Chapter 545: A Killing Formation
Chapter 545: A Killing Formation
"Master!"
Mo Hua and his two companions were startled.
Snow Auntie's expression also changed, and she quickly said, "Mr. Zhuang..."
Mr. Zhuang shook his head. "I've taught them all that I can. This is a place of danger, and you must not stay any longer."
"But..."
Mr. Zhuang's expression remained cold, his gaze resolute.
It was clear that his decision was final.
Everyone knew that Mr. Zhuang was profound and acted on his own judgments; they had no say in the matter.
Snow Auntie sighed helplessly and asked, "Sir, when should I take them away?"
Mr. Zhuang had anticipated this and replied, "Tomorrow."
Snow Auntie bowed her hands in agreement.
Mo Hua's eyes were filled with reluctance, and he wanted to say something more, but Mr. Zhuang shook his head and spoke gently, "I'm a little tired and need to rest. You and your senior brothers and sisters should pack up and leave tomorrow."
Mo Hua's heart ached, but he nodded understandingly, "Yes, Master."
The three returned to their room, their expressions downcast.
Bai Zisheng asked in confusion, "Why did Master suddenly decide to let us leave?"
"It's not sudden..." Mo Hua's expression was melancholy as he shook his head. "Master must have planned this a long time ago."
The Five Elements Sect was the final destination of their journey.
Bai Zixi also lowered her gaze, her exquisite eyes reflecting a hint of sadness. Then she lifted her head and looked at Snow Auntie, asking, "Snow Auntie, did Mother ask you to come?"
Snow Auntie was taken aback.
Bai Zisheng said, "Zixi, Snow Auntie was sent by Mother to protect us."
Bai Zixi shook her head. "No, I mean, is Mother coming too? Are you following Master's orders and leading the way for her?"
Snow Auntie looked into Bai Zixi's clear and beautiful eyes, and for a moment, she was lost for words.
Miss Zixi... you truly resemble your mother.
Equally breathtaking, equally intelligent, and equally perceptive and decisive.
Perhaps even more so...
Snow Auntie didn't want to hide the truth, so she nodded and said, "Yes, your mother will be coming."
Bai Zixi's expression turned slightly pale.
Bai Zisheng still didn't understand and asked, "So what if Mother comes? What's the problem?"
Bai Zixi pressed her lips together tightly, her eyes downcast. "Master and Mother studied under the same teacher and are as close as siblings. But for so many years, Master has refused to see Mother."
"Why?" Bai Zisheng asked, puzzled.
"Because..." Bai Zixi paused before answering in a low voice, "Mother... is plotting against Master."
"Plotting?"
Bai Zisheng was shocked.
Although they were siblings, Bai Zisheng's open-minded personality had prevented him from noticing anything amiss, while Bai Zixi, with her keen mind, had long understood the situation.
"Mother couldn't plot against Master before, so she didn't dare to face him. But now that she's here, it means that Master can't leave...”
Bai Zisheng said, "Even if Mother comes, it shouldn't be a problem. Would she really harm Master?"
"Master has many enemies..." Bai Zixi lowered her eyes and sighed. "Mother can calculate, and so can his enemies. If Master can't leave, then naturally, he will have to face those enemies..."
Mo Hua frowned, "Does Master have a lot of enemies?"
"Yes," Bai Zixi nodded, looking at Mo Hua. "There are many. Some hold grudges, while others have sinister intentions..."
Mo Hua was taken aback. "Are there treasures on Master that people covet?"
Bai Zixi frowned and looked at Snow Auntie.
Snow Auntie hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Mr. Zhuang possesses a great secret, but this secret is known to your mother, the great cultivators of the Dao Court, and the old ancestors of the Demon Sect..."
Snow Auntie smiled bitterly, "But it's not something I can know."
These cultivators were far beyond Mo Hua's reach, and these forces were too powerful.
Mo Hua was just a Qi Refining cultivator, a lone cultivator who had no concept of such conflicts. All he cared about was Mr. Zhuang.
Mo Hua asked, "Snow Auntie, can't Master get away?"
Snow Auntie looked at Mo Hua with a pained expression, but she had to answer, "Unless he's truly desperate, Mr. Zhuang probably wouldn't have asked me to take you away..."
Mo Hua and the others lowered their heads in disappointment.
Mo Hua's thoughts raced, but no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he realized that he was powerless to help.
