Junior Brother Kong Had Hidden Himself Well

Boom! The cave ahead, once calm and still, saw its temperature surge violently almost the instant Shangguan Yuzhou stepped into the formation.

Kong Jiao, close behind Shangguan Yuzhou, narrowed his eyes as he watched two crimson clouds of qi, fiery red in color, gush forth from the Xun and Li positions directly ahead, closing in from both sides.

Before the Scarlet Radiance arrived, its terrifying heat had already struck them first.

Kong Jiao felt his face grow faintly hot. His hair and brows curled under the scorching temperature, and he could even smell the burnt stench of singed hair.

Shangguan Yuzhou, charging at the front, had already made his move. His tall body trembled, and a longsword appeared in his grasp. With a shiver of its blade, more than a dozen streaks of golden sword light burst forth in an instant, shooting straight at the radiance from the Li position.

Kong Jiao's eyes lit up at the sight.

He had long heard that the sword art Shangguan Yuzhou cultivated was called the Eight-Foot Sword Scripture, nearly one of the finest sword arts an outer sect disciple could cultivate.

Today was Kong Jiao's first time witnessing the might of the Eight-Foot Sword Scripture. It truly was extraordinary.

Even as Shangguan Yuzhou unleashed his Sword Qi, he did not forget to shout a warning to Kong Jiao. "Junior Brother Kong, the Xun position!"

Kong Jiao had long been poised to strike. Hearing the call, his expression turned grave. He formed a hand seal with both hands, then abruptly opened his mouth as spiritual energy gathered in his chest.

Pfft!

As he opened his mouth,

A blast of breath mixed with white frost shot from his mouth like a cannonball, crashing directly into the Scarlet Radiance at the Xun position.

Frost Breath Technique!

The instant the Cold Breath emerged, the furnace-like temperature dropped by a great deal.

Just as Shangguan Yuzhou's Sword Qi shredded the Scarlet Radiance at the Li position,

The icy force of the Frost Breath Technique collided with the Scarlet Radiance at the Xun position as well.

The two forces, one hot and one cold, both trembled violently before ultimately vanishing into nothingness together.

After shredding the Scarlet Radiance at the Li position, Shangguan Yuzhou had kept his attention on Kong Jiao.

Only when he saw with his own eyes that Kong Jiao could withstand the Scarlet Radiance did he finally let out a breath of relief.

Though he knew the Frost Breath Technique naturally countered Scarlet Radiance, that had existed only in their plan. Kong Jiao's cultivation was ultimately too low, and Shangguan Yuzhou had feared he would be unable to bring out the technique's full power. Only after seeing the result could he truly rest easy.

"Beautifully done!" Shangguan Yuzhou could not help praising him.

Though each of them was fending off the Scarlet Radiance, neither slowed their steps. Like the wind, they rushed deeper into the formation.

In less than two breaths,

Scarlet Radiance gathered once more at the Xun and Li positions.

That was what made formations so troublesome. So long as the formation core was not destroyed, attacks would come in an unending stream.

Fortunately, the two had gained experience from before.

They dissolved the Scarlet Radiance Formation's second wave of attacks once again.

By then, three breaths had already passed.

The two had charged more than ten zhang into the formation.

At precisely the three-breath mark, Kong Jiao, following close behind Shangguan Yuzhou, saw a blazing fireball less than a zhang ahead, as scorching as a furnace.

It was like a spherical blossom growing from the ground, radiating terrifying heat.

That should be the formation core, right? Kong Jiao secretly guessed.

As he pondered, the two had already swept up before the crimson fireball.

"Roar!" Shangguan Yuzhou let out a thunderous bellow. His long hair flew wildly as the longsword in his hand erupted with Sword Qi several times more powerful than before.

The Sword Qi streaked like a rainbow, slashing down from above at the formation core.

Clang! Kong Jiao distinctly heard a crisp crack like shattered jade.

The blazing fireball was directly shredded by Shangguan Yuzhou's single strike.

Only four breaths had passed, faster even than Shangguan Yuzhou's estimated five breaths.

But breaking a formation was not so simple. Kong Jiao did not relax in the slightest.

After the fireball shattered, a palm-sized black flag was revealed.

That was the Scarlet Radiance Formation's formation flag, its true formation core. Only by pulling it out could the formation truly be broken.

Shangguan Yuzhou acted decisively. With one slash, he cleaved apart the protective barrier around the formation core, and his hand reached for the formation flag.

Scarlet Radiance erupted again from the Li and Xun positions.

Shangguan Yuzhou held off the enemy with his sword in one hand while grabbing the flag with the other, dividing his focus between two tasks.

Kong Jiao's Cold Breath followed close behind.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Scarlet Radiance Formation would be broken by their joint efforts.

The Scarlet Radiance's power was divided between them, and in a short time, it could not inflict any substantial harm.

At the very instant both of them believed victory was certain,

A sudden change arose.

Boom! An even more terrifying heat swept through the entire formation.

