After all, Jian Chou’s cultivation was a cut above all the Wuchang clan ghost cultivators currently in the formation, so no one realized there was anything unusual about the sound she made when tapping the fan ribs earlier. Everyone was shocked by the suggestion she had just proposed, falling into an unprecedented and thrilling contemplation.

Only one person was an exception.

That was Qu Zhengfeng, whose cultivation was even a line higher than hers.

Almost the instant her finger fell on the fan ribs and made the first sound, Qu Zhengfeng detected the abnormality within it.

Because there were actually several strands of unique soul power mixed within the sound and scattered out.

But it was too subtle, and with Jian Chou’s sophisticated methods, others couldn’t detect it either. Moreover, Lian Zhao’s precious fan was called the “Seductive Ghost Glass Fan,” and it was itself a rare spiritual object with its own soul power fluctuations. Even if others detected it, they would only think it was natural vibration when her finger tapped the fan ribs, and wouldn’t think of anything else.

After all…

Who could imagine that this Lian Zhao was not that Lian Zhao?

When those sporadic tapping sounds ended, Qu Zhengfeng’s gaze, calm yet carrying a few parts scrutiny, fell upon Jian Chou’s currently overly seductive countenance.

He couldn’t see half a trace of abnormality.

Compared to the strange allure that had previously combined seductiveness with a few parts cold condensation, at this moment she completely displayed the kind of malicious intent and desperate gamble that only evil heretics and desperados possessed!

Was it because she had thoroughly studied Lian Zhao’s memories and imitated her very well, or because she naturally had such an aspect to her character, and only in this situation had the chance to reveal it unguardedly before others?

Just like…

Him.

Without asking Jian Chou at this critical juncture why she didn’t take this opportunity to strike at Xie Buchen, much less asking what kind of message Jian Chou had just transmitted to whom outside the formation with that series of taps, Qu Zhengfeng withdrew his gaze, pressed his callused fingers to his lips, and coughed twice in a sickly manner.

The tense silence was broken, and everyone looked over.

Only then did he look at everyone hesitantly, as if he had gone through considerable deliberation and struggle, before saying: “I believe what Senior Sister Lian Zhao said is extremely correct. The enemies outside the formation don’t seem to be many, but they appeared within the Ghost Gate Pass without any warning. They must have methods we don’t know about, otherwise, it would be the watchtower’s side…”

Indeed.

How exactly did those lying in ambush outside the formation appear here without anyone knowing?

This was the most thought-provoking and puzzling question!

Kong Yin first heard Lian Zhao analyze the pros and cons, then heard Xiao Mou’s sickly but quite reasonable deduction, and knew there was only one path before them: “First, not knowing whether something happened to the watchtower and Ghost Gate Pass, we shouldn’t act rashly; second, no matter what, capturing the enemies outside the formation will certainly allow us to make merit to offset our crime; third, if we can also torture information about their infiltration method from them, we’ll have accomplished a great feat!”

A cultivator’s life, how long it is?

None of them were the most talented people under heaven. They could be said to have spent most of their lives to gain their current positions—how could they easily give that up?

One must know that the extreme domain’s punishments were extremely severe. Once found guilty, there would never be a chance to turn things around!

That feeling would definitely be worse than death!

Earlier their minds had been unclear, but now that they had sobered up, Kong Yin only needed a moment to see clearly the entanglements involved, and moreover, to assess the situation and understand that the people outside the formation weren’t that strong in cultivation.

Even with the formation’s help, they couldn’t do anything to him for the time being.

One must know that with a formation’s assistance, a cultivator’s power would inevitably be enhanced, but since the opponent couldn’t kill him, there were only two possibilities: first, the opponent didn’t want to kill him and wanted to keep him alive; second, the opponent couldn’t kill him, and their cultivation was actually lower than his!

In other words, no matter from which angle you looked at it, at least he himself was temporarily not in mortal danger. Since that was the case, why not take a gamble?!

Having made up his mind, Kong Yin’s gaze instantly changed.

The dignity of a clan elder returned to him. With an angry shout, he calmed everyone around him, then with a fierce expression, he directly ordered: “Being trapped in the formation, unable to break it, we’re still constrained by others. Lian Zhao, Xiao Mou, Xue Yin, you three protect me at the front, break out of the formation, then capture the enemy leader!”

The cultivation of Lian Zhao, Xiao Mou, and Xue Yin were all inferior to Kong Yin’s. How could there be any reason for the three of them to take the lead and guard Kong Yin, who was an elder?

Even if they protected him, how much could they protect?

This was clearly asking them to go forward and die first, to attract the attention of those outside the formation, so he himself would have a chance to escape and defeat the enemy!

Both Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng had seen the rise and fall of human hearts—how could they not see even this much?

