Fool (3)

"Form the formation!" Yunyouzi dared not place all his hopes on the spirit bamboo flying boat. The human-faced owl was a demon bird at the late Demon Spirit stage; its speed was certainly not slower than the flying boat. If they only thought of fleeing right now, it would be certain death! Hurriedly getting ready, they cast the Golden Ring Formation, but lacking Shangguan Lifeng and the strongest among them, Luo Xingnan, only four of them remained. Its power was vastly diminished, and whether it could hold off the human-faced owl remained an unknown. However, Luo Xingnan's situation was equally dire. The shrieks of the human-faced owl and the roars of the hook serpents carried a strange harmony, giving the distinct impression that these demon beasts were communicating—as if the owl were denouncing the cultivators' wicked theft of the spiritual herbs to the serpents. Immediately afterward, the hook serpents unleashed furious roars, and the red mist rolled toward them with alarming speed. Luo Xingnan had never expected the hook serpents to be stirred in advance. Caught off guard, he was directly intercepted by the serpent swarm, plunging once again into their siege. When the hook serpents had besieged the cultivators earlier, the cultivators had counterattacked, wiping out more than half of the serpent pack. Few still retained their fighting strength, so the scene was not as terrifying as before. Nevertheless, the two king hook serpents at the middle Demon Spirit stage had recovered somewhat from their injuries and still possessed formidable combat power. The situation remained perilous in the extreme. Separated by the demon beasts, the two sides could only fight for themselves. Yet the most dangerous position belonged to Qin Sang's group. The instant the four of them raised the Golden Ring Formation, their vision darkened as the human-faced owl swooped down. In this open terrain, the demon bird's advantages in speed and power were on full display. Its speed was even greater than that of the spirit bamboo flying boat. Fortunately, Yunyouzi had the foresight to prepare; otherwise, the human-faced owl would have already overtaken them. Crowded onto the flying boat without time to form the array, they would have faced the fate of being slaughtered one by one by the demon bird! *Bang!* The brass hoops trembled violently as golden light blazed forth. Countless phantoms of the hoops overlapped, only to shatter in unison beneath the human-faced owl's razor-sharp talons, barely holding against the strike. Yet with the formation's might vastly reduced, withstanding the owl's attacks was far from as effortless as before. All four felt as though struck simultaneously by a heavy fist. Shuddering, their faces drained of color instantly. Their spiritual power was swallowed by the Golden Ring Formation like water rushing through an open sluice; in a mere instant, more than half the spiritual power within their seas of qi was depleted, and only through this did they manage to prevent the array from collapsing. Yet without giving them any time to recover, the owl's next attack was already upon them. Alarmed, they hurriedly brought out spirit stones and medicinal pills, doing everything they could to replenish their spiritual power. Everyone understood that once the formation broke, they would be no match for the human-faced owl. Remembering all too well being trapped earlier, the owl leveraged its speed to circle them relentlessly, striking and disengaging in a flash—yet every raid came down like a thunderous blow. As the one steering the formation, Yunyouzi bore even greater pressure, finding no chance whatsoever to activate the spirit bamboo flying boat. The Golden Ring Formation teetered on the brink of collapse. The distance between them and the exit was not far, but at this rate, they would never reach it before the formation was torn apart by the demon bird. Under these circumstances, the best course of action would be to set aside their grudges with Luo Xingnan and cooperate anew! However, one side was pinned down by the owl, while the other was besieged by the serpents. Joining forces would not be simple; they would have to break through. Thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind. He had both the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner and the jade ruyi talisman treasure at his disposal. Comparatively speaking, the Ten Directions Yanluo Array possessed greater power. If not for Yunyouzi's presence, the others would not know his true identity anyway, merely taking him for an ordinary rogue Taoist, so exposing it wouldn't have mattered. However, the strengths of these two treasures lay in different areas; in this situation, the Ten Directions Yanluo Array was actually less suitable than the jade ruyi talisman treasure. Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang consulted with Yunyouzi and the others, agreed upon a plan, and had them buy him time while he readied the jade ruyi talisman treasure, Ge Yuan made a completely unforeseen move. The human-faced owl dove at them once more. As everyone hastily mustered their newly recovered spiritual power to bolster the Golden Ring Formation, Ge Yuan suddenly flung his brass hoop away and broke away from the array without a word! Clearly premeditated, the moment he slipped free, he transformed into an escape light and bolted toward the exit without looking back. He was using them as a shield to save his own skin! Fury surged through the others. None had expected Ge Yuan to commit such treachery, especially at a life-or-death juncture like this. Yunyouzi even cursed in outrage. "Fool!" *Whoosh!* The gale whipped up by the owl's massive wings crashed down upon them. No matter how furious they were, they were powerless to stop him; in their haste, Yunyouzi scrambled to shift the array's configuration. With only three left to maintain the formation, its power was diminished to the absolute limit. It did not take long before the Golden Ring Formation was ripped open by the human-faced owl. Razor-sharp talons reached inside, clawing straight for their skulls. Shock and rage gripped Qin Sang, yet his hands did not slow in the slightest. The jade ruyi talisman treasure was already primed. With no other choice, he was forced to unleash the talisman treasure to resolve the immediate crisis. *Swish, swish...* The talisman treasure manifested, unleashing thousands of miniature jade ruyi streaks that shot forth like an arrow storm. At that moment, the human-faced owl was practically on top of them. Though it sensed danger, it had no time to dodge. Not a single trace of the talisman treasure's power was wasted; every bit hammered into the owl's body. Black feathers scattered everywhere. Hardy as the owl's feathers were and robust as its defenses might be, taking a direct hit from a talisman treasure at point-blank range still inflicted damage. A gash was torn open across its chest, spraying blood and shredded plumage in all directions and giving off a foul, rank stench. Screeching in pain, the human-faced owl frantically flapped its wings and retreated into the sky. However, while its injury appeared grievous, it was far from fatal. The owl let out a frenzied shriek, its ferocity growing even more manic. Right then, Qin Sang heard a startled cry ahead—it was Ge Yuan! Glancing over, Qin Sang saw that Ge Yuan was nearly at the abyss, about to skirt past the edge of the red mist. Without warning, a beam of white light pierced through the red mist. Within that white light was a swirling vortex that exerted an immense suction, ensnaring Ge Yuan instantly. The white light originated from a compass-shaped magic tool in Luo Xingnan's hands. By the looks of it, Luo Xingnan's state was hardly any better than theirs: his hair was disheveled, and his aura was completely chaotic. Yet at this moment, a sinister grin surfaced on Luo Xingnan's face. Ge Yuan had just been rejoicing over his impending escape, never dreaming that Luo Xingnan would ambush him. Before he could react, he was dragged straight to Luo Xingnan's side by the white light. Then Luo Xingnan flickered, reappearing on Ge Yuan's left flank. At the same time, the white light abruptly shifted, turning pitch-black in an instant, and its suction transformed into a powerful repulsive force. Ge Yuan had already been struggling furiously outward, and his body was instantly hurled away like a shooting star. Under Luo Xingnan's manipulation, he flew directly, without an inch of deviation, right into the open maw of a king hook serpent. Ge Yuan turned pale with terror. As for Yunyouzi and the scholar in white, they seemed to have foreseen this long ago; neither showed much surprise on their faces. In an icy tone, Yunyouzi repeated: "Fool!"