Zhou Yong's cultivation at the middle stage of the spirit transformation realm was no trifling matter. In that exchange of attack and defense, he proved no weaker than Jingbian Shihuang. Although his combat experience fell short of Jingbian Shihuang's, his reactions were swift.
A flicker of surprise crossed Jingbian Shihuang's eyes. This exchange revealed that Zhou Yong was considerably stronger than he had imagined, with quick reactions to match. He had failed to kill him outright.
Still, Jingbian Shihuang remained unruffled. His combat experience was immense. Seeing that he could not kill Zhou Yong quickly, he immediately roared at the Heaven-Severing Church disciples, "Kill them!"
At once, the thousand or so Heaven-Severing Church disciples between the two peaks outside the formation answered in unison, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Seeing the enemy launch an all-out assault, Zhou Yong's heart tightened. He understood that this battle was no longer merely a duel between two men. The enemy had come prepared, and they had to respond in the safest possible way.
"Heavenly Net Body Protection!" Zhou Yong shouted. An azure barrier flashed around him, enclosing his entire body.
Then the Top-Grade Flying Sword in Zhou Yong's hand shone with white light. Powerful fluctuations radiated from within that light as he concentrated all his power into the flying sword.
Meanwhile, Jingbian Shihuang finished his preparations. With a turn of his wrist, he traced a talisman before him. A talisman immediately appeared in the air, its surface marked with intricate patterns.
"Heaven and Earth Borrowing Technique! Earthly Fiend Returns to the Body! Slash!" Jingbian Shihuang roared, and the talisman vanished in an instant.
This was an extremely powerful incantation. Although cast with middle-stage spirit transformation realm cultivation, its power rivaled that of an incantation unleashed at the peak of the spirit transformation realm.
When Zhou Yong saw the talisman vanish inexplicably, he inwardly cursed. This Jingbian Shihuang actually knows how to borrow power! Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Yong swung his Top-Grade Spirit Sword.
"Heavenly Net Sword Formula! First Form!" Zhou Yong swept his sword, sending an azure streak of sword light slashing forward.
Boom! The azure sword light collided with Jingbian Shihuang's slashing incantation, producing a thunderous explosion.
Zhou Yong's body shuddered, and he was hurled backward. He only managed to steady himself after crashing into the sect's protective formation, then spat out a mouthful of blood. Many of his meridians had already snapped. Jingbian Shihuang's expression also shifted slightly. Although his cultivation was at the middle stage of the spirit transformation realm, he had just unleashed an attack with the power of the late spirit transformation realm. The fact that he had failed to kill Zhou Yong outright surprised him.
Zhou Yong realized that this squat little Jingbian Shihuang was indeed formidable. With middle-stage spirit transformation realm cultivation, he could unleash attacks at the level of the late spirit transformation realm. No wonder all the powers, large and small, along his path had been razed. Zhou Yong was already wounded and could not fight him head-on; he could only rely on the formation to deal with them. With that thought, before the Heaven-Severing Church could advance, he opened the formation and slipped back inside.
He immediately instructed the elders in charge of the formation to operate it at full strength, preparing to repel the enemy with it.
Jingbian Shihuang was preparing another attack on Zhou Yong when, to his surprise, Zhou Yong immediately retreated into the formation upon realizing he was outmatched. It infuriated him.
"Spineless coward! You have no backbone! Get out here and let your granddaddy chop off your dog head!" he screeched outside the formation.
After hurling abuse and receiving no further response from the Righteous Qi Sect, he immediately ordered the Heaven-Severing Church forces to attack the formation.
Although the Heaven-Severing Church had strength in numbers, the Righteous Qi Sect's protective formation was undeniably formidable. It completely withstood their attacks and still had enough power to strike back at the church disciples repeatedly. Disciples below the early stage of the out-of-body realm were knocked down from time to time by the formation's attacks, making Jingbian Shihuang howl with fury.
Within the Forbidden Grounds of the Rear Mountain of the Righteous Qi Sect, Li Dalong was explaining cultivation problems to Zhou Tianlong when he saw the sect's protective formation activate. He then watched the Heaven-Severing Church besiege the Righteous Qi Sect and witnessed Zhou Yong's battle with Jingbian Shihuang. Even when Zhou Yong returned to the sect wounded and directed the counterattack, he made no move.
However, he did not withdraw his divine sense, continuing to observe the situation and watch Zhou Yong's performance. As it happened, he had broken through to the mahayana realm a few days earlier. To him, these Heaven-Severing Church members were nothing but clowns hopping about, people he could crush to death with a casual pinch.
Outside the formation, seeing that his disciples' attacks were ineffective, Jingbian Shihuang immediately gathered several protectors and personally joined them in attacking a single point on the Righteous Qi Sect's formation, employing the tactic of piercing a point to break the whole. Once Jingbian Shihuang took action himself, the formation began to buckle. After each attack, its defensive power dropped rapidly, and its light began to dim.
Seeing that the sect's formation was about to break, Zhou Yong's heart burned with anxiety. Yet none of it showed on his face as he calmly encouraged the elders and disciples.
I wonder whether Senior Brother can handle this Jingbian Shihuang if he takes action. And behind the Heaven-Severing Church, there's an even stronger church leader, Zhan Tian. I hope Senior Brother can drive them back, Zhou Yong prayed silently.
Li Dalong had been watching the battlefield all along. Seeing that the sect's formation could no longer withstand the attacks after Jingbian Shihuang joined in and was about to break, he thought, The sect's formation is still a little weak. If I leave in the future, I'll have to help Junior Brother set up a better one.
Junior Brother has nearly exhausted his methods. I'll have to act myself to settle this. I can't actually let the Heaven-Severing Church break the sect's formation. If that happens, casualties among the disciples will be hard to avoid. It's about time to finish them off.
So Li Dalong drew a light breath, then spat out a word: "Scram!"
At that moment, outside the formation, Jingbian Shihuang was about to unleash his attack when he sensed a storm visible to the naked eye blowing out from within. Those who met the storm burst into blood mist the instant it struck them. The mist was then scattered by the storm and carried within it as it continued sweeping toward them. As more and more disciples burst into blood mist, the storm changed from colorless to pale red, then red, and finally deep crimson.
It took longer to describe than to happen. In that brief instant, anyone who met the storm, whether an elder at the early spirit transformation realm or a protector at the middle stage of the spirit transformation realm, turned into blood mist. It was utterly terrifying!
Jingbian Shihuang immediately marshaled all his spiritual power to cast a barrier around himself, then took out his Defensive Artifact and positioned it before him, attempting to resist. Just as he finished, a single word reached his ears, piercing his mind and soul: "Scram!"
In less than a second, his Defensive Artifact turned to powder, and his spiritual power barrier shattered. Seeing that his greatest defensive measures were utterly useless, Jingbian Shihuang cried out in despair, "No..." He had barely uttered that one word before he turned into blood mist and merged with the storm. It swept him thousands of miles away before dispersing among towering mountains and ridges.
Inside the Righteous Qi Sect's formation, everyone watching the battle was stunned. It was as though time had stopped within the sect; they stood frozen, mouths agape. A minute later, people began coming to their senses one after another, and a chorus of sharp gasps filled the air.
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