Chapter 4: Formation Refinement

Listening to Liu Xiu’s explanation, Wang Liang paused his movements and began rapidly sketching on the ground.

Wang Liang had studied the *I Ching*, the foundation of all formation arts, and had mastered the *Innate Qian-Kun Skill*. Although the latter was a martial technique, it was intrinsically linked to the Innate Eight Trigrams, which were equally foundational to the study of formations. Combined with the knowledge stored in his memory, his understanding of formation arts far surpassed that of Liu Xiu, a novice who had never studied the subject. As Liu Xiu described the locations where he had encountered obstacles in the darkness, Wang Liang was able to map them out instantly.

Liu Xiu had not spent these three hundred years in vain; as he had claimed, he had traversed every corner of this Spirit-Sealing Grand Formation.

After completing the diagram, Wang Liang discarded the twig he had been using. "Compared to those golden statues that look like funerary figures, this formation of theirs is actually quite interesting. At the very least, they’ve incorporated some original ideas, though the foundation remains the same. This is the Wind and Rain Seal-River Formation, the same one used by the Yellow Emperor to suppress the head of Chi You. It is specifically designed to target spiritual essence and primordial spirits. You were right to call it a 'Spirit-Sealing Grand Formation.' In its original form, it functions like fierce winds and torrential rain locking down mountains and rivers—nothing can enter, and nothing can leave. But they have added something new, twisting the wind and rain into darkness, intending to trap you within it.

"And here—this is a basic Millstone Formation, likely intended to grind down the destiny of the Han Dynasty. This particular part doesn't seem to be of pre-Qin origin; I’m not entirely sure, but it follows the logic of the Four Spirits, meant to devour the Han destiny that is being ground away. Combining these four elements should have caused conflict, especially at these junctures here, here, and here."

Looking at the spots Wang Liang indicated, Liu Xiu nodded affirmatively. "Yes, I encountered some trouble when I passed through those areas, though not to the extent that it resulted in a 'death' like the other places."

"That is their true method. Finally, they cast the meteorite into golden figures to anchor the formation. This serves three obvious purposes: first, since the meteorite once killed you, you would naturally fear it; second, these eighty-one figures—that is Chi You’s own craft. They are using Chi You’s power to activate the Wind and Rain Seal-River Formation. It’s truly ingenious. By doing this, the formation becomes self-sustaining. As long as the eighty-one Meteorite Soul-Suppressing Nails remain in place, the formation can never be broken. And the final point is the outside—I’m certain the paths have been severed, and other entities are likely guarding them. The goal is to cut you off from the 'human energy' of the living. Without that human connection, even the destiny of the Han is useless. The hearts of the people are what truly matter."

Wang Liang sighed and stood up, saying no more.

Having understood the layout of the formation, Wang Liang knew exactly where the meteorite-forged Soul-Suppressing Nails, sculpted into human forms, were buried. With this knowledge, he easily unearthed them one by one, using his bronze warhorse to drag them to the center of Kunyang City—the very place where he had previously broken free.

Once all the statues were dragged out, Wang Liang noticed they were not identical as he had first assumed, but rather quite distinct. There were eighty figures in total: nine civil officials, eight military generals, nine musicians, nine guards, nine convicts, and nine of... he could not tell if they were divided by the status of the Nine Ministers or by some other method, but each likely corresponded to one of nine distinct abilities.

It was a pity, he thought, that he had no use for them in their current state.

Setting aside these thoughts, Wang Liang began to process the statues. As for Liu Xiu, he vanished as soon as the last figure was unearthed; it was clear that he sensed his own liberation was imminent and had no time for further conversation. Wang Liang paid him no mind, his focus entirely on the Meteorite Soul-Suppressing Nails. He knew that to achieve the best result, he had to take all of them—not a single one could be left behind.

The previous classification was no longer suitable, as his own occupied position was merely one of the eight military generals, a status that held little power among the nails. Wang Liang’s plan was to use the Innate Eight Trigrams as the core to alter the properties of the nails. With himself as the anchor, he would set up a dual formation of positive and negative Eight Trigrams. The positive formation would be based on the leaders of the other eight identities, while the negative formation would be anchored by the military general figures. He would control both simultaneously.

To ensure the nails of the positive formation did not turn against him, he did not intend to arrange all eight identities back into their original roles. Excluding these sixteen nails, there were sixty-four others. Wang Liang decided to distribute them evenly according to the Four Symbols, ensuring that these meteorite-forged figures would no longer revert to human form.

Under Wang Liang’s swift manipulation, the nails began to transform. The sixteen primary nails retained their human shapes, while the remaining sixty-four morphed into four distinct forms: dragons, phoenixes, tigers, and beasts. Each category possessed subtle variations, though while the dragons and phoenixes remained relatively uniform, the eight tigers and eight beasts underwent significant changes. Among the tigers, there were variations like leopards, lions, and roars; among the beasts, there were elephants, rhinoceroses, horses, oxen, and deer. It was evident that these four categories corresponded to the Eight Trigrams, each carrying its own evolutionary attribute. This was, in essence, a refinement of everything Wang Liang had learned.

Finally, Wang Liang commanded all eighty nails to rise and fuse with his own purple aura. The nails split into two groups: one manifested openly, circling around him, while the other remained hidden within his shadow. They combined and influenced one another, forming shifting patterns of tactical arrays and military formations. At first, these changes seemed ordinary, but soon, under the influence of Wang Liang’s purple aura, ghostly phantoms began to emerge from the formations—dragons, phoenixes, tigers, and beasts, occasionally accompanied by the spectral images of blades, spears, and swords.

In the end, all the nails shifted once more, settling into sixteen human statues. The civil officials were entirely silver, dressed in uniform high-crowned court robes with purple dragon, phoenix, tiger, and beast pendants at their waists, holding jade tablets, seals, brushes, bamboo slips, flutes, zithers, incense burners, and candlesticks. The military generals were entirely black, clad in uniform bright-light armor, wielding long blades, swords, spears, halberds, square hammers, battle-axes, longbows, and heavy crossbows. Each had four command flags on their backs, bearing the purple images of the dragon, phoenix, tiger, and beast.

Just then, a sharp *ding* echoed in Wang Liang’s ears.