novelraw Chapter 122
Chapter 122
Now that Old Ning and Fatty Duan were dead, and another six people had gone north midway, there were actually only seven people left at Stone Lake. This number was already something Wang Yu could handle.
He took out the superior-grade array flags obtained from Old Ning. This array was different from the Blood Mist Concealment Formation he had purchased to guard a temporary cave dwelling. This one was a trapping array.
Its name was Eight Directions Bewildering Spirit Formation. The “bewildering-spirit” here referred to divine consciousness of cultivators, not deities. Its effect was to confuse the spiritual sense of Qi Refining cultivators, making it impossible for those inside to tell direction.
It was essentially a type of illusionary trapping formation.
With a flick of his wrist, Wang Yu scattered eight forearm-long flags around Stone Lake. Ripples stirred through the air, and then all returned to silence.
To the naked eye, there was no trace of an formation being set here.
After confirming, Wang Yu tore his ordinary clothes into tatters, rubbed his cheeks to shape a look of panic, and began panting heavily.
Moments later.
The night grew quieter. Wang Yu descended from midair to the surface of Stone Lake, letting his voice transmit down into the water.
“Disaster, disaster, Fellow Daoist Ning has been discovered by the righteous sects!”“Quick, someone come, quick…”
The surface of Stone Lake immediately rippled. Seven black-robed men broke through the water and stood upon it. Seeing the disheveled Wang Yu, they asked anxiously, “What happened, where is Elder Ning?”
“Hurry, follow me, Fellow Daoist Ning asked me to come for reinforcements.”
“Speak while we move.”
“Good.”
At this moment the situation was urgent. There was no time to judge whether Wang Yu’s words were true or false. A rapid choice had to be made, which was never easy. No one could have imagined that Old Ning had already been beaten to death directly by Wang Yu.
Once everyone stepped within the formation’s range, Wang Yu approached the strongest of them, a cultivator who had just entered the ninth layer of Qi Refining, and spoke rapidly.
“The City Lord of Stone Lake was captured by disciples of the righteous sects. Fellow Daoist Ning happened to be discussing this year’s Spirit Slave pricing when the fight broke out. Many people… many cultivators.”
“And then?”
This person could not help but grab Wang Yu’s shoulder. Before he could even hear the reply, his body started trembling uncontrollably, staring at Wang Yu with eyes full of shock and despair.
Puchi.
Wang Yu casually pulled out the still-warm heart. Being skilled in the art of ambush, how could he possibly waste such an excellent chance? Even if he could win head-on, when an effortless one-strike kill was available, why would he not take it?
Doing this repeatedly had made his technique exceedingly refined.
“Wang Yu!”
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“He killed Senior Brother Li, traitor… kill him!”
“Heh.”
The remaining six were all late-stage Qi Refining elites, but everything happened too fast. According to normal circumstances, Old Ning would not have returned for at least three more days to arrange the next mission.
They were well aware of the dangers of infiltrating the Taihu Spiritual Domain, always guarding against exposure. Even though they had bribed the stationed cultivators of Black Mountain Pass, they could not afford to relax.
Because whether righteous or demonic, every internal force was split into factions.
Within the righteous sects there were both corrupt worms who colluded with demonic paths, and upright cultivators full of awe-inspiring righteousness. Once captured by the latter, death was inevitable.
Wang Yu’s actions followed the principle of speed. Before they had time to consider whether it was reasonable, everything had already happened.
The Eight Directions Bewildering Spirit Formation quietly activated. The six of them coordinated perfectly and launched a joint strike. The chaotic, explosive energy of spells all blasted onto Wang Yu’s body.
When the colors faded, Wang Yu stood in place completely unharmed, revealing a mocking expression toward the group.
“It is useless. You will never be able to kill me.”
With that, he pointed forward with his right hand.
A massive ice sword suddenly condensed and thrust toward a cultivator at the eighth layer of Qi Refining. The two companions beside him looked grim and simultaneously released defensive artifacts to try to help.
But strangely, the ice sword pierced through space itself, and from behind, split two of the three into halves. The ice sword was so large that although it was a thrust, it achieved the effect of a cleaving strike.
The artifacts, having lost spiritual power supply, fell toward the lake. Four pieces of corpses splashed heavily into the water.
Out of seven, only four remained alive. The survivors’ expressions all changed.
Fear, terror, anger, suspicion. Their emotions varied, but all were exaggeratedly etched on their faces.
“Impossible… impossible.
You are only at Qi Refining stage. How could you possibly have the ability to traverse space, and even apply it to a spell… no, this must be illusion.”
They were, after all, disciples of a great sect. Just one attack, though at heavy cost, was enough for them to realize the cause.
But… what did it matter?
On the other side, from a different perspective than the four, Wang Yu had just stored away his spoils. At the edge of the stone lake, eight formation flags were emitting a faint glow.
Eight ancient characters representing the eight directions appeared on a complex spirit pattern formation diagram. The spiritual power consumption needed to sustain this formation was far greater than he had expected.
The four cultivators, however, were cursing furiously at the sky. They stood back-to-back, separated by more than five meters, their minds completely lost. What they saw and heard was entirely different from Wang Yu.
The effect of the formation was almost too remarkable.
Was this truly a superior-grade formation of the Qi Refining stage? A trace of doubt surfaced in his heart, but he did not waste the slightest moment. Without mercy, he struck ruthlessly.
The ice sword continued sweeping, almost effortlessly slaughtering all seven of them on the spot.
The murderous aura between Wang Yu’s brows grew even stronger.
After collecting all the spoils, he dispelled the formation and landed by the stone lake to carefully examine the eight formation flags.
“East, South, West, North, Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest.”
These were the traditional eight directions, dividing heaven and earth like the character for rice. Yet earlier, aside from the spirit pattern diagram, only the eight ancient characters acted as cores.
Wang Yu removed the Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest flags from the set. He quickly noticed traces of repair on them.
If the original patterns on the flags were exquisite works of art, then the repair marks were like crude doodles of a child. Even one unskilled in formation arts could see the difference.
“So the East, South, West, North flags were reforged and are only first-rank. The other four directional flags were merely repaired…”
Judging this way, Wang Yu felt it was very likely that this was once a severely damaged third-rank formation set, and extremely valuable.
No wonder its effect was so strong. Strictly speaking, it could be considered supreme-grade first-rank, enough to be effective even against Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Its only drawback was the need for advance setup. But this flaw was common to all flag-type treasures. In the midst of intense combat, unless one found an opening, it was rare to have the chance to lay down formation flags mid-battle.
“That is right. Old Ning has been in this trade for a very long time. His appearance is already aged. It is only natural he would have some family assets.”
Fortunately, Wang Yu had chosen to strike directly. If he had waited longer, allowing Old Ning to settle his affairs and focus his attention on him, the old man might well have struck first.