Resonance Breaking the Formation

At 3:45 AM, the lights were still on in the medicine shop of Hanjiabao.

Peng Shitao rubbed her sore eyes and removed the last silver needle from the wounded disciple's shoulder. This disciple had been injured by a stray arrow while on duty last night. The wound was not deep, but the arrowhead was coated with a mild poison, requiring three consecutive days of acupuncture treatment to completely remove it.

"Miss Peng, take a rest," a maid from the Han family who was helping out said softly. "You've been busy all night."

"There are still two wounded patients. We'll rest after we've treated them," Peng Shitao said, taking out a small porcelain bottle from her medicine box and pouring out some light green powder to apply to the wounds.

The door to the medicine hut was pushed open, and a cool morning breeze swept in.

Peng Shitao looked up and saw Han Yunyang standing at the door. He looked much better than a few days ago, but his eyes were still somewhat unfocused—although the poison had been cured, the aftereffects of memory loss remained.

"Young Master Yunyang?" Peng Shitao stood up. "What brings you here? It's windy this morning; you should get some rest."

Han Yunyang didn't speak, but walked in and sat on a bench, watching Peng Shitao busy herself. After a while, he finally spoke, his voice somewhat unsteady: "Ling Shan...is she not coming back?"

Peng Shitao paused in her work and said softly, "Sister Lingshan is at the Holy Gate now; she has things to do."

"Holy Gate... Li Xian..." Han Yunyang murmured these two words, confusion and pain flashing in his eyes. "Father said that Li Xian is a benefactor, he saved me, he saved Elder Feng, he saved the entire Han Family Fortress. But why... do I always feel like he stole something from me?"

These words were so blunt that Peng Shitao didn't know how to respond.

In the midst of the silence, a rapid gong sound suddenly came from the direction of the north gate! This was followed by a dull rumble that even made the ground of the medicine hut tremble!

"Enemy attack—!!!"

The piercing alarm screech broke through the morning sky.

Peng Shitao's expression changed, and she grabbed her medicine box and ran outside. Han Yunyang also stood up abruptly, instinctively wanting to follow, but was stopped by Elder Feng, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

"Young Master, your injuries have not healed; you must not take any risks!" Elder Feng said gravely. "Please return to the inner courtyard immediately!"

"But--"

"This is the Lord's strict order!" Elder Feng said, and hurriedly headed towards the North Gate.

When Peng Shitao reached the North Gate, a fierce battle had already broken out on the city wall.

Han Jinan stood before the crenellations, five streaks of cyan-green lightning-like energy swirling around him, confronting a strange black wave of energy outside the city. That wave of energy was not pure energy, but rather a resonance wave generated by hundreds of people marching in unison, crashing against the city wall wave after wave, causing bricks and stones to fall.

"Miss Peng!" a disciple shouted urgently upon seeing her, "Quickly, save her!"

More than ten injured people were lying at the foot of the city wall, all suffering from internal injuries caused by the resonant waves, with blood gushing from their mouths and noses. Peng Shitao hurriedly knelt down to provide first aid, inserting silver needles into several key acupoints and feeding them a heart-protecting pill.

But the number of injured is increasing.

Another wave of resonance struck, this time with even greater force, and a crack appeared on the left side of the city wall!

"This can't go on!" Peng Shitao gritted her teeth and took out a small jade bottle from her bosom—inside was a "Life-Sustaining Powder" she had concocted using medicinal herbs she brought from Peach Blossom Village, plus a drop of holy water remnant given to her by Li Xian. She had originally intended to save it for Li Xian's healing, but now…

She poured out half a bottle of powder, mixed it with water, and gave it to the seriously injured man. The medicine took effect immediately, and the man's breathing gradually stabilized.

But this is just a drop in the ocean.

At the same time, by the hot spring in Peach Blossom Valley.

Li Xianzheng handed the Green Wood Token to Xiao Lingshan.

