To Master Shi Ming’s eyes, even with the addition of the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast, it would only buy Zhang Pinglu a moment of respite; the situation remained perilous.

The combined strength of five Great Perfection masters was far more than a simple sum, especially since Li Jianyi and the others had cast aside their caution and were attacking with full force. If not for the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast aggressively engaging them with suicidal intent, Zhang Pinglu would likely have suffered a fatal, severe injury under the first combined strike!

Bang! Thud! Thud!

Protected by that thin golden sheen preventing total collapse, Li Jianyi and his cohorts attacked without reservation. Zhang Pinglu and the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast formed a joint defensive line, shielding Zhang Yang!

The exchanges between Great Perfection masters were saturated with primal heaven-and-earth energy; colliding energies resulted in continuous explosions underground, akin to several energy blasts detonating simultaneously. The entirety of Kunlun shuddered, the tremors growing stronger with each passing moment!

The major sects camped outside Kunlun trembled in fear, while within the Long Family Plain, Long Feng and Long Haotian led the Long family disciples outside their palace, their gazes fixed upon the location where the Ten Thousand Year Flat Peach grew. Though they lacked Great Perfection strength, they understood that only those few masters could cause such a massive disturbance!

The battle beneath the forest had already reached a fever pitch. Minutes bled into one another, yet the Old Master was still alone. Although a Great Perfection spirit beast was helping to alleviate some pressure, the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast, too, was heavily wounded.

“Not good, stop Zhang Yang quickly!”

Suddenly, Li Jianyi locked eyes on Zhang Yang and roared!

Zhou Gu, Hua Feitian, and Zhang Hefeng all turned toward Zhang Yang, instantly comprehending his actions!

After distributing his spiritual medicines to the three great spirit beasts, Zhang Yang began arranging several unassuming, small wooden sticks around himself! Merely placing a few sticks had managed to deflect the energy explosions resulting from the clash between the Great Perfection masters. What did this imply?

“It’s the Tai Chi Rods!”

Zhang Hefeng, the Great Perfection master from Wudang, gasped. Seeing the residual energy blasts being effortlessly blocked, he recognized the wooden rods in Zhang Yang’s hand for what they truly were!

Despite Zhang Yang’s current weakness, using mere sticks to deflect the aftermath of Great Perfection combat could only mean one thing: the Tai Chi Rods, ranked third on the Divine Weapon List.

He was intimately familiar with formation-based divine weapons like the Tai Chi Rods; after all, Wudang’s Two-Pole Swordplay and Four Images Fist Techniques were derived from insights gained from the Tai Chi Formation by the Wudang Patriarch. The Tai Chi Formation naturally required eight Tai Chi Rods, and the sticks Zhang Yang held—each about twenty centimeters long—totaled exactly eight!

These eight Tai Chi Rods were themselves Wudang’s supreme treasure, tragically lost during the invasion of China by foreign powers a century prior. Although rumors claimed the Hu Yan family had recovered them, the Hu Yan family had never confirmed it.

“The third-ranked Tai Chi Rods! Damn it, is Zhang Yang setting up the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation?”

The Li family of Shushan housed a genius in formations, meaning Li Jianyi was not ignorant of their secrets. Observing the manner in which Zhang Yang laid out the eight rods, he knew Zhang Yang had been preparing a defensive formation all along. He had long heard that the eight Tai Chi Rods could enact sixty-four different formations, covering all aspects—offensive, defensive, and even natural energy-manipulating formations. The most famous and powerful among these was undoubtedly the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.

From the start of his setup until this moment, Zhang Yang remained wholly absorbed in placing the eight rods, suggesting the formation he intended was far from ordinary. From the incomplete setup, Li Jianyi sensed that Zhang Yang was definitely aiming for the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.

The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation could be used both offensively and defensively. The immense concentration of heaven-and-earth energy and spiritual qi underground would only magnify the formation’s power. If Zhang Yang succeeded, wouldn’t all their efforts amount to naught?

“Hahaha!”

Seeing Zhang Yang setting up the formation with the Tai Chi Rods, the Old Master could no longer restrain his laughter. Once Zhang Yang completed the array, he could retreat into it to recover undisturbed—no one could touch them then. At that point, the Medical Saint Zhang Family would truly be invincible!

Li Jianyi and the others, realizing the implications of a successful formation, foresaw the danger: if they failed to eliminate the Medical Saint Zhang Family today, who would bear the wrath of the family in the future? The Great Perfection masters panicked. They had to temporarily abandon their goal of slaying the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast and the Old Master, shifting their focus to breaching the defensive line and reaching Zhang Yang!

“Di Wanfang, hurry and take Zhang Yang’s life!”

Seizing a brief opening, Zhou Gu suddenly roared at Di Wanfang. He had noticed that Zhang Pinglu and the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast were primarily focused on the four of them, leaving the severely injured Di Wanfang with the weakest defense. Di Wanfang certainly wished he could, but the Old Master Zhang Pinglu and the spirit beast protected Zhang Yang too tightly. Although his defense was weak, he currently found no gap to slip through. He simply couldn't reach Zhang Yang yet!

