The little Sea Demon sped southwest. Li Qiang and Hong Qian, each dragging one person, were struggling to keep up. Nashan, his eyes glazed over by the fierce wind, ducked to avoid the oncoming gale and shouted, "Boss, slow down! Doesn't the little Sea Demon listen to you? Tell it to slow down!"
Li Qiang laughed and scolded, "Shut up! It's already flying very slowly. If it weren't for the two of you being as heavy as weights, keeping up with it would be effortless. If you keep shouting, I'll throw you off."
Nashan glanced down, his heart pounding. It was so high; everything on the ground looked tiny, making him feel weak all over. He dared not say anything more, but clung tightly to Li Qiang's arm, secretly vowing once again to learn to fly. The feeling of having control over someone else's actions was truly unpleasant.
Hong Qian flew close to Li Qiang and said loudly, "Uncle-Master, look!"
The little Sea Demon suddenly hovered in the air, letting out a soft cry. Li Qiang exclaimed in surprise, "Good heavens, there's actually a lake ahead!"
Nashan squinted, looked carefully for a while, and said, "Boss, what are those little dots on the lake? Look, that black mist in the middle is almost completely obscuring the water."
Li Qiang said, "Those small dots are flags. This is a Flag Gate Formation. I've seen a smaller one before, but this one is bigger." In truth, he had no confidence at all. The last time the Flag Gate Formation was broken, it was purely by chance. First, he burned one of the flags with Heavenly Fire, and then Ming Lingzi from Heavenly Halberd Peak used Law Treasure specifically designed to break Flag Gate Formation to break it. But this time, he really couldn't figure out what method he would use to break it.
Li Qiang said, "Let's go down to the side first, figure out a way to break through the Flag Gate Formation."
The four of them quietly landed in the wild grass far from the lake. Nashan collapsed to the ground, groaning, "My goodness, I'm so dizzy! I need to lie down and rest for a bit."
Paben remained silent, sitting cross-legged to practice his skills.
Hong Qian asked, "Uncle-Master, what kind of Flag Gate Formation is this?"
Li Qiang remained silent, closed his eyes, and released his Divine Sense. He discovered countless crisscrossing black threads scattered in the grass, becoming denser the closer they got to the lake. If they had walked there, they would have been entangled by these black threads.
Li Qiang opened his eyes and said, "That was close! Such tight security measures are rare." He then told everyone what he had just discovered.
Hong Qian laughed and said, "Luckily we came down from the air, otherwise they would definitely have discovered us."
Nashan lay on the ground, lazily saying, "Boss, when are we going up and kill them? Hehe, if there's no rush, I, Old Na, will take a nap first; my whole body aches."
Li Qiang said, "Lazybones! When you're tired, learn from Paben, sit and practice your exercises, and you'll feel better soon. That's when the exercises are most effective, you idiot!"
Nashan grinned, "Ugh, I hate practicing martial arts the most. Sitting there like an idiot, fine! Fine! Fine! I'll practice! I'll practice, okay?" Seeing Li Qiang raise his leg to kick, he hurriedly begged for mercy and reluctantly sat cross-legged to practice.
Hong Qian asked, "How do we break this formation? This Flag Gate Formation seems quite Evil Qi. Uncle-Master, have you made any new discoveries?"
Li Qiang sat down cross-legged and laughed, "It won't work today. It's getting dark, and the power of this formation should be even stronger at night than during the day. Let's wait until tomorrow to make our move."
Hong Qian glanced at the sky, then sat down cross-legged. "It wouldn't hurt to observe further."
Li Qiang sat in the grass, casually arranging a dozen or so crystals to form a simple defensive array, making it difficult for anyone passing by to spot them.
Li Qiang whispered, " Hong Qian, after things are over in the Western Continent, I'm leaving. Would you like to come with me? Perhaps we can return to Sealed Fate Planet and find your master someday."
