"So this Thousand Island Water City chose to act this way, just letting Jiuding Valley lead their army right up to the doorstep. Surely they must have something hidden up their sleeves, waiting for Jiudingzi to walk into a trap and get himself killed?"
Li Ye had completely concealed his presence his aura suppressed, spiritual light hidden turning himself into nothing more than a drifting cloud, gliding silently yet swiftly above Thousand Island Lake.
Things had progressed to this point. Whether he intended to help Bihu Sanren's disciples or was after the Frost Condensate Water they had collected, he couldn't avoid coming here.
Though the army led by Jiuding Valley had surrounded Thousand Island Lake, the siege was formed by a patchwork of cultivators with varying abilities and methods. For someone like Li Ye acting alone, it was essentially no barrier at all.
He slipped through with ease and entered the lake's domain.
Along the way, he observed the distribution of islands, trying to deduce potential array nodes, looking for signs that a trap formation had been laid to ambush invaders. But he found no indication that the lake itself had been converted into such a formation.
The only noticeable detail was that most of the islands were abandoned and eerily silent.
Based on previously gathered intel, it seemed most people had either fled early on or had been relocated to Thousand Island Water City.
Occasionally, he spotted a few lone cultivators drifting about.
Judging from their cautious and serious demeanor, they were likely scouts or messengers patrolling and reporting back in real time.
But with the array of techniques, divine sense methods, talisman concealments, and even body-tempering stealth skills Li Ye had studied over the years, these cultivators stood no chance of detecting him.
Thus, Li Ye continued his silent journey. As he ventured deeper, the number of cultivators gradually increased, most of them seemingly heading toward Thousand Island Water City.
Perhaps the arrival of Jiuding Valley's army had prompted the city to recall all outer patrols to prepare for battle.
To avoid being spotted now that so many people were moving around, Li Ye shifted course and approached the city by another route.
It was his first time seeing the city with his own eyes. Previously, all he knew about this vast city that harnessed the power of water came from Bihu Sanren's notes.
Those notes detailed the entire process starting from nothing and slowly expanding the city to its current scale.
This place was undoubtedly Bihu Sanren's greatest and most lasting legacy in this world.
With Li Ye's array mastery and his deep understanding of the city from those notes, just a few glances were enough for him to discern many details especially how the great defensive formation operated in sync with the flowing waters, forming a self-contained system.
"If not for running into that old monster in the lava palace and dying there at the end… Bihu Senior, you lived a life worth remembering."
"At least the other three major factions inherited their power from predecessors. You were the only one who built something like this from the ground up."
Admiring this magnificent city full of water-elemental beauty, Li Ye sighed softly.
Then he thought of the imminent war. If things went badly, the formation and the city itself might be reduced to ruins.
No matter how mighty you were in life, once you die, no matter how grand your legacy is, it too will eventually fade.
Bihu Sanren probably never imagined that this day would come so soon.
Now, Thousand Island Water City's great formation had been fully activated, sealing off the void and isolating the entire city from the outside world. The surrounding area was under strict lockdown.
After a final survey, Li Ye didn't linger. He left quietly to find a suitable hiding place.
In truth, with his understanding of formations and knowledge of the city layout, he could very well have sneaked in without causing a ripple.
But who knew what kind of response Thousand Island Water City had planned against Jiuding Valley's army? What if they resorted to demonic means harvesting blood and flesh from cultivators to boost the power of the formation or empower the Black Flood Dragon?
He'd be walking right into a death trap.
He was here to look for an opportunity, not to hand over his life on a silver platter!
...
"Hmm?"
Inside the formation's core, a young man concentrating on the formation control suddenly let out a soft grunt, his expression tinged with confusion.
"What is it, Little Brother?"
The solemn middle-aged cultivator beside him quickly asked.
This man was Ou Cha, the one who had once served by Bihu Sanren's side, and now the acting head of Thousand Island Water City.
The young man he called "Little Brother" was Song Hongguang, Bihu Sanren's youngest disciple, a cultivator with a remarkable talent for formations, who had already achieved third-tier formation mastery.
"It's nothing…"
Song Hongguang replayed the image he had just sensed but found nothing out of the ordinary. He shook his head.
"It seemed like the formation detected a faint disturbance, possibly a cultivator hiding… but it was probably just a false reading."
"As long as it's nothing serious."
Ou Cha sighed in relief, then patted Song Hongguang's shoulder solemnly.
"This counterattack eliminating that old villain Jiudingzi and his forces depends entirely on the cooperation between the formation and the Black Flood Dragon. We can't afford any mistakes!"
"No matter what tricks he has, once the formation is activated, he will not escape!"
Song Hongguang nodded firmly.
"Don't worry, Senior Brother. This is the moment of life and death for our city. I'll give it my all. There will be no mistakes!"
..........
"Here will do..."
Not far from Thousand Island Water City, the drifting cloud that was Li Ye descended onto a small, barren island devoid of spiritual energy.
He had already released insects and miniature puppets to scout the area and confirmed there were no traps or lingering formations nor any trace of other cultivators.
Such an unremarkable spot was perfect for hiding.
He slapped a Burrowing Talisman onto himself, and his figure sank into the heart of the island. There, he carved out a small underground chamber and set up an array to conceal all traces of his presence.
Then, with a single thought
A puppet, its body fused with armor, face, and head fully concealed behind a helmet, flew out from his storage pouch.
Streams of black-blue water flowed along its surface, mimicking the true essence shield of a Golden Core cultivator. With a slight activation, it even exuded the aura of Golden Core-level power.
Li Ye formed a hand seal and channeled the majority of his mind into his lifebound puppet, instantly granting it lifelike movements.
He then took the storage jade pendant he'd obtained from Bihu Sanren and inserted it into the puppet's opened chest cavity.
It was already filled with all the supplies he'd prepared. Using this pendant as the core made it much harder for anyone to break into it.
Everything was ready.
Several days passed. As Li Ye continued fine-tuning the puppet, his expression suddenly changed.
One of the traps he had set along the way had been triggered!
"That kind of movement… the Jiuding Valley coalition army must have started advancing into Thousand Island Lake..."
"It's time for the puppet to move out."
He murmured to himself.
Before him, the puppet suddenly dissolved into a stream of water, slipping through the formation and stone walls, and vanishing into the lake.
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