In the very next instant, an even fiercer gale tore through the darkness and slashed directly toward Yun Nian’s face.un Nian hurriedly bent backward, her spine flexing with desperate agility. The violent wind swept past her forehead by barely a hair’s breadth — yet the jade hairpin securing her hair shattered instantly beneath its force. Crack. Her carefully tied black hair fell loose at once, cascading chaotically down her back, held together only by a thin ribbon. Yun Nian hurriedly reached up to touch her hair and the moment her fingers brushed against smooth strands still intact, she released an enormous sigh of relief. “Thank goodness…”
“I almost became bald.” Even at a time like this, she still cared about such things. The System sounded alarmed. [Host, this is bad! The wind is several times faster than before!] Yun Nian had already noticed this. Earlier, the formation at least left her brief moments to breathe between attacks. But now, the killing formation allowed her no pause whatsoever. Within a single breath, dozens of violent wind blades had descended at once. There was nowhere to dodge for her. She could only continuously consume her spiritual energy to maintain her protective barrier, yet under such relentless assault, even a spiritual shield would not last much longer.
This was definitely not the Bafang Zhen [Eight Directions Formation a formation based on the eight cardinal directions of the Bagua]. Although the winds still attacked from eight directions, their cycle was no longer as simple as before. She had misjudged the nature of this ancient array, targeted the wrong Zhenyan [formation core/key node], and by her own hand, thrust herself directly into a death trap.
No.
She needed to calm down. Because if she could not determine what kind of formation this truly was, she would never locate its core. And if she failed to locate the core, she would die here sooner or later. So Yun Nian forced herself to steady her breathing amidst the chaos.
Still there was one thing she had judged correctly was : The wind attacks truly did arrive in cycles of eight. And after each cycle, there was always an extremely brief pause before the next wave of killing winds came screaming toward her. As the next wave of the roaring gale began to form, Yun Nian gritted her teeth fiercely. This time, instead of wasting spiritual energy protecting her entire body, she concentrated nearly all of it around her vital points alone. Then— She deliberately make an opening in her spiritual shield. Resulting in her body instantly exposed to the full force of the attacking gale of wind. As several invisible wind blades tore mercilessly through her flesh and blood.
As pain exploded across her body, Yun Nian could not suppress a muffled groan, causing the System to immediately panic.
[Yun Nian! Are you alright?!]
“I’m fine…” Her voice trembled slightly from the pain, yet she gritted her teeth and added, “Let me test something first!”
The eight waves of wind descended one after another within the span of merely two breaths. The moment the assault ended, Yun Nian immediately condensed her spiritual energy once more to reform the protective barrier around herself, shielding her from the violent gales that slammed heavily against the translucent screen from every direction. Inside the safety of the shield, she quickly formed hand seals and ignited a small cluster of spiritual fire.
As the faint golden light illuminated the darkness, she lowered her head to examine the wounds scattered across her body. Of the eight wind strikes she had deliberately endured, only four carried truly fatal killing intent. Those four wounds were deep enough to expose bone, while the remaining four appeared terrifying on the surface but had merely sliced through flesh without aiming for vital areas.
Yun Nian’s eyes narrowed slightly as an idea abruptly formed within her mind.
“Eight winds…” she murmured softly. “The east, west, south, and north directions carry killing intent… while southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest do not… Four life. Four death.”
The System instantly understood. [The Nine Star Killing Formation!]
Yes. It was the Nine Star Killing Formation (Jiuxing Shazhen—an extremely complex ancient killing formation based on the Bagua directions and celestial star positions). Yun Nian suddenly remembered it from the original story; near the end of the novel, when the Demon Realm (Mojie—the domain of demons and demonic cultivators) invaded the cultivation world, it was precisely this Nine Star Killing Formation that Xie Qingli later used to defend the Xuanmiao Sword Sect (Xuanmiao Jianzong).
The fully completed Nine Star Killing Formation of the future was hundreds of times more terrifying than this unfinished version. At its peak, the formation could envelop an entire hundred-li battlefield (li—a traditional Chinese measurement of distance, roughly half a kilometer), where every single gust of wind became like a divine meat grinder, reducing invaders to blood and shattered flesh within moments. This so-called Nine Star Killing Formation possessed eight outer star positions known as the “Earth Stars,” which corresponded directly to the eight directions of the Bagua (ancient Daoist trigrams representing cosmic balance): Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Li, and Dui.
