Just as Lan Qin knew Liu Shuyue's abilities inside and out, Liu Shuyue also understood hers and knew she would never stand before her without any defenses.
Lan Qin's first layer of protection was the Life-and-Death Eight Gates Formation laid before the army.
As long as she stood within the formation, whether someone attacked her directly or targeted the formation core, it would immediately trigger the counterattack of the Eight Gates of Life and Death.
But the drawbacks of an "earth formation" were equally obvious: it lacked flexibility, and its range was limited.
The Hunting Squad used mortars.
Their range was greater, allowing them to launch surprise attacks when guns could no longer pose a threat. Even if they could not take Lan Qin's life directly, they could still plow through the ground and destroy the formation cores and talismans she had set up.
The instant Lan Qin was delayed by the Law Mantra, Liu Shuyue knew the move had succeeded—the Eight Gates of Life and Death had not activated, and the two now stood on the same arena.
She thrust her sword straight ahead, swift as a shooting star!
Spiritual light gathered at the tip of the sword. Upon the hard iron, the Spirit Sword Technique added another layer of razor-sharp sword radiance.
During the years since she had descended the mountain, Liu Shuyue had rarely remained in the imperial court. She had lost many things because of it—reputation, connections, power—until King of Qi finally struck her name from the rolls and stripped her of her position as Auxiliary State Immortal Master.
Yet the time she spent traveling the land and slaying monsters and demons had made her Immortal Arts more practiced and her swordsmanship more complete. Even during her time in Mala Village, she often entered the mountains