The Bearded Man turned with a heavy voice, his gaze causing the hidden figures around them to tense.
In an instant, $2veryone’s eyes burned with bloodlust, their battle intent surging like a storm.
Yet the White-Robed Elder at the forefront raised a hand, his expression eerily calm.
"Hold!"
The dozen or so figures froze at his command.
The Bearded Man’s eyes widened, confusion flashing across his face.
"Elder Lü, why stop us?!"
The sage-like old man shook his head slightly, casting a cold glance at the burly man.
"Fang Hai, every one of us here has blood debts with the Scarlet Heaven Sect. Do you think only your Ten Thousand Peaks Heaven Sect seeks vengeance?"
His booming voice instantly silenced the crowd.Then, the elder lifted his gaze to the sky, his aged eyes gleaming with sharp light.
"We formed this alliance and waited here for one purpose—to ambush the Scarlet Heaven Sect!"
"Now that we finally have this rare opportunity, with layers of formations laid out, we cannot afford even a moment of recklessness. We must not waste this chance to wipe out those monstrous threats in one strike!"
"The slightest misstep could undo all our efforts!"
As he spoke, unmistakable wariness flickered in his eyes.
"The Scarlet Heaven Sect’s experts are terrifyingly powerful. There’s no room for error. We must wait until their flying vessel enters the range of our formations, ensuring every trap is perfectly activated before delivering the fatal blow!"
His words left the group solemn and tense.
Voices of agreement rose one after another.
"Elder Lü speaks true. The Scarlet Heaven Sect is filled with formidable experts. Only by biding our time can we crush them in one move!"
"If we face them head-on in direct combat, we stand no chance..."
"Especially that Tu Daofang—he’s a nightmare! My fellow disciples were wiped out in a single strike before him. His cultivation must have reached the third tier of the Heavenly Rank!"
"Do not lose heart! What does profound cultivation matter? With the combined formations of our three great Heaven Sects and the secret aid of our seniors, how can he possibly win?"
"Exactly! We’ve set up seven layers of formations. Once activated, their power will stack exponentially—enough to make even a Heavenly Rank expert suffer!"
"Right! Once those Scarlet Heaven Sect dogs are wounded, we’ll swarm them. Victory isn’t impossible!"
As the voices rose, $2he previously impatient Fang Hai gritted his teeth and bowed to the elder.
"Your words are wise, Elder..."
"My thirst for vengeance clouded my judgment. I acted rashly. Please forgive me."
The elder waved dismissively.
"No need for apologies, Nephew."
Tension hung thick as the group concealed themselves in the forest, staring intently at the sky.
Then—
The flying vessel finally reached the treetops, fully entering the forest’s range!
The elder suddenly swung his arm down, and everyone began weaving intricate hand seals!
In an instant, $2rofound formation patterns lit up across the forest floor, their glow shifting in rhythm with the seals, intertwining into an extraordinarily complex design.
Runes shimmered like stars, Dao rhythms flowed like radiant mist.
Sacred chants echoed...
The terrifying power of the formations surged beyond all expectations, filling every onlooker with exhilaration!
They channeled their energy fervently, unable to wait any longer.
"Now!"
As their seals pointed skyward, the multicolored formation patterns coalesced into a radiant beam, shooting toward the heavens with enough force to obliterate all in its path!
Anticipation and bloodlust burned in their eyes, as if they could already see the flying vessel exploding into shards.
But then—
The dazzling light barely ascended a few zhang before abruptly dimming and dispersing!
Fang Hai’s muscular frame stiffened in shock.
Before he could even voice his confusion, the formation patterns on the ground also began fading. Within moments, they vanished without a trace.
Far from annihilating their enemies, the formations hadn’t even rustled a single leaf.
Fang Hai’s eyes bulged, his pupils trembling violently!
"How is this possible?!"
"Our Ten Thousand Peaks Heaven Sect’s Mountain-Cleaving Formation was activated using an ancient scroll! How could it dissipate in an instant?!"
The others were equally stunned, their faces paling.
"What happened?! Our Spirit Sword Heaven Sect’s ancestral formation—gone?!"
"Our sect’s formation too!"
"Why?!"
"Where did we go wrong?!"
Panicked shouts erupted, and even Elder Lv Dongping’s aged face twisted in disbelief.
But when he saw the shadows creeping over their formations, the patterns unraveling like smoke...
Lv Dongping jerked his head up.
Only then did he realize—the faint formation patterns meant to envelop the sky had indeed risen, only to be shredded effortlessly by the flying vessel, as if they were rotten twigs!
Not only had they failed to damage the vessel, they hadn’t even slowed it for a heartbeat!
Instantly, $2v Dongping’s aged eyes trembled, despair etching deep into his weathered face!
"The Scarlet Heaven Sect... is this powerful?!"
"Our painstakingly laid formations were crushed without effort. That vessel is surrounded by spatial barriers—it’s carved out its own domain! Nothing in heaven or earth can penetrate it!"
"Such power... is beyond anything we can oppose!!!"
His despairing murmur sent chills through the surrounding experts, their faces ashen.
They stood frozen, staring at the sky.
The once-ordinary flying vessel now seemed boundless, blotting out the heavens like an insurmountable monolith, snuffing out all hope in their eyes.
The clenched fists and gritted teeth of these elite disciples, the last embers of fallen sects, all turned to helpless stillness. They felt like ants before an unstoppable force.
Silence. Despair.
Under their bitter gazes, the vessel continued gliding forward, smooth and undisturbed.
A crushing sense of powerlessness spread. Every face was deathly pale.
In the suffocating quiet, not a shred of fighting spirit remained.
"What do we do now...?"
"We overestimated ourselves. Pathetic! If the Scarlet Heaven Sect’s elites on that vessel notice us, we’ll die here!"
"We must suppress our auras and hide. As long as we live, there’s still hope..."
"With such a monstrous force slaughtering sects, calamity is coming to the Southern Li Heaven Domain!"
"Damn it!"
Defeated, they suppressed their energies, using secret techniques to conceal themselves in the forest. Fear glinted in their eyes, their vengeful fire extinguished by the enemy’s overwhelming might.
The Scarlet Heaven Sect seemed an invincible, unfathomable entity.
Disaster loomed over the Southern Li Heaven Domain!
Inside the flying vessel.
A respectful report echoed outside a quiet chamber.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, it seems formations were set up below. An ambush may have been planned. Awaiting your orders."
Within the dim, opulent chamber, a figure shrouded in dark energy remained motionless.
Only a detached, icy voice replied.
"Pay it no mind. Likely just surviving rats, overestimating their strength."
"This vessel is encased in impervious barriers—a supreme technique. How could mere ants hope to scratch it? Even if I struck it myself, breaching it would be difficult!"
"Press onward. Annihilating the Moon God Pavilion is our true objective!"
With those words, $2he black-robed elders nearby showed no reaction. None spared a thought for the "ants" below. To them, even the Moon God Pavilion was little more than prey.
Sinister black mist seeped through the silent chamber, thick with killing intent.
The subordinate withdrew, and the vessel continued its advance.
Soon, it would pass the forest’s edge.