As he spoke, Ding Yushan had actually broken free from the control of the gray Spirit Talisman. The white light on the long brush in his hand was extremely dazzling. He intended to first detonate his Magical Treasure to heavily injure the enemy, then find an opportunity to escape with his people.
Seeing the spiritual power on Ding Yushan's long brush begin to rage, Mi Heng's eyes narrowed. The self-detonation of a Foundation Establishment master's Magical Treasure was terrifyingly powerful. Even at his peak, he would be unable to withstand it at such a close distance.
Moreover, it looked like this long brush was the opponent's Natal Magical Treasure. Its detonation would likely reduce everything within a hundred zhang, or even five hundred zhang, to ashes.
'I have to stop his self-detonation,' Mi Heng thought. His hands, however, did not stop moving. He quickly slapped his storage pouch repeatedly, and talismans of various colors flew out. Faintly, wisps of black smoke began to emit from Mi Heng's body.
He had considerable attainments in formations and talisman crafting. Even the Manor Lord had praised him for it and, out of appreciation, had taught him some Demonic Arts.
The Demonic Arts gave Mi Heng a constitution far superior to others and could raise his cultivation in a short time, which made other cultivators endlessly envious.
Instantly, Ding Yushan felt a power that did not belong to the five elements emanating from these talismans, causing the spiritual power within his body to tremble.
The spiritual power that had been flowing so smoothly just a moment ago became sluggish once more. This shocked Ding Yushan, and he was about to activate a Self-Harming Secret Art regardless of the cost.
'Is there really not even a sliver of hope to escape!' Ding Yushan sighed inwardly. Once this secret art was used, it was a method of fighting to the death with the opponent; there would be no extra strength left to escape, let alone use spiritual power to sweep someone away.
"S-Senior Brother... p-please... stop!" Just as Ding Yushan had silently begun to activate the manual, he heard the faint cry of his Third Junior Sister from behind him, her voice filled with a strange hesitation.
From the breaking of the formation until now, only a brief three breaths had passed. Although Ding Yushan and Mi Heng were constantly aware of the others, their main focus was naturally on each other.
What they hadn't noticed was the incredibly bizarre behavior of the others.
The first to notice something was wrong were, of course, the two heavily injured Nine Palaces Mountain cultivators on the ground and Ding Yushan's Third Junior Sister. Only the three of them retained consciousness to observe everything.
Of the two Nine Palaces Mountain cultivators, the one who had just been severely injured was beginning to lose consciousness, but he still knew that his moment of death was next.
So, he gave a wretched smile to the junior brother who hadn't intended to rescue him earlier, and awaited his own death.
However, the Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator did not feel the stormy onslaught he expected.
Instead, in a daze, he saw his junior brother's gaze suddenly turn to his side in astonishment, his mouth gaping open. Only then did he look doubtfully to his own side.
As for Ding Yushan's Third Junior Sister, after her first words to Ding Yushan, she immediately thought of their Fourth Junior Brother, and a wave of doubt filled her heart. She had just been attacked by the green-robed man and was worried about her Senior Brother, so for a moment, she had completely overlooked what was happening with her Fourth Junior Brother.
But why was there no sound from over there?
'And that green-robed man!'
Her heart leaped in alarm. Although the Magical Treasure Ding Yushan had sent out was extraordinary, he was currently focusing all his efforts on dealing with the Pseudo-Core cultivator and had no spare spiritual power to control the Magical Treasure that had transformed into the wind-and-snow white wolf.
With the green-robed man's strength, he should have subdued that Magical Treasure quickly. She hurriedly scanned the area in front of her, and then, like the two Nine Palaces Mountain cultivators, she witnessed a scene she would never forget for the rest of her life.
More than twenty cultivators had charged in. The first to enter were, of course, Mi Heng and the green-robed cultivator, followed by a thin cultivator and a bewitching Daoist nun. Lastly came two other Foundation Establishment cultivators leading a large group of Qi Condensation cultivators.
Mi Heng and the green-robed cultivator had charged towards the female cultivator on the ground and Ding Yushan at the first moment.
The Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator who had wanted to flee immediately was met head-on by the thin cultivator and the pretty Daoist nun as soon as he rushed out.
The thin cultivator had a sinister expression and was extremely ruthless in his attacks. He summoned two red meteor hammers, which instantly transformed into two small, red rhinos, striking towards the Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator's chest like meteors chasing the moon.
On the other side, the pretty Daoist nun, with her pitiable appearance, let out a soft laugh. With a wave of her fair, jade-like hand, something resembling a turtle shell appeared before her.
The object was covered in mottled patterns. It grew in the wind, immediately forming a wall that instantly sealed off the Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator's escape route.
The two coordinated with extreme tacit understanding, as if they often fought together. With one attacking and one defending, they sealed the only remaining gap, trapping the Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator completely.
Seeing the situation was dire, the Nine Palaces cultivator's figure twisted sharply in mid-air, trying to dodge the two small red rhinos while bypassing the turtle shell wall.
But just as his figure dodged, the mottled patterns on the turtle shell wall suddenly shot out rays of golden light. These golden rays fell upon the Nine Palaces Mountain cultivator, instantly making his body go limp, his spiritual power seemingly losing control.
