Because the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could aid in analyzing formations, Qin Sang took the lead so he could respond promptly to any shifts in the Thousand Buddha Wall and the crimson flame power.
He had volunteered for the task.
Valley Master Mu and the others were more than glad to have it so.
Before the Thousand Buddha Wall.
Qin Sang was the first to enter the crevice, his figure practically dissolving into the Buddhist glow and crimson flame aura.
Valley Master Mu followed right behind Qin Sang, a step slower, obeying Qin Sang's directions as he directed his serpent spear to help clear a path ahead.
Qi and Wang brought up the rear to hold off the strange winds.
It was at that very instant.
Having plotted for so long, Old Man Hunmo and Realized Master Chijie finally struck.
The air froze solid.
Qin Sang was the first to sense danger. His thunderous shout sent a jolt through Valley Master Mu and the other two, their faces draining of color.
Right after, Valley Master Mu's spiritual perception detected the anomaly as well.
Yet he was still a step slower than the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.
Qi and Wang, on the other hand, wore completely blank expressions.
Having long harbored suspicions about Jiujie, they had never let down their guard since entering the formation, using various means to scout their surroundings and guard against ill intent.
This spiritual formation was exceedingly bizarre and very likely a secret Buddhist heritage. Not just them, but probably in the entire North Sea, the cultivators who had even heard of it could be counted on one hand.
Inside such a formation, the chances of anyone tracking them were vanishingly slim.
Thus, once they had confirmed there were no anomalies, they had directed the vast majority of their focus toward cracking the formation.
Never could they have imagined that someone could truly use the formation's own power to slip past their perception!
At the same moment, a soft gasp of surprise rang out.
Amidst the empty void.
With the aid of the Nine Precepts thumb ring, Old Man Hunmo and Realized Master Chijie had drawn silently near by borrowing the power of the formation.
Hearing Qin Sang's shout, Old Man Hunmo's cloudy eyes shifted slightly to fix upon Qin Sang, a sharp glint flickering deep within them.
Realized Master Chijie grew even more tense.
They had been exposed far sooner than anticipated!
They had already taken precautions, yet it seemed they had still underestimated their opponent's detection methods.
Under the original plan, they were supposed to close in stealthily and launch a surprise assault just as Qin Sang's party slipped through the crevice—when all their focus was absorbed by warding off the Buddhist glow and the onslaught of crimson flames. That would have eliminated their foes with ease.
Who could have guessed that an exalted great cultivator would resort to a sneak attack, showing so little regard for dignity?
The plan had changed.
Old Man Hunmo's expression showed no ripple of emotion, nor the slightest hint of fluster, as he jabbed down forcefully with his black bamboo cane.
At this point, concealment was no longer necessary.
*Thwack!*
The strange winds churned wildly.
A beam of black light shot forth like a sharp arrow, laying bare the overwhelming might of a great cultivator.
*Late Nascent Soul! Old Man Hunmo!*
The name flashed through Qin Sang's mind in an instant.
The most renowned great cultivator of the Boundless Sea—Old Man Hunmo!
Qin Sang had only recently heard of the illustrious Old Man Hunmo at the Nine Stars Association, never expecting to cross paths with him so soon.
Hunmo Island and the Kongling Sea lay vast distances apart.
Qin Sang wasn't surprised that the phenomena in the Kongling Sea had drawn Old Man Hunmo's attention; the very reason they had rushed to breach the formation was out of fear that experts like him would appear and disrupt their plans.
Yet he hadn't imagined the man would arrive so quickly!
*Crack!*
A dull crunch resounded.
Qi and Wang watched in horror as the tasseled light barrier conjured by the Thousand-Pattern Armor was pierced effortlessly by the strange black bamboo cane.
Even now, Qin Sang's shout still echoed in their minds.
They had been using the Thousand-Pattern Armor to withstand the strange winds and had never anticipated an ambush here.
Old Man Hunmo's move was simply too swift. Even with Qin Sang's warning, they had no time to reposition the core of the Thousand-Pattern Armor to block the cane.
The tasseled protective barrier conjured by the treasure seemed paper-thin in that moment, shredded on the spot.
Still, Qi and Wang were Nascent Soul cultivators after all.