That Xue Yin had always been in the lower levels of the Wuchang clan, constantly navigating among sinister intentions, and likewise saw through Kong Yin’s plan at a glance.

But none of them exposed it.

Jian Chou was unafraid and dared to gamble, Qu Zhengfeng had formidable strength and wasn’t afraid, plus he trusted Jian Chou, while Xue Yin knew she had no room to object, especially not when both “Lian Zhao” and “Xiao Mou” had tacitly agreed.

So the three of them exchanged glances, their eyes filled with determination of unknown authenticity, and at this moment they all responded in unison: “Yes!”

Then, each raising their defenses, they suddenly rushed out of this pale golden light shield!

The countless attacks that had been wandering around outside the light shield like headless flies all found their targets in this instant, bombarding the three of them frantically!

“Rumble…”

Terrifying and mighty power madly engulfed them.

In just the blink of an eye, not a trace of them could be seen.

It was precisely at this moment, when most of the attacks were drawn away, that Wuchang clan Elder Kong Yin withdrew the light screen that had originally covered five hundred ghost soldiers, making it reattach to himself, transforming into a pale golden lightning bolt that crashed toward the outside of the formation!

With a “bang.”

When approaching that dark boundary, it seemed to encounter some resistance, but Kong Yin’s speed was truly too fast. Before he could even feel the magnitude of this formation’s power to trap people, he had already broken through the edge of this formation!

The oppressive feeling of being trapped in the formation instantly dissipated completely. When Kong Yin saw that grayish-yellow, bleak sky outside again, he actually felt the exhilaration of seeing clear blue skies and white clouds!

What great formation? Nothing more than this!

It turned out to be so easily broken by his power. It seemed to be just a powerful killing formation that hadn’t put much effort into the word “trap.” Earlier, so many of them had actually been intimidated by this frightening formation!

A sense of absurdity arose in his heart, and feeling that he had actually been toyed with by such trivial tricks from the opponent, he felt an indescribable shame and anger.

Kong Yin looked around again—

Where were the thousands of troops outside this formation? There were only two cultivators, one male and one female!

One was the blue-robed male cultivator they had seen earlier in the formation. He looked quite young and had the bearing of a righteous gentleman.

His specific cultivation level couldn’t be sensed, but seemed somewhat higher than his own.

But the moment he saw him rush out of the formation, this male cultivator hadn’t had time to make any countermeasures, and although he appeared calm, his eyes seemed to reveal a few parts panic.

One was a female cultivator he had never seen before, born with an extremely beautiful appearance. At one glance, you could tell she must be an outstanding disciple from a prestigious orthodox sect of the Nineteen Continents.

Her reaction wasn’t slow, but her cultivation was too low.

She appeared to be only at the late Nascent Soul stage of the Nineteen Continents, still quite short of the peak great perfection, truly not worth considering.

It seemed they weren’t fearsome opponents at all, but rather cultivators from who knows where in the Nineteen Continents, relying on magical treasures or formations from their sects, lying in wait here like hunters waiting for prey, which allowed them to cause such great damage!

In this flash of lightning and spark of flint, where did Kong Yin have time to think carefully?

Almost the instant he clearly saw these two people, the attacks from his hands had already shot out like a string of pearls, actually striking simultaneously at both Xie Buchen and Lu Xiangleng!

How could Lu Xiangleng have anticipated such a turn of events?

She only felt that in the blink of an eye, the fellow Daoists from the Nineteen Continents who had originally been distributed around the formation had suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if they had never appeared at all.

And Xie Buchen’s originally impregnable formation had also suddenly been broken without warning.

This feeling was simply like a supposedly impregnable city suddenly crumbling into scattered sand!

Moreover, what surprised her even more was Xie Buchen.

This vague, rather realistic panic…

Lu Xiangleng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, chaotic thoughts flashing through her mind. She felt that in just an instant, the situation had become so strange she couldn’t understand it, and dealing with the sudden attack before her was even more difficult.

Caught off guard, she was already swept by one attack.

A bloody gash immediately opened on her arm, adding a cruel red to this extreme domain wasteland that only had black, white, yellow, and gray!

Xie Buchen saw this, but at this moment he was already surrounded by Kong Yin’s dense attacks. In Kong Yin’s eyes, although he had the heart to save someone, he lacked the power to do so, completely like a clay Buddha crossing a river, unable to save himself!

With Kong Yin’s abilities, he still couldn’t detect his absent-mindedness.

No matter what method he had used to avoid the heart-questioning dao tribulation, he was now genuinely at the middle Out-of-Body stage. Dealing with Kong Yin would be as easy as turning his hand.

But he didn’t.

At such a moment, Xie Buchen’s heart was actually extremely calm.

