The twin pearls in the summit erupted with an intensely blinding five-colored light, momentarily freezing the Golden Core cultivators in the hall with wide, stunned eyes.
This radiance lasted only for the span of a breath. When the light faded and Ye Qin’s vision cleared, he looked around to find himself standing in a vast, boundless, scorching desert.
Rolling sand dunes stretched to the horizon, one after another, while sharp yellow winds howled over their crests. Beneath the sun’s fiery glare, the hot sand churned, making the air stiflingly heavy.
“Where is this place?!”
Ye Qin was greatly startled.
“No, this is a restrictive formation!”
After a moment of disorientation, Ye Qin snapped sharply back to awareness.
He had just been in the main hall of the ancient temple; in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly transported to this endless desert. He must have fallen into an illusionary formation; everything he saw was merely phantoms generated by the array.
Understanding his predicament, Ye Qin couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
The mysteries of immortal formations were profound; without decades or even centuries of dedicated study, one could not grasp even the rudiments. Cultivators like Shi Hanyang, who understood various formations, mechanisms, and esoteric arts, were exceedingly rare in the cultivation world. Most cultivators focused solely on advancing their immortal techniques.
He already felt pressed for time with just his cultivation practice; how could he spare the energy to delve into formations? Naturally, he had no idea how to break free from this illusory array.
Ye Qin had no clue which direction to take to reactivate the grand formation.
As he hesitated, a sudden chill shot down his spine, and a spine-tingling sense of mortal danger surged toward him.
Ye Qin reacted instantly, slamming down on the flying sword beneath his feet. Pouring his magic power into it, he flashed sharply to the left, forcibly shifting dozens of zhang away. Simultaneously, with a sweep of his right hand, the Golden Crow Glorious Light Sword flared brilliantly, hacking decisively toward his rear. With a ch’ih ch’ih sound of tearing hide, it seemed to have struck something.
Only then did he whirl around to look behind him.
“Hoo!”
A gust of foul, golden wind swooped like lightning from where he had just hovered, landing with a thud on the sand. It was a monstrous wolf, nearly ten feet long, covered entirely in golden fur.
Its dense golden coat concealed razor-sharp claws, and its gaping maw reeked hideously as it snarled furiously at Ye Qin.
The demon wolf sported a gash several feet long along its flank, deep enough to expose bone. The only strange thing was that the wound was visibly knitting itself closed at a discernible pace.
“Golden Sand Wolf, a rank-eight Golden Core level demonic beast. Its healing speed is incredible; that last strike limited its damage. However, its defense is only average.”
Ye Qin stared coldly at the Golden Sand Wolf, his eyes chilling as if he were looking at carrion.
He opened his mouth and spat out four streams of light: the Golden Crow Glorious Light Sword, the Yellow Sky Deep Dust Sword, the Southern Bright Lihuo Sword, and the Heavenly Silk Sound Sword—four Nascent Soul flying swords blazing with power, circling around him.
With a flash in his hand, Ye Qin gripped the Water Shell Spirit Pearl and the Pink Mist Magic Pearl in his left and right hands, respectively.
When a cultivator encountered a demonic beast, there was no need for dialogue; there was only battle.
“Aoo!”
The Golden Sand Wolf, missing its strike, lunged wildly at Ye Qin again. But before it could get within several dozen zhang, it was intercepted by the four formidable Nascent Soul flying swords.
The Golden Sand Wolf roared and struggled left and right, trying to break through the interception.
Four dazzling rays of light danced, sealing off all space. Under the full force of their slaughtering power, even a Golden Core demonic beast like the Golden Sand Wolf could only howl once within the span of a few breaths before being sliced into a pulp of gore by the four swift lights.
The resulting sludge dissolved into specks of spiritual energy, vanishing into the desert without leaving a trace.
Ye Qin watched these changes with cold eyes, thinking inwardly, “This is indeed a restrictive formation. That sand wolf was a beast formed from condensed spiritual energy, not a living creature. I wonder how many such materialized Golden Core beasts are inside this array. If the number isn't too high, the danger shouldn't be too great. The biggest problem is how to get out of here.”
