Phantom Formation

The northern city gate had already been breached.

But Li Yuan and the others had arrived in time, so not many Evil Creatures had managed to enter the city.

Li Yuan swept his gaze across the area and locked onto several zombies running amok in the streets. With a sweep of his sword, the Sword Qi he unleashed precisely killed those Evil Creatures.

Li Yuan and Zong Lin flew through the sky. Waves of Sword Qi and spirit arts rained down continuously, killing over a hundred zombies and evil ghosts in the blink of an eye.

The warriors and Spirit Masters from the other two directions also hurried over. The Evil Creatures that had invaded the city were soon wiped out.

A total of five True Qi Realm warriors and Spirit Masters arrived at the northern city wall, where they saw the horrific scene that had unfolded there.

Blood coated the walls. Many city guards lay severely wounded on the ground, their screams and groans ringing out in one continuous cacophony. Quite a few corpses that had already lost all signs of life were being carried down from the city wall one after another.

Meanwhile, Kong Zhuohua, a True Qi Realm warrior, and several Spirit Masters were locked in fierce combat with a bald brawny man!

Kong Zhuohua was covered in wounds. He repeatedly slashed at the bald man before him with a sharp sword, but his opponent's body was formidable, as hard as metal, making it difficult to cut through.

There was also a Spirit Master named Zhuang Xian beside Kong Zhuohua, but even spirit arts struggled to harm the bald man's body.

Whenever the spirit arts struck him, the strange evil power surrounding his body could cancel out a considerable portion of their might.

Even when the bald man suffered minor injuries, they could not affect him in the slightest.

Li Yuan saw everything clearly. A pitch-black stone bottle hung from the bald man's waist. The bottle was small and exquisite, barely two fingers in size, yet it radiated a strange, evil aura.

Whenever the bald man was injured, a bloody aura would surge from the stone bottle. Like smoke and mist, it quickly burrowed into the bald man's body, and the wounds on him would then recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed. "What is this?!"

Kong Zhuohua was heavily wounded, while his opponent could rapidly recover from his injuries. With neither side able to prevail after a prolonged battle, the situation had become perilous. When he saw the reinforcements arriving from every direction, he immediately shouted furiously.

"He's the wielder of the Blood Refining Bottle."

"Kill him!"

Calling for reinforcements from the other city walls on a whim carried risks. But once they had discovered the wielder of the Blood Refining Bottle—the mastermind behind everything—there was no reason to hesitate... They had to call everyone over and kill the bastard at once!

Li Yuan moved swiftly. While still in midair, he flicked his long sword, sending a massive wave of Sword Qi slashing toward his opponent.

This bald man was Wu Haoqian, the leader of the Evil Warriors. Seeing warriors and Spirit Masters constantly rushing over from every direction, he could not help cursing under his breath.

"Those useless fools. They failed to hold them back."

Two men in black appeared behind Wu Haoqian, their voices tinged with urgency.

"My lord, the situation is bad. We should retreat first."

Wu Haoqian's expression was ugly, but he said nothing. He lightly tapped the ground with the tips of his toes, and his figure rapidly retreated.

The three warriors vanished from sight in an instant.

"We can't let them get away. We have to kill them!"

Blood spilled from Kong Zhuohua's nose and mouth, and his voice was filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Evil Warriors' attack had caused them grievous casualties. Even Kong Zhuohua himself had suffered severe injuries. If the enemy were allowed to regroup and return in force, dealing with them would be far more difficult.

Moreover, although the wielder of the bottle had not been injured in his clash with Kong Zhuohua, much of the bloody aura refined inside his bottle had already been consumed. If they did not seize this chance to capture him, they would not get another opportunity so favorable.

Everyone gathered atop the city wall and quickly settled on who would pursue the wielder of the bottle.

Li Yuan, Zong Lin, Zhuang Xian, and a True Qi Realm warrior from each of the other two city walls.

"Everyone, follow me."

"When I fought that wielder of the bottle just now, I left a tracking spirit art on him."

The one who spoke was the Spirit Master named Zhuang Xian.

Earlier, when he had fought the bald wielder of the bottle, he had noticed that the man intended to withdraw. He had therefore secretly left a mark on him.

As long as the wielder remained within a hundred li, Zhuang Xian could sense his exact location.

The five of them moved as one and followed Zhuang Xian, rapidly pursuing the wielder of the bottle.

The five moved incredibly fast, traveling through the air all the way. The distance between them and the wielder ahead gradually shrank.

The howl of air being torn apart rang in Li Yuan's ears. He had already raised his vigilance to the highest level. Pursuing Evil Warriors through the night was an extremely dangerous act—it could even be an enemy ploy to lure them in, making them vulnerable to a counterattack.

