Chapter 239: Breaking the Formation, Lu Qing's Terrifying Arrow Technique

The man holding the sword was sent flying by the black-robed figure, stumbling backwards for dozens of meters before stabilizing himself. He looked ahead, his face filled with disbelief: "Your cultivation hasn't broken through, yet your strength is so powerful. How is that possible?"

The black-robed figure laughed, "This is the power of the formation. But you, with your limited knowledge, cannot comprehend its mysteries. Yan Tianhua, today is your death date! After I kill you, I will raze your Silver Moon Sect and the Hundred Flowers Palace. Then, the Floating Cloud Sect will be able to conquer all of Yunzhou!"

The black-robed figure cackled, his staff vibrating as he attacked the sword-wielding man once more.

Feeling the pressure emanating from his opponent, the sword-wielding man's heart sank.

He knew that breaking the formation on his own was now impossible. If he wasn't careful, he might even perish here.

However, he couldn't bring himself to leave. His pride wouldn't allow it.

Inside the formation were many elite disciples, the sect master, and other cultivators from Yunzhou. If he left, they might all perish.

"Damn it! That old woman from the Hundred Flowers Palace is too afraid to die. If she were here, the two of us could break this evil formation together!" The sword-wielding man secretly cursed.

Facing the black-robed figure's offense, he gritted his teeth and stimulated his innate true qi, causing his aura to surge.

He swung his sword, blocking the staff, but didn't retreat even a single step.

He was matching the black-robed figure blow for blow.

"Oh? You're using a burst secret art?" The black-robed figure laughed lightly, "But I have the power of the formation to support me endlessly. How long can your innate true qi last in this state?"

"As long as I can defeat you, that's enough. Stop wasting time and come!" The sword-wielding man said coldly.

"Excellent. After I trample you underfoot, let's see how tough you still are!" The black-robed figure chuckled, not using any burst secret arts himself. He relied solely on the support of the formation's power as he fought.

He wanted to toy with his prey, slowly grinding his longtime rival to death.

"Master, have you noticed anything?" Behind a boulder, Lu Qing, who was hiding with his master, asked.

Although they were not far away, both of them had unique means of concealing their auras, causing the black-robed figure and the sword-wielding man, both at the Innate Realm, to be unable to detect their presence.

"These two Innate Realm cultivators are both at the Small Success stage. However, the black-robed man is supported by the power of the formation behind him, greatly increasing his strength. The sword-wielding man can only barely hold on by using a burst secret art, but he won't last long," the old doctor said in a low voice.

"Disciple also thinks so, Master," Lu Qing said. "This black-robed man is probably stationed here specifically to guard the formation to prevent others from destroying it. It seems the Floating Cloud Sect has great ambitions with this formation. We must break it quickly."

Due to the obstruction of the formation's power, Lu Qing and the old doctor couldn't clearly sense the situation inside.

They couldn't fully understand the Floating Cloud Sect's intentions with this evil formation.

"Then what should we do now?" The old doctor nodded.

"That black-robed man is supported by the formation's power, so he's difficult to deal with. If we attack together, we might be able to kill him directly, which would make breaking the formation much easier."

Lu Qing had already used his ability to investigate the identities of the two men. The sword-wielding man was the grand elder of the Silver Moon Sect, while the black-robed man was the grand elder of the Floating Cloud Sect, and also the great-grandfather of Mo Xuan, whom Lu Qing had crushed to death.

Since that was the case, there was no need to show any martial morality.

"Good!"

Upon hearing this suggestion, the old doctor didn't hesitate to agree.

He didn't have any of the pride of a martial artist who disdained ambushes.

As a doctor, he always prioritized saving lives. The man before them had clearly fallen into the demonic path, so it would be best to eliminate him directly.

Without further delay, the master and disciple duo took action.

The old doctor drew his longsword, and a sharp white sword radiance appeared, flickering in and out of existence.

Beside him, Lu Qing also took out three sharp arrows from his arrow pouch and nocked them to his bow.

Since he hadn't reached the Innate Realm, he couldn't use sword or blade qi, so he could only use arrows for a sneak attack.

After half a breath's worth of preparation, the old doctor waved his wrist, and a dazzling white sword qi shot out. It tore through the atmosphere, crossing dozens of zhang in an instant, and slashed towards the black-robed figure's head.