To his great alarm, the two small red rhinos had already slammed heavily into his chest, sending him flying back.
At the same time, Ding Yushan's Fourth Junior Brother, who was following closely behind, also collided with the other two. His Fourth Junior Brother had no time to dodge, and a wave of despair rose in his heart.
Of these two Foundation Establishment cultivators, one was also in the late stage, while he was only in the mid-stage, the same level as the other opponent. Not to mention, there was a large group of Qi Condensation cultivators behind the enemy, who could dice him to pieces in an instant.
"This is it, I'm going to die." This was the first thought that rose in his mind. He knew he lacked the ability to fight above his rank; he was just an ordinary mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. He would have to fight hard just to win against an enemy of the same realm, let alone in this situation.
But he knew that against these cultivators, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to beg for mercy. Just as he gritted his teeth, preparing to fight to the death, an incredible scene appeared before his eyes.
First, it was the twenty-some Qi Condensation cultivators behind the two Foundation Establishment cultivators. With shouts, they swarmed forward, each holding a Spirit Artifact or Spirit Treasure, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
These Qi Condensation cultivators knew that if they met this single opponent on a normal day, he could kill all of them with a single breath.
But now, they only needed to cheer from the sidelines to claim credit later. With the Manor Lord in a rage, perhaps he would see their desperate efforts and lessen their punishment.
Just as these people were charging forward with all their might, they suddenly lost all ability to move. The shouts that were just on their lips came to an abrupt halt.
This made the four Foundation Establishment cultivators from the manor, who were closer to them, sense the abnormality behind them. In their haste, they couldn't help but glance back.
What they saw were twenty-some Qi Condensation cultivators, suddenly frozen as if by a petrification spell, each holding their Spirit Artifact or Spirit Treasure, maintaining various forward-rushing postures.
Then, as if a wind blew past them, the bodies of these cultivators, who were like clay sculptures, suddenly began to break apart.
In an instant, they turned into piles of dust behind the four, which then scattered to the ground, leaving only some Spirit Artifacts and Spirit Treasures rolling on the floor.
This sudden turn of events not only startled the Fourth Junior Brother from the Wind and Snow Sect opposite them, but also terrified the four Foundation Establishment cultivators from Griefspirit Manor. They were scared out of their wits, not knowing what had happened.
For a moment, the few people on both sides who were paying attention to this area didn't know what had happened. But such a bizarre event meant something major was occurring. Just as the five of them were about to simultaneously raise the alarm, it was the four Foundation Establishment cultivators from Griefspirit Manor who were affected first. A sudden roar echoed in their minds, and their faces flushed red, their eyes turning vacant.
With expressions of mingled ferocity and terror, they stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, as if they too had been frozen in an instant.
At the same time, a cold voice entered the ears of the Fourth Junior Brother from the Wind and Snow Sect: "Stay where you are. Otherwise, die!"
The warning that this Wind and Snow Sect cultivator was about to shout got stuck in his throat. Then he felt a light breeze brush past his cheek, and he woodenly turned his head.
He saw a green-robed cultivator from the manor, green light flashing erratically from one hand, his face already flushed red. The look of terror in his eyes was slowly receding, replaced by a vacant stare that was gradually filling his gaze.
It was only then that the faint cry of alarm from the Third Junior Sister of the Wind and Snow Sect finally sounded, causing both Mi Heng and Ding Yushan to stop their actions.
Mi Heng suddenly felt his heart clench. A sense of crisis that only ever appeared when he was on the verge of life and death welled up within him, a feeling that sprouted from the depths of his soul.
He had no time to think and directly fled to one side.
At that moment, a cold voice rang in his ear, and simultaneously in the ears of the few who were still conscious, sending a bone-deep chill through every one of them.
"You thing that is neither human nor ghost, lie down for me."
Mi Heng then felt a thunderous roar in his head. His rapidly flying body, as if drained of all its essence blood, fell heavily to the ground with a thud.
The increasingly dense black smoke that had just been emitting from his body instantly dissipated. A single thought remained in Mi Heng's mind, still in disbelief, "My physical body can already withstand a blow from an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but why..."
Only then, before the horrified eyes of Ding Yushan and the others, did a black-robed figure slowly emerge from the empty space where Mi Heng had just fallen.
Although Li Yan had been infiltrating for some time, he wasn't entirely confident he could take down so many people at once. If it were just a matter of killing them, he felt he had a seventy percent chance of success.
But Li Yan wanted to leave the Foundation Establishment cultivators alive for interrogation. As for the Qi Condensation cultivators, it was better to kill them directly. He had basically confirmed their identities anyway.
Since Li Yan had remembered the source of the somewhat familiar aura from within the formation, and coupled with the fact that they were hostile towards the manor's cultivators, he could roughly guess the origins of Ding Yushan and his group.
So, while making his move, Li Yan had also shouted at the "Fourth Junior Brother" of the Wind and Snow Sect not to move. He still couldn't control the range of his poison with absolute precision.
A single mistake, and the cultivators on Ding Yushan's side would also die by his poison, their souls all returning to their homeland.
After Li Yan's figure slowly solidified, everyone who was still conscious below couldn't help but lock their gazes on him—a lone, black-robed figure.