted the lid of a nearby clay jar, and a deep green liquid emitted a pungent smell: "Mix it! Mix in a lot! It's perfect for dealing with those rough Body Cultivator fellows from Black Stone City. One arrow and their limbs will be paralyzed, they won't even be able to hold their weapons steadily!"

The busy activity in Sunset Town was like a stone thrown into a quiet lake, creating ripples in the dark undercurrents of power in eastern Yunzhou.

Fifty li away, at the Black Stone City outpost camp, a black-armored Cultivator knelt in a tent, his whole body shaking like a sieve.

In the main seat of the tent sat a young man with a haughty expression, wearing a brocade robe embroidered with Black Wind patterns.

He wore a large spirit ring on his finger; he was the son of the Lord of Black Stone City and the newly appointed eastern commander, Black Wind.

"What did you say? Those hicks from Sunset Town are carving holes and setting up Formations at Black Wind Pass?" Black Wind toyed with a jade pendant, his tone full of contempt.

"Just because they produced a Golden Core Cultivator, they think they can turn the world upside down? That waste Li Tu couldn't even take down a small town."

The kneeling Cultivator kowtowed repeatedly: "Young Commander, please calm your anger! Those Sunset Town Cultivators are indeed strange. I heard they have some kind of tower that can make one's cultivation soar. They already have over fifty Foundation Establishment Cultivators..."

"Over fifty?" Black Wind sneered and slammed the jade pendant onto the ground.

"My Black Stone City has ten people at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage alone! Why should I fear a bunch of rabble? Tomorrow morning, you will lead five hundred men as a vanguard to scout the way and break that Formation at Black Wind Pass! While you're at it... burn their spirit fields and show them some colors!"

"But Young Commander, the City Lord instructed..."

"My father is far away in the main city! Here, I have the final say!" Black Wind slapped the table, and the pressure of the Early Golden Core Stage exploded outward, making the entire tent tremble.

"If you don't handle this well, bring me your head!"

The kneeling Cultivator dared not say another word and scrambled out of the tent.

Black Wind was left alone in the tent.

He walked to a hanging map, his finger pressing heavily on the location of Sunset Town, his eyes filled with greed:

"I heard that Sunset Town has a treasure tower that can make people break through realms quickly... Once I take this place and use the tower to reach the Middle Golden Core Stage, even my father will have to show me some respect!"

He was completely unaware that his arrogance was leading him step by step into a carefully woven net.

The night at Black Wind Pass was even deeper than in Sunset Town.

Lin Yue stood deep within the pass, looking up at the grottos on the cliffs that faintly glowed; the sentries were using specific frequencies of spiritual light to transmit signals.

"Clan Chief, everything is ready." Lin Hu walked over and handed him a newly drawn defense map.

"Thirty grottos, each with two men lying in wait, equipped with armor-piercing crossbows and Explosive Flame Talismans. Seven formation eyes for the Seven Star Formation, each with ten 'Explosive Flame Talismans' buried, connected by spiritual energy fuses. They can all be triggered simultaneously at your command."

Lin Yue took the map and examined it closely by the moonlight: "What about the rock piles at the top of the cliffs?"

"Ready! They are all polished giant boulders, secured with spirit-patterned cables. Cut the cables, and the boulders will roll down the preset slopes, perfectly sealing off the pass." Lin Hu pointed overhead.

"The brothers guarding the top are all equipped with spirit gathering shields; they can hold out even if they encounter an arrow attack."

Lin Yue nodded and looked toward Black Stone City. In the night, there were flickering lights there, like the breathing of a crouching beast.

"Black Wind is eager for quick success and will definitely send people to scout the way," he said in a low voice. "We'll start with his vanguard to dampen their morale."

He took a small jade bottle from his robe, containing some golden powder.

"This is 'Heart-Condensing Powder'; have the brothers apply it to their arrowheads. Black Wind Pass is damp and heavy, and spiritual energy is easily disturbed. This powder can stabilize the arrow's trajectory, ensuring every shot counts."

Lin Hu took the jade bottle and opened the lid to sniff it; a pure spiritual energy pierced straight to his mind, and he immediately felt his spirit clear.

"Clan Chief, is this better than the concentration Talismans from the trial tower?"

"You'll know once you try it." Lin Yue smiled slightly. "Tomorrow, we'll let Black Stone City see what it means to 'invite the target into the trap'."

The night grew deeper, and the cold wind at the pass became even harsher, carrying the howling of distant wolves as it echoed through the valley.

Inside the cliff grottos, the Sharp Soldiers Camp Cultivators gripped their armor-piercing crossbows, with spirit gathering shields placed by their sides, their eyes locked on the entrance of the pass.

Their breathing was light but synchronized; it was the combined attack breathing technique they had practiced thousands of times in the trial tower, their coordination as seamless as if they were one person.

The lights of Sunset Town burned quietly in the night.

In the spirit fields, the leaves of the spirit grain swayed gently in the wind, as if also gathering strength for the coming storm.

Inside the ancestral hall, under the ever-burning lamp, the Grand Elder was burning incense and praying silently before the Ancestral Spirit Tablet.

On the table, a Spirit Gathering Talisman left by Lin Yue quietly circulated light, reflecting his aged face filled with hope.

At Black Wind Pass, the first ray of morning light tore through the heavy night curtain.

Lin Yue stood at the center of the Seven Star Formation, feeling the resonance between the Formation and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, which faintly corresponded with the Golden Core inside his Dantian.

He knew that the prologue to this struggle for dominance over Black Stone City was about to officially begin at this steep pass.

On the distant horizon, dust suddenly rose.

Lin Hu raised the Eagle-Eye Mirror, his pupils suddenly contracting: "Clan Chief, they're here! About five hundred people, led by someone at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage!"

Lin Yue's hand moved to the hilt of the sword at his waist. The blade gleamed with a cold, clear light in the morning sun.

"Give the order, proceed according to plan." His voice was calm and steady, yet it carried immense weight.

"Let Black Stone City take a good look at how sharp the swords of my Sunset Town are, and how strong our Formations are."

Inside the cliff grottos, spiritual energy began to flow quietly.

The strings of the armor-piercing crossbows were pulled back steadily, and the poisoned arrowheads were aimed at the only passage through the pass.

The counter-shock runes on the surface of the spirit gathering shields flared with a bloodthirsty dark red in the brightening morning light.

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out.