Heavenly Unbound: The System Maker!
Chapter 186 – The Undying Guardian Formation!

“All is ready, Lord. Everyone is just waiting for your command,” Zhang Minghao said steadily, standing tall under Hengsheng’s gaze.

"That's good," Hengsheng said, then he walked through the black brick corridor to the castle's exit with Zhang Minghao, followed closely by him.

Hengsheng now resides at Black Rock Castle within the Snow Fortress, which he acquired from the Xia Clan to house the Dark Gold Army.

It had been a year since Hengsheng successfully made a deal with the Xia Clan. They agreed to go along with his proposal and plan.

…

A year ago, the Xia Clan, as the lead, began mobilizing the Snow Fortress's forces to the north, waging war against the Blood Fiend Palace and shifting from a defensive to an offensive stance.

Although there were some problems at first, since individuals and the army from other factions weren't sure of what the Xia Clan was thinking, or what their goal was.

The Xia Clan started issuing numerous assault missions on the quest board against the demonic cultivators in the north, not those who sneaked past the border.

This kind of mission was rare, but now it's become all over the place on the quest board.

Few dared to accept such a mission because stepping into the north, the other side of the northern mountain range, was very dangerous. They didn’t know where—or how many—demonic cultivators would be waiting for them.

Other than the issue of numbers, intelligence was also one of the areas where other factions fell short against the Blood Fiend Palace, because sending a spy into a demonic cultivator's ranks was impossible. These demonic cultivators had a unique method of identifying their members through bloodline.

Other factions could only gather information on these demonic cultivators through observation and divination, which was very limited.

With limited intelligence on the enemy, the assault mission in enemy territory was no different from a suicide.

However, not long before, other individuals and factions began to realize that the assault missions issued by the Xia Clan were not just pointless tasks but carefully planned operations based on accurate intelligence about the enemy.

The information provided by the Xia Clan—the location, geography, or enemy numbers—was highly accurate.

With highly accurate intelligence, the assault missions on the demonic cultivators were much safer.

Most wondered. Where and how did the Xia Clan get all this information? Others had no idea; only those who were in the Xia Clan's Grand Frozen Chamber years ago knew.

After other factions were convinced that the Xia Family was serious about waging a new round of war against the Blood Fiend Palace, they stopped hesitating and began to follow the Xia Clan's lead, accepting missions they could handle as much as possible and marching to the north.

Although it was still dangerous to step into enemy territory even with the intelligence—since the enemy’s numbers were still a problem—it was worth the risk because the rewards from these missions were not small.

As time passed, their motivation became visible: to reclaim the northern territory from the Blood Fiend Palace.

When others realized the Xia Clan’s true goal, some became worried about the uncertainty and left the fortress, avoiding the incoming large-scale war. Since the Blood Fiend Palace would not stand still, they would definitely launch a counterattack.

Some became excited and fully cooperated with the Xia Clan. After all, it was not only the Xia Clan who lost their ancestral land 50,000 years ago; many second and third-rate factions shared the same motive with them.

…

Hengsheng walked out of the castle. Before him was a large open space.

At this moment, 800 cultivators of the Dark Gold Army were waiting for him. When they saw him arrive, they began to salute and shout in praise of him for no reason.

Hengsheng almost turned away in embarrassment and frustration; he did not like these kinds of things, but it seemed to be unavoidable in this world.

He stepped forward and delivered his prepared speech to the soldiers before leading them out.

The Dark Gold Army had seen battle before, but this time was different—they were preparing to strike a special target.

There were a total of five regions and countless provinces and states in the northern part of the Myriad Dynasty Continent.

The Long Mountain Region, which was the closest region to the Snow Fortress, was less than half of it occupied by the Xia Clan.

It had always been at war since the demonic cultivators never stopped attacking, intent on claiming it for ten thousand years. Take turns attacking and occupying.

Over the past year, thanks to the intelligence and resources Hengsheng provided to the Xia Clan, they made impressive progress in reclaiming this region from the Blood Fiend Palace.