Just as Ye Qin was conjecturing, unsure what to do, countless specks of spiritual light began to appear across the desert spanning dozens of li around him.
Streams of starlight-like brilliance materialized throughout the desert within a radius of several dozen li, gathering and constantly transforming, coalescing into various demonic beasts.
Demonic beasts materialized from thin air across the sands—flying in the sky, running on the ground, burrowing beneath the surface—an exhaustive array of monstrosities. Once these fierce illusory beasts appeared, they spotted Ye Qin suspended in mid-air and immediately roared, charging toward him.
“Golden Feathered Condors, Golden Sand Wolves, Golden-Tailed Scorpion Demons—all aggressive, Metal-attributed demonic beasts, uniformly rank seven or eight, Golden Core level and above. Although their ranks aren't excessively high, their sheer numbers are overwhelming!”
Ye Qin gazed out, truly shocked.
He dared not remain rooted in place.
If he were caught within the siege of these materialized beasts, his only path would be death.
Stepping onto the Dark Cloud Barrier, he commanded his artifact to fly swiftly, transforming into a dark streak of rainbow light that shot toward the heavens.
Ye Qin avoided entanglement with the ground and subterranean beasts, but the sky was also filled with Golden Core flying demonic beasts, and there were quite a few of them.
Ye Qin’s face turned grim and icy; he held nothing back. His magic power surged forth, and the four Nascent Soul flying swords spun rapidly around him like a meat grinder, slaughtering every Golden Core aerial beast that attacked him.
The Golden Crow Glorious Light Sword unleashed a piercingly sharp and brilliant golden light that shot straight through the heavens, unstoppable under its sheen.
The Heavenly Silk Sound Sword vibrated, emitting seductive immortal melodies that left the demonic beasts dazed and infatuated.
The Southern Bright Lihuo Sword unleashed dancing fire crows, engulfing the sky in a sea of flames that even extended hundreds of zhang in every direction around Ye Qin, dyeing the desert sky a blood-red hue. Within this radius, every beast had to endure the burning of the Samadhi True Fire, which was incredibly hot.
The Yellow Sky Deep Dust Sword, heavy as a mountain ridge, solidly blocked the path between Ye Qin and the Golden Core aerial beasts. Even a late-stage Golden Core beast, striking at it with its full might, would—
Wherever Ye Qin flew, the Golden Core demonic beasts exploded in sprays of flesh and blood, feathers scattering wildly, dyeing the sand dunes crimson before they dissolved back into fragmented spiritual energy.
However, the beasts in this formation desert were inexhaustible.
Ye Qin flew hard for over a hundred li, slaying more than ten Golden Core aerial beasts. Yet, he saw even more beasts manifesting within the desert.
“This won’t work; the aerial beasts here are simply too dense. If this continues, my magic power will eventually run out. I might just perish here today.”
Ye Qin grew anxious.
He dared not get entangled with the ground forces. After slaughtering more than ten Golden Condors, Golden Eagles, and Golden Rocs in the air, once the aerial beasts within his sight were swept clean, he steered the Dark Cloud Barrier and flew with all his might in one direction.
“This formation—where is its edge? Which way should I go?”
Ye Qin’s anxiety deepened.
His Purple Mansion still held a substantial reserve of spirit wine to replenish his magic power, allowing him to hold out forcefully for a considerable time. But as long as he did not leave this grand array, the spirit wine would eventually be depleted.
“Ah!”
While flying, Ye Qin probed the surroundings with his divine sense and suddenly detected something. He saw a faint golden light flying swiftly toward him from the due north, arriving before his eyes in a blink.
Ye Qin reached out and snatched the golden light. It was a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman. Opening it, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
The swiftly flying Dark Cloud Barrier abruptly veered in mid-air and shot toward the north.
In the distance, he saw the silhouette of a graceful woman in violet robes and another woman in yellow robes, both caught in the frantic pursuit and encirclement of seven Golden Core demonic beasts and monsters.
Five top-tier flying swords formed a small sword array guarding the two women, and a magical sash emitting yellow hazy light was fully engaged in resisting the entanglement of those beasts.
