Blazing Killing Formation

A few minutes before the explosion, inside the Mo Family's main hall.

"Elder Mo, you are too kind. This junior cannot drink. Yanran will convey your goodwill to Teacher."

Faced with Mo Cheng's eager hospitality, Nalan Yanran gave little positive response. To her, obeying Yun Yun's instructions and coming to the Mo Family was merely going through the motions. She had no desire to become entangled with the Mo Family.

Especially Mo Li of the Mo Family. His filthy intentions toward her were painfully obvious. Though Mo Li could be considered handsome and somewhat talented, in Nalan Yanran's eyes, he was far too lacking to even catch her attention.

Seeing that Nalan Yanran was barely acknowledging him, Mo Cheng found it hard to save face. Yet he still wore a broad smile as he thanked Yun Yun for her goodwill.

Though he smiled outwardly, Mo Cheng had already cursed Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran countless times in his heart.

Hmph, Misty Cloud Sect! Just wait. Sooner or later, my Mo Family will make you spit out everything you swallowed!

Mo Cheng forcibly suppressed his anger and continued to toast the other guests. Among these people, he found his confidence and dignity once more.

After offering toasts and thanks to the main guests, Mo Cheng slowly returned to the seat of honor. Rather than sitting down to continue the banquet, he stood before the main seat, swept his gaze over the various factions in the hall, and smilingly pressed down a hand.

Seeing that Mo Cheng had something to say, the noisy atmosphere inside the main hall instantly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned toward him.

"Hahaha, I am deeply grateful that all of you have come today to celebrate my birthday."

"At present, I have an important matter I wish to discuss with everyone here by taking this opportunity!"

The moment these words were spoken, the guests in the hall shifted from their earlier festive relaxation to utter seriousness. Naturally, they knew what Mo Cheng intended to say, because the Mo Family had clearly explained the matter in every invitation.

"In recent years, after repeated deliberation among our elders, the Mo Family has decided to establish the Mo Alliance. The Mo Alliance will not be any strict organization. We merely wish to gather friendly forces together so that everyone may jointly strive for benefits advantageous to us all."

Seeing that the guests remained silent and listened intently, Mo Cheng paused before continuing.

"After all, one person's strength is far inferior to the strength of several families. Furthermore, I, Mo Cheng, promise here that anyone who joins the Mo Alliance will become an ally of the Mo Family and enjoy privileges such as access to Mo Family intelligence and martial support!"

"What do you all think?"

Mo Cheng looked around with a smile. Though the guests wore varying expressions, not one dared step forward to object. This was enough to prove that no one could shake the Mo Family's current position!

Of course, that was merely Mo Cheng's own conceit. Just as everyone fell silent, unsure how to respond, someone unrelated to the Mo Alliance answered for them!

Boom!

A heavy muffled roar erupted from beneath the Mo Family estate. In an instant, the entire main hall completely collapsed. The ground caved in on the spot, and the low-level servants in the hall were thrown into chaos, tumbling into the deep pit.

"Miss, leave quickly!"

As the sudden upheaval struck, most of the guests in the hall were still wearing bewildered expressions. Yet Ge Ye beside Nalan Yanran sensed the immense danger beforehand. Disregarding the Mo Family's dignity before so many people, he grabbed Nalan Yanran and ran outside.

As he ran, he shouted for Nalan Yanran to manifest her Dou Qi Armor.

Though Nalan Yanran did not understand what was happening, Elder Ge Ye had accompanied her for many years and was someone she trusted completely. Therefore, she did not hesitate and followed Ge Ye's lead, manifesting her Dou Qi Armor as they raced away.

Within seconds, the two had rushed out of the Mo Family estate and reached the broad streets of Salt City several li away.

Just as Nalan Yanran stood there in baffled surprise, an even fiercer explosion erupted. Several fire dragons burst from beneath the Mo Family estate behind them, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and scorching shockwaves swept in all directions, sending everything in the Mo Family estate flying into the air.

"What is going on?!"

Nalan Yanran stared at the horrifying sight before her. Her face went pale with fright as she stood frozen on the spot.

Had Ge Ye not reacted in time, Nalan Yanran would likely have been swallowed by the flames. An explosion of this scale was already comparable to the full-force strike of a Dou Wang. If she had been hit head-on, she, who had only just advanced to Da Dou Shi, would certainly have died.

"Miss! This place is not safe to remain in! A Dou Wang or even a Dou Emperor has come to wipe out the Mo Family! We must leave!"

Though the process was wrong, the conclusion was roughly correct. Ge Ye had guessed the outcome, and that was enough.

The two quickly reached an agreement and vanished in a flash. It had to be said that Nalan Yanran truly possessed some supporting-character luck. Such a terrifying explosion had not even harmed a single hair on her head. It was practically a miracle.

Compared to Nalan Yanran, who had escaped alive, the others were not so fortunate.

When the explosion occurred, most of them were drunk beyond reason. When the ground collapsed, many even thought they were simply too intoxicated and dizzy. Forget manifesting Dou Qi Armor for defense—they did not even circulate their Dou Qi.

