Vicious Demonic Formation, Spiritual Eye Opens

Xia Wuji had already found Zhang Xiao suspicious before.

Now, it was confirmed that Zhang Xiao was a member of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult.

The secret technique Zhang Xiao had just used was something Xia Wuji had seen on many Bloodfire Demonic Cult members tonight.

Lying on the ground, covered in blood, Zhang Xiao endured the excruciating pain of his injuries and roared, "Xia Wuji… Since you know I'm from the Bloodfire Demonic Cult, you can still take your sword away now!"

"I'll tell you the truth, my adoptive father is a helmsman of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult!"

"He's also in this area tonight. If you dare to kill me… my adoptive father will definitely not let you go!"

Xia Wuji sneered, "You still haven't answered my question."

As his voice fell, he flicked his finger, and a wisp of flame transformed into Sword Qi, instantly drilling into Zhang Xiao's body.

The Flame Sword Qi traveled through his body.

"Ahhh…"

Zhang Xiao let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"I'll say it… I'll say it… I'll tell you everything…" In just a moment, Zhang Xiao couldn't take it anymore.

"My adoptive father is a helmsman of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult, known by the alias Blood Butcher."

"He's cultivating a secret method of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult that requires a large amount of vital blood and souls from young martial artists…"

"And it must be extracted from living young martial artists. That's why my adoptive father had people drive everyone away earlier; they weren't trying to kill everyone, but to herd them into the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation."

"Once midnight arrives, when Yin energy is at its peak, my adoptive father will activate the power of the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation, extracting and refining the vital blood and souls of those young martial artists bit by bit… to use as energy for his secret method."

Xia Wuji's thoughts raced. This finally explained everything.

No wonder he sensed the aura of a Core Formation Realm expert lurking in the shadows, yet that expert allowed the targets to break through without intervening personally.

So, the person called Blood Butcher was intentionally driving people into the area where he had set up his malevolent formation!

"The place you sent Huang Hu to is the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation?" Xia Wuji asked.

Zhang Xiao quickly replied, "Yes…"

"How many people are over there now?"

"Over two hundred…"

"Is Blood Butcher at the second level of the Core Formation Realm?" Xia Wuji asked again.

Zhang Xiao's eyes widened. "How did you know? My adoptive father only broke through a few days ago. Even those close to him only know a few details about his cultivation…"

"Less nonsense!" Xia Wuji shouted coldly. The reason he knew was, of course, that he had clearly detected Blood Butcher's aura before.

"Is Blood Butcher also a Formation Master?"

Zhang Xiao: "No… Adoptive father isn't a Formation Master. This Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation was obtained by my adoptive father from a Formation Master of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult at a great cost."

"I also heard my adoptive father say… that the formation seemed incomplete, but it was more than enough for him to cultivate the Bloodfire Demonic Cult's secret method…"

"Xia Wuji… This is all I know, I've told you everything… As long as you spare my life, I'll agree to anything you ask…"

"But I never intended to spare you." Xia Wuji's sword thrust forward, piercing through Zhang Xiao's forehead.

As the adopted son of a helmsman from the Bloodfire Demonic Cult, and given that the cult members had already killed many people tonight, Zhang Xiao had quite a few good items on him.

"If I had a Storage Ring, I could collect them all," Xia Wuji mused. Then, he only picked out the pills suitable for his current cultivation level, released a ball of flame to destroy the corpse, and quickly departed.

But he didn't head straight for Qingyun City.

Instead, he turned and rushed towards the direction of the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation.

Huang Hu was a good person; if he could be saved, he should be.

Now, it was he who was in the dark, while the Bloodfire Demonic Cult helmsman, Blood Butcher, was in the light.

A second-level Core Formation Realm martial artist who wasn't a Formation Master, controlling a slightly incomplete low-grade demonic formation, this was Xia Wuji's best opportunity!

In a quiet mountain valley.

Many young talents heading to Qingyun City for the assessment gathered here, but no one spoke, all remaining silent.

The atmosphere in the valley was heavy.

These people had encountered an attack from the Bloodfire Demonic Cult just before arriving at Qingyun City. They had gathered here, afraid to move, waiting for the experts of Azure Star Academy to receive the news and come to their rescue.

