NOVPUBBreaking the Formation by Force
The Incense Valley, the mountain-protecting formation.
The young mistress looked at them with some remorse: "I'm sorry, it was me who killed Li Muci... and thus implicated you all. Perhaps I shouldn't have acted so impulsively..."
Xu Shulou asked, "Do you think you were wrong?"
"I... The entire Li family lied to me, saying that the ice coffin in the back mountain held a cousin from their clan. I trusted them, so I never thought to investigate," the young mistress gritted her teeth. "They deceived me to this extent—I don’t believe I was wrong!"
"If you’re convinced you weren’t wrong, then what’s done is done. There’s no point in dwelling on it," Xu Shulou advised. "Better to focus on how to break this formation."
"Xu Shulou is right," Peng Wanxi chimed in to mediate. "Has anyone here studied illusion formations?"
Everyone shook their heads, including Xu Shulou, their greatest hope, who admitted she knew nothing about them. This was an illusion formation, entirely different from the Heart Demon Mirror or painted realms she had encountered before.
The young mistress also smiled bitterly: "In the past, I only thought of this mountain-protecting formation as something that guarded our sect—something to be activated or deactivated as needed. I never bothered to study its principles. Who would’ve thought that one day, after turning against Li Muci, I’d be trapped inside it, completely helpless? All these years as the young mistress have been wasted."
Peng Wanxi lowered her head in thought: "There is a crude method, though."
"Let’s hear it."
"Every illusion formation has a core. If we search carefully, we’ll eventually find it. However," Peng Wanxi sighed, "given the vastness of this formation, who knows how long it’ll take."
The group looked around. Before them stretched an eerily quiet bamboo forest—tall, verdant stalks extending endlessly, layer upon layer of lush greenery. Under normal circumstances, it would be a breathtaking sight. But here, it only filled them with a sense of helplessness.
They decided to split up, each searching for the formation’s core while leaving markers along the way, agreeing to regroup once they reached the forest’s edge.
After searching for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they felt their progress was painfully slow. Suddenly, Yue'er cried out, and the others quickly called out, "Yue'er, what’s wrong?"
Yue'er sounded bewildered: "This... this bamboo has my mark on it. I was walking straight ahead—how did I end up back here?"
"Maybe it’s too dark in the forest. Try again."
"..."
Moments later, Bai Roushuang also discovered the problem—she kept circling the same spot, unable to move forward or even fly out. No matter what she did, the bamboo forest stretched endlessly before her.
Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng exchanged a glance: "The bamboo forest itself is part of the formation!"
"Then how do we break it?"
As they fretted, a sudden brightness appeared above them. The dense bamboo canopy, which had nearly blotted out the sun, seemed to split open, allowing sunlight to pour through. no𝚟𝚙u𝚋.c𝚘m
The others were startled, fearing some change in the formation, but Bai Roushuang laughed: "I bet my senior sister has grown impatient."
Sure enough, when they looked up, they saw Xu Shulou hovering mid-air, her spiritual energy surging as she uprooted bamboo stalks by the thousands. In moments, she was surrounded by a swirling vortex of green bamboo, spinning rapidly within her spiritual field.
Dressed in a blue satin gown with a gauzy outer robe as light as mist, Xu Shulou moved like the spirit of the bamboo itself.
Xi Cheng recognized that she had adapted the legendary "Myriad Swords Return to Origin" technique, using sword gestures to control the bamboo instead of blades.
The others could feel the overwhelming sword intent—sharp and unstoppable—as the thousands of bamboo stalks were pulverized into dust within her spiritual field.
Even the illusion formation seemed to shudder under the force.
Legends said that only one in ten thousand swordsmen could master the Myriad Swords Return to Origin. Even though Xu Shulou was wielding bamboo instead of swords, the sight left them awestruck.
Xu Shulou landed gracefully: "Seems these bamboos weren’t the core."
"..."
The once-impenetrable bamboo forest had been reduced to flat ground, and the formation built upon it was utterly destroyed. With their vision now unobstructed, they could see a towering pavilion in the distance.
Searching the pavilion would have taken ages. But they didn’t need to search—not with Xu Shulou’s brute-force approach...
The group watched her in silence, and Xu Shulou lived up to their expectations. Without hesitation, she drew her lifebound sword and unleashed a devastating slash of sword energy.
Even in an illusion formation, constructing such a pavilion was no small feat. Yet its collapse took less than a blink of an eye.
Following Xu Shulou’s lead, they swept through the formation, watching pavilions, terraces, flowers, and trees all crumble under her sword energy. Against absolute power, the formation’s tricks were meaningless.
Bai Roushuang mused idly, "I wonder if senior sister can break the record for fastest escape from the Incense Valley’s mountain-protecting formation."
Xi Cheng chuckled, "Too bad the Incense Valley folks probably won’t be handing out awards for it."
---
Back in the Incense Valley, the Li family finally relaxed after trapping the group in the formation.
"No matter how formidable Xu Shulou is rumored to be, she’s still young. How could she break our formation?" someone said. "They’re trapped for good."
"I’m only worried her sect will come demanding answers. A disciple like Xu Shulou—they won’t just let her disappear."
"Only we know they were forced into the formation. If we deny it, there’s no proof."
"Either way, pass the order—make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut!"
