Chapter 359: Breaking the Formation

In the vast and boundless starry sky, an endless, mottled divine millstone slowly ground past. Xia Yu's soul stood beneath it, as tiny as a speck of dust.

A wild, weed-like fear surged wildly from her heart.

Confronted with this sight, even with the strength of Xia Yu's soul, she felt a tremor rise from the depths of her being, for she could clearly perceive just how terrifying the mottled divine millstone before her was...

"Wh-what is this?!"

Xia Yu's voice seemed to tremble.

Rumble!

In the starry sky, the mottled divine millstone slowly pressed down towards Xia Yu's soul. No matter how frantically Xia Yu tried to evade it, she could not escape the immense millstone.

So, she could only watch helplessly as the mottled divine millstone slowly ground over her.

Her soul seemed to shatter in that instant.

A scream echoed out.

On the mountain peak, Xia Yu's tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped open. Her large eyes were filled with terror, her small face was pale, and she stumbled backward.

The spiritual energy at her brow also dimmed, clearly indicating she had suffered an injury.

As she stumbled back, she missed her footing and began to fall down the cliff.

A streak of white hair-like energy whistled down, coiling around her slender waist. Zhou Yuan stood on the mountain peak. He looked at Xia Yu, whose large eyes were wide with panic, and smiled slightly, saying, "Thank you for the match, Junior Sister Xia Yu."

With a flick of the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand, he flung Xia Yu towards another mountaintop.

Xia Yu landed on the mountaintop, her pretty face pale as she looked at Zhou Yuan, still trembling slightly as she asked, "What did you do to me? Was that an illusion just now?"

"But why did it feel so real? Otherwise, with the resilience of her soul, she would surely have been able to withstand it easily."

Zhou Yuan merely smiled without speaking. Within his soul, there was a "Divine Millstone Imprint" left by Master Cang Yuan. It was precisely because of this that he was able to cultivate the "Chaos Divine Millstone Contemplation Technique."

However, for someone without this imprint, placing their soul beneath the divine millstone would undoubtedly be asking for trouble.

The conditions for him to drag an opponent's soul beneath the divine millstone were quite stringent. If Xia Yu hadn't underestimated him earlier, allowing him to get close successfully, he wouldn't have been able to achieve this.

But fortunately, he ultimately succeeded.

At this moment, the mountain peak beneath Zhou Yuan's feet was the central hub of this barrier...

He raised his finger, noticing the ring on it growing increasingly hot. That was Yaoyao urging him. So, Zhou Yuan stomped his foot down suddenly.

The moment he stomped his foot, the mountain peak instantly began to collapse. Cracks spread, massive rocks tumbled down, and the majestic mountain shattered in an instant.

Elsewhere in the barrier.

Yaoyao stood on a pillar of water. On the sea surface ahead, Jin Zhang, the chief disciple of Spirit Rune Peak, yawned, and said somewhat mockingly, "Junior Sister Yaoyao, the central hub of the barrier is about to shift its position."

The water pillar beneath Yaoyao's feet began to gradually shrink, clearly intending to recede back into the ocean.

And once this central position changed, Yaoyao's previous advantage would be lost.

Moreover, after suffering from the previous illusion origin pattern, Jin Zhang would clearly be much more wary and would not easily fall for tricks again.

Yaoyao lowered her gaze, watching the water pillar gradually merge back into the sea. There was no ripple of emotion on her exquisitely beautiful face. She merely gently stroked the ring on her finger. She knew that within this barrier, it was difficult for Zhou Yuan to use his origin energy. Relying solely on origin patterns and soul power, to contend with Xia Yu, the top gold-sash disciple of Spirit Rune Peak, he was indeed at a disadvantage.

So even if Zhou Yuan ultimately failed, Yaoyao would not feel much disappointment, because in her opinion, this barrier challenge was instead a form of training for Zhou Yuan. If it couldn't be done today, they could try again tomorrow.

Until Zhou Yuan could overcome Xia Yu.

"Hmm?"

However, just as these thoughts were swirling in Yaoyao's mind, her expression suddenly shifted. She had clearly sensed something.

Meanwhile, Jin Zhang on the sea surface, whose lazy expression had frozen, suddenly looked up in a certain direction, saying in disbelief, "The second hub is broken? How is that possible?! How could Junior Sister Xia Yu lose?!"

