Chapter 115: A Struggle to the Death

Li Yan retreated a few steps. Those monks continued circling within a tight radius of barely seven zhang, which had been the very reason he hadn’t been able to trigger the twelve fractured divine sense poison.

They had to step into the poisoned area for it to be effective but the monks stubbornly remained coiled within their designated zone, never straying elsewhere. Now that the Pure Land Sect monks were almost drained of spiritual power, their movement range had contracted even further.

The eighteen monks had long anticipated Wraith Sect’s tactics. Against the crimson mists and green vapors in the air, they had already shut off their six senses and sealed their breathing. Even harming their eyes was near impossible.

Low-level Qi Condensation cultivators could easily hold their breath for half an hour, let alone these monks. As long as their spiritual power wasn’t being consumed too rapidly, they had no need to breathe at all.

Most of the poisons affecting them were those with strong corrosive and adhesive properties, but even then, delivering those poisons directly onto them was no easy feat.

They had long since raised protective barriers. Only a few traces of poison managed to seep in, afflicting five of them at most.

If time weren’t an issue, Li Yan’s group could’ve simply continued attacking gradually. Eventually, when the monks had to resume breathing, the poison would erupt. The monks who were already infected would also succumb to the toxins over time.

But that was only hypothetical, they lacked the one thing they needed most, time.

Time felt both sluggish and swift. Li Yan and the others wished it would slow down, just enough to let the enemy fall dead but instead, it raced by. In the blink of an eye, thirty breaths had already passed.

On the central platform, the two figures were no longer standing but had both seated themselves in meditation. Master Zhi Zhong’s dark, thin face had turned waxy pale. When he entered the sphere, he’d already expended nearly half of his spiritual power.

Had his strength been evenly paced, with proper combat techniques and control, the outcome of a fight between him and Gong Chenying would have been uncertain. But with such brute force spiritual power expenditure, it had become a matter of sheer endurance.

Li Yan and the others darted around the perimeter of the eighteen monks. At this point, the Wraith Sect didn’t fear retaliation, the monks barely had enough spiritual power left to maintain their formation, and any counterattacks were sporadic at best.

Li Yan’s mind raced. He had a plan but he didn’t know if it would work. It was only a guess. If it failed, his own side could be dragged into the consequences.

He had no antidote for the twelve fractured poison. And without a Core Formation cultivator here, it was a mutually destructive move, one that could end with all of them dying together.

Then, Li Yan caught a glimpse of Master Zhi Zhong. His heart skipped a beat.

He saw a flicker of hesitation in the monk’s eyes as he looked toward the group of eighteen.

A terrible possibility flashed through Li Yan’s mind and his expression changed drastically.

"A few of you help me send a sound transmission to the others. Tell them that in two breaths, when I attack, they must unleash a full-range assault, then immediately retract their spirit beasts and shut off all six senses. Especially seal spiritual power circulation! Hurry! A moment too late and things could change!"

Li Yan spread his divine sense to the nearby cultivators and hastily transmitted the message. He didn’t even know which squad they belonged to. He had no time to explain, nor the ability to transmit to everyone at once. He simply used the privilege of his "Martial Uncle" status for once.

With that said, he began mentally counting time. The eight Wraith Sect cultivators nearby all received the transmission simultaneously and froze.

A sweep of divine sense revealed Li Yan standing with lowered brows and closed eyes, clearly preparing some kind of spell. They were stunned, not knowing what he planned.

But seeing his serious demeanor and recalling the terrifying poison he wielded during the tournament, they quickly relayed the message to those nearby.

Divine sense transmissions took but a moment. What cost time was the cultivators’ hesitation after receiving the message. In the midst of their uncertainty, the two breaths passed.

Li Yan’s eyes snapped open, gleaming with cold brilliance. With a sweep of both hands, a great black cloud surged toward the eighteen monks.

At that moment, over a dozen Wraith Sect cultivators simultaneously poured out their spiritual power in desperation. Spiritual artifacts and techniques rained down upon the monks.

Even the previously hesitant cultivators acted on instinct, launching their attacks at full force.

As they attacked, some of them summoned their spirit beasts and spirit insects, drawing them swiftly back into their pouches. They retreated quickly and immediately shut off their six senses and suppressed their spiritual power circulation.

Once Li Yan’s Raincloud Technique was unleashed, a torrential downpour poured down on the eighteen monks.

At first startled, the monks looked up and sensed only a faint spiritual fluctuation. It was merely a common Raincloud Technique. They relaxed.

At most, the Wraith Sect could've infused some weak toxins into the rain, nothing threatening. With their breath already sealed and the formation shielding them, it couldn’t affect them right away.

Meanwhile, the moment the rain fell, a storm of spiritual light followed as spells and artifacts bombarded the formation. It was clear that the Wraith Sect had decided to forcefully break through the formation.

The Pure Land Sect monks sneered.

The Eighteen Arhat Formation was not so easily broken.

In unison, they chanted- “Amitabha!”

Their voices instantly overpowered even the howling of incoming attacks. The eighteen monks surged their remaining spiritual power and the Arhat Formation spun rapidly, using rotational force to disperse the barrage.

A series of rapid-fire crackles rang out like beans in a pan.

As the light faded from everyone’s eyes, the Arhat Formation remained intact, but the monks within now stumbled and swayed.

