Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Jiang Taisheng's body suddenly swelled up, and in the blink of an eye he had transformed into a bloated fat man, his robes all torn to shreds.
Uneasy energy fluctuations radiated from his body, causing every heart to race wildly.
The Black Tortoise Seven Severance Formation's lights flickered frantically, showing signs that it was about to collapse.
"Stop him!" The flirtatious composure Hua Qingsi had shown earlier was completely gone — she let out a shrill scream, her beautiful eyes filled with terror.
Though she was at Dao Source Stage Three, she absolutely could not ignore the self-detonation of a Stage One powerhouse, and moreover, Jiang Taisheng was a demon-corrupted Dao Source Stage One expert!
The Fu-surnamed man's expression turned grave as well. A short blade materialized in his hand, and he slashed directly at Jiang Taisheng, intending to kill him before he could self-detonate.
Duan Yuanshan, Qin Chaoyang, Du Lishen, and Yang Kai all unleashed their energy attacks simultaneously, sending a barrage of colorful blasts toward Jiang Taisheng.
But just then, something completely unexpected happened.
Zhuang Pan suddenly let out a terrified scream, his eyes trembling violently, and then he desperately fled outward.
He had been scared out of his wits by the scene before him, wanting only to escape as far as possible. He completely forgot about the Heart Demon Oath everyone had sworn together, and no longer cared about anyone else's safety.
The moment he moved, the Black Tortoise Seven Severance Formation — which had still been holding — collapsed instantly. The massive Black Tortoise silhouette twisted and dissipated.
"You bastard!" Duan Yuanshan glanced at Zhuang Pan's retreating figure and nearly spat blood from sheer rage.
"Brother Zhuang, come back!" Du Lishen shouted, but Zhuang Pan was long gone, beyond earshot.
BOOM...
A tremendous explosion rang out, shaking the earth and mountains. Where Jiang Taisheng had been standing, a pitch-black void had suddenly appeared — devoid of any light, impossibly deep, as if it could swallow everything in the world.
The black void then suddenly expanded outward, carrying a bone-chilling wave of energy.
Pfft pfft pfft...
Duan Yuanshan was the first to be hit, and he coughed up a mist of blood, his aura plummeting instantly.
Right after, the Fu-surnamed man and Hua Qingsi both went pale, blood seeping from their noses and mouths. Fortunately, both were powerful, and the secret techniques they had mastered were not weak either. They held their ground through sheer cultivation strength and technique, blocking most of the damage.
Qin Chaoyang and Du Lishen, being the weakest, suffered the worst. Qin Chaoyang was blown away and landed far off on the ground — his fate unknown.
Du Lishen had half his body blown off by Jiang Taisheng's self-detonation and died on the spot.
On the other side, Yang Kai stood guard behind Qin Yu, turning his back toward the direction of the self-detonation, channeling his Source Power to protect himself.
Qin Yu only had Return Void Stage Two cultivation, and moreover bore the crucial task of repairing the seal. If she died in this explosion, the entire operation would be a complete failure.
So his first priority was to protect Qin Yu.
When the terrifying wave of energy struck, even though Yang Kai had used his Space Secret Technique to banish most of its power, he still felt as though he had been hammered by a massive sledgehammer. His back burned with searing pain, his chest roiled with churning blood and qi, and he coughed up a mouthful of golden blood.
As the aftershocks gradually faded, the scene was absolutely horrific.
Everyone was gasping for breath, their faces etched with shock and horror.
An ordinary Dao Source Stage One expert's self-detonation would never have produced such devastating power. Jiang Taisheng's ability to achieve this was entirely due to his demonic corruption.
"Yu'er, how is the seal repair progressing?" In the silence, Duan Yuanshan suddenly turned and shouted at Qin Yu.
At this point, among the seven Dao Source Realm experts, one had fled, one was dead, and one's condition was unknown — they could no longer maintain the great formation. If the seal repair was complete, they could immediately retreat to Fenglin City. If only a little remained, Duan Yuanshan felt they could push on a bit more. But if there was still much left to do, they would have to flee immediately.
At his words, everyone turned their gaze to Qin Yu.
The next moment, their expressions froze, giving way to despair.
The stone wall where the seal existed looked far more damaged than before — clearly it had been affected by the self-detonation. And at this very moment, at the seal on the stone wall, a faint golden glow was flickering, with patterns wriggling like earthworms, ceaselessly writhing as though they had absorbed some vitality and were about to transform into living creatures.
Moreover, from within the stone wall, a peculiar attractive force emanated, making it impossible to avert one's gaze.
Sensing this, everyone's hearts lurched in alarm. They quickly bit down on the tips of their tongues, and in that fleeting moment of clarity, shut their eyes.
"This place is no longer safe — everyone, leave now!" Duan Yuanshan knew the situation was lost. As he spoke, he darted over to Qin Chaoyang, checked his breathing, and upon confirming he was still alive, looked relieved before picking him up.
The Fu-surnamed man and Hua Qingsi exchanged a glance, both having already made up their minds to retreat.