"Yes!"
Just then, a thunderous boom echoed as six figures burst into the open. Leading them was Xu Shulou, sword in hand.
The Li family rubbed their eyes in disbelief, then checked the sun. How long had it been since the group entered the formation? They hadn’t even finished plotting, and already their prisoners were free?
They realized they’d overthought things. No need to worry about Xu Shulou’s sect coming for revenge—they should worry about Xu Shulou herself cutting them down.
"Guards! Guards!" The Incense Valley excelled in artifact forging, but their combat skills were lacking. The Li family hastily summoned their subordinates for protection while activating defensive treasures.
The Valley Master stared at Xu Shulou in shock: "How did you break the formation? Do you have some innate talent for this?"
But Xu Shulou made no move to attack. Instead, she caught a battered artifact mid-air and politely handed it over: "No talent to speak of. I accidentally destroyed your mountain-protecting formation. My apologies."
The Valley Master took one look and roared, "Seize them!"
Xu Shulou calmly advised, "Valley Master, please remain calm."
"Enough! This was our family’s affair. You meddled—don’t blame us for being ruthless!"
The next moment, Xu Shulou had already darted forward like a swallow, swiftly passing the subordinates. By the time he reacted and reached for his blade, her sword was already resting on his shoulder. Though a protective barrier of spiritual light separated it from his neck, he still felt far from safe.
A subordinate shouted in alarm, "Release our Valley Master at once!"
"Silence!" The Valley Master, fearing Xu Shulou might be provoked, hastily ordered his men to stand down.
"I agree this is an internal matter for your Incense Valley," Xu Shulou said with a smile.
"R-really?"
"Since it’s a family affair, why not let Li Muci and his wife settle it themselves?" Xu Shulou suggested. "I won’t interfere, and neither should you."
Accustomed to a life of luxury, the Valley Master rarely found himself in situations where a blade was pressed to his neck. His mind was in disarray, and without thinking, he nodded frantically. "Y-yes, fine!"
"Good," Xu Shulou seemed pleased by his compliance and gave him a faint smile. "Then we’ll take our leave now."
"Wait!" The one who called out to stop them was the Valley Master's Wife, who had been sitting calmly nearby.
She turned her gaze to the young mistress among the group. "From the moment you entered our household, I’ve treated you with nothing but kindness. That woman in the back mountain was merely a youthful infatuation of Muci’s. If you disliked her, you could have simply asked him to remove the ice coffin. Was it necessary to strike him down so ruthlessly? How cruel of you!"
"Don’t say that. I’ve no desire to be the one who tears lovers apart," the young mistress pressed her lips together. "Whether the ice coffin stays or goes is none of my concern. All I know is that the Li family deceived me."
"How is this deception? Nan Xiuxiu sacrificed much for my son, and Muci couldn’t bear to abandon her—"
The young mistress cut her off. "When I confronted Li Muci, he said the same thing. Now you’re repeating it? But I don’t want to hear it. I don’t understand their love story, nor am I moved by it. If it was true love, why marry me? From now on, just keep Li Muci out of my sight. I’m leaving."
The Valley Master, still with a sword at his neck, gingerly nudged the blade. "S-see you off?"
"Oh, you’ll have to escort us a little further. Once we’re beyond Incense Valley’s borders, I’ll let you go." The valley was renowned for its intricate formations and traps, and Xu Shulou had no intention of stumbling into another illusionary array.
The group finally departed Incense Valley, releasing the Valley Master as promised once they were outside. The young mistress vowed to clarify the truth publicly, ensuring Xu Shulou wouldn’t be blamed for her actions, before bidding farewell.
Xu Shulou swayed slightly, and Bai Roushuang, the closest to her, immediately steadied her. "Senior Sister, what’s wrong?!"
"A minor backlash from breaking through the illusionary array," Xu Shulou wiped the blood from her lips with a handkerchief. "Nothing serious, don’t panic. Wait, what are you all—?"
In the end, Xu Shulou was carried back lying on a bed.
Despite her repeated assurances that she was fine and just needed a few days of cultivation to recover, Bai Roushuang acted as if it were a life-or-death emergency. She pulled a bed from her spatial ring and forced Xu Shulou onto it, then the group worked together to levitate the bed with their spiritual energy, carrying her forward.
The mode of travel felt novel, and Xu Shulou didn’t refuse. She even pulled out a blanket, wrapped herself up, crossed her arms over her chest, and lay peacefully gazing at the shifting clouds above, feeling the wind brush past her.
Occasionally, when the group stopped to rest, they would bring food and water to her bedside.
One day, Yue'er approached with an enormous bowl in hand. The blue-green concoction inside seemed to be bubbling ominously.
Xu Shulou eyed it warily. "What is this? The Elixir of Forgetfulness?"
Yue'er held the bowl up to her lips. "It’s a restorative tonic from the demon realm. I made it especially for you. Try it."
Unable to refuse such earnest hospitality, Xu Shulou took a sip—and immediately fell into silence.
"Well?" Yue'er pressed.
"At the very least… it’s generous in quantity," Xu Shulou offered weakly. Then, seeing Yue'er’s expectant gaze as she waited for her to finish the entire bowl, she sighed. "Unfortunately, that’s also its greatest flaw."
"..."
