Chapter 857
Setting a New Standard: Heading to the Eastern Heaven
To ordinary people, Song Changsheng's actions were tantamount to courting death; the title of "Third Killing Formation in the World" was not something that could be obtained casually.
Its name "Third in the World" is not because it is weaker than the other two killing formations, but because it is named after the killings caused by the original controllers of the four killing formations.
The powerful figure who controlled the "Third Place Under Heaven" at that time had endless blood on his hands, and countless innocent souls had been killed by the formation, which terrified the people of the world.
From his rise to fame to his demise, he reigned supreme over the world for only a few hundred years, but he never stopped his killing spree during that time. The human race had just broken free from the oppression of all races and was accumulating strength. Because he almost failed at the last moment, it can be called the darkest moment for the human race.
Later, it took countless powerful human warriors to join forces and pay a heavy price to barely suppress it, and finally, they slowly wore it down over time.
If it weren't for him, the human race could have risen to power at least three hundred years earlier.
He was already ruthless in killing, but compared to his two predecessors, he was far inferior.
The powerful demon who controlled the "second strongest in the world" first used his entire race, or more accurately, his entire race, as material for a blood sacrifice to condense the killing intent of the great formation. He also sacrificed the entire blood of three enemy races.
He doesn't act rashly, but when he does use his killing formation, it's guaranteed to wipe out the entire clan, leaving no one alive.
The severity of the killings and the cruelty of the methods were so extreme that even the traditionally bloodthirsty demon race could no longer bear to watch.
At that time, the myriad races had not yet united. The Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Qilin Clan respectively ruled the ocean, the sky, and the earth. The demons were attached to the three clans respectively. The three forces fought each other endlessly, creating a chaotic mess.
Under such circumstances, the three races forcibly reached a consensus, and their top experts came out in full force, spending decades besieging and killing the holder of the "second best in the world".
The ruler of "Number One Under Heaven" was active in a later era than these others, but he did something earth-shattering.
At that time, although the demons fought fiercely under the leadership of the three races, there was one place that no one dared to offend: the ancient gods.
This race is small in number, but the first True Immortal-level expert to ascend to immortality in the Purple Imperial Realm was born from this race. It was this person who discovered the existence of the four great killing formations outside the realm. Before ascending, he used his supernatural powers to make a copy of them, leaving one copy for the Ancient God Clan, and the remaining three copies were scattered.
He probably never imagined at the time that this action would bring such a huge disaster to his people in the future.
The controller of the "First Killing Array" has a blood feud with the ancient gods. After gaining the recognition of the killing array, he was not in a hurry to take revenge, because the previous two killing arrays had caused huge bloodshed, which aroused the resistance and fear of all races. If he was not strong enough, he would definitely be nipped in the bud.
He devoted himself to cultivation and reached the peak. On an ordinary night, he used a killing formation to annihilate the ancient god race, which was considered the number one holy land in the hearts of all races, with thunderous force. He traced the roots and left no survivors.
At that time, although the ancient gods were no longer as powerful as they had been at their peak, they were still the strongest race besides the three other races, and they also held the last killing formation. However, they did not make a ripple at all.
Later, people learned that no one in the ancient god race could control that killing formation, which is why they were easily wiped out.
After annihilating the ancient god race, that powerful being never used the killing formation again except for relentlessly hunting down the remnants of the ancient god race. But how could someone who possesses a sharp weapon not be feared?
The myriad races united, attempting to use their two killing formations to emulate the predecessors who besieged the controller of the "First Killing Formation." However, they suffered a crushing defeat, losing a large number of powerful individuals and inadvertently helping their opponent advance further, reaching the True Immortal realm and becoming the second True Immortal-level powerhouse in the Purple Imperial Realm, namely the Killless True Immortal.
He was an exception among all the True Immortal powerhouses. After his breakthrough, he was not immediately received by the Immortal Realm, which caused him to stay in the Purple Imperial Realm for a period of time.
This period was the darkest moment in the history of all races. All races suffered bloody suppression and retaliation. The rumor that the four killing formations possessed the "power to slay immortals" began to circulate under such high pressure.
As a result, before ascending to immortality, Wu Sha Zhen Xian destroyed all four killing formations together, turning them into fragments that fell to various parts of the Zi Yu Realm. The largest fragment fell into the territory of the human cultivation world and became the origin treasure of the Dao of Formations.