Kong Jiao felt as if the skin all over his body had been soaked in boiling water, the searing pain unbearable.

What was more, the ends of his hair began to ignite on their own from the excessive heat.

And the source of it all was precisely where the formation flag stood.

A mass of Scarlet Radiance, hotter and more immense than that from the Li and Xun positions, erupted from beneath the ground where the formation flag had been planted.

Its color was so vivid that it resembled earthfire drawn up from the depths below.

"Not good!" Kong Jiao's expression changed wildly at the sight, and his heart gave a violent lurch.

Shangguan Yuzhou was dividing his attention between wielding his sword and grabbing the flag. Once he had thrown himself at the formation core, he had left himself no room to retreat.

The Scarlet Radiance that suddenly erupted from underground was like a trap, waiting for Shangguan Yuzhou, the prey, to walk right into its jaws.

"Damn it, that bastard who set up this formation is too sinister!" For the first time since entering the underground cave, panic appeared on Shangguan Yuzhou's usually calm face.

If he truly became surrounded by that Scarlet Radiance, then even if he survived by sheer luck, he would lose half his life.

At the critical moment, Kong Jiao reacted first.

He violently swung his right hand, slapping the enormous gourd he had carried on his back all the way here.

Bang!

The gourd's mouth shattered at once. Under Kong Jiao's control through the Water-Drawing Formula, streams of clear spring water poured from the broken opening, wrapping around Shangguan Yuzhou ahead.

But how could ordinary spring water resist the power of Scarlet Radiance?

Shangguan Yuzhou even resigned himself and closed his eyes, preparing to mobilize all his cultivation to endure this blow head-on.

Yet the pain of flames engulfing his body never came.

Instead, after closing his eyes, Shangguan Yuzhou felt waves of bone-piercing cold. Frigid qi nearly enveloped his entire body, as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"What is this?" Shangguan Yuzhou opened his eyes in confusion.

All he saw was a whiteness like profound ice.

He had already been encased within a mass of ice, which wrapped around his entire body.

The one controlling all this was Kong Jiao behind him.

Profound ice created by combining the Frost Breath Technique with the Water-Drawing Formula.

Having used several techniques in succession, Kong Jiao had exhausted himself greatly. Not a trace of color remained in his face.

After doing all this, he could only watch helplessly as the Scarlet Radiance swallowed the ice around Shangguan Yuzhou whole.

Bang! Pale white steam instantly filled the entire formation space, so thick that one could not see a hand held before one's face.

Kong Jiao had no idea what the result was. He did not know whether his profound ice had managed to withstand the Scarlet Radiance attacking Shangguan Yuzhou.

He shouldn't be dead, right? Shangguan Yuzhou has fortune protecting him.

Kong Jiao thought to himself.

He did not have to wait long.

As the white steam filled the entire formation space, the Scarlet Radiance Formation's scorching heat had already vanished.

Kong Jiao could clearly feel that suffocating heat receding.

Then, the white mist dispersed.

Shangguan Yuzhou's tall figure stood unharmed where the formation core had been.

He held the Scarlet Radiance Formation's flag high, looked at Kong Jiao, and revealed a brilliant smile.

"I did not disgrace my mission! The formation is broken!"

"Whew!" Kong Jiao let out a long breath as well and nodded with a smile.

That had truly been a hair's breadth from disaster. If Shangguan Yuzhou, who had taken the vanguard, had died inside this formation, then with Kong Jiao's strength, he absolutely would not have been able to escape.

"I never expected Junior Brother Kong to have hidden such a move. I truly underestimated you." Only after pulling out the formation flag did Shangguan Yuzhou have the time to look at the junior brother he had spent two years with in a new light.

A meaningful smile hung on his face. "Everyone in the outer sect says that I, Shangguan Yuzhou, am a genius. Who would have thought that Kong Jiao, whom everyone had always overlooked, was not as simple as he appeared either?"

"Senior Brother Shangguan, stop praising me. Compared with you, I am far inferior." Kong Jiao gave Shangguan Yuzhou a helpless look, neither confirming nor denying it, then said with a self-deprecating smile, "Just a few basic spells nearly drained all my spiritual power. But Senior Brother Shangguan charged at the front and still has plenty of vigor left."

Shangguan Yuzhou had no intention of letting the matter drop and instead analyzed Kong Jiao's method of saving him on his own.

"I had been wondering what exactly was inside the gourd Junior Brother Kong carried. So it was spring water."

"The Water-Drawing Formula paired with the Frost Breath Technique actually has such an incredible effect. What a genius idea!"

"Hehe, this junior brother has spent all day in the Miscellaneous Books Pavilion, but I have not been idle." Kong Jiao chuckled and spread his hands.

"No matter what, I, Shangguan Yuzhou, owe you, Kong Jiao, my life!" Shangguan Yuzhou put away the formation flag and looked solemnly into Kong Jiao's eyes. "If you ever have need of me in the future, I will not hesitate!"