He was only at the Qi Refining stage.
Just a first-rate formation master.
Even if he knew the ultimate formation, it was still just a first-rate one.
He could build his spiritual sense, but it was still only at the Foundation Establishment stage.
He could perform derivations, but he couldn't see through cause and effect or calculate heavenly secrets like his master.
He could handle large formations, but he couldn't build them alone or turn the tide...
He was useless and couldn't protect his master...
Mo Hua sighed dejectedly.
Just as he was frowning and thinking hard, with no solution in sight, he suddenly raised his head and his expression changed drastically.
Snow Auntie noticed Mo Hua's strange behavior and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mo Hua frowned without answering and rushed out of the room, into the corridor, and looked up at the sky.
Snow Auntie, Bai Zisheng, and Bai Zixi exchanged glances and followed Mo Hua outside. They looked up from between the carved beams and painted rafters.
But the sky above was clear and blue, with no signs of anything amiss.
Bai Zisheng asked, "Mo Hua, what happened?"
Mo Hua looked up, his expression solemn. "The sky... something is 'blocking' it..."
Snow Auntie's face changed, and she looked up again. After a moment, her brows furrowed deeply.
She still couldn't see anything...
The sky was clear and bright, without a single cloud in sight.
But she knew that although Mo Hua had ordinary spiritual roots, he was exceptionally talented, with extraordinary spiritual sense and outstanding formation skills. He was also favored by Mr. Zhuang, so he must have truly seen something unusual.
Although he couldn't see anything, he could faintly sense a subtle energy above.
It was similar to the Dao's essence within the earth.
Each time he looked up, he could perceive the strength and vibrancy of the heavenly path.
But now, that subtle essence had vanished.
It was as if something was obscuring it.
Mo Hua kept his head tilted upwards, his eyes fixed on the sky. After a moment, his pupils trembled slightly as he murmured, "It's here..."
Snow Auntie's heart suddenly lurched, and she abruptly raised her head. The once clear and cloudless sky now had a blood-red tide rising from the horizon! A soul banner, drenched in crimson, was slowly spreading across the sky, obscuring the sun and threatening to engulf the entire Five Elements Sect... no, the entire Lishan City!
Snow Auntie's pupils contracted as she exclaimed in disbelief, "The Refining Soul Banner, a treasured artifact of the Demon Path?!"
...
An abnormal phenomenon appeared, and blood-red hues filled the sky.
Chaos erupted within the Five Elements Sect.
"What's happening?"
"Where did this blood sea in the sky come from?"
"Such powerful demonic energy!"
"Is that... a Golden Core stage Demon Cultivator?!"
The elders were both shocked and furious: "How dare they use a demonic artifact under the light of day, blatantly attacking our Five Elements Sect! This is going too far!"
"The visitor has ill intentions..."
"Not just ill intentions, but a great disaster!"
"Are they challenging our Five Elements Sect?!"
"Elder..."
The chief elder's expression turned grave.
At that moment, amidst the blood-red sea, a massive demonic sword emerged. This sword's blade had a giant blood-soaked vertical eye, filled with countless human faces.
Within the eye, they wailed, agonized, and struggled...
Like vengeful spirits and ghosts swallowed by the demonic sword, unable to find peace.
As the sword appeared, the blood-red energy in the sky condensed into sword energy, tangible and terrifying, containing immense destructive power! "Another Golden Core stage demonic treasure?!"
The Soul Banner trapped, and the Demon Sword killed!
Everyone in the Five Elements Sect was terrified and trembling.
The chief elder shouted, "Quick! Activate the grand formation!"
"Activate the grand formation!"
"Activate it now!"
The elders hurriedly relayed the order.
After a while, the mountain of the Five Elements Sect trembled, and spiritual energy surged. On the massive sect's grounds, formation patterns lit up one after another, accompanied by astonishing spiritual pressure, forming a grand formation.
Five-colored lights soared into the sky.
The second-rate Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation was fully activated! After more than six hundred years, this grand formation finally saw the light of day once more.
Countless spiritual stones were consumed in an instant, and the spiritual energy, like water, flowed through the formation's core, surging violently.
Mo Hua stood within the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, his heart filled with awe.
So this is... the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation! A second-rate grand formation! More complex formation patterns, a thicker formation core, dazzling five-colored lights, and flowing spiritual energy like rivers...
