Return from Breaking the Formation

"What is this madman trying to do?" Everyone was stunned. The Four Symbols Divine Beasts were not to be profaned, yet Chen Fan had actually raised his sword and charged straight at them, daring to fight them head-on?

"Boy, stop!" Li Tieniu roared, cursing the young man's arrogance in his heart. He had already notified Qin Xian'er—if they could just hold out a little longer, the crisis would naturally be resolved. But the outcome defied his expectations; Chen Fan had actually taken his sword and attacked the Four Symbols Divine Beasts. Wasn't that just asking for death?

"Hmph, seeking death." A cold sneer curled at the corner of Qingyue's lips.

A sharp glint flashed through Chen Fan's eyes.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

His long sword thrust four times in quick succession at the four phantoms, Sword Qi bursting forth as the blade's tremor subtly linked the four illusions together.

"Since ancient times, the Four Symbols Divine Beasts have each governed the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north. Only when each holds its own position can they be called the Four Symbols! And yet you fling out such secret talismans so carelessly—utterly ignorant to the extreme!" Chen Fan's toes lightly tapped the void as he looked down at Qingyue from on high, rebuking her like a lofty Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

"You little beast, at death's door and still running your mouth. What Four Symbols directions? Nonsense! No one can save you now." Qingyue, humiliated by being lectured by a mere Qi Refining Layer 6 cultivator, was filled with shame and rage as she cursed at Chen Fan.

She had heard something about the Four Symbols directions from Mu Yunshui before, but she dismissed it as baseless talk and never took it to heart.

"Ignorant!" Chen Fan snorted coldly. This formation was somewhat similar to the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman, except here there were only four elements: Azure Dragon represented Wood, White Tiger represented Metal, Vermilion Bird represented Fire, and Black Tortoise represented Water.

Thus, the missing element—Earth—was the key to breaking the formation.

Using his long sword infused with True Qi, he disrupted the spiritual energy between the Four Symbols. What Four Symbols Divine Beasts? They were merely empty forms, nothing but a mass of condensed spiritual energy.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At that moment, faint sounds of tearing air came from afar. Two silhouettes, one black and one white, were rapidly flying over.

"The senior sister is back." Some disciples of the Immortal Sect spotted Mu Yunshui.

"Hmph, demon woman, even if you've come, it's too late to turn things around." Qingyue also caught sight of Qin Xian'er's figure, barely concealing the glee in her eyes.

"Four Symbols Secret Talisman?" Qin Xian'er, seeing Chen Fan trapped within the formation from afar, was filled with astonishment.

"Senior sister, what a grand gesture—giving Qingyue the Four Symbols Secret Talisman to kill Chen Fan?" Qin Xian'er turned to Mu Yunshui with a furious laugh. Chen Fan was her pawn, and she would not allow anyone else to touch him.

"I ordered them to capture this boy alive, and I never authorized the use of the Four Symbols Secret Talisman." Mu Yunshui's face was also frosty as she hurried toward the entrance of Demon King Valley.

"Senior sister, you've come just in time. This man killed Junior Brother Lin and nine other disciples. According to sect rules, he should be executed on the spot." Seeing Mu Yunshui approach with a cold expression, Qingyue spoke first.

"Killed Junior Brother Lin? How is that possible?" Mu Yunshui frowned as she looked at Chen Fan, then froze in shock.

"Qi Refining Layer 6?" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmph, enough talk. Save him." Qin Xian'er had clearly also noticed Chen Fan's cultivation level, which only deepened her resolve to keep this pawn alive.

"Too late. The Four Symbols have already taken shape." Mu Yunshui shook her head, then suddenly her expression stiffened as she gasped, "He's breaking the formation?"

Boom!!

No sooner had Mu Yunshui's words fallen than a thunderous rumble erupted in the air. The four phantoms began to blur, and the dense, vast spiritual energy around them seemed to be drawn and pulled by an invisible hand, slowly converging toward Chen Fan.

Qingyue stared in shock as the Four Symbols phantoms in the sky blurred again and again, and at Chen Fan's lofty figure with his long sword pointing diagonally downward. A sudden, inexplicable panic seized her heart.

"Watch out!" Mu Yunshui's face changed as she shouted a warning to Qingyue and the others.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out in everyone's ears!

The Four Symbols phantoms suddenly shattered, dissolving into fragmented streams of light that scattered in all directions amid the chaotic churning of spiritual power.