Hong Qian sighed, "Uncle-Master, I'd love to go with you, but alas, I fear Master has already forgotten me."
Li Qiang asked in surprise, "How could you possibly forget your own disciple? Hong Qian, what are you thinking?"
Hong Qian plucked a blade of grass, chewed it, and a bitter taste filled his mouth. He murmured, "My master, Ming Zhiyuan... Alas, he left quietly, leaving me a note. Although he acknowledged me as Registered Disciple, he forbade me to go to him, otherwise he would disown me. Actually, I was just a servant who served him when he was cultivating here. I begged him relentlessly, and he took pity on me and acknowledged me as Registered Disciple in the note. How could I dare to go to him?"
His eyes reddened as he spoke. He glanced at Li Qiang, then lowered his head and said, "Ever since I met my martial uncle, I've felt both happy and worried. I don't know what to do next, sigh..."
Li Qiang was deeply moved upon hearing this. Both Zhao Hao and Hong Qian had endured countless hardships for the sake of cultivation. No wonder Hong Qian was so reserved when he first met him and insisted on calling him "Uncle-Master," while his disciple Kubo was much more casual.
His compassion welled up immediately, and he said, " Hong Qian, don't be sad, come with me. If your master doesn't acknowledge you as his disciple, hehe, I'll accept you." He didn't care how taboo it was to do so.
Hong Qian was completely stunned. He was deeply moved and said in a trembling voice, "Uncle-Master, ever since I met you, I've been uneasy, afraid that you would ignore an unknown junior like me. I really envy Senior Brother Zhao Hao; they have such a good master. Alas... Regardless of whether Master acknowledges me as Registered Disciple, I dare not and do not wish to disrespect him. If you are willing to help me, Uncle-Master, I am willing to follow you."
Li Qiang understood his meaning perfectly. He was unwilling to become his disciple because he felt it would be disrespectful to his master. Li Qiang nodded and said, "You haven't forgotten your roots, that's good. I don't care about titles. From now on, you will follow me in cultivating immortality, and you can be considered my disciple, passed down on behalf of Senior Brother Ming Zhiyuan."
Hong Qian's tears silently streamed down his face. Unlike Nashan, he wouldn't use flowery words to flatter him. He simply thought to himself: From now on, as long as my martial uncle says the word, I will do my best in whatever I do.
He quietly wiped away his tears and whispered, "Thank you, Uncle-Master."
At dawn, Li Qiang woke up from his nap. He opened his eyes, stretched, and looked through the weeds. The lake was still the same as yesterday, with black mist churning. He wondered what was inside.
Hong Qian also regained consciousness and asked, "Uncle-Master, has anything changed?"
Li Qiang shook his head. "Same as always. I plan to break it today. I'll attack, and you'll provide support outside. Remember, if I get trapped by the Flag Gate Formation, don't take any risks. Immediately head to the Ladu Kingdom to find my master, understand?"
Hong Qian immediately became anxious upon hearing this, "This will not do!"
"I can't break this formation, and neither can you. Don't worry, even if I'm trapped by the Flag Gate Formation, I'm confident I can protect myself, but I need backup."
Hong Qian knew Li Qiang was telling the truth. If even Li Qiang couldn't break the Flag Gate Formation, going up there would only be a pointless suicide, utterly useless. It would be better to seek reinforcements. He nodded and said, "Uncle-Master, I'll listen to you."
Li Qiang suddenly exclaimed, "Someone's coming!"
"Where?" He looked around but saw no one, though he heard faint footsteps. "Hmm, it sounds like there are quite a few people."
At this moment, Nashan and Paben also opened their eyes. Nashan rubbed his eyes hard and said, "Boss, so early..." Li Qiang put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
Paben leaned close to Nashan's ear and asked, "What's going on?"
Nashan shrugged and shook his head repeatedly, feeling utterly bewildered.
Hong Qian pointed to the side and whispered, "Damn it! They seem to be under a spell..."
