Although first-rank demonic beasts have awakened intelligence, the level of intelligence varies among them. For instance, the intelligence of a first-rank Spirit Fox and a first-rank Fanged Boar are worlds apart.
The Meteorite Sand Beast was inherently a gluttonous and lazy demonic beast from the Chaotic Flow Space. As a rule, if it could lie down, it would absolutely not want to move. It was only because it had been refined by a cultivator that it was forced to obey commands.
Therefore, as long as Wang Changkun didn't order them to detect the presence of a formation, they would never take the initiative to do something so exhausting.
Just like that, the two battle groups slowly shifted toward the four Child Killing Formations, until finally, everyone had entered the range of the formations.
Upon seeing this, Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun instantly activated the formations, separating themselves from Wang Changkun and his men.
The activation of the formations immediately sent Wang Changkun and his group into a state of shock and fury. They were not at all familiar with breaking formations and restrictions. Even if their cultivation heritage included the path of formations, they simply lacked the resources to practice it in the Chaotic Flow Space.
Thus, not everyone could obtain the few materials that Nascent Soul cultivators had painstakingly sought out. Although Wang Changkun was under the care of a Nascent Soul cultivator, he had not yet reached Core Formation and was not considered a disciple, so he still had no opportunity to cultivate the path of formations.
As for the other foreign cultivators here, since they obeyed Wang Changkun, their backgrounds were not high, and they too knew little about formations.
In just three short breaths, the situation had completely reversed. The terrifying might of the Malevolent Spirit Sect's infamous Poison Cultivators was now revealed, baring its vicious fangs.
In an instant, the formations were filled with various mists and swirling liquids. Sun Guoshu had already fled a thousand feet away in terror, immediately holding his breath.
Bai Rou also stopped casting spells and stood guard vigilantly outside the four Child Killing Formations, ready to command her three puppets to attack at any moment.
Although Bai Rou's three Long-Armed Ape Puppets had powerful attacks, they had been criticized many times by Shuang Qingqing. After Bai Rou returned to the Malevolent Spirit Sect, she was also "earnestly instructed" many times by Elder Chigong.
The reason was that Bai Rou's puppets had nothing to do with poison. Shuang Qingqing believed that since the Malevolent Spirit Sect was a major poison cultivation sect, Bai Rou should learn from it. Enhancing her own strength was the way of a king.
Elder Chigong shared this sentiment, telling Bai Rou not to be soft-hearted. Magical treasures were for killing people; if she could kill quickly, why expend more effort?
However, the usually obedient Bai Rou was stubbornly obstinate on this matter and remained hesitant.
Elder Chigong was so angry his beard quivered. "Look at you! How are you in any way like a cultivator of our Malevolent Spirit Sect? Why are you so fixated on this?"
At this moment, cruel smiles appeared on the faces of Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun. The two continuously cast one formation manual after another, constantly strengthening the power of the formations.
Yan Feijun, in particular, had eyes completely bloodshot. His single remaining hand moved through the air, creating a blur of afterimages.
Within the four great formations, the separated cultivators initially roared in anger, but soon, their roars turned into shrill screams and vicious curses.
The two formations trapping Wang Changkun and the three Meteorite Sand Beasts were especially loud, with continuous rumbles that shook the earth for several miles around.
Inside his formation, Wang Changkun's hair was disheveled, and he looked like a mad tiger, constantly attacking his surroundings. But in his heart, he knew that this time, he was likely to die here. He was almost completely ignorant about formations.
These cultivators from the Desolate Moon Continent were too vicious. There were at least five or six types of deadly poison within the formation.
Although he could temporarily hold his breath, the poisonous juices and liquids crashed against him like waves. Beneath his feet, black, stinking mires would constantly appear. He estimated that if he stepped into one, he would be completely corroded.
He continuously called out to the three Meteorite Sand Beasts in his mind. At first, he received responses, but after about ten breaths, only an occasional reply came through.
In the end, no matter how he called, the three Meteorite Sand Beasts gave no response at all.
However, Wang Changkun knew that the three Meteorite Sand Beasts were not yet dead. He had refined the demonic beasts with his essence blood; if they died, he would sense it instantly.
The reason was easy to guess: the three Meteorite Sand Beasts were already deeply poisoned. Wang Changkun's guess was correct. The skin of the Meteorite Sand Beasts was extremely tough, so they could withstand the poisonous liquids that splashed onto them.
However, the Meteorite Sand Beasts didn't know to hold their breath. After being trapped, they rammed their surroundings even more frantically, consuming a great deal of energy.
Unfortunately, they were only in their juvenile stage and were powerless to forcibly break this formation. Under this exertion, not only was the poison slathered on their bodies slowly seeping into them, but more importantly, a large amount of poisonous mist had already entered their bodies.
If not for the fact that these three Meteorite Sand Beasts were a variant species from the Chaotic Flow Space, they would have perished long ago. But now, the poison had already reached their internal organs, and they could no longer hold on. They fell one by one to the ground, slowly sinking into the black mire, and after a short while, they vanished into thin air.
As for the four foreign cultivators in the remaining two formations, they fell completely silent just fourteen breaths after the formations were activated.
From this, it was clear that head-on confrontations were definitely not the forte of the Four Symbols Peak cultivators. It was just that during their usual missions, they mostly encountered ambushes and had no time to set up proper traps.