Among these, all three killing formations have caused calamities, and based on their impact, people have ranked them.
The most regrettable thing was the "Fourth Killing Formation," which was shattered before it could even show its power in the hands of the ancient gods.
After these killing formations were destroyed, those that remained relatively intact inherited a portion of the condensed killing intent. If this killing intent were to erupt, even a Nascent Soul Supreme would have to avoid its edge.
The copy in the hands of the Array Dao Academy should be the largest one that fell into the human cultivation world back then, and its power is even more astonishing.
Judging from one's own experience, such a weapon would naturally not be displayed openly; therefore, what is in the Forest of Ten Thousand Array Steles is merely a rubbing.
Even so, this power is still beyond the capacity of a Golden Core cultivator to withstand; Song Changsheng is gambling with his own life.
Throughout the history of the Array Dao Academy, there have been others who made the same choice as him, but very few have succeeded.
Such unrestrained absorption of the killing intent of the killing array greatly increases the likelihood of being controlled by that killing intent and turning into a puppet who only knows how to kill.
Yingyue Zhenjun had originally planned to intervene and dispel some of the killing intent within Song Changsheng if he couldn't hold on.
Unexpectedly, just as she anticipated that Song Changsheng's endurance was about to reach its limit, a strange power suddenly surged from his dantian, miraculously neutralizing the killing intent within him. This scene instantly caught her attention.
"To be able to neutralize the killing intent of the [Third Killing Array], what kind of power is that? Your background is indeed not as simple as it appears."
From this moment on, True Lord Yingyue was convinced that he had made the right bet!
Within the Forest of Ten Thousand Array Steles, Song Changsheng had entered the most crucial moment. He proactively erased the [Impermanent Killing Array] from his body and forcibly inscribed the [Third Killing Array in the World], which he had perfected.
This is a formation he completed after using his "Insightful Eye" to see through the underlying logic or operating rules of the killing formation and combining it with his own understanding of the Dao of Formations.
Song Changsheng's rudimentary array formation skills were naturally unworthy of the [Third Killing Array]. To say that he had completed it was just self-aggrandizement; it was more like some minor patching, merely completing the basics, nothing more.
This approach will inevitably fail to unleash the full power of the incomplete formation, but the advantages are also obvious. As his mastery of formations continues to improve, he will be able to complete the incomplete formation, at which point the formation's power will increase significantly.
Now, he has completely mastered the remnant formation and can inscribe it into his body.
Song Changsheng was already very familiar with this process; his biggest concern was whether he could handle it.
Normally, his body would not be able to withstand it, so he deliberately drew the killing intent around him into himself in order to increase his affinity with the formation.
He wasn't too worried about whether he could withstand the onslaught of killing intent. The Primordial Qi within him could neutralize external forces, preventing him from losing control or having his mind corrupted by the killing intent. He admitted that he had taken a gamble this time, but he had won!
He successfully inscribed the remnant of the "Third Killing Array in the World" into his body. The surging power within him spoke volumes about just how powerful this array was. The "Impermanent Killing Array" that He Yunxuan had created by imitating it was incomparable to it.
Originally, according to the new version of "Inscribing Formations with the Body", in addition to the main formation with the middle dantian as the formation eye, he could also inscribe an auxiliary formation with the lower dantian as the formation eye.
However, the power of this formation made him abandon the auxiliary formation altogether.
Some things are better in quality than in quantity; no matter how many ordinary formations there are, they won't bring about a qualitative change for him.
Therefore, he chose to use both the middle and lower dantian as the core of the formation to improve the stability of the [Third Killing Formation].
The array patterns started from the lower dantian and ended at the middle dantian, spreading throughout his bones and internal organs, and even his flesh and blood were filled with the powerful force of the killing array.
Just as the last array pattern successfully connected with the middle dantian, bursts of scarlet light surged from Song Changsheng's body. The killing intent absorbed within his body also rapidly gathered in the lower dantian, and that terrifying power seemed poised to erupt from his body at any moment.
"not good……"
Song Changsheng's heart skipped a beat. He immediately realized that the killing intent he had absorbed was looking for an outlet. This power had exceeded his control, and he had to release it. Otherwise, if it became agitated, his physical body would definitely be burst.
This should have been a very simple thing; he just needed to expel it from his body. But his current environment doesn't allow him to do that.
