Chapter 36: Seeing Through Everything
Jiang Ning found a description of the grand formation he had witnessed within his inherited memories! Though there were some discrepancies and the information was somewhat fragmented, overall, it didn’t deviate much from what he had seen.
Considering all the strange events that had occurred before, he pieced things together in his mind, and in the next moment, he understood everything.
“He seeks immortality, desires to deceive the heavens—what he yearns for goes far beyond mere possession!”
This time, Jiang Ning was utterly shocked.
“What audacity!”
...
He began to deduce everything from the start.
“It must have happened like this: First, he created the formation, then began its arrangement.”
“All the elders were used as humanoid formation cores, sufficient to control the grand formation of heaven and earth.”
“But this is a dead formation, so he suppressed the core with some method involving himself, then used the dead formation to cut off all aura, turning its effects upon himself, deceiving heaven and earth, so that he wouldn’t be assimilated into the Dao.”
Just as Li Zhenyu had deduced.
However, Jiang Ning had not witnessed the battle outside; the secret chamber had isolated all aura, so he hadn’t realized it. Thus, he didn’t connect that Yang Zhengfeng had used palace pavilions and himself to suppress the formation’s core.
“The timing must have been within the past half year, as he arranged everything step by step!”
After all, more than half a year ago, Yang Zhengfeng had traveled far and wide.
He noticed Jiang Ning’s unique constitution, and brought him into the Idle Cloud Sect.
“In other words, more than half a year ago, his lifespan was probably nearing its end, and he was searching for a solution, just as he happened upon me.”
“He saw my unusual constitution and believed I could become a part of his plan, thus he allowed me to join the Idle Cloud Sect.”
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
This truth holds, regardless of the world.
“After I entered the Idle Cloud Sect, he began his arrangements!”
“First, realizing his lifespan was insufficient, he initiated his operations with the formation.”
“Because the Soul-Shifting Corpse Pill would turn him into neither human nor ghost; though he could escape the formation, he would be stuck at his current realm. Worse yet, if the pill’s grade wasn’t high enough, his cultivation might even regress. Yet what he would gain, is immortality!”
The Soul-Shifting Corpse Pill crafted by Yang Zhengfeng had only gathered two types of grade-one bloodlines. Jiang Ning was chosen because Yang Zhengfeng was on the verge of assimilation; Jiang Ning’s unique constitution made him plan to fuse it with beast essence blood to jointly nourish the strange pill.
Moreover, time was running out. With assimilation imminent, once the formation was activated to suppress himself, he could no longer leave it.
Thus, he had to keep Jiang Ning behind.
“After he fed himself the Soul-Shifting Corpse Pill, he made all necessary preparations!”
“All those elders must have been branded with the imprint of the Great Dao, serving as formation cores and bearing part of the dead aura.”
“Based on these two points, once he consumed the pill, through the imprint, he could transform into any member of the Idle Cloud Sect!”
In this way, he was everywhere, and immortal.
Even the disciples within the formation were his backup plan. He could, at any moment, seize one, brand them with the imprint, and make them ‘himself’.
“This is far beyond mere possession!”
Jiang Ning’s heart was shaken to its core.
He had never expected such an outcome.
Everything now made sense.
...
First, on the eve of assimilation, he discovered Jiang Ning.
Then, returning to the Idle Cloud Sect, he set up the formation to suppress himself, began crafting the Soul-Shifting Corpse Pill, and branded all the elders to serve as humanoid cores.
The pill required time to refine, so he used the formation to suppress himself, hiding everything.
When the time was ripe, he appointed Jiang Ning as his personal disciple, branded him with the imprint, and finally fused his body with beast essence blood to form the pill. The imprint served both to control Jiang Ning and as a contingency for any mishaps during pill formation.
After all, the imprint on Jiang Ning would also integrate into the pill. If accidents occurred as the pill was completed, he could still maintain control.
The final step of the plan was to ingest the pill and become immortal.
He would become neither human nor ghost, yet his spiritual consciousness would persist, allowing him to transform into any person previously branded.
Thus, he solved the dilemma of stagnation after achieving immortality—he could simultaneously become many people, comprehend more imprints of the Great Dao, and perhaps one day fully understand the heavenly path, transcending his current state to become the pinnacle of existence.
Possession was merely a trade for a new body, and could only be done once.
This was a rule of heaven and earth, giving those about to perish a single chance to live anew.