Both majestic and beautiful.
Mo Hua's mind trembled, and he suddenly started.
"Master!"
The Soul Banner and the Demon Sword were treasures of a Golden Core stage Demon Cultivator.
The Demon Cultivator, disregarding the consequences, had suddenly made a move, and their target was naturally not the Five Elements Sect but his master, who was currently within the sect!
As Mo Hua turned, he found that Mr. Zhuang had already appeared behind him, a gentle smile on his face.
"Master..." Mo Hua's expression was filled with worry.
Mr. Zhuang affectionately ruffled Mo Hua's hair, smiled gently, and then looked up at the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, sighing, "This formation is truly a marvel. What a pity..."
Mo Hua also looked up and saw the terrifying Demon Sword transforming into tens of thousands of blood-soaked sword energies, like a violent storm, rushing towards the grand formation.
Demonic energy surged with the sword energies, wave after wave, striking the spiritual barrier of the formation.
The entire grand formation vibrated violently.
The mountain of the Five Elements Sect shook, and the buildings swayed.
Caverns collapsed, and cracks appeared in the wood and stone.
The spiritual energy of the formation was being rapidly depleted, but at the same time, more spiritual stones were being refined by the Gathering Spirit Formation, pouring into the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation like a river, stabilizing the formation's foundation and supplying it with energy.
The Demon Sword's offensive stopped.
Although the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation had suffered significant damage, it had held firm.
All the cultivators of the Five Elements Sect heaved a sigh of relief.
The chief elder's tense heart finally relaxed.
"We held them off... as long as we can defend, there's hope."
As long as they could defend, there would be a chance to turn the situation around.
Under the heavens, all was the realm of the "Dao."
This world belonged to the orthodox Dao Courts.
Although they didn't understand why these demonic scourges dared to brazenly attack the Five Elements Sect, as long as they could hold their ground and wait for reinforcements from the Dao Courts or other righteous forces, they could avert this disaster.
The chief elder looked at the Mountain Protecting Grand Formation outside the sect's gates and sighed inwardly.
"The grand formation truly is the foundation of our sect!"
"At this critical juncture, it's our lifesaver..."
If not for the grand formation, the Golden Core sword energies released earlier would have been enough to wipe out most of the Five Elements Sect's cultivators.
As the sole remaining Golden Core cultivator in the sect, he was old and frail, unable to withstand such an attack.
"But how dare these demonic fiends blatantly attack our Five Elements Sect? What is their goal?"
The chief elder frowned, puzzled.
"Could it be that their target is..."
The chief elder pondered, but before he could think further, his expression changed, and he abruptly looked towards the formation, his heart pounding: "Something's wrong!"
"There's something wrong with this Mountain Protecting Grand Formation!"
The chief elder stood up abruptly, scanned his surroundings, and shouted, "Where's Liao Tiande?"
Where had Leader Liao gone?
A chill ran down the spine of the Great Elder as he looked up at the formation, his eyes filled with terror.
The Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, which was originally swirling with five-colored spiritual energy, had gradually turned into a bloody hue—the color of bloodlust.
An evil aura rose from the formation.
This was no longer the Five Elements Sect's protective formation!
It had become an evil formation!
When and how had the formation been tampered with?
The Great Elder's expression shifted as his thoughts raced, and he slowly realized the truth.
The massive construction project!
In order to build the cave mansion, the Five Elements Sect had undertaken a massive construction project, which inevitably involved altering the sect's layout and the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation. Someone must have taken this opportunity to secretly tamper with the formation's core, altering the array patterns.
The person responsible for this must be a high-ranking member of the Five Elements Sect.
The prime suspect was none other than the sect's leader, Liao Tiande!
He held absolute authority second only to their own.
During the Great Elder's seclusion, Liao Tiande had been in charge of all sect matters, and he stood to gain the most from the construction project. Yet, now that disaster loomed, he had fled!
"Liao! Tian! De!" The Great Elder's eyes blazed with rage, his teeth clenched in fury.
This ungrateful beast had long betrayed the sect!
As he seethed with anger, he also felt bewildered.
What gave Liao Tiande the ability to alter the Five Elements Sect's protective formation?
The Five Elements Grand Formation was a second-rate formation. Liao Tiande, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, wouldn't have had the array mastery to modify it, let alone the Great Elder himself, a Golden Core cultivator.
