Chapter 114: Race Against Death

With the defensive array he had personally set in place, Li Yan felt a measure of reassurance settle in his heart. As his cultivation of the Guishui True Scripture deepened, its formidable power gradually revealed itself, no longer a simple matter of arithmetic increases. He finally understood the source of that haughty confidence in Dong Fuyi’s eyes when he had spoken of the Five Immortals Sect. That pride stemmed from the sect itself, and more specifically, from the sheer might of the Guishui True Scripture.

Yet ever since entering this secret realm, something about the scripture felt... unfamiliar. Li Yan couldn’t shake the feeling that this strange sensation was tied to the very nature of this world.

A bold speculation began forming in his mind, was this secret realm somehow connected to the Five Immortals Sect? Otherwise, why would entering this place feel like a fish returning to the sea?

If Dong Fuyi were here, surely the old man would have seen through its mysteries with a single glance. Thinking of his solitary master, Li Yan sighed inwardly. He had no idea how the old man was faring now.

While his thoughts drifted, a sudden crackling zzzz erupted overhead, followed immediately by deep, thunderous rumbles echoing throughout the sphere.

Both sides of the battlefield instantly ceased their attacks, shifting into a wary stillness. Some looked up, others swept the area with their divine sense. Even in the distance, Zhi Zhong and Gong Chenying halted their fierce duel.

When the cultivators looked up, their expressions changed dramatically. Above them, the surface of the translucent sphere had begun to darken as a black substance spread across it, dimming the light within at alarming speed.

The zzzz sounds were like the hiss of acid eating through flesh, burning and corrosive.

At the same time, from the two points where each faction had originally entered, the ground erupted with a dull rumble as stone platforms three feet high rose into place.

The sudden transformation startled everyone, until realization struck like lightning.

The massive black shadow in the sky had finally descended, pressing down over the sphere from both entry paths. The sphere was clearly acting as some kind of barrier but for how long?

From the sound alone, it was clear the protective sphere was weakening rapidly. When it failed, death would descend upon all within.

Zhi Zhong and Gong Chenying exchanged a swift glance, then looked to the twin stone platforms. Without hesitation, the two figures split off in a blur and raced toward the altars.

Under the shocked gaze of those around them, they leapt atop their respective platforms. In the very instant their feet touched down, each raised a shimmering blue crystal prism and channeled their full spiritual power into it.

As their power surged into the blue crystals, two radiant beams of azure light shot straight up into the sky, striking the inside of the sphere above.

Everyone inside watched as the crackling hisses overhead seemed to muffle, as if shielded by an invisible sound-dampening barrier. The harsh sounds grew noticeably fainter, and the tense expressions on Gong Chenying and Master Zhi Zhong relaxed ever so slightly.

Their swift judgment had bought precious time. Though no one knew how long the crystals could delay the black shadow’s assault, the immediate threat had lessened, and that was enough to offer a breath of relief.

But just as that breath was drawn, a sudden whoosh split the air. A blade of wind shot out from the side of the Wraith Sect, aiming straight for the neck of a Pure Land Sect cultivator.

The battlefield froze for a split second, then exploded once again into a frenzy of multicolored lights and violent explosions.

The one who had launched the sneak attack was none other than Li Yan. He had seen how focused Gong Chenying and Zhi Zhong were, but a deep, urgent unease had surged up from within him.

Without waiting for orders, he targeted the nearest monk and released a deadly wind blade.

To Li Yan, the key to survival now boiled down to one word: speed. Only speed could carve out a sliver of life from this trap.

Those monks had been a little slower on the other path. When the two groups converged, they had no time to recover their depleted spiritual power and were immediately forced into battle.

Gong Chenying exhaled lightly. Just moments ago, as she poured her power into the blue crystal, it had felt like an insatiable abyss, devouring her energy in a single breath. The hollow sensation that followed had shaken her.

Only after forcefully mobilizing her remaining strength did she stabilize the flow. But the moment she resumed infusing energy, it was swallowed once more. The realization left her shaken. At this rate, she wouldn’t last much longer.

Even with sixty percent of her spiritual power remaining, she doubted she could sustain the infusion for more than a hundred breaths.

She was about to forcibly split her divine sense to order another assault, but to her surprise, a wind blade had already shot out from her side.

Someone had noticed her distress.

She glanced toward the plain-faced, dark-skinned youth who had acted first and the corners of her lips curled slightly.

"Little junior brother, every time we reached a crucial moment, your timing was flawless. Seems our squad has gained more than we realized from having you along."

With that thought, she lifted her eyes to check on the situation at the other platform. Seeing Zhi Zhong gritting his teeth in full concentration, she allowed herself a shred of relief. The gaunt monk’s situation appeared no better than her own.

Now, it all came down to which side's Qi Condensation disciples could prevail first.

