At this moment, outside the mountain cave where Qin He had hidden Zhang Xiu, twelve figures stood arrayed in a flying-geese formation.
On either flank stood two Fu Family elders clad in gilded armor, their spirit staves continuously firing golden runes and steadily draining the energy of the demonic formation before them.
At the center of the formation, a middle-aged man in a black brocade robe stood with his hands behind his back. The hem of his robe bore a scale pattern traced in silver thread—the exclusive insignia of the Divine Punishment Department.
The middle-aged man's face was cold and stern, his jawline drawn taut and straight. His eyes were as still as icy pools, while a faint golden halo wreathed his body.
That was the Merit-Protecting Divine Light personally bestowed by the Divine Court, an honor granted only to those utterly loyal to the Divine Court and distinguished in achievement.
Divine Punishment Department criminal investigator—Li LInfeng.
His seniority surpassed Zhang Xiu's severalfold, and his cultivation stood firmly at the Mid Other Shore Realm. He had brought the Sacred Light Construction Technique to a state of consummate mastery and was a publicly acknowledged powerhouse within the Divine Punishment Department.
"Lord Li, this demonic formation is exceedingly strange. It's soft and yielding like water; if we slowly grind it down, it may take some effort." Sweat beaded on the forehead of the Fu Family elder to the left, and the runes on his spirit staff had already dimmed by thirty percent. "Why not target the formation eye directly and shatter it with a single blow?"
Li LInfeng shook his head slightly. His voice carried an authority that brooked no argument, the bearing accumulated from years of presiding over criminal law. "Breaking it by force may be quicker, but we do not