Free Web NovelChapter 2142: Chapter 219: Flying Light Wields the Brush to Question the Heavens
"Flying Light leans his pen to write the heavenly questions, Jin’an’s splendid mansion, the thirteen peaks."
The young King Min, Yu Liyang, once roamed the world and wrote this line of poetry, which elevated the thirteen famous mountains within the borders of the Summer Country to the status of being unrivaled.
There is a mountain called Cold Mountain in Jin’an Fu, which is tall and perilously steep, yet it is not listed among the thirteen peaks.
Liu Xiyi, who hails from Jin’an Fu, once said to someone,
"I do not lament that this peak is not tall, but that this peak has not seen Yu Liyang."
In response, Yu Liyang remarked at a banquet, saying, "With Sir Liu Xiyi here, who would dare speak of Cold Mountain?"
Someone asked why he dared not.
Yu Liyang replied, "Fear of a word’s slip, leading to a thrashing from Sir Liu!"
It became a widely-known anecdote.
Of course, later on, Yu Liyang became a True Monarch, and in public occasions, even Liu Xiyi could no longer call him by name.
Being a famed mountain among the thirteen peaks, the perilous and majestic grandeur of the Mountain of She has always been a topic of great interest.
She, meaning to walk on water.
Legend has it that the Mountain of She was once in the water; only when the water receded was its danger known, and its peaks revealed.
Of course, when the name Mountain of She first appeared in history books, it was already a high mountain. The annals of history do not record any great river in the Southern Territory capable of engulfing such a mountain.
So the legend remains just a legend.
Tai Yin led his army swiftly here, erased all traces, and early on laid in ambush.
Three thousand men held the Moon-shooting Plates, hidden to the north of the mountain.
These array plates share the name with the Qi Army’s Moon-shooting Crossbow, but are entirely unrelated. The so-called moon-shooting, when the long night loses the moon, there is no light. It was these plates that played a crucial role in the battle at Noon Sun City. Now, only the final two remain in Tai Yin’s hands, both of which he brought with the army.
Three thousand men held the Muddled Swamp Plates, hidden to the south of the mountain.
These array plates are replicas of the Five-Muddled Evil Swamp Formation, which, once activated, can transform mud into a swamp, emanate foul gases, harm the flesh, and disorient the senses.
Another three thousand held the Groundfire Plates, hidden in the hollows between the mountains.
These plates are replicas of the Groundfire Furnace Formation, which, when activated, can summon groundfire, turning the earth into a furnace that incinerates the enemies within the array.
Array plates have the advantage of convenience, but in terms of power, they cannot compare to a full formation laid out according to the terrain. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
The more powerful the formation, the harder it is to replicate into array plates.
Spending more resources often only replicates one-tenth of the original formation’s might.
However, the word "convenient" allows it to shine in the post-formation era, breathing new life into the Formation Dao.
The Tai Clan, an aristocratic family of the Formation Dao, has accumulated over a millennium, with more than half stored in various array plates. Yet, in this Qi Xia war, they have emptied their treasury, bringing out everything even from the bottom of the chests. Even if they successfully repel the Qi Army, it will take decades to restore their former glory. freёweɓnovel.com
The array plates chosen by Tai Yin are replicas of formations that are not delicate but very tenacious and not easily disrupted by Soldier Slayers.
The purpose is to buy more time in battle.
Due to insufficient time and for the sake of secrecy, full formations could not be leisurely set up, so array plates took their place, but the power is naturally less than a terrain-based formation.
Therefore, the main force of this battle remains the battle formation formed by the army.
The last one thousand of the ten thousand troops are the Tai Family Soldiers, specially mobilized by the family head Tai Xu to support him, hiding with Tai Yin on the Mountain of She.
Though the strategic goal of this campaign was predetermined to merely delay Xie Baoshu’s division,
deep in Tai Yin’s heart, there was of course also the expectation to crush the Qi Army—if Xie Baoshu gave the opportunity.
His numerous arrangements have already utilized the power at his disposal to the fullest.
Man proposes, Heaven disposes!
Xie Baoshu, a renowned figure in Linzi. Gifted in cultivation, adept at casting wind and moon, somewhat talented and flamboyant, but in military strategy, rather average. It doesn’t matter if he’s Xie Huaian’s nephew and received the best education... Even Xie Huaian’s strategies are fairly ordinary!
Quietly sketching out Xie Baoshu’s related intelligence in his mind, Tai Yin’s breathing gradually calmed, then drifted, finally merging with nothingness. His perception of this world’s traces became increasingly refined, gradually aligning with it—
including himself and these over a thousand Tai Family Soldiers, their presence grew ever fainter.
Waiting.
In life, no matter how much one has exerted everything possible, for the unforeseeable future, all they can do is wait!
The time was five hours and a quarter later.
It was already deep into the night.
The distant trembling of the earth, in the process of spreading, was subtly collected by the formations... for Tai Yin to perceive.
The number was between thirty to forty thousand, matching the intelligence predictions from the Touch of Remembrance.
Tai Yin’s body slowly awoke, blood began to flow again.
Though he told Touch of Remembrance and others that Xie Baoshu was not to be feared, yet this man was a renown genius of the Qi Country, not one to actually underestimate, hence setting the objective of the first engagement as delay.
Xie Baoshu’s Bright Mirror Divine Skill can rebound any influence exerted upon him, countering Tai Yin’s Distress Divine Skill.
Xie Baoshu’s Mad Song Divine Power allows him to release powerful area Dao Techniques rapidly like a storm, making him well-suited for battlefield environments.
Also, what life-saving means his True Man of the Age uncle left him, is undiscoverable.
Such a person is not easy to deal with.
Proceed with caution, do your utmost.
The sound-collecting formation had already ceased and dissipated invisibly. This was to avoid leaving any trace detectable by Xie Baoshu’s side.
The terrain around the Mountain of She was vividly clear in Tai Yin’s mind, he could even sketch the marching process of Xie Baoshu’s troops.
Silently calculating the time in his heart.
Closer, closer...
The clepsydra in his mind dripped drop by drop.
