Volume One: Days in the Shantytown - Strangling the Beast (Part One)

Quite a few male disciples had secretly set their sights on Li Xuexiao. Everyone knew this was a fine chance to get close to her, but after weighing their own strength, none dared step forward.

Li Xuexiao's eyes lit up. It was not that she had never considered Du Lengning, but Young Master Du was the Sect Leader's son. If she asked him to take an Auxiliary Position and something happened, how would she answer to his father? Now that he had volunteered in front of so many Fellow Disciples, it was an entirely different matter.

"I never expected Senior Brother Du to step up like this! Good. Stand behind me." The three Auxiliary Positions formed an equilateral triangle around the Formation Core Position, two in front and one behind. Relatively speaking, the position at the rear would bear the least force.

Du Lengning was stunned. He had not expected Luo Qian to pull this move. He turned and glared at him, only to hear Li Xuexiao's words. Anger surged through him. What does she mean, she never expected me to step up? Does she think I'm a coward?! Du Lengning had never imagined that this was how Li Xuexiao saw him.

For a man, being looked down on by the woman he liked was a blow that could bring the heavens crashing down. Blood rushed to Du Lengning's head. Forgetting his quarrel with Luo Qian, he shot Li Xuexiao a fierce look and said heavily, "Fine! I'll stand here." Li Xuexiao realized she had misspoken, and a blush warmed her cheeks. Against her usual icy expression, that sudden flush lent her an unexpected charm. Du Lengning, blazing with anger, missed it, but Luo Qian saw it. He shook his head. So this girl Young Master Du fancies looks cold as ice, but deep down, she's a real temptress!

Luo Qian grabbed a handful of Jade Water Pills from his robe and stuffed them into Du Lengning's hand. "A beauty's worth cherishing, but your life's worth more," he whispered. "Take it easy. Don't throw your life away in the heat of the moment. There are ten Jade Water Pills here. Remember, when it matters, give one to the person in front of you. She'll remember you for it."

Du Lengning took the Jade Water Pills and glared fiercely at Luo Qian. Luo Qian gave an awkward smile and retreated of his own accord. Hiding behind the formation, he fanned himself with his sleeve. Now that Du Lengning's getting somewhere with Li Xuexiao, he won't drag me into that "Number Thirty-Five Development Plan" again, will he? Damn it, did playing games fry this brat's brain? How did he even come up with an idea like that?

"Fellow cultivators, the Eight Directions Heaven Formation is complete! Return to your positions at once. Together, we'll trap this Demon Beast until it dies!" Zuo Lingchuan called out. The experts who had been surrounding the azure light feinted with their magical treasures and Immortal arts, then swiftly dropped into the positions their sects had reserved.

Suddenly free of restraint, the azure light circled twice inside the Eight Directions Heaven Formation, as if it had yet to adjust. A moment later, it let out a piercing shriek and shot north in a streak of light.

A thick pillar of light rose from each of the eight directions. Formation positions lit up across the ground, sending streams of radiance along strange paths into a great net. A sheet of dazzling light soared upward as the net stretched between the eight pillars. The azure light slammed into the Golden Net, but the soft, yielding mesh easily absorbed the impact. It drove dozens of meters forward, only to be pulled back.

Another shriek rang out. Refusing to give up, the azure light chose a new direction and tried to break through. But the Eight Directions Heaven Formation held firm. For all its overwhelming strength, it could not break the formation and escape. Growing frantic, it shrieked more and more often, each cry more wretched than the last. Standing behind the formation, Luo Qian's ears rang from the piercing noise and his fingers went numb. He backed away several steps, cursing inwardly. Damn this Tribulation Immortal body. I really need to train properly from now on. If I can get hurt just watching a battle, how am I supposed to make a fortune from wars?

While his thoughts wandered, the azure light inside the formation suddenly paused. Then it abandoned its futile attempts to escape and attacked one of the pillars instead.

Everyone in the Eight Directions Heaven Formation changed expression. The formation was no secret in the Immortal Realm; almost every sect had practiced it. They all knew its weakness lay not in the Golden Net, which looked as frail as silk, but in the pillars of light, which looked so sturdy.

The strands of the Golden Net were as fine as hair, but there were so many that even a powerful enemy could not break free. There were only eight pillars, however, and their purpose was not to trap the enemy but to anchor the net. Compared with ordinary Immortal Formations, those eight pillars were already remarkably sturdy. Even so, the Demon Beast had found the formation's weakness in no time. Its intelligence was astonishing, and it would be hard to deal with!

Concentrating its attacks on one pillar would put tremendous pressure on the sect supporting it. That was the formation's flaw: the others could not come to its aid. Most Immortal Formations with fixed positions worked this way. Once their members took their places, they could no longer move.

