When Yang Kai had departed over a month ago, he had handed the formation technique of the Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation to Ji Yao. In the months since, every Ice Heart Valley Disciple had been drilling the formation, and Bing Yun and the others had naturally spent time training in it as well.
This was none other than the Black Tortoise Sect's supreme guardian formation — a closely guarded secret whose defensive power was absolutely formidable. Now, with seven Emperor Realm cultivators joining hands to deploy it, and with someone of Bing Yun's caliber — a third-level Emperor Realm powerhouse — leading the charge, the resulting formation could only be described as impregnable.
Though Bing Yun and the others harbored no doubts about the Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation's power, this was their first time actually using it, and they had no concrete sense of just how strong it truly was. When it effortlessly repelled the combined assault of Feng Xuan and Yao Zhuo, their hearts surged with joy and excitement. They knew full well that had Yang Kai not left behind this peerless formation, Ice Heart Valley would likely have been finished today.
Though the sect's main protective barrier had been shattered, with the Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation in place, the seven thousand Disciples might suffer far fewer casualties — some might even escape entirely, preserving the sect's legacy for the future.
"Bastards!" Compared to the amazement felt by the Ice Heart Valley cultivators, Feng Xuan was practically erupting with fury.
The Questioning Heart Sect and Ice Heart Valley were both among the Northern Domain's premier powers, and each knew the other inside and out. He had never once heard of this mysterious formation, and he had no idea where Bing Yun had obtained it. His triumphant offensive had evaporated into thin air in the blink of an eye, and his mood had turned absolutely foul.
"All Disciples, heed my command — follow me and carve a path of blood!" Bing Yun issued a cold command.
"Yes!" The assembled cultivators responded in unison.
"What are you all standing around for? Get in there, kill them!" Feng Xuan roared. Seeing that even his combined efforts with Yao Zhuo had gained no advantage, he could only settle for a fallback strategy — overwhelming them with sheer numbers.
The formation was indeed wondrous beyond compare, but Feng Xuan could see that Bing Yun and the others must have only recently begun training in it and were far from proficient. In other words, they could not unleash this extraordinary formation's full potential.
So even though they had deployed the formation, the enhancement it provided was limited. With over twenty Emperor Realm cultivators on his side joining hands, there was no guarantee they couldn't break through.
At Feng Xuan's command, the Emperor Realm cultivators all sharpened their expressions, channeling their Emperor Power and summoning their Emperor Artifacts before bombarding Bing Yun and the others.
In an instant, the energy of heaven and earth grew chaotic. The void cracked and shattered, heaven and earth seemed to turn upside down, and the ground trembled ceaselessly.
Nearly thirty Emperor Realm cultivators fighting at full force in one place — such a battle was exceedingly rare. Ordinary people would never witness anything like it in their entire lives.
Emperor Artifacts of every conceivable shape and design blazed with tremendous might, transforming into wave after wave of attacks that hammered into the phantom Black Tortoise projection. Yet the phantom proved remarkably resilient — no matter how fiercely it was bombarded, it remained unscathed.
Nanmen Dajun watched the battle unfold from the sidelines with eyes blazing bright. After a long moment, realization suddenly struck, and he blurted out in shock, "The Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation!"
As expected of a master formation practitioner of his caliber — his eye for detail was truly extraordinary. Even though this was his first time witnessing the formation, he was able to trace its origins through his vast experience and knowledge.
"So it's the Black Tortoise Sect's closely guarded secret!" Nanmen Dajun was practically beside himself with excitement.
As the saying went, every man to his own trade. His attainments in the art of formations were profoundly deep, and his love for unusual and exotic formations in this world was no different from a lecher's love for beautiful women. There had been a time when he risked his life to enter an ancient, mysterious formation for the sake of studying it, and after three years of painstaking effort he had finally cracked it — though he had nearly died in the process.
He had once read records of the Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation in ancient texts. He knew it was the closely guarded secret of the once-mighty Black Tortoise Sect of the Eastern Domain. Sadly, when the Black Tortoise Sect was destroyed, this formation had been lost to history.
The ancient texts described it as a formation that the Black Tortoise Sect had comprehended by observing the sacred spirit Black Tortoise. A sacred spirit Black Tortoise — now that was one of the most supreme existences in all the realms. A formation derived from observing its majestic form could hardly be anything less than spectacular.
Nanmen Dajun's heart had long been consumed by fascination, and he had studied the formation for a considerable period, but had never been able to locate the method for deploying it.
To think that today, of all days, he would actually witness this lost formation here at Ice Heart Valley.
"This trip was worth it! Absolutely worth it!" Nanmen Dajun's eyes shone with fervor. He had completely forgotten that this was a life-or-death battle. Instead, he was studying the formation from the sidelines with rapt fascination, craning his neck and straining his eyes as though he wanted nothing more than to charge to the front lines for a closer look.
Yet for all his feverish enthusiasm, he knew that if he actually rushed in, his cultivation would likely make him collateral damage — and he'd never even know how he died.
Meanwhile, the battle between Ice Heart Valley and the Questioning Heart Sect raged with ferocious intensity.
Though the Questioning Heart Sect had over twenty Emperor Realm cultivators fighting together — numerically superior and individually stronger than the Ice Heart Valley side — they simply could not breach the Black Tortoise Seven Section Formation's defenses.
Every single attack was deflected by Bing Yun and the others. Worse still, the killing moves that Bing Yun and her companions periodically unleashed left the Questioning Heart cultivators slick with cold sweat, scrambling desperately to keep up.
The frigid intent and the pervasive Ice Law blanketing the surroundings were particularly troublesome, disrupting the flow of power within their bodies and hampering their movements.
As time dragged on, the Questioning Heart Sect cultivators grew increasingly alarmed. If this continued, they would exhaust themselves long before breaking through the defenses — and then they would be completely at the enemy's mercy.
After all, Bing Yun and the others were primarily on the defensive with the formation's assistance, consuming far less energy than their opponents.
Quite a few began to panic, and their attacks lost much of the ferocity they had shown at the outset.
Sensing this, Feng Xuan — who had been like an erupting volcano up until now — suddenly let out a piercing shout: "Bing Yun, you may think you can hold out, but I'd like to see how your seven thousand Ice Heart Valley Disciples fare! My Sect has another ten Emperor Realm cultivators who have already stormed into the heart of your valley. By now, Ice Heart Valley must be awash in blood!"
The Questioning Heart Sect's Emperor Realm cultivators were far more numerous than the twenty-odd present here — there were over thirty in total. Roughly a third of them were Questioning Heart Sect natives; the rest were allies the Sect had recruited.
Before coming here, ten Emperor Realm cultivators had been dispatched with orders to lead troops into the valley and slaughter the Ice Heart Valley Disciples. With the diminished forces remaining inside, Ice Heart Valley would have no way to resist.
Sure enough, the moment these words left Feng Xuan's lips, the expressions of the Ice Heart Valley cultivators changed dramatically.
Bing Yun clenched her teeth and hissed, "Move!"