Yet possession did not grant immortality. Most who attempted it saw their Dao origin dissipate, never again reaching the heights of their previous life, dying in obscurity.
Sometimes the target, though weak in cultivation, was strong-willed, and would resist or even overpower the possessor—too many unpredictable outcomes.
But the method Yang Zhengfeng chose was insanity itself. If successful, not only would he become immortal, but he might even glimpse the summit.
...
Every step was taken with utmost caution.
His only failure lay in Jiang Ning’s immortal spirit body, which continually erased the imprint, affecting him repeatedly, nearly causing the formation to fail and forcing him to the brink of assimilation.
And later, again because of Jiang Ning’s immortal spirit body.
The beast blood’s power within both the pill and the giant cauldron was absorbed by Jiang Ning, instead aiding his bloodline’s evolution.
...
“The only thing I hadn’t expected was that Yang Xiangtian would become a ‘formation core’ as well.”
And according to Li Zhenyu, he had also received the infusion of spiritual energy, entering the tenth layer of the enlightenment realm, but the imprint was likely intact.
After all, during their duel, Yang Xiangtian had used the Dao’s pressure against Jiang Ning.
But Yang Xiangtian was also used as a humanoid core; that day’s attack could have been Yang Xiangtian, or Yang Zhengfeng.
“A tiger does not eat its cubs, yet Yang Zhengfeng was ruthless to such a degree.”
...
What Jiang Ning didn’t know was that, because he had twice erased the imprint, Yang Zhengfeng was shaken, almost losing control of the formation. To continue his plan, he had to use Yang Xiangtian as a core to suppress it again.
No one could have predicted that Jiang Ning, branded with the imprint, would have an epiphany and discover a method for bloodline evolution.
Nor did anyone expect Erhuang to possess a grade-one bloodline...
Later, Lin Qian’s visit was actually under Yang Zhengfeng’s orders, to watch over Jiang Ning.
That day, Yang Zhengfeng accelerated his pill refinement in seclusion, fearing any mishap with the formation. The other elders, including Yang Xiangtian, had to remain in their positions to stabilize it.
It wasn’t until Lin Qian could no longer resist hinting at Jiang Ning to leave that she did so.
...
Only then did Yang Xiangtian and the others leave the formation core, appearing immediately to take Jiang Ning away and prevent further trouble...
“But... if he needed a humanoid formation core, why choose Yang Xiangtian and not Lin Qian?”
This was one question Jiang Ning had, though nothing could ever be fully understood.
...
Just as Jiang Ning finally saw through everything.
Within the palace pavilions, a withered figure darted swiftly, heading straight for the secret chamber!
He was Elder Liu Yang, who had slipped away unnoticed during the battle between the Six Paths Sect Master and Yang Zhengfeng.
“The secret chamber...”
He was both Liu Yang and Yang Zhengfeng, moving with astonishing speed, hiding within the void, tearing open space and stepping right to the chamber’s entrance.
“Boom!”
He was also a master of the third tier of the Divine Demon Realm; as he acted, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged.
He rushed straight for the chamber!
“Boy, you ruined my plans!”
Jiang Ning snapped back to attention as the stone door exploded, all formation restrictions shattered.
A pair of hands, seemingly void yet radiating a bizarre aura of death, struck directly at him!
“That old bastard again!”
Jiang Ning leapt three feet in the air—what was going on?
How did he burst in so suddenly and attack without a word?
This wasn’t playing by the rules; weren’t villains supposed to talk at length?
He had only just stepped into the Body Refining Realm and felt quite powerful, but now, suppressed by sudden spiritual energy, he felt as helpless as a dragonfly trying to topple a tree—the gap in cultivation was simply too vast!
“Damn it!”
Jiang Ning could feel a murderous intent so dense it chilled him.
“If this guy insists on killing me, I’ll at least be gravely injured!”
He desperately tried to dodge, but the suppression of realms left him unable to move. Even when he desperately channeled his bloodline power, it barely helped.
Just then, Elder Liu Yang’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Bang!”
A thunderous crash sounded behind him—a foot descended from above, breaking his attack and attempting to slay him at the same time!
“Who is it?”
Elder Liu Yang’s expression changed, and his voice was now Yang Zhengfeng’s.
The attacker did not reply, but the descending foot collided with Liu Yang’s newly condensed spiritual energy giant hand, exploding with a deafening roar!
“Divine Demon Realm!!”