At this moment, if there was sufficient light, a passerby would have seen a strange scene. It would have been strange enough that they would assume it wasn’t real, but rather a movie shoot.
Four adults and two children stood on an abandoned field of rubble, facing off against each other. Each of them looked solemn, as if the first one to move loses. Normally, adults ganging up on children was something very disgraceful. Yet these two children didn’t look like they were at a disadvantage. The little girl in the middle floated in the air, her features blurry. On her smoky, dark face, a pair of eyes glared viciously at a young man who was grinning. Nearby, a little boy stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He had no expression but his eyes roamed, seemingly plotting something. He seemed exceptionally mature and crafty.
Teehee…
Suddenly, someone giggled. Due to the prolonged silence, the laugh was exceptionally jarring and sinister, like a surgical blade passing over skin. Although delicate, it would immediately result in blood being drawn!
It wasn’t clear who had laughed. The voice sounded like that of a young child. However, Zhang Hong Yu ended up being the first to move. As if finally unable to endure, she leapt out and curled her tiny palm into a claw, slashing towards Bao da Tong’s face.
“Wow, what a huge leap!” Bao Da Tong was still talkative at such a moment. Yet while he spoke nonsense, his movements didn’t slacken. His hands swiftly formed a seal and braced upwards. There was a smack as Zhang Hong Yu deftly flipped backwards, landing in her original spot like a black cloud. Although Bao Da Tong staggered slightly, he didn’t move from his position.
The head-on exchange ended in a tie. Yet considering Zhang Hong Yu’s injuries, Bao Da Tong could be said to be at a disadvantage. The result made him realize Ruan Zhan had been right. If they hadn’t used the formation, if they hadn’t assigned suitable roles to everyone, they wouldn’t be able to win. Yet because Ruan Zhan’s judgment had been correct, it gave him the confidence to defeat these two scourges.
“Impressive!” Bao Da Tong started chattering again while drawing the bloodwood sword from his side. “Come give this thing a try if you’re capable!” He said excitedly.
This was the bloodwood sword! Ruan Zhan normally didn’t even let him touch this treasure of the Daoist world. Yet today, he could use it to slay fiends? How could he not be excited?
This was thanks to the Grand Radiance Formation. Under this setup, he was responsible for guarding the “Death” gate. Defense wasn’t the most important in this position. His main priority was to constantly use a wooden sword and talismans to cast spells, maintaining the killing aura inside the formation. During this process, the more powerful the sword and talismans, the more powerful the killing aura would become. Was there any wooden sword more powerful than the bloodwood sword?! Therefore, the bloodwood sword had been assigned as his weapon. As long as he had it, he could use it to cast spells or repel the enemy. It really was two birds with one stone!
“Hong Yu, who said you could do as you pleased?” Zhang Xiao Hua raised his hand, stopping her from leaping to attack once more. Then, he once again looked around to confirm his observations.
According to the knowledge he obtained from the old Daoist, the Grand Radiance Formation had been developed from the Divine Radiance Scripture. That scripture was one of the most commonly used in the Daoist world. It was what Bao Da Tong had been chanting. Yet the same chant would have different effects based on the caster’s mana. Although Bao Da Tong had some skill, he wasn’t too powerful. But this formation had clearly been modified, its powers multiplied.
The strangest thing was where the four people stood.
Bao Da Tong guarded the Death Gate while Ruan Zhan guarded the Life Gate. This was within his expectations. Bao Da Tong’s techniques were conventional, and he was most suited to revolve the formation’s killing aura. Those trapped inside the formation needed to attack the Life Gate to escape. Therefore, it was understandable for Ruan Zhan, whose spirit power and mana were both formidable, to guard it.
However, the choices for guarding the Yin and Yang positions were unexpected.
Wan Li had brimming Yang energy, and his constitution was innately aversive towards ghosts. Whenever Wan Li had visited their home, he had had to keep away from him to avoid feeling uncomfortable. Theoretically, Wan Li should have been guarding the Yang position. His innate Yang energy would have made the formation much harder to break, though not impenetrable. However, he guarded the Yin position. Yin and Yang were opposites and canceled each other out. That was only harmful to the formation!
Furthermore, the one guarding Yang was actually Xiao Xia!
Women were Yin inclined to begin with, and her birthdate was even extremely inauspicious. Her constitution also trended towards Yin. How could she hold down the Yang position? However, her body was covered in glyphs. Perhaps those were used to raise her Yang energy. But that would be putting the cart before the horse. To neglect the natural source of Yang in Wan Li and wasting effort to raise Xiao Xia’s was superfluous.
