"Worm digging? What good is that? Even if it has some bizarre use, I don't see any for myself," Qu Wuhui said cautiously. What was this fellow plotting now? Why such a strange wager?!

"I have no use for earthworms either! It's just a bet, nothing more..." I just want to see your sorry sight with your rear end up digging for worms," Jiu You Shishao said airily. "Don't you want to see me dig for worms?"

"Fine! I’m taking you on today, I’ll bet with you!" Qu Wuhui gritted his teeth. "I don't believe this bunch is lucky enough to win two rounds straight! Let’s make one thing clear, Brother Fourteen, if you lose, you’re not allowed to renege!"

"Anyone who reneges is a turtle's son and a bastard!" Jiu You Shishao chuckled wickedly.

"It’s settled! Whoever reneges is a turtle's son and a bastard!" Qu Wuhui snarled through clenched teeth. "I can’t beat you in a fight, but you think I can’t win a bet against you? Shishao, just wait to be digging for worms with your backside up!"

"I look forward to it just as much. Let’s see who ends up digging for worms!" Jiu You Shishao stood with his arms crossed, looking entirely confident.

Beside them, Qiao Ying and Cheng Yinxiao found the situation utterly hilarious: Was this the legendary world’s foremost madman, Jiu You Shishao? And was this the Tian Sheng Palace guardian, Zong Yi Kuang Dao Qu Wuhui? They looked no different from two overgrown children.

As they spoke, the two teams in the arena had already clashed. Almost at the very moment they charged toward each other, swords and blades were drawn simultaneously—flashes of steel and glints of light filled the air!

But everyone noticed that as the five figures in black moved, they were staggered, moving one behind the other, yet maintaining an equal distance between each other. If one observed these five closely, they would realize the footwork was imbued with rhythm; one person occupied each cardinal direction: East, West, North, and South, with one in the center. The distance between any two of them was exactly the same, without the slightest deviation!

The formation was instantly complete. Then, with a unified shout, the five burst into a full sprint. Except for the one in the middle who remained stationary, the four figures covering the four directions simultaneously broke into powerful strides! But their steps were not forward lunges; instead, they began running in circles vertically, orbiting the person at the center!

While everyone watched in astonishment, the long swords of the five white-robed Saints converged into a rushing torrent, surging forward!

On the sidelines, Qu Wuhui’s mouth dropped open, muttering, "Another bizarre formation! Could it be..." His previous certainty began to waver at this moment!

Only Jiu You Shishao, whose lips curved into a faint, knowing smile that no one else could see, seemed completely unsurprised.

The sound of clanging metal erupted instantly. While the four men on the periphery engaged with all their might, they maintained a pattern of touching and immediately withdrawing. A Saint from the Holy Land struck out at the one positioned due East, but before he could retract his sword, his opponent, who moments before had been due South, was suddenly before him, his great saber already transformed into a flash of lightning ready to cleave down! Just as he dealt with the current assailant, another saber swept down toward his head!

Almost simultaneously, each of the five Saints of the Holy Land felt as if they were being simultaneously assaulted by four frenzied enemies! It was clearly a five-against-four situation, so why did they all possess the distinct feeling of fighting alone, of facing four opponents each? Where were their comrades?

The enemy formation was like a vast, endless arc, utterly impregnable. Each fighter moved as slippery as an eel, impossible to pin down, yet every strike they launched was as ferocious as a hungry leopard!

The more Qu Wuhui watched, the uglier his expression became, for he clearly saw the five Saints from the three Great Holy Lands gradually slipping into a disadvantage! And the large man in the middle, who served as the central pivot for the four corners, hadn't moved an inch from beginning to end!

Damn it! How could this be? The situation was clearly five against four, so why were they losing ground?!

Jun Moxie was smiling, and Mei Xueyan’s expression was relaxed; both seemed exceptionally at ease.

Formations, truly, were marvelous things! They could allow the weak to defeat the strong. Even when the objects deploying the formation were human beings, slightly diminishing the effect, the unimaginable power remained!

The Five Elements Array!

That was the name of the formation utilized by those five individuals! The five positions represented the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, corresponding to East, South, West, North, and Center! This formation had only just activated; it hadn't truly begun harnessing the five elements of heaven and earth yet. Once the formation operated for a while and the gathered qi accumulated to a certain degree, it could mobilize the elemental forces in the air, either supporting or overcoming each other, perfectly integrating them into the battle...

The five black shadows gradually coalesced into a sphere of rotating black light; the five white-robed Saints of the Holy Land, despite possessing vastly superior combat power compared to their opponents, were like tigers trying to eat the sky—they had nowhere to land a blow! Completely disadvantaged, they could only passively defend, growing increasingly frustrated!