"Ha!" Chen Fan roared with blazing eyes.

He raised his long sword high, and it felt as if everyone's heart gave a violent lurch.

Rumble!

Amid rolling peals of thunder, Chen Fan dragged his long sword as though hauling something weighing a thousand jin, slow and heavy, and slashed it down toward the ground!

The vast, abyss-like spiritual energy above was fully stirred, and with Chen Fan's strike, it crashed down onto the earth with a thunderous roar!

Boom!

The entire ground shook!

Qingyue felt a terrifying pressure descend from above, as if a boulder weighing ten thousand jin were pressing down on her back, crushing her chest until she could barely breathe. She could only watch helplessly as an overwhelming sense of danger slammed down upon her!

"Pfft!"

Qingyue spat out a mouthful of blood. Her entire body was crushed to the ground, her robes suddenly burst open, revealing skin as red as a boiled shrimp beneath.

Blood gushed uncontrollably from her mouth and nose like a spring!

She wasn't the only one. The other disciples had blood streaming from all seven orifices; those of lower cultivation died on the spot. Even Mu Yunshui and Qin Xian'er, high in the air, had to erect a layer of True Qi defense against the surging waves of spiritual energy.

High above, Chen Fan stood proudly, his long sword pointing diagonally.

"Hum!"

The blade vibrated at high speed. Chen Fan's figure suddenly blurred, turning into a phantom as he drifted down.

"Urgh..." In Qingyue's hazy vision, a pair of feet appeared. She widened her eyes, following them upward, and saw Chen Fan's calm face.

"Swish!"

A silver sword light filled her entire field of vision.

With a wet thud, a spray of scarlet blood burst from Qingyue's neck.

Shaking the bloodstains off his sword, Chen Fan sheathed the long blade as if no one else was around and walked slowly toward the valley exit. The scattered cultivators watching from the sidelines involuntarily parted a path for him.

"Stop right there!" Mu Yunshui's face was ashen as she barked out. The Immortal Sect's losses this time were too great—not only had the genius Junior Brother Lin, who specialized in the Talisman path, fallen, but her junior sister Qingyue had also been slain. And their opponent, just a few days ago, had only been at Qi Refining Layer 4, yet now he had climbed to Qi Refining Layer 6.

As for who was happiest, naturally it was Qin Xian'er. Seeing Chen Fan's extraordinary talent, she had taken a notion to let him grow strong and eventually throw the Immortal Sect into chaos. She hadn't expected the chaos to begin so soon.

Qingyue's death had resolved a great hatred in Qin Xian'er's heart. She too made her move, blocking Mu Yunshui.

"Junior sister, this is no time for your willfulness," Mu Yunshui said coldly.

"Senior sister, I have never been willful. You think I'm playing, but I truly and earnestly want the Immortal Sect to fall." Qin Xian'er's voice turned serious, and the chill in her eyes made Mu Yunshui's heart jolt.

She had never seen that look in Qin Xian'er's eyes before.

"What exactly happened?" Mu Yunshui asked, pained. This was the junior sister she had grown up with, like a blood sister in her eyes.

"Ask your Sect Leader." Hatred was hard to conceal in Qin Xian'er's eyes, as if there were a deep, blood feud between them.

The two faced off like that, while Chen Fan slowly paced forward. With his divine sense, he also caught the conversation between the two women in the air. What had happened to Qin Xian'er was of no interest to him; that she wanted to use him, he had never paid any mind. His only principle was: I won't trouble others unless they trouble me!

As for the Immortal Sect, he would personally pay them a visit one day to reclaim his Wuya.

"This person's talent is too terrifying." Li Tieniu watched Chen Fan gradually recede into the distance, his expression grave.

The next day, Chen Fan appeared outside Heavy Sword City, covered in bloodstains.

This was his last set of clothes, so he had no choice but to return like this. Under the strange looks and pointed fingers of Heavy Sword City's residents, he slowly made his way home.

"Isn't that the Chen Clan boy? How did he end up coming back looking like that?" a middle-aged man asked in confusion.

"Dad, his name is Chen Fan," said a youth beside the man.

"You know him?"

"Of course I do. He's famous on Heavy Sword Peak. A while back, for Miss Nalan's sake, he charged alone into Demon King Valley and had to be rescued by our senior brother. Showing up like this today—did he go to Demon King Valley again? How can this kid be so lovesick?" The youth shook his head.

