The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 736 736 Immortal's Layout_1

At the foot of the South Slope of Five Dragon Mountain, countless beings—immortals and mortals, demons and monsters—were scattered everywhere.

With such a large number of creatures, various forces, great and small, had emerged. However, there were only four powerful forces, each led by a Class V (Divine Bridge Realm) powerhouse. These four top experts were the Tiger Demon King Shan Hao, the intellectual Fox Demon Pei Wanchen, the Pig Demon Heavenly Demon Heisha, and the Human Race Immortal Master, Red Lotus Cave Lord.

Among them, the Tiger Demon King's Realm was the highest, having reached the middle-stage of Class V!

Twenty years ago, a True Immortal-level entity suddenly descended upon the South Slope of Five Dragon Mountain. No one knew if this being was male or female, or whether it was a human or a demon who had cultivated into a True Immortal.

This True Immortal found Shan Hao and, with just one gaze, subdued the unruly Class V Tiger Demon!

Shan Hao had thought he was doomed. He imagined his Flesh and Blood and soul would be brewed into Tiger Bone Spirit Wine, his hide made into a magic robe, and his essence refined into a powerful magic artifact. If he were lucky, he might merely become the True Immortal's mount, forever losing his freedom.

Unexpectedly, this True Immortal did not kill him, nor was Shan Hao taken as a mount.

Instead, the True Immortal bestowed three valuable treasures and issued a decree, instructing Shan Hao to consolidate the various forces on Five Dragon Mountain and subdue all Class III (Spirit Sea Realm) and higher powerhouses within eighty years!

The first treasure was the array diagram for the Creation Array.

By its nature, the Creation Array was not much different from conventional formations; it belonged to a branch of the Array Path.

Conventional formations are made of spiritual materials like Gold, Wood, Jade, and Stone, and powered by Spirit Stones, a cultivator's Mana, or the power of the earth veins, producing various powerful effects such as confusion, concealment, defense, trapping enemies, killing, and spirit gathering!

What constituted the Creation Array, however, were extraordinary creatures possessing Mana—whether they were cultivators, demonic beasts, or Evil Demons. It was more like a massive, strange, and powerful military formation arranged by humans during wartime.

The Creation Array consumed the Mana and demonic power within the bodies of the creatures forming it.

If their Mana was exhausted, it could also consume their Flesh and Blood, and even their souls, to maintain the Formation's operation!

The more creatures that formed the Formation, and the stronger they were, the more powerful the Creation Array became.

Moreover, unlike a regular large Formation that could only be set up in one place or city, this type of Formation was as flexible as a human military formation. By constantly changing its configuration, it could ascend to the heavens, delve into the earth, perform offensive and defensive maneuvers, and confuse or trap enemies.

The Creation Array was not common in other worlds, but it had evolved in the Immortal Realm, mainly because this realm had too many powerhouses.

Weaker creatures in the Immortal Realm, in order to band together against top-tier powerhouses, gradually researched and developed this kind of Formation based on conventional ones. They used the principle of "many a little makes a mickle," gathering a large number of lower-Realm individuals to defend against, and even slay, those with profound Realms!

Legend had it that the most gigantic and top-tier Creation Array could gather the power of billions of mortals to slay an Immortal.

Shan Hao had originally cultivated and attained the Dao as a tiger demon in the mountains and wasn't very proficient in the Array Path.

However, he was, after all, a Class V powerhouse comparable to the Divine Bridge Realm. His soul was extremely robust, and his Divine Sense moved as fast as lightning. After obtaining the array diagram for the Creation Array, he quickly grasped the basics. Through continuous practice, he had now reached an Excellent level of mastery.

Besides the requirement for the one setting up the Formation to be well-versed in it, the key lay in the creatures acting as the array base and array core.

That was why, over the years, the Tiger Demon King Shan Hao often led his demon soldiers to arrange formations and rehearse maneuvers. Five years ago, his Creation Array amassed an army of fifty thousand, possessing the power to confront Class V powerhouses.

The intellectual Fox Demon Pei Wanchen, the Pig Demon Heavenly Demon Heisha, the Human Race Immortal Master Red Lotus Cave Lord, and their forces were all defeated by Shan Hao using the Creation Array within these past five years.

