“Thank you for taking care of me over the last few days. It’s time I get going.” Ming Feizhen got up and wriggled out his body.
Ruisi had heard Ming Feizhen spout plenty of nonsense already. Therefore, she brushed his remark off as him spitting drivel again. “You can leave, sure, but you have to dismantle the formation first.”
“Sure.”
The casters’ brains couldn’t keep up with the madness that came out of Ming Feizhen’s mouth.
Once he was done with his mobility routine, Ming Feizhen asked, “Why are you taken aback? You trapped me to force me to break the formation, didn’t you? The sun rock disrupts my body’s balance, prohibiting me from utilising my internal energy. The only way to dismantle the formation is to ignore the balance and give myself up to the energy. That’s your plan, correct?”
“I see…”
“See what?”
“We were told that, if you refused to break the formation if you ever found yourself trapped, you must’ve seen through our agenda. I didn’t believe it, but I do now. You really are likely to be the person we’ve been searching for.”
Ming Feizhen tugged up a corner of his lips. “Well, your leader is a genius to come up with this idea. Your formation uses your casters’ life force as its foundation. Else, even with the sun rock’s aid, there’s no way you could’ve suppressed the energy inside me. Forcing me to break the formation indicates that you know everything.”
“… We do, indeed. If you think your words will deter us, you can save your breath.”
“I know that you know, and I know talking won’t get me out; however, at the very least, allow me to warn you once.” Ming Feizhen’s eyes turned red as though it was his will. “Undo it.”
As if he chanted a spell, a big cracked formed on the rock.
“Undo it!”
Sky Palace members were ready to lay their lives down for their sect if it was ever needed; even though his voice could knock the blood out of them, they refused to release the formation.
“Undo the formation! You all want to die?!”
***
Miguo leisurely rose to his feet, glowing the same crimson colour as Hua Qing’s chest. There was no need for him to rush when Wugou had knocked himself out due to blood loss; Wugou was consigned to hell even if Miguo didn’t touch him. Actually, many, many people at Shennong were in the same shape as Wugou. Hands in a pranam pose, Miguo quietly recited, “We are all in it together. I shall bring to you salvation.”
The relic in Hua Qing’s shirt soared in Miguo’s direction, stopping ten metres away from the latter, where it remained floating.
Sensing the immense energy radiating from Miguo, Shen Wuzheng remarked, “The formation is innovative. This one is grateful to learn something new today.” There was nothing in his tone to suggest that he was scared in the slightest. “Since you can draw a thousand people’s essence into the relic simultaneously, it should be full soon, right?”
“You speak too highly of this one, Constable Shen.”
“Did the consequences of your actions ever cross your mind?”
Miguo deployed a nod. “Nobody here will survive. This one knew was aware what the result would be when he first set foot in the Central Plain and chose this path.”
Returning to the scene, Yungu brayed, “Miguo, what is this formation?! Why is it not our formation? When did you switch the formation?!’
Miguo chose Shennong as his base because of the assortment of rocks in the area. While there might’ve been some special ones – not that he’d know about or cared to find out – the majority of them were but ordinary rocks. The sole purpose he needed them for was to hide the real formation he intended to deploy.
Then original scheme was to absorb all the energy from Miguo Branch’s disciples into the relic, empowering Miguo to heal and enhance himself before going off to battle Ming Feizhen. Unfortunately for Sky Palace, Miguo switched out the script they gave him without their knowledge.
Miguo shut his eyes as he placed his hands together devoutly. Subsequently, Yungu’s proprioception felt distorted due to her life force feeling as though it was trying to escape from her body and trying to resist.
Even though Yungu was erudite on the technique, she didn’t know everything there was to know. Absorbing an enormous volume of energy and essence was a cornerstone of Sky Palace’s secret arts that they were proud of. Absorbing life force, a more insidious method, was a different case as it was directly linked to one’s life. The delicate process of absorbing life force wasn’t something Sky Palace specialised in.
Miguo wasn’t educated on Sky Palace’s mental cultivation disciplines or how they circulated energy, rendering it impossible for him to smoothly suck out their life force. That was why his method of draining their energy hurt Yungu. If it was violent enough, it could kill. Whether for better or worse, Lotus Cult didn’t have any skill that could turn it into an assassination skill – one could count on one hand the number of factions who could kill with it.
“There are only four places that this sort of formation can be cast: Divine Moon Cult’s Scorched Imperial Capital, League of Assassins’ tomb, Sky Palace and Valley of Villains,” Miguo stated.
Without one of the four said factions’ assistance, there was no way a renegade monk of Lotus Cult could provoke Sky Palace and get away with it. As to which faction it was… there was only one of them that weren’t present. The rest was self-explanatory. Having said that, Miguo had to check every caster’s background before he could trust them to deploy the formation.
“Valley of Villains… You dare use us?” Teeth clamped, Yungu uncorked the hardest palm she could muster, only for the relic to absorb her energy projectile before it could find its target.
“Ling’er, let’s go.” Shen Wuzheng, heading to the steps leading down, didn’t take action for killing Miguo wouldn’t undo the formation.
“Why are we saving them?” Leng Jingliu locked his brows together.
Shen Wuzheng scrubbed his disciple’s head and smiled. “They’re still alive, aren’t they?”
“… Understood.” Leng Jingliu then cast his gaze Miguo’s way. “How about him?”
“Leave the rest to him.”
Leng Jingliu didn’t need to ask who “him” was because the answer came to him before he opened his mouth.
“Lass Yun, had you given the order a moment slower, all your companions would be dead by now.”
Yungu was in too much pain to speak or open her eyes, yet she hiked up a corner of her lips.
Surveying the venue, Ming Feizhen stopped his red eyes on Hua Qing and deployed a nod of acknowledgement that Hua Qing reciprocated.
“… It’s in your hands now,” choked out Hua Qing.
Upon spotting Miguo, Ming Feizhen explained, “Flipping baldy!” whilst closing in and then drove his fist into Miguo’s chest. “Go to hell!”
Glossary
Ling’er – Leng Jingliu’s courtesy name with the “er” suffix to show affection.
