Chapter 78: The Divine Hexagram Formation

Chu Youcai heard Jiang Xue’s words and immediately dashed out from the southern side of Guiyuan Monastery, leaping past the lakeshore.

Yet, when he was just a mile from the place Jiang Xue had mentioned, he suddenly heard a rumbling like thunder, the roar of a thousand troops and horses, as if the sun and moon were being swallowed by darkness.

It was a swarm of hundreds of thousands of locusts blocking the way, and within the swarm, several thousand golden-armored locusts lurked.

Clearly, so long as these locusts stood guard, not even a single man could break through.

Chu Youcai frowned deeply, realizing that Liu Shen, Second Mother, and the others were in extreme danger. With his own strength alone, it was impossible to cut a path through so many locusts.

Just then, the locusts caught Chu Youcai’s scent and surged toward him.

“Flesh!”
“Eat!”

To his shock, these locusts seemed to possess a faint consciousness, their gazes ferocious and bloodthirsty, betraying how many humans they had devoured.

In a flash, Chu Youcai wielded his Fish-scale Blade, his technique flowing like water, killing intent surging as he placed himself before Wen Ji and Jiang Xue. Wherever his blade swept, locust bodies flew.

For a good quarter of an hour he slaughtered without pause, but Chu Youcai soon felt his energy stagnate—though he possessed the dual foundations of Rising Sun and Snow Mountain Pinnacle, and had never tired even after using the Crocodile Dragon Art, now his limbs felt weak.

And still, the locusts came in endless waves, impossible to exterminate.

At that moment, Jiang Xue suddenly spoke. “You haven’t learned the Daoist arts. This kind of attack only wastes your spirit. Daoist arts channel the power of heaven and earth as one, unmatched in courage. But since you do not have them, I shall teach you the Six Jia Divine Formation!”

Chu Youcai was startled. The Six Jia Divine Formation?

Jiang Xue explained, “This formation was the mountain-guarding treasure of a divine sect centuries ago, known as the Six Ding Six Jia Formation. The true art is lost to the world, but the Six Jia Divine Formation I know is one of its evolutions, also called the Jade Maiden Reverse-Seal Method.”

At these words, Chu Youcai was amazed. He had heard of the Six Ding Six Jia Formation—an ancient sect’s ultimate treasure, rivaling Daoist legacies in value, enough to drive countless people mad with desire. Though the Six Jia Divine Formation was but a single evolution, it was already priceless.

He had long sought in vain for Daoist arts, and never expected Jiang Xue would be willing to teach him such a formation.

The value of this formation was certainly no less than a Daoist inheritance.

Jiang Xue’s voice was cold and urgent. “Time is short. Watch my hand gestures closely.”

She began to move her fingers, unleashing a demon art of extraordinary subtlety. Her gestures formed patterns in the air, and then countless jade maidens appeared, soaring like celestial moons across the firmament, radiating infinite light.

At this moment, Jiang Xue’s aura was pure and sacred, exuding a mysterious grace. Mist coiled around her, rising as she moved her hands.

She chanted in a clear voice: “Mark the ground for the array, open the Heavenly Gate, enter the Earth Door, seal the Golden Portal, ride the Jade Chariot.”

With each phrase, her gestures shifted, slow and deliberate, so Chu Youcai could follow every movement.

He watched with undivided attention, matching his own movements to hers and committing each gesture to memory.

Yet when he tried to perform them himself, nothing happened.

“Every gesture must be paired with a unique intonation,” Jiang Xue continued. “Each quiver of sound alters the power of the array. What I am chanting are the most primal tones of the formation’s Dao!”

She continued her demonstration, singing, “Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Curved Array, Soaring Serpent…”

Chu Youcai poured his spirit and intent into the process. With the dual foundations of Rising Sun and Snow Mountain Pinnacle, he grasped the essence swiftly. As Jiang Xue cast a mist formation to confuse the locusts, Chu Youcai imitated her and drew his own array.

Once he activated the formation, wherever his Fish-scale Blade swept, the locusts were utterly defenseless, as if their minds were lost within the array, unable to resist him. Even the golden-armored locusts fell before him without a fight.

Chu Youcai was astonished by the power of the Six Jia Divine Formation.

This formation required not only gestures and sound, but also rhythm of movement and breath, forming a unique resonance throughout the body. Every subtle shift of a joint could alter the shape and effect of the array.

Only by harmonizing perfectly with the formation’s core principles could one unleash its full power.

Witnessing this, Wen Ji and Jiang Xue were both left in utter shock. They had never imagined Chu Youcai would master it so quickly!

“How can you learn so fast?” Jiang Xue could not help but exclaim. It had taken her a year of painstaking practice to fully integrate gestures, movement, and intonation, yet Chu Youcai, though only using the simplest array, performed it with ease and skill.

Chu Youcai smiled faintly, his confidence swelling.

For most, learning this formation required a foundation in Daoist arts and countless hours of practice. But with his grounding in poetry and the Dao, Chu Youcai advanced far faster than others.

Most crucially, as he memorized the gestures, he sent his mind’s spirit into the inner world of the Crocodile Dragon Mountain and River Pearl. There, dozens of moments passed within a single instant outside, so the gestures he had just learned were already practiced countless times in his mind.

Just then, a disturbance arose within the locust horde. Hundreds of golden-armored locusts, sensing danger, surged forward.

They formed into ranks, crushing ordinary locusts in their path, leaving mangled flesh and opening a gap in the swarm.

“Be careful!” Jiang Xue warned, her expression grave. She sensed a new threat, knowing her array would be broken in an instant by these golden-armored locusts.

Chu Youcai stepped forward.

His Fish-scale Blade blazed with heat, emitting a ringing hum as if alive.

“Is this… joy?” Chu Youcai was startled—the blade seemed to have gained a spirit.

But there was no time for hesitation. He recited the next incantation and matched it with the gestures: “Today, the Yu Step is taken—above, to match the Heavenly Dipper; below, to repel misfortune. Ten thousand spirits submit, and wherever I go, nothing can harm me…”

As the array’s power surged, the Fish-scale Blade grew hotter and more formidable. Not a single golden-armored locust could withstand its edge.

“This blade truly has a spirit!” Chu Youcai exulted. “Before, I never unlocked its power, but now, with the array, it moves as a fish in water—its strength has soared!”

Under his assault, the golden-armored locusts fell like rain, battered to the ground in a bloody frenzy.

Thus, Chu Youcai led Wen Ji and Jiang Xue, pressing steadily closer to the heart of the golden-armored locusts.

Yet, after slaying one more golden locust, Chu Youcai was suddenly struck by a wave of exhaustion, as if all strength had drained from his body.

At once, the Six Jia Array before him vanished.