"This is your mother's keepsake, and it should have been kept by you," Li Xian said. "However, the power of the Green Wood Token is special, requiring a wood-type spiritual medium to fully control it. You cultivate wood-type techniques and are also the daughter of Senior Xiao Lingyue, so perhaps you can unleash its true power."

Xiao Lingshan accepted the Green Wood Token. The token felt warm and smooth to the touch, with a faint green light flowing between the wood grain. She closed her eyes to sense it and indeed felt a slight resonance between the wood-based cultivation technique within her body and the token.

"Thank you, Brother Li," she said softly, "but... my cultivation is still shallow, and I'm afraid I'll fail to live up to this treasure."

"Take your time," Li Xian smiled. "The administrator said that the Green Wood Token is essentially a life energy controller, and it shares the same origin as your cultivation technique. Given time, you might be able to become a 'Wood Spirit Envoy' of the Holy Gate, specializing in healing and cultivation."

Just then, the Batman drone flew over at high speed.

"Boss! Han Family Fortress urgently needs reinforcements! A powerful enemy from overseas has appeared outside the North Gate, their offensive is unpredictable, and Han Family Fortress is already showing signs of defeat!"

Li Xian's face darkened: "Details!"

Batman projects a real-time image: a formation of black-clad swordsmen, the resonant waves caused by their synchronized marching, cracks appearing in the walls of Han Family Fortress, and wounded people scattered everywhere...

"It's the 'Sword Hunters' of the Thirty-Three Kingdoms." Miss Chunmeng appeared unnoticed, her expression grave. "They excel in battlefield formations and can trigger earth ley lines with special footwork. The Demonic Cult suffered losses when they fought them overseas."

Binglan also arrived. Looking at the black-clad swordsmen in the video, she frowned and said, "Their attire... is somewhat similar to that of Linghan Palace."

"Linghan Palace?" Li Xian turned to look at her.

"Hmm." Binglan nodded. "Aunt Xiao has been secretly communicating with overseas forces in recent years. I have seen envoys with similar attire entering and leaving the palace. I just didn't expect... that they would dare to land directly in the Central Plains."

In the midst of the discussion, Peng Shitao suddenly appeared in the video – she was treating the wounded under the city wall, and almost got hit by falling rocks when she lost her balance.

Li Xian's pupils contracted.

"Prepare for reinforcements." He stood up, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "But this time, we'll try a different approach."

He looked at the group in the valley. After these days of training, the twenty-eight women had developed some fighting ability, but facing a professional combat force...

"Holy Lord," Aoho from the Martial Department stepped forward, "Although our cultivation is not high, we sisters are all willing to contribute to the Holy Gate."

"Yes!" the women shouted in unison.

Li Xian nodded: "Okay. But we won't launch a direct attack; we'll only do one thing—break through their formation."

He quickly deployed his forces: "Chunmeng will lead seven warriors to harass the flanks of the formation. Binglan will use her Ice Soul Mystic Art to create cold air to disrupt the formation. Lingshan, you take the Green Wood Token and try to sense their energy flow to find the formation's nodes."

"And what about you?" Xiao Lingshan asked.

Li Xian took out three modified sonic oscillators from his pocket: "My drone team and I are responsible for disrupting their resonance rhythm."

He looked at everyone and said, "Remember, the goal of this battle is not to kill the enemy, but to break their formation. Once the formation is broken, the siege of Han Family Fortress will be lifted."

At 2:45 AM, outside the north gate of Hanjiabao.

Oni-maru, the vanguard commander of the "Sword Hunters" of the Tushita Kingdom.

Oni-Makoto leaned on his cane, gazing at the crumbling city wall, a smirk playing on his lips behind his red oni mask. The dark red crystal at the tip of his cane shone brighter—the Earth-Rumbling Array had reached its seventh cycle; the next strike would surely collapse the city wall.

"Lord Han, do you still want to resist?" His voice, muffled like a drumbeat, came through the mask. "Hand over the map of the Thunder Pattern Iron Mine, and I may spare the lives of your entire fortress."