More than a dozen Da Dou Shi experts who had once "shaken their respective regions" were reduced to ashes in the following explosion.

As for the Mo Family disciples below the Da Dou Shi level, more than half were killed or injured. In an instant, cries of misery filled the grounds.

Of the entire Mo Family, aside from Great Elder Mo Cheng, only the family head, Mo Lan, could be considered fortunate.

Though Mo Lan was the Mo Family head, he held little actual power. Everything in the Mo Family deferred to Great Elder Mo Cheng. Thus, Mo Lan had spent years being cautious and had developed a nature that sought advantage and avoided danger.

At the first explosion, Mo Lan instinctively sensed danger and immediately manifested his Dou Qi Armor, defending himself with all his strength.

When Mo Cheng, who was closest to him, saw Mo Lan do this, he also manifested his Dou Qi Armor. Thus, when the second explosion came only seconds later, the two escaped disaster and were not swallowed by the flames or killed on the spot.

Though he had narrowly escaped, Mo Cheng was now drenched in blood, his flesh split open and his internal organs heavily damaged. He coughed blood without end.

Mo Lan's cultivation was even lower than Mo Cheng's. Despite defending with all his strength, one of his arms was still blown off, and his body was completely dyed red with blood, as though he had been pulled from a pool of gore.

Though the explosion had stopped, the flames it created were still burning everything in the Mo Family estate. The mushroom cloud and thick smoke gradually dispersed, leaving only devastation in their wake.

Mo Cheng and Mo Lan looked at the Mo Family disciples lying on the ground and wailing in pain. They were both shocked and furious—shocked that someone dared attack the Mo Family, and furious that the attacker's methods were so vicious, striking with lethal intent from the very beginning.

"Who was it? Who was it?!"

Mo Cheng raised his head and roared. The formerly perfect birthday banquet had been utterly destroyed. Now, only broken walls and ruins remained throughout the Mo Family estate. Even the fortress roof they had been so proud of had been blasted away to who knew where.

"Whoever is still alive, save the wounded!"

Compared to the raging, roaring Mo Cheng, Mo Lan looked far more like a family head. He quickly ran toward the collapsed Mo Family higher-ups. Most of them were Da Dou Shi, and two or three had manifested Dou Qi Armor in time, escaping death. Yet they were severely injured and unable to move.

As for the other Mo Family higher-ups who had not defended in time, they had been blown into mangled masses of flesh. They were breathing in far more than they breathed out, clearly beyond saving.

The most violent explosion had occurred at the Mo Family's main hall. Nearly all the guests there had died, while Mo Li, Mo Linglin, and the other younger members of the Mo Family accompanying them had all been reduced to ashes and scattered into nothingness.

At the outer edges of the explosion, some peripheral Mo Family disciples had instead escaped disaster due to their low status. Most had only been struck by the aftershock and had not faced the towering flames directly.

Though their status was low, they were still members of the Mo Family. Dragging his battered body, Mo Lan desperately ran toward them, wanting to save every person still alive.

Even Mo Cheng, the Mo Family Great Elder who looked down on everyone, now had bloodshot eyes as he split up from Mo Lan to rescue the injured Mo Family disciples.

However, not long after the two separated, a small black figure darted into the Mo Family estate and began killing those Mo Family disciples who had survived the explosion. Her methods were extremely practiced and vicious.

The Mo Family disciples still struggling desperately were struck on the crowns of their heads by her palm and immediately turned into pools of blood.

And Mo Cheng, who had been trying to save the disciples, saw all of it!

"It was you! It was you! Give me your life!"

Seeing someone actually dare kill Mo Family disciples before his very eyes, Mo Cheng immediately poured all his rage onto the black-clothed figure.

Though Mo Cheng had no real feelings for these disciples and had perhaps never even met them, such an undisguised intrusion and slaughter still drove him into a furious frenzy.

More importantly, this black-clothed person was merely a Six-Star Great Dou Master, yet she dared kill people right in front of him. She clearly did not regard him with the slightest respect.

Anger and humiliation made Mo Cheng erupt completely. He let out a fierce roar, and his body began to undergo a visible transformation!

Mo Cheng curled his body as his left arm began to tremble violently. Fierce Dou Qi fluctuations shattered his sleeve into fragments.

On Mo Cheng's bare left arm, veins writhed wildly like countless little snakes. His palm suddenly became broad and enormous, while his normal fingernails extended half an inch and turned pitch-black.

As the transformation gradually stopped, a bloody red color rapidly surged through Mo Cheng's arm. Moments later, the entire arm had become completely crimson, looking at a glance like a burning flame.

This was not a human arm, but the forelimb of a magical beast!

"You dog! I will take your life!"

Mo Cheng's face twisted savagely, his eyes blood-red and wide with fury. He stamped hard against the ground and shot toward the small black figure.

The small black figure seemed to have noticed long ago. She calmly crushed the skull of a Mo Family disciple, swallowed a Windstride Pill, and instantly became like a light feather drifting through the air as she streaked away.

Seeing the black figure trying to flee, Mo Cheng ignored the Mo Family disciples still desperately begging him to save them and chased after her.