"You little brat, have you been skipping training on Heavy Sword Peak again these past few days?" A girl in a yellow dress beside him smacked him hard on the head, squinting.

"Sis, why are you hitting me? What's so fun about Heavy Sword Peak? I can train just the same at home." The youth was indignant.

"That's why your information is outdated. Chen Fan broke through to Qi Refining Layer 4 a few days ago, and he even fought a life-or-death duel with Zhang Ting from the Inner Court," the yellow-dressed girl said.

"What? Zhang Ting is at Qi Refining Layer 6! This guy... wait, a life-or-death duel? Did Chen Fan just step onto the stage and surrender? Otherwise, how could he still be alive?"

"Zhang Ting is dead. Defeated in two moves." The yellow-dressed girl gazed at Chen Fan's retreating back, a flicker of admiration in her eyes.

The youth's mouth fell open in shock, unable to speak.

The middle-aged man, watching Chen Fan's back, narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice, "That kid is now at Qi Refining Layer 6."

"What? Qi Refining Layer 6?" The youth and the yellow-dressed girl were both dumbfounded, exclaiming in unison.

Heavy Sword City was built at the foot of Heavy Sword Peak, enclosed by city walls into an ancient town, so naturally it wasn't very large.

No matter how slowly Chen Fan walked, it only took him twenty minutes to reach his doorstep.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Two familiar figures in the hall turned around at the same time. Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng recognized Chen Fan's face and both showed joy, but then they saw the blood all over him and couldn't help covering their mouths.

"Chen Fan, you... you're hurt?" Chen Jingjing stood up anxiously and ran toward him.

"I'll go get Little Medicine Boy and his master."

Zhang Rumeng was about to rush out the door in a fluster, but Chen Fan reached out and stopped her.

"I'm fine. This isn't my blood." Chen Fan shook his head with a faint smile. The expressions on their faces suddenly stirred a trace of warmth in his heart.

"Really?" Chen Jingjing looked at Chen Fan suspiciously, examining him from head to toe. Only when she saw that the blood had indeed long since dried did she let out a slight sigh of relief.

Then she pouted and said, "Didn't you say you'd only be gone seven days? It's already the ninth day now. Do you know how worried we were?"

"That's right. Jingjing was just discussing with me that we'd go to Demon King Valley to find you this afternoon. Good thing you came back, or I wouldn't have been able to stop her," Zhang Rumeng said with a grin.

"You're the one who's a girl," Chen Jingjing retorted, her face reddening as she pinched Zhang Rumeng's cheek.

At that moment, Chen Fan looked at Chen Jingjing and Zhang Rumeng and was startled to realize that both of them had simultaneously broken through to Qi Refining Layer 5.

"You broke through?" Chen Fan asked in surprise.

"Mm. We followed the usage method you described for the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman and successfully cleared the First Layer of the Heavenly Court. We even got a 'Grade B' evaluation. Even now, I can hardly believe we actually got a Grade B." Zhang Rumeng's eyes still held some excitement as she spoke.

"Chen Fan, you... you broke through too?" Chen Jingjing finally noticed the aura around Chen Fan. It was unmistakably that of a Qi Refining Layer 6 expert.

"Mm." Chen Fan nodded in confirmation, and both girls were frozen in shock on the spot.

"Then you should enter the Heavenly Court quickly. With your current realm, the First Layer of the Heavenly Court should be no challenge for you," Zhang Rumeng said.

"I've already cleared it." Chen Fan shook his head calmly.

"Cleared it? You didn't enter the Heavenly Court while you were in Demon King Valley, did you? That's way too dangerous. If a monster beast or an enemy disturbed you, your physical body would die, and your soul would be annihilated in the Heavenly Court too," Zhang Rumeng said, stunned.

"No." Chen Fan shook his head again lightly. "I'm going to take a bath and change clothes first."

"Wait, don't go." Chen Jingjing's expression shifted slightly, as if she had thought of something. She tugged at Chen Fan's clothes and looked up at him, asking, "When did you succeed in clearing it?"

Chen Fan thought for a moment and said, "The same day I explained the correct usage of the Five Elements Strange Sword Talisman to you."

"You mean the day Senior Brother Wang Feng cleared it?" Zhang Rumeng's eyes went wide as she asked in disbelief.