Chapter 168: Death

Whoosh!

The Heaven-Trapping Net descended, covering overhead. A fierce wind swept through, grinding the broken stone pillars and rocks on the ground into dust.

The foul zombie had just broken free from the spiritual talismans and vine artifacts, and before it could employ its escape technique, it was enveloped by the wind formation. The Bagua-shaped wind formation firmly encased the foul zombie. The tangible wind suddenly contracted inward, transforming into an icy-blue tornado that rose from the ground, spinning and crushing the zombie.

The wind formation stirred up thick dust and smoke, resembling a flawless grey-blue curtain that completely obscured the foul zombie within. The deafening sound of the wind echoed throughout the hall, interspersed with the zombie's continuous monstrous roars.

It seemed the foul zombie was indeed trapped by the Heaven-Trapping Net.

Seeing that the Heaven-Trapping Net was effective, the three men's expressions relaxed slightly. Daoist Baiyun revealed a joyful look and said, "I will suppress this fiend; you two fellow Daoists just focus your attacks on the center of the wind formation..."

Before he could finish speaking, a muffled thud suddenly emanated from within the wind formation. The formation itself trembled violently, as if struck by immense force, and several cracks instantly appeared, causing tendrils of icy-blue wind to dissipate.

The Heaven-Trapping Net, suspended above, also shook violently a few times, swaying precariously.

Then, a series of continuous muffled thuds followed, and the wind formation instantly developed dense cracks, showing signs of being unable to hold together.

Daoist Baiyun's face was filled with shock. He hastily channeled all his spiritual energy into the Heaven-Trapping Net, yet could only barely keep the wind formation from dispersing. He gritted his teeth and urgently urged, "This fiend's malevolent aura is too strong; the Heaven-Trapping Net won't be able to hold it for long. You two fellow Daoists, quickly unleash your full power!"

Seeing this, Qin Sang and the other man dared not hesitate. They both summoned their magic artifacts and attacked the center of the wind formation.

The foul zombie was trapped in the wind formation with nowhere to escape, so they didn't need to be distracted by anything else; they just had to attack with full force. The Five Elements Demon-Breaking Sword and Wu Yuesheng's spiritual sword immediately unleashed their full power. Streaks of sword qi tore through the air, dazzling in their myriad colors, like continuous rainbows piercing into the wind formation.

Unexpectedly, their sword qi not only failed to suppress the foul zombie's arrogant aura but instead made it even more frenzied. Muffled thuds came like a squall, and the wind formation fluctuated more and more violently. To maintain the Heaven-Trapping Net, Daoist Baiyun was forced to overdraw his spiritual energy, and his face grew increasingly pale.

Daoist Baiyun was burning with anxiety and cried out urgently, "You two fellow Daoists, stop holding back! The Heaven-Trapping Net consumes a tremendous amount of energy, and I'm about to collapse. Even if you don't want to avenge Daoist Liu, you must consider yourselves. The earthly fiend qi will soon catch up. If this fiend breaks free, we won't have a chance to break the restrictions on the heavy profound-iron gate, and we'll all be trapped and die here!"

Provoked by Daoist Baiyun's words, Wu Yuesheng's face suddenly darkened. He snorted, "Daoist Baiyun, why utter such pointless remarks? Daoist Liu was cruelly killed by the foul zombie. The anger in my heart and that of Junior Brother Qin is no less than yours. Moreover, my natal spiritual sword was also damaged by the evil zombie; how can I tolerate it! Daoist Baiyun, calm yourself. I will now activate the Thousand-Mechanism Sword Formation, and it will surely slay this evil zombie."

With that, Wu Yuesheng extended a hand, momentarily halting his spiritual sword's fierce attacks. Then, he immersed his mind in the spiritual sword, muttering incantations, and rapidly changing his hand seals.

Daoist Baiyun was overjoyed at this sight. "It's good that Daoist Wu understands the gravity of the situation!"

Yet, a hint of suspicion appeared in Qin Sang's eyes.

They had been attacking for so long, and he and Wu Yuesheng had been cooperating, whether intentionally or not, focusing on one spot. Even if the foul zombie possessed Profound-Yellow Armor, it should have shattered by now. Yet, the foul zombie showed no signs of injury or weakening; on the contrary, the wind formation was dissipating more severely.

