Longevity: Starting as a Sect Servant-Chapter 287 - 214: Tian Sha Battle Formation

"Old fox... truly an old fox!"

Xiling Origin Continent, Lu Country, in a remote wilderness, within a mountain cave.

Having just awakened, Xiang Yuntian looked at Li An with some resentment: "I was almost killed because of you..."

"But you didn’t die, did you?" Li An said coldly:

"Can’t you use your brain a little? The opponent was a perfectly formed Nascent Soul ascending from the Late-Stage Golden Core, and you? A mere Late-Stage True Core, how are you going to fight with that?"

In fact, the moment An Li carried Xiang Yuntian to the bottom of the Ten Thousand Miles Abyss, Li An had already sensed them with his Divine Sense, but did not appear right away. Primarily due to two considerations: one, he feared others might be tracking them, and appearing too early would expose his situation; two, he wanted to see if the disciple Xiang Yuntian took in was truly worthwhile.

Although Xiang Yuntian’s condition was serious, with the help of the Life Seed, as long as he was kept from dying completely, he could be saved, so the situation was stable.

"Heh, what’s there to fear? A Late-Stage True Core challenging a perfectly formed Nascent Soul, I am destined to become a legend in the history of cultivation—"

Xiang Yuntian smiled.

"Yes, to end up in such a wrecked state, it’s indeed rare in cultivation history, with all your meridians broken and your Dantian full of sword grievances... you are indeed a problem."

Li An said disdainfully: "Let me clear the sword grievances from your Dantian."

Xiang Yuntian shook his head and said, "No."

"The sword grievances can’t be cleared, as I said, these resentful spirits enter my Dantian, and I must transcend them. If you dispel them, wouldn’t that make my words nothing but fart?"

"Keep them."

Li An looked at Xiang Yuntian, and after a moment of silence, said nothing. He stood up, casually tossing a bottle of pills and a storage bag: "In the next three to five years, don’t go out, your meridians cannot be repaired in the short term."

"Keep the matter concerning me a secret, or else, if I can save you, I can kill you—"

With that said, Li An walked toward the entrance of the cave.

"Where are you going?" Xiang Yuntian asked.

Li An did not respond.

Outside the cave, An Li was solemnly guarding with a sword. Seeing Li An come out, he asked nervously: "Uncle Lin, how is Master?"

"He’s awake."

Li An said: "An Li,"

An Li said: "Uncle Lin, please speak."

"The items in the Cyan Cloud Sword Ancestor’s spatial ring are enough for your cultivation for decades. In these years, stay here and do not go anywhere—"

Before An Li could respond, Li An transformed into a beam of light and vanished—

...

Li An did not leave immediately. He landed a few miles outside the mountain forest and set up two Rank Three confinement arrays!

Unless Xiang Yuntian recovers his cultivation, both master and disciple cannot leave this place.

And it will take at least five years for Xiang Yuntian to recover!

This master and disciple pair were indeed considered peculiar in the Cultivation Realm, which changed Li An’s attitude somewhat. But regardless of how good a friend Xiang Yuntian was, he could not afford to risk anything on his behalf.

Especially because what Li An was about to do next could not afford any mistakes.

If it were discovered that Xiang Yuntian was alive, others might realize something.

Furthermore, the next few years in the Emperor Origin Realm would definitely not be peaceful, and for a fool like Xiang Yuntian, hiding might be the best option, or else he was too likely to die.

Li An always prioritized his safety above all else. As long as Xiang Yuntian didn’t bring him any danger, Li An was naturally willing to let him live a while longer within his capabilities.

After all, having more friends might not mean more paths, but having one more person useful to him was certainly in his interests.

...

After leaving Lu Country, Li An flew all the way back to the Celestial Killer Mountain range.

He went directly to find Jia Man.

"Lord Lin has finally arrived—"

Jia Man had been waiting for Li An for a long time, "The arrays you wanted have all been completed. I had someone go to your palace to find you, but hearing you were in seclusion, I didn’t disturb you."

"Here are all the arrays, please take a look—"

He handed Li An several spatial rings directly.

Li An was quite surprised. This Jia Man was unexpectedly polite to him.

Knowing that he was in seclusion, they didn’t even disturb him? One must know that Jia Man is the General and a Nascent Soul cultivator...

But he didn’t think much of it. In a certain sense, Li An had this capital: first, he could achieve merit for Jia Man, to be utilized by him. Second, Li An had maintained close contact with Shee Anqi over the years, and the Shee Anqi sisters were prominent figures in the Demon Realm, which Jia Man could not ignore.

Upon scanning them, all the arrays were problem-free!

Li An was delighted!

"Thank you, General!"

Li An bowed, received the spatial rings, and said, "Next, I will lay down a net of heaven and earth across the entire Celestial Killer Mountain range, in preparation for the Great Li’s army!"

"General, my clan and the Great Li will inevitably have a war sooner or later. I believe that instead of waiting passively, it’s better to take the initiative and gain control—"

Jia Man’s heart skipped a beat. What kind of mischief was this master planning again? But he remained calm and smiled, "Please tell me, Lord Lin."

"I have received information that at the end of this month, a grand wedding will take place in Great Li— the marriage between the Saint Child of the Immortal Talent Hall and the first princess of Great Li, Gu Hong!"

"This is also our best chance to strike. At that time, the strong cultivators of the Great Li Empire should all attend the grand ceremony, and we can attack them when they’re off guard."

"When we launch our attack, the enemy will surely be enraged and dispatch an army to retaliate. At that time, the net of heaven and earth we’ve laid down here will have its use. We can annihilate the enemy army and severely damage Great Li!"