The two women, under siege by the beasts, looked panicked and extremely distressed.
Three massive Golden Core condors, dozens of zhang in size, continuously dove at them from the sky, preventing them from flying away. The four terrestrial beasts—demonic tigers and wolves—made rapid retreat on the ground impossible.
These two female Golden Core cultivators were none other than Zhou Yao and Liao Xiaozhang.
“Sister Yao, seven Golden Core demonic beasts have caught up to us. What should we do?” Liao Xiaozhang said anxiously.
“Don’t worry, I already sent a signal using the emergency transmission talisman of the Purple Sword Palace to Brother Ye. It can transmit even within an array. He should be here to meet us soon. My Grand Five Elements Formation can hold off these beasts for half an hour. Can you still manage, sister?”
After speaking, Zhou Yao tightly pursed her lips.
“I’m fine. Brother Ye should be within about three hundred li to the due south. Brother Jin should be to the southeast, about three or four hundred li away. Sister, after we rendezvous with Brother Ye, we should immediately look for Brother Jin and Brother Pan Shuang.” Liao Xiaozhang replied.
“Mm, Brother Ye has the strongest power. With him here, our chances of survival are the greatest. I just hope Brother Jin and Pan Shuang can hold on,” Zhou Yao said quickly.
“Let’s hope so!” Liao Xiaozhang murmured with some worry. If their situation was this difficult, they could imagine how perilous the circumstances of Jin Zhongshan and Pan Shuang must be.
As they spoke, they exerted all their strength to shake off the beasts and moved quickly toward the due south.
At that moment, a sharp aura swept in from the southern horizon.
Swoosh, swoosh.
Four immensely powerful Nascent Soul flying swords descended with great might, plunging toward the ring of demonic beasts.
The Golden Crow Glorious Light Sword flashed, completely severing one wing of a Golden Feathered Condor. The Golden Core condor instantly lost balance and plummeted heavily to the ground with a mournful cry.
The twenty-plus zhang Yellow Sky Deep Dust Sword swept across, slamming a great condor over a hundred zhang away. The Southern Bright Lihuo Sword descended, plunging into the chest of another Golden Core condor, and the Samadhi True Fire burned it alive into ash.
The Heavenly Silk Sound Sword circled the last condor, which was already groggy from the immortal melody, and cleanly severed its head.
In the span of a few breaths, the three Golden Core condors in the sky were annihilated by the four Nascent Soul flying swords in quick succession, leaving no more aerial beasts to attack them.
Zhou Yao and Liao Xiaozhang were overjoyed. They launched their own flying swords and soared up, escaping the encirclement of the ground beasts.
“Brother Ye, you’ve arrived! Thank you so much for stepping in, Brother Ye; otherwise, Sister Xiaozhang and I would not have escaped.” Upon seeing the four Nascent Soul flying swords appear, Zhou Yao knew Ye Qin was present, and her expression was one of excitement, her cheeks flushed with eager delight.
Liao Xiaozhang was equally thrilled; Ye Qin had arrived even faster than she had anticipated.
“Let’s finish off these remaining beasts first,” Ye Qin said coldly, hovering in the air, fully controlling the four Nascent Soul magical artifacts to attack the remaining four Golden Core demonic beasts.
“Mm,” Zhou Yao quickly nodded.
With Ye Qin present, the combined strength of the three Golden Core cultivators increased dramatically, and they swiftly eliminated the remaining demonic beasts.
After killing all the Golden Core beasts nearby, Ye Qin immediately landed. He sat down cross-legged, drank spirit wine, and meditated to recover his magic power.
The Golden Core beasts within a dozen li radius were all here, and since they had been wiped out, none would materialize again for a short time. Zhou Yao and Liao Xiaozhang did not dare disturb Ye Qin.
“Miss Zhou, Miss Liao, why are you two here? Where are Jin Zhongshan and Pan Shuang?” Ye Qin asked, slightly bewildered.
There were thirty or forty Golden Core cultivators from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance trapped within the array, yet he had encountered Zhou Yao and Liao Xiaozhang first, and they were so close to each other.
A distance of several hundred li was only a short journey for Golden Core cultivators.