Qin Sang glanced sideways at Wu Yuesheng, who seemed oblivious, following Daoist Baiyun's instructions, fully concentrating his mind on manipulating his spiritual sword to prepare a powerful sword formation. Daoist Baiyun, meanwhile, wore an expression of struggling persistence.

Seeing this, Qin Sang secretly frowned, pondered for a moment, and a glint flashed in his eyes. Under Daoist Baiyun's gaze, he nodded at him, then feigned throwing all the offensive spiritual talismans in his hand. Dozens of talismans launched at once, creating a formidable display, transforming into various attacks that surged overwhelmingly into the wind formation.

However, under the cover of these talismans, he secretly withdrew part of his divine sense, significantly reducing the power of his Five Elements Demon-Breaking Sword.

On the other side, Wu Yuesheng's hand seals became increasingly fast, dazzling to behold. His spiritual sword hovered in mid-air, and with Wu Yuesheng's movements, it suddenly emitted a clear, sharp sword cry. Its sword qi surged, the crimson sword qi resembling raging flames, causing the temperature in the chilly hall to suddenly rise a few degrees.

Immediately after, the sword qi lightly trembled, splitting into two. Then, the divided sword qi began to split again, and in the blink of an eye, dozens of sword qi, all of the same size, filled the air.

"Form up!"

At Wu Yuesheng's command, dozens of streaks of sword qi moved in unison, forming a disc-shaped sword formation that continuously rotated around the wind formation. All the sword qi pointed in unison at the core of the wind formation, emitting an incomparably sharp and powerful aura.

Wu Yuesheng's eyes widened, and he roared, "Kill!"

Qin Sang looked up and saw the Thousand-Mechanism Sword Formation spinning rapidly like a grinding stone. He had never seen a jade slip for this sword formation at Pagoda Peak, so Wu Yuesheng might have obtained it elsewhere. This formation looked quite imposing; he wondered what its true power was.

Unexpectedly, just as the Thousand-Mechanism Sword Formation was about to unleash its power, Daoist Baiyun's figure suddenly swayed. His aura instantly became extremely weak, as if he was exhausted from overdrawing his spiritual energy. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, crying out mournfully. The Heaven-Trapping Net, with no one maintaining it, also began to fall from mid-air.

Almost simultaneously, Wu Yuesheng let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Qin Sang abruptly turned his head and saw that the foul zombie, at some unknown moment, had escaped from the Heaven-Trapping Net and appeared where Wu Yuesheng had been standing. Wu Yuesheng, who was fully concentrating on controlling the sword formation, was caught off guard and struck by the foul zombie's claw in his vital chest area. He was violently flung away, crashing into the stone wall of the main hall.

The sword formation dispersed.

With a loud thud, Wu Yuesheng's body slid down the stone wall like a rag doll, a large pool of fresh blood instantly soaking the ground, a shocking sight.

Wu Yuesheng lay motionless in the pool of blood, not a single breath escaping him. It was clear he wouldn't survive.

"Daoist Wu!"

Daoist Baiyun cried out mournfully, his eyes filled with tears, his face etched with self-reproach. Seeing the foul zombie about to feed on Wu Yuesheng's blood, he quickly pulled out a handful of spiritual pills, stuffing them into his mouth. He barely managed to summon the Heaven-Trapping Net, trapping the foul zombie once more, while weakly shouting, "Daoist Qin, I am exhausted and can't hold it for much longer. Quickly, use all your power to slay this fiend and avenge our two fellow Daoists!"

Qin Sang had been watching this scene with a cold gaze. From Daoist Baiyun's collapse to Wu Yuesheng being flung away by the foul zombie, his expression remained unchanged.

Hearing Daoist Baiyun's urging, Qin Sang glanced at him and said faintly, "Daoist Baiyun, are you truly exhausted? I don't believe it."

"You..."

Daoist Baiyun's face was filled with astonishment. He stared at Qin Sang for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. His aura instantly recovered, and his complexion returned to a healthy rosy hue, showing no trace of exhaustion whatsoever.