Ye Xiu was startled, throwing his arms out to casually sweep his sword, unleashing Sword Sweep of the Universe, managing to brace against the stone wall directly above him. Little did he know, Yu Li’s figure was still embedded within the stone. With another flick of his horsetail whisk, projectiles shot out from the rock once more.

“Not good.” Ye Xiu had tasted the projectiles before, but he knew the same trick wouldn’t fell a Saint. He dodged easily, yet this evasion made him neglect the adjacent wall, causing him to be violently slammed down from mid-air. Just as he was about to crash onto the ground, he planted one hand down and instantly rolled, finding the exit of the Du Gate, flipping sideways into the Xiu Gate.

“Young Master Ye, barging through the gates like that is unwise, haha!” Yu Li burst into laughter as the pursuit situation became overwhelmingly favorable.

Ye Xiu knew the principles of the Eight Formations: entering and exiting required passing through the gates controlled by the formation setter to break it. However, Yu Li’s formation was merely a variation of the Eight Formations, requiring no strict sequence. The critical necessity was to pass through all eight gates before the external array changes triggered by the stone walls could take effect, or else he would be hopelessly trapped.

And now, within the Xiu Gate, there was a mountain of blades.

Ye Xiu went from dizzy to light-headed. This time, entering the Xiu Gate felt like plummeting straight down, as if he had entered Hell itself. Looking down, his vision was filled with the tips of blades glimmering with cold light—an undeniable mountain of blades.

Knowing there was no footing in this gate, Ye Xiu inverted his posture mid-air, head downward, and slid in that direction. Just as he was about to plunge onto the razor tips, he tapped the ground with his Heaven’s Will sword, executing Mozi’s sword move Maple Red Autumn Separation, using the resulting sword energy to rebound his body upwards.

“Haha, Young Master Ye, enjoy the view!” Before Ye Xiu could catch his breath, Yu Li pressed his attack relentlessly from above. Rows of stone walls descended along with his sinister laughter, attempting to seal off the path Ye Xiu planned to traverse through the air.

Ye Xiu knew approaching the walls was impossible, yet this path was undeniably the only way to break the gate. So, he brandished Heaven’s Will, wildly slashing in a frenzy of movements, executing Sword Raise and Fluttering Wind, attempting to slow the descent of the stone walls ahead. This move proved effective; under the buffeting force of the Fluttering Wind sword technique, the forward stone walls actually hovered in mid-air. Ye Xiu inwardly rejoiced, then unleashed another Maple Red Autumn Separation in the opposite direction to boost his own speed.

Yu Li hadn't anticipated Ye Xiu’s sword strikes would be so swift as to effectively halt the falling stone. So, he swung his horsetail whisk backhanded, summoning another volley of projectiles to impede Ye Xiu’s assault. At this moment, Ye Xiu couldn't worry about defense; he continued hammering the walls with his sword strikes. Consequently, the projectiles, lacking an obstacle, sliced solidly across Ye Xiu’s body—another round of blade-wounds leaving him flayed and bleeding. “Agh!” Ye Xiu grit his teeth against the intense pain and continued swinging his sword at high speed, finally breaking through the mountain of blades and plunging into the Sheng Gate.

“Hoo…” Inside the Sheng Gate, it was deathly silent. Ye Xiu knelt heavily on one knee, gasping for breath. Strangely, he couldn't hear his own ragged breathing.

Ye Xiu slowly looked up, only to find himself encircled by stone walls. Within each section of wall was Yu Li’s cold, stern smile.

This? Ye Xiu tried to speak, only to find that no matter how wide he opened his mouth, no sound emerged.

Just then, he felt a stabbing pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw a stone spike had pierced deep into his body beside him. No sound, no warning—in utter silence, a spike had injured him without a trace.

Ye Xiu reached up to cover the wound that bled ceaselessly, heightening his vigilance against the surrounding walls. Yu Li’s expression remained cold and stern, yet Ye Xiu couldn't sense an attack coming from any direction.

Agh! Ye Xiu screamed internally and collapsed onto one knee again. One of his feet had been struck by one of Yu Li’s projectiles, instantly gushing blood. Ye Xiu grew agitated. He knew the Eight Formations were designed to stall and confuse the enemy, aiming for the supreme state of subjugating foes without a fight. But he hadn't expected this Daoist Yu Li to inject such insidious stone walls into the formation. This ordinary Eight Formation had become incredibly perilous. The key difficulty was that the Sheng Gate he currently occupied was entirely covered in stone walls, leaving no clue as to the location of the next gate.

As Ye Xiu hesitated, another projectile shot out from the stone wall before him. Ye Xiu attempted to deflect it with his sword, but found his speed was insufficient; as his sword began to rise, the projectile sliced across the hand holding the sword, leaving it bleeding profusely.

Damn it! Ye Xiu was already riddled with wounds. He struggled to stand, rapidly spinning his body to monitor all directions. The Heaven’s Will in his hand now seemed to sense the surrounding killing intent, and it began to draw blood from Ye Xiu’s hand again.

Here it comes again? Ye Xiu felt a wave of helplessness. If he had previously found Heaven’s Will’s bloodlust 'cool,' he now felt a distinct fear of the sword. With his own ability, he should be able to fully master this sword, yet these recent life-or-death battles had turned him entirely into Heaven’s Will’s slave.

At this moment, the purple cold light emanating from the Heaven’s Will sword flickered gently. Ye Xiu casually swung it, deflecting the stone wall in front of him. As he leaped into the air and turned, intending to sweep back with a thrust toward the rear wall, he suddenly discovered that the Jing Gate was exactly where he was standing. Countless projectiles rained down upon him like flower blossoms. He closed his eyes and silently recited the sword incantation, “Heaven’s Will • Flowing Stream.” The purple aura erupted like a cascading waterfall, instantly drowning all projectiles before him. Even the composed, stern-faced Yu Li within the rear wall was startled out of his stance.

With a loud crash, the Sheng Gate fell silent again. Ye Xiu sprang into the next position, the Jing Gate.

The purple light wrapped around the blade of Heaven’s Will grew increasingly dense, and Ye Xiu’s temper grew correspondingly more volatile. Inside the Jing Gate, however, was an ocean of fire and lava, which had already stained his face crimson. Ye Xiu sucked in deep breaths, observing his surroundings. He stood on a sheer cliff face, below which churned a sea of fiery lava. Rocks from the cliff crumbled intermittently, instantly vanishing upon touching the sea of fire. The opposite side of the cliff was the exit of the Jing Gate, but the distance was simply too far for one person to cross easily.

“Young Master Ye, how is your lightness skill?” Yu Li’s voice descended ceaselessly, accompanying the infinite stream of falling stone walls that were destroyed in the sea of fire. He was confident that even without his direct interference, Ye Xiu wouldn't be able to pass through such a formation.

“Hmph, you wait to die,” Ye Xiu gasped, letting out a sneering laugh. Heaven’s Will had almost completely drained his blood. He licked his lips and shouted, “Heaven’s Will • Wind Raise.” Following that shout, a gentle breeze stirred above the cliff. He did not stop moving; he continued to elevate Heaven’s Will above his head, making small pauses with the sword tip at five distinct points. After marking the five pause points, they suddenly connected in the air to form a black five-pointed star. With two sharp swishes, the gentle breeze from before intensified and converged into a powerful current rushing toward Heaven’s Will. Ye Xiu gently pointed Heaven’s Will toward the sea of fire and leaped down without hesitation.