"Junior Brother Yan, you didn't hold back this time, did you? All we can hope for now is to delay him for as long as possible," Hu Xiaowang asked cautiously, his gaze fixed nervously on the sky.
"At a time like this, how could I possibly hold back? What about you? Did you hold anything back when setting up your defensive formation inside my illusion?" Yan Feijun swallowed hard, his reply equally absent-minded.
They had no confidence that the formations they had laid could deceive a Golden Core stage demonic cultivator. Yet, at the same time, a sliver of desperate hope rose in their hearts. 'Maybe it'll actually work!'
Listening to their nonsensical exchange, Sun Guoshu simply shook his head with a bitter smile at Li Yan, who was looking his way.
Everyone understood. The seemingly pointless words from Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun were a clear sign that they were all stretched to their breaking point, merely trying to bolster their own confidence with chatter.
Bai Rou had reverted to her original appearance. Beside her stood three Long-armed Ancient Ape Puppets—two large and one small—like three guardian deities in the dark night.
As for Yu Yuanjun, after a brief moment of stunned admiration when Bai Rou and the others revealed their true forms, his attention had been completely consumed by the arrival of Teng Wuji. He now stared intently at the demonic cultivator outside the formation, his nerves frayed.
Yu Yuanjun seemed terrified that if he so much as looked away, the enemy would lunge at him in the next instant. He had to keep his eyes locked on the man to feel any semblance of security.
"Human juniors, I'll give you three breaths to come out on your own. Don't make me go to the trouble. Do so, and I'll grant you a swift death."
"Otherwise, humph, if you wait for me to act and drag you out, your fate will be such that in every reincarnation, your very souls will wish to never be reborn as human again."
Teng Wuji's eyes flashed, like those of two predatory beasts in the night. The moment he spoke, the entire valley, spanning over twenty li, fell deathly silent.
The people within the formation felt as though the wind in the dark valley had ceased and the chirping of insects had come to an abrupt halt. Only a grim, killing intent continued to spread through the air.
"He hasn't found us yet," Li Yan said faintly.
Yan Feijun and the others also understood the meaning behind the demonic cultivator's words, and a hint of joyful surprise appeared on their faces. It seemed the Illusion Formation was working.
Just then, a voice as cold as deep winter echoed from the sky again. "One..."
'We should be able to hide until a powerhouse arrives to save us, right?' Hope reignited in Yu Yuanjun's heart. From the group's earlier conversation, he had gathered that a Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman had been sent out some time ago.
But this group was strange. They hadn't mentioned whether his own family's ancestor would come, and they even seemed to be treating him as an "inside source" for information.
He had tried to tentatively ask for details several times, only to be silenced by the icy glare of the dark-skinned youth.
Regarding that youth, who was presumably the leader, Yu Yuanjun's feelings had shifted from initial fear to his current bewilderment. This person's cultivation was lower than his own, yet not only could he transform into a Pseudo-Core Realm demonic cultivator, but two other cultivators with profound cultivation levels in the team also followed his lead.
'Could the four of them also be under a restriction, with the Restriction Token in the hands of the youth in green?' A ridiculous thought suddenly crossed Yu Yuanjun's mind.
Just as Yu Yuanjun asked his question and his thoughts drifted back to Li Yan, Teng Wuji's count from above had already reached "Three."
The people in the formation tensed up, uncertain if the man had just been bluffing and hadn't yet found a way to locate them.
The demonic cultivator hovering in the air let out a series of cold cackles, "Hehehe." Then, he suddenly spread his arms wide, like a pair of bat wings.
As his arms extended, a terrifying power erupted from the demonic cultivator, a force that made the very heavens and earth tremble.
Black qi surged around Teng Wuji's body, and the faint, rumbling sound of thunder could be heard.
Seeing this, Sun Guoshu suddenly cried out in a low voice, "This is bad..." His face changed drastically, as if he had guessed what was coming.
But before he could finish his sentence, the distant Teng Wuji had already flapped his arm-like wings forward in a fierce motion.
With this single flap, clusters of dark-gold light shot out from his body. The clusters, varying in size, blotted out the sky, streaking through the night like a meteor shower.
The dark-gold light clusters rained down densely, instantly striking the entire twenty-li valley. Countless orbs of dark-gold light illuminated the valley, casting flickering, eerie shadows and creating a scene of indescribable strangeness.
Now, even without Sun Guoshu finishing his warning, everyone understood. Their own cultivation realms had led them into a misconception. Here, perhaps only Sun Guoshu had ever witnessed a Golden Core cultivator's powerful area-of-effect Immortal Art. Li Yan, at least in his experiences, had never seen such a thing.
Had they been facing an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, hiding as they were might have bought them some time. However, this demonic cultivator was a true powerhouse, one who possessed a formidable area-of-effect Immortal Art.
From the faint thunder accompanying the dark-gold light clusters he had summoned, Li Yan and the others, being either disciples of great sects or well-traveled rogue cultivators, knew it was the power of thunder.
The power of thunder was among the most destructive types of area-of-effect Immortal Arts. The next moment would show them what true catastrophe looked like.
In an instant, the entire valley was plunged into a fiery, thunderous hell. A continuous series of deafening explosions rang out as clusters of dark-red flames rapidly ignited the trees and weeds throughout the valley.
The valley looked as if it were facing the end of days, with charred black pits of various sizes rapidly forming on the ground.