The first two were demons. Once defeated, they led their subordinates to pledge allegiance to Shan Hao, obtaining the statuses of Second and Third Kings.

Although the Red Lotus Cave Lord was a Human Race Immortal Master, the True Immortal who had issued the decree strictly ordered Shan Hao not to engage in wanton killing, telling him to preserve as many powerhouses of Five Dragon Mountain as possible. Thus, Shan Hao initially had no intention of killing the Red Lotus Cave Lord.

However, the Red Lotus Cave Lord was ashamed to associate with demons and swore never to surrender. Therefore, Shan Hao was forced to utilize the Creation Array and the spiritual treasure bestowed by the True Immortal, ultimately scattering the Cave Lord's soul to the winds.

After the fall of this Human Race Immortal Master, his Sect Disciples scattered far and wide. They concealed themselves in various places to fight bloody battles against the demons, and very few surrendered.

Many demons under Shan Hao, Pei Wanchen, and Heisha were killed by the hands of Red Lotus Cave cultivators. However, the cultivators' losses were even greater; by now, they have been almost wiped out, a fate that can truly be called tragically heroic.

As for the mortals within the Red Lotus Cave's Dungeon, some escaped through spatial treasures or Teleportation Arrays to unknown destinations. The rest became food for the demons and have now been almost entirely consumed.

The second treasure was a Lower-grade Spiritual Treasure known as the "Ocher Immortal Slaying Bracelet."

Although it bore the name "Immortal Slaying," it was actually a powerful magic artifact that combined offense and defense.

When activated, it could transform into a wisp of black-gold spirit light, which could Protect the entire body or be launched to strike down enemies.

During Shan Hao's battle with the Red Lotus Cave Lord—who was surrounded and being mercilessly attacked within the Creation Array—the Cave Lord had unleashed his Blood Lotus Secret Technique in an attempt to heavily injure the Tiger Demon King. Of the three blood lotuses, one broke through the entire Creation Array, while the other two landed on Shan Hao. However, they were completely blocked by the black-gold spirit light, saving Shan Hao's life.

Thus, Shan Hao cherished this Ocher Immortal Slaying Bracelet dearly, wearing it on his right arm year-round and never taking it off.

The third treasure consisted of over a hundred Grade Six Spirit Controlling Talismans and their refining methods.

Such talismans could control those below the Divine Bridge Realm (Class V) and were specifically given to Shan Hao by the True Immortal to control Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators and Class IV demons.

Whether cultivator or demon, once a Spirit Controlling Talisman entered their body, it was very difficult for them to break free from the controller's influence.

Although Shan Hao could not control them like puppets, if a controlled creature dared to resist, a mere thought from Shan Hao could cause their Mana to reverse, their blood and qi to surge violently, and their soul to distort. The resulting pain was so excruciating it made one wish for death, eradicating any further thoughts of resistance.

Since no one under Shan Hao had reached Grade V proficiency in the Talisman Path, once the hundred-plus Spirit Controlling Talismans were used up, they could not be replenished. Therefore, he was extremely frugal in their use, having only expended twenty-odd talismans so far.

「...」

Shan Hao, seated at the head, took a large gulp of Blood Wine. He exhaled a breath reeking of blood and alcohol, then chuckled at the Pig Demon Heavenly Demon Heisha, saying, "Third Brother, it's natural for you to have such concerns, being unaware of the characteristics of the God Slaying Array."

"For this great Formation, the more creatures used in its construction, and the more powerful they are, the greater its killing power becomes."

"Now that I have Second Brother, Third Brother, and all your subordinates assisting me, the number of soldiers to arrange in the Formation has tripled. Once their drills are proficient, its power will surge far beyond merely tripling."

"Therefore, the stronger my forces become, the faster our conquest of Five Dragon Mountain will be. It took me twenty years to train my demon soldiers and to secure your allegiance. But from now on, it will only take ten years to conquer the entire South Slope."

"Another ten years will be enough to conquer the East Slope. And ten more after that for the West Slope and North Slope."

"All told, we can occupy the entire Five Dragon Mountain in fifty years, not the full eighty!"