Chapter 434
"Yet someone managed to steal a Blood Banner right from under my nose..."
"That person is a Golden Core!"
"Even if I had thought of everything, how could I have anticipated that a Golden Core would be so capable?" The Youming Xian, who had been calm while listening to Ming De's words, now gritted his teeth at the mention of these two matters, clearly on the verge of a mental breakdown. He laughed bitterly, "If it weren't for the heavens not aiding me, how else could I explain this?"
Cheng Kong, the Master of the Void, lowered his head and calculated silently, arriving at a different conclusion in his heart:
The first time the formation was broken, although he was the one who acted, it was Zheng Fa who sent the message.
The second time the formation was broken, it was largely thanks to Xie Xianzi, but the key point still lay with Zheng Fa.
What do you mean the heavens are against you?
It’s clearly Zheng Fa who is thwarting you!
With this thought, Cheng Kong found himself inexplicably agreeing with Youming Xian's earlier wariness.
Ming De, however, was unaware of his thoughts. Hearing Youming Xian's words, he exclaimed, "Now that you know the will of heaven, do you still intend to stubbornly resist?"
"The will of heaven?" Youming Xian laughed, turning to the surrounding transformation stage cultivators. "Is that really the will of heaven?"
"The will of heaven led to the death of the Tianhe Zun!"
"Is that so?"
A sword's cry rang out from behind him. Xie Qingxue, her face as cold as frost, her beautiful eyes filled with killing intent, brandished her Qingping Sword and shouted, "How dare you compare yourself to our ancestor?"
"You of the Tianhe Sect dare to call yourselves the true Tianhe, how can I be any less?"
Xie Qingxue pressed her lips together, but the sword energy from her Qingping Sword surged forth, slicing the drifting white clouds around her into fine threads.
Ming De observed for a while, detecting no ambush nearby. Unable to hold back any longer, he reached into the Qiyun and pulled out the Qingjing Bamboo, pointing it directly at Qin Mu.
"Today, even if the heavens do not strike you down, I will!"
The people around them displayed their abilities. Aside from Xie Qingxue wielding the Qingping Sword, the Yaochi transformation stage cultivator was surrounded by a red silk that resembled the glow of sunset, while the man from Haori Mountain unstrung his longbow, aiming an arrow at Qin Mu.
Moreover, Cheng Kong, along with two other Taishang transformation stage cultivators, subtly aligned their energies, drawing attention.
Everyone felt confident; although Qin Mu was strong, he was alone and severely injured.
Ming De's strength was not inferior to Qin Mu's.
Not to mention the Qingjing Bamboo and the Qingping Sword.
With all these advantages, they had no reason to fear defeat.
Yet Qin Mu remained unperturbed. He glanced around and suddenly nodded, saying, "Qingjing Bamboo, Qingping Sword, five transformation stage cultivators—this should be enough."
"Enough?"
Ming De was taken aback, and a blue-black light flickered in his eyes. He looked down and realized the island beneath them was trembling as if an earthquake had struck.
No, it wasn't an earthquake!
"Retreat!" he shouted urgently.
But it was too late!
In the surrounding sea, seven pillars of light shot up from seven islands, piercing the sky.
As the light faded, they discovered that these seven islands were not islands at all, but seven massive pillars standing on the seabed, their surfaces resembling black bronze, each coiled with a giant dragon carved from blue jade.
The pillars rose higher and higher, and the sea level followed suit, until finally, the water met the sky, and the world seemed to transform into a giant fish tank.
Ming De and the others were swept into the water.
Vortices, dark currents, and an overwhelming, strange spiritual energy disoriented them.
"The Seven Dragons Vast Sea Formation!" the Yaochi transformation stage cultivator exclaimed. "This is a secret formation passed down by the dragon clan. How do you know it?"
"Why do you think I came to Donghai County? Can't you guess?" Youming Xian's voice came, still laced with amusement.
"From the demon clan!" Cheng Kong said. "You obtained this formation from the demon clan!"
The number of powerful demons lurking in the sea was vast, many of them long-lived, which was why the five sects dared not provoke them lightly.
But...
"How could they give you this formation?"
That was the question on everyone's mind. Such a grand formation was incredibly precious; how could Youming Xian have obtained it?
Youming Xian fell silent, clearly not intending to answer every question.
Ming De and the others finally gathered together, exchanging glances, their expressions surprisingly relaxed.
Though the formation was powerful, it also had its limits.
Youming Xian was injured; even if he weren't, they wouldn't be afraid.
At that moment, Cheng Kong suddenly understood why Youming Xian had been checking if Zheng Fa was present earlier—this formation's range was too vast for them to avoid.
But if Zheng Fa were here, at the moment the formation activated, only he would have the ability to traverse a thousand miles in an instant, even seizing one of the giant pillars!
