The Nine Palaces Formation Core Shen Xi had begun laying out already stretched from the southeast corner to the northwest. The cores were all buried three chi beneath the surface, with only small, bluish-white stakes showing. The tops of the stakes were carved with Nine Palaces symbols, which shimmered faintly in the night.
Whenever a craftsman passed by, dragging a formation device, the stakes would shift half a cun on their own to clear a path, then return to their positions a moment later. The formation was called the Nine Palaces Disorienting Mirror-Gate Formation. Its primary functions were to harry the enemy, disrupt their steps, and alter their direction.
If an enemy were to burst into the outer ring, the paths they saw and the directions they stepped in would be quietly thrown into disarray. The spirit trees planted by Lin Jinglong had already taken root in the outer ring. One after another, Azure Dragon Armor-Embracing Trees rose from the ground.
Their trunks were not tall, but their branches were gnarled and coiled, and azure, scale-like patterns emerged on their bark. They were connected by wood-element spiritual energy, forming a Coiling Azure Dragon Root Barrier.