Yet he also felt things weren’t so simple. He had underestimated Ruan Zhan in the first round and his own power had been used by the enemy to activate their formation. It wasn’t just an issue of wasting mana and spirit power. It also pissed him off. What kind of trick had Ruan Zhan come up with this time?
Was he capable of reversing the formation? Was the formation inverted, containing some sort of trap? But was that even possible? Inverting a formation required extremely strong spirit power as its foundation. Or was this actually a different formation made to look like the Grand Radiance Formation? Just like how the activation switch was made to look like a defensive barrier earlier!
Ruan Zhan had confused him. This was because he underestimated them from the beginning, stepping right into Ruan Zhan’s trap. Stepping in had been easy, but stepping back out would be hard! Despite this, he still had to get out!
Zhang Xiao Hua hardened his heart. He quietly chanted a few lines. Borrowing some of the exorcism incense’s push, he suddenly shot his spirit body out. Although he like Lil’ Tong’s body, it would hinder him from using his mana. The body would even get harmed if he used too much power. He might as well finish the battle before returning to it!
Zhang Xiao Hua had only taken a few seconds to make up his mind. The others only saw Lil’ Tong’s body slowly slacken as a stream of black miasma shot out from the top of his head. It swiftly congealed into a small figure in midair. The night was very dark and so was the black miasma. However, they had all used spells to strengthen their vision, so they could still see clearly.
Zhang Hong Yu called Zhang Xiao Hua big bro, but his figure was smaller than hers. Yet he was far more stable. Although his feet also didn’t touch the ground and his features were blurry, his figure was dense and malevolent, unlike Zhang Hong Yu who was like a faint, drifting shadow.
Bao Da Tong silently praised Zhang Xiao Hua’s power while focusing his mind. He gathered all his energy while glancing at Ruan Zhan. Yet he saw that Ruan Zhan’s expression was cool, barely looking at Zhang Xiao Hua. He couldn’t help but feel himself uncouth. No wonder his old man always said his techniques were decent but his bearing was bad. He had never been convinced, but the comparison today made him realize his old man wasn’t just knocking him down a peg for fun. The truth was before him.
Crackle….
With the sound of a taser’s sparks, a clump of flames suddenly ignited in Zhang Xiao Hua’s left hand. It was the size of a tennis ball and looked to be completely without heat, burning coldly. It was hellfire.
Zhang Xiao Hua raised his hand before him and the hellfire swiftly grew, becoming the size of a basketball in the blink of an eye. The white light around it was dazzling, and his face was finally illuminated by the hellfire!
He was smiling. His smile was rigid yet pure, as if he had held it for several centuries. Yet at this moment, it revealed incomparable malice. His skin was pale, but it was the paleness of an extremely dark green, like darkness seeping out from behind whiteness. Furthermore, his face was covered with faint purple spots. They were a characteristic of someone who had died by mercury poisoning, commonly called mercury spots.
Zhang Xiao Hua had revealed his true form, and it was identical to his appearance when he died!
“He’s about to attack!” Bao Da Tong warned the others, while also giving himself a heads up. Ruan Zhan and Wan Li immediately perked up, ready for battle. Only Xiao Xia still sat cross-legged, silent and unmoving.
Without warning, the hellfire in Zhang Xiao Hua’s hand flew out towards Wan Li. Wan Li had been prepared. His left hand had been placed inside a pouch at his waist while his right held a peachwood sword covered in glyphs. Seeing that Zhang Xiao Hua had chosen to attack his Yin position, he blocked with his right hand while tossing the thing from the pouch a meter in front of him. At the same time, he threw out a talisman. Nearby, on his left, Ruan Zhan also pointed his finger towards the object on the floor.
The force from Ruan Zhan’s finger struck the object which let out a metallic clang. Along with the suddenly shining talisman, a dark red metal flag half the size of a person suddenly erected itself in front of Wan Li. At that moment, the hellfire arrived.
However, just before the hellfire reached the tattered banner, it suddenly changed directions. Using the strong reflective force of the tattered banner, the hellfire shot like lightning towards Bao Da Tong!
Bao Da Tong’s attention had been focused on the unmoving Zhang Hong Yu as well as Wan Li. The sudden change happened too quickly, but he hurriedly raised the sword while chanting, “Exhausting the three rivers, waves overflowing to the skies, restrict!”