In his perception, the second central hub of this barrier had indeed shattered at that very moment. This meant that Xia Yu had lost.

Yaoyao, whose exquisitely beautiful face was usually serene and aloof, surprisingly, at this moment, a faint smile appeared on it. Its radiance seemed to add a touch of color to the vast ocean itself.

"You only focused on dealing with me... but you underestimated him," Yaoyao said calmly.

Jin Zhang gave a wry smile. They had already sent Xia Yu, the top gold-sash disciple of Spirit Rune Peak, to deal with Zhou Yuan. Was that still considered underestimation? Did they really need to send a purple-sash disciple? That would be too unsightly.

Yaoyao paid no attention to his reaction. Since Zhou Yuan had succeeded, she no longer needed to wait. Immediately, she lightly stomped her exquisite foot.

Splash!

The water pillar beneath her feet, hit by the impact, instantly began to crack, and finally exploded into countless water droplets.

And just as the water pillar shattered, the two central hubs of the barrier were completely broken.

The vast ocean that filled the world began to rapidly dissipate.

When Yaoyao and Zhou Yuan opened their eyes again, they were standing before the Spirit Rune Hall, while the enormous mist barrier was slowly fading away.

At the same time, they saw, before the Spirit Rune Hall, countless gazes filled with shock directed at them.

In fact, most of these gazes were fixed on Zhou Yuan.

After all, Yaoyao's unfathomable depth and mysterious nature were well-known, but no one had expected that Zhou Yuan would actually be able to defeat Xia Yu...

One must know that she was the top gold-sash disciple of Spirit Rune Peak, and one of the strong contenders for the top spot in this purple-sash selection!

If Zhou Yuan could defeat her here, didn't that mean he also possessed the qualifications to contend for the top spot in the purple-sash selection?

This left many disciples feeling exceptionally shocked.

Lu Xuanyin's pretty face was ashen. Her delicate fingers were tightly clenched. She looked at Zhou Yuan, who was now the center of attention, and felt that her previous schadenfreude had truly made her look like a clown.

The mocking words she had spoken earlier now seemed to turn into slaps, echoing loudly back at her.

Beside her, Xu Yan's expression was also somewhat unnatural. He could only give a dry laugh and say, "Why did Junior Sister Xia Yu suddenly lose in the end? Did she show mercy?"

In his opinion, Xia Yu, whose soul had reached the middle stage of the Reality Realm and who could utilize the barrier's power, should not have been able to lose.

He shook his head, looking at the distraught Lu Xuanyin's face, and said comfortingly, "Don't be angry. Since he managed to escape this ordeal, it means heaven has reserved him for you to deal with. Rest assured, I've made all the arrangements. During the purple-sash selection, you'll definitely get your revenge."

Hearing this, Lu Xuanyin's expression finally softened slightly, and she nodded gently.

"How about that? I told you not to jump to conclusions about Zhou Yuan so quickly." Elsewhere in the Spirit Rune Hall, Gu Hongyi said with a smile to Su Wan.

Su Wan, standing nearby, also had her mouth agape. A moment later, she sighed and said, "I'm convinced now. This kid is too strange; he can actually turn things around like this. But what did he do to Xia Yu in the end?"

In her opinion, with the advantages Xia Yu possessed, even if Zhou Yuan had also entered the middle stage of the Reality Realm, she shouldn't have been able to lose.

Gu Hongyi shrugged. Although she was also a bit puzzled, she didn't delve deeper, after all, as long as Zhou Yuan won, that was all that mattered.

Amidst the countless shocked exclamations, Ye Ge also gradually recovered his senses. He stared blankly at Zhou Yuan, and could only give a wry smile. Who would have thought that a seemingly perfect plan would go awry because of Zhou Yuan...

Li Qingchan also pursed her red lips, looking at Zhou Yuan with a hint of surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected Yaoyao to be right again...

She hadn't been optimistic about Zhou Yuan before, so when faced with Yaoyao's insistence, she had found it somewhat unreasonable.

However, the current reality told her that she seemed to have been wrong again...

"This guy..."

She stared at Zhou Yuan, pursing her full, red lips.

"Did I really underestimate him too much?"

However, she had to admit that Zhou Yuan had won this match beautifully.