Previously, Li Yan had been overconfident in his own physical body. He might pose a threat to a human Golden Core cultivator now, but the power of this demonic cultivator before him far exceeded his imagination. The master and mistress of "Griefspirit Manor" would have seemed particularly weak in front of this man.
Even among demonic cultivators of the same realm, there were strong and weak ones. What's more, this was a demonic cultivator who had been at the Mid-stage Golden Core for a long time.
Li Yan's two great trump cards, the Fragmented Poison Body and a full-force sneak attack, had ultimately ended in failure.
Even his Fragmented Poison Body hadn't caused the opponent much trouble. This made Li Yan's heart sink continuously.
The moment Bai Rou's body landed, still in a daze from the dream-like illusion, her vision blurred. A small purple flag suddenly appeared beside her.
The small purple flag spun around, and to Bai Rou's surprise, it had already surrounded her.
For a moment, Bai Rou didn't know what had happened. Spirit qi instantly covered her entire body.
Just then, Li Yan's voice entered her mind. "Senior Sister, this is a set of my defensive formations. You can recover for a bit. The formation can also provide some protection for our senior brothers!"
Startled by the appearance of the small purple flag, Bai Rou finally came to her senses completely. She quickly looked around and found herself within a purple formation.
Where she had landed lay Hu Xiaowang and the other three. And her own three puppets were, at some point, also lying quietly in the grass, the wounds on their bodies shocking to behold.
Seeing that Bai Rou and her puppets had been sent to the side of Hu Xiaowang's group and that the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" had been activated, Li Yan felt a slight sense of relief.
He wanted to use his movement skill to stall the demonic cultivator for a little longer. If it really came down to it, he would retreat back into the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation."
Otherwise, if he had pulled Bai Rou down with him and immediately activated the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation," they would have soon faced the demon lord's frenzied assault.
Facing such a powerful demonic cultivator, Li Yan didn't know how many attacks the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" could withstand. Perhaps not even one.
He believed that, just based on the three blows he had landed on the opponent, as long as he was alive, Teng Wuji would not let him leave and would not immediately attack the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation."
Everything happened in just a few breaths. A furious roar echoed, and Li Yan felt a gust of wind pounce on him from the side.
'Trouble!' Li Yan thought. The "White Blaze Demon Tiger" had already leaped high into the air and was pouncing down.
The "White Blaze Demon Tiger" was enraged. Just now, this suddenly appearing human cultivator, almost at the same time as he attacked Teng Wuji, had flicked his great sleeve back and swept away the three puppets at its feet in an instant.
Li Yan's appearance was so bizarre that not only the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" but even Teng Wuji had failed to react in time.
By the time the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" reacted, the three puppet magical treasures had been snatched away from right under its nose. Of course, it was burning with fury. It didn't immediately go after the three puppets but first wanted to kill the human cultivator before it.
Li Yan's feet shifted slightly, about to dodge first. However, his gaze remained fixed on Teng Wuji opposite him. This demonic cultivator was the one who could take his life.
At the same time, his heart sank further. He would have to give his all just to stall this demonic cultivator for a few breaths. With the addition of a Third-rank demonic beast, there was likely no hope.
Li Yan had already planned to use his movement skill to retreat into the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation." He naturally hoped that Bai Rou would deal with the "White Blaze Demon Tiger."
But in such a short time, Li Yan hadn't had a chance to check Bai Rou's injuries and didn't know if she was still able to cast immortal arts after being captured.
He guessed that even if he asked, with Bai Rou's gentle yet resilient personality, she would say she was fine even if she wasn't. So he could only let her rest and recover first.
Just as Li Yan was about to retreat, he heard the demonic cultivator opposite him shout coldly, "Duan Feng, go capture that woman. You, stay out of this." (TN: Duan Feng, meaning "Wind-Severing," is the name of the White Blaze Demon Tiger.)
Following Teng Wuji's voice, the "White Blaze Demon Tiger," which had already pounced down, paused in mid-air. Then, with a twist of its waist, it gave Li Yan a vicious look before transforming into a streak of white light and pouncing towards the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" below.
Li Yan hadn't expected the opponent to create an opportunity for him at the last moment. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
In the end, it was just as he had predicted. After being successfully ambushed by a mere low-level cultivator like himself, although he wasn't seriously injured, his pride had been shattered. He had to kill him personally to vent his anger.
Just as Teng Wuji's voice fell, Li Yan's figure not far away suddenly trembled, and then a black shadow appeared beside him.
This black shadow's thumb, index, and middle fingers were curved into the shape of an eagle's claw. From top to bottom, it split Li Yan in two. Only then did a piercing sound like tearing silk ring out.
"Junior Brother Li!" Bai Rou's cry of alarm suddenly tore through the night sky, her voice filled with grief.
When she saw the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" pounce over, she was anxious. With a flick of her hand seal, the red light in the eyes of the three Long-armed Giant Ape Puppets suddenly flashed, and they immediately stood up.
Her speed was also extremely fast, but her divine sense was always focused outside the formation. Just as she was about to leave the formation to deal with the "White Blaze Demon Tiger"...
A scene that filled Bai Rou with grief and despair appeared before her eyes. The moment the demonic cultivator's voice fell, Li Yan had already been split in two. Bai Rou had never expected the demonic cultivator to be so insidious, attacking without any warning. Li Yan had only faced the demonic cultivator head-on to save her after he had escaped.
