Through the wondrous light, Qin Sang saw a strange sight.
In front of the defensive spirit array, only one person was attacking, yet they already held an overwhelming advantage. The wondrous light was unraveling, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Despite taking so long to break through the spirit array, this person seemed in no hurry at all.
Yet near this person, dense mist blanketed a large swath of the mountain's base, resembling the night sea fog.
Within the mist, two faint figures could be seen.
This was by no means ordinary sea fog. Even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not see through it; it was definitely an illusory array.
Qin Sang stared intently for a moment before confirming that there were indeed two people. Concealed within the mist, they seemed busy with something, yet they were not helping to breach the array.
Veiled by the mist, it was impossible to discern who these two were or what they were doing.
Seeing this, Qin Sang grew suspicious and felt something was off. He attempted to move closer, having the Heavenly Eye Butterfly push its Heavenly Eye ability to the utmost to peer into the mist.
At that moment, inside the mist, two people were working together to activate a formation plate.
One wore black robes and the other gray robes, their faces concealed and their auras obscure.
The formation plate floated between them. Each rested a hand against it, continuously pouring immense true essence into the disc, neither showing the slightest sign of exhaustion.
As the true essence flowed in, yellow light gathered at the center of the formation plate, soon condensing into a small triangular pennant.
The gray-robed person pointed toward the ground nearby. With a gentle tremble, the small triangular pennant shot over and sunk silently into the earth, vanishing without a trace.
During this time, over a dozen small pennants had already been formed.
A grand spirit array was steadily taking shape.
Just then, the gray-robed person seemed to sense something. He whipped around and looked beyond Liangqiu Island, his gaze as sharp as a falcon's.
"What is it?" the other asked in a raspy voice.
"An amusing little fellow," the gray-robed person remarked dismissively. Waving his hand, the mist thickened further, and their silhouettes wavered into illusion before vanishing completely. "Likely just a passerby drawn by the commotion, peeping from afar. He has some skill, seemingly possessing the ability to see through the Bewildering Array. Fortunately, this old man's spiritual perception is keen; he shouldn't have noticed anything."
"Weren't there supposed to be no experts nearby? How could it be such a coincidence?" The black-robed man grumbled, "Luo Daotong has already sent out his distress signal. Counting the time, Old Demon Yin has probably received word and is on his way here. That Luo is Old Demon Yin's cherished disciple; he won't possibly ignore this. Hurry up and finish laying the killing array. Don't cause any more complications or let Old Demon Yin notice anything."
The gray-robed person nodded. "The Bewildering Array is indeed a bit weak... Don't worry, I patched it up in time. That brat couldn't have seen anything. If he dares set foot on the island, we'll take care of him first. This killing array was personally bestowed by the Sect Master, more than sufficient to hunt and kill Old Demon Yin. Once the killing array is ready, so long as Old Demon Yin comes near, it will be too late even if he notices something amiss—he won't be able to escape even if he grew wings."
As they spoke, another small triangular pennant formed.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Qin Sang's expression changed drastically, waves of turmoil churning in his heart.
Just earlier, he had moved a bit closer, ordering the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to unleash its Heavenly Eye with all its might to peer into the mist.
Unexpectedly, right when he was about to make out the figures inside the mist, they abruptly disappeared, as if they had never existed at all and the faint silhouettes he had seen before were mere illusions.
Furthermore, Qin Sang keenly sensed what felt like two gazes looking out from within the mist, locking eyes with him like two heavy hammers striking his mind, leaving his spirit violently shaken.
"Something is wrong!"
Qin Sang's pupils contracted sharply. He immediately ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to cease its divine ability.
He did not believe what he saw earlier was an illusion. A secret was definitely hidden within that mist, concealing formidable experts.
Could the people in the mist have noticed him? To easily detect his spying and sever the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's sight, what cultivation realm did they possess?
Qin Sang had already felt it was strange that the person attacking Luo Daotong was taking their sweet time.
Combined with what he had just discovered, alarm bells rang furiously in Qin Sang's heart. These people were lurking on Liangqiu Island without breaching the array to kill him, which meant their target was not Luo Daotong at all!
At this moment, Liangqiu Island seemed to have turned into a tiger's den and dragon's lair, making Qin Sang's hair stand on end.
Better to believe it true than risk it being false.
He dared not linger here any longer, turning around and leaving immediately.
In the mist, the gray-robed person let out a soft exclamation of surprise and turned his head toward the outside of the island once more.
"That brat ran off. So decisive—could he really have discovered something? Still, the direction he fled isn't toward Old Demon Yin's dao sanctuary, so it won't matter much."
The black-robed man snorted coldly. "If someone sees through our identities and brings trouble to the sect, how will we answer to the Sect Master?"
The gray-robed person chuckled. "This killing array was newly crafted by the Sect Master, and you and I have meticulously concealed our identities. How could a mere junior easily see through us? Ah well, I'll just send out another soul servant..."
After a brief thought, the gray-robed person reached into his robes and pulled out a gourd.
The gourd appeared utterly ordinary; there were even blemishes on the yellow gourd, looking no different from a mortal gourd.
The gray-robed person opened the stopper and tilted the gourd. A flash of pale light flickered, and a frail-looking woman appeared before them.
Her form was ethereal and indistinct; she was actually a soul body.
The gray-robed person whispered a few words, then barked in a low voice, "Go. Make it quick and kill that junior. Anyone at the Core Formation stage or above who dares come within ten li of Liangqiu Island is to be killed as well. But you must not slaughter indiscriminately, or else you will be denied blood food for ten years."
Upon hearing this, a fanatic expression surfaced on the woman's face. She bowed to the gray-robed person and vanished on the spot.
Seeing this, the black-robed man glanced at the man attacking the array and chuckled. "Your soul-refining techniques have grown increasingly adept. These two soul servants should have the strength of the peak Core Formation stage, right? Who could have imagined that an elder of the Tiandao Sect, the foremost sect of the righteous path, would possess such profound mastery over the ghostly path?"
The gray-robed person said indifferently, "Soul refining is merely a trivial craft; it is useless for one's own cultivation. My bottleneck remains stubborn, and the ghostly path leads nowhere either. In truth, the soul servants themselves aren't particularly strong. It's just that their abilities are bizarre and elusive, so ordinary cultivators lack the means to counter them, making them appear terrifyingly strange. Moreover, the difficulty of refining them is extraordinarily high. After spending all this time, I've only managed to refine these two. Realizing that I had reached the limit and could never grant them the strength of the Nascent Soul stage, I gave up. Given our level of cultivation, what use is refining more of such soul servants?"
"True. Cultivation base is the root of everything."
The black-robed man nodded and said no more.
For a time, Liangqiu Island fell into silence once more.
Driven by the duo's full power, the formation plate spun faster and faster. The killing array nearly enveloped the entirety of Liangqiu Island like a ferocious beast gathering its might, ready at any moment to swallow whole any enemy who set foot on the island.
And of all this, Luo Daotong, deep inside the defensive spirit array, remained completely oblivious.
He was burning with anxiety, maintaining the killing array with all his might.
His enemy's strength was formidable and their methods eerie, finding flaws in the spirit array time and time again. The situation was precarious in the extreme.
Chapter 818