Han Jinan gritted his teeth and remained silent. Seventy percent of his profound energy had been depleted, and the light of the Thunder Array had dimmed considerably. Behind him, Elder Feng and Elder Peng were both injured, and his disciples had suffered heavy casualties.

Is Han Family Fort truly doomed to perish here today?

Just then, five silhouettes suddenly flew out from the forest on the east side!

"What is that?!" one of the swordsmen exclaimed.

Oni-Makoto looked up and saw five strangely shaped "mechanical birds" circling in the air. The lead one was entirely black, and a clear male voice came from its loudspeaker:

"Lord Han, do not panic! The Holy Gate is coming to your aid!"

As soon as the words were spoken, two pink machines swooped down, their bellies opening up and hundreds of steel needles rained down! The steel needles did not shoot directly at the human bodies, but rather precisely pierced the ground beneath the feet of the swordsmen.

"A mere trick." Oni-faced Maru slammed his cane down. "Formation Change - Vortex!"

The swordsmen quickly changed formation, the three hundred of them spinning like a vortex. The airflow generated by the rotation swept away all the steel needles, leaving the formation completely unharmed.

But Oni-Mako didn't notice that the places where the steel needles landed vaguely formed a peculiar pattern.

In the mountains and forests, Li Xian looked at the energy sensing diagram in his hand—data transmitted back by Batman through the miniature sensors on his steel needles.

"Found it," he said to the administrator in his mind. "There are six resonance nodes, located in the six directions of Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, and Li in the array. They need to be interfered with simultaneously."

"Can you control six oscillators at the same time?" the manager asked.

"No," Li Xian said honestly, "but we can do it in batches."

He raised the main vibrator in his hand and asked Xiao Lingshan beside him, "Lingshan, can the Green Wood Token sense the flow of life energy?"

Xiao Lingshan closed her eyes and concentrated, a faint green light emanating from the green wooden token in her hand. After a moment, she opened her eyes and pointed to the array: "The six points where the energy is most concentrated are right there!"

"Okay." Li adjusted the oscillator frequency. "First wave, interfere with the Qian and Kan positions!"

The oscillator emitted sound waves of a specific frequency. In the array, the swordsmen located in the Qian and Kan positions simultaneously froze, their steps faltering slightly.

Although it was only half a beat, battle formations are all about perfect synchronization. This disruption immediately slowed the rotation of the entire vortex formation by a third.

"Now!" Miss Chunmeng led seven members of the martial arts team out of the forest and charged straight at the flank of the formation!

Binglan appeared from the other side, thrusting out both palms, and a wave of icy air surged towards the formation. Wherever the icy air passed, the ground frosted over, and the swordsmen's movements became sluggish.

Oni-Makoto's expression changed: "Who is it?!"

He raised his cane high, the dark red crystal gleaming brightly, attempting to forcibly stabilize the formation. But just then—

"Second wave, interfere with Gen and Zhen!" Li Xian adjusted the frequency again.

Even if the array is messed up!

With four of the six resonance nodes broken, the Earth-Shaking Array's power was greatly reduced. Han Jinan seized the opportunity, unleashing his full Thunderous Profound Qi, and five streaks of cyan-green lightning, like angry dragons, slammed towards the center of the array!

"boom--!"

The shockwave exploded, sending dozens of swordsmen flying. The formation completely collapsed!

"Retreat!" Oni-Mako made a quick decision, swallowed a black pill, and his body surged with black energy. He used the force of the explosion to shoot backward into the forest.

The remaining swordsmen were routed, and more than a hundred were captured.

As the sun rose high in the sky, Hanjiabao began clearing the battlefield.

Peng Shitao was extremely busy, and the medicine hut was full of injured people. When Li Xian arrived with the Holy Sect members, she was administering acupuncture to a disciple whose chest had been ruptured by the resonance wave, her forehead covered in sweat.

"Shitao," Li Xian called softly.

Peng Shitao looked up and saw him. Her eyes suddenly reddened, but she forced herself to lower her head and continue administering acupuncture: "Brother Li... it's good that you're here."

