Chapter 4277 — Moon Shadow Formation

Wei Zhao, equally at a loss, exchanged a glance with Huang Xiaotao. The wasteland before them stretched so far that no end could be seen at a single glance. Unlikely as he knew it to be, he could not help but harbor the same thought as Cao Shishi: had Chang Daoping led the way so swiftly that he had accidentally brought them charging right out of the Lu Feng Forest?

"How could that be? Listen well—this is the Odor Cultivation City ruins!" Chang Daoping laughed heartily, pointing at the vast empty wasteland before them.

"Huh?" Everyone was stunned, jaws dropping as they cried in astonishment, "What kind of ruins is this? A barren expanse—there is nothing here at all!"

Their earlier excitement vanished in an instant. If this place truly was the legendary Odor Cultivation City ruins, as Chang Daoping claimed, then they were in for the bitterest disappointment.

What treasure could possibly be in this dead, grassless patch of land? Even if there had been something, it would lie plain for all to see—how could it have waited for them to come looking now?

Huang Xiaotao gave Wei Zhao's sleeve a gentle tug, disbelief filling her eyes. Even she was beginning to wonder whether Chang Daoping had deliberately led them to this barren place with some ulterior motive. Perhaps the man even harbored the same vicious designs as Chu Bubai.

However one looked at it, calling this place the Odor Cultivation City ruins was simply absurd—not even a three-year-old child would believe it.

Yet after a brief moment of astonishment, Wei Zhao instead grew calm. A question so obvious at a glance—even if Chang Daoping had ulterior motives, he would not deceive them so blatantly.

At first sight this place seemed utterly barren, as though there was truly nothing at all, but if one probed with spiritual sense, one would discover what seemed to be an enormous wall ahead. Spiritual sense could not penetrate it at all.

There had to be something extraordinary hidden within!

While everyone stood in baffled wonder, Luo Tuoxiang seemed to sense a hint of the trick. A corner of his mouth lifted, eager to show off before the crowd, and he stepped forward to walk on ahead.

"Get back here! Do you want to lose yourself inside and never see the light of day for the rest of your life?" Chang Daoping barked coldly from behind.

"What? Isn't this just an illusion?" Luo Tuoxiang jumped with fright and hastily withdrew his foot. He too could sense that something was unusual about this place. He had assumed it was merely an illusion meant to fool people!

"An illusion?" Chang Daoping gave a cold snort and said mildly, "I told you this is the Odor Cultivation City ruins. Do you think a former great city of the spirit beast clan would resort to such a childish trick as an illusion?"

"Uh..." Luo Tuoxiang shrank his neck, face flushed with embarrassment. At these words, the others finally came to their senses too, and every gaze fell upon Chang Daoping.

"Listen well, all of you. What lies before us is a formation—and not a simple illusion. If you step inside without finding the proper way to break it, you will lose yourself in this wasteland for the rest of your life, never to emerge again. Even if others wished to save you, they could not." Chang Daoping addressed the crowd.

At this, everyone felt a chill of dread. At first glance the desert had seemed unremarkable beyond its sudden appearance, yet such danger lurked within. Of those who did not know the trick of it, nine in ten would surely fall victim.

That this barren land concealed something extraordinary—many indeed could perceive it. But the vast majority would do as Luo Tuoxiang had just done and probe at the formation to break it; and the moment they tried, would they not have thrown themselves away?

Before they had even laid eyes on the Odor Cultivation City ruins, the group was already breaking out in goosebumps. They dared not be careless any longer—this place killed without shedding a drop of blood.

"Brother Chang, what formation is this, then?" Cao Shishi voiced the question in everyone's hearts.

"The Moon Shadow Formation!" Chang Daoping said the three words flatly. Only once everyone wore expressions of awe at its profundity did he continue his explanation: "It is an exceedingly ingenious formation, combining both concealment and bewilderment. For anyone who does not understand it, entering the Odor Cultivation City ruins is a hopeless dream for the rest of their lives."

"Brother Chang, since you know this formation, you must surely know how to break it?" Wei Zhao asked suddenly.

"Indeed. The so-called Moon Shadow Formation, as the name suggests, must have something to do with the moon. I once made a special study of this formation. It requires eight people of heaven-reaching power to set up, and correspondingly, breaking it also requires eight people, each occupying a specific position and attacking together. Only then can it be broken." Here Chang Daoping glanced at Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao. "Now do you understand why I asked the two of you to come along?"

Wei Zhao nodded. The teleportation formation on the Lu Feng Road outside could send only six people at a time—no more, no less—and because the arrival positions were random, Chang Daoping, even knowing that eight were needed to break the formation, had no way to gather eight.

Unless he made a great commotion and gathered twelve people at once, sending them through in two teams, then finding a way to reunite the two groups afterward. But that was far too troublesome, and clearly not very feasible. Besides, with twelve people coming at once, there probably would not be enough Star Ink Milk to go around.

So only one option remained to Chang Daoping: bring one team in himself, then find a way to recruit two additional cultivators within the Lu Feng Forest on the spot. Since many cultivators had been entering the Lu Feng Forest to seek adventure lately, this approach was clearly far more reliable.

And Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, "separated" from their companions, were naturally the perfect candidates in Chang Daoping's eyes. First, they happened to meet the number requirement; second, both were only at the early Golden Core stage—enough to satisfy the demands of breaking the formation, yet with strength too meager to stir up any trouble. Easy to use and safe besides—two birds with one stone.

It was precisely for this reason that Chang Daoping, ever domineering in style, had shown Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao such warmth before. When all was said and done, it had all been for the sake of breaking the formation.

Having worked this out, Wei Zhao relaxed his guard against Chang Daoping somewhat. If the tale of breaking the formation was true, there was no need for excessive worry—at least he could be sure they would not end up like Chu Bubai, tricked into being a sacrifice and sent to a pointless death.

After all, the Moon Shadow Formation had originally been set up by the spirit beast clan to conceal and protect the Odor Cultivation City. Surely it could not be that every time one wished to enter the city, eight fine cultivators had to be sacrificed to open it—that would be far too absurd. (To be continued...)