At the same time, Lu Qing's longbow buzzed, and the three thousand-refined arrows disappeared, piercing through the atmosphere and shooting towards the black-robed figure's head, chest, and abdomen—the three vital areas.

"What?!"

The black-robed figure, who had been toying with the sword-wielding man, never expected such a sudden turn of events. His eyes widened in shock as he realized too late that Lu Qing and the old doctor were about to launch a surprise attack.

Their skill in concealing their auras was exceptional, leaving the black-robed figure no time to react.

Just as he was about to be struck by Lu Qing and the old doctor's combined assault, a surge of black energy suddenly enveloped the black-robed figure.

Boom!

Lu Qing's three sharp arrows and the old doctor's sword qi struck the black-robed figure without fail.

The formidable force not only dispersed the black energy but also sent the figure flying backward, trailing blood.

"Ah! Who dares to ambush me?!"

The black-robed figure flipped in the air, using the momentum of his retreat to retreat into the gray light barrier, his expression a mix of shock and anger.

He presented a pitiful sight.

A terrifying diagonal wound stretched across his chest and abdomen, deep enough to expose his bones and even a glimpse of his internal organs. It had nearly split him in two.

Three arrows were lodged in his forehead, chest, and abdomen, though they didn't pierce through completely.

"He's not dead?!" Lu Qing exclaimed in surprise.

The three arrows he had fired earlier, despite being shot in haste and without using his full strength, should have been more than enough to take down an ordinary Innate Realm cultivator.

Yet, they had been deflected with apparent ease.

Moreover, even the old doctor's sword qi had failed to vanquish him, indicating that the power of the formation was even stronger than they had anticipated.

The sudden change of events startled the sword-wielding man as well.

However, when he saw the black-robed figure's pitiful state, joy filled his heart, and he exclaimed, "Who are these righteous warriors coming to our aid?"

"Who are you?" The black-robed figure demanded of Lu Qing and the old doctor, his eyes narrowing as he finally noticed them.

"We are merely passersby who couldn't stand idly by," Lu Qing replied loudly. "The Floating Cloud Sect has set up an evil formation, harming the righteous path of Yunzhou. This act has incurred the wrath of both heaven and mankind, and you deserve to be punished!"

"Well said, young friend!" The sword-wielding man cheered. "Please join me in breaking this evil formation and rescuing our fellow cultivators from Yunzhou!"

"You wish to save them? That's sheer madness! Watch as I crush your hopes!" The black-robed figure sneered as he pulled out the three arrows lodged in his body and tossed them to the ground.

He then summoned black energy from within, causing his wounds to slowly wriggle and heal.

The power of the formation even had healing properties.

However, despite the gradual recovery of his injuries, the black-robed figure dared not step out of the gray light barrier.

The previous attack by Lu Qing and the old doctor, though a surprise assault, had been incredibly powerful.

Especially that white sword qi, which had been incredibly sharp and nearly split him in two. If not for the protection of the formation's power, he would have perished on the spot.

It made him realize that the old doctor, whose cultivation he couldn't fathom, was far superior to him.

If he stepped out of the formation's protection, he feared he wouldn't be a match for them.

"When did Yunzhou produce such a formidable warrior?" The black-robed figure's thoughts raced as he felt the situation slipping out of his control.

"Master, let's attack!" Lu Qing said without further ado.

The old doctor nodded, and without another word, he brandished his longsword, sending forth dozens of sword qi that shot forward like a school of fish.

"Impossible!" The black-robed figure exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror as he witnessed the onslaught of Innate sword qi rushing toward him. He quickly waved a small flag, infusing it with his spiritual power.

As the flag was activated, black energy swiftly gathered around the black-robed figure, causing the gray light barrier in front of him to turn black and shiny.

A series of dull thuds echoed as the old doctor's sword qi slammed into the barrier.

The onslaught of sword qi battered the barrier relentlessly, causing it to shake violently and emit waves of rippling black energy.

Unfortunately, despite the sword qi's best efforts, the black energy persisted, and the barrier held firm, refusing to break.

"Finally, I've managed to hold them off," the black-robed figure breathed a sigh of relief, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

However, he felt no sense of relief, knowing the battle was far from over.

"So with just that, one-fifth of his soul power has already been consumed. If the old man's violent sword qi from before can still be displayed, I'm afraid that before the formation is broken, his soul power will be exhausted."

