"No--!!!"
Zhang Lingyun struggled frantically, her Golden Light of Merit burning like raging flames.
Xing Tian merely snorted coldly, and an even more terrifying pressure crashed down like a giant mountain, causing her to cough up blood again and collapse to the ground.
As Zhang Yu watched the Soul Extraction Nail hurtle through the air, his pupils contracted sharply, and he continued reciting poetry.
Righteous Qi rose like a tide, forming a pure white barrier in front of him.
However, the barrier was as fragile as paper in the face of the full-force attack of Fifth Rank Land Immortal. It was pierced inch by inch by the Soul Extraction Nail, which rapidly approached!
"Sucker Punch?"
Zhu Wuwang sneered disdainfully, urging his Soul Power again. The Soul Extraction Nail shone brightly with black light, its speed increasing dramatically!
Xing Tian stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent, as if watching a play that had already been predetermined.
Zhang Lingyun's eyes were filled with despair. Her nails dug deep into her palms, drawing blood, but she felt no pain whatsoever.
"Ugh, I'm doomed..."
"It's a bit of a pity, the Soul Refining Sect finally got such an interesting little fellow..."
Low sighs rippled through the crowd, some expressing regret, others indifference, and still others gloating.
"If one burst of Righteous Qi can't kill you, I'll use nine—and reinforce them with Formation. I don't believe I can't blast you through!"
A mad glint flashed in Zhang Yu's eyes, and the system's phrase "controlling formations with formations" exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.
He suppressed his injuries, channeling his newly recovered Soul Power wildly, his fingertips tracing lines in the air—
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz..."
Eight Void Formation Plates simultaneously appeared around him, their Formation Runes intricate and their spiritual light flowing.
Although the aura was not strong, the ability to form arrays in mid-air and create eight arrays in a single thought caused all the Peak Master present to change their expressions!
"Aerial formation?"
List eight at once?
"This kid... he actually has such Formation in formations!"
"Unfortunately, the Formation is too weak. Not to mention Elder Xing Tian, even Zhu Wuwang couldn't stop it."
Some were shocked, some felt sorry, but no one believed that this could change the outcome.
Xing Tian remained indifferent, as if the eight Formation Disk were nothing more than child's play.
Zhang Lingyun closed her eyes, her heart filled with only coldness.
"Kid, can't you see the situation?"
Struggling is useless!
Zhu Wuwang, the Soul Extraction Nail already three inches from Zhang Yu's brow!
"You'll find out soon enough whether it works or not."
Zhang Yu gritted his teeth and continued to sing Ode to Righteousness.
At the same time, chanting sounds rang out from within the eight Formation Disk.
--
" In the There is a fish in the North Sea, its name is Kun--"
"Your Chen Mi's Words: I have suffered misfortune and calamity due to past transgressions—"
"Yuzhang's Old Prefecture; Hongdu's New Mansion— "
" In Ancient Scholars Must Have Teachers. A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts."
"The Six Kings are Finished, and the world was unified; the Mount Shu is Gone, and the Epang Palace Appears— "
" In the Autumn of Renxu, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, Su Shi and his guests went boating on the shore beneath the Red Cliff—"
"Worry Before the World Worries and the Rejoice After the World Rejoices."
Eight timeless essays resounded simultaneously from the eight Formation Disk, their voices booming like bells, their literary energy soaring to the heavens!
Eight distinct yet equally vast and powerful Righteous Qi descended from the Nine Heavens and poured into the Formation Disk.
Eight timeless essays, along with Zhang Yu's iron-like "Ode to Righteousness," were arranged in Nine Palaces formation in mid-air, transforming and combining to form an unprecedented Literary Path Killing Formation above Crimson Flame Peak!
The nine mighty and majestic Righteous Qi were not simply superimposed, but rather formed with an array as their backbone and literature as their soul, resonating with each other and amplifying layer by layer, ultimately unleashing a terrifying power far beyond imagination!
"Boom--!!!"
Nine pure white pillars of energy, like the Nine Heavens hanging upside down from the heavens, soared into the sky, completely sweeping away the malevolent and Ghost Qi that had shrouded Crimson Flame Peak for years.
Even the Dark Clouds in the sky were torn open, creating a huge gap, and the sunlight shone down like swords!