This was also a part of Li An’s plan.

Jia Man was slightly stunned; just what was Lin An trying to do... he was truly restless!

However, after careful consideration, Li An’s strategy was indeed feasible, and it was the best timing for Great Li’s advancement.

Considering Li An’s special identity, he couldn’t help but suspect, could Li An be a chess piece placed on the front line by the upper echelons of the Demon Realm, targeting the Great Li side?

"Good strategy, I will immediately report this to the Demon Realm." he said.

Li An then respectfully retreated.

...

Li An was unsure if the Demon Realm would act according to what he proposed.

But this strategy is certainly tempting for the Demon Realm. After all, as Li An analyzed, since there is going to be a battle sooner or later, why not take the opportunity to strike the Great Li Empire proactively?

Of course, it would be best if the Demon Race acted as he intended, but if not... he would have other means.

He didn’t actually want the Demon Race to launch a full-scale attack on the Great Li Empire; creating this illusion was enough.

...

Having acquired two hundred Rank Three premium arrays, Li An was very pleased, then he buried himself in continuing to refine Rank Four arrays!

According to Shangguan Xiaoxiao’s original design, only four Rank Four primary arrays were needed, but in Li An’s view, that was far from enough.

Whatever you do, there must be some redundancy.

A bit of redundancy can sometimes be the lifeline in a desperate situation.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

With the joint efforts of Li An and Shangguan Xiaoxiao, two Rank Four arrays finally took shape.

He had already gathered six Rank Four arrays and two hundred Rank Three arrays.

With such a lineup, it could be said that everything below the Divinity Transformation stage was killable!

The combined mother and child arrays formed were absolutely the most powerful killing arrays below Rank Five. Coupled with the many Evil Veins of the Celestial Killer Mountain Range... the final power was unimaginable, even for Li An.

Perhaps, even someone at the Divinity Transformation stage would have to take it seriously?

With his powerful Divine Sense and the aid of his Life Seed, the strength of his Primordial Spirit far surpassed that of ordinary people. Yet, during this period... he still felt extremely exhausted.

The mental exhaustion was too intense!

Even the experts among Rank Four Array Masters wouldn’t dare to push themselves like this. Even if they dared... they would likely collapse halfway through.

"Sugar bean,"

Even Shangguan Xiaoxiao appeared somewhat weary and said a sentence.

Li An gave her a bottle of pills.

These were Third Grade pills, specifically for nourishing the Divine Soul. Li An also provided a portion of the altered Divine Soul energy, which was very useful to her, so she seemed to like it quite a bit.

After a brief rest, Li An also took two pills, refined them, and then left his seclusion to start setting up arrays in the Celestial Killer Mountain Range.

Earlier, Li An had already determined the locations for the defensive arrays according to the map of the Celestial Killer Mountain Range. Now, holding the token given by Jiaman, he entered and exited the domains of all the mountain lords without anyone daring to stop him.

First, the six Rank Four primary arrays were placed in the four major mountain ranges to the east, west, south, and north. Then, two additional primary arrays were added at the crucial intersections of the southeast and northwest Evil Veins. These two primary arrays were strongly requested by Li An and were specially designed. If the enemy came too strong and the situation turned unfavorable, they could act as cover for escape.

Thinking of dispelling defeat before victory, this was Li An’s consistent principle.

Once the six primary arrays were installed, he tirelessly planted the sub-arrays among the various Evil Veins, connecting them remotely with the six primary arrays, interacting intricately.

Li An worked so diligently that it took him a good ten days to complete all the installations.

The net was set... it was time to proceed to the next step.

"I’m suddenly feeling that things are going too smoothly."

Li An wiped the sweat from his face and calmly said, "The Demon Race is cooperating with me too well. Even if I’m useful to Jiaman, even if what I’m doing aligns with the interests of the Demon Race... they are still cooperating too well with me. What do you think?"

Shangguan Xiaoxiao said, "Do you believe in fate and fortune?"

Li An pondered, "Can you believe in such things?"

Shangguan Xiaoxiao said, "Ordinary people can’t, but once ordinary people are swept into the tide, fate comes into existence, and fortune follows. Those deeply associated with you will have their fate disturbed by you."

"A Golden Core born with a Demon Body, your karma is enough to affect some things."

"Don’t overthink it... rest assured, in front of Shangguan Shengxian, I will not plot against you, nor will anyone."

Li An nodded, for now, at least their goal was the same: the Great Li Empire, Shangguan Shengxian.

"Lord Lin,"

At the same time, Jiaman had also personally visited, with a smile on his face: "Your plan, the Demon Realm over there... has approved it."

"Tomorrow, the Demon Race’s first vanguard army will arrive at the Celestial Killer Mountain. Do you have any clever strategies?"

Upon hearing this, Li An was greatly encouraged!

Immediately, he shared his thoughts and strategies with Jiaman, who nodded repeatedly.

"By the way, does Brother Lin know who the vanguard general is?"

Before leaving, Jiaman also smiled and asked.

Li An said, "Please enlighten me, General."

"General Zhengli, Shee Anqi."

Li An was taken aback. This woman, indeed, was highly valued by the Demon Race...

Moreover, this title... the intention was blatantly obvious!

General Zhengli! 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But he didn’t think too much of it, as it was destined that there wouldn’t be much interaction between him and Shee Anqi.

After Jiaman left, he exited the palace. Three days later was Gu Hong’s wedding day... now, it was time to make the next move.

...