Chapter Eleven: Setting Out in Formation

Mount Zhaoyao stands as the first peak of the Lishan range in the southern mountains, towering above the western sea’s shore. Its most distinctive feature is the abundance of osmanthus trees, whose fragrance fills the air during the blossoming season. Many cultivators visit to harvest the flowers and brew the famed osmanthus immortal wine. Thus, Mount Zhaoyao is easy to find, and its fame is furthered by its rich deposits of metals used in crafting immortal swords and jade for talismans. The One Breath Sect is intimately familiar with the area, even establishing celestial waymarkers, making arrival a matter of mere moments. Consequently, the outer osmanthus groves are safe and free of danger; the true peril lies in the central region, home to the Xingxing.

The Xingxing are white-eared great apes, adept at crouching or walking upright like humans. Their movement is swift as the wind, and eating their flesh imparts this wind-like agility—what modern gamers might call a permanent agility boost. This has led to frequent hunting of Xingxing, making them deeply hostile to humans; should they spot a person, they attack en masse. A single Xingxing is tough-skinned, powerfully strong, and exceptionally agile. Most cultivators can barely withstand the assault of one, and if faced with a horde, even accomplished masters must flee or risk being overwhelmed and forced to reincarnate and start anew. Yet, luck often favors the bold—sometimes a fortunate cultivator sneaks into the mountain’s heart and successfully steals the precious and rare Maze Grain, earning the favor of major sects or inheriting ancient legacies, achieving immortality in one leap and becoming the object of envy.

Maze Grain is the bane of all bewilderment arrays; wearing it ensures the wearer never loses their way, rendering them immune to all disorienting spells. It is a legendary tool for sects waging war, dismantling ancient formations, and exploiting immortal legacies—an existence akin to a game-breaking bug. Another prized herb is Nurture Grass; though of little use to cultivators, for outer disciples it is an extraordinary treasure. Nurture Grass can treat and prevent tumor diseases, including cancer, and for ordinary people—especially those suffering from such ailments—it is worth any exchange.

The next morning, Wu Ming awoke amid a suffocating scent, unable to breathe as he was trapped between two enormous spheres, the stuff of his former dreams. Yet, in the presence of this dominant elder sister, he dared not entertain such thoughts. He had witnessed her, seemingly harmless, kick several cars parked haphazardly in front of their sect, and with a single slap, send a lewd troublemaker flying, knocking out all his teeth and spinning him seven hundred and twenty degrees before embedding him deep in a wall.

“Senior sister, your lethal weapons are suffocating the sect leader. Are you planning to murder me and seize my position?” Wu Ming protested.

“I have no interest in this tedious sect leader role. I’m far more intrigued by you, my little virgin!” She rose, releasing him, and teasingly licked her enticing red lips.

“Senior sister Lingmei, you’re so naughty, bullying Brother Wu Ming, the sect leader. Shame on you!” The petite junior sister, Music, appeared at the door, tracing her apple-red cheeks with a finger.

“Out, all of you! I need to change,” Wu Ming exclaimed, feeling an embarrassing reaction stir within him, hastily pushing the sultry elder and the mischievous junior out the door. Lingmei cast a lingering glance at his tented region, cupped her ample chest, and again licked her lips, her allure nearly overwhelming. Wu Ming felt himself on the verge of transforming into a ravenous wolf, nosebleed imminent, and forcibly expelled them to avoid embarrassment. He simply couldn’t take any more.

Once dressed in the standard One Breath Sect attire, Wu Ming made his way to the cliff where the Ancestor Dragon’s Twelve Golden Men and King Yu’s Nine Cauldrons stood. His fellow disciples were already waiting, though Wang Anquan was absent, busy managing the sect’s mundane affairs. The group heading to gather herbs from Mount Zhaoyao numbered six:

First was the bewitching prodigy, senior sister Lingmei, master of physical attacks and immense strength. According to Wang Anquan, she was the main force to withstand Xingxing assaults, the primary physical damage dealer.

Second was the petite junior sister, Music—not a master of sonic attacks, but an expert in defensive arrays and barriers, capable of shielding the team from the Xingxing onslaught.

Third was an unexpected monk named Lokong. His sect had fallen, leaving him alone, though once he was the abbot of a modest temple. For reasons unknown, he joined the One Breath Sect, still in monk’s garb. Lokong was considered Wu Ming’s senior, and his skills were exceptional. Not only was he impervious to blades and steel, but he could summon the sect’s Vajra guardians—golden, temple-like giants reminiscent of Ultraman-sized mecha, manifestations of the Heaven-Earth Golden Body technique, an adaptation born of spiritual depletion, passed down for generations.

Fourth and fifth were Wu Ming’s acquaintances from his former advertising company: the charming Xiao Mei and the robust Director Tyrannosaurus. Xiao Mei possessed innate abilities in spatial teleportation and elemental embodiment, reminiscent of Western skills. Director Tyrannosaurus inherited the Lion’s Roar technique and the unpredictable possession-by-deity skill.

The last member astonished Wu Ming—a foreigner named Peter, likely a missionary or priest, carrying a Bible and a cross. He was the representative of the International Sorcerers’ Association in China, here to participate in the investigation of the loosening of the Jianmu seal.