After Yu Jingfeng gave the order, the boats began slowing down, and eventually came to a halt.

By now, the scene across the river could be seen with perfect clarity.

The shore held a stretch of woods, with an open clearing beyond it.

On the clearing stood people dressed uniformly in black — inside and out, there wasn’t a single person not clad in black.

Guards stood at every side of the formation, holding their swords, unmoving.

The guards were protecting a group of women in black robes with long, loose hair.

On the open grass, over a hundred of them had arranged themselves into a neat square formation.

The sight alone immediately brought to mind the idea of a magic formation.

At the center of the square sat a shapely woman in black.

Chen Hong wore neither a hat nor a veil today, revealing a face of unnaturally pale white.

The formation outside had already been broken, and the boats behind had caught up — at this moment, six boats led at the very front.

The boats stopped advancing, and many people came to the bow to look at the scene on shore.

The night before, Tang Xiaohua had deliberately used a diversion so that the people across the river would know they were coming — all for the sake of seeing this very scene.

This battle had to happen regardless, so catching Chen Hong all in one net would save trouble.

But judging by Chen Hong’s current expression, it was clear she’d been waiting here for quite some time.

After all, those war drums and horn calls had been sounding since the middle of the night.

What was a “barrier”? Many people had never heard of such a thing.

Even knowing that breaking through wouldn’t be easy, the brothers were still rather looking forward to witnessing it firsthand.

After all, the battle hadn’t even started yet.

“What’s a barrier?”

“I heard it’s a transparent wall?”

“Where do you even see a wall? I don’t see anything at all — oh wait, no! I see a bunch of devils.”

“How are we supposed to break this barrier?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got Madam Yue and Miss Jiu’er here, it’ll be fine.”

“That old witch from Black Mountain has really turned into a monster.”

“This Feng Clan — why are there always so many strange things going on?”

“I saw that old witch from Black Mountain too, that face, white as paper, just like a devil.”

Those muttering among themselves were, for the most part, brothers Feng Jiu’er had brought along.

The Yue family’s forces weren’t as strict as the Longqi Army, but they were reserved men of few words too — not to mention the Longqi Army itself.

Most people in the Longqi Army were sparing with their words; men like Yu Jingfeng and Long Shiyi already counted as the talkative ones.

The boats came to a stop, and Yue Jianfei, holding Tang Xiaohua’s hand, leapt from his own boat with a light push off the toe, landing steadily beside Feng Jiu’er.

Wherever that couple went, they always went as a pair, making countless onlookers green with envy.

Watching this, Chen Hong’s face turned even paler.

“Sister Hua, let me try first.” Feng Jiu’er turned her gaze back and looked at Tang Xiaohua.

“Is there some trick to it? Tell me.”

The two sides were already face to face, and Feng Jiu’er had nothing left to worry about.

Jian Yi, concerned something might happen, had gone back to the cabin ahead of time, not wanting to get in the way.

“You, me, Jianfei, Qiao Mu, Yu Jingfeng, and Long Shiyi — let’s try breaking the formation together,” Tang Xiaohua suggested.

Yu Jingfeng, who had already come over, looked back at Long Shiyi, still on the other boat.

“Come over.”

“All right.”

Long Shiyi nodded, and like a great hawk, tapped twice on the thick hemp rope strung between the two boats, and in an instant stood beside Yu Jingfeng.

“What’s going on?” Long Shiyi was excited too.

What formation-breaking method? No matter how dangerous, together they could surely break it — nothing to be afraid of!

Feng Jiu’er looked back, and Long Shiyi, Yu Jingfeng, and Qiao Mu had all gathered around.

The six of them huddled together, heads nearly touching, discussing some great plan.

The boats stood fairly high, so those aboard could easily see what was happening on shore.

Conversely, those on shore could see the people on the boats too, even if not with perfect clarity.

Seated in her chair, Chen Hong gripped the armrest tightly, her low voice ringing out.

“Tang Xiaohua, do you really think that meager scholarship of yours can break my barrier?”

“Don’t dream such foolish dreams! Even if your master were still alive, she couldn’t break it either, hahaha…”

“You truly are a fool — throwing away your entire life for one man, so stupid, hahaha…”

“You’re truly pitiful!” Just as the six of them had broken apart, a voice thick with deep internal energy rang out.

Feng Jiu’er looked toward the person at the center of that square formation, the corner of her mouth curving into a pitying smile.

Beside her, Qiao Mu and Tang Xiaohua stood tall on either side, heads held high.

Though they were only three women, they gave off an impression of boundless strength.

This wasn’t just because they were all skilled in martial arts — more importantly, it was the strength of unity.

They were like a golden triangle, and even Chen Hong, so full of confidence in herself, seemed to falter for a moment.

“You wretched girl! What did you say?” Chen Hong grew angry.

She didn’t want to see Tang Xiaohua flanked and protected by so many people, and even less did she want to hear herself being pitied.

“You’re saying you’ve lived your whole life without a single person who ever loved you — isn’t that pitiful?” Feng Jiu’er’s voice rang out again.

“Don’t tell me you’re not only ugly, but deaf as well!”

After Feng Jiu’er’s cheerful words, she looped an arm around each of the other two, and the three of them huddled together again.

Seeing this, Chen Hong grew even angrier.

“Tang Xiaohua! What makes you so special? I’m the one who killed your master — let’s see what you can do to me!”

She had originally intended to provoke Chen Hong into anger first.

A formation master’s emotions could also affect the formation itself.

She hadn’t expected Chen Hong to blurt out her own crime so openly.

Hearing Chen Hong’s words, Tang Xiaohua’s breathing turned heavy at once.

Both Feng Jiu’er and Qiao Mu looked at her with comforting eyes.

Tang Xiaohua glanced at the two of them, took a deep, heavy breath, and steadied her emotions somewhat.

“Sisters, how about this — help me kill her today, and I’ll give each of you a gold ingot.”

“Just one? Sister Hua, aren’t you being a bit stingy?” Qiao Mu pressed her lips together and asked.

“Fine, two then, no more than that — your Sister Hua here doesn’t have much of a private stash,” Tang Xiaohua shook her head, sighing lightly.

“Deal!” Feng Jiu’er withdrew the hand resting on Tang Xiaohua’s shoulder and placed it in the middle of the three of them.

“Deal!” Qiao Mu withdrew her hand too, placing it on top of Feng Jiu’er’s.

Tang Xiaohua had never seen this kind of handshake-deal gesture before, but with a delighted look, she raised her free hand and placed it atop Qiao Mu’s.

“Deal!”

The three of them exchanged glances, called out cheerfully in near-unison, and pulled their hands back almost simultaneously.

Chen Hong hadn’t expected that after what she’d said, Tang Xiaohua wouldn’t get angry — instead looking utterly delighted.

She stared at Tang Xiaohua’s face, wishing she could tear her apart on the spot.

But then again, she’d already been planning this for over twenty years — waiting a little longer hardly mattered now.

That wretched Long girl — wasn’t she just trying to unsettle her composure?

It was nothing more than a petty trick from Tang Xiaohua — how could she let it work on her?

“Tang Xiaohua, stop deceiving yourself!” Chen Hong’s laughter came out low and drawn-out.

“If you want to break the formation, come on then, no need for tricks — I won’t fall for it!”