As the Great Elder pondered this, a chilling realization struck him.
There was a Demon Path expert involved!
This person must have been a master of array formations, secretly manipulating Liao Tiande to alter the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation's array patterns. Taking advantage of the construction project, they embedded Demon Path array patterns within the Five Elements Sect's formation core.
On the surface, the Five Elements Sect's formation appeared to be the same Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation.
However, once activated, the formation's spiritual energy consumption would increase, and with the taint of demonic energy, the hidden Demon Path array patterns would be activated, gradually eroding the spiritual energy and transforming it into a Demon Path formation!
The intricacies of this array manipulation were profound.
The Great Elder himself had no understanding of it, but he knew that altering the grand formation in such a way could only be the work of a Demon Path master!
Moreover, it was highly likely that this person's cultivation was not just at the Golden Core stage!
The Great Elder's heart sank as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
Only now did he realize that this was a setup!
The Five Elements Sect was the chessboard, and Liao Tiande was a mere pawn.
The Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation was like a mighty dragon.
Someone had plotted for hundreds of years, secretly placing their pieces and orchestrating this deadly game.
The intended target of this killing game was not the Five Elements Sect, but...
The Great Elder turned his head and gazed into the distance, toward the corridor where Mr. Zhuang stood.
It was him!
The Demon Path had set up this scheme, intending to kill Mr. Zhuang!
At the same time, the spiritual energy within the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation had been completely tainted, turning into a scarlet blood color.
Everyone within the formation was enveloped by the bloody light, feeling dizzy and weak, as if their blood energy was slowly being drained away.
This lost blood energy gradually rose, flowing into the formation, slowly empowering it.
The Great Elder felt a sense of despair:
"Is this... the Five Elements Blood Slaughter Formation?"
This was a Demon Path second-rate trapping and killing formation!
Those trapped within the formation were unable to escape and could only be refined to death by the blood energy!
These Demon Path Golden Core cultivators intended to use this formation to trap Mr. Zhuang!
Just then, a deep and indifferent voice echoed from amidst the sea of blood that covered the Five Elements Sect:
"Demon Path, Ascension Stage, Xuan Sanzhen."
"I request an audience with Mr. Zhuang."
...
"Ascension Stage? Xuan Sanzhen?"
The Great Elder was stunned by the mention of the "Ascension" stage, and it took him a moment to recover. As he muttered the name "Xuan Sanzhen," his heart suddenly froze:
"Xuan Sanzhen... is he the Xuan Mo Ancestor from back then?!
Could it be his doing?"
The Great Elder's limbs went soft, and his heart turned to ashes:
"Could our Five Elements Sect face the disaster of extinction today?"
The blood-red banners blocked out the sky, and the sea of blood stretched endlessly.
Once again, the voice of "Xuan Sanzhen" rang out:
"Demon Path, Ascension Stage, Xuan Sanzhen."
"I request an audience with Mr. Zhuang..."
Within the Five Elements Sect.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhuang coldly humphed, "No audience. Scram!"
His voice was not loud, but it reverberated throughout the heavens and the earth.
The world fell silent.
Xuan Sanzhen remained silent for a long time, and his icy words carried a hint of anger:
"Under my Five Elements Blood Slaughter Formation, you have no say in the matter!"
Mr. Zhuang let out a cold laugh:
"A mere amateur's trick!"
He then lightly flicked his sleeve, and without any visible spiritual energy or divine sense fluctuations, the world underwent a drastic change.
Amidst the sea of blood, the array patterns of the Demon Path formation changed and dissipated one by one.
The formation, which had been soaked in blood energy, was gradually cleansed by the spiritual energy once more.
The array patterns morphed, and the formation's core reversed.
It was as if cause and effect had been inverted, and time flowed backward.
The five-colored radiance shone once more, brighter and more dazzling than before.
The Five Elements Blood Slaughter Formation reversed, transforming back into the Five Elements Mountain Protecting Grand Formation, shielding all the cultivators of the Five Elements Sect within it!
What kind of power was this?
The members of the Five Elements Sect were left stunned and speechless.
Outside the Five Elements Sect, beneath the sea of blood.
A Demon Path cultivator, clad in black robes, with white hair, a youthful face, and deep, sinister eyes, narrowed his pupils.
"Reversing the Heavens... as expected..."
(End of Chapter)
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