Outside the cave, killing intent soared to the heavens.
Just as Lin Feng pulled Qiong Xiao into his arms, savoring her warmth and softness, several incomparably powerful auras came roaring in from the horizon like tigers released from their cages, instantly locking onto this small valley.
At their head was an old man dressed in a crimson Daoist robe, his full head of red hair blazing like fire. Flames churned around him, nearly scorching the void into distortion.
He was one of the helpers Daoist Black Tiger had invited: the independent Golden Immortal, the Crimson Haired Ancestor.
Behind him followed three cultivators whose auras were equally profound. Every one of them was a Golden Immortal, with fierce glints in their eyes. They were clearly ruthless figures who had lived by the blade.
They had come at Daoist Black Tiger's invitation to encircle and kill Fairy Qiongxiao, then divide this enormous prize among themselves.
Yet the moment they arrived, they sensed that a world-shaking battle had just taken place here. Spiritual energy was in disarray, laws had shattered, and even Daoist Black Tiger's familiar aura had become faint and intermittent before vanishing completely.
Their hearts sank, and they immediately sped over, only to see a sight that made their eyes split with rage.
At the cave entrance, a handsome young man in plain cloth robes, seemingly without the slightest Mana Fluctuation, was openly holding a peerlessly beautiful woman.
Her immortal gown was stained with blood, her aura weak to the extreme, and her face as pale as paper. Was she not the target of their journey, Fairy Qiongxiao?
And Daoist Black Tiger had vanished without a trace!
"Fellow Daoist Black Tiger... has fallen?" A sharp-faced Daoist sucked in a cold breath, his eyes filled with horror.
"How is that possible?! Qiongxiao is already at the end of her rope. Who could possibly kill Black Tiger?" Another burly man holding an iron staff roared in disbelief.
The Crimson Haired Ancestor's gaze was fixed firmly on Lin Feng. The initial suspicion in his eyes swiftly turned into fury and greed.
In his view, Fairy Qiongxiao had clearly lost all ability to resist. Daoist Black Tiger's death was most likely because this brat had used some underhanded means to launch a surprise attack while he was unprepared.
What ability could a mortal who was not even an immortal possibly possess?
He must have relied on some protective treasure given to him by Fairy Qiongxiao!
Now that Qiong Xiao was unconscious and no one was controlling the treasure, this brat was nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter!
"You despicable little thief! You actually took advantage of another's peril to murder Fellow Daoist Black Tiger!"
The Crimson Haired Ancestor shouted furiously, his voice like a great bell that made the entire valley hum and tremble.
"If you know what's good for you, immediately put down Fairy Qiongxiao and kneel to beg for mercy! For the sake of your youth and ignorance, this old man may leave you with an intact corpse!"
He acted as though he had Lin Feng completely in his grasp, his words full of lofty judgment.
In his view, that furious shout alone should have frightened an ordinary mortal out of his wits.
Yet Lin Feng did not even raise an eyelid.
All his attention was on the sleeping beauty in his arms, as though the several menacing Golden Immortals outside were nothing but a few buzzing flies.
That feeling of being utterly ignored instantly ignited the Crimson Haired Ancestor's rage.
"Courting death!"
The Crimson Haired Ancestor's beard and hair flared outward as he could no longer restrain himself.
"Attack together! Kill this brat, and we will divide Fairy Qiongxiao's treasures and this brat's fortune equally!"
At his command, greedy light erupted from the eyes of the three Golden Immortals behind him. They instantly reached an agreement.
Boom!
The Crimson Haired Ancestor attacked first. With a spray from his mouth, a boundless Sea of Fire surged forth. The flames were dark red, and countless wronged souls and vicious ghosts howled and struggled within them. This was the Nine Nether Yin Fire, his innate divine ability refined over tens of thousands of years!
This fire specifically burned the primordial spirit and was vicious beyond compare. Once touched by it, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would suffer a terrible headache.
At the same time, the sharp-faced Daoist formed a hand seal, and gray tornadoes rose behind him one after another. Countless steel needles as fine as cow hairs swirled within the winds, producing ghostly wails as they swept toward Lin Feng.
The burly man wielding the iron staff roared wildly, his body expanding to a hundred zhang tall. The iron staff in his hand transformed into a giant pillar supporting the heavens, smashing down with terrifying force capable of shattering mountains!
The last cultivator was the most sinister. With a flicker of his body, he merged into the void. When he reappeared, he was already behind Lin Feng, silently thrusting a poison-coated dagger toward Lin Feng's heart!
The four Golden Immortals joined forces in an enraged strike, almost completely sealing off every route of escape for Lin Feng.
Divine abilities, magic treasures, physical strength, and a sneak attack!
Four layers of certain death. Let alone a mortal, even a Great Being at the late Golden Immortal stage in peak condition would meet a bitter end here!
The heaven-destroying, earth-shattering might made every living creature within a hundred miles tremble and prostrate themselves upon the ground.
Yet, faced with this terrifying attack capable of changing the color of heaven and earth, Lin Feng finally reacted.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the Sea of Fire filling the sky, the fierce winds tearing through the air, the iron staff that could shatter mountains, and the poisoned dagger inches away.
There was no fear in his eyes, no solemnity—only a faint trace of... annoyance.
It was like admiring an exquisite Scroll Painting, only to have his enjoyment disturbed by a few flies.
"So noisy."
Lin Feng softly spoke three words.