However—
The true core of the formation was not located in any of those eight outer directions. There was only one real formation core, and it existed precisely at the absolute center where all eight directions intersected: the Heavenly Origin Star Position (Tianyuan Xingwei—the central spiritual convergence point of the formation, representing the heart of the cosmic axis).
The System’s voice quickly echoed in her mind, shouting urgently: [Find the Heavenly Origin Star Position! That’s the real core!]
Yun Nian’s expression turned solemn as she focused. The original story had specifically described just how incredibly difficult the Nine Star Killing Formation was to dismantle (Pojie—to break apart, unravel, or neutralize a spiritual formation). Its greatest deception lay in the fact that it appeared nearly identical to a standard Eight Directions Formation, which was exactly why she had mistaken the eight surrounding directions for the core earlier. Even the forces of the Demon Realm had fallen for the exact same trap in the future storyline; once those false cores were attacked, the formation’s power would only intensify further, pushing the chaotic killing intent to its absolute limit.
The true core existed only at the Heavenly Origin Star Position.
The System continued its urgent warnings: [Host, the Nine Star Killing Formation differs completely from the Eight Directions Formation. You cannot merely estimate the center approximately. You must locate the exact Heavenly Origin Star Position without even the slightest hairsbreadth of deviation!]
Within the bounds of the Nine Star Killing Formation, the eight star positions corresponded to the precise Bagua arrangement. Among them, Qian, Kun, Li, and Kan represented the Gates of Death (Shengsi Zhimen—fatal directional points within ancient formations associated with overwhelming killing intent and destruction). The remaining four directions—Dui, Xun, Zhen, and Gen—represented the Gates of Life (Shengmen—auspicious directional points within the Bagua formation structure associated with survival, renewal, and safe passage).
This was no longer a simple matter of distinguishing east, west, south, and north. She needed to calculate the precise Bagua positions (the exact trigram coordinates within the Eight Trigrams formation system) and locate the true Heavenly Origin Star Position with absolute, flawless accuracy. As even the slightest misstep would immediately trigger the full, unbridled fury of the Nine Star Killing Formation.
Yun Nian’s thoughts moved rapidly amidst the howling wind. Since the Death Gates were far too dangerous to approach directly, she would instead locate the four Life Gates first. If she could accurately connect the positions of those four Life Gates together, their geometric point of intersection would naturally reveal the hidden Heavenly Origin Star Position. Bracing herself, Yun Nian reopened her translucent spiritual shield. She slowly closed her eyes once more, held her breath, and began to listen carefully to the shifting patterns of the wind. The first gale came screaming toward her through the darkness.
Qian Position. The Gate of Death. Yun Nian immediately sidestepped, dodging the lethal strike. The second gust followed closely after, its spiritual frequency entirely different. Li Position. The Gate of Life. This time, instead of avoiding it completely, Yun Nian swiftly moved through the formation while enduring the biting edge of the wind blade slicing against her defense. Following the exact trajectory from which the gale had originated, she condensed her spiritual energy into a thin, glowing silver thread and flung it outward to anchor the coordinate. Then, the third gust arrived with a thunderous roar.
Kun Position. The Gate of Death. Recognizing the heavy, destructive pressure, she dodged once again.
…
As wave after wave continued endlessly and the eight winds formed one complete cycle, Yun Nian gradually began grasping the hidden rhythm beneath the formation. Her figure darted rapidly through the darkness; whenever the Death Gates attacked, she evaded them cleanly, and whenever the Life Gates appeared, she carefully listened to the direction of the wind before condensing spiritual energy into silk-like threads and casting them outward into the void.
Until finally, four silver threads stretched across the darkness, proving she had located the exact positions of Dui, Gen, Zhen, and Xun. At that very instant, Yun Nian abruptly opened her eyes as a sharp murderous brilliance flashed within them. “Reveal yourself!” the girl’s voice rang out coldly through the formation. The next second, the spiritual threads she had cast in all directions suddenly ignited with golden light, cutting through the endless darkness as four radiant lines shone brilliantly. The ends of those threads connected precisely to the four Gates of Life, and where all four intersected… there was only one single point: the Heavenly Origin Star Position (Tianyuan Xingwei—the central spiritual convergence point).
Without hesitation, Yun Nian summoned her wooden sword (a cultivator’s training sword often used despite appearing plain and simple) and leapt into the air. Her sleeves fluttered wildly as she silently recited an incantation beneath her breath, releasing an overwhelming surge of spiritual pressure that erupted violently toward the center of the formation. The entire structure trembled as terrifying impact waves exploded in response in every direction, ultimately slamming Yun Nian heavily onto the ground several zhang away (zhang—a traditional unit of length used in cultivation worlds).