No one expected this battle to reach this stage again; the situation was a mirror image of the previous fight!

Qu Wuhui was miserable, watching himself inevitably face the prospect of digging for worms. He kept muttering, "Stupid! If you can’t fight on the ground, why don’t you jump into the sky? Are your Qinggong skills just for show? They are incredibly dense..."

Jiu You Shishao glanced at him sideways, his spiritual sense meticulously observing every detail of the fight. Suddenly, a strange expression flickered across his face, but he immediately concealed it and remained quietly silent.

Qiao Ying, however, keenly noticed the expression on Jiu You Shishao’s face and remarked mildly, "Brother Fourteen, did you discover something else?"

Jiu You Shishao shook his head, pondered for a moment, and said, "I did notice something, but... I can't figure it out, I just can't figure it out..."

Just as Qiao Ying was about to press him further, she heard a gasp from the crowd. Looking up, she immediately understood what Jiu You Shishao meant by 'can't figure it out': because she herself had also noticed the core of the issue, yet she too couldn't grasp the solution.

It turned out that just a moment ago, seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the five Saints of the Holy Land level simultaneously let out a long cry. Just as Qu Wuhui had suggested, they all took flight! All five shared the same thought: Once in the high altitude, they would immediately merge their bodies with their swords, striking down from above, willing to suffer severe injuries just to hack these five damned wretches into mince meat!

But then, something unexpected, even utterly bizarre, occurred...

As they ascended, the five opponents rose with them. Even while airborne, their formation remained entirely unchanged. The opponents seemed to take flight without expending any effort whatsoever...

Seeing the look of shock on the five faces, Jun Moxie opposite them was immensely satisfied: Idiots, this battle has long evolved into one where your own qi is driving them! No matter how you move, they can effortlessly follow by borrowing your momentum. They are perfectly using your strength to attack you!

Whether on the ground or in the sky, the result is the same! On the ground, you at least had terrain to shift your footing, but now, suspended in the high heavens... you have no room to maneuver. The five members of the Can Tian Shi Hun group, positioned within the array, can completely rely on your strength to hover; they don't need to exert themselves at all! The higher they go into the air, the faster this battle will conclude! They brought about their own defeat; they have no one to blame but themselves! A bunch of fools!"

Indeed, the higher they rose, the further the true power of the Five Elements Array unfolded, pressing down on the five first-tier Saints of the Holy Land until they could barely breathe, let alone unleash any desperate ultimate moves!

Suddenly, the airborne formation shifted again. Of the four figures who had been merged into a single black torrent, one suddenly separated first, revealing a dazzling golden brilliance. Immediately after, another broke away, emitting a faint green glow from its entire form. The third was an azure blue, sweeping across the sky, while the fourth was fiery red, resembling a blazing fire burning high above!

The person in the center shone with a brilliant, dazzling yellow light!

The five figures radiated immense light, finally preparing their next move!

The Five Elements gather, heaven and earth move; the array heart emerges, ghosts and gods weep!

In an instant, the yellow light from the center burst forth first, accompanied by a vast saber aura. The leading white-robed Saint, who was exerting all his effort to fend off the siege from the other four, was suddenly caught off guard by this unexpected strike from the side. He recoiled in alarm, but their intertwined qi had already formed an unbreakable link; how could he escape?

His retreat served only to focus the combined attacking power of the other five onto himself. In that instant, five sabers—from East, South, West, North, and Center—descended simultaneously! Five saber auras, heavy as mountains, pressed down together!

He only managed to let out one long, piercing scream before being struck simultaneously by all five sharp blades!

A single white figure instantly disintegrated into more than a dozen shattered pieces, spattering the blue sky with large patches of crimson blood as they plummeted from the heights!

The moment he fell, the five beams of different colored light did not stop. They merged into the most dazzling rainbow and advanced directly toward the remaining four! Mountains of saber light overlapped layer upon layer, like the surging waves of the Yangtze River, like the rising tide of the ocean!

"Kill!" The five roared together. Clumps of blood exploded in the sky like brilliant fireworks during the Lantern Festival. Only, these fireworks were burning life—the life of Saint-level experts!

By this point, the outcome of this battle was decided!

The Three Great Holy Lands were powerless to change fate!

Qu Wuhui’s face was ashen!

This is terrible...

With a series of wet splats, Hai Wuya and He Zhiqiu closed their eyes almost simultaneously, their facial muscles twitching... These were the sounds of the corpses of the Holy Land masters turning into minced meat as they fell from the sky!

The entire field was silent. In the first battle, the opponents had won without a scratch, which could be excused as a lucky victory due to conspiracy and the might of divine weapons. But this second battle... it was the same outcome. Was there any other excuse to find?

These were Saints of the Holy Land! First-tier Saints, five hundred years of arduous cultivation!