Nashan saw it too, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Why do these people walk so strangely, with their arms and legs splayed out? Old Pa, don't you think so?"
Paben shuddered. He remembered a legend he'd heard back in his hometown. "Their hearts are gone; they're just walking corpses."
Hong Qian smiled wryly, "This kind of technique is beyond the capabilities of a spirit master; there must be someone even more powerful. Uncle-Master, what should we do?"
This group consisted of several hundred people of all kinds, each with a blank expression and a small wisp of gray smoke swirling above their heads. Their only common feature was that they were all burly men.
Leading the procession was a spirit medium, followed closely by two more spirit mediums. Most peculiarly, black yin energy patrolled back and forth on both sides of the procession, as if it were alive.
The little Sea Demon on Li Qiang's shoulder seemed very excited, as if it really liked the wisps of black energy. Li Qiang quickly calmed the little Sea Demon down, afraid that it would rush out without restraint.
As the procession drew nearer, an eerie atmosphere intensified. Nashan was extremely surprised and whispered, "Look where the procession has passed! My God, all the weeds have turned yellow and withered."
A winding yellow line appeared behind the group, standing out starkly against the lush green grassland. After this group passed, it seemed as if all life had vanished.
Li Qiang took a deep breath and said, "I plan to infiltrate the group and then act according to the situation. Hong Qian, be alert. If anything goes wrong, go to the Ladu Kingdom immediately. Nashan and Paben, you two are only allowed to watch, not touch anything, understand?" His last sentence sounded somewhat stern.
Nashan patted his Baldy. "Boss, I'm the most obedient, hehe."
Li Qiang glared at him and said, "You'd better listen to me! Hong Qian is keeping a close eye on him; that's the kid I'm most worried about."
Li Qiang tucked the little Sea Demon into his arms and stealthily moved forward. He didn't intend to directly join the group, but instead lay in ambush at the front. Gradually, the footsteps grew louder. Li Qiang carefully estimated the distance through the gaps in the grass; it was about fifty meters away. Li Qiang quietly burrowed into the soil and used his Earth Traversal Technique to sneak below the group.
Nashan was so nervous that his hands were sweating profusely. He gripped Paben's arm tightly, his eyes wide open.
Paben broke out in a cold sweat from the pinch and whispered, "Brother, it hurts so much! It hurts so much!"
Nashan was too nervous to hear, still clinging on desperately. Paben finally managed to break free, and in his anger, he really wanted to punch Nashan. Suddenly, Hong Qian said, "Good, Uncle-Master has infiltrated!"
Li Qiang quietly emerged from underground into the group, and sure enough, no one noticed. He imitated the people in the group, stiffening his body and moving forward with mechanical steps. He didn't move his head, but his eyes scanned the surroundings. Suddenly, he discovered an obvious flaw: the mist above his head was missing. Fortunately, the spirit masters were at either end of the group and hadn't noticed for the time being.
A short while later, the group stopped at the lakeside. Li Qiang knew his weakness, so he calmly burrowed underground and secretly released a wisp of his Divine Sense to investigate.
The people stood motionless. A spirit master held a small white flag and waved it several times. Each wave sent a ray of white light into the Flag Gate Formation. As the white light entered, the thick black fog swirling on the lake slowly cracked open, revealing a passageway. Li Qiang quietly slid into the lake from underground and discovered a wooden path underwater, only half a foot below the surface.
Under the guidance of the spirit master, the group formed single file and walked along the underwater wooden path towards the center of the lake.
Hong Qian and the other two watched the lakeside nervously. Nashan asked in a low voice, "Did any of you see the boss go in? Strange, I just saw him in the group, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye."
Paben rubbed his eyes, puzzled. "Huh? I feel like Master isn't in the group... I've been watching Master the whole time, and suddenly I can't see him anymore."
Hong Qian's cultivation level was far superior to theirs. He said, "It seems that my martial uncle has burrowed underground."
