82: Chapter 83 United in Heart and Mind

The short, stout Evil Cultivator was extremely fast; his thick saber dragged across the field ridge, Evil Qi swirling over the blade's back. Several Spirit Seedlings along the way were swept by the malevolent wind, instantly turning black and withered as they collapsed.

A level one Qi Refining Cold Household member was so terrified that his legs went weak, and he