Just as the giant hammer was about to smash a huge crater in the ground, the wielder reversed direction. The blow, as heavy as Mount Tai, instantly changed course. In his hands, it seemed weightless, still pursuing Yun Ya.

This display of making the heavy seem light, with such masterful control of power, was exquisite.

Needless to say, Mo Tizhun had arrived.

He and Yun Ya were old adversaries, both familiar with most of each other’s capabilities. As soon as they engaged, the battle immediately reached white-hot intensity.

The two men’s violent auras collided, and the surrounding cultivators quickly moved aside, not wanting to become collateral damage.

Miao Feng Xian finally regained his composure, took two long breaths, and strode forward to join the battle, saying: “You’ve been out of sight too long.”

In the two days since the Wei people had infiltrated the Yao capital, Yun Ya had rarely shown himself. Even when the Yao King, such an important hostage, was escorted out by Zuo Qiu Yuan, the great State Preceptor remained unseen.

Miao Feng Xian’s most realistic assessment was that this fiendish man was secretly executing some scheme. Having learned from Princess Hanyue about Yun Ya’s shapeshifting abilities, he had remained vigilant these past few days toward anyone who approached him.

The last time Mo Tizhun fought with Yun Ya, both were injured, though Mo Tizhun’s wounds were more severe—something that had bothered him for years. Today, he was determined to wipe away that previous humiliation. He secretly formed several hand seals with his left hand, and suddenly two more Mo Tizhuns appeared behind Yun Ya, each swinging millstone-sized hammers directly at his upper and middle sections.

This was his doppelganger technique, which he hadn’t deployed in their previous battle. Unlike ordinary mirror images, each doppelganger possessed one-third of his power and could be controlled at will. Although they lasted only ten breaths, they were enough to become a decisive trump card that could turn the tide of battle!

When dealing with someone like Yun Ya, one must be fast, precise, and ruthless, never giving him time to employ more tricks!

By now, Miao Feng Xian had joined the fight. With his exceptional innate talents and cultivation, his first coordination with Mo Tizhun was already flawless. The auras of the two powerful experts intertwined, creating a combination that could counter almost any opponent.

Caught amid battle, Yun Ya was undoubtedly uncomfortable, forced to shift from offense to defense, employing all his light and elusive skills to dodge attacks. But with Mo Tizhun’s ultimate move, he was essentially facing four masters simultaneously. No matter how meticulous his defense, there would inevitably be a gap. He was struck on the left chest by the doppelganger’s hammer and staggered two steps.

In that instant, red and white lights flashed from his body, then vanished.

Two protective magical artifacts were simultaneously destroyed, demonstrating the ferocity of Mo Tizhun’s attack.

The remaining force should have been bearable for someone of Yun Ya’s cultivation, but he couldn’t help letting out a muffled groan, his throat tasting sweetness. Mo Tizhun noticed this and shouted: “His heart condition hasn’t healed! Attack his chest!”

A third person immediately emerged from the Yao army, thrusting a bronze staff directly at Yun Ya’s chest.

It was Zhao Rushan who had joined the fight.

Among the military generals of various kingdoms, many were cultivators. Zhao Rushan was not only a fierce general but also a profound practitioner skilled in earth-based mystical powers. Each of his strikes carried the force of heavy earth—an eight-hundred-jin staff striking a person’s body would have the effect of nearly ten thousand jin.

Yun Ya’s chest was already aching from the previous blow and he was unwilling to take another hit directly. He extended his fingers as if playing a zither, deflecting the staff to one side.

By now, more cultivators from the Yao army had joined the battle.

The opportunity to gang up on an enemy kingdom’s State Preceptor was rare. Now that he had walked into their trap, everyone who had been toyed with by this formidable enemy over the past few days was eager for revenge. If seven or eight of them together couldn’t detain him here, the Yao cultivators would never be able to hold their heads high in public again.

Most terrifying was that although the Yao cultivators temporarily couldn’t use elemental power, their combined momentum created an oppressive force against their enemy.

This was the advantage of fighting on home ground.

Yun Ya moved like a specter, facing so many opponents without falling. The fact that two of them were State Preceptors would already drop countless jaws if word got out. Miao Feng Xian and Mo Tizhun exchanged glances, each seeing determination in the other’s eyes:

They must seize this opportunity to capture Yun Ya today. Such a formidable man, if carelessly allowed to escape, would truly be an endless future trouble!

From Yun Ya’s perspective, he had missed his chance to assassinate Miao Feng Xian. Now he faced the combined attack of two State Preceptors, while Yao cultivators and soldiers were eyeing him hungrily.

The phrase “surrounded by enemies” couldn’t be more fitting.

From this perspective, his mission today had failed.

Yun Ya remained undaunted. With one sword strike, he forced Mo Tizhun to retreat two steps, then suddenly withdrew thirty feet away. Looking carefully, one could see that where he stood was precisely the Small Mountain-Moving Array that he and Miao Feng Xian had drawn earlier.

Yun Ya took out two red spirit stones from his pocket and quickly placed them into the yin and yang focal points of the array. This action was completed in one fluid motion—almost as soon as the spirit stones left his hand, the array emitted a faint white light.

The two red spirit stones were specifically used to supply energy to the array. Either one was far superior in quality to what Feng Miao Jun had seen. There’s a phrase “so red it’s purple,” which perfectly described them.

Ordinary cultivators would have to exhaust their entire wealth to accumulate just one, but for the Small Mountain-Moving Array, they were merely “fuel” for a single teleportation. And even then, only because the distance Yun Ya planned to travel wasn’t far. If he wanted to teleport like Mo Tizhun had years ago, from a small county town directly to Dragon Rising Pool over two hundred li away, the number of spirit stones required would be dozens of times greater!

This is bad, this fellow is trying to escape! Mo Tizhun’s expression turned serious as he hurled his giant hammer. The Small Mountain-Moving Array could only transport one person; whoever stood inside it first while mentally reciting the incantation would be teleported away. He had just arrived and noticed the array drawn on the ground, hoping it wasn’t too late to destroy it.

However, the array’s light only brightened briefly before dimming, like a candle that had just experienced a strong gust of wind, flickering twice before extinguishing.

Had the array malfunctioned?

Yun Ya’s gaze swept over the array. There were thousands of lines, and it would take time and a calm mind to check what was wrong. Unfortunately, he had neither at the moment.

Miao Feng Xian was also seriously injured, but he let out a chuckle: “Once I knew you were Yun Ya, how could I leave the array intact?” He lifted his foot slightly, and Yun Ya realized that while Mo Tizhun was engaging him, Miao Feng Xian had quietly erased some of the lines on the ground.

The Small Mountain-Moving Array was extremely precise—if just one or two lines were wrong, the entire array would fail.

By the time Yun Ya revealed his true identity, Miao Feng Xian had already guessed that killing the Yao King wasn’t enough; he needed to kill the Crown Prince as well for the Yao Kingdom to collapse. But regardless of whether he succeeded or not, the commotion would be substantial, and the nearby Yao people weren’t dead—they wouldn’t let him escape.

Moreover, there were dozens of Wei cultivators in the main palace complex waiting for his orders.

So one of Yun Ya’s escape routes must have been the Small Mountain-Moving Array on the ground. After killing Miao Feng Xian, he would only need to activate the array to instantly return to the main hall!