Li Xian crouched down and grasped the disciple's wrist, channeling a wisp of gentle energy into him. It was life energy that the administrator had extracted and transformed from cosmic radiation; though not as pure as holy water, it was enough to stabilize the injury.

"This is..." Peng Shitao sensed the peculiarity of that energy.

"The managers helped with the extraction," Li said in a low voice. "Although the quantity is small, it should be useful."

Peng Shitao nodded, tears finally falling: "Brother Li, you always have a way."

After treating the wounded, Li Xian walked out of the medicine hut. In the courtyard, Han Yunyang was standing there, watching him and Xiao Lingshan.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Xiao Lingshan stepped forward: "Brother Yunyang, how are your injuries?"

"Much better." Han Yunyang looked at her, then at Li Xian, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "Ling Shan, do you really... want to stay at the Holy Gate?"

"Yes." Xiao Lingshan nodded. "There are things I need to do there, and people I want to protect."

Han Yunyang remained silent for a long time before finally giving a bitter smile: "I understand."

He turned and left, his back looking somewhat forlorn.

Xiao Lingshan bit her lip and looked at Li Xian. Li Xian sighed softly, "Find some time to have a good talk with him."

Just then, Han Jinan and Elder Feng arrived.

"The Holy Lord's kindness today will never be forgotten by the Han Family Fortress," Han Jinan said solemnly. "From now on, the Han Family Fortress will do its utmost to assist the Holy Sect in any way it needs us."

Li Xian waved his hand: "Lord Han, you're too kind. It's just that these swordsmen..."

"They've already been interrogated," Elder Feng interjected. "They are the vanguard of the Daoist 'Sword Hunters,' ordered to seize the Thunder Pattern Iron Mine. The main force is currently gathering south of Tonghai Prefecture, and their target... seems to be the prefecture itself."

Tonghai Prefecture City?

Li Xian's heart sank. If the city fell, the entire Tonghai Prefecture would descend into chaos, and even the Holy Gate would find it difficult to remain unscathed.

"There's one more thing," Elder Feng said in a low voice. "Some of the captured swordsmen revealed that they had been in contact with Aunt Xiao of Linghan Palace, and they agreed to split the Thunder Pattern Iron Mine and... the Green Wood Token after the deed was done."

The Green Wood Token? But the Green Wood Token is currently in Xiao Lingshan's hands.

As Li Xianzheng was pondering, an ice sparrow suddenly flew in from the sky—Linghan Palace's means of communication. The ice sparrow landed on Binglan's shoulder, carrying an ice talisman in its beak.

Binglan removed the ice talisman, infused it with her spiritual power, and her expression changed drastically.

"What's wrong?" Li asked.

"It's urgent news from my sister." Binglan's voice trembled. "She said... Aunt Xiao has taken control of Linghan Palace, and Palace Master Bai Linghan's whereabouts are unknown. Aunt Xiao is in contact with the main force of the Dao Kingdom, planning to jointly attack Tonghaizhou City in three days. My sister... she is now the acting Palace Master, but she is weak and can only maneuver in secret."

She looked at Li Xian: "My sister also said that if the Holy Gate can help the court defend the city, she can secretly cooperate and work together from the inside."

The situation suddenly became clear, and then suddenly became complicated.

The main force of the Daoist Kingdom attacked the city of Zhou. Aunt Xiao colluded with them from within and without, while Bingwei acted as an inside agent in the enemy camp. The imperial court, weakened, sought help...

"Your Majesty," Han Jinan said in a deep voice, "this matter concerns the survival of Tonghai Prefecture, and Han Family Fort is willing to obey your orders."

Li Xian looked at the ice talisman in his hand, then at everyone else, and slowly spoke:

"Order the Holy Gate to prepare for war immediately."

"Three days later, we will go to Tonghai Prefecture City."

"This battle is not just about defending the city—"

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes:

"We also want the world to know that the Sacred Gate of Creation has been established from this day forward."

(End of Chapter 45)