“You two shameless wenches, shut your mouths! Shut up, all of you!” Chen Hong slapped the arm of her chair and stood up.

“Right now.” On the boat, Tang Xiaohua reminded in a low voice.

The moment her voice fell, six figures leapt up and rushed forward.

Before that invisible wall, they formed a hexagonal formation.

Each person found their fixed position, facing the barrier together to channel their power.

Soon, their positions kept shifting, until finally everyone could only see a ring of light.

Aside from the six people within the formation, no one knew what they were doing.

Everyone on the boat stared wide-eyed, gazing unblinkingly at the ring of light in midair.

“Not good!” Chen Hong secretly cried out, sitting back down in her seat.

She stacked both hands on her lap and closed her eyes.

Outside the barrier, all the brothers held their breath in concentration, but unexpectedly, from within the cabin of the middle boat, a figure in white robes rushed over at extreme speed.

The brothers sensed something was wrong and immediately turned around.

“Jian Yi has been controlled — don’t let him get close to them!” Yang Sheng shouted, leaping up.

If not for the black energy trailing behind Jian Yi, he wouldn’t have thought of this.

“Yes.” On the middle boat, a brother from the Longwu Army responded and leapt up as well.

Unfortunately, none of them were a match for Jian Yi.

Jian Yi swept out two palm strikes, blasting away everyone who blocked him, heading straight for the ring of light.

“Jian Yi, don’t!” Yang Sheng, falling downward, still shouted.

Even if Jian Yi couldn’t hear him, he hoped the people within the formation would know what was happening behind them.

“Don’t get distracted!” Within the formation circle, Tang Xiaohua warned in a low voice.

The other five gathered their breath and continued their movements.

A wave of intense killing intent suddenly arrived. Just as Jian Yi struck, Tang Xiaohua growled: “Scatter, attack!”

In that instant, the six returned to their positions, then spread outward, sending their palms toward the barrier simultaneously.

At this moment, Chen Hong truly panicked.

She stood up, watching the seven figures in midair with wide eyes.

The six-ring formation was the best choice for breaking a barrier, but to break her barrier, one needed people with extremely strong power.

These people’s power varied greatly, and with the handsome man’s interference added in, Chen Hong thought they couldn’t possibly succeed.

Unexpectedly, their combined power was actually not weak at all, and most importantly…

“Tang Xiaohua!” Chen Hong stared into the air, clenching her fists tightly.

You actually dared to count me into your scheme?

If the six-ring formation wasn’t enough, adding Jian Yi’s demonic power would work both ways.

With a “boom,” a burst of strong light stabbed painfully into everyone’s eyes.

Feng Jiu’er quickly put on an eye covering, and in the darkness, she found the position Jian Yi had prepared.

Struck by the strong light, Jian Yi’s consciousness cleared somewhat.

He instinctively turned his head aside, dodging the light.

As Jian Yi tilted his head and steadily fell downward, Feng Jiu’er leapt over to his side.

She used the silver needle she had already prepared and stabbed it into an acupoint on Jian Yi.

Jian Yi immediately closed his eyes, and Feng Jiu’er held him tightly, carrying him back.

Long Shiyi and Yu Jingfeng, who had returned to the deck, saw this and leapt up, supporting the two of them from left and right, landing back on the deck.

“The barrier is broken, attack!” Qiao Mu shouted loudly.

All the brothers who could hear grew excited.

As the war drums and horns sounded, the boats that had paused their voyage continued forward.

—

“Jiu’er, how is Jian Yi’s condition?” Qiao Mu returned to Feng Jiu’er’s side.

“I’ve sealed his acupoints. I hope he can hold on.” Feng Jiu’er held Jian Yi, her slender fingers resting on his pulse.

After a good while, she finally let go of him.

“Yu Jingfeng, take Jian Yi into the cabin.”

“Alright.” Yu Jingfeng nodded.

Yu Jingfeng and another brother supported Jian Yi and headed toward the cabin.

Feng Jiu’er stood up and took out a small bottle, handing it to Yang Sheng, whose mouth and chest were stained with blood.

“This medicine can temporarily regulate internal breath. Distribute it to the injured brothers.”

“Thank you, Jiu’er.” Yang Sheng took the medicine bottle.

“Miss Jiu’er, Chen Hong has withdrawn,” Long Shiyi walked back two steps. “The boats are moving too slowly — should we go over now?”

When Feng Jiu’er raised her eyes, she indeed saw Chen Hong and her people retreating.

“Not yet. Besides, there are still five thousand guards under her control all around.”

Feng Jiu’er shook her head and turned to look at Tang Xiaohua.

“Sister Hua, did you figure out that last formation?”

“The Ten Thousand Man Formation.” Tang Xiaohua furrowed her brows and withdrew her gaze.

“This formation consumes a great deal of internal energy. Chen Hong really went all out this time.”

“What is the Ten Thousand Man Formation?” Qiao Mu stepped forward and asked.

“Ten thousand refers to a large number of people, but it doesn’t have to be exactly ten thousand,” Tang Xiaohua continued.

“Right now, Chen Hong has an estimated five thousand guards in her hands. As we’ve seen, they’ve all been controlled.”

“The hardest part about the Ten Thousand Man Formation is that their lives are linked together. Unless the last one is killed, the others can still get back up.”

“What?” Qiao Mu said she had truly never heard of such a thing.

“Those who are controlled aren’t afraid of death or pain. If they die and get back up, how would we know who’s actually dead?”

“In that case, aren’t we going to be fighting the dead?”

“Didn’t expect you to be quite clever,” Tang Xiaohua said, looking at Qiao Mu, who stood at the same height as her, the corner of her lips curving slightly.

“Tang Xiaohua, are you serious? Making jokes at a time like this?” Qiao Mu really wanted to roll her eyes.

“What else can I do?” Tang Xiaohua shrugged.

“Chen Hong has five thousand against our tens of thousands — she must have a plan.”

Tang Xiaohua looked toward Yang Sheng not far away and waved him over.

“Yang Sheng, come here.”

Hearing this, Yang Sheng immediately came back.

“Madam Yue, what are your orders?”

“The five thousand guards below have been controlled by Chen Hong, just like Jian Yi — long since lost their reason,” Tang Xiaohua’s voice lowered.

“I want to tell you — you’d better let your brothers know that if they don’t want to die, they can’t afford to be soft-hearted.”

“Put plainly, they’re now puppets, no different from the dead. Even if you want to save them, you can’t.”

“Understood.” Yang Sheng gazed at the people dressed in black not far away, sighing softly. “I’ll make it clear to the brothers.”

“Madam Yue, do you mean we absolutely must kill all five thousand before they’ll fall, is that right?” Long Shiyi, who had come over, was thoroughly confused.

“Yes.” Tang Xiaohua nodded seriously. “These people are truly difficult to deal with.”

“They feel no pain. Unless struck in a vital spot, they won’t die.”

“There’s one important thing all of you need to hear clearly.”

“Within the Ten Thousand Man Formation, unless everyone is dead, if even one person remains alive, the rest — even if they fall — will rise again and continue fighting.”

“Only once we kill the very last one will the rest all fall.”