The phantom image in the sky filled Chen Lin with dread. He feared some unforeseen disaster might strike.
But when he looked at Yu Yuehai, he found the man's expression unchanged, as though he had expected this all along.
Only then did his heart settle.
Apparently, Yu Yuehai had chosen tonight to act after calculating this in advance as well.
Yu Yuehai continued gazing quietly at the sky without reacting.
Ye Jingyun did the same.
The Xia Sisters looked nervous, but Zhao Zhengyuan was worse. As though this were his first time witnessing such a scene, even his legs were trembling.
But with Yu Yuehai standing still, there was naturally nothing they could do. Chen Lin continued straining his eyes to study the shadow in the sky.
In those few moments, the shadow seemed to have grown clearer. Its outline was now faintly discernible, and it looked like an enormous insect.
"A monstrosity's form isn't fixed. What your eyes see may not be real. Get ready. We're about to begin!"
Yu Yuehai's voice rang out, drawing everyone's gaze back.
Just then, Chen Lin felt the ground beneath his feet suddenly tremble, almost knocking him down. Cracks even appeared in several buildings inside the courtyard.
Before he could investigate what was happening, five beams of light shot into the sky from different directions!
The five beams were thick and massive, each a different color, matching the five spirit stones on the Array Disk before him.
But the Array Disk in front of them had yet to be activated. Clearly, this was not Yu Yuehai's doing.
All five beams carried terrifying fluctuations of energy. They intertwined in midair, forming a sword of staggering size!
As the giant sword took shape, the hazy shadow in the sky began to writhe.
With its writhing, the fine red lines filling the sky suddenly brightened, turning the entire sky blood-red!
Chen Lin instantly felt some substance inside his body draining away at a furious pace. His skin deteriorated visibly, and in mere moments, he seemed to have aged several years.
He was not alone. The others suffered the same fate. Even Yu Yuehai was not spared, though his condition was slightly less severe.
Meanwhile, the monstrosity's phantom image grew increasingly solid.
The change gave Chen Lin a terrible fright.
I can't let it suck me into a dried corpse before I even get to sever the red line and escape.
At the same time, he realized that those companions supposedly killed by possession must have strayed beyond the area under the monstrosity's control, prompting it to devour them faster and kill them.
"Don't panic. You won't die!"
Noticing their alarm, Yu Yuehai immediately barked a warning.
At that very moment, the giant sword in the sky let out a thunderous roar and slashed toward the monstrosity's enormous shadow!
"Get ready!"
Yu Yuehai shouted sharply. A fist-sized Black Sphere had appeared in his hand at some point, and a towering aura of blood surged around him as his eyes turned crimson.
He slammed the Black Sphere into a hole at the center of the Round Disc. The patterns on its surface instantly shone with dazzling light, and the five Large Spirit Stones lit up as well.
At Yu Yuehai's command, Chen Lin and the others swiftly pressed their hands into the recesses, ready to channel their mana at any moment.
Up in the sky.
The giant sword struck the enormous shadow, sending ripples rolling outward.
But the shadow seemed unharmed. Only the red lines filling the sky shone even brighter.
Chen Lin did not know how the others felt, but the energy inside him was being sucked away like water bursting through floodgates. He swayed from weakness, and his skin cracked like a hollow in the earth after years of drought.
At this rate, he would probably become a dried husk in little more than a dozen breaths.
Chen Lin looked at Yu Yuehai in alarm. After all their painstaking scheming, dying like this would be a cruel joke.
At last, a grave expression appeared on Yu Yuehai's face, but he kept his eyes fixed on the sky and still made no move.
Seeing this, Chen Lin could only grit his teeth and force himself to hold on.
What the red lines sucked away was not mana. Pills such as Qi Replenishing Pills would do nothing.
Zhao Zhengyuan and the Xia Sisters were no better off. They were all desperately nervous, clearly sensing death closing in.
Just as panic overwhelmed them, the ground shook again, even more violently than before.
The buildings in the courtyard collapsed with a crash. The surrounding structures toppled one after another, and countless cultivators' cries of alarm rose and fell.
These cultivators could not see the red lines in the sky, but they could see the five immense beams and the giant sword they formed. They thought powerful cultivators were fighting.
As the earth shook, all five beams swelled at once, forming a colossal Light Sword that mercilessly slashed the monstrosity's phantom image again!
"Rise!"
At the same time, veins bulged on Yu Yuehai's face. With a roar, he spat a great mouthful of blood essence, sending it as a Blood Arrow onto the sphere at the center of the Array Disk.
The sphere flashed brilliantly, and the Array Disk began to hum. All five Large Spirit Stones around its edge shattered with a bang.
"Quick, channel your mana!"
Yu Yuehai forced the urgent command through gritted teeth.
He did not need to urge them. The moment they saw the spirit stones shatter, they understood what was happening and poured out their mana as though their lives depended on it.
But Yu Yuehai did not replace the spirit stones. Instead, he spat out another mouthful of blood essence.
All of it sprayed onto the Array Disk. Its light had already become almost tangible. Then, under the astonished gazes of Chen Lin and the others, the runic inscriptions broke free of the disk, floated in the air, and formed a Light Sword!
This Light Sword was identical to the one in the sky, only countless times smaller. Yet the fluctuations it gave off remained terrifying, far more powerful than those coming from Yu Yuehai.
"Sever!"
Yu Yuehai roared. The Light Sword instantly swelled, swept in a circle above their heads, and then dissolved into nothing.
Chen Lin, whose lamp had nearly burned through its last drop of oil, saw the crimson red line above his head silently severed. Then his body felt lighter, as though an immense burden had been lifted from him.
Apart from Yu Yuehai and Ye Jingyun, the other four all collapsed into sitting positions on the ground, their faces filled with the joy of surviving disaster.
With the red lines severed, they had broken free of the monstrosity's control and could leave this place.
"Take the pills immediately and restore your bodies!"
Yu Yuehai was also in a sorry state, but as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he had not collapsed completely from exhaustion. He slapped his Storage Bag, took out a Pill Bottle, opened it, and flicked a pill to each of the four, including Chen Lin.
They did not know what the pills were made from, but after swallowing them, they felt nourished and recovered much of their vitality.
By then, Yu Yuehai had shrunk the Array Disk and put it away. Seeing their recovery, he beckoned. "Move!"
The others hurried after him.
"The monstrosity hasn't been eliminated. It hasn't even been wounded. No one is to use flying spells, lest we expose ourselves and draw its attention. Don't fight anyone, either!"
Walking at the rear, Ye Jingyun warned them aloud.
Chen Lin and the others hastily nodded.
Under Yu Yuehai's lead, the six of them raced toward the outskirts of the city.
The earthquake and the appearance of the Light Sword had thrown the city into chaos. Almost everyone had come outside to see what was happening.
As Chen Lin looked at these people, shock and terror crossed his face.
Whether they stood by the roadside or hovered low in the air, whether they were men or women, young or old, every cultivator had become gaunt and withered, their skin covered in wrinkles.
Some of the older ones with lower cultivation were visibly being sucked into dried husks.
Yet the victims themselves remained utterly unaware, wearing bewildered expressions even as they died.
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