He Yang frowned.
Xie Yunyi's warning before leaving resurfaced in his mind.
The agility Chu Yunfei displayed when he seized the spiritual medicine also made him feel extremely uneasy.
However, Qin Hao had already given the order, and Yin Hanmei and Yue Chenzhou were the first to attack. If the Cangyun Sect retreated at this moment, the previous alliance would be completely broken.
He Yang had no choice but to draw his sword and lead the remaining disciples to occupy various parts of the underground palace.
Seven azure beams of light rose from various parts of the underground palace, connecting with each other to form a hundred-foot-long net of Sword Qi, completely enveloping the area where Chu Yunfei was located.
A pressure that sealed off the Divine Sea and stagnated the meridians descended upon them.
Upon seeing this, the surrounding cultivators retreated.
Two Puppet Sect, four Divine Sea Realm battle puppets and corpse puppets, plus the Cangyun Sect -Locking Sword Formation.
This lineup is enough to surround and kill a Divine Sea Realm Middle Stage expert.
Chu Yunfei was all alone; it seemed like a dead end for him no matter how you looked at it.
A leader of a second-rate force affiliated with the Cangyun Sect couldn't help but sneer:
" Chu Yunfei is too arrogant. If he had fled with all his might as soon as he got the spiritual medicine, he might have been able to save his life. But he insisted on staying and provoking the two sects. Does he really think the secret realm is the Jingyuan Hall?"
Another cultivator nodded in agreement. "Back in the Jingyuan Hall, everyone was at the Heavenly Origin Realm. Now, who hasn't stepped into the Divine Sea? Holy Maiden Yin's three corpse puppets have drunk the blood of countless experts of the same realm. How dare he be so arrogant? Today, he is destined to be annihilated, soul and body!"
Listening to the flattery and gossip around him, Qin Hao finally felt most of the anger in his chest subside.
That cowardly bitch Xie Yunyi dared to publicly call him an idiot and say that staying would be suicide!
After he kills Chu Yunfei here and seizes the Seven-Transfusion Soul-Concentrating Flower and all the secrets on Chu's body, he will return to the sect and see who is the true backbone of the sect!
" Chu Yunfei, don't you like to show off?"
Qin Hao stood outside the sword formation, longsword in hand, his face filled with resentment. "Without the protection of the Pill Pavilion experts today, this Holy Son will see how many breaths you can withstand under the corpse puppets and the sword formation."
Wu Changge's face suddenly darkened, and crimson blood rose from his body.
" Qin Hao, it's one thing for you to gang up on us, but to even use a sect's sword formation? Do you really think my Divine Martial Sect doesn't exist?"
He took a step forward, ready to charge into the battlefield.
Wu Mingyue did not stop her.
With a flick of her wrist, the silver spear locked onto the core of the Cangyun Sect's formation.
Xiao Yihan and Si Yunshu both drew their swords.
The Supreme Elder personally instructed that he should help Chu Yunfei as much as possible in the secret realm.
Now that the Cangyun Sect and the Puppet Sect have joined forces to besiege them, they absolutely cannot stand idly by.
"Brother Chu, leave the Puppet Sect's corpse puppets to me and Junior Sister Si."
Xiao Yihan's silver sword intent rose, and he said in a deep voice, "Brother Wu's physical body is strong enough to tear open the core of this Cangyun Spirit-Locking Formation. You only need to restrain Yin Hanmei and Yue Chenzhou. In today's encirclement and kill, they will not gain any advantage."
Si Yunshu had already walked to Chu Yunfei's right side, and the wave-like sword aura around the longsword slowly rose up.
"Leave Qin Hao to me. After the battle at the Jingyuan Hall, his Dao heart was in turmoil. Even though he has reached the Divine Sea Realm Second Layer, he cannot unleash his full strength."
Dozens of disciples from the Heavenly Edict Sect and the Divine Martial Sect simultaneously drew their weapons, their terrifying spiritual pressure converging in one place, making the air in the entire underground palace thick and sticky.
Both cases were decided simultaneously.