In that case, the formation would be difficult to establish.
He looked at Ming De, who tilted his head slightly, seemingly avoiding his gaze—he must have thought of the same thing.
After a moment of silence, Ming De turned to the Yaochi transformation stage cultivator and asked, "What is the nature of this Seven Dragons Vast Sea Formation?"
The Yaochi transformation stage cultivator's expression was inscrutable, as if he were puzzled.
"This formation has no killing power."
Everyone was taken aback.
"The Seven Dragons Vast Sea Formation is one of the top-level illusion formations from ancient dragon clan legends. Its greatest function is to trap enemies."
"Trap?" Xie Qingxue suddenly looked up, gazing outside the formation. "He aims to trap us in Donghai County!"
"Xie Xianzi is correct," Youming Xian's voice came, seemingly in praise. "Master, you indeed brought most of your strength to hunt me down."
"I wonder how many transformation stage cultivators you still have outside this formation?"
Ming De gritted his teeth, looking at the others with a hint of guilt. "I was too stubborn..."
"Breaking the formation is what matters!" Xie Qingxue interjected, her brow raised. "Scheming is ultimately a minor path!"
"No... the Seven Dragons Vast Sea Formation has its own mysteries," the Yaochi transformation stage cultivator said, his expression growing more perplexed. "In this formation, we cannot escape, nor can the one who set it up..."
"...What do you mean?"
"This formation has no core, or rather, the core is the one who set it up," the Yaochi transformation stage cultivator explained. "In other words, unless the one who set it up dies, the formation will not dissolve, and they cannot escape either."
Cheng Kong was stunned. "Using one's life to set up a formation? A self-destructing formation?"
"This is one of the last resorts of the ancient dragon clan, a true mutual destruction."
Cheng Kong suddenly understood; Youming Xian had set up this formation, likely with no intention of surviving.
Xie Qingxue frowned, looking at the vast, murky waters around them. "So, unless we kill Youming Xian, we have no way out?"
The Yaochi transformation stage cultivator nodded gently.
"Xie Xianzi, if it weren't for this, how could the Seven Dragons Vast Sea Formation be considered one of the top formations?" Youming Xian spoke again, seemingly still smiling. "I was able to obtain this formation because I promised those demons that as long as I live, you cannot escape."
"…"
"If it weren't for that, how would they dare assist my Holy Sect?"
As he spoke, waves of spiritual energy fluctuations came from the distance, as if a large number of figures were emerging from the deep sea.
At this point, Cheng Kong finally understood Qin Mu's scheme:
He had used Ming De's hatred for him to draw the strongest cultivators of the immortal sect into the formation,
And with his life as a wager, he had convinced the demon clan's transformation stage cultivators—after all, he had killed the Yin-Yang Rakshasa; without that, the demon clan would hardly trust him.
Now, in Donghai County, there were only Tongming Shangren and another transformation stage cultivator from a different sect. Counting the Jiushan Sect, there were only four transformation stage cultivators in total.
More importantly, the demon clan likely did not need to deal with these few transformation stage cultivators, but rather...
"Reforge the Blood Banner?"
Xie Qingxue voiced his speculation.
Ming De's expression darkened further. He knew that at this point, his obsession with this disciple had led to a grave mistake.
"Break the formation!"
But Xie Qingxue moved like a sword, her Qingping Sword lightly swaying, dispelling the defeat in everyone's hearts.
She declared, "If we can't break the formation, then we must find Youming Xian and kill him!"
"…"
Everyone looked around, the murky sea enveloping them, obscuring their view.
Most importantly, there seemed to be some strange spiritual power in the water, making it impossible for their spiritual senses, eyes, or magical artifacts to discern the reality within the formation.
In such a vast sea, finding a demon sect avatar skilled in concealment was no easy task.
But seeing Xie Qingxue's resolute expression, everyone nodded in agreement.
Xie Qingxue took the lead, but her brow furrowed as she gazed toward the gathering clouds of demons in the distance, her mind racing—had she inadvertently sent her junior brother straight into the jaws of the demon clan?
...
Zheng Fa and the others were equally stunned.
How could these demons still be charging toward them from such a distance?
At this moment, the Sun and Moon Bell was at the seaside, and Zheng Fa stood in the main hall of the Tiangong Island with Senior Sister Zhang and others, a light screen before them reflecting the chaos on the sea:
Hurricanes, shattered clouds, and towering waves that seemed to have no end.
Demonic energy, blood-red, countless groups of demons.
They rode the waves, wielding magical artifacts, gazing at this land.
What made Zheng Fa frown was that these demons were overflowing with demonic energy, resembling the people of the Great Freedom Demon Sect.
Table of Contents
