Chapter 9: Bloody Battle on Hanxiu Peak (Part 2)
One after another, hideous ghost heads lunged towards the Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation, bringing with them dark winds and Evil Qi, advancing in endless waves. In an instant, the Formation began to shake.
A crimson light flashed, and a several-zhang-tall Vermilion Bird flapped its wings in the center of the Formation. As soon as it appeared, the air temperature suddenly rose significantly, and the surrounding fire-elemental Spiritual Qi surged madly towards it.
Following the command of the Formation's operator, the Vermilion Bird circled in the air, then inhaled sharply. The large amount of fire-elemental Spiritual Qi caused its body to expand by another circle, and it charged towards the densest concentration of ghost shadows.
The weaker, more ethereal ghost heads were directly dispersed into a wisp of green smoke by the Vermilion Bird's charge, but the sheer number of ghost heads was too great. As soon as one group was destroyed, another immediately surrounded it.
Each time the Vermilion Bird flapped its wings, countless sparks would shoot out, landing on the ghost heads and causing them to ignite fiercely, like adding oil to a raging fire. However, after several times, the Vermilion Bird's form noticeably dimmed. At this rate, its fire-elemental Spiritual Qi would be exhausted before all the ghost shadows were burned away.
This Hundred Ghost Night Travel Spell was a reduced version of the Core Formation Spell, Myriad Ghost Howl, performed by two Foundation Establishment cultivators and dozens of Qi Refinement Stage Disciples, working together with Formation Flags. The number of ghost shadows summoned was far more than a hundred.
A blinding white light flashed, and a White Tiger suddenly leaped out, its Killing Intent soaring to the heavens.
With a tiger's roar, sharp white light shot out from the White Tiger's body. Countless ghost shadows were pierced through, and at the same time, an unfortunate masked black-clad Cultivator was also struck, letting out a wail as a bowl-sized hole appeared directly in his stomach. He was basically beyond saving.
"It's actually a complete Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation! This Bai Family is truly rich!"
The older of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators snorted upon seeing this scene. "A High Grade second-tier mountain-guarding Formation can support a small Sect and serve as its facade. Chen Shidi, the information from the Sect didn't mention anything particularly noteworthy about this Bai Family, did it?"
"Just ordinary. Not among the few Families we need to avoid. These Cultivation Families are the most afraid of death; it's not surprising they spent all their Spirit Stones on a Formation."
This Chen Shidi was a bit shorter, and his voice sounded like a broken gong. "Senior Brother Shen, luckily I was quick, I wiped out the neighboring Family and still had time to support you. Otherwise, you alone wouldn't have been able to break this Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation, and you'd have been punished by the Sect Leader upon returning."
"Stop babbling. Use the Profound Yin Evil Qi bestowed by the Sect Leader before we set out to break this grand Formation. I'll split half of the Cultivator souls here with you!"
"Alright, Senior Brother's command, your Junior Brother naturally obeys!"
This Chen Shidi had already collected more than a dozen Cultivator souls when he previously annihilated another Cultivation Family. If he could replenish himself here, he would be able to condense a new Hundred Ghost Banner upon returning.
Demonic Path Cultivators often have Spells and treasures that accompany slaughter. Once they enter the Demonic Path, their progress is remarkably swift.
However, perhaps this practice is not favored by the Heavenly Dao. The Realm Bottlenecks for Demonic Path Cultivators are several times harder to Breakthrough than for Righteous Path Cultivators, and they are extremely prone to developing Heart Demons, making it difficult for them to walk the true Dao.
It is these various restrictions that have allowed the Righteous Path forces in the Liang Country Cultivation World to consistently suppress the Demonic Path.
Although the Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation was troublesome, it was not taken seriously by the two Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment cultivators. If there were a Cultivator of the same Realm presiding over this grand Formation, the two would turn around and leave without a word, but a group of Qi Refinement Stage Cultivators were merely chickens and dogs.
If it weren't for the fear of prolonged delay leading to unforeseen changes, there were at least five or six ways to easily break the Formation.
The two separately took out a jade bottle, and with a flick of their Spell seals, two streams of dark, refined Evil Qi sprayed out. As they wrapped around the Formation Flags, all the ghost heads seemed to have consumed a potent tonic, becoming full of vigor.
The leading ghost heads had already developed clear facial features, and their forms rapidly solidified from being as ethereal as mist, even condensing various weapons in their hands.
These two streams of Profound Yin Evil Qi were condensed by a Core Formation Demonic Cultivator using a special Demonic Technique, equivalent to containing the refined magical power of a Core Formation True Person, and had a huge effect on several Demonic Path Spells of the Ghost Spirit Sect.
With the replenishment of the two streams of Profound Yin Evil Qi, the Hundred Ghost Night Travel's power increased several times over.
