Myriad Talismans Converge into a Formation, the Yellow-Robed Stranger

Wang Chenjue stared at Feng Quchu in disbelief. He had never expected Feng Quchu to use Moon Reflected in the Nine Springs. The Moon-Reflecting Sect had other cultivation arts, after all.

Moon Reflected in the Nine Springs lives up to its name. How uncanny. Feng Quchu's cultivation is too low to summon evil spirits, though. Otherwise, it would be even more terrifying!

Wang Chenjue sighed inwardly.

"Ten Thousand Talismans Return to the Formation!"

This was no time for wonder. Wang Chenjue gathered his focus, drove his Source Power hard, and unleashed the Xuan-Tier Upper Grade cultivation art Ten Thousand Talismans Return to the Formation.

Whoosh!

Ten thousand talismans surged out and hovered throughout the valley. A great formation sprang into being.

Wang Chenjue swayed, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Controlling ten thousand talismans to raise a great formation at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm is a strain after all. But together with Moon Reflected in the Nine Springs, it's more than enough to kill Dongfang Muxue!

He urged his Source Power onward.

Boom!

The formation's might soared skyward, then crashed toward Dongfang Muxue.

Boom!

At the same time, a pillar of light descended from the vision of the full moon, carrying boundless force straight toward Dongfang Muxue's head.

In an instant, that force closed in on Dongfang Muxue from every direction. There was nowhere to dodge!

"Ah!"

Screams rang through the valley. Many Wang Family members and Azure Feather Sect disciples perished beneath the two attacks.

"This is bad! Everyone in the family, retreat!"

"Sect disciples, fall back somewhere safe!"

At the sight, Wang Yufu and Xie Shiwei abandoned their fight and shouted orders.

Whoosh!

Their bodies became streaks of light as they sped away.

"Trying to leave?"

But Zhang Xingfeng and Chen Guyu blocked the Wang Family's path.

The Wang Family members were in disarray. This was the perfect chance to wipe them out, and neither man meant to let it slip away!

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Wang Yufu and the others stared at them in alarm.

"Sword's Initial Ultimate Intent: Sword Severs Spring and Autumn!"

"Thunder Shatters Eternity: Cloud River of Flashing Lightning!"

Zhang Xingfeng and Chen Guyu gave no answer. Each unleashed his Cultivation Art.

"Ah! No!"

"Attacking us by surprise? How despicable!"

Caught utterly off guard, the Wang Family members had no time to react before they all burst into bloody mist!

"You retreat first. My junior brother and I are going to help our junior sister!"

With the Wang Family members dealt with, Zhang Xingfeng took the Danling Qisheng Art and hastily tossed out those words.

"All right!"

Xie Shiwei and the others were wounded. Knowing they could not help, they flew aside as streaks of light.

Outside the valley.

"Look! That vision of a full moon above the valley is terrifying. It must be Feng Quchu!"

"And those floating talismans? Could that be Wang Chenjue?"

"Who could be fighting both Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue? Qin Linyu?"

"Very likely. Let's go see!"

"Let's go!"

More than a hundred streaks of light crossed the sky, racing toward the valley.

"Huh? Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue? How could a show like this go on without yours truly?"

"I'm done playing with you!"

Xiang Nitian's lips curved upward. With one palm strike, he killed the fifty-odd Rogue Cultivators surrounding him, then shot into the sky.

Inside the valley.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, the forces from above and below closed in on Dongfang Muxue.

Her brows knit tight. She did not dare let down her guard.

She drove her Source Power to its limit, pouring a steady stream of Source Qi into Ice Soul.

Ice Soul blazed with light that reached ten thousand zhang. Dense, frigid mist billowed up, and ice spread outward, freezing seventy li of land!

"Snowfall Through the Ages: Ten Thousand Forms Condense!"

Her long hair streamed and her white robes snapped in the wind. Her expression was cold and aloof as she unleashed Snowfall Through the Ages.

Creak!

In an instant, unbreakable walls of ice formed above and below her.

Bang!

The might of Moon Reflected in the Nine Springs and Ten Thousand Talismans Return to the Formation slammed into the ice walls with a heaven-shaking crash.

Crack!

Countless cracks spread across the walls, but they did not shatter. Dongfang Muxue remained unharmed within!

"How can this be?!"

Wang Chenjue staggered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Impossible!"