His gaze swept past “Lian Zhao” who was engulfed by tide-like attacks in the formation. In his movements, he avoided the approaching twelve pale golden blade lights, but was solidly struck by the remaining three!

With a “puff,” fresh blood immediately flowed out.

His complexion instantly paled and was covered with a layer of gloomy, deathly gray.

Xie Buchen gave the impression of being somewhat weak.

Kong Yin, who was about to strike directly at him, was overjoyed to see this: “All show and no substance—turns out you came here injured. I really thought you were so remarkable! Haha…”

When a person was injured, the formation naturally lost human control.

The originally terrifying attacks lost their direction, reverting to the purest spiritual power, scattering across this extreme domain wasteland. In an instant, they were torn apart by the earth’s yin essence flowing in the surrounding wind and disappeared completely.

Jian Chou and the others who had been under siege naturally broke free as well.

All three of them looked quite disheveled. Under that kind of frenzied bombardment, how many people could remain unharmed?

Their strength had all been reduced by half.

Of course, Xue Yin’s injuries and losses were real, while Jian Chou and Qu Zhengfeng were pretending.

But whether pretending or real, at the moment of breaking free, the three people displayed amazing “awareness” and “coordination,” actually transforming into speeding streams of light in unison, attacking outside the formation!

An encirclement immediately formed.

Xie Buchen and Lu Xiangleng struggled bitterly but couldn’t hold out for even a moment before being defeated.

Lu Xiangleng was originally not good at combat, and with the vast disparity in strength compared to Wuchang clan Elder Kong Yin, she was directly struck by a palm, which actually sealed her soul!

On Xie Buchen’s side, he was locked onto by two people.

One was Xue Yin’s soul-hooking rope, the other was “Lian Zhao’s” glass fan!

Originally, these two should have restrained him simultaneously, but that bright red glass fan, held by a snow-white slender hand, actually changed direction halfway!

“Snap!”

A crisp sound of the rope and fan colliding!

The glass fan painted with dark seductive female demons struck mercilessly in this instant, sending that soul-hooking rope back without giving any face, domineering to the extreme!

“Lian Zhao! Don’t go too far!”

Once again infuriated by her various arrogant actions, Xue Yin was already speechless with anger.

Although she had only been impersonating Lian Zhao for a short time, Jian Chou had already become skilled at provoking the other’s anger and grasping Lian Zhao’s style. At this moment, she merely turned the glass fan, not even glancing once, and accurately pressed it against Xie Buchen’s throat.

She laughed lightly, her voice like clouds floating in the wind.

Sweet and cool.

She actually said to Xue Yin: “Senior Sister’s injuries are so severe, yet you still want to compete with Junior Sister me for merit. Isn’t that too ignorant of your limitations?”

Among the three, Xue Yin was undoubtedly the most severely injured.

She indeed had intended to be first to restrain this male cultivator from the Nineteen Continents, but how could she match Lian Zhao, who seemed to have been eyeing this male cultivator from early on? Her moves were steady, precise, and ruthless, domineering and arrogant, completely unreasonable!

Though it was only a brief exchange, it had already caused her to suffer a hidden loss!

For a moment, she was speechless with grievance.

Looking at “Xiao Mou” beside her, he seemed to have had no intention of competing for merit from the beginning. He had exerted effort during the siege, but when it really came time to restrain these two Nineteen Continents cultivators, he actually held back!

Didn’t this just let Lian Zhao reap the benefits?

Xie Buchen still wasn’t clear about what role Jian Chou was playing here. Hearing the female cultivator with the soul-hooking rope call her “Lian Zhao,” he realized this was her current identity.

His handsome, cold eyebrows then furrowed slightly.

His gaze naturally swept around, but when it fell on the completely unfamiliar, sickly pale-clothed man behind Jian Chou, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his form moved as if he was about to react.

However, almost the moment he moved, a sharp pain came from his neck!

Xie Buchen’s body suddenly turned cold!

That was the feeling of being enveloped by a familiar stern killing intent…

The closed glass fan also had sharp edges, pointing ice-cold at his throat like a knife. With just a slight application of force, it had already pierced the skin of his neck, causing blood to flow.

His blue shirt collar was immediately stained dark purple.

He was forced to slightly raise his distinctly contoured chin, turning back his gaze. His calm eyes hid dangerous sharpness, meeting directly with those rippling, soul-stirring beautiful eyes under disguise.

Jian Chou looked at him like a hunter looking at prey that had obediently jumped into her trap, her face carrying that bewitching, seductive smile. She actually leaned closer, and in front of all these people, frivolously blew a breath at his earlobe, seemingly without any threat as she warned him: “This noble young master, you must not move carelessly. Looking at you, Lian Zhao somehow can’t help but have shaky hands. Blades and swords have no eyes—be careful not to hurt this fine-looking skin and needlessly invite heartache…”