Only two seconds had passed in the outside world, but to Bai Yuan, it felt as though millions of years had gone by.
His mind had remained immersed in the mysteries of the formation. Even after his moment of enlightenment faded, he continued tirelessly absorbing its secrets.
An hour later, Xingwu's voice brought Bai Yuan back to his senses:
"Master, a large group of people is heading our way. There are about a thousand of them, and they'll arrive here in at most half an hour."
"They got here sooner than I expected." Bai Yuan opened his eyes, his expression grave.
Fortunately, he had piloted a spaceship here. If he had flown all the way himself, he wouldn't have had this hour to spare.
"Let's give it a try!"
Bai Yuan's gaze sharpened. The three main turrets mounted above the spaceship began to turn. Deep within their muzzles, blue vortices of energy swirled, and a low hum rose into a growl, like a giant beast stirring awake.
The C5-class Star Ember main cannons were charging.
The nine secondary cannons arranged around the main guns deployed at the same time. The silver barrels of the B6-class Rift Arrow cannons extended section by section, their surfaces rippling with dazzling patterns of flowing light.
Boom!
One of the secondary cannons fired first. Its shell slammed into the mountainside, only to be stopped dead by an invisible barrier.
But Bai Yuan wasn't discouraged. He immediately ordered the other eleven cannons to fire together.
He had aimed each shot at the precise rhythm and location of the formation's energy currents—the very points where the barrier was most vulnerable.
Each blast from the three C5-class main cannons was comparable to a full-powered strike from a fifth-rank Universe Realm expert. The B6-class secondary cannons were somewhat weaker, but still provided considerable support.
At last, the barrier gave a sharp crack and shattered with a rumble.
This barrier would normally take a Domain Lord to break through. But once its weaknesses were known, even a powerful Universe Realm expert could destroy it with ease.
Deep inside Red Stone Mountain, a young man clad in blue armor suddenly opened his eyes, delight shining in them.
"He really did it!"
Although he had told Bai Yuan about the formation's weaknesses, someone without sufficient knowledge of formations wouldn't have been able to spot them, let alone break the formation.
Unless a blind cat had just happened to stumble on a dead mouse, striking a vital point by sheer luck.
Then the tremor of another barrier breaking followed close behind. Only then was he certain that Bai Yuan had truly seen through the barrier's weaknesses!
"Unbelievable! His understanding of formations is so profound! Could he already be a Universe Realm formation master?"
Formation masters were rare because cultivating in this field was extraordinarily difficult.
Even after mastering the formation path, setting up a formation usually took time and preparation.
In a real battle, who would give an opponent the chance to set things up at their leisure?
That was why formations were most commonly used by armies, which could combine the strength of many people and fight as one.
Most powerful experts only dabbled in formations. They weren't willing to spend too much effort on them.
When all three layers of the barrier had been destroyed, the entire Red Stone Mountain began to shake violently.
Bai Yuan understood that Xuan Ming Domain Lord was exerting his power from beneath the mountain.
In an instant, densely packed formation runes appeared across the mountainside, their light flowing in ripples.
Bai Yuan didn't dare delay. He immediately began breaking the formation according to the method Xuan Ming Domain Lord had taught him.
The C9-Class Spaceship unleashed its full firepower. The three main cannons and nine secondary cannons fired in rotation without pause.
Boom!!!
Several critical formation runes were obliterated by the barrage, and the light of the entire formation flickered erratically.
Seizing the opportunity, Xuan Ming Domain Lord broke through the seal and emerged.
He stood atop the mountain, pouring his Spiritual Force into Red Stone Mountain as he frantically repaired the damaged formation runes one by one.
Bai Yuan noticed, however, that the newly added runes were completely different from the originals. Even some undamaged sections had been quietly altered.
[Quest complete. Rewards have been issued.]
The system notification sounded. Bai Yuan put away the spaceship and focused on the formation across the mountain.
By then, the thousand-man army had already reached them.
Forget Bai Yuan himself—even Cloud-Touching Vine, a Star Ninth Rank plant, would have been doomed against this thousand-man battle formation.
But before they could make a move, Xuan Ming Domain Lord's furious shout rang out from the summit of Red Stone Mountain:
"Stand down, all of you!"
The soldiers were shocked. They all dropped to their knees.
"We pay our respects to Lord Xuan Ming!"
Xuan Ming Domain Lord looked slightly surprised.
"You still acknowledge me? It seems Keluolü and Tianmu aren't very good at winning people over."
The commander was taken aback. He asked cautiously, "Lord Xuan Ming, what do you mean? Weren't you the one who personally ordered us to come and kill this man?"
As he spoke, he pointed at Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan shrugged and explained, "It seems your reputation among them is too strong. They must have realized they couldn't simply take your place, so they decided to impersonate you instead. That way, to outsiders, it would look as though you'd been alive and well all along."
"Oh? It seems they have at least enough sense to know their limits." Xuan Ming Domain Lord was in high spirits.
As soon as he finished speaking, Red Stone Mountain rumbled beneath their feet. He uprooted the entire mountain and, in the blink of an eye, refined it into a weapon!
The soldiers had never seen anything like it. They burst into astonished cries:
"My heavens! Lord Xuan Ming took the entire Red Stone Mountain with him!"
"As expected of Lord Xuan Ming! His power is truly earth-shaking!"
"If I could reach even half of Lord Xuan Ming's strength in this lifetime, I could die without regrets."
"I'd be satisfied with even thirty percent!"
Creak!
Red Stone Mountain let out a grating sound as it shrank, dwindling to just over two meters tall in an instant.
Bai Yuan had no doubt that if the mountain came crashing down, it could kill a Universe Realm expert on the spot. Even a Domain Lord wouldn't dare take the blow head-on.
After putting Red Stone Mountain away, Xuan Ming Domain Lord flashed to Bai Yuan's side and draped an arm around his shoulders.
"Since you still acknowledge me, then from today onward, he's an honored guest of my Heaven Fiend Planet. Treat him as you would me. Is that understood?"
"Yes!"
Bai Yuan was even more confused. "Senior, shouldn't our top priority be to expose the impostors and prove your identity?"
Xuan Ming Domain Lord remained perfectly at ease. "Don't worry. Those two can't stir up any trouble. And don't call me Senior. You're my benefactor. If you don't mind, let's call each other brothers from now on."
"All right, Big Brother Xuan Ming. From the sound of it... you seem to know the people who harmed you very well?" Bai Yuan asked.
"Of course I do. Tianmu is my teacher's son and has always seen me as a thorn in his side."
"Keluolü is my teacher's tamed beast. He's arrogant and does whatever he likes. I once punished him for hurting innocent people, and he's held a grudge against me ever since."
His voice gradually sank. "But I never imagined those two would join forces to set a trap, trick me into coming here, and seal me beneath Red Stone Mountain."
Xuan Ming Domain Lord let out a soft sigh, his expression touched with emotion.
Before his teacher left, he had entrusted Heaven Fiend Planet to Xuan Ming Domain Lord, ordering him to take charge of everything.
That decision had stirred Tianmu's and Keluolü's jealousy.
One was his teacher's own son; the other was a tamed beast who had accompanied his teacher for countless years. Yet his teacher had chosen his own direct disciple to govern Heaven Fiend Planet, and had explicitly forbidden Tianmu and Keluolü from interfering in his affairs.
After accumulating over countless years, their resentment had led to today's outcome.
Bai Yuan could tell that even after being sealed by them for a full ten thousand years, Xuan Ming Domain Lord still had no intention of killing them—or even punishing them severely.
After all, they had once belonged to the same sect.
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