More than 95% of the Long Mountain Region was now under the Xia Clan’s and the alliance’s control. They had almost successfully driven out all the demonic cultivators from this region.

If the Xia Clan and its alliance successfully occupy this region completely, the achievement will become a major milestone in the war.

Hengsheng and his Dark Gold Army’s target this time was the enemy’s rear, which was the location of the enemy’s formation eye.

If this place fell, the last stronghold of demonic cultivators would be left to face the alliance army that had been waiting without the support of their formation.

Shortly after Hengsheng's speech was done, he turned to Xia Zhenxue, who stood nearby.

"Tell them to prepare. The moment is near." Hengsheng said.

"Understood." Xia Zhenxue replied as she took the communication talisman to contact the Xia Clan elder who was waiting close to the enemy stronghold, telling them to prepare for the strike.

"You're leading the attack," Hengsheng said to Zhang Minghao.

"As your command," Zhang Minghao replied as he stepped before the army. With the vice commander leading, they chant the spell as they begin to form a battle formation.

The Dark Gold aura rose from every cultivator's body, and part of their aura pulled together, forming an image of a golden mountain resembling the Endless Wealth Peak above their head.

This was the battle formation—a technique that Hengsheng created using the connection the soldiers had with the Endless Wealth Mountain as the core of the formation, which required at least 555 cultivators of a similar cultivation realm to activate.

It was called the Undying Guardian Formation.

It had an effect of boosting the cultivators' overall strength, plus a death-nullifying effect: if they died while connected to the golden mountain, the death would be nullified, and they would be teleported back to the Endless Wealth Mountain.

The technique wasn’t without limitations; it had a cooldown.

If they used the death-nullifying effect, they wouldn’t be able to form this formation with others again for a long period. The cooldown depended on their understanding of the Dao or Law of Death and Causality—the higher the understanding, the less time it would take.

He created this battle formation because he did not want to lose the cultivators he had worked hard to cultivate just because they made one fatal mistake.

At first, when he was creating it, he did not think it was possible to nullify death, but it turned out easier than he thought, especially when he had the large energy from the Endless Wealth Peak to cover the cost of a death-nullifying effect.

Seeing everything was ready, Hengsheng covered the entire army with a concealment veil. Then, a large dimensional vortex opened, swallowing the 800 cultivators and bringing them to their destination.

…

The last stronghold of the Blood Fiend Palace in the Long Mountain Region stood beneath a sky choked with dark clouds. Snow fell steadily, blanketing the land in white.

A thick red mist hovered around the stronghold like a living veil, repelling the purity of winter and turning the white into crimson.

Countless demonic cultivators patrolled the wide courtyard and outer walls, clad in long black robes woven with crimson blood patterns. Their skin was pale, and in the darkness, their eyes reflected yellow—like those of a nocturnal hunter.

At the heart of the fortress stood a ritual altar. Demonic cultivators sat around it in meditation circles, feeding it with offerings — blood and soul.

Some stood guard on the side to ensure the ritual was secure.

“Elder, we spotted them on the horizon. What should we do?” the man spoke to the senior who was in charge of this stronghold.

The elder’s expression was not good. He thought about the past year — how could they have thought things would turn this fast? The nearby strongholds had all fallen; only they were left, and the backup did not seem to be coming in time.

"Our only chance is the ritual. Go tell those on the outside to hold on as long as possible," the elder said.

"Yes, elder," the man replied and quickly went to inform the other.

BOOM!!!

“What?!” The elder heard the large explosion. He flew into the sky. What he saw shocked him — the thick red mist of the Blood Veil was fading.

On the other side of the stronghold, where the formation's eye was located, he saw that the formation was destroyed. He didn’t know how, but there was no time to think.

No hesitation, he fled immediately, leaving everyone behind. He knew this stronghold was already doomed.

Without him knowing, there was a pair of eyes watching him.

Support the Story on Patreon

patreon[dot]com/Raventan