He had no choice but to secretly transmit his voice: "Senior Brother, are you done over there? Come on, I can't hold on much longer!"

"It'll be ready soon, hold on for another half an hour!" A voice sounded in his heart.

"Another half an hour?"

The black-robed figure's heart sank.

But he also knew that things had come to this point and they had no way back.

If this plan failed, then he and his senior brother would probably have to flee for their lives.

"Forget it, let's just go for it. That old man is so old, his attack from before might not be able to be displayed many times!" The black-robed figure gritted his teeth and thought.

"The black qi of this light curtain can actually dissipate my sword qi."

The old doctor was slightly surprised.

He could feel that his sword qi had dispersed the black qi, but it had also consumed most of its power, which was why the light curtain was able to withstand it.

The way of formations was indeed mysterious.

"Master, continue. He's using the formation flag to manipulate the power of the formation and concentrate it in one place to resist your attack. This way, the defensive power of the light curtain in other directions will be greatly reduced."

Lu Qing closed his eyes, his powerful soul sense enveloping the entire Floating Cloud Town, carefully sensing the operation of the entire formation.

"This kid also understands formations?"

The black-robed figure's heart trembled, but he didn't have time to be surprised because the old doctor once again displayed the torrential sword qi.

"Senior, I'll lend you a hand!"

The sword-wielding man beside him was also astonished by the power of the old doctor's sword qi, but he knew that the most important thing right now was to break the formation.

Without hesitation, he swung his sword and sent forth several sword qi towards the light curtain.

The black-robed figure waved his formation flag, gathering the black qi once more.

Boom!

A violent collision sounded, causing the light curtain to shake again.

"It's right there!"

At this moment, Lu Qing's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, and he drew an arrow from the quiver on his back, nocking it to his bow and drawing it like a full moon, then shooting it diagonally into the sky.

Ever since Lu Qing had revealed the secret of how he was manipulating the power of the formation, the black-robed figure had been paying close attention to him.

When he saw Lu Qing drawing his bow and arrow, he raised his guard, thinking that Lu Qing was about to ambush him again.

But to his surprise, Lu Qing shot the arrow into the sky, causing the black-robed figure to relax a little. However, he couldn't help but mock:

"Kid, your archery is really terrible. You should go back and practice more..."

However, before the black-robed figure could finish his taunt, a loud boom sounded from within Floating Cloud Town.

His body trembled, and he immediately felt that his ability to manipulate the power of the formation had slowed down a bit.

The black-robed figure sank his mind into the formation flag to investigate, and immediately understood the reason.

He looked at Lu Qing in disbelief: "You can actually sense the formation nodes of the Blood Flesh Refining Soul Formation?"

Lu Qing waved the longbow in his hand and grinned: "While you're using the power of the formation to resist Master and that Senior's attacks, the other light curtains of the formation can't block my arrows."

It turned out that when Lu Qing had shot the arrow into the sky earlier, it was intentional.

By using the parabolic method, he had destroyed one of the formation nodes within Floating Cloud Town.

"Master, Senior, continue your attacks. Once I destroy eight more nodes, this formation will be broken!"

Lu Qing drew another arrow from his quiver.

Upon hearing this, the old doctor and the sword-wielding man immediately unleashed more sword qi.

Especially the sword-wielding man, seeing that Lu Qing had a way to break the formation, was even more enthusiastic, directly using his full strength to swing his sword and unleash over ten sword qi.

"Damn it!"

The black-robed figure was furious.

But facing the attacks of the old doctor and the sword-wielding man, he was helpless and could only continue to manipulate the power of the formation to defend himself.

As the black qi gathered, Lu Qing shot another arrow, and as expected, with a loud explosion, another formation node was destroyed.

"How can this kid's archery be so powerful!"

The black-robed figure was shocked and angry, realizing that Lu Qing's previous shot hadn't been a coincidence, but that he truly had the ability to break the formation.

At the same time, he was astonished by Lu Qing's archery skills.

To think that Floating Cloud Town wasn't small, and the second formation node that Lu Qing had destroyed earlier was actually a full li away from them.

Despite the obstruction of the formation's power and the many buildings and houses, Lu Qing was still able to accurately destroy the formation node a full li away.

Such archery skills were unheard of, even by the black-robed figure.

"Trouble!"

He understood that things were really taking a turn for the worse!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end