The white fur on Sisan Zhenren's arm surfaced for only the briefest instant before retreating back into his skin without a trace, and he carried on discussing the plan to breach the barrier with Han Li and the others as if nothing had happened.
Han Li's expression was placid and his tone mild, yet no one noticed the sliver of divine sense he had slipped into a spirit beast pouch, gently soothing the suddenly agitated Soul-weeping Beast while a flurry of unusual thoughts raced through his mind.
After about the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Han Li and the others had agreed on a course of action. One by one they flickered forward, picked out a spot, and took out their respective formation flags and discs to set up auxiliary formations that could amplify the power of their attacks.
Han Li and the young man surnamed Xu, meanwhile, set up a large offensive formation called the "Wind-Flame Dragon Fury Formation." Although it was nothing compared to the grand restricting formations of major sects, it was the most powerful attack-type formation that could be hastily arranged by the five of them.
Once fully activated, the formation should be able to match a single full-power blow from a late Nascent Soul cultivator wielding an ordinary magical treasure. That would prove very useful indeed.
Half a quarter of an hour passed, and all the formations were in place. Guiling and the Silver-Winged Yaksha, among others, stepped into the auxiliary formations.
As for the Wind-Flame Dragon Fury Formation, it would naturally be jointly operated by Han Li and the young man surnamed Xu.
It was rather ironic — Han Li and the Heavenly Lake Temple had been at each other's throats, yet in the blink of an eye they had been forced into an alliance.
The young man surnamed Xu stared ahead at the grey, hazy barrier not far away, raised one hand, and sent a ball of milky-white light hurtling toward it. The light ball did not explode. Instead, it hovered momentarily before settling on the surface of the barrier, flickering on and off — a perfect target.
"In a moment, fellow Daoists, direct your attacks at this point," the young man said without ceremony.
No one objected. The matter was tacitly settled.
Seeing this, the young man turned his head and glanced at Han Li, who stood within the formation, then gave a slight nod.
Han Li smiled faintly and, without a word, began weaving seals. His ten fingers flicked outward in rapid succession, one spell seal after another lancing through the air. In the blink of an eye, dozens of formation flags arranged around them blazed with multicolored spiritual light, and a rising hum filled the air.
The young man surnamed Xu inhaled softly, let crimson spiritual light bloom over his palm, and pressed it firmly against the ground. Waves of red light radiated outward from him, feeding into the formation discs buried deep below.
The ground shuddered. Then, with a series of muffled pops, more than a dozen scarlet fire pillars erupted skyward from within the formation, each as thick as a bowl, radiating scorching heat that seemed to ignite the very air around them.
Everyone felt their mouths go dry.
At that moment, Han Li flipped his hand, and a pale cyan formation disc appeared in his palm.
He gave the disc a casual tap. Cyan light flickered across its surface, and in response, points of spiritual light bloomed throughout the formation. After a few muffled booms, more than a dozen ethereal cyan wind dragons materialized within the formation. At Han Li's incantation, each wind dragon locked onto a fire pillar and lunged upward.
Wind and flame merged on the spot, forming more than a dozen wind-flame dragons — wind for their bodies, fire for their scales, each element amplifying the other as fire fed on wind and wind stoked fire.
"Attack!"
The moment the wind-flame dragons took shape, delight flashed across the young man surnamed Xu's face, and he barked the order.
He opened his mouth and spat out a pale cyan orb. The Spiritual Rhinoceros Peacock circling above his head spread its wings, and a torrent of five-colored spiritual light surged forth, enveloping the orb and hurtling it toward the barrier with terrifying momentum.
The Silver-Winged Yaksha, Lin Yinping, and the others also activated their respective auxiliary formations, unleashing either magical arts or magical treasures in a precise, coordinated sequence, all directed at the barrier.
A series of earth-shaking booms erupted from the barrier ahead. Blast after blast of massive spiritual energy detonated against it, the sheer force so tremendous that the entire space seemed to tremble with the reverberations.
Han Li swept his sleeve, and dozens of golden flying swords shot skyward, then multiplied into hundreds of sword-light projections. The blinding golden radiance nearly blotted out the entire sky. The young man surnamed Xu and the other cultivators, witnessing this display of power and recalling the legendary sharpness of the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, couldn't help but let their expressions tighten. Their wariness of Han Li deepened another notch.
Han Li, however, paid no attention to what the others were thinking. Under his spell command, the sword light instantly coalesced into a single colossal sword more than ten zhang long. He flicked a spell seal at it, and a layer of golden lightning crackled to life along the blade as thunderous roars filled the air.
Yet even with the giant sword fully formed, Han Li did not rush to unleash it. Instead, he let out a low shout and hurled the formation disc from his hand.
He then formed a double-handed seal and tapped the disc several times in midair.
The disc trembled violently, then burst apart with a muffled bang. A vast sheet of cyan light cascaded downward and plunged into the formation, vanishing in an instant.
The surrounding formation flags, having absorbed the cyan light, erupted with staggering spiritual radiance. The more than a dozen wind-flame dragons dancing in the air above the formation rolled, each letting out a dragon-like roar, then swelled to several times their size before charging toward the barrier with bared fangs and extended claws.
More than a dozen wind-flame dragons, trailing astonishing momentum, formed a single line and smashed into the barrier one after another.
This time, the grey, hazy barrier finally trembled violently, then began to twist and deform.
Just as the last wind-flame dragon detonated against the barrier, blossoming into a colossal fireball, a flash of blood-red light appeared — and a massive blood blade struck the same spot.
With a sharp crack, like porcelain shattering, the sound echoed through the space.