What was originally a one-sided, seemingly insurmountable situation was instantly turned into a draw.
Zhao Manshan and the other Rogue Cultivator exchanged glances and silently gripped their swords tightly.
Although they were wary of the two sects' power, Qin Hao's previous actions of summoning monsters and harming people had already aroused public anger. If a major battle really broke out, they would not hesitate to stab the Cangyun Sect in the back.
Anger flashed in Yin Hanmei.
" Xiao Yihan, Wu Changge, this is a treasure-hunting dispute between my Puppet Sect and Chu Yunfei. If you insist on interfering, you will be creating a deadly feud for your respective sects!"
Xiao Yihan did not back down at all.
"The struggle for the secret realm depends on individual ability, as you yourself just said. Now that Brother Chu has taken the spiritual medicine, you've joined forces with the Cangyun Sect to besiege and kill him, and you still want others to turn a blind eye? How laughable."
Wu Changge snorted coldly.
"Fight if you want. Who are you trying to intimidate with your sect? If my Divine Martial Sect were afraid of your Puppet Sect, we wouldn't have stood up."
The spiritual energies of the two sides collided.
The stone slabs in the underground palace could not withstand this immense pressure, and cracks spread rapidly.
Just as a chaotic battle involving four sects was about to erupt, Chu Yunfei suddenly raised his hand.
"Brother Wu, Brother Xiao, Saintess Si, I appreciate your kindness."
Chu Yunfei's gaze swept over Yin Hanmei, Yue Chenzhou, and Qin Hao, and he said calmly, "However, these people are here for me, so I will deal with them personally. You don't need to interfere."
Wu Changge paused.
He knew Chu Yunfei was very strong, but he didn't expect that the other party was prepared to face the combined attack of two sects alone.
"Brother Chu, these corpse puppets all possess the combat strength of the Divine Sea Realm Fifth Layer, Cangyun Spirit-Locking Sword Formation can suppress the Divine Sea. It's too risky for you to deal with them alone. There's no need to refuse to help for the sake of saving face."
Wu Changge spoke with utmost seriousness.
In his view, a martial artist can be warlike, but he cannot knowingly lose and die for a moment of passion.
Xiao Yihan also frowned.
"Brother Chu, if you're worried about implicating the Heavenly Edict Sect, there's no need to. Grand Elder Qin personally instructed that once you enter the secret realm, the Heavenly Edict Sect and you will be friends, not enemies. Our actions now represent the sect's own choice."
Chu Yunfei shook his head slightly.
"My refusal is not out of fear of owing favors, nor is it out of concern for saving face."
He slowly placed his right hand on the hilt of the Abyss-Devouring Sword, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"It's just killing a few worthless bastards, why bother others to get involved?"
The underground palace suddenly fell silent.
The next moment, a great deal of angry shouts erupted from both the Cangyun Sect and the Puppet Sect.
"Arrogant!"
"You dare to spout such nonsense even when you're about to die!"
" Holy Maiden Yin, tear his mouth apart! Skin him alive, tear out his tendons, and refine him into the lowest-ranking pathfinder zombie slave!"
Qin Hao's smile turned sinister.
" Chu Yunfei, you've asked for your death!"
"When you're kneeling on the ground like a stray dog, begging for mercy from this Holy Son, let's see how Xiao Yihan and Wu Changge will save you then."
Yue Chenzhou stood at the back, his face gloomy, but he did not join in the shouting.
He knew that Chu Yunfei wouldn't put him in a deadly situation for no reason.
However, given the current situation, even if Chu Yunfei breaks through to the Divine Sea, he has absolutely no chance of survival against this all-encompassing encirclement.
Unless, he possesses a trump card that defies all logic!
"Pretending to be something you're not, no matter what you're hiding, in the face of absolute power, death is the only outcome!" Yue Chenzhou sneered inwardly.
At the edge of the battlefield, Situ Shuang'er, dressed in white, coldly watched the black-clad youth locked in by the sword formation.
Her slender fingers gripped the Ice Soul Sword, unconsciously tightening their hold even further.
