Jiulang Mountain is located north of Jinyang Commandery, nestled within a wild forest on the western side.
This place is rarely visited by humans. With the endless mountain forest behind it, there are no villages or towns within hundreds of miles.
Furthermore, the spiritual energy here is scarce, making it unsuitable for cultivators above the second realm. Consequently, no other sects exist in this area.
Most importantly, this mountain forest connects to the border of Jinyang Commandery. If any accident were to occur, one could easily escape into Fengming Commandery.
After spending two to three days, Ji Yuan and his companions finally arrived outside Jiulang Mountain, stopping about ten miles away.
As the stronghold of the Flowing Fire Bandits, this place, if not heavily guarded, at least has corresponding formations protecting it. Rushing forward carelessly would likely lead to their discovery.
Moreover, while their strength was not weak and they could gain an advantage in a direct confrontation, even with their confidence, they did not believe they could suppress the bandits in their own stronghold.
Even ordinary forces would set up numerous formations on their territory, let alone a bandit group like the Flowing Fire Bandits.
"I will enter the void and infiltrate Jiulang Mountain first."
Ji Yuan looked at everyone and said with a serious expression, "You slowly approach and stand ready outside. Once the formation is disrupted, proceed according to the original plan."
In the past few days, they had already established a general plan based on the intelligence provided by Ren Feihong.
The most critical step in this plan was for Ji Yuan to successfully infiltrate Jiulang Mountain and destroy the foundation of its grand formation, rendering the protective array ineffective.
Otherwise, let alone them, even if their numbers were doubled or tripled, they might not even be able to breach the mountainside.
For instance, in Luoxia County of Lingyang Prefecture, the prefect, with a cultivation of only the third realm, could, by relying on the formation within the prefecture city, achieve the power to slay a fourth-tier demonic beast, equivalent to the Golden Core stage.
And this was when the prefect had only activated a portion of the formation's might.
Although the formation of Jiulang Mountain could not be compared to a prefecture city's formation, as the stronghold of the Flowing Fire Bandits, it was definitely powerful under the management of three cultivators in the third realm.
It would likely not be difficult for it to empower the cultivators within to fight one against several.
"I hope everything you said is true."
Before leaving, Ji Yuan glanced deeply at Ren Feihong.
The other party opened his mouth, as if wanting to offer some assurance, but Ji Yuan gave him no chance, turning and stepping into the void.
Although he did not summon his natal flying sword, his understanding of the void had already reached a considerable level, far surpassing ordinary cultivators in the middle to late third realm.
However, as he approached Jiulang Mountain, Ji Yuan summoned his white jade flying sword from his Purple Mansion in his glabella, which had been nurtured by the sword energy lake.
This sword flew through the void, easily cutting through the formation covering the mountain, without causing any fluctuations, nor disturbing the cultivators within the formation.
He ascended Jiulang Mountain silently, concealing all his aura, and moved within the void inaccessible to ordinary cultivators.
Not only his aura but also his divine sense was confined to his sea of consciousness. Facing three Ming Dao realm cultivators whose strength was currently unknown, even he dared not be careless.
"It seems I need to find time to thoroughly study the Way of Formations."
After a short while, Ji Yuan couldn't help but mutter in his heart.
Without the aid of divine sense, he could barely discern the nodes of the formation, nor find the location of its foundation.
The formation here was different from that of the Lingxuan Sect. The latter had become dilapidated from numerous battles, and the Treasure Elder had not bothered to repair it.
The formation in the Flowing Fire Bandits' stronghold, however, was intact and of a high grade, surpassing the protective mountain formations of ordinary small sects.
While Ji Yuan's cultivation was not weak, he was not skilled in formations and had hardly studied them before.
If not for his powerful intuition and understanding of the Dao, he would likely be utterly lost and helpless at this moment.
Even so, after spending nearly the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, he had only found one formation foundation, and its impact on the entire formation was not significant. Even if this foundation were destroyed, the formation covering Jiulang Mountain could still operate, with its power reduced by at most half.
"At least it's a start," Ji Yuan muttered to himself, then took out a formation flag.
This flag was something he had spent a considerable price to bid for and acquire from a reputable merchant guild in the county city of Feiyun Commandery long ago.
This seemingly inconspicuous small flag was worth dozens of spirit coins, and it was the kind that was priceless.
Its sole purpose was to reverse-engineer the complete layout of a formation.
However, this required the user to have already found a formation foundation or created a gap in the formation.
At this moment, Ji Yuan sat cross-legged in the void, rapidly forming hand seals. His internal mana transformed into hair-thin strands, slowly being infused into the formation flag suspended before him.
The palm-sized small flag then emitted a faint glow, silently merging into the formation foundation of this place.
Soon, countless formation patterns seemed to appear in his eyes. His gaze fell upon the void before him, as if he could see the lines of the entire grand formation.
Although not skilled in formations, with the aid of this special artifact, he possessed the ability to deduce the location of other formation foundations, comparable to an ordinary formation master.
This was the advantage of cultivators with proper heritage. They did not solely rely on brute force but possessed numerous methods to deal with any situation, even in areas where they were not proficient.
Wild cultivators and ordinary rogue cultivators, on the other hand, due to the lack of their own heritage, rarely had this awareness.
The former were like builders constructing a house in broad daylight, with blueprints in hand, knowing exactly what was needed.
The latter were more like trying to build a magnificent palace in complete darkness without any light.
It took nearly half an hour. With the help of the high-priced formation flag, Ji Yuan finally grasped the layout of the grand formation here, having a good idea of the location of most of its foundations.
Although not all, many crucial foundations were among them. Destroying them one by one would render the grand formation nearly useless, incapable of exerting much power.
However, he was still not satisfied with just this. For safety, it was best to completely dismantle the entire grand formation.
But with the power of the current formation flag, achieving this was the limit. After all, his understanding of the Way of Formations was indeed limited, and he could not fully utilize the artifact's capabilities.
"There is a formation eye on the mountaintop. If it is destroyed, the grand formation here can be completely paralyzed."
Ji Yuan sat cross-legged in the void, slowly looking upwards. His gaze seemed to pierce through the darkness and the layers of courtyards and wooden houses.