Nashan lowered his voice. "Brother, don't be ridiculous, the boss went underground... how could that be? You're kidding!"
Hong Qian said calmly, "What do you know, kid? This is Earth Traversal Technique... Do you understand? If you don't, don't talk nonsense."
Nashan nearly choked on his words, muttering, "What Earth Traversal Technique? Don't think I, Old Na, don't know anything about it." Aside from Zhao Hao and Li Qiang, he wasn't afraid of Hong Qian.
Hong Qian was too lazy to argue with him and said, "When the fight starts in a little while, you two don't move. Just wait here, understand?"
Nashan laughed and said, "Stop being so wishy-washy, I know." In his heart, he didn't take it seriously at all. It was impossible for him not to move. At that time, Hong Qian wouldn't have time to care about him.
"They've all gone inside," Paben said. The lakeside was now deserted, without a soul in sight.
Nashan said, "What do we do? Are we just going to wait here like idiots?"
Hong Qian nodded. "We must wait; we can't afford to panic now."
Nashan rolled over and lay on his back, stretching lazily and laughing, "I'm going to sleep now. Call me if you need anything, hehe, just relaxing... Hey! Look!"
Nashan pointed to the sky, and Hong Qian and Paben looked up and saw countless Sword-Ray flashing in the sky.
Hong Qian exclaimed, "So many cultivators!" He suddenly spotted a familiar face, leaped into the sky, and called out, " Divine Envoy Kaben!" Nashan and Paben also stood up and waved towards the sky.
Divine Envoy Kaben looked at Hong Qian in surprise at first, then suddenly realized what was happening and exclaimed with delight, "Our leader is with you! Where is he?"
Just as Hong Qian was about to speak, he heard someone shout from the side, "Wow, where's the Little Madman?" It was none other than Geng Feng, the Fengzi from Heavenly Melody City.
Hong Qian said, "My martial uncle has infiltrated inside. How did you get here?"
Divine Envoy Kaben ignored what he said and replied, "There's no time to talk about that now. We can discuss it after we break this Great Soul Refining Formation."
There were four groups of cultivators standing in the four directions: east, south, west, and north.
Hong Qian grabbed Geng Feng and said, " Nashan and Paben are down there. Let's go down and bring them up so we don't accidentally hurt them." Geng Feng was startled. He followed Hong Qian and quickly landed on the ground, picked up the two men, and rushed into the air again.
Upon seeing Divine Envoy Kaben, Nashan laughed and said, "Hehe, Lord Kaben, you're amazing..."
Kaben was completely confused by what he said and asked, "What's so great about it?"
Nashan laughed and said, "You can tell fortunes, right? You just happened to arrive at this time. Hehe, who are they?"
Kaben knew this guy never thought before he spoke, so he didn't argue with him and laughed, "They are cultivators from Heavenly Halberd Peak, as well as demon-slaying experts who came from other places."
Someone shouted, "Everyone, seal off all four sides! We're about to break through the formation!"
Geng Feng tossed Paben to the Divine Envoy Kaben and said, "You support him, I'm going down to fight."
Paben smiled bitterly to himself; among this group of people, he and Nashan had almost become a burden.
Divine Envoy Kaben his hand and released a blue light shield. Hong Qian had been saved by this thing in the Sea of Wronged Souls and knew it was a valuable Law Treasure. He pushed Nashan into the shield, and Nashan patted Paben on the shoulder, saying, " Old Pa, don't we look like little Sea Demon locked in a cage? Hehe, but it seems pretty safe."
Geng Feng's eyes lit up with excitement, and the flying swords around him gathered and scattered.
Hong Qian couldn't help but ask, "My lord, who set up the Soul Refining Formation below?"
Divine Envoy Kaben stared at the churning black mist on the lake's surface and said, "It's the Ancestor's Divided Spirit Devil Wand. We've broken many of these Soul Refining Formation already, but this is the largest one."
Hong Qian then asked, "Who is the Ancestor?"