Under the leadership of those few leading ghost shadows, the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger were completely at a disadvantage, their forms shrinking more and more.
Fortunately, the Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation flickered twice, and a Black Tortoise appeared in the northern corner, slowly crawling; with a Dragon's roar, the Azure Dragon emerged, accompanied by the sound of wind and thunder.
With all Four Symbols displayed, the Formation had been pushed to its absolute limit.
At the core hub of the Formation on Hanxiu Peak, the Second Elder's eyes were bloodshot as he removed twelve dim Mid-Grade Spirit Stones and replaced them with new ones. In this short time, the Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation had devoured over fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, like a bottomless pit of a gold-swallowing beast.
The Second Elder's heart was bleeding, for the fallen Family, and also for the Spirit Stones accumulated by the Family over a hundred years being used up in an instant, equivalent to over five thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones already consumed.
"There are only twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones left. Low-Grade Spirit Stones simply cannot sustain the speed at which the Formation draws power... Everyone listen to me, once the Spirit Stones are exhausted, inject your own magical power into the Formation core. Every extra second we hold on is good!"
"Yes, Elder!"
Bai Zichen's hand, gripping the ironwood crossbow, was drenched in sweat. It was his first time seeing a battle between Cultivators, so dazzling yet so dangerous.
Whether the mountain-guarding Formation could hold Hanxiu Peak, his heart fluctuated with the changing situation, like being on a rollercoaster.
"It seems... it's blocked?"
The Vermilion Bird exploded, the White Tiger scattered into starlight, the Black Tortoise crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces of stone. Only the Azure Dragon emitted a dazzling light, breaking through the hundred ghosts and overturning more than a dozen Formation Flags before slowly disappearing.
As the Formation Flags were destroyed, the remaining ghost heads lost their source of power, instantly becoming barely visible, melting like snow into wisps of green smoke as sunlight shone through the overcast clouds.
Bai Zichen hadn't even had time to celebrate his Family's powerful Formation when he saw the ghost shadows descend again, this time with several sky-reaching banners covering the sky and obscuring the sun. The Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation only lasted a few breaths before, like a fragile eggshell, a crack appeared, then a second, a third... until it utterly disintegrated with a roar.
"The Formation... is broken..." Bai Zichen said with difficulty, the feeling of going from heaven to Hell in an instant was precisely this.
Without the Four Symbols Heavenly Origin Formation to block it, a foul, bloody stench immediately squeezed in, threatening to drag the last pure land in the Bai Family's territory into Hell.
"Hundred Ghost Banner!" The Grand Elder gritted his teeth and stood up. The broken Formation did not make him lose confidence and wait for death. "Everyone, proceed as planned!"
Looking at the charging masked black-clad Cultivators, Bai Zichen bit his tongue hard and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone, crossbow fire!"
On the high platform, several crossbow bolts shot out crookedly, but soon, hundreds were fired in unison, a continuous rain of arrows sealing off a small area of space.
The two fastest charging masked Cultivators were shot full of holes, not even uttering a groan before losing their lives.
The second row of masked Cultivators had time to react. Only one person was hit by two arrows, spurting two blossoms of blood and rolling aside, losing combat effectiveness. The others were unharmed.
"Change crossbows!"
The used ironwood crossbows were directly discarded, and new crossbows, already loaded with bolts, were picked up from the ground. After a brief aim, another volley was fired.
However, one burly masked Cultivator conjured a shield like a door panel. As he held it in front of him, countless crossbow bolts only made a clanging sound against its surface, unable to leave even a single mark.
"Mortal Disciples retreat to the back mountain, all Cultivators enter the storeroom!"
Bai Zichen threw away the ironwood crossbow in his hand and ran desperately towards the storeroom. This was the final plan that the Grand Elder had arranged beforehand.
In a short while, Hanxiu Peak was already suffering heavy casualties. The Bai Family Cultivators were inferior to the Sect Disciples in terms of combat experience, Cultivation Technique, and Magical Artifacts, often requiring three or four people to deal with one. And those mortal Family members, a single Fireball Technique would incinerate more than ten people into charcoal.
A slight breeze swept across Hanxiu Peak, and the scent of blood filled the entire peak. The clashing of Magical Artifacts, shouts, and curses mingled together, and people fell every moment.
Dismembered limbs were visible everywhere on the ground, some belonging to the black-clad masked Cultivators, but more belonging to the Bai Family.
Perhaps because he was too young to be noticed, Bai Zichen successfully rushed into the storeroom deep within the bamboo forest. Inside, there were already more than ten Family members, and on the ground lay the Second Elder and others who had collapsed from exhaustion after injecting their magical power into the grand Formation.
"My life, is it really protected by this small stone door...?"