Zhang Laosan did not strike. Armed with information from the Huanyin Sect, he had stepped forward to confront Qin Xuan merely to probe him.
Now, glancing into the sky, he saw it—
Vice Sect Master Feng had made his move!
A dense shroud of fog bore down from the heavy clouds!
It drove an urgent wind before it, churning wild waves across the inner river. A mighty surge of magic power enveloped the area, cutting off all sound from Qin Xuan's ears as though he had been severed from the world!
Feng Wen possessed a Core Formation cultivation and had refined the Gui Yin Corpse-Refining Divine Evil from among the Seventy-Two Earth Evils. He and Zhang Laosan were worlds apart.
Watching Qin Xuan, Zhang Laosan felt that if the youth held out for even a single breath, it could be deemed a triumph.
In virtually an instant, the figure in the dark mist was about to seize Qin Xuan!
Qin Xuan dared not hesitate. He swiftly brought out the earthenware pot and chanted the incantation seal.
Just as Feng Wen's evil qi corpse-claw was about to close around Qin Xuan's throat, a sudden jolt seized the cold-faced man's heart, and he jerked his hand back in haste. A stream of pure evil qi flowed from the pot, encircling Qin Xuan for thirty feet around.
"Chirp—!"
With a strange screech, a fire-colored divine quail flew from the evil qi, its feathered wings distinct, trailing a stream of flaming sparks as it charged straight into the Gui Yin Corpse-Refining Divine Evil unleashed by Vice Sect Master Feng.
"Urrgh... Aaaagh!"
The numerous corpse spirits within the evil qi were incinerated in an instant, their tragic wails echoing along both banks of the inner river.
"What?!" Zhang Laosan cried in shock.
Vice Sect Master Feng also paled in astonishment, though heartbreak cut even deeper. Caught off guard, the corpse spirits he had labored so long to refine were wiped out in droves, costing him more than twenty years of cultivation in a flash. "A true fire!" he snarled in fury.
Though Qin Xuan was wary of his opponent's fierce evil qi, his face remained calm and composed.
"Vice Sect Master Feng, how does the Secret Demon Divine Quail True Fire taste?"
"I shall offer you a way out: leave at once. Otherwise, even at the cost of exhausting my magic power, I will drive this true fire into your Flowery Pool Dao foundation and burn it away, withering your magic power forever so you can never advance another inch in this life."
"With just your strength?!"
Feng Wen threw his hands wide, and seven white-haired zombies materialized instantly, scattered thirty feet away and ceaselessly spewing corpse qi.
Engulfed in the corpse qi, Qin Xuan relied entirely on Mao Yan's Willow Constellation Earth Rock Fire Evil to guide the true fire; he could not shift even half a step.
At his side, Zhang Laosan looked around warily, ready to flee via earth escape at a moment's notice.
The commotion had already alerted many factions in the vicinity, and figures drew near to peer at the fray.
Yet with the vice sect master of the Xieling Sect taking action, which of those lesser factions dared fight him? The seven white-haired zombies alone were beyond the strength of anyone below Foundation Building to withstand.
Still, Feng Wen found little ease. Controlling the white-haired zombies was trivial;
it was the mental strain that weighed on him.
The situation defied his expectations. He had anticipated the junior having some life-saving tricks, but he had never imagined a great cultivator at or above Golden Core would bestow a wisp of true fire to protect him.
Core Formation and Golden Core were the two great realms within Jade Fluid Reverted Dan, both being the manifestation of profound foundation.
The former refined evil qi, while the latter refined true fire; the disparity between them was truly vast.
Had this action not been mandatory, he would have fled far away by now.
To see this divine quail appear so lifelike meant the person behind him possessed extraordinary origins.
Moreover, willing to entrust such precious true fire to a junior showed immense affection.
Could Zhang Laosan's intelligence have been mistaken?
Was this junior not a mere Yuansong Temple disciple, but rather the precious darling of some great sect?
Judging by his demeanor, he indeed had reinforcements on the way.
Demon sect masters who ran wild around Mount Tong all had their own means of survival.
In that instant, Vice Sect Master Feng tightened his grip on his talismans, resolved to give up and flee the moment a streak of escaping light appeared in the distance.
The seven white-haired zombies shrieked in unison.
Feng Wen circulated the Xieling Corpse-Refining Great Method. A ball of dark light split into seven black threads connecting to the seven zombies, instantly causing their corpse qi to surge. Taking up their positions, they spewed gusts of corpse wind, each more terrifying than the last, seeking to scatter the evil qi around the true fire.
The pressure on Qin Xuan mounted sharply!
Though Feng Wen could do nothing against Mao Yan's true fire, his vast magic power was far beyond Qin Xuan's.
Qin Xuan struggled to maintain the incantation seal, his magic power draining away like water. Fortunately, having switched to the Jade Rinsing Scripture, his magic power could still hold out for a while.
Both Zhang Laosan and Feng Wen revealed strange looks. "Boy, you truly have some skill to endure beneath my White Corpse Formation."