“Then I’ll do it!”

Li Jianyi roared, flashing forward, directly bypassing the spirit beast that was trying to entangle him, intending to charge Zhang Yang. But the Old Master would not allow it; the Cold Spring Sword immediately blocked his path!

“Di Wanfang, hurry and take Zhang Yang’s life!”

However, Li Jianyi’s action was a deliberate diversion to draw Zhang Pinglu away. At that moment, Zhou Gu flashed past, seizing the chance to move behind the Old Master, blocking his retreat path, and then shouted at Di Wanfang!

The two of them were coordinating to create an opportunity for Di Wanfang to strike Zhang Yang! Di Wanfang, still weakened by his severe injuries, had ironically become the target least guarded against by Zhang Pinglu and the spirit beast! Now, Hua Feitian and Zhang Hefeng were successfully pinning down the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast, while Zhang Pinglu was completely blocked by him and Li Jianyi, unable to return to help Zhang Yang. Thus, the weakest link, Di Wanfang, finally had an opening to sneak attack Zhang Yang!

“Shameless!”

The Old Master realized Zhou Gu’s intent and could no longer focus on Li Jianyi. He immediately turned, trying to break free from Zhou Gu, but Zhou Gu offered no such chance! They were all Great Perfection masters; their energy clones were evenly matched. Zhou Gu had calculated Zhang Pinglu’s movements precisely, intending to keep him locked down here.

Di Wanfang finally found his chance. With a maniacal laugh, he slipped through a gap in the defense exposed between the Great Perfection Three-Eyed Beast and Zhang Pinglu, emerging in front of Zhang Yang. In his hand, he held a slightly deformed, fan-shaped divine weapon.

Zhang Yang was clearly not finished setting up the formation. Even if the fan-shaped weapon was damaged, it was forged from Extraterrestrial Tungsten Stone, making it incredibly hard—more than enough to kill Zhang Yang!

“Hahaha, Zhang Yang, you never expected to see this day, did you!”

Reaching Zhang Yang, Di Wanfang mocked him arrogantly, his pale face contorting into a savage mask. The fan-shaped weapon in his hand was the one whose struts had been damaged by Zhang Yang’s Cold Spring Sword back in the Long Family Plain. Di Wanfang planned to use this slightly damaged fan to slay Zhang Yang, both to humiliate him and to avenge that single strike from the Long Family Plain!

“Yang Yang!!!”

Seeing Di Wanfang charge forward, the Old Master lost all composure. At that instant, Li Jianyi and Zhou Gu seized the opportunity, striking him with a palm and a kick, sending him skidding far across the ground. Even the Cold Spring Sword was knocked aside.

Pfft!

The Old Master spat out a mouthful of blood. Li Jianyi and Zhou Gu had clearly not held back. To take a kick and a palm from them and not die instantly was already a stroke of luck. The Old Master was utterly stripped of his fighting capability, yet he couldn't concern himself with his wounds. He lifted his head, looking toward Zhang Yang. Knowing he was gravely injured and could no longer protect Zhang Yang, the Old Master could only pray internally that the Tai Chi Rods would prove effective in Zhang Yang’s hands—even a simple defensive formation would be enough to save Zhang Yang’s life!

“Hahahaha, die, Zhang Yang!”

Di Wanfang raised the fan-shaped weapon high, and visible, pale white motes of heaven-and-earth energy instantly adhered to the weapon before he brought it down savagely toward Zhang Yang’s head! The cold wind howled, the energy surged! The fan weapon struck forward relentlessly. Di Wanfang’s face was contorted with excitement at the imminent sight of Zhang Yang’s head shattering like a watermelon.

Until that very moment, Zhang Yang kept his head bowed, meticulously placing the final few Tai Chi Rods around him, not sparing Di Wanfang a single glance. Just as the fan-shaped weapon was about to strike Zhang Yang’s head, his pupils constricted violently. He snatched up one Tai Chi Rod and plunged it fiercely into the final designated position!

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion erupted. The pale white heaven-and-earth energy swirling around the fan weapon suddenly detonated, and Di Wanfang’s face changed drastically. He realized with dread that his weapon could not descend any further, much less smash Zhang Yang’s skull. It turned out that a wave of energy released from the Tai Chi Rod in Zhang Yang’s hand had instantly connected with the other seven rods the moment Di Wanfang attacked, forming a thin shield of energy. Di Wanfang’s fan had slammed into the exterior of this shield, triggering a massive energy blast.

Zhang Yang raised his head. A cold sneer touched his pale face. The residual shockwave of the explosion did not affect him at all, positioned as he was within the formation.

“Did you really think you had the ability to kill me?” (To be continued.) No Pop-up Novel Network