Unimaginable pressure crashed toward him head-on. The mountain-sized creature didn't seem to stand before them so much as press down upon their chests, making it hard to breathe.
What was even more terrifying was the fact that sharp stone pillars had sprouted all over the creature's body at some point, like inverted barbs, and sinister flames now licked across its entire form.
"Stone Fire!" Mi Qi's eyes narrowed sharply. He had some knowledge to his name and recognized traces of something from the aura radiating off the Avatar.
But why would Stone Fire appear here? He had heard rumors in his youth — that there was a Sacred Spirit called Stone Fire in the barbaric ancient lands of the Eastern Territory, and that it had even destroyed a Black Tortoise Sect. He had no idea whether it was the same one standing before him now. What baffled him even more was how Stone Fire could possibly have grown so enormous.
Intelligence on Sacred Spirits was public knowledge. Anyone with the will could gather some information, so Mi Qi was no stranger to Stone Fire — he simply had never laid eyes on it in person. As far as he knew, even though Stone Fire possessed certain arts that allowed it to alter its size, it absolutely could not have become this massive. It was utterly incomprehensible.
What he didn't know was that this Stone Fire's true form was the Stone Avatar, which had once devoured an entire suspended continent. Although the Devouring Heavenly Art had refined away all the impurities, the Avatar could grow even larger if it so desired. What was forty or fifty zhang to it?
Yang Kai's twenty-zhang dragon body would barely qualify as its shoe-holder.
The roar subsided, and the Avatar's eyes bulged wide, fierce as a wrathful Vajra guardian, gazing down upon those below.
A fist larger than a palace hall clenched tight, the arm cocked back, and then it smashed downward with devastating force. Before the blow even landed, the shriek of tearing air pierced their ears.
Mi Qi's expression changed drastically, all previous composure vanishing in an instant.
The Misty Heaven Sect's Grand Formation was indeed formidable. With him personally commanding it, it could withstand the attacks of three great Demon Kings without suffering a scratch. But against a frontal assault from a colossus of this magnitude, he had absolutely no confidence.
Most formations under heaven could be broken by sheer brute force. If they couldn't be broken, it simply meant the force wasn't enough.
How powerful was this absurdly large Stone Fire's strength? Mi Qi couldn't imagine it — and didn't dare to try. In a panic, his hands waved the Formation Flags rapidly, sending streaks of mystic light shooting outward to strike the Grand Formation's barrier. The barrier flared bright, seeming to grow far more resplendent.
BOOM…
The Avatar's fist crashed down, and the entire Misty Heaven Sect shuddered. Countless buildings collapsed in that single instant, and amid the billowing clouds of dust, figure after figure shot into the sky, gazing around in bewilderment. When they caught sight of the enormous silhouette in the distance, every last one of them froze in stunned silence.
Though the Misty Heaven Sect was protected by its Grand Formation and no outsider could breach it by force, the Avatar's blow was pure, concentrated power. Even the Grand Formation could not fully dissipate it — instead, the force dispersed through the formation's network and spread throughout every corner of the Misty Heaven Sect.
Near and far alike, the sect was left in utter devastation.
And where Mi Qi and the others stood, it was even more horrifying. When that colossal fist came down, everyone involuntarily experienced a single, overwhelming sensation — as though the sky itself had collapsed.
The shockwave traveled through the air and transformed into a crushing force of impact, sending sand and stones flying across a vast area, blotting out sun and moon alike.
Pfft pfft pfft… A series of muffled sounds rang out as flesh and blood sprayed through the air. Several Misty Heaven Sect disciples of lower cultivation had already been pulverized by that invisible shockwave, their bodies exploding into fine mist on the spot. Only warriors at the Daoyuan Realm and above survived, but every one of them was deathly pale, their eyes brimming with terror.
Mi Qi was shaken to his core. The fate of those lower-ranked disciples was something he couldn't worry about at the moment — his eyes were fixed on a single point on the Grand Formation's barrier: where the Avatar's fist had struck. The barrier, which had seemed impregnable just moments ago, now bore countless tiny cracks that spread outward like a web. In the blink of an eye, they stretched across several hundred zhang.
Mi Qi's heart lurched. He had known the creature's punch would be far from negligible, but he had never expected such terrifying ferocity.
Was this truly the power Stone Fire could wield? Stone Fire wasn't supposed to be known for its strength, was it?
Before he could dwell on it, the creature raised its fist once more. Mi Qi didn't dare hesitate — his hands waved the Formation Flags frantically, and with a surge of Emperor Yuan, streams of light shot forth.
The trembling barrier gradually steadied, and the cracks slowly began to mend under his efforts. But before he could even catch his breath, the second blow was already falling.
That fist didn't feel as though it struck the Grand Formation of the Misty Heaven Sect — it felt as though it struck the chambers of Mi Qi's own heart. A bone-chilling sensation of death surged over him without warning.
The same scenario as before played out once again. The entire sect shuddered violently, and even more buildings crumbled. Fortunately, those behind Mi Qi — the Emperor Realm masters — had foreseen the danger and worked together to unleash their power, intercepting the shockwave before it could cause further harm to the lower-ranked disciples.
Crack, crack, crack…
The sound of snapping rang out as the freshly repaired barrier developed cracks once more — more numerous and denser than before, stretching across an even greater distance. Mi Qi nearly lost his soul on the spot and hastily waved the Formation Flags again to stabilize the formation.
The sight of the Avatar raising its fist yet again filled him with despair. The Grand Formation he had been so proud of seemed utterly incapable of shielding the Misty Heaven Sect from this onslaught. Nine-tenths of all formations in the world could not withstand such relentless, devastating bombardment.
He roared, "All Elders, assist me!"
His voice rang out, and the Emperor Realm masters behind him finally snapped from their stupor, each one hurriedly producing their own Formation Flags — the command flags for controlling the Grand Formation. Mi Qi held the Master Flag, while they held the subsidiary ones.
Every face bore an expression of unprecedented gravity. As flag after flag swept through the air, a dim light rippled across the Grand Formation's barrier, and the cracks slowly began to mend.