The black returned to Feng Quchu's eyes. He could not believe it either.

Wang Chenjue and I are both at the eighth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. I even sacrificed myself to use the Sect's supreme cultivation art. How can we fail to break an ice wall made by Dongfang Muxue, who's only at the sixth level?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible!

"Pfft!"

Already wounded, Feng Quchu was so overcome with anger that blood sprayed from his mouth.

Whoosh!

While the two men stared in disbelief, the Ice walls abruptly changed into two sharp arrows. One shot toward the vision of the full moon, the other toward the formation in the valley.

Bang!

In an instant, the vision of the full moon dispersed!

"Pfft!"

Feng Quchu spat out even more blood. He shook violently and nearly fell from the sky.

"This is bad!"

Wang Chenjue cried out. He had barely been sustaining the formation, but now he forced his Source Power harder to withstand the arrow.

Ten thousand talismans fluttered, the formation flashed, and its might grew stronger still.

Bang!

It could not stop the arrow. The arrow pierced it and shattered it to pieces!

"Pfft!"

Blood gushed from Wang Chenjue's mouth. His Source Power faltered, and he could no longer control the ten thousand talismans overhead.

At once, the Talismans scattered in the wind like scraps of waste paper.

Dongfang Muxue was not faring well either. She swayed continually, drenched in sweat.

She was only at the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm. The gap between her strength and that of Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue was twentyfold.

Before reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm Ninth Layer, a cultivator could raise a Cultivation Art's power to no more than half the upper limit of its original grade.

Dongfang Muxue had used a Heaven-Tier Upper Grade cultivation art. At the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, she could bring its might to roughly ninety times her own strength.

Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue had used only Xuan-Tier Upper Grade Cultivation Arts. But at the Foundation Establishment Realm Eighth Layer, the might they unleashed was equivalent to a hundred times Dongfang Muxue's strength!

Even with a Spirit Weapon, blocking their combined strike had been difficult. Destroying their ultimate moves afterward was harder still.

She had managed it only by pushing Snowfall Through the Ages to its utmost power, even beyond the halfway limit.

But it had left her Source Mansion empty and her Source Qi exhausted!

Dongfang Muxue's face was white as paper. She was on the verge of falling from the sky.

"Hm? Dongfang Muxue has run out of Source Qi. Kill her!"

Delighted by what he saw, Wang Chenjue sent the message to Feng Quchu.

"All right!"

Feng Quchu nodded.

The two forced out their Source Power, formed a palm strike, and blasted it toward Dongfang Muxue.

Bang!

A flash of sword light and lightning swept past instead, destroying both palm strikes!

"This is bad! Run!"

The sword force and lightning were still bearing down on them. Feng Quchu and Wang Chenjue cried out and hastily retreated.

"Ah!"

They were too late. With a final wail, both men exploded into bloody mist.

"Junior sister, are you all right?"

"Senior sister, how are you?"

Zhang Xingfeng and Chen Guyu supported Dongfang Muxue and asked with concern, “Are you all right?”

"Fellow Daoist, how are you?"

Xie Shiwei and the others came to her side, concern plain on their faces.

"Someone's coming this way. Let's leave the valley first."

Dongfang Muxue managed a faint smile and answered weakly.

"All right!"

Zhang Xingfeng and the others stepped onto their assorted weapons and flew away as streaks of light.

Inside the valley.

"You ran fast. Otherwise, every last one of you would have died by my hand!"

A streak of light descended. Xiang Nitian said in a low voice.

"Excellent! Now that you're gone, Feng Quchu's and Wang Chenjue's Storage Bags are mine!"

He looked around at the Storage Bags strewn across the ground, delighted.

"One for me, another for me—more, more, more!"

Xiang Nitian happily gathered the Storage Bags.

"Huh? Where's Wang Chenjue's Storage Bag? It was right here a moment ago."

A moment later, puzzlement covered his face.

Boom!

Suddenly, a strange figure appeared above him. The figure wore a yellow robe bearing an enormous Eight Trigrams diagram and looked ancient beyond measure.

"W-who are you?"

Xiang Nitian looked at the stranger and asked in a panic.

"Die!"

The stranger's hoarse, icy voice rang out as a palm came down on Xiang Nitian's head.

"Ah!"

Xiang Nitian howled in agony, his body trembling without cease.

In an instant, nothing remained of him but a pile of white bones. The stranger vanished into thin air!