"Whatever Fellow Daoist Han decides is fine," Daoist Xie said flatly, looking thoroughly unconcerned.
Han Li nodded and flicked a finger toward the two demon corpses floating in the void.
With two soft pops, twin crimson fireballs shot forth, blossoming into raging flames that reduced the remains to ash.
His other hand grasped at empty air, and a emerald formation disk materialized in his palm.
Han Li began murmuring incantations, about to activate the restrictions on the disk and transfer himself and Daoist Xie out of this space.
But just then, an earth-shattering boom rolled down from high above, and the entire pocket of space began to shudder violently, as though it were on the verge of total collapse.
Han Li's expression changed. He no longer dared delay even a moment. He hurled the formation disk before him with all his might, and it burst into brilliant radiance, transforming into a hazy white light formation.
He flickered once and appeared at its center in an instant.
Almost simultaneously, Daoist Xie blurred forward and stepped into the light formation right behind him.
Han Li casually tossed a hand seal into the air.
The formation hummed and erupted with blinding white light. In the next heartbeat, both Han Li and Daoist Xie vanished without a trace.
A moment later, countless white cracks materialized throughout the surrounding void. Then, amid a rapid cascade of crisp snapping sounds, the entire space truly disintegrated and fell apart.
Above an unnamed mountain peak on the edge of the mountain range, spatial fluctuations rippled and a white light formation appeared. Figures flickered, and Han Li and Daoist Xie emerged within it.
Han Li's expression was grim, while Daoist Xie's remained perfectly serene.
"What happened — why did the restrictions suddenly fail?" Han Li called out, waving his hand toward the formation below. The light formation dimmed, reconstituting itself into the emerald formation disk, which flew back into his hand. He brought it to his mouth and spoke in a low voice.
"Han, bad news. The Holy Tree just showed that Formation Eye Number Three has been breached. Some of the restrictions across the Grand Wood Realm Formation can no longer be activated, and the power of the remaining restrictions is weakening as well." Cao Ji's solemn voice carried from the flashing formation disk.
"A formation eye has already been taken? How is that possible — how could the demons have found it so quickly? Even if they located it, with restrictions and other Fusion-stage fellow Daoists standing guard, how could they have destroyed it?" Han Li's heart lurched, and he fired off questions in rapid succession.
"Wait — I've just received a sword-transmitted message from one of the fellow Daoists at Formation Eye Number Three before he perished…" Cao Ji paused, and when his voice returned, it had become laced with shock and fury. "No — it's worse. Six Saint Ancestor incarnations appeared simultaneously. They killed every one of the fellow Daoists guarding the formation eye, then destroyed it. It seems someone on the demon side understands the Grand Wood Realm Formation well — those Saint Ancestor incarnations headed straight for Formation Eye Number Three from the very start. That's why it fell so quickly."
"If the demons truly have someone who understands the Grand Wood Realm Formation, then our position here and Formation Eye Number One will likely be targeted by those Saint Ancestor incarnations soon as well. The formation's defensive restrictions can still hold off ordinary demon lords, but they won't last long against Saint Ancestor incarnations. We need to end our fight as quickly as possible. Fellow Cao, don't worry about draining the formation's energy — expand your surveillance range by another fold and tell me immediately if anything changes. I'll finish this battle on my end shortly, and then we can focus all our strength on whatever comes next." Han Li pondered for a moment, then issued his instructions in a tone that brooked no argument.
"Fine — it can't be helped. Don't worry, Han, I'll do everything I can." Cao Ji hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and agreed.
The formation disk's glow faded, and silence followed.
"So the demons know the exact location of the formation eyes. Heh — it looks like this guarding mission won't be nearly as easy as we originally imagined. Daoist Xie, let's go. We'll deal with the enemy in front of us first." Han Li pondered for a few moments, then suddenly chuckled.
He tapped his finger rapidly against the formation disk several times. Spatial fluctuations rippled through the surrounding void, and after a sweep of five-colored radiance, both Han Li and Daoist Xie vanished from the spot without a trace.
In another pocket of space bathed in five-colored light, Fei Xiaoxi — the Fusion-stage expert of the Yaksha Clan — had already unleashed all of her arts. She was driving several multicolored luminous spheres to fend off the attacks of over a dozen blood dragons.
These blood dragons were a dripping crimson, their bodies roiling with bloody energy in which countless drops of essence blood seemed to lurk. They bared fangs and brandished claws, utterly ferocious.
Behind the restriction of shimmering light, more than half the Wood Clan cultivators had already fallen. Only eight or nine remained, desperately driving various treasures toward the towering crimson-furred man in the center.
But every single attack was effortlessly deflected by the blood-colored light ribbon coiling around the giant's body. And with each counterattack, concentric waves of bloody energy surged from the ribbon, blasting the treasures aside. When those waves surged all the way to the Wood Clan cultivators, they set the five-colored light barriers trembling and growing unstable.
The Wood Clan members who had already perished had clearly been killed when the bloody energy waves shattered their light barriers.
The two ape-headed, wolf-bodied beasts had already split into over a dozen phantoms. Their claws sliced through the air in dense, relentless waves, striking at the enormous fur-covered man — but they dared not get too close.
Judging from the scene, Fei Xiaoxi and the others were barely managing to hold off the giant's attacks, but they had been thoroughly driven onto the defensive.
The massive fur-covered man waved both hands high above his head, and black runic symbols rolled ceaselessly across his body. The dozen or more blood dragons he commanded grew thicker and larger by the moment, while the light ribbon spiraling around him emitted wave after wave of eerie shrieks, fueling his momentum with every passing second.