The Demon Beast was far cleverer than anyone had imagined. Having seen through the formation's weakness, it did not simply hammer at one pillar. Instead, it swept around the formation and struck every pillar once. At last, it found the weakest point: the southwest corner.

More than sixty people had come from the Distant Hall, including two senior uncles, but its force consisted mainly of young disciples. Their strength could not compare with that of the other seven great sects. With a single round of testing, the Demon Beast had found the formation's weak point.

Thud, thud, thud... A string of azure fireballs struck the pillar one after another. The Azure Flame blasted layer after layer of light from its surface. "Hold firm, everyone!" Li Xuexiao shouted. The disciples in the formation each formed hand seals, pouring spiritual power into the ground beneath their feet. Golden light flowed into the pillar thread by thread, and the pillar, which had just grown noticeably thinner, returned to its former size.

A pair of black-and-red eyes suddenly opened within the azure light and stared coldly at the people of the Distant Hall. If Li Xuexiao's icy gaze was cold as snow, these eyes were cold as the Nine Netherworld Yin Wind! There was not a trace of life in them, nor did they seem to be looking at living beings. To those eyes, everything before them was merely an obstacle. Whether that obstacle was a mountain, a great river, or a group of Immortals made no difference.

The people of the Distant Hall cast no reflection in those eyes.

"Hiss—" The azure light suddenly opened a huge mouth lined with fangs and spat out an enormous blue-red fireball. The instant it appeared, the temperature around it shot up by more than ten degrees. Even Luo Qian, several thousand meters away, felt a wave of heat wash over him. The air shimmered like rippling water under the sudden shifts between cold and heat.

"Watch out!" Cries of warning rose all around, aimed at the people of the Distant Hall. But those facing the fireball directly needed no warning. Li Xuexiao and the two senior uncles shouted together, mustering every bit of their Immortal Aura and pouring it into the formation. No matter what, they had to preserve the pillar.

The blue-red fireball flashed into the pillar and vanished. This is bad, Li Xuexiao thought. Before she could react, an incomparably powerful force surged through the pillar, passed through the formation, and struck the people of the Distant Hall directly.

At the Formation Core Position, Li Xuexiao bore the brunt of the blow. Her whole body shuddered, and she took a step back. The moment she left her position, the entire formation shook. The pillar swayed on the verge of collapse.

The three people at the Auxiliary Positions fared little better. The disciples behind them swayed as though drunk.

Du Lengning felt as if a Steel Hammer larger than his body had slammed into him. He grunted, and two streams of blood wormed out of his nostrils. He had already tucked a Jade Water Pill into his mouth. Now he hurriedly swallowed it and slipped in another, just in case.

When he looked up, the formation was already wavering. Li Xuexiao had left her position!

If the formation broke, the Demon Beast would burst through at their position. With its strength, not one of the Distant Hall's elite disciples who had come here would likely make it back alive! Alarmed, Du Lengning forgot all propriety between men and women. He reached out, pressed his hand against Li Xuexiao's back, and pushed her one step forward.

The Formation Core steadied, and the formation became stable again. The people of the other sects finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Xuexiao's cheeks were flushed pink, not from embarrassment but from a serious internal injury. In that moment of crisis, she had no time even to wonder who had pushed her from behind.

"Hiss—" The Demon Beast opened its mouth again. Azure fangs, like a shark's teeth, lined its jaws all the way down its throat. It stretched its great maw as wide as it could, then spat out a blue-red fireball even larger than the last.

Boom! There was no trick to the blow, only a collision of raw strength. The Demon Beast's unusual method of attack gave the people of the Distant Hall no chance to match techniques with it. They could only stand rooted in place and defend while it bombarded them again and again.

Pfft! Blood sprayed around the Formation Core—not Li Xuexiao's, but Du Lengning's.

Du Lengning's hand was still against Li Xuexiao's back. The mighty force traveled through her body and along his arm into his own. Because Du Lengning had shared the impact, Li Xuexiao's injury was less severe than before. He was not so fortunate. Blood burst from his mouth, and even the Jade Water Pill he had been holding there went flying, who knew where. Energy rampaged through his body. He hurriedly swallowed two more Jade Water Pills and barely managed to suppress his injuries. But the energy within him remained unstable. A faint scorching heat lurked in the force that had invaded his body, burning at his Immortal Aura. His legs went weak. His heart tightening, Du Lengning quickly swallowed another Jade Water Pill.

The Jade Water Pills were not especially potent. Seeing that the Demon Beast still had not relented and was preparing a third blast of azure fire, Du Lengning thought for a moment, then stuffed three more Jade Water Pills into his mouth.

(Second update. Chanting spells and drawing circles to summon votes...)