Gu Chengming noticed this detail, but there was no time to investigate it further. The Withered Bone Sword Immortal's crazed frontal charge had genuinely taken a tremendous amount of pressure off him. The Phantasmal Image had been forced to divert part of its offense to deal with the white-haired maniac barreling straight at it, and the recoil from the Tenfold Perfection Sword Formation had clearly eased by two-tenths.
As the two Sword Domains collided and ground against each other, they would briefly seize up every few breaths. In the instant when the corrosive power of the Withered Bone Sword Domain and the soothing laws of the Joyful Union Sect's Sword Domain canceled each other out, the Phantasmal Image's defenses would have an opening lasting less than half a breath.
"Hundred Heavenly Emperor!" Gu Chengming shouted. "Next move—I'll defend, you attack!"
Hundred Bones' eyes lit up in that instant when she heard the call.
Gu Chengming shot backward. At the same time, he poured all his Spiritual Sense into the Tenfold Perfection Sword Formation without holding anything back.
The ten Flying Swords rapidly shifted formation in midair. The Sword Formation, which had originally spread out like a plane, linked head to tail in the space of a single breath, transforming into a three-dimensional cage traced with flowing Yin Yang patterns. With a sharp clack, it forcibly locked the Sword Immortal's Phantasmal Image and its Withered Bone Sword Domain inside.
The Phantasmal Image roared in fury. Hundreds of broken swords shot out at once, smashing into the cage's walls.
The formation patterns cracked, and its spiritual light flickered.
It wouldn't hold for long—at most one breath. But that was enough.
The flagstones beneath Hundred Bones' feet shattered with a crash, cracks spreading several yards outward from her.
The next instant, she vanished