Finally, the four formations fell into a dead silence. Bai Rou asked anxiously, "Senior Brothers, what's the result?"
Once a formation was activated, only the caster could grasp the situation inside through their divine sense. Others had no way of knowing what was happening.
Of course, there was an exception: a cultivator with a profound cultivation base could use their powerful divine sense to forcibly break in and see. Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun didn't answer immediately. After a few more breaths, they withdrew their divine sense, and both nodded.
Yan Feijun said hatefully, "Not even their souls escaped. They have all completely dissipated between heaven and earth!"
As he spoke, he and Hu Xiaowang began casting spells to dismantle the four Child Killing Formations. In the distance, Sun Guoshu still didn't dare to approach, only daring to send his divine sense to probe the area.
As the four Child Killing Formations were dismantled, what appeared before Bai Rou and Sun Guoshu was a patch of completely destroyed forest. The ground was covered in shattered wood and grass, and many grassroots and wood splinters were embedded deep into the ground or tree trunks like sharp arrows.
In this chaotic area, not even a single human figure remained. Sun Guoshu hastily scanned the area again with his divine sense.
To his horror, he discovered that apart from some wood debris, he couldn't find even a scrap of clothing.
Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun seemed to have expected this result. They were examining the scene with expressions of pure satisfaction.
When setting up the formations, in order to kill the enemy as quickly and thoroughly as possible, the two had used many of the vicious and potent poisons they possessed. Never mind a scrap of clothing; in the end, not even a single storage pouch was left.
As the four were examining the scene inside the former formations, none of them noticed a faint figure quietly flying away in the distance.
"Right, we need to hurry and find Junior Brother Li!" Seeing that the five people in the formation were dead, Bai Rou turned her face away and quickly urged them on.
The moment her words fell, she was already in the air. Seeing this, Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun hurriedly collected their formation equipment and quickly ascended. Both of them were currently heavily depleted.
Yan Feijun, in particular, had just consumed many pills, both for healing and for restoring Spirit Power, none of which he had had time to properly refine. His injuries remained, and he had only thirty percent of his Spirit Power left.
Fortunately, both knew that if something happened to Li Yan, and Martial Uncle Wei found out they hadn't given their all, they would likely have to pay with their lives.
So, gritting their teeth, despite desperately wanting to stay and meditate to recover, they could only harden their hearts and follow Bai Rou.
Just as Sun Guoshu in the rear was about to take flight, Bai Rou's surprised and uncertain voice rang out again. "Huh? That should be Junior Brother Li coming back. How is he..."
Bai Rou's words stunned the other three. Immediately, all three uncertainly released their divine sense.
"It really is Fell... Fellow Daoist Li! He's coming back alone?" The first to spot him was surprisingly Sun Guoshu. He was in the best condition among them, while Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun were still enduring their fatigue, their reactions a step slower.
Sun Guoshu saw a person flying toward them in the distance; it was indeed Li Yan. In his excitement, the word "Young Master" almost slipped out, but no one was paying attention to him at that moment.
"It's Junior Brother Li. What about the two demonic cultivators?" Yan Feijun saw Li Yan flying back alone and nervously extended his divine sense further into the distance, but still found no one pursuing him.
"I can't tell. Junior Brother Li truly has some impressive methods!" Hu Xiaowang had similarly assumed that Li Yan was being chased and had no choice but to circle back and regroup. It seemed their guess was wrong, and he was now bewildered by this outcome.
Bai Rou, however, didn't care about anything else. With a smile on her jade-like face, she flew forward rapidly to meet him. The other three could only follow, their minds full of questions.
Of course, Li Yan had already spotted the four of them. He picked up his pace slightly, and soon, the group met in mid-air.
"Junior Brother Li, what about those two demonic cultivators?" While still a thousand feet away, Bai Rou sent her voice across with her Spirit Power, her tone sweet.
"Oh, those two demonic cultivators are already dead!"
"Dead?"
As Li Yan's voice reached them, the two groups met. Hu Xiaowang asked in shock, while Yan Feijun looked suspiciously behind Li Yan. Sure enough, after all this time, no one had appeared in pursuit.
Only Sun Guoshu blinked a few times, his thoughts unreadable.
Seeing everyone's astonished expressions, Li Yan spread his hands. "This time, it was truly the sect's blessing. While I was escaping, I ran into a martial uncle who was carrying out a mission nearby.
"Although this martial uncle isn't from our Malevolent Spirit Sect, he immediately took action and killed the two demons in just a moment. So, I'm fine."
"Oh? Junior Brother Li had such luck? Where is this martial uncle?" Hu Xiaowang and the others were naturally skeptical. He found it hard to believe that Li Yan could be so fortunate.
They had been fleeing for a long time before and had only received help from a Golden Core senior at the very beginning. After that, they hadn't encountered anyone else. How could this Junior Brother Li just run into a benefactor so casually?
But before Li Yan could answer, Yan Feijun's tense expression relaxed, and he spoke first. "We are on a secret mission. It's impossible for the sect not to have left some backup plan. This must have been arranged by Martial Uncle Wei and the others!"
Yan Feijun's words temporarily silenced the others. But after a moment's thought, it seemed to be the only plausible explanation. Their mission was considered so important; would the sect really entrust everything to them? Otherwise, how could they explain encountering two martial uncles within half a day?