Chapter 324: Great Defeat of the Qingfeng Sect

Everything was ready. Lu Ye arrived at the final position, gently waving the formation flag in his hand as spiritual power surged.

The other thirty-one formation flags immediately resonated, and all the formation masters holding them began to act.

All thirty-two formation flags pressed against the grand formation's light barrier. As the formation masters, led by Lu Ye, executed their techniques, the dark formation flags visibly merged into the light barrier.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

These formation flags, obtained as a reward from the Hundred Formations Pagoda, were easier to use than he had expected.

Zhao Li and Song Yin, who were observing this scene, were invigorated. Zhao Li, being a formation master himself, understood what was happening, and even though Song Yin was not skilled in formations, he could tell from the sight that things were progressing smoothly.

The guardian of Qingfeng Sect panicked.

He had never seen such an uncanny method. The grand formation's jade token was in his hand, and he could clearly sense that some foreign objects had merged into the grand formation. However, when he tried to activate the jade token to remove them, he couldn't pinpoint the targets at all. It felt as if those foreign objects had become one with the grand formation.

Not only had he never seen it, but such a method had never appeared in the Spirit Creek Battlefield throughout history.

Cultivators in the Spirit Creek Realm don't have high cultivation levels. Even veteran Spirit Creek Realm cultivators who, after losing hope of further cultivation progress, dedicated decades to studying formations, were limited by their own cultivation and had restricted achievements. They might be able to break some small-scale formations, but it would be extremely difficult for them to shake a behemoth like a stronghold's defensive grand formation.

With the thirty-two formation flags merged into the grand formation's light barrier, Lu Ye, holding the main formation flag, immediately sensed the flow of the grand formation's spiritual power. It felt like dipping a hand into a flowing stream.

What needed to be done next was simple. Using the power of the thirty-two formation flags, he would suppress the flow of spiritual power at two nodal points of the grand formation, specifically in the areas where the flags were placed. This way, that section of the grand formation could be breached.

That's right. Lu Ye had never intended to break the entire grand formation from the start. Even with his experience of breaking formations alone and now having thirty-one formation masters assisting him, it would still take a lot of time.

Moreover, the grand formation he had breached in the Hundred Formations Pagoda was unmanned, which was different from the current situation.

He only needed to open a breach in this grand formation, one large enough for the cultivators of both sects to enter.

He had used a similar method when conquering the Zhaori Mountain stronghold. However, at that time, his formation attainments were still lacking. He had torn a rift in the grand formation at a nodal point, then led Ju Jia and ten other body cultivators into the Zhaori Mountain stronghold to seize the grand formation's jade token.

That method was only suitable when a stronghold was not heavily guarded. If Zhaori Mountain had had even a few dozen more people defending the stronghold that day, Lu Ye would not have dared to act so rashly.

If the spiritual power flowing on the grand formation's light barrier were compared to stream water, then what he needed to do now was to use the power of the formation flags to build two dams in a section of this stream, turning the flowing water into stagnant water, and then directly break apart this isolated section.

The formation flags buzzed, and Lu Ye's spiritual power surged. The thirty-one formation masters sensed the information feedback from their flags and cooperated with Lu Ye.

The guardian of Qingfeng Sect instantly changed his expression because he clearly detected some abnormalities in the grand formation. He quickly activated the jade token, attempting various adjustments, but it was completely useless. No matter what he did, Lu Ye could adjust his approach immediately to counter it.

In the areas covered by the formation flags, the flow of the grand formation's spiritual power visibly slowed down, then stagnated.

The entire process took only fifty breaths!

"Brother Zhao!" Lu Ye roared.

Zhao Li, who had been waiting for that command, immediately roared, "Kill!"

In the next instant, streams of spiritual arts and spells unleashed their power forward.

With just one fierce assault, the grand formation's light barrier before them shattered like a broken mirror, breaking apart with a crash!

The guardian of Qingfeng Sect was stunned.

All Qingfeng Sect disciples were stunned.

Song Yin was also stunned.

Lu Ye had previously told him that the formation could be breached within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, which he had found impossible to believe. He thought Lu Ye was merely boasting. If not for Zhao Li, he would have wanted to withdraw his cultivators then and there.

But in reality, it didn't even take the time for an incense stick to burn. From the moment Lu Ye made his move until the grand formation's light barrier shattered, less than half the time it takes to brew a cup of tea had passed.

Even someone as composed as him couldn't help but swallow.

Could a defensive grand formation really be broken so easily? What he witnessed completely overturned his understanding.

Despite his shock, Song Yin's subordinates were not idle. Almost at the instant the grand formation was breached, a battle cry erupted.

Through the massive breach in the grand formation's light barrier, the cultivators of both sects surged in like a torrent, rushing into the Qingfeng Sect stronghold.

As soon as the two sides clashed, Qingfeng Sect's forces collapsed like a mountain. Instantly, twenty to thirty people fell into pools of blood, while the rest retreated in panic.

It wasn't that Qingfeng Sect's forces were weak; it was simply that no one had expected their own defensive grand formation to be so fragile.

Before the formation was breached, the cultivators of Tianyan Sect and Canglan Mountain had already adopted an offensive formation. Cultivators from each faction had their assigned positions. Eight or nine hundred people coalesced into a single unit, with strong body cultivators holding protective spirit artifacts at the front, absorbing enemy attacks as they advanced layer by layer.