Such an imposing aura caused the Peak Master who had been watching the spectacle to change color.
Amidst gasps of alarm, these people involuntarily retreated, as if a single step too slow would scorch their Divine Soul with that overwhelming righteous energy.
What's going on?
This kid has absolutely no Literary Dao Cultivation, yet he can simultaneously recite nine peerless chapters that evoke Righteous Qi... This isn't a genius, this is a monster!
"Absolutely a prodigy!"
If the Confucianism knew of this child's existence, they would probably devote all their resources to bringing him into their fold!
"The Soul Refining Sect... actually produced a monster who can use Awe-Inspiring Righteous Qi to set up formations?"
As the crowd retreated, they whispered amongst themselves.
The way they looked at Zhang Yu had completely changed—from initial contempt and regret to shock, apprehension, and even... a lingering fear.
"Such a powerful Righteous Qi, perhaps..."
A seemingly absurd idea suddenly popped into someone's mind, one that even they found unbelievable.
Could this kid, who only has the Cultivation Great Grandmaster, really... be able to subdue Xing Tian, Eighth Rank Land Immortal Xing Tian?!
Zhang Lingyun was equally dumbfounded.
Back when she was in the Dongshen Kingdom, Zhang Yu's poem "Bring in the Wine" resonated with the world, and she was already amazed.
But she never imagined that Zhang Yu could recite nine peerless articles at the same time, and even integrate them into a single Formation, turning it into Literary Path Killing Formation!
This is beyond what the word "talent" can describe; it's an anomaly that defies all conventional wisdom!
"Laugh--!!!"
Nine streams of Righteous Qi surged forth like angry dragons emerging from the sea, instantly engulfing and purifying Zhu Wuwang's pitch-black Soul Extraction Nail, leaving not a trace behind.
Then, the powerful Righteous Qi slammed into Zhu Wuwang, sending him flying backward, his blood splattering across the sky!
"Puff--!"
Zhu Wuwang crashed heavily against the mountain wall, his chest caved in, his ribs shattered, his Soul Power dissipated, and his aura weakened to the extreme.
He struggled to lift his head, looking at the figure in the air surrounded by nine white mists, his eyes filled with horror and confusion:
"How is this possible... How is this possible?!"
A hint of shock flashed in Xing Tian's eyes, but it quickly turned into a cold sneer.
"Though your Righteous Qi is strong, what can it do to me?"
He stood with his hands behind his back, and the pressure of Eighth Rank Land Immortal surged out like a tide, forcefully blocking the nine roaring pillars of righteous energy in mid-air, making it impossible for them to advance any further.
He then raised his hand and unleashed a palm strike, the wind from which was as black as ink, carrying a terrifying force capable of crushing mountains and rivers, which slammed down on the nine pillars of energy!
"Boom--!"
The palm strike collided with the Righteous Qi, unleashing a deafening roar. The shockwave was like a knife, leveling the surrounding mountains several feet.
The nine pillars of energy trembled violently under the pressure of the palm strike, their light visibly dimming and showing signs of dissipation.
"Alas... in the end, it was no use."
Sighs rose from the surrounding crowd, and the people shook their heads, the "absurd expectation" that had just risen in their eyes extinguished.
The difference in their levels of understanding is like an insurmountable chasm.
Despite their extraordinary talent, there is still an insurmountable gap between Great Grandmaster and Eighth Rank Land Immortal.
"It's not over yet!"
Zhang Yu's eyes were bloodshot, and the blood at the corner of his mouth was still wet, but his hands moved so fast that they formed hand seals like butterflies flitting among flowers.
The nine Formation Disk that were suspended in mid-air suddenly rotated, the Nine Palaces returned to their positions, and the Formation Runes intertwined, forcibly fusing the nine Righteous Qi!
"The Kunpeng soars ninety thousand miles—rising straight up to the ninth heaven!"
With a long roar, nine auras resounded in unison, and the combined Righteous Qi faintly condensed into a phantom image of Kunpeng that blotted out the sky.
The Kunpeng, with its wings drooping over the clouds and eyes like the sun and moon, carried a vast will of "freedom from heaven and earth, transcending life and death," as it headed towards Xing Tian—
It crashed into them with a deafening roar!
"What?"
Xing Tian's expression finally changed.