They needed to eliminate those eighteen monks before she collapsed.

Li Yan made his move and immediately transmitted a message to the five teammates on his side.

"Captain can’t hold on much longer. I’ll drop my defenses and launch a full assault!"

As he finished speaking, Li Yan glanced at the five of them. Among them were Wu Shixi and Yu Yiyong from the Spirit Insect Peak, and the other three were disciples from Boundless Peak. All of them had also noticed the immense strain Gong Chenying was under, this battle had to end swiftly.

"Agreed. We’ll split up and attack with everything we’ve got. No matter what, we must end this quickly."

Wu Shixi’s scarred, blade-like face twitched as his figure flickered out from behind Li Yan’s Water Curtain.

With a flick of his sleeve, several iridescent centipedes shot forward. At the same time, he slapped his waist with his other hand and more dark, lightning-like creatures burst forth, bizarre beasts that bore some resemblance to the Mirror Scorpion.

"Doesn’t matter if the other five teams think the same as us. Once I notify them, we immediately strike!"

Yu Yiyong twirled the writing brush in his hand, his tone calm. He stepped back a pace and quickly sent out transmissions, coordination had always been Gong Chenying’s emphasis.

"Understood!"

The three disciples from Boundless Peak responded almost in unison. None showed even a hint of dissatisfaction with Li Yan’s decision. With sharp battle cries, they split in three directions, darting from behind the water curtain.

Li Yan shrank the water curtain to shield only himself and followed the arc of the wind blade he had launched earlier.

From the moment he attacked to the voice transmission, and the team’s decisive action, all this took less than half a breath. In an instant, they scattered and launched their assault.

Almost simultaneously, the other five teams also dispersed into individual attackers and charged in.

Their assault now was far more ferocious than before, several times stronger, in fact. The formations of the Wraith Sect’s six squads had only been rehearsed on the spot and were barely adequate for defense. Now, when faced with coordinated group assaults, their formations began to crumble. Cooperation among the six had been brief and it showed.

Once separated, however, each disciple unleashed their most powerful techniques. In a flash, the battlefield was overrun with spirit beasts and a storm of spirit insects. Purple mists and green clouds surged, filling much of the dome’s interior.

Li Yan’s wind blade had sliced to within a foot of a monk’s head, but the monk remained unmoved, as if he hadn’t seen it. Eyes lowered, his feet continued to follow the rotation of the other seventeen monks.

As Li Yan drew near, the rotation of the Eighteen Arhats Formation shifted, and the monk moved from his original position. Above the monks’ heads, indistinct lotuses suddenly bloomed.

The lotuses spun rapidly, releasing golden light. Li Yan’s wind blade, along with various other cultivators’ spells, struck the light and were instantly repelled and dispersed.

As Li Yan landed, he should have been facing one monk but the rapid rotation of the formation placed three monks before him in an instant.

Each of the three bent a finger and flicked it toward him. Without waiting to see the result, they continued their synchronized footwork and shifted positions.

Li Yan felt three waves of fierce energy streak toward him from behind. With a sharp breath, he darted to the side in quick succession, barely dodging as three streaks of green light whistled past.

One streak sliced under his arm, piercing his deep green robe clean through and leaving a neat finger-sized hole. That robe was a low-grade spirit artifact, normally impervious to common attacks yet it was pierced effortlessly by a single strike.

“Bhadra Finger.”

A supreme technique from the Buddhist Arhat Hall. The realization sent a chill through Li Yan’s heart.

The eighteen monks rotated like a whirlwind, appearing and vanishing, shifting positions constantly. Any given point might suddenly face multiple attackers. A moment ago you fought one; the next, you were outnumbered.

Buddhist techniques inherently countered demonic arts and offered resistance against poisons. Combined with the Eighteen Arhats Formation, they formed an impregnable shell. The spirit insects and beasts filling the sky couldn’t even reach them.

However, the toxic mists and noxious vapors had some effect. A few monks clearly showed signs of poisoning and the formation began to slow. Still, it wasn’t about to collapse any time soon.

But the Wraith Sect’s all-out, no-defense tactics had their price. Several spirit beasts were struck down by powerful Buddhist spells, dead or dying in mere breaths.

On the other side, after only a dozen or so breaths, both Gong Chenying and Master Zhi Zhong were already drenched in sweat.

The sizzling hum above them was growing louder. Both factions’ cultivators were anxious and desperate. Li Yan and the others were drenched in sweat as well.

“We must break the Eighteen Arhats Formation!”

That formation was the greatest obstacle, it stood like an impenetrable shell. Though some monks were poisoned and low on spiritual power, they could still hold out a little longer.

And if that happened, they would all be dragged to their deaths beneath that looming shadow.

Time was running out.

(Chapter End)