But before the Hundred Sects Alliance could escape from Void Land, the mists beyond the border began to roil and churn, rapidly spreading across the void. The cultivators, caught off guard, crashed into them one after another. In an instant, they could see nothing before their eyes, and their Divine Sense was severely suppressed. They were left stumbling around like headless chickens, unable to tell east from west.
How familiar was this sight?
This was unmistakably the illusion formation surrounding Void Land. When they had first charged in from the outside, this very formation had blocked their path. In the end, it was Luan Baifeng who had broken it, allowing the Hundred Sects Alliance to press straight through to the heart of the enemy's stronghold.
Everyone was pale with shock. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't make sense of it—this formation had clearly been shattered, so how could it have activated again?
Kong Feng couldn't figure it out either. He turned his head toward Luan Baifeng from the command ship and barked, "Junior Sister Luan, what's going on?"
Luan Baifeng's lovely face was dark. "We've all fallen for that brat's trick. The illusion formation earlier was probably never fully broken." She had believed she had dismantled Void Land's illusion formation. But thinking back now, Yang Kai must have deliberately cooperated with her to open it up, luring them inside like fish into a net. Now that they were trying to flee, the formation had naturally reactivated to cut off their retreat.
The realization made Luan Baifeng nearly grind her silver teeth to dust. A Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivator, the Warden of the Black Prison, who had lived for countless years—and this was the first time anyone had made such a fool of her. She was seething with rage.
Kong Feng pressed urgently, "Junior Sister, can you break it again?"
Luan Baifeng didn't dare overpromise. Her expression grim, she said, "I'll try."
During her initial observations of the formation from the outside, she hadn't learned nothing—she had gained some insight into its underlying structure. If she focused solely on breaking the formation now, success wasn't necessarily out of reach.
A purple glimmer flashed once more through her beautiful eyes as she fixed her gaze unblinkingly on the grand formation.
A moment later, Luan Baifeng's delicate brows furrowed deeply. She faintly sensed that this formation was somewhat different from the one before, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what had changed.
Luan Baifeng's attainments in the Dao of Formations were indeed extraordinary. This formation really was different from the previous one. Before, the illusion formation had possessed only the power of a formation. But now, the illusion formation...
Within the swirling mists, two small figures stood side by side. Pu Baixiong patted Little Mushroom on the head and said, "It's time!"
"Mm." Little Mushroom gave a soft reply, then shivered its body, releasing countless spores too tiny to be seen with the naked eye—even Divine Sense couldn't detect them. They spread outward and rapidly merged into the grand formation.
The illusion formation of the Nine Heavens had a formation eye, and it was a living one: Little Mushroom. Little Mushroom was a Mystic Rainbow Phantom Mushroom, born with an incredibly potent hallucinogenic ability. When the Nine Heavens formation had been fully laid out and Master Wuliang had explained its various powers to Yang Kai, Yang Kai had already decided to place Little Mushroom at the heart of the illusion formation as its formation eye.
When the Hundred Sects Alliance had attacked the first time, Yang Kai had only activated the illusion formation without letting the formation eye exert its power—for one thing, to hide his hand, and for another, to lure the enemy deeper inside.
Now that the enemy was trying to flee, there was no longer any need to hold back.
An illusion formation without a formation eye was merely a formation. An illusion formation with a formation eye became a Grand Illusion Formation! The difference from before was enormous—its power had increased by more than a single tier. No wonder Luan Baifeng couldn't see through it at first glance.
Countless microscopic spores merged into the formation, invisibly amplifying its power.
On the flying Artifacts spinning helplessly within the mists, many cultivators unknowingly inhaled the spores deep into their lungs. In an instant, hallucinations erupted before their eyes.
Back in the Outrageous Void, Yang Kai himself had once fallen victim to Little Mushroom's power, and it had taken the Golden Crow True Fire to save him from disaster. Otherwise, he would have drowned in that ditch for sure.
The remaining cultivators of the Hundred Sects Alliance were still numerous, but how many of them could resist the hallucinogenic might of a Mystic Rainbow Phantom Mushroom?
On one command ship, a warrior's eyes suddenly turned blood-red. He drew his Artifact sword and slashed at the person beside him. Blood sprayed through the air. The victim stared wide-eyed in disbelief at his own fellow disciple, never understanding before death why his senior brother had struck him down.
On another flying carriage, a woman collapsed in a pool of blood, wailing mournfully, "Senior brother, didn't you say you loved me? Why—" Before she could finish, another flash of sword light rose, and a beautiful head soared into the sky.
On every flying Artifact, chaos erupted within the span of moments. Those with lower cultivation quickly lost their minds, unable to recognize friend from foe, and drew their Artifacts to slaughter indiscriminately.
Only the Open Heaven Realm cultivators could still put up some resistance. Sensing the danger, they each channeled the power of their Small Worlds to shield themselves. Faced with their own disciples charging at them with suicidal ferocity, killing felt wrong but not killing was impossible—they were thrown into utter disarray.
From within Void Land, three hundred Open Heaven Realm cultivators, led by Pang Duo and the others, took to the air once more and surged into the grand formation to unleash a massacre.
This time, not only had the original three hundred-plus Open Heaven Realm cultivators deployed again, but Lu Xue, Yun Xinghua, and the others had joined the fray as well. Although they had been captured earlier, their lives had never been in danger—after all, Luan Baifeng needed intact Open Heaven Realm cultivators as mine slaves, so she had naturally ensured their safety. Having also received medicinal pills and recovered for a time, they were now mostly healed.