Five of them were as pale as paper. The others still kept their mouths tightly sealed, clearly resisting the urge to breathe. But from their violently heaving chests, it was obvious they were barely holding on, burning what little spiritual power they had left just to stay upright.

The eyes of the cultivators lit up. Judging from the current situation, it seemed the enemy formation could be broken with a full-force assault. But just as that thought emerged, a sudden shout shattered the momentum.

“Amitabha! Then let us all descend into hell together!”

Master Zhi Zhong, who had been seated cross-legged, suddenly flared with radiant spiritual light. With a crisp crack, the blue crystal in his hand shattered as he leapt toward Gong Chenying.

The instant the crystal broke, a harsh sizzling sound erupted from above. Startled, everyone instinctively looked up only to see the black shadow covering the dome rapidly thicken. The translucent sphere thinned in an instant, while the inky blackness above intensified to a terrifying degree.

Zhi Zhong had already seen the writing on the wall before this wave of attacks from Li Yan’s group. Defeat was inevitable and he had long resolved to die.

But these Qi Condensation–stage monks of the Pure Land Sect had not come easily. It had taken decades and countless precious resources to cultivate them. Though they had no hope of Foundation Establishment, they were still potent weapons that could threaten the very foundation of the Wraith Sect.

To have them die alongside a mere thirty or so Wraith Sect disciples still seemed like a poor trade.

Yet just as he wavered in his decision, the Wraith Sect launched a desperate all-out assault. Seeing the Eighteen Arhat Formation falter, he made up his mind, if death was inevitable, he would drag them all down with him.

In a flash, Zhi Zhong reached Gong Chenying. With a slap to his waist, a flash of light revealed a wooden fish in his hand. Mid-air, he raised the ritual instrument and brought it crashing down toward her skull.

Gong Chenying remained expressionless. The light in her hand vanished as she too stowed her blue crystal away.

In the same moment, her figure flickered and reappeared where her opponent had stood. With a sweeping strike, a azure halberd swung sideways, smashing into the wooden fish.

Boom!

A blinding light erupted from the earth platform where Gong Chenying had once stood. The stone dais shattered into powder and the two figures were blasted apart, hurtling through the air.

As they landed, both staggered back, step after step, leaving deep footprints in the ground with each retreat.

Pfft!

Gong Chenying was knocked back seventy zhang before slamming into the dome wall. A mouthful of blood mist burst from her lips.

Zhi Zhong fared even worse. He crashed into the opposite side with a thunderous boom. Blood streamed from his seven orifices, his eyes wide with fury. In that brief clash, he had already been overwhelmed.

He said nothing, simply brandishing the wooden fish again. With a stomp of his heel against the wall behind him, he prepared to launch another strike. But the moment he pushed off, he suddenly felt the world spinning in his mind. His body staggered.

Zhi Zhong let out a quiet sigh.

“My spiritual power… is exhausted. I should’ve acted earlier.”

He had underestimated her. He had originally thought that the opponent was merely a female cultivator, even if she was a body cultivator, so what?

His Pure Land Sect also followed the path of body cultivation; it was just that he himself did not specialize in it.

More importantly, he was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. After pouring his power into the crystal for dozens of breaths, he was certain her spiritual energy must be depleted as well.

But the moment they clashed, he knew he misjudged. Her physical strength was absurd. Despite lacking spiritual power, she had taken his full-force strike head-on with nothing but brute flesh and he alone had suffered internal injury from the recoil.

Zhi Zhong, swaying, steadied himself without wiping the blood from his face. Supporting the wooden fish with one hand, his body suddenly flared with brilliant golden light. His abdomen swelled as if something was building within. He turned toward the eighteen monks and shouted:

“The compassion of Buddha is boundless - from Bliss we come, to Bliss we return!”

From the moment the blue crystal shattered to the impact against the dome wall, barely two or three breaths had passed. The overwhelming display, coupled with the sizzling sound from above, left the surrounding cultivators frozen in place.

The eighteen monks, though struggling, had held firm. But hearing Zhi Zhong’s cry, they exchanged glances. With no joy or sorrow on their faces, they silently dispersed the formation.

They began chanting sutras in low voices, and the interior of the sphere filled with the solemn resonance of scripture. Simultaneously, golden light blazed from their bodies as they began to swell rapidly.

“No! They’re going to self-detonate!”

The Wraith Sect disciples were shocked. The self-detonation of even a single Foundation Establishment cultivator was devastating enough that within a radius of several dozen li, no living being would be spared.

Though Qi Condensation stage cultivators were far weaker, there were eighteen of them and the sphere was barely eight hundred zhang across. Add to that the still-active Zhi Zhong preparing to do the same, and there would be no survivors.

Even if, by some miracle, a few had talismans or treasures that could preserve their lives, once the sphere shattered, they’d still be shredded by the black shadow outside.

Realizing they could not win, the monks had chosen mutual destruction.

A gleam of cold light flashed through Gong Chenying’s eyes. She hadn’t expected their assault to provoke such ferocity from the monk.

Even if she could stop Zhi Zhong now, what of the other eighteen? Just one getting through would be fatal to the sphere.

Her only option was to subdue the greatest threat first. Just as she prepared to throw herself toward Zhi Zhong with all her might, a voice echoed through the dome:

“Sixth Senior Sister, stop the Qi Condensation monks! Explode!”

Everyone froze, momentarily stunned.

They stared at Li Yan, who was several hundred zhang away, not far from the eighteen monks.

They had no idea what he was about to do.

(Chapter End)