He absorbed too much killing intent. Once this power erupts from his body, it can destroy the entire Ten Thousand Array Stele Forest. Even if the Array Dao Academy is magnanimous, it will not be able to turn a blind eye.
At this critical moment, he felt himself being enveloped by an invisible force. Before he could react, the scenery before him changed rapidly. When the scene before him finally settled again, he had already left the Ten Thousand Array Stele Forest, or even the Ten Thousand Array Cave Heaven.
Then he felt a hand lightly press on his Baihui acupoint, and a clear, ethereal voice came from his ear: "Don't move."
As soon as he finished speaking, a bone-chilling cold spread from the top of his head all the way down to his tailbone, instantly calming the killing intent that had been churning within him.
"You've got some nerve, daring to absorb so much killing intent. Do you know how much malevolent energy and vengeful spirits are contained within these killing intents?"
When all the true meanings of these killing formations were unleashed, even I had to temporarily avoid their sharp edge.
"I have already sealed the true meaning of these killing formations in your dantian. Using them at a critical moment might even save your life." True Monarch Yingyue stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Song Changsheng, and said calmly.
Having just calmed his turbulent aura, Song Changsheng quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your help, True Lord. I almost caused a great disaster."
He had considered the possibility that there might be a manager in the Myriad Array Cave Heaven, but he never expected that person to be True Lord Yingyue.
Fortunately, it was her. Others might not have expended their magic power to seal the true meaning of these killing formations for him. But if they were just released like that, he would still feel it would be a pity. Yingyue Zhenjun's approach was exactly what he wanted.
After returning to the borderlands, he still had several tough battles to fight, and these true principles of formations could truly be lifesavers at crucial moments.
"I never expected you to choose this method, and you even succeeded."
Throughout history, countless people have used the power of killing formations, but you are definitely the first to have a killing formation engraved into your body, setting a precedent.
Your heroic deeds today will surely be recorded in the annals of the Array Dao Academy, and your name will be forever remembered by countless array masters.” True Monarch Yingyue spoke with utmost solemnity.
Song Changsheng quickly replied modestly, "My success was merely by chance; you flatter me, True Lord."
"This junior is willing to write another reflection and place it in the Star-Picking Tower, hoping it may offer some small assistance to the younger generation of array practitioners."
"Good." True Lord Yingyue greatly appreciated his behavior.
"I originally planned to meet the True Lord after leaving the Myriad Array Cave, but now that the opportunity has presented itself, I will bid farewell to the True Lord first."
"Are you getting ready to leave already?"
The more Yingyue Zhenjun learned about Song Changsheng, the more interested she became, and the more she wanted him to stay a little longer.
“As the head of the clan, I have been away from the clan for far too long. I did not return immediately after the passing of my elders. It is time to go back and visit them, so as not to cause worry to my relatives and friends.” Song Changsheng gave a very formal reason.
He could tell that True Monarch Yingyue wanted him to stay. No array master in the world could resist such temptation, and he was no exception. If he could, he would like to stay in the Array Dao Academy to study arrays for the rest of his life.
Unfortunately, he didn't belong here, a fact he was acutely aware of.
Since he was going to leave sooner or later anyway, he might as well make the decision now; the gains from this trip had already far exceeded his expectations.
However, it wasn't without its regrets.
He had originally planned to use his connections at the Array Dao Academy to visit the Vajra Temple, but that plan has been temporarily put on hold. Fortunately, it's not an urgent matter, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"Since you have made your decision, I will not keep you any longer. If you need to use the space teleportation array, just find Cheng Jun."
As soon as he finished speaking, the figure of True Monarch Yingyue vanished...
The next morning, Li Chengjun arrived early at his door and waited eagerly, saying, "The spatial teleportation array is all ready. May I ask where you plan to go first, Teacher?"
Without hesitation, Song Changsheng asked, "Is there a teleportation array that leads directly to the Eastern Heaven Cultivation Realm?"
The Eastern Heaven Cultivation Realm is where the Chen family, the former family of the Reincarnation True Monarch, resided. Before leaving, he had to make a trip there to search for treasures and the Extreme Yang Land.
"The Eastern Heaven Cultivation Realm?" Although Li Chengjun was puzzled, he still replied, "Yes, teacher, please follow me."
...(End of chapter)