The two pursued each other at full speed.

Though the black-clothed figure's cultivation was far below Mo Cheng's, the Windstride Pill's enhancement, combined with Mo Cheng's severe injuries, meant that although he closed in several times, he was never able to catch her. They remained several hundred meters apart.

"Hmph! Escaping with pills? Let's see where you can run once the medicinal effect fades!"

Mo Cheng laughed wildly as he pursued the black figure with murderous intent. He had already thought of how he would tear her into pieces and slowly torture her to death.

Racing all the way, the two plunged into the desert. They moved farther and farther from Salt City, and closer and closer to Mo Cheng's burial ground.

The blazing sun scorched the land, and windblown sand danced through the air.

Su Heng sat quietly cross-legged in an open patch of desert. This was the battlefield he had chosen. He was currently using a Qi-Replenishing Pill to regulate his Dou Qi and prepare for the final battle.

At the end of the horizon, a familiar black figure gradually appeared. Behind her, the half-man, half-beast Mo Cheng made his final charge toward the trap that had long been prepared for him.

The enemy had been successfully lured in. Qing Lin swallowed her final Windstride Pill and its paired Qi-Replenishing Pill, then lightly landed beside Su Heng and smugly pouted at him.

Her meaning was obvious: See how well I did!

Su Heng forcibly suppressed the urge to kiss Qing Lin in gratitude. After all, Qing Lin was still too young. He gently stroked her head and said with a smile.

"Qing Lin, you did very well this time. Thank you!"

Qing Lin's emerald-green eyes became watery and somewhat resentful. She had thought Su Heng would offer a more "suitable" reward.

"Qing Lin, you are still young... Big Brother will definitely make it up to you later."

Seeing Qing Lin's expression, Su Heng immediately understood what she was thinking. But he was an educated man, certainly not a beast, so he could only do his best to comfort her.

"Fine! You are not allowed to lie! Let's make a pinky promise!"

Qing Lin extended her small, tender hand and made the promise with Su Heng. All of this was seen by the pursuing Mo Cheng.

"You are about to die, yet you chose yourselves a fine graveyard!"

Mo Cheng roared angrily at Su Heng. At this moment, he had already been affected by the beastly nature of the magical beast, and more than half of his human reason had been lost. After all, the other side still had time to flirt with each other. No matter how he looked at it, they did not seem like people awaiting death.

"Die!"

A crimson giant claw slashed down from above. Mo Cheng wasted no words and immediately unleashed a killing blow. Yet Su Heng and Qing Lin did not take him seriously at all, still smiling as they linked pinkies.

Clang!

A sharp collision rang out as Mo Cheng's giant claw struck hard scales, scattering sparks everywhere. At the same time, an enormous snake tail more than a zhang wide swept heavily into Mo Cheng's torso, sending him flying several meters away.

The Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake looked ruthless. Both of its heads radiated intense killing intent as they stared fixedly at Mo Cheng, who had been struck down.

"A Fourth-Order Magical Beast!"

Mo Cheng spat out a mouthful of clotted blood. The tearing agony throughout his body restored a little of his reason, and he began assessing the situation.

"A Six-Star Great Dou Master, an Eight-Star Dou Master, and a Fourth-Order Magical Beast. You think you can kill me with just the three of you?"

Mo Cheng had finally realized that everything was a trap meant to lure him here and kill him in one stroke.

Even the Mo Family explosion had not been caused by a Dou Wang or Dou Emperor. Someone had infiltrated beforehand and planted explosives.

"Those indeed are not enough to kill you. But who told you that was all?"

Su Heng cast Mo Cheng a cold glance and tore off his black robe. At the same time, the earth behind Mo Cheng began to shake violently. The Rock-Scaled Rattlesnake burst from the ground, cutting off Mo Cheng's retreat.

At the front, the Black Demon Snake, whose strength had mostly recovered after being treated with Su Heng's pills, also appeared amid the desert gale. Though its scales had yet to grow back, all its wounds had already healed.

The Black Demon Snake had long harbored a death wish. Today, it sought only to perish together with the Mo Family!

The reappearance of two magical beasts finally made Mo Cheng feel a trace of fear. Yet even heavily injured, he remained confident that he could fight his way out. This formation was still not enough to kill a Five-Star Dou Spirit like him.

"Oh, right. I suggest you look behind you."

Seeing that Mo Cheng's mental defenses had yet to collapse, Su Heng could not help admiring the man's resilience. But the instant Mo Cheng turned around, his mental defenses completely crumbled.

Amid the howling desert winds, a man bearing a pair of brown Dou Qi wings quietly watched the show. His body was round and fat, but his eyes were filled with chilling killing intent.

"Bo'er! It is actually you!"

Bo'er, the City Lord of Salt City, had appeared on the battlefield. In the end, he had read Su Heng's note and chosen to come watch this show.

The instant he saw Dou Wang Bo'er, Mo Cheng's mental defenses completely collapsed. The fear of death engulfed his heart. He knew that today, he would certainly die.

"Mo Cheng, it is time for you to hit the road!"

"Four Spirits Mystic Barrier, activate the formation!"