Formations

Whatever one feared most was bound to happen.

Jiang Lu felt a chill run down her spine as the surrounding rubble began to vibrate.

A clattering sound rang out, drawing closer and closer. She could feel the stones cutting through the air, hurtling toward her.

Jiang Lu quickly dodged to the side.

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

Three pieces of rubble grazed past Jiang Lu's face, barely a millimeter away from leaving a bloody gash.

Jiang Lu hastily dodged. A thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead. That was close!

As more stones continued to rain down on her, she quickly executed several backflips, dodging to the side.

With a flash of white light, Qianming appeared in her hand.

The sword let out a low hum. Jiang Lu executed the Star River Swordplay, her blade weaving a defensive web around her, but no matter what she did, she couldn't get close to the beast.

Jiang Lu gradually grew anxious. Fighting this beast was a waste of time, and the commotion was too loud, easily attracting unwanted attention.

Chi Li and Cang Chen seized the opportunity to slip out of her pouch, darting off to either side.

That hateful Tieming Beast—they were absolutely going to smash its armor to pieces.

An endless barrage of rubble flew toward Jiang Lu, forcing her to continuously swing her spiritual sword.

Jiang Lu was forced backward step by step. She gritted her teeth, knowing she couldn't let this drag on.

She had to end this quickly.

Several offensive magic treasures appeared in her hands, among which were a few Immobilization Talismans.

An Immobilization Talisman could freeze it for at least a few seconds, which would be more than enough time for her to defeat it.

Her spiritual sword flashed through the air, carving out a stream of white light.

Behind the light, several magic treasures shot forward, carrying immense offensive power as they hurtled toward the beast.

Several Immobilization Talismans followed closely behind.

Bang—

The offensive magic treasures collided with its massive body with a loud crash. As the dust settled, only a few light scratches were visible on its armor.

The remaining magic treasures struck immediately after.

Following a series of loud explosions, Jiang Lu noticed that the rising dust suddenly froze for an instant.

It had been frozen by the Immobilization Talisman!

Jiang Lu's face lit up with joy. Qianming flashed with sword light as she thrust it straight toward the space between the beast's eyes.

But as she drew closer, she saw a pair of furious, alert eyes.

She gasped. Oh no!

She frantically twisted her body in midair. As the Tieming Beast's massive claw swiped down toward her head, she quickly shot a vine toward the side.

With a sharp rustle, the vine wrapped tightly around a nearby tree. The pulling force yanked Jiang Lu's body to the side, allowing her to narrowly evade the strike.

The Tieming Beast's claw slammed directly into the ground, shattering the rocks. Billowing dust blocked her vision, but as a gust of wind blew it away, a massive crater was revealed on the ground.

The Tieming Beast glared viciously at Jiang Lu, but in its focus on her, it failed to notice what was happening elsewhere.

Two streaks of fire shot toward its legs, while two streams of water blasted toward the armor on its back from the opposite side.

Startled, the beast quickly noticed the two tiny figures.

Jiang Lu retracted her vine and approached the beast with Qianming in hand.

Although it could manipulate rubble, that was only effective for long-range combat. In close quarters, those flying stones were useless.

Its attention was completely occupied by Cang Chen and Chi Li. Now was her chance.

Several fireballs materialized around her, with Immobilization Talismans hidden right behind them. Coated in crackling lightning, they surged toward the beast.

At the same time, she channeled her spiritual energy into the tip of her sword.

“Go!”

Another bolt of sword light laced with lightning shot toward the beast.

With its attention divided, the Tieming Beast failed to notice the Immobilization Talismans hidden behind the incoming fireballs.

To the beast, these attacks were nothing more than a minor itch, and it looked on with disdain.

The corners of Jiang Lu's mouth curled up. She silently counted down in her mind:

“Three, two, one.”

The moment the fireballs collided with the beast, several Immobilization Talismans slapped firmly onto its body.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Lu's sword light thrust straight toward its forehead.

A look of sheer terror crossed the Tieming Beast's face, but before it could react, its massive body collapsed heavily to the ground.

Boom—

Jiang Lu rushed over and immediately swept it into her storage bag. The commotion from their fight had been too loud; if there were other cultivators nearby, they would be drawn here soon.

She had to leave immediately.

Chi Li and Cang Chen hastily scrambled back into her pouch.

After walking some distance in high alert, she finally spotted the cliff.

Jiang Lu's ears twitched. She quickly slapped on an Invisibility Talisman, held her breath, and hid behind a large rock.

Poking half her head out, she spotted two figures climbing up from below the cliff.

The two appeared to be disciples of some sect or clan, both with cultivation bases above the Foundation Establishment realm. One had a resolute face, while the other looked cold and aloof, though both carried a trace of anxiety.

Their fists were clenched tightly as they stared down at the bottom of the cliff, their eyes filled with deep frustration.

“It's no use, Senior Brother. The gales at the bottom of this cliff are too intense. There's simply no way to fly down there.”

“But the rumored cultivation cave is right below the cliff. If others can go down, so can we.”

“But Senior Brother, we can't even last the time it takes to drink a cup of tea down there, let alone search for a cave.”

“It seems the treasures in that cave aren't meant for the likes of us. We should find someone else to go down and see if we can share a piece of the pie. We've already wasted too much time here. Let's hurry and look for other opportunities. We can't leave this place empty-handed.”

“Understood.”

With that, the two reluctantly departed.

Once they were far enough away, Jiang Lu's figure flickered as she leaped directly off the cliff.

Based on their conversation, there really was an opportunity below, but the fierce winds meant she would have to rely on her wits to reach the entrance.

Fierce winds were best navigated by cultivators with a wind spiritual root, which she happened to possess!

Her pace quickened as she followed the direction of the wind, extending her divine sense to scan her surroundings.

After a few sweeps, she realized that these winds were swirling in place, as if being controlled by something.

Jiang Lu circled around a few more times, gradually following the currents until she reached the very bottom of the cliff.

She landed steadily on the ground, her own wind spiritual energy still intertwining with the fierce gales. Sensing the source of the wind, she immediately ran toward it.

Soon, she spotted a set of stone steps built into the cliffside.

Quite cautious, she thought.

To get here, one had to brave the fierce winds while descending the cliff, and during the descent, they had to follow the wind's direction to locate this exact spot.

It sounded simple enough, but for cultivators who were only in the Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment realms, it was easier said than done.

The cultivator who had originally discovered this place must have possessed a wind spiritual root and stumbled upon it by chance. However, they probably lacked the strength to claim it for themselves.

Otherwise, they would have failed halfway through, just like the two disciples from earlier.

As soon as her foot touched the stone steps, she felt a thin barrier blocking her way. The fierce winds couldn't be felt here at all.

“What a profound formation,” Jiang Lu murmured. Holding onto the railing of the stone steps with one hand, she began to study the formation.

If she didn't hold onto the railing, she would only end up walking in place.

Yet, walking while holding the railing drained her spiritual energy rapidly.

This was a formation within a formation. The barrier blocking the fierce winds on the outside was one formation, and once inside, she had stepped into another.

Although the second formation wasn't offensive, its combination with the first created a perfect trapping formation.

One either had to go outside and battle the fierce gales, or stay inside and watch their spiritual energy drain away at varying speeds. Both options were designed to trap and slowly kill any cultivator at the bottom of this cliff.