Chapter Fifty-Five: Arranging the Formation

“Madam, Li Yang has returned!” From afar, Jin Ling, who was peering at the gate, caught sight of Jin Chan’s figure and called out with delight toward the manor.

“Are you alright? I felt uneasy just now, as if something ill was about to happen.” Hearing the commotion outside, Lady He hurried out to greet him, her jade-like face flushed and slightly out of breath. Only upon seeing Li Yang did she slow her steps, a trace of concern lingering on her face as she gently inquired.

“Heh... I made you worry, Madam. You know my abilities—fortune always favors me, and with you guarding our home, even if trouble arises, surely it will turn to good!” Li Yang grinned, scratching his head, then leaped down from Jin Chan’s back, grasping Lady He’s delicate hand to comfort her.

“Smooth talker!” Glancing at Jin Ling beside her, Lady He slapped away Li Yang’s hand with a hint of annoyance, casting him a reproachful look.

“Heehee... Madam, you needn’t hide it, I saw everything!” Jin Ling teased, looking at Lady He with a sly smile.

“What... what did you see? You little rascal, three days without discipline and you’re up to mischief!” Lady He’s cheeks reddened at Jin Ling’s jest, her gaze evasive for a moment, then she quickly recovered and lunged at Jin Ling with mock severity.

“Enough! Madam, Sister Jin Ling was only joking...” Li Yang laughed, stepping forward to separate the two playful women.

“It’s all your fault!” Lady He shot Li Yang a fierce glare, straightened her disheveled clothes, then pinched his waist sharply.

“Ouch...” Li Yang winced at the sudden pain, inhaling sharply and glaring at Jin Ling, who stuck her tongue out from behind him.

“Huh... what’s this, an egg? What kind of egg is that—so large!” Jin Ling suddenly turned and stared curiously at the giant egg atop Jin Chan’s head.

“This is the egg of the Furious Sun Chicken. You all saw the little sun just now—that was caused by the Furious Sun Chicken’s bloodline transformation,” Li Yang explained, carefully lifting the giant egg from Jin Chan’s head, his face brimming with joy.

“You’re saying that little sun earlier was the Furious Sun Chicken?” Both Jin Ling and Lady He looked bewildered. In their minds, the Furious Sun Chicken was a wondrous rooster, but they could hardly associate it with the radiant sun they had just witnessed.

“But that can’t be right! The Furious Sun Chicken is a rooster—can a rooster lay eggs?” Jin Ling tilted her head, scrutinizing the egg for a while before asking in confusion.

“What are you talking about...” Li Yang smiled wryly. “This egg is the Furious Sun Chicken itself—it didn’t lay it. You’ve heard of the phoenix’s rebirth, haven’t you? The Furious Sun Chicken carries phoenix blood, and each time its bloodline transforms, it undergoes a rebirth.”

“But didn’t you say before that the Furious Sun Chicken was just a local exotic beast native to Furious Sun County?” Lady He approached, touching the warm eggshell with a hint of uncertainty.

“Yes, I used to think so too. But this particular Furious Sun Chicken is different—I suspect the phoenix blood within it is showing signs of ancestral regression,” Li Yang said, his tone tinged with awe as he stroked the eggshell.

“As everyone knows, phoenix types are as varied as dragons: there are Fire Phoenixes, Yuan Chus, Yu Zhuos, Qing Luans, and Hong Hus. Yet when I awakened its bloodline, the Furious Sun Chicken’s crown manifested the dual energies of Yin and Yang, a trait unlike any of those phoenix types.”

“The dual energies of Yin and Yang are typically the domain of the primordial phoenix, the ancestor itself. So I suspect its blood contains the lineage of the original phoenix. After this transformation, it may shed its mortal form entirely and become a divine beast comparable to the ancient phoenixes of old!”

“Is it really that extraordinary?” Jin Ling examined the giant egg closely, skeptical at Li Yang’s grand claims.

“I can’t say for sure. We’ll only know once it hatches!” Li Yang laughed, answered Jin Ling, then stowed Jin Chan away and walked into the manor cradling the giant egg.

“Li Yang, it’s already late. Get some rest first—these matters can wait until tomorrow,” Lady He said gently, watching Li Yang place the egg on a platform and busy himself in the courtyard.

“Madam, you and Sister Jin Ling go ahead and rest. With my cultivation, I can go ten days, half a month without sleep—no need to worry about me!” Li Yang jumped down from the stone platform, smiling reassuringly.

Seeing that Li Yang truly looked energetic and utterly unfatigued, Lady He finally felt at ease and led Jin Ling back to their chambers.

After the ladies departed, Li Yang entered his own room, taking out several pieces of jade marrow sent by Chen Yulou. He reluctantly cut them into the shape of jade talismans.

This jade marrow was a rare spiritual material, scarce even in a single mining vein. It was highly prized, perfect for pill refining or setting up formations.

For three whole years, Chen Yulou and Old Luo had managed to collect only these few pieces. Li Yang had originally planned to save them for the blood sacrifice array needed to fuse the Six-Winged Golden Centipede, but for the Furious Sun Chicken’s successful hatching, he had no choice but to use them now.

Given the current state of the world, the Furious Sun Chicken’s chances of hatching smoothly were slim. Only by transforming the courtyard’s environment to resemble that of ancient times could he ensure the egg wouldn’t perish midway.

He took up a carving knife, etched runes onto the jade talismans, and buried them in the corners of the courtyard, using two unusual stones on the platform as the formation’s core.

“Heaven’s clarity, earth’s brightness, grant me divine power: this land is most sacred, ascending heaven and earth, traversing the underworld, the convergence of Yin and Yang, heaven clear, earth pure!”

Li Yang stepped upon the Eight Trigrams, forming seals with his hands, his vital energy surging, waves of heat enveloping the courtyard as he communicated with the jade talismans beneath the earth.

“Hoo...” After a long while, sensing a shift in the courtyard’s magnetic field, Li Yang exhaled deeply, placed the giant egg atop the stone representing Yang, and sat cross-legged upon the stone representing Yin.

“It seems I overestimated things. With the current environment, gathering spiritual energy is no easy task—it’s not something that can be accomplished overnight.” After a long pause without sensing any influx of spiritual energy, Li Yang smiled wryly and shook his head. It wasn’t that the formation had failed, but rather that the world’s spiritual energy was so thin that it would take time for any effect to manifest. To truly change the environment, this Yin-Yang Spirit Gathering Array would need to be in place for years before showing any real results.

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Though disappointed, Li Yang accepted the outcome, biting his finger to draw blood, painting sacrifice runes around the egg.

Sitting cross-legged on the Yin stone, hands pressed against the egg, waves of red light surged around him. With each breath, the blood on the egg’s surface was gradually absorbed.

The golden mysterious runes upon the egg also flickered with Li Yang’s breathing, glowing faintly with a subtle golden light.