Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Departure

Ye Tian hadn’t expected that this formation, which seemed so formidable, was essentially paper-thin.

Breaking it with a single sword thrust—he had clearly overestimated the array maker.

Thinking about it, how could a truly high-tier formation master exist in the Longfeng Mountain range? Even a mid-tier one would be revered like a Bodhisattva.

Hmph.

They dared to attack him.

Once he escaped, he vowed to throw the culprit to his disciples for dual cultivation.

A cold expression on his face, Ye Tian gripped his bloody longsword and charged towards the perceived exit.

The next instant, he passed through the opening, and his figure abruptly appeared… within the formation.

Indeed.

He was still trapped inside the formation. The exit remained visible, everything unchanged.

Ye Tian’s expression shifted.

What did this mean?

He continued his headlong rush, passing through the opening once more, only to reappear in the exact same spot.

Ye Tian froze, utterly baffled by the situation.

Boom—

Suddenly, an enormous sound roared in his ears.

The dormant formation remained unchanged, yet Ye Tian abruptly felt under attack. An excruciating pain lanced through him.

His chest compressed violently, forcing a mouthful of essence blood to spray out. His entire aura instantly withered, and his body was flung backward towards the opening.

The searing agony blurred his vision. In the next second, he saw endless blades of light converging upon him, falling like a torrential rain of pear blossoms.

Terror washed over Ye Tian’s face; it was utterly unknown how these light blades had materialized from nothing.

He raised his sword to block, gritting his teeth against the pain as he channeled spiritual energy. A spiritual glow enveloped him, and he simultaneously threw out several defensive talismans.

Bang! Bang! Bang!—

The light blades struck. Explosions reverberated continuously, brilliance flooding the sky. Terrifying power fluctuations surged outward, toppling and shattering surrounding trees. The ground was scarred with searing black gouges, a horrifying sight.

Amidst the glare, Ye Tian spat out another mouthful of essence blood, his face deathly pale.

The formation’s attacks weren’t as overwhelmingly strong as he’d feared, but they were sudden and gathered in a massive wave.

Despite being at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, and the additional protection of the talismans, he couldn’t withstand it all.

"Damn it! What on earth is happening?" Ye Tian forced his body steady.

Looking ahead, he saw another deluge of countless light blades falling, unending.

Clenching his teeth, Ye Tian dashed forward, blocking and parrying desperately.

At the formation’s core, Zhou Luo watched calmly as Ye Tian randomly struck at the empty air before him. A faint, mocking smile touched Zhou Luo’s lips.

This Illusionary Power truly was potent, he thought. Taken by surprise, even an eighth level Qi Refinement cultivator could be easily ensnared.

It seemed his original choice had been right.

Ye Tian remained oblivious to the illusion that wrapped around him until, utterly exhausted, he discovered the energy blades striking his body left no wound behind.

Only then did he suddenly realize everything before him was an illusion.

"What kind of formation is this?!" Ye Tian roared. He swallowed a pill to clear his mind and steady his spirit.

Immediately, the scene in front of him shifted again, countless light blades raining down once more.

Illusion and reality intertwined, shifting unpredictably.

Unable to discern whether this assault was mere illusion or true danger, Ye Tian dared not risk it. Swallowing another pill to replenish his spiritual energy, he charged forward again.

Having pierced the nature of the illusions, the potion genuinely freed him from their sway after he ingested it.

After all, the Illusionary Power fueling this trap was finite, incapable of achieving the true seamless interplay of illusion and substance.

Even so, after suffering repeated heavy blows, Ye Tian’s spiritual energy finally ran dry.

Despite holding onto further tricks, trapped within a top-quality formation and unable to break free, death was his only certainty.

This was especially true with Zhou Luo lurking nearby, interfering and striking from the shadows.

Half an hour later, Ye Tian fell with a thud, ultimately perishing within this very formation.

Zhou Luo didn’t approach immediately. Instead, he manipulated the formation, sending several more devastating blasts crashing onto the corpse.

Only when the body was unrecognizable and bloodied flesh splattered the ground did he finally step forward and seize the storage bag.

Inside the storage bag,

aside from spiritual stones, lay an assortment of pills and talismans, plus one top-grade magical artifact.

Their combined value was decent; selling them all off would fetch a tidy sum.

Additionally, there were a few manuals detailing dark arts for dual cultivation. Zhou Luo already owned these, so he simply burned them on the spot, discarding any thought of sale.

For one, he wanted to prevent buyers identifying these as belongings of a Hehuan Sect disciple. For another, he wished to spare others from learning these chaotic, life-twisting methods.

On the path of cultivation, only diligent effort holds the key. Those seeking shortcuts ultimately suffer backlash.

After incinerating the manuals, Zhou Luo discovered a Hehuan Sect disciple token.

Though these evil cultivators now scurried like vermin in the gutters, their organization endured.

The man named Ye Tian had been one of its Stewards, similar in rank to Wang Tong before him.

Upon acquiring the token, Zhou Luo wiped away the aura uniquely tied to Ye Tian and imprinted his own spiritual signature onto it.

Perhaps in the future, encountering other Hehuan Sect disciples, this token might let him masquerade as one.

Stowing the token and the other loot securely, Zhou Luo dismantled the formation, collected the array stones still holding residual energy, and quietly slipped out of the Illusionary Forest.

To avoid Shangguan Qianxue waiting for him outside,

Zhou Luo lingered for several days, then used Wang Tong’s mask to assume an entirely different appearance.

Wang Tong’s mask proved exceptionally useful—unless one possessed profound mental strength or a high cultivation level, seeing through it was nearly impossible.

Finally emerging from the treeline, he spotted Shangguan Qianxue indeed waiting outside.

Accompanying her was a man with sword-sharp brows and star-bright eyes, clad in a green robe—clearly her fellow sect member.

As Zhou Luo appeared, the man glanced his way and transmitted sound to her, "Junior Sister, is that him?"

He was Shangguan Qianxue’s Senior Brother, having rushed here swiftly upon receiving her Deliver the Message.

From her account, he learned she’d nearly secured three top-grade magical artifacts.

But after numerous intervening events, survival forced her to abandon them all.

Hearing these words, the man couldn’t bear to let go of the idea of three top-grade magical artifacts. Not to mention the alleged possessor who might hold two more pieces had only been at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement.

That made seizing the chance utterly irresistible.

Therefore, under the guise of helping her seek revenge, he had planned this ambush, hoping to catch his quarry returning.

Hearing her Senior Brother’s question, Shangguan Qianxue looked at the man in the purple and gold robe and shook her head slightly.

From her perspective, given Xu Changsheng’s power, even counting all his hidden cards, he likely hadn’t made it back.

The Illusionary Forest proved far deadlier than imagined; even she, at Qi Refinement seventh level, had narrowly escaped death.

As for that middle-aged man who took an upper-grade magical artifact and a top-grade one from her—who knew when he might reemerge.

Since this newcomer wasn’t the target, the man lost further interest.

Zhou Luo smoothly exited the perimeter of the Illusionary Forest and sped rapidly toward the outskirts of the Longfeng Mountain range.

This expedition into Longfeng range had yielded significant gains.

Securing a top-tier dual cultivation technique alone made the entire venture worthwhile.

He avoided entering the market town nearby. Instead, guided by the map Wu Gang had provided, he chose a lesser-known path out of the mountains.

The mountain range sprawled vast; countless exits presented themselves after all.

And this seemingly trivial choice, by pure coincidence, ended up saving his life.

For had he entered that market town, two Foundation Establishment stage powers would have been lying in wait.