On the other hand outside the formation, Wen Guanchen had long since leisurely taken out a bamboo reclining chair and small wooden table from his Qiankun bag (a magical storage pouch containing a separate storage dimension). With a pot of tea sitting beside him, he was completely relaxed, observing the formation while quietly waiting for Yun Nian to emerge.
This Nine Star Killing Formation was something he had spent three entire months modifying and refining based upon the original Eight Directions Formation, and aside from himself, no one else knew its true core. Even if someone managed to notice the rhythm of the winds and guessed the formation’s secret, the darkness inside the array prevented all sense of direction, so locating the precise formation points would naturally become nearly impossible. Finding the general Bagua positions was easy enough for a cultivator using spiritual sense, but finding the exact trigram coordinates and then accurately locating the Heavenly Origin Star Position from them was a completely different matter. Because within the Nine Star Killing Formation, even the slightest miscalculation would lead directly to death. Fortunately, this formation was still incomplete and its killing aura had not yet fully matured, meaning that at most, Yun Nian would suffer a little.
So Wen Guanchen leisurely sipped his tea and sighed contentedly, preparing to recline for a nap. But the very moment he lay back, a terrifying pressure suddenly swept outward from within the formation.
Boom!
Dust exploded into the air, forcing Wen Guanchen to instantly sit upright and hurriedly use his spiritual energy to shield himself from the impact. His expression now changed immediately. As within the shattered remnants of the formation stood Yun Nian. Her black hair was completely disheveled now, hanging loosely over her torn robes, while the jade hairpin she had worn earlier was gone entirely, leaving only a single ribbon to barely hold her hair together. More than a dozen tears covered her green disciple robes (robes worn by sect disciples according to rank and lineage), and a streak of blood marked her pale cheek.
Yet, when Wen Guanchen met her gaze, he froze slightly. The sunlight poured down from above, bathing the young girl in radiant gold. Her face remained bright and beautiful despite the blood and injuries; as she stood there at the height of youthful vitality—fearless, bold, and dazzlingly alive. Her eyes burned with fiery excitement and her smile was radiant beyond words, though perhaps not because she had broken the formation, but because of the Cold-Soothing Pill still resting in Wen Guanchen’s hand.
“Shishu!” Yun Nian’s triumphant voice rang through the silence. “I won!”
Wen Guanchen slowly rose to his feet, staring blankly at the completely shattered formation before him. Beside the table, a single stick of incense had only just finished burning to ash—meaning she had taken less time than it took for a single flame to die. As this was the fastest anyone had ever unraveled one of his arrays, Wen Guanchen’s composure broke on the spot.
Yun Nian, completely unbothered by his shocked expression, walked toward him while carrying her sword proudly, declaring, “Shishu [Martial Uncle], I broke your formation!”
Wen Guanchen hurried forward several steps, his calm demeanor finally cracking with excitement. “How did you locate the formation points? My Nine Star Killing Formation is still incomplete, yes—but it should not have been possible to break it within a single incense stick’s time!” Yun Nian explained honestly, “Your formation truly is ingenious. At first, I mistook it for the Eight Directions Formation and attacked the wrong formation points, which only strengthened the killing intent further. Later, I deliberately exposed myself to the gale in order to determine the pattern hidden within the winds.”
Wen Guanchen’s gaze unconsciously lowered toward her arm, where several deep wounds revealing bones crossed her skin densely.
Yun Nian smiled as though it did not hurt at all and continued, “I discovered that the winds operate in cycles of eight. Four are Life Gates and four are Death Gates. Since the Death Gates were too dangerous, I avoided them completely, then listened carefully to the direction of the Life Gate winds, identified their exact positions, and connected them using spiritual threads. The point where all four intersected was naturally the Heavenly Origin Star Position.”
Wen Guanchen stared at her blankly. “That’s all?”
Yun Nian blinked innocently. “That’s all.”
Than her eyes curved brightly as she smiled. Clearly, this poor cultivation-world genius still did not understand the terrifying charm of mathematics. Wasn’t the Bagua structure essentially just a regular octagon? The eight trigram positions lay at the centers of the eight sides, so connecting the midpoints of two opposite sides naturally created axes of symmetry, and where the axes intersected was the center point—the Heavenly Origin Star Position.
Yun Nian immediately stretched out her hand toward him without the slightest hesitation. “A promise is a promise, Shishu (Shishu—Junior Martial Uncle, one’s master’s younger disciple-brother). Please hand over the Cold-Soothing Pill.” Hearing this Wen Guanchen’s eyelids twitched faintly. For the first time in a long while, the usually calm and detached Peak Master [leader governing an individual mountain peak within a cultivation sect] appeared genuinely reluctant.