Using water to curb fire, the Dao of the five elements! His strike, along with his five element spell, should have been sufficient. However, the hellfire arrived too quickly and its power was too great. He only felt the hellfire halt for a moment, expending some of its power. However, it still continued onwards at his face! Reacting quickly in the face of danger, he ducked. Right as the flames passed overhead, his left palm sent spirit power shooting upwards.
The water attuned spirit power met hellfire. Although there was no sound, a burst of steam suddenly erupted above his head. It was like a ton of water was instantly vaporized. While the water vanished, the hellfire also lost its target.
Yet while normal hellfire would extinguish after losing its target, Zhang Xiao Hua’s did not. Instead, it glowed even brighter, like a flying lantern drifting in the air. Zhang Xiao Hua raised his hand and the hellfire returned to his palm once more.
While Zhang Xiao Hua attacked, Zhang Hong Yu also suddenly moved. While Zhang Xiao Hua had feinted towards Wan Li while actually aiming for Bao Da Tong, Zhang Hong Yu didn’t bother with any tricks. She pounced directly towards her chosen target: Xiao Xia.
Like a black kite, she floated with her limbs extended. The black miasma around her body was like a cloak that wrapped around her tiny body. She looked like a giant bat. Landing in front of Xiao Xia, she opened her dark, purple mouth and spat out a clump of vile corpse breath!
Xiao Xia was still like a statue with her head lowered, both hands holding that black box tightly. She seemed to not have any reactions to the world outside. Right as the corpse breath enveloped her face, a breeze blew in from her right. Not only did it sweep the corpse breath back onto Zhang Hong Yu, it also suddenly expanded as it reached her and attacked from every direction.
Zhang Hong Yu seemed to have expected it. She hurriedly drew in her limbs as her body flattened, narrowly avoiding the attack. A smug smile appeared on her face. She wasn’t smiling because she successfully avoided Ruan Zhan’s wind blade. It was because she knew her big bro had seized the opportunity the instant Ruan Zhan made his move.
They had been trapped underground for three centuries. Since they cultivated the same spells and devoured the same soul, they had long since been able to communicate telepathically. Ruan Zhan’s side had used their own power against them, expending his big bro’s spirit power and mana to activate the Grand Radiance Formation, putting them at a disadvantage from the start. In that case, they would use the same tactics against them. Feinting towards Wan Li and using the reflective force of the tattered banner to attack Bao Da Tong while she attacked Xiao Xia at the same time.
Ruan Zhan probably didn’t know it, but his treasures were all over five hundred years old. The erudite old bastard had also been familiar with them, and had even tried searching everywhere for them. He even lamented prior to death that he didn’t have such treasures to accompany him in the ground. As part of his funerary objects, they had gotten countless pieces of information from that old bastard’s ghost. Therefore, they had known the moment they first saw those two treasures how powerful they were.
The bloodwood sword used evil to suppress evil. It was the most suited tool for killing. Apart from its owner’s soul, it could threaten everything else. It could only be dodged or deflected, and a head on clash would result in being wiped out! Perhaps Ruan Zhan didn’t have a murderous nature which caused the sword’s fierce nature to mellow quite a bit. Despite this, no spirits dared face it head on.
As for the tattered banner, if it was used properly it could absorb all spirits. Once inside, a roasting spell can be used to make them wish for death. Not only that, the banner could block and reflect any attacks that strike it, an excellent defensive weapon.
Although Ruan Zhan was innately talented and thus power, he hadn’t cultivated hard from birth. The two of them were more afraid of the two treasures. She had witnessed them when chasing Wan Li and Yue Xiao Xia last time. In the hands of people without abilities, the treasures were actually able to prevent her from getting close. In Ruan Zhan’s hands, they were even scarier!
However, objects were inanimate. If the owner failed to use them properly, those treasures would be no different from trash. Therefore, big bro took the opportunity to use the tattered banner to attack Bao Da Tong and had her attack Yue Xiao Xia at the same time. Big Bro wasn’t willing to give up on that woman. However, he had calculated that while Bao Da Tong was busy and Wan Li was too far away, Ruan Zhan wouldn’t ignore her plight. That woman was powerless to protect herself. The reason she was here was to make up the numbers for the formation.
Once Ruan Zhan came to her rescue, big bro would take the opportunity to strike his weakness. Once Ruan Zhan was eliminated, Bao Da Tong alone wouldn’t be much of a threat! Hmph, forget the Grand Radiance Formation, even the Great Radiance Formation of Myriad Daos would be unable to do anything to them.