Suddenly, lights shone from all directions. Divine Envoy Kaben announced, "It has begun! Everyone, prepare your flying swords!"
First, a pale blue light flew out from the eastern group (m. hetushu•com•com), soared over the lake, and landed in the west. The western group also sent out a light, but it was a pale green. The southern group sent out a pale golden light, and the northern group sent out a pale red light. The four lights intertwined and overlapped, illuminating the entire sky with a kaleidoscope of colors, like festive lanterns shining brightly.
Nashan exclaimed, "Wow, it's fucking beautiful!"
"Prepare the Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder!"
"Prepare the Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder!"
From the east, south, west, and north, four groups shouted almost simultaneously.
Divine Envoy Kaben shouted, "Everyone be careful!"
Nashan shook his Baldy curiously, unsure which way to look. These were all things he had never seen before, and he found them incredibly interesting.
Suddenly, the Great Soul Refining Formation on the lake surface changed, and countless black threads flew out. These black threads were like living things, quickly intertwining and weaving a net. In the blink of an eye, a huge, dark net completely covered the lake surface. Immediately afterwards, a large number of dense, dark blue flames flew out, making a "hissing" sound.
Someone shouted, "Everyone be careful! This is the Soul-Seizing Firefly Flame!"
These dark blue flames flew out of the giant net a short distance before suddenly transforming into countless small blue insects, trailing long trails of eerie fire behind them, and rapidly charging forward.
A dazzling flash suddenly appeared in the sky above the lake, flashing several times in succession, revealing the shadows of four rings, each a different color: blue, green, gold, and red, flashing with countless sparks of electricity. The illusory shadows of the rings rapidly expanded.
The eastern group shouted first, "Gathering Marrow Tremor! Heaven—Thunder—Rumbles!"
A beam of azure light, like a coiled azure dragon, spun and plunged downwards, causing violent tremors that seemed to ignite the air. The tearing sounds were terrifying, and the azure insects that touched the light vanished without a trace.
"Boom!"
The violent aura surged in all directions, uprooting the wild grass and soil by the lake. The giant black net could not withstand such terrifying power and was instantly torn open, leaving behind a huge hole. Flying grass, black mist, and mud filled the air, and the strange cries of shattered souls were even more terrifying.
The Tower-Subduing Heavenly Thunder truly lives up to its reputation as a peerless magic Law Treasure of Heavenly Halberd Peak; its single strike possesses such immense power.
Immediately afterwards, the western group shouted, "Gathering Curtain! Heaven—Thunder—Rumbles!"
Nashan exclaimed, "This thing is amazing! Damn, it's so cool! So cool! Haha!"
The group to the south also shouted, "Gathering Gold! Heaven—Thunder—Rumbles!"
The group to the north shouted, "A powerful tremor! Thunder rumbles in the sky!"
Even though Nashan and Paben were protected within the Law Treasure, the shockwave left them dizzy and their legs weak. Paben suddenly said, "Unfortunately, we're still lacking that final push."
Divine Envoy Kaben laughed, "The most powerful move hasn't been used yet. You'd better cover your ears, hehe, this is a rare sight indeed."
The thick black fog on the lake had thinned, and a small island could be vaguely seen in the center of the lake. However, the fog gradually thickened again as countless small flags were turned.
The four groups from the east, south, west, and north shouted simultaneously, "Star of the Tower, four interlocking rings! Heaven-Smiting Thunder! Heaven—Thunder—Move!" Four beams of light shot onto the suspended rings. All the cultivators in the air simultaneously flew upwards, leaving only the four groups that released the thunder.
Nashan and Paben stared in disbelief, realizing that this so-called "Heaven-Smiting Thunder " was incredibly powerful. Suddenly, Nashan remembered something and shouted, "Stop! Stop! The boss is down there!"
Divine Envoy Kaben's expression changed drastically; he knew that this Heaven-Smiting Thunder could not be stopped.