"Miss Xu, how is your injury?" Huang Hu, who had just arrived in the valley, saw Xu Lan, whom he cared about deeply, and asked about her condition with concern on his face.

Xu Lan's face was pale. "I was lucky this time; I managed to keep my life."

"After surviving a great disaster, there will surely be good fortune. Let's wait patiently. Qingyun City isn't far from here, so we should be fine soon," Huang Hu said.

Xu Lan hummed in response and continued to circulate her energy to heal.

Huang Hu stood guard silently, thinking to himself, I wonder how Brother Xia is doing now? It's really unsafe for him to go to Qingyun City alone. But he had already clashed with Zhang Xiao, and in that situation, I couldn't force Brother Xia to come here with me.

I hope we can meet again in Qingyun City.

"Reporting, Godfather, Zhang Xiao is in trouble!"

A woman knelt before a middle-aged man, placing one knee on the ground.

The middle-aged man exuded a strong aura of malevolence and the scent of blood. He was the helmsman of the Bloodfire Demonic Cult, known by the moniker Blood Butcher.

Blood Butcher's brow furrowed slightly. "Have you found out how he got into trouble?"

The woman replied, "He went to pursue a brat named Xia Wuji, and then an accident happened. His body turned to ash, making it impossible to determine how he died."

"Godfather, Zhang Xiao wasn't exactly tight-lipped. I'm worried he might have exposed your plan before he died."

Blood Butcher let out a cold snort, appearing unconcerned. "With the commotion here, even if Zhang Xiao didn't expose my plan, the people from Azure Star Academy in Qingyun City would have received the news."

"But what does that matter?"

"By the time they receive the news and set off from Qingyun City to get here, my plan will have long been completed!"

The woman said, "Godfather's strategies are impeccable, and this plan is flawless. Congratulations in advance, Godfather. After tonight, your secret technique will be perfected, and your status in the Bloodfire Demonic Cult will rise even further!"

Blood Butcher let out a hearty laugh. "Then let's activate the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation!"

"Yes!"

Instantly, a sharp sound rang out – the signal to activate the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation.

Following that, the area around the valley where a group of young talents participating in the Azure Star Academy's assessment were hiding began to rumble. Layers of blood-red light shot up into the sky, quickly engulfing the entire valley.

Inside the valley, everyone panicked!

"It's a formation!"

"Damn it, we've fallen into a trap! If I'm not mistaken, this is the Bloodfire Demonic Cult's Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation. Once activated, all living beings within the formation will have their essence blood drained dry, and their souls will be devoured bit by bit..."

"This is a conspiracy... I understand now, I understand everything. The Bloodfire Demonic Cult set up a wicked formation here and deliberately drove us to this location..."

"Everyone listen to me, stay calm, and follow me! We'll break through this formation!"

Chaos erupted within the valley.

Some attempted to pool their strength to break a gap in the formation, but even though the Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation was only a low-grade Tier 1 formation, it wasn't easily broken.

"Hahaha!"

"A bunch of trash! It's your honor to become materials for my Blood Butcher's cultivation secret technique!"

"Blood Refining!"

Blood Butcher leaped into the air, flying to the center of the blood-red light screen enveloping the valley. He sat cross-legged, rapidly forming hand seals. Instantly, the formation's power erupted, beginning to rapidly extract the essence blood of those within.

Excitement spread across Blood Butcher's face. Such abundant essence blood energy flowed into his body, making him incredibly thrilled.

"Soul Devouring!"

Blood Butcher formed hand seals once more.

The formation's other function was also activated.

Within the formation, everyone lost control of their own essence blood. Blood mist continuously drifted from their skin, and their heads throbbed intensely, as if an invisible knife was constantly slicing within their skulls!

And at the edge of this valley.

Xia Wuji arrived silently.

He looked at the light screen formed by the wicked formation. In the next moment, he rapidly formed hand seals, gathering the power of the seals at the tips of his two fingers. With a sweep of his fingers, a faint golden radiance appeared in his eyes.

This was a low-grade Profound tier secret technique called the Spiritual Eye!

As the Spiritual Eye activated, all the hidden secrets of this Blood Refining Soul Devouring Formation appeared within Xia Wuji's sight!