After a brief silence, he slowly took out the Cold-Soothing Pill from the wooden box with visible unwillingness. The moment it appeared, Yun Nian’s eyes lit up instantly, and without wasting even a second, she quickly snatched one pill away and stuffed it safely into her Qiankun bag (a magical storage pouch with its own internal storage space).
Then, she beamed brightly. “Thank you, Little Shishu!”
However, the System suddenly stopped her before she could leave. [I think your Martial Uncle looks emotionally devastated. As an outstanding employee of the Transmigration Bureau, shouldn’t we show a little humanistic concern toward NPCs?]
Yun Nian paused, then turned back and glanced toward Wen Guanchen. Sure enough, the man still stood there staring blankly at the shattered remains of his formation, looking unusually absent-minded. Realizing the System was right, Yun Nian softened slightly after a moment’s hesitation and spoke in a quieter voice.
“Shishu… your formation is already incredible. In the future, you will definitely perfect it even further.” Her eyes curved gently as she smiled. “I truly believe that one day, with your ability, the Nine Star Killing Formation will become the strongest formation in the cultivation world.”
And she was not merely comforting him. In the original story, the perfected Nine Star Killing Formation later protected the Xuanmiao Sword Sect during the invasion of the Demon Realm (Mojie), alone reducing the sect’s casualties by more than half. Its future power would become hundreds of times greater than the incomplete version before them now, and if Yun Nian herself had not read the original novel beforehand, even she would never have guessed that the formation core lay at the Heavenly Origin Star Position.
Unfortunately, she no longer had time to linger because her injuries hurt too much. So Yun Nian bent down, picked up the shattered jade hairpin from the ground, and turned to leave. Yet the moment her back faced him, her previously calm and composed expression instantly twisted into agony. It hurt—it hurt so much—and she decided that the moment she returned, she was absolutely filing a work-injury report with the Transmigration Bureau.
On the other side deep within the distant forest, Jiang Zhao silently raised an eyebrow, thinking his little junior sister truly was clever as ever. Then, his gaze shifted toward the person standing beside him.
Xie Qingli remained completely silent, his eyes lowered slightly as though lost in thought. Jiang Zhao studied him briefly before speaking in a tone thick with obvious jealousy. “When I was injured before, I never once saw her go begging for a Cold-Soothing Pill on my behalf.” He folded his arms and let out a cold laugh. “She truly treats you differently.” Xie Qingli did not answer, his gaze remaining fixed upon the open clearing ahead. Following his line of sight, Jiang Zhao noticed the small pool of blood staining the ground within the ruined formation, which belonged to Yun Nian.
Silence lingered briefly between them until, at last, Jiang Zhao spoke again, his voice low and dangerous. “I don’t care what kind of person you truly are. But if you dare hurt her…” His eyes darkened sharply. “I will not let you off.” After saying that, Jiang Zhao turned and left without waiting for a response.
Soon, only Xie Qingli and Wen Guanchen remained near the shattered formation grounds. Wen Guanchen had already become completely absorbed in examining the remnants of his formation again, utterly too occupied to pay attention to anyone else, while Xie Qingli stood quietly where he was.
His eyes remained fixed upon the empty clearing before him as he remembered the moment Yun Nian entered the formation earlier—carefree, fearless, and as though she believed with absolute certainty that she would emerge victorious. And then he remembered the moment she stepped back out; her black hair had been completely disordered, and blood stained her robes and cheek, yet despite her injuries… she had still been smiling.
Why did she smile so often, even while injured?
Xie Qingli slowly curled his lips faintly, yet almost immediately afterward, an uncontrollable surge of violent emotion erupted within his chest. As a familiar madness spread rapidly through his body, the fire poison hidden within his meridians (spiritual energy channels within a cultivator’s body) suddenly flared violently once more, scorching through him like burning blades. As the metallic taste of blood rose into his throat, but Xie Qingli silently circulated his internal spiritual energy, forcibly suppressing the poison again.
Only then did he slowly lift his gaze toward the sky above. The sunlight was dazzlingly bright—so bright it almost hurt to look at directly—but he still had matters to attend to today. Very important matters. So the warmth vanished from Xie Qingli’s eyes completely, and his expression turned cold once more as he withdrew his gaze indifferently, turned away from Wen Guanchen’s residence, and prepared to deal with a few insignificant ants.
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