"I will give you one more chance. Join our sect, and you can become a candidate for the next sect master."
Whether these words were a genuine recruitment or intended to shake Qin Xuan's resolve, they had no effect whatsoever.
Qin Xuan dared not allow his mind to wander for a moment.
At last, an old Daoist rode a cloud from the distant sky. A powerful treasure light shot forth, striking true against the seven zombies. The White Corpse Formation shattered with a bang, and Qin Xuan gasped for breath.
Old Daoist Wu's second strike flew straight for Vice Sect Master Feng.
The evil qi of both sides collided. Relying on the might of his treasure weapon, Old Daoist Wu shook his horsetail whisk and pierced straight through Feng Wen's Gui Yin Corpse-Refining Divine Evil.
Another chorus of corpse spirits shrieked in agony.
"What overbearing Xuan Yang evil qi! Temple Head Wu, how much of Guanjiang Mountain's evil arts have you mastered? Allow me to see for myself!"
As soon as Vice Sect Master Feng spoke, the onlookers were taken aback.
He wasn't running, but wanted to fight?!
Had he lost his mind?!
Even if the deities of the City God Temple did not arrive, the ascetics of Yuansong Temple's Scripture Tower were certain to appear. His evil qi fell short of Temple Head Wu's; he would likely lose this clash, and if another Core Formation Qi Refining cultivator arrived, would he not find it difficult to escape even if he wished to?
At that thought, the crowd sensed impending danger and retreated one after another.
"Zhang Laosan!" Vice Sect Master Feng bellowed.
Zhang Laosan moved at once; back at Lianyun Manor, he had already prepared a method to stall Old Daoist Wu.
Without hesitation, he cast out several spirit talismans.
Dark light flared, and corpse puppets covered in talismans revealed themselves—a full thirty-six of them.
These puppets were refined from ancient corpses gathered during the Xieling Sect's tomb excavations, and many of them had been great cultivators in life.
Grave winds whipped across the commandery city, casting a desolate gloom over the sky.
Qin Xuan's magic power could not last much longer. Old Daoist Wu raised his hand and cast out a glazed lampshade. Seeing that the opposition had come prepared and anticipated his arrival, he decided to take Qin Xuan away first.
Vice Sect Master Feng drove his White Corpse Formation, shrouding it in his own evil qi.
Zhang Laosan was at the Foundation Building realm, yet by throwing his corpse puppets against Old Daoist Wu's Xuan Yang evil qi and deploying both formations simultaneously, he blocked the old Daoist in his tracks!
The glazed lampshade was about to fly toward Qin Xuan.
Abruptly, a clap of yin thunder boomed in the sky.
Among the crowd of onlookers, a hunched old man leaning on a black serpent-shaped walking stick suddenly appeared.
Raising his staff, the old man pointed, halting Old Daoist Wu's treasure weapon in midair!
*Clang—!!*
The ringing clash of treasure weapons instantly shook several bloodthirsty onlookers at Foundation Building in the front row, sending them flying backward as they spat blood!
Another expert of the Xieling Sect had arrived!
The crowd drew back, finally seeing the old man's face. Those nearest to him felt their hair stand on end and fled frantically backward.
"Look at his staff—it's the Black Snake Corpse Staff! Could it be Feng Jiu?!"
"It's him!"
Recognizing his title from the staff, people cried out: "It's the great elder of the Xieling Sect, Old Man Black Corpse, renowned throughout Mount Tong!"
"He has been in secluded cultivation for more than eighty years! Why would he show himself here, and merely to capture a junior?!"
The old man with the staff took a single step and vanished. A heartbeat later, he reappeared beside Qin Xuan.
It was not teleportation, but diving into the earth and emerging again; because his earth escape was so swift, it seemed like shifting form and shadow.
"Heh heh heh..."
"This old man hasn't stretched his bones in a long time. Emerging today, I happen upon such an interesting junior. Daoist Wu, please show some face and allow this junior to keep this old man company for a chat. It won't hurt anything."
The old man glanced at Temple Head Wu. Before Old Daoist Wu could speak, he gave a sinister chuckle. "It seems the great figures of Guanjiang Mountain are not present. This old man worried for nothing."
"Whatever you wish to say, say it to me!"
As Old Daoist Wu spoke, he shook his whisk, sending Xuan Yang evil qi out in thousands of gossamer strands as his profound magic power erupted outward. The two opposing formations shook violently, blasting waves several li high across the inner river!
The onlookers retreated further, marveling at Temple Head Wu's terrifying magic power.
Zhang Laosan's eyes went wide; half of his thirty-six corpse puppets were destroyed in the blink of an eye, and Vice Sect Master Feng felt hard-pressed. Though the two had joined forces to erect two great formations, they could barely hold the old Daoist back!
Though both were at Core Formation refining evil qi, the other party's profound foundation and condensed magic power were truly beyond their reach.
Vice Sect Master Feng shouted to the old man with the staff: "Martial Uncle, act quickly!"
...
Chapter 56