Li Yuan strained his eyesight and looked in every direction. As he traveled, he remained alert to everything around him, ready to strike back the instant anything unusual occurred.

As the distance between the two sides continued to close, Wu Haoqian also sensed the presence behind him.

"Someone's behind us?"

A trace of red light rose in his eyes. His gaze was savage and murky, with a hint of frenzy. This was the consequence of absorbing the blood aura from the Blood Refining Bottle.

The blood aura in the bottle could not only heal his injuries but also temporarily amplify his strength. However, this temporary enhancement came with side effects, making his mental state even more unstable and his temperament even more violent.

"Hehehe... You dared to leave the city... and pursue me through the night..."

"Then... I'll kill... all of you..."

Wu Haoqian's feet suddenly stopped, his body planted firmly in place like a nail driven into the ground.

When they saw Wu Haoqian stop, the two Evil Warriors beside him stopped as well, taking their positions on either side of him.

Wu Haoqian removed the Blood Refining Bottle from his waist and held it in his hand. Black-tinged Martial Arts True Qi rose from his body, continuously flowing into the stone bottle. A faint red light also appeared across its surface.

A strange power spread out from the stone bottle.

After the Evil Warriors stopped, only a few breaths passed before five figures appeared before them.

"Why are you running?"

"Why did you stop?"

Zhuang Xian spoke through clenched teeth. Wu Haoqian had struck several times just now, not only severely wounding Kong Zhuohua but also injuring several other True Qi Realm warriors. Zhuang Xian hated him to the bone.

A mocking smile surfaced at the corner of Wu Haoqian's mouth. "Run? The ones who should be running are you."

The two sides faced off with swords drawn and bows bent. Zhuang Xian slowly closed in on Wu Haoqian. While gauging the distance between them, he secretly circulated the spirit power within his body. Just as Zhuang Xian was about to erupt into a sudden attack, an unexpected change occurred!

The grass, trees, stones, and other things nearby began to blur and twist. Even the figures of his teammates beside him gradually faded and vanished.

Zhuang Xian was horror-struck and immediately shouted, "This is bad! It's a formation. Quickly—"

Before he could finish, his teammates had already disappeared completely, and he had arrived in a blood-colored world.

This blood-colored world was utterly empty. Crimson earth spread across the ground, while sheets of bloody mist drifted through the air, making it impossible to see far.

Zhuang Xian's expression was extremely grim. He had already fallen completely into the enemy's formation.

A trace of mockery appeared in Wu Haoqian's eyes. To complete this mission, the Blood Refining Bottle given to him by the occultist was no ordinary item. It not only contained several Blood Robe Evil Ghosts, but also had an entire formation sealed inside it!

Once the formation within the bottle was activated, it could trap an opponent in layer upon layer of illusions!

Dense bloody mist rose from the bottle, taking shape as enormous blood-colored figures.

These blood shadows were two zhang tall and draped in red robes. An ominous aura radiated from their entire bodies. More importantly, they possessed an ethereal, illusory quality, as if merely looking at them once would plunge a person into layer upon layer of illusions.

These were the Blood Robe Evil Ghosts.

Their illusion attacks were even stronger than those of the Half-step Blood Robe Li Yuan had encountered before!

There were five Blood Robe Evil Ghosts in total. They moved as one and burrowed into the formation. With their augmentation, the illusions within the formation would become even stronger, making it even more difficult for anyone to break free.

Moreover, the Blood Robe Evil Ghosts could not only amplify the strength of the illusions but also attack those trapped within the formation. With the layers of illusions concealing them, these Blood Robe Evil Ghosts would become even more lethal.

Wu Haoqian stood outside the formation, watching the people trapped within. Their eyes were sometimes murky and sometimes bewildered, and they struggled desperately against the attacks of the Blood Robe Evil Ghosts, looking as though they might be wounded and defeated at any moment. A wave of exhilaration surged through Wu Haoqian.

When he saw Li Yuan inside the formation, he found him standing perfectly still with his eyes tightly closed. Wu Haoqian could not help but laugh scornfully.

"What use is closing your eyes?"

"How laughable!"

Wu Haoqian's impression of Li Yuan was deep. The swordsmanship Li Yuan had displayed on the city wall had been astonishing enough to make even him feel a chill in his heart.

"Looks like I can't leave you alive."

A bloodthirsty glint flashed through Wu Haoqian's eyes.

He stepped forward and entered the formation. Without making a sound, he arrived before Li Yuan.

He formed his fingers into a blade and stabbed toward Li Yuan's throat!

"Die!!!"

Li Yuan, who had been sitting as still as an old monk in meditation, suddenly moved. His right hand shot upward and clamped tightly around Wu Haoqian's wrist.

When Li Yuan opened his eyes, Wu Haoqian froze.

Because he saw a pair of serpent pupils brimming with savage violence!