"That bastard, still so arrogant..."
Situ Shuang'er gently bit her thin lips, her chest rising and falling slightly.
There was clearly a safest way to break the deadlock, but they chose this dead end.
But remembering her mother's stern instructions before she left, the three-colored spiritual energy that had just calmed down in her body quietly began to circulate again along her meridians.
"Arrogant and conceited, he deserves to suffer."
"Let you be beaten half to death by the corpse puppets, and when you are in utter despair, I will draw my sword to save your life... In this way, I will have repaid the debt of gratitude owed to the Chu Clan back then."
Situ Shuang'er's eyes were cold and clear. She was determined to stand aside and wait for the best moment to draw her sword.
In the center of the underground palace, Yin Hanmei could no longer tolerate this contempt, being treated like dirt.
"Since you are so determined to die, I will grant your wish!"
She flicked all ten fingers at the same time.
Dozens of puppet threads arrived in front of Chu Yunfei first, piercing his shoulder, wrist, knee, and dantian respectively.
These puppet threads are made of special soul metal, which is not only tough and sharp, but also can invade the sea of consciousness along the meridians once they pierce the body, briefly controlling the cultivator's physical body.
Three black-armored corpse puppets followed closely behind.
Black blades clashed, and the corpse energy condensed into a massive net that sealed off the surroundings.
The Cangyun Spirit-Locking Formation also completely deactivated at this moment.
Seven beams of azure light vibrated simultaneously, and Sword Qi pressed into Chu Yunfei's body along the ground, attempting to seal his dantian and Divine Sea.
Everyone was watching Chu Yunfei.
Some people are hoping he'll be pierced through by the puppet's silk.
Some people were already preparing to rush forward and snatch the storage ring after he was seriously injured.
Some people secretly shook their heads, convinced that this newly rising prodigy would eventually pay the price for his arrogance.
Chu Yunfei stood still until the puppet threads were within three feet of him before slowly raising his eyelids.
The Boundless Creation Scripture operates.
His dantian Divine Sea trembled slightly.
The azure Sword Qi that had invaded his body shattered instantly.
Immediately afterwards, a powerful spiritual force was released from Chu Yunfei's body.
Divine Sea Realm First Level!
Dark gold spiritual energy transformed into a shockwave that swept across the surroundings, causing the first dozen or so puppet threads that approached to be deflected and all of them to pierce the ground.
A gasp of surprise rang out from inside the underground palace.
" Divine Sea Realm?"
"He actually stepped into the Divine Sea Realm?!"
"Just half a month ago in the Jingyuan Hall of the Imperial City, he was only at the Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer. In just half a month, he broke through four levels and even crossed the insurmountable chasm between the Heavenly Origin Heavenly Origin and the Divine Sea Realm?!"
"How is this possible? Is he a monster?!"
Qin Hao's sinister smile froze for a moment.
He used countless resources from the Cangyun Sect, and after reattaching his severed arm and cultivating diligently for half a month, he finally advanced from the Heavenly Origin Realm Ninth Layer to the Divine Sea Realm Second Layer.
Chu Yunfei was previously only at the Heavenly Origin Realm Fifth Layer, but now he has caught up to the Divine Sea Realm First Level.
This speed ignited a burning jealousy within him that nearly turned into a venomous fire.
Situ Shuang'er also contracted, and her delicate body trembled slightly.
She possessed the Nine-Colored Imperial Phoenix Physique and had refined the Vermilion Bird Divine Pill, which enabled her to make rapid progress.
Chu Yunfei... what makes him think he can keep up with me?!
Just as everyone was in shock, a ruthless look, almost twisted, appeared on Yin Hanmei's face.
So what if he's Divine Sea Realm First Level?!
Even against a corpse puppet at the Divine Sea Realm Fifth Layer, it's still a piece of trash that can be crushed with a flick of the wrist!
She stared intently at Chu Yunfei and gave a stern order.
" Puppet Sect, heed my command!"
"Give him your full strength and kill him to feed his corpse!"