Chapter 142: The Formation Master

Yunmeng Mountain sits among a cluster of ranges at the border of the Chu and Ming states.

The states of Chu, Han, Wei, Wu, and the Pure Land of Sanskrit Sounds agreed to gather at the southern side of Yunmeng Mountain in ten days.

Fan Li was preparing to set out.

He had received a reply from Lü Chunqiu confirming that everything had been properly arranged.

With a contemporary grandmaster of Confucianism accompanying him, Fan Li felt increasingly confident about subduing Guiguzi.

However, Lü Chunqiu had arranged to meet him at the Pavilion of Farewell outside Pengcheng.

Given their friendship, why couldn't they just meet directly at the Fan Estate?

Doubt lingered in Fan Li's heart.

Yet this letter was delivered by Lü Chunqiu's personal disciple, Yan Yuan, so its contents were absolutely genuine and trustworthy.

"Perhaps Master Lü does not wish to show his face?" Fan Li thought to himself.

Once the day arrived, he traveled light and departed from the city.

His retinue of guards consisted solely of Lü Bu and ten garrison captains.

Lü Bu was a master at the ninth tier of the Hedao realm, while the ten captains possessed cultivations at the second and third tiers of the Yuanying realm, making them formidable warriors within the army.

Fan Li deemed the risk factor of this trip to Yunmeng Mountain to be quite low.

Although the alliance between the four states and the Pure Land was fragile—and Fan Li did not trust those women of the Pure Land—surely they wouldn't resort to infighting immediately, would they?

As for the Great Ming, they seemed to have no pressing reason to kill him just yet.

Therefore, his accompanying guard was small in number yet elite in quality.

Outside Pengcheng, at the Pavilion of Farewell.

A carriage stood by the roadside, and the one holding the whip and driving was none other than the grandmaster Yan Yuan.

Fan Li smiled.

In this world, the only person qualified to have Yan Yuan drive his carriage was likely none of other than Marquis Changxin, Lü Chunqiu.

"Master Yan, please invite Marquis Changxin out so we may greet him," Fan Li said with a smile as he stepped forward.

"Ah? This..."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yuan revealed an awkward and unnatural expression.

Looking awkwardly between Fan Li and the carriage, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

"What is the matter?" Fan Li asked in a daze, "Could the Marquis be angry? This trip to Yunmeng Mountain came about quite suddenly, but it concerns major affairs of state. I hope the Marquis can be understanding."

Yan Yuan simply lowered his head, avoiding Fan Li's gaze.

What on earth was going on?

In Fan Li's impression, Lü Chunqiu had a mild temperament and was steady and prudent—truly possessing the demeanor of a contemporary Confucian grandmaster—and shouldn't throw a tantrum over such trivial matters.

"Could the Marquis have fallen ill?" Fan Li asked nervously.

Within the Great Chu state, Wu Ji and Lü Chunqiu formed the overt and covert pillars of top-tier combat strength.

If Lü Chunqiu was suffering from physical ailments, Fan Li truly wouldn't bear to let him take risks at Yunmeng Mountain.

"No, no, no. My teacher's health is perfectly fine, and I thank the Duke of Jin for your concern." Yan Yuan finally spoke, offering an awkward smile. "It's just that my teacher is held up in Lü City and cannot break away. Truly, he will not be able to make this journey to Yunmeng."

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?!"

Fan Li was dumbfounded.

Lü Chunqiu wasn't coming?

That wasn't what the letter had said!

They had clearly agreed to rendezvous at the Pavilion of Farewell outside the city on the day of departure.

"Then this carriage..."

Fan Li pointed at the carriage, his thoughts racing like lightning as a sudden realization dawned on him, and he inwardly thought: This is bad!

"Humph!"

The carriage curtain was lifted.

Before anyone was seen, the crisp and playful voice of a young maiden rang out first.

"Aiya!"

Taking in the person's appearance, Fan Li covered his face in depression.

It was actually her!

Lü Chunqiu's beloved daughter and the Imperial Noble Consort of Great Chu, Lü Fubao!

"This official... pays respects to Your Ladyship the Noble Consort." Fan Li cupped his hands toward Lü Fubao with a feeble air.

"Humph."

Fan Li suspected he was suffering from auditory hallucinations.

Was Lü Fubao humming in disdain at him?

She was, after all, the apple of Marquis Changxin Lü Chunqiu's eye, hailing from a distinguished lineage of Confucian scholarship, and her words and actions ought to be exceptionally well-mannered.

Lü Fubao stood clad in white against the wind, resembling a blooming lily.