Then, before the stunned eyes of the Crimson Haired Ancestor and the others, he made a movement none of them could understand.
He raised his right hand, the one not holding Qiong Xiao, and extended his index finger and thumb.
He curled his finger and flicked.
The movement was casual and effortless, as if brushing a speck of dust from his clothes.
There was no Mana Fluctuation, no gathering of spiritual energy, not even the slightest sound.
An almost imperceptible point of light shot from his fingertip before vanishing into the air.
"Putting on a show!"
The Crimson Haired Ancestor sneered inwardly at the sight, and his attack became even fiercer.
Yet in the next instant, the cruel smile on his face froze completely.
Bzzz—
A strange hum that seemed to originate from the ancient Primordial World rang out deep within everyone's souls.
With Lin Feng at its center, heaven and earth within a hundred miles seemed to come alive!
The ground beneath their feet began to quake violently. Golden patterns appeared out of thin air, slithering like dragons and serpents as they instantly outlined an incomparably profound Formation Diagram!
The surrounding rocks, large and small alike, began moving on their own and changing positions. They arranged themselves according to an unimaginable pattern, transforming into indestructible formation foundations!
The trees in the mountains swayed without wind. Their branches and leaves stirred the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, turning it into formation flags that blanketed the sky!
The streams in the forest even surged backward, shooting into the heavens and transforming into long rivers of energy brimming with spiritual energy that ran through the entire grand formation!
At that moment, the sky became the formation's dome.
At that moment, the earth became the formation's foundation.
Mountains, rivers, vegetation, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning—everything in this world had its laws forcibly altered by that single flick, becoming parts of an unparalleled grand formation!
An enormous curtain of light, spanning a hundred miles and flashing with countless runes, rose with a thunderous roar, enveloping the Crimson Haired Ancestor and the other three Golden Immortals along with their heaven-destroying attacks!
With a flick of his finger, a formation was born!
He drew upon the power of heaven and earth, turning mountains, rivers, and all things into a formation board!
Though Qiong Xiao lay unconscious in Lin Feng's arms and her awareness was unclear, her instinct as a master of formations made her primordial spirit shudder violently at that instant!
Her spiritual sense clearly perceived what kind of terrifying, magnificent formation was taking shape outside.
That was not a formation that could be arranged through mortal effort!
It was a divine miracle! It was the Dao!
To draw upon heaven and earth and have Words Manifest as Law—this was the highest realm of the formation Dao!
It was a legendary domain whose threshold she had failed to touch even after cultivating for hundreds of millions of years!
Let alone her, even her elder brother Zhao Gongming, famed throughout the Primordial World for his formations, was as insignificant as a toddler just learning to walk before this grand formation!
He... who exactly was he?
What kind of being was he?
At that moment, the last trace of humiliation and unwillingness in Qiong Xiao's heart completely vanished.
In its place came a sense of fortune that arose from the depths of her soul, along with incomparable ecstasy!
To follow an existence like him, even as nothing more than a maid, would be a supreme opportunity one could never cultivate for through three lifetimes and three worlds!
Inside the formation, the Crimson Haired Ancestor and the others were completely dumbfounded.
Their attacks, powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth, struck that thin curtain of light like clay oxen sinking into the sea. They did not even stir a ripple before being instantly broken down and dispersed into nothingness.
"W-What the hell is this?!"
The sharp-faced Daoist let out a terrified scream. His gray winds were swallowed by a spatial rift that appeared from nowhere, vanishing without a trace.
"My Heaven-Supporting Pillar!"
The burly man was even more horrified. His iron staff, capable of shattering mountains, was wrapped by a seemingly frail blade of grass. No matter how he urged his mana, it would not move in the slightest, as though suppressed beneath a Primordial Divine Mountain.
The assassin who had merged into the void met the most miserable fate.
The space around him suddenly solidified, forcibly squeezing him out of nothingness. Before he could react, a falling leaf silently swept across his neck like the sharpest immortal sword in the world.
A fine head soared into the sky!
His primordial spirit had barely left his body when it was struck by an invisible ripple in the air and annihilated on the spot.
A single leaf slew a Golden Immortal!
"No! No! This is impossible!"
The Crimson Haired Ancestor had completely descended into madness and terror.
He discovered that he had been trapped in a land of certain death.
Here, his divine abilities had lost their effect, and his mana was suppressed without end.
Yet boundless killing intent rose all around him.
A stone beneath his feet could suddenly transform into a destructive star and crash toward him.
A faint breeze beside him could abruptly become a blade sharp enough to sever space, slashing toward his primordial spirit.
He fought with all his strength, yet could only watch helplessly as the wounds on his body multiplied and his mana drained ever faster.
They finally understood.
This young man who looked like an ordinary mortal was no easy target at all. He was an unfathomable Great Being of formations, one they were not even qualified to look up to!
They had provoked a god or demon walking among mortals!
"Senior! Senior, spare our lives!"
"We failed to recognize Mount Tai! We deserve death!"
"Please, Senior, consider how difficult cultivation is for us and spare our lives!"
Pleas for mercy and cries of despair echoed throughout the grand formation.
Outside the formation, however, Lin Feng merely frowned in disgust.
He lowered his head to glance at Qiong Xiao, whose brows had slightly furrowed from the noise, and a thought crossed his mind.
Bzzz!
The entire grand formation flashed, and every sound was instantly cut off.
At last, the world was quiet.
Before you continue