There were matters of greater and lesser urgency, and people faced difficult choices—on this point, Wan Zhengxin was perfectly capable of drawing a clear line. The rage and worry in his heart transformed into boundless fury. The might of heaven and earth surged through him as his most devastating secret arts rained down upon Wujiang without mercy.
At the same time, Yang Kai let out a roar: "Feng Ying, switch formations!"
Beneath the Six Harmonies Formation, the six Seventh-Order members of the Dawn Team were intimately linked in aura and energy—their very minds were connected as one. So the moment Yang Kai's voice fell, Feng Ying understood exactly what he intended.
Without hesitation, she darted out from her position and took over the formation's core node where Yang Kai had been standing. The other four shifted their positions simultaneously. In the span of a single breath, the Six Harmonies Formation transformed into the Five Elements Formation, and the vanguard role previously held by Yang Kai now fell to Feng Ying.
"Be careful!" Feng Ying's voice had barely reached Yang Kai's ear before he abruptly appeared beside Hong Hu. A Golden Crow cried out, a blazing sun leapt forth, and his spear carried the sun straight into a thrust at Hong Hu.
There was no way to simply ignore Hong Hu. After the Qingfeng Team's warship had been sent flying, Hong Hu's massive hammer had immediately come crashing down toward the Wild Boar Team's warship.
The Wild Boar Team's warship had somewhat better defenses than the Qingfeng Team's, but only marginally so. With the level of power Hong Hu had just demonstrated, it would be virtually impossible for the Wild Boar Team's warship to withstand his assault.
One could well imagine that if no one intervened, the Wild Boar Team's warship would meet the same fate as the Qingfeng Team's. After that, neither the Dawn Team's nor the Water Snake Team's warships would be spared.
Though Yang Kai couldn't fathom why Hong Hu had chosen to target the squad warships rather than harass Xiang Shan's advancement, he simply could not stand by and do nothing.
The Seventh-Order cultivators of the various squads were hampered by all manner of concerns and couldn't lend a hand. That left only him to step forward. He had fought Domain Lords on multiple occasions, and his personal strength far exceeded that of an ordinary Seventh-Order cultivator. With the Laws of Space at his disposal, even if he couldn't match a Domain Lord head-on, he wouldn't be quickly defeated.
The other Seventh-Order cultivators simply didn't have that capability. Coming forward alone would be a death sentence. And if an entire squad charged in together, that would give Wujiang free rein to slaughter them.
Yang Kai's sudden appearance caught Hong Hu somewhat by surprise. In truth, his attack on the Qingfeng Team's warship had been yet another probe. Through all the fighting so far, the Human side had suffered zero casualties. The situation might have appeared disadvantageous to them, but in reality everything remained under their control. If there truly were an Eighth-Order cultivator lurking nearby, they might or might not choose to intervene.
Attacking the warships was the ideal test. If an Eighth-Order cultivator really was hiding in the shadows, they would surely leap out to block him.
What pleased Hong Hu was that no Eighth-Order cultivator appeared—only a Seventh-Order who came darting forward.
He hadn't placed this Seventh-Order in any regard, not even when the man unleashed what appeared to be a devastatingly powerful secret art.
Hong Hu's massive hammer swept upward with casual ease, crashing into the tip of the spear. The blazing sun was annihilated, and Yang Kai's spear was nearly sent flying from his grip. The savage force struck like a tidal wave, hurling him backward until he vanished from sight.
With one insect dispatched, Hong Hu lowered his gaze toward the floating continent. Through its thick barriers, he could just make out a familiar figure seated cross-legged on the ground.
Xiang Shan! It had been so long. What a shame that this would be his burial ground.
Now fully certain that no ambush lay in wait, Hong Hu hesitated no longer. He raised his massive hammer high above his head, the power of Ink churning around him in nearly solid waves, and then—under the furious, glaring eyes of Chai Fang and the others below—he brought it crashing down.
It was as though two worlds were colliding. The instant the hammer fell, the void for a million li around them shuddered violently. The savage force materialized and radiated outward from the point of impact. Several warships that had kept their distance were suddenly thrown about like ships caught in a violent storm, heaving wildly.
Crack... crack... crack...
Starting from the point of impact, enormous fissures spread across the Old Turtle Team's protective barrier, branching outward like a spider's web.
Hong Hu showed a flicker of surprise. "Quite sturdy!"
With his Domain Lord-level power behind a full-force blow, he still hadn't broken through the defense before him. The protective capability of this Human warship was something to be proud of.
Yet no defense, no matter how formidable, could withstand such fierce assault. After a single hammer blow, Hong Hu had already determined that it would take only three strikes to completely shatter the barrier.
BOOM...
The second hammer blow fell, and the cracks multiplied and widened. The Old Turtle Team's warship flickered with unstable light as the entire vessel groaned with the sound of strained metal.
"Hold the line! Push the barrier to its absolute limit!" Chai Fang snarled through gritted teeth. Leading the entire Old Turtle Team, he and all fifty members drove their power into the formation with desperate, frenzied intensity.
Yet both Chai Fang and his team members knew that when the Domain Lord's next blow arrived, the Old Turtle Team's barrier would break. The gap in power was not something effort alone could bridge.
Hong Hu's hammer rose once more, transforming into an enormous phantom hammer that blotted out the sky. Just as it was about to fall, Hong Hu suddenly turned his head to look behind him.
In the distant void, he saw a great sun rising and a full moon hanging high in the sky. Beneath the wondrous sight of the sun and moon shining in tandem, a mysterious power was surging forth.
He couldn't quite define or describe this power. It seemed to contain all manner of wondrous properties—something Hong Hu had never encountered before. Yet deep in his heart, a faint sense of unease stirred. This strange power actually posed a genuine threat to him.
The sun and moon swept toward him, and the mysterious power grew ever more pronounced in its manifestation.
What had been far away in the distance arrived in the blink of an eye. Behind the sun and moon was the very same Seventh-Order Human he had just sent flying, his expression calm as still water as he followed close behind, forming seals with his hands.
Hong Hu's third hammer blow never fell. He had always been a cautious and meticulous being. When faced with unknown danger, his choice was to neutralize it first.