The location of Li Yan's group's Illusion Formation was struck by two dark-gold spheres. Fortunately, these two spheres were of the smaller variety; combined, they were only the size of a baby's fist.
Even so, the grand formation was already emitting cracking sounds, as if on the verge of collapse.
Hu Xiaowang truly was a defensive master among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Four Symbols Peak. With a flick of his hand seals, he managed to prevent the formation from immediately shattering. However, with a series of soft coughs, he spat out several mouthfuls of blood and slumped to the ground.
A true Golden Core cultivator was a truly terrifying existence in this world. This was Teng Wuji attacking a twenty-li radius simultaneously, and only a light cluster smaller than a baby's fist had landed on their formation, yet it had already heavily injured the Pseudo-Core cultivator Hu Xiaowang.
Because Yan Feijun was only maintaining the illusion of the surrounding scenery, he took much less of the direct attack. Still, he let out a great cry and fell to his knees, clutching his head with both hands, his face contorted in agony.
The Illusion Formation relied heavily on the power of one's Divine Sense. The thunderous power contained within the light cluster had grazed his Divine Sense, nearly causing him to faint on the spot.
Li Yan and the others were horrified and rushed to help Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun up. But by then, Teng Wuji's gaze had already locked onto their position, giving them no time to think.
Teng Wuji did not launch another volley of dark-gold light clusters. Instead, his physical body had already arrived directly above Li Yan's group.
A sharp glint flashed in Teng Wuji's eyes. The moment the light clusters had fallen, he knew exactly where to find his targets.
Beneath the Illusion Formation, the surrounding shrubs and weeds were already engulfed in raging flames, yet this spot alone remained lush with vibrant trees swaying in the wind. What else could it be but the effect of a formation's concealment or illusion?
The moment Teng Wuji arrived above their formation, killing intent erupted in his eyes. This time, he raised a hand, and a dark-gold light cluster, a full half-foot in size, rapidly condensed in his palm.
...
Meanwhile, more than seven thousand li away, near Windy Cool Mountain, Elder Chigong was flying through the dark night.
A short while ago, he had received the jade slip delivered by Wei Zhongran. After a brief exchange, Elder Chigong had decided to personally go and reinforce Li Yan's group.
But as he was flying, Elder Chigong's body suddenly swerved sharply to the side. At the spot where he had just been, a faint tearing sound was heard, and the figure of a human cultivator in a blood-red cloak slowly materialized.
He stared coldly at Elder Chigong. "You... you must be Elder Chigong from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, correct? So late at night, where might you be heading?"
"Oh, a foreign cultivator!" Elder Chigong narrowed his eyes. He knew that the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators from both sides were currently keeping a close watch on each other, but on this battlefield, his side was at a comparative disadvantage.
This was because the demonic side had human cultivators who could roam and set up ambushes, and distinguishing them by their aura alone was not always accurate.
Moreover, Elder Chigong only knew how many Golden Core cultivators were at Windy Cool Mountain. Since they employed a multi-point defense, Golden Core cultivators were often transferred from other areas for missions. It was impossible for him to know every single one, so identification required verification, which was quite troublesome.
Consequently, it was much more difficult for the Golden Core cultivators of Windy Cool Mountain to approach the demonic army's main battlefield and infiltrate their ranks.
Elder Chigong knew that the cultivator he had just encountered was likely one of the foreign cultivators responsible for secretly monitoring Windy Cool Mountain. He had been discovered not long after setting out.
...
Seeing the dark-gold light cluster hurtling towards their hidden formation, everyone's face changed drastically. The enemy struck too quickly. A Golden Core cultivator's methods were beyond their speculation; their skills were heaven-defying, and their combat experience was immense.
Their plan to delay the enemy had been shattered by a single, casual strike that revealed their hiding spot. And in the next instant, he was already using thunderous means to annihilate them.
Li Yan was filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, they could have at least fled another hundred li or so before being caught, and perhaps a different opportunity might have arisen. He had still underestimated his opponent.
But he was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How many Golden Core cultivators had he ever seen? Besides, Li Yan was merely meticulous in his thinking, not a true immortal who could predict every outcome.
Seeing the attack about to arrive, the weakened Hu Xiaowang let out a fierce shout and spat out a purple spirit light that struck the defensive formation, causing it to glow brightly.
"Go!" Sun Guoshu was as slippery as they came; escaping was etched into his very bones. He immediately grabbed Hu Xiaowang, who collapsed backward after spitting out the purple light, and six figures shot out from the other side of the formation, soaring into the sky.
They all knew this was Hu Xiaowang's strongest defense, unleashed with all his remaining strength, hoping to stall the enemy for a precious moment.
Seeing the figures shoot out, a corner of Teng Wuji's mouth curled up. No matter how fast they were, could they outrun his attack?
Just as expected, the moment their figures took to the air, the dark-gold light cluster swelled in size and was once again looming over them. Feeling the terrifying power emanating from the orb, all but Li Yan, who remained relatively calm, found it difficult to breathe. Their faces turned deathly pale as the shadow of death enveloped them.
At that moment, Li Yan was confident that if he used "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens," he had an eighty percent chance of escaping the attack's range.
By catching the enemy off guard and using "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens" several times in succession, he could create a significant distance in a very short time, then use the Cloud-Piercing Willow to continue his escape.