Panic did not dull their judgment.
The cultivator surnamed Qi hastily urged his flying sword into action.
Yet the scene that followed made his eyes threaten to split wide, instantly veiling his vision in blood-red rage.
"Get out of the way!"
*Thud!*
The furious roar and a muffled impact sounded together.
The moment the black bamboo cane breached the Thousand-Pattern Armor, a burst of golden light exploded forth.
Looking closer, it was a string of prayer beads hidden behind the black cane, seizing the opening to strike.
There were nine prayer beads in total, their surfaces pitted and rough, appearing as though carved from the pits of some spiritual fruit. They looked ugly to the extreme, yet they were an authentic Buddhist treasure.
The power radiating from them was masculine and unyielding to the utmost, ferocious beyond measure!
Their target was aimed squarely at the female cultivator Wang's back!
The prayer beads were Realized Master Chijie's treasure.
His coordination with Old Man Hunmo was seamless; the breakthrough point they had chosen was precisely the female cultivator Wang, who possessed the lowest cultivation among them.
Wang had no time to react at all. Struck dead center in the back by the prayer beads, her bones shattered into powder and blood erupted from her lips. Her aura withered away in an instant, the vitality in her eyes vanishing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Right then.
A flash of light gleamed from Wang's crown, and her Nascent Soul hopped out in an instant, looking about in utter bewilderment.
She didn't even understand what kind of foe she had encountered as she helplessly watched her mangled physical body get hurled toward Qi by the force of the prayer beads.
Realized Master Chijie ignored her Nascent Soul entirely, charging straight for Qi.
Meanwhile, her predicament was far more perilous than her companion's.
Evidently, Old Man Hunmo had anticipated this long in advance. Having shattered the Thousand-Pattern Armor, his black bamboo cane struck straight for her crown.
At this moment, the tip of the cane carried a condensed mass of black light, looming a hair's breadth from Wang's Nascent Soul!
Her Nascent Soul was on the verge of being pulverized by the cane, with no time even to teleport.
Yet Old Man Hunmo's true target was not Wang.
A mere early Nascent Soul cultivator was hardly worth his attention.
The ones who had truly made him scheme and plan to such lengths were Qin Sang and Valley Master Mu.
*Whoosh!*
The black bamboo cane cut through the air, seemingly sweeping past as an afterthought, while Old Man Hunmo didn't spare Qi or Wang a single glance, lunging directly at Qin Sang and Valley Master Mu!
At this critical juncture.
Qin Sang had just stepped into the crevice when the crimson-gold light pressed in from both flanks. The Buddhist radiance and crimson flame aura were closing in fast, leaving Qin Sang caught in a dilemma where he could neither advance nor retreat.
Old Man Hunmo had chosen his moment to strike with terrifying precision.
Fortunately.
Valley Master Mu was a step behind.
Moreover, Qin Sang's early detection of Old Man Hunmo's presence had bought them precious seconds.
Valley Master Mu was a veteran of a hundred battles. Upon receiving Qin Sang's warning, he realized that the enemy could only ambush them from behind, meaning the greatest danger lay not with him or Qin Sang, but with Qi and Wang.
Yet even though he had judged the situation accurately, he was still powerless to prevent the destruction of Wang's mortal body.
Seeing his companion's desperate plight, Valley Master Mu's face twisted with shock and fury. A blue light flashed across his dantian, and the tide-drawing horseshoe crab drifted forth.
Wherever the crab passed, the void seemed to give birth to a pool of water out of thin air.
Its body hovered before Valley Master Mu, its sword-like tail suddenly lashing out to unleash an intense burst of blue light directed toward Wang's Nascent Soul from afar.
The next instant.
A barrier of blue light materialized around Wang's Nascent Soul like a bubble, sealing her safely inside.
*Bang!*
In a split second, the black bamboo cane swept across.
The tide-drawing horseshoe crab let out a mournful wail as the bubble was smashed to pieces by the cane, countless fragments scattering in all directions. Yet it had bought Wang a fleeting chance at survival.
Consumed by terror, Wang's Nascent Soul instinctively teleported dozens of yards away, finally evading the shockwave of the black bamboo cane and escaping from the jaws of death.
Chapter 1411