Chapter 90: 25 The God-Devil of Forms, Five Elements Divine Light
On one hand, they were mutually exploiting each other’s value.
Luo Yan needed Li Qinniang to lead the way to the ruins, while Li Qinniang needed Luo Yan to decipher the formations surrounding the ruins.
On the other hand, they were also wary of each other’s hidden strength.
Without necessity or confidence, rashly starting a fight would be disadvantageous for both parties.
But such a fragile balance could not last forever.
The moment one party showed a weakness, or a sufficient benefit arose, someone would immediately take the risk.
Therefore, Luo Yan kept his hands constantly hidden in his sleeves, making sure he could silently unleash the Immortal Capital Thunder—this thunder was the fastest among all Thunder Methods, even faster than Flying Sword, perfectly suited for taking the initiative in combat.
At the same time, he reminded the Kunlun Mirror in his Sea of Consciousness to help keep an eye on any movements around them.
Following Li Qinniang through the woods, they entered a swamp.
Luo Yan frowns, noticing that these swamps were primarily made up of pale blue wastewater, teeming with vermin and larvae squirming in the water, swarms of mosquitoes flying above them, enough to make even cultivators take a step back.
Going further in, they would most likely encounter miasma.
Li Qinniang, however, was indifferent and continued on calmly.
Luo Yan followed her to the center of the swamp, where the trees grew denser, blocking out the sun and shrouding the area in darkness.
“We’re here,” Li Qinniang suddenly said.
Following the direction she pointed, Luo Yan saw a deep pool with a diameter of about three or four meters, located on the edge of where the swamp and the low hill met.
At first glance, it seemed inconspicuous. But upon closer inspection, anomalies could be found.
First, the color of the water was wrong, too clear, sharply contrasting with the surrounding swamp.
Second, there were no bugs in the water, and swarms of mosquitoes refused to approach, as if there was an invisible wall of air.
“Daoist Luo, do you recognize this formation?” Li Qinniang asked with a smile.
“Mount Sumeru Great Elaboration Formation?” As Luo Yan sent out his Divine Sense to investigate the distribution of Spiritual Power, his face suddenly showed a look of surprise, “No, there’s also the Ren Water Dragon-Locking Formation.”
“Dual formations nested together, one for defense outside, the other for locking inside. What kind of structure is this? It doesn’t look like ruins, it’s more like a prison.”
“Do you have a way to solve it?” Li Qinniang continued to ask, while imperceptibly glancing at a location in the distance.
Her senior sister was hiding behind the low hill, having laid an ambush with thirty-six corporeal Demon Heads, waiting for Luo Yan to solve the formation so they could rush out and kill him outright.
“It’s hard to say, the rank of the person who set up the formation is too high,” Luo Yan was studying the formation when he heard the Kunlun Mirror speak, “There is a Demon Path Cultivator behind the low hill in front.”
Hmm? Luo Yan immediately tensed up, suddenly noticing Li Qinniang beside him emitting a trace of Demonic Qi.
But it was fleeting, so quick it was almost as if he had imagined it.
What’s with this person? Luo Yan was extremely cautious in his heart.
The trace of Demonic Qi just now almost made him believe that she was about to attack, and he was about to cast Thunder Method, when she retracted it again.
It was as if it was meant to intimidate me… wait, deliberately?
Linking this to the warning from the Kunlun Mirror, Luo Yan quickly realized what was happening.
The Demon Path Cultivator behind the low hill and this Li Qinniang were in cahoots, lying in ambush here to attack him the moment he disabled the formation.
However, Li Qinniang and her accomplice had a seemingly harmonious but actually strained relationship; she didn’t want to be directly assassinated, so she deliberately released Demonic Qi to put him on his guard.
In essence, she wanted to incite a deadly fight between him and the other person, so she could profit from their conflict.
With these thoughts in mind, Luo Yan continued to calmly study the formation.
The Mount Sumeru Great Elaboration Formation and the Ren Water Dragon-Locking Formation were both extremely profound formations. Even Elder Shi Ding, if he were here, probably wouldn’t dare claim he could easily solve these two formations.
Luckily, the formation had been set up ten thousand years ago, and since then, landscapes had shifted, and the stars had changed their courses, creating many weaknesses in what was once a flawless formation.
The person who set up the formation must have been a Nascent Soul old monster, or even a higher-level immortal, but their mastery of formation was not deep, nor did they know the techniques of repairing and maintaining it, which left the once perfect 100-point formation with only about 15 points remaining.
“`
Even 15 minutes, for a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Rank, seemed as unattainable as the heavens.