But Qingfeng Sect had made no such preparations. They were gathered haphazardly, completely unprepared for an attack.

Furthermore, there was a vast difference in numbers.

This was why Qingfeng Sect appeared so vulnerable.

Battle cries rose and fell. After rushing into the Qingfeng Sect stronghold, the cultivators of both sects did not stop their advance; they headed decisively in one direction.

That was the location of Qingfeng Sect's Heavenly Secret Hall.

Merely occupying an enemy stronghold, while yielding significant benefits, would eventually allow the enemy to recover if they weren't eliminated.

Therefore, this time, Tianyan Sect and Canglan Mountain joined forces not only to capture the Qingfeng Sect stronghold but also to eliminate as many Qingfeng Sect cultivators as possible.

The charge of the two sects' cultivators was unstoppable. Along the way, Qingfeng Sect members were continuously cut down. Ju Jia charged at the very front, his body enveloped in a visible, solid protective layer of mixed spiritual power and vital energy. Attacks hastily launched by Qingfeng Sect cultivators landed on him as if they were merely tickles.

This caused the body cultivators charging alongside him to frequently glance at him with envy.

At the same time the grand formation was breached, Lu Ye effortlessly recalled his thirty-two formation flags. As the cultivators of both sects surged into the Qingfeng Sect stronghold, his four spirit artifacts transformed into streaks of light, weaving and dancing within sixty zhang (approx. 200 meters), bringing forth sprays of hot blood. Wherever they passed, tiny red lights continuously floated out from the fallen bodies, entering the battlefield imprint on the back of his hand.

Now at the Ninth-Layer Spirit Creek Realm, his strength had increased further. The power of his spirit weapon control, in particular, had increased by several times compared to when he was in the Eighth-Layer. This was not solely due to the increase in his cultivation realm but more so from the enhancement of his soul power.

In the Hundred Formations Pagoda, he had continuously consumed Soul Cleansing Water to wash away his mental fatigue. But the effects of Soul Cleansing Water were far more than just removing mental fatigue. Having used up more than half a bottle, the resilience of his soul was now superior to even that of an average Cloud River Realm cultivator.

The most obvious sign was that Lu Ye could now control four spirit artifacts without any pressure. He could even apply dual spirit runes to these four artifacts with ease.

The maximum control distance for spirit artifacts for a typical Ninth-Layer cultivator was usually around forty zhang. Beyond that, they would lose control. However, Lu Ye could now control his spirit artifacts up to sixty zhang.

What did a twenty-zhang difference signify? It meant that cultivators at the same level couldn't even dream of getting close to him; they would be slain by his spirit artifacts first.

Moving through the chaotic battlefield, Lu Ye continued his advance without pause, his gaze locked onto the Qingfeng Sect's guardian.

Empowered by a Wind-traveling Spirit Rune, his figure rapidly darted forward.

Some fleeing Qingfeng Sect cultivators in front turned to try and block him. Amber, perched on Lu Ye's shoulder, let out a tiger's roar. A visible wave of energy surged forward, causing all those cultivators to wince in pain, seeing stars.

Although they quickly recovered, they were met by streaks of spirit artifacts weaving through the air and the continuous spiritual arts unleashed by Yi Yi, who was close by Lu Ye's side.

Screams of agony rose one after another. Over a dozen Qingfeng Sect cultivators lay scattered, their blood staining the ground.

Without stopping, Lu Ye reached the Qingfeng Sect guardian in a few strides. This person, also a weapon master, summoned his spirit artifact in a panic. However, as a flash of brilliant blade light swept past his eyes, his head flew high into the air.

Lu Ye swept past him, a grand formation jade token now in his hand. He didn't rush to refine it but instead continued to pursue the remaining Qingfeng Sect cultivators.

At this moment, Qingfeng Sect's Heavenly Secret Hall had already been captured by the cultivators of both sects. Under the combined command of Zhao Li and Song Yin, some personnel were left to guard the entrance, preventing any Qingfeng Sect cultivators from approaching. The rest maintained their previous formation, constantly pushing forward and compressing the escape routes for the Qingfeng Sect cultivators.

Although Lu Ye had breached a specific section of the Qingfeng Sect's grand formation, the grand formation was still operating. After Lu Ye recalled his formation flags, the breached area was slowly recovering through the grand formation's self-repair mechanism.

Judging by the speed, it wouldn't be long before the defensive grand formation fully recovered.

This meant that if Qingfeng Sect cultivators wanted to escape, they could only flee through that single breach; otherwise, there would be no way out.

But how could the cultivators of both sects allow them to easily escape in that direction?

In the confrontations between the two major factions on the Spirit Creek Battlefield, never before had cultivators whose strongholds were captured faced such a desperate situation.

In the past, even if a stronghold's grand formation was breached, they could return to Kyushu through the Heavenly Secret Hall. But now, with the Heavenly Secret Hall captured, the defensive grand formation, which was supposed to shield them, had become their prison.

Faced with despair, the surviving Qingfeng Sect cultivators did not surrender; instead, they began to fight back.

However, the numerical disparity was too great.

The number of Qingfeng Sect cultivators was originally fewer than the combined forces of the two sects. Now, with one group killed and another fleeing through the Heavenly Secret Hall, fewer than two hundred remained.

How could they stand a chance against a force of eight to nine hundred?