Her entire being radiated a scholarly aura, and her youthful cheeks revealed a calm composure that transcended her years.

In Fan Li's student days back in his past life, she would have been the undisputed campus goddess!

So, when exactly had he ever offended her?

"Master Yan, what is the meaning of this?" Realizing the other party had no intention of paying him any mind, Fan Li had no choice but to question Yan Yuan.

Yan Yuan cupped his hands and said, "After receiving the Duke of Jin's letter, although my teacher had no time to personally journey to Yunmeng Mountain, he nevertheless researched background information on the Guiguzi lineage, hoping to be of assistance to the Duke."

"The Guiguzi lineage has been passed down for a very long time, tracing its origins even earlier than the pre-Qin period."

"The founding patriarch of the Guiguzi possessed knowledge that rivaled the heavens and mastered the arts of the hundred schools of thought."

"In particular, Confucianism, Legalism, Taoism, military strategy, and formations were almost forged by him into an independent school."

Fan Li was stunned. "Guiguzi wasn't just a single person? It's passed down through generations?"

"Yes."

Yan Yuan nodded and continued his explanation.

"My teacher consulted ancient pre-Qin texts and discovered that Yunmeng Mountain is exceedingly unusual. The mountain is suspected to be a magical treasure containing numerous formations and seals—marvelous beyond words, yet fraught with peril."

"Therefore, my teacher dispatched the disciple among his sect who possesses the most profound mastery of array formations to assist the Duke."

Upon hearing this, Fan Li let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed Lü Chunqiu's actions were reliable after all.

He smiled at Yan Yuan and said, "Master Yan is truly erudite and talented, even deeply versed in the esoteric arts of formations—truly remarkable! However, why must the Imperial Noble Consort leave the palace in secret?"

Fan Li calculated in his mind to quickly send this young woman back to the palace to avoid stirring up trouble.

"Er... the Duke of Jin has misunderstood."

Yan Yuan offered a dry laugh and pointed toward Lü Fubao.

"My junior sister is not only the teacher's beloved daughter, but also Lü City's foremost grandmaster of array formations. On this trip, my junior sister is the principal force, and Yan Yuan is merely the carriage driver."

"Humph!"

Lü Fubao let out another cold snort and cast a sidelong glance at Fan Li.

"Foremost grandmaster of array formations?" Fan Li looked Lü Fubao up and down, finding no resemblance to one whatsoever.

"Does the Duke doubt my strength?"

She glared with a pair of dark, glossy, beautiful eyes, resembling nothing less than a civet cat preparing to pounce.

"This is the truth," Yan Yuan hurriedly added. "Although my junior sister's cultivation is merely at the Yuanying realm, her talent for array formations is unprecedented. My teacher once personally stated that my junior sister is likely the second person in a millennium to attain immortality through the cultivation of array formations."

"Really!?"

Fan Li was finally moved.

Attaining immortality through formations?

That was truly too rare!

Those who specialized exclusively in array formations were few and far between, and those who managed to become immortals were even scarcer.

The reasons for this phenomenon were simple.

The requirements for array formation talent were exceptionally harsh, and the resources required to set them up were quite exorbitant.

The resources consumed by setting up a high-level array just once could bankrupt a mid-tier family.

High talent and heavy expenses had become the two major factors making masters of array formations exceedingly rare.

"In a millennium, someone actually managed to ascend to immortality through array formations? Who were they?" Fan Li asked out of curiosity.

"It was Guiguzi."

"The pre-Qin state perished after two generations, and the founding emperors of the Chu, Han, and Ming vied for dominance under heaven. The Guiguzi of that generation refused the recruitment offers of the three emperors, underwent the heavenly tribulation on the spot, and ascended to the immortal realm."

After finishing, Lü Fubao shot Fan Li a look that seemed to say, 'Consider your horizons broadened.'

Damn it!

Fan Li also noticed that Lü Fubao was targeting him at every turn.

What was going on here?

When on earth had he and she made enemies?

"Very well, let us set out."

Unable to figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it.

The father hadn't come, but the daughter had; Fan Li had no choice but to make do.

"Will the Duke of Jin please board the phoenix carriage? I have words for you!"

Lü Fubao, however, had no intention of letting him off the hook.

Having dropped these words, the woman had already ducked back into the carriage.

Fan Li scratched his head. Wanting to refuse yet hesitating for a long time, he ultimately compromised.

He crawled into the carriage, and just as he lowered the curtain, he heard Lü Fubao's voice coming from behind him.

"Fan Li, you have deceived me bitterly—Chu Emperor Xiang Ning is clearly a woman in disguise!"