As the saying goes, without a diamond how can you cut porcelain? Even if Luo Yan could think of a hundred methods, he struggled as his cultivation level was too low to begin…
That’s right!
With the talent of “Enlightened Upon Hearing,” Luo Yan suddenly had an inspiration flash through his mind.
I have the Postnatal Five Elements Great Extermination Divine Light!
The Ren Water Dragon-Locking Formation is an extremely formidable Water System formation. The body of water below appears to be a deep pond, but its actual volume is nearly infinite, not an exaggeration to say it’s like an entire ocean.
An ordinary cultivator stepping into it would not be surprised to be crushed into a meat paste.
But such a formation certainly can’t escape the Five Elements.
I just need to activate the Five Elements Divine Light, extract and refine the Ren Water True Essence from it, and the formation will resolve itself!
As for the Mount Sumeru Great Elaboration Formation, it is a profound spatial class formation.
Within Mount Sumeru, one can make vast distances seem as close as a hair’s breadth, perfect for entrapping enemies.
However, I have a mirror on me that possesses the Daoist Magic of the time-space category, specialising in transporting me here and there…
“Cough cough.” The Kunlun Mirror spoke up, “I can help you break the Mount Sumeru Great Elaboration Formation.”
“No, I don’t want to break it,” Luo Yan said with a slight smile, “Ah Jing, can you take control of the formation instead?”
“I can, but…” the Kunlun Mirror responded subconsciously, then realized, “You want to use the formation to counter-kill them?”
“Exactly,” Luo Yan smiled, “How could I not make good use of running into two big formations that I can solve?”
“Alright.” The Kunlun Mirror agreed.
Luo Yan, controlling the Flying Sword in the air, extended his arm and made a pressing motion towards the water pond below.
The air barrier that separated the inside from the outside began to twist faintly.
Li Qinniang: ?
She suddenly had a very bad premonition.
From a young age, her premonition for fatal danger had always been very accurate, this intuition even saved her life several times between life and death.
A great terror rose from the bottom of her heart, and almost immediately, Li Qinniang screamed as she retreated:
“The formation is broken! Senior Sister, make your move now!”
The Demon Path female cultivator ambushed behind the hillock immediately leapt out with numerous Demon Heads!
These Demon Heads, known as “Thirty-six Manifestation Demons,” were invoked through a secret technique that drew in a “Fifth Delighted Heaven” being from beyond the Heavenly Dome, calling down the otherworldly Demon Heads into the Lower Realm, and then refining them for personal use.
The Demon Heads from the Delighted Heaven naturally could morph into various shapes, birds in the sky, elephants and horses on the ground, impervious to any physical blades and swords.
Once the thirty-six Demon Heads appeared, they immediately transformed into green-faced and fanged Asura figures, rushing towards Luo Yan!
Li Qinniang, being closer to Luo Yan, quickly widened the gap, while from her sleeves she sent out another Demon Head, a regular-looking Heavenly Demon with a human head, howling as it charged at Luo Yan.
Luo Yan descended a few dozens of feet with his Sword Control and landed in the Mount Sumeru Great Elaboration Formation. With a flick of his right hand, the Immortal Capital Thunder was released, a red lightning bolt slammed downwards, instantly killing and disintegrating the human-headed Heavenly Demon into a wisp of black smoke.
The female Demon Path cultivator took advantage of the situation, commanding the Manifestation Demons to kill their way to the front, the thirty-six Demon Heads surrounded Luo Yan, spewing out masses of ink-like dense smoke, directing it straight at Luo Yan’s face!
This smoke was the innate divine ability of the Manifestation Demons, incredibly sinister. An ordinary cultivator touched by it would immediately stir up the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, fire of the heart blazing uncontrollably, unable to move, left at the mercy of the Demon Heads’ slaughter and consumption.
However, Luo Yan remained still within the formation. The masses of black smoke enveloped him, yet could not get within a few inches of his body, as if blocked by an invisible air barrier.
The female Demon Path cultivator paused upon seeing this, then looked towards her junior, Li Qinniang, only to see her already driving her Sword Light at full speed, disappearing into the dense forest.
The next second, Luo Yan brought his hands together and rubbed, and a five-colored radiance squirted out from between his palms, quickly sweeping over the surrounding Demon Heads.
The Demon Heads wailed in unison, the Five Elements in disarray, turning into black smoke that dissipated into nothingness!
These thirty-six Manifestation Demons, capable of besieging a Golden Core Rank cultivator, couldn’t even withstand a mere moment under the radiation of the Five Elements Ultimate Extermination Divine Light!