And the moment Bai Rou's voice sounded, Teng Wuji's voice followed, "Eh?"
As Teng Wuji's eagle claw clamped down, he immediately felt something was wrong. Besides the flow of air between his three fingers, there was no sensation of touching flesh and blood at all. Only at the very end did his fingertips feel a slight touch.
As Teng Wuji's voice of doubt sounded, the Li Yan he had split in two from head to toe did not splash any blood. Instead, he turned into two blurry figures that quickly faded away, leaving only a small piece of a green robe slowly drifting down.
At this moment, Teng Wuji suddenly turned around. To his astonishment, about fifty zhang to his left, Li Yan's figure had reappeared.
Li Yan's expression was also exceptionally grave. There was a tear in the back of his shoulder, just a fist's distance from the back of his head. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower in dodging, he would have truly been cut in two.
Li Yan's heart was also pounding violently. He had already hovered on the brink of death several times today.
From the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" pouncing out, to Teng Wuji speaking to distract Li Yan and launching a sneak attack, to Li Yan reappearing, only one breath of time had passed. It was as swift as a rabbit starts and a falcon descends, truly thrilling and perilous.
Looking at the small piece of clothing still drifting down and Li Yan appearing on the other side, Bai Rou's tears were still fresh, but her expression was already dazed.
'Junior Brother Li... he... how could he dodge a sneak attack from a Golden Core expert?'
A sneak attack from a Golden Core cultivator, without the support of a powerful divine sense, relying only on instinct, was something Bai Rou couldn't comprehend, no matter how hard she tried, given the vast difference in their realms.
At this moment, not only Bai Rou but even Teng Wuji looked as if he had seen a ghost. For a moment, he actually didn't continue his attack.
His mind raced. 'This kid is extremely strange. First, he somehow escaped from the 'Spirit-Absorbing Bottle', and now he's dodged a sneak attack. Is he really a Foundation Establishment cultivator?'
Teng Wuji's divine sense repeatedly scanned Li Yan's body.
Just then, a series of explosions came from below. The "White Blaze Demon Tiger" stood in the air, shooting a dazzling white light from its mouth directly at the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation," causing the purple light on the formation to flash wildly.
This snapped the dazed Bai Rou back to reality. Her emotions had been on a roller coaster today, experiencing life and death several times. Now, apart from disbelief, there were no other thoughts in her mind.
'Junior Brother Li, how on earth did he do it?' This question grew larger and larger in her mind.
The explosions outside the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" made Bai Rou realize that she was still in danger. She quickly released her divine sense to check the formation Li Yan had set up.
After a moment, Bai Rou was secretly shocked. This formation's defense was also so sturdy. Facing the continuous attacks of a Third-rank demonic beast, it showed no signs of breaking.
'Junior Brother Li has many secrets. It's been some time since he came to Windy Cool Mountain, yet besides his flying magical treasure and that swarm of mosquito demonic beasts, he hasn't shown any of his other abilities.'
'Just being able to knock me away from a demon lord's grasp, that's something probably not even many of the martial uncles and aunts in the sect can do.'
Thinking of this, Bai Rou herself couldn't help but be startled. If that was the case, didn't it mean Li Yan had the ability to directly contend with a Golden Core cultivator, unlike herself who needed to rely on the power of magical treasures?
Just then, a lazy voice entered Bai Rou's ears. "Hey, great beauty, your strength isn't weak. You can't just let me defend against this stupid big bug's attacks all the time, can you? I have to save my strength to defend against that old fellow's attack."
Bai Rou was startled and quickly retreated a few steps. Her hands were already forming a seal in front of her full, high chest. As her beautiful eyes scanned the area, she saw that at some point, in a corner of the formation, a small purple elephant was staring at her intently.
The aura of this small purple elephant was almost identical to that of the purple formation. It was the "Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant." It was currently very displeased with the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" outside.
According to its thoughts, it really wanted to directly annihilate the "White Blaze Demon Tiger," but Li Yan's order to it was "Let Bai Rou deal with that demonic beast. It must prepare to deal with the demonic lord's attack with all its strength!"
With the current strength of the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant, plus the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation," it estimated that it could kill the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" in less than half an hour. But in that case, its soul power would be consumed by at least thirty to forty percent, and it would also prematurely expose the secrets of the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" to Teng Wuji.
"You... you... you are a formation spirit?" Bai Rou looked at the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant. She could sense that this was just the essence soul of a demonic beast, without a physical body.
"Yes. I'm asking if you can make a move?" Outside the formation, the sounds of explosions and the roars of the "White Blaze Demon Tiger" were continuous. The little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant had to divide its attention to defend.
It was actually more worried about Li Yan's safety at this moment. If something happened to that kid, it would be finished too.
Bai Rou's beautiful eyes flashed. She didn't doubt the identity of the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant. A soul whose aura matched the formation so perfectly could only be a formation spirit.
Bai Rou thought to herself, 'No wonder Junior Brother Li's formation has such astonishing defensive power. It turns out it has a formation spirit. This is something that can only be refined in a Third-rank or higher formation.'
This thought just flashed by. Bai Rou pointed a finger at the three Long-armed Giant Ape Puppets on the ground. The red light in the puppets' eyes instantly turned as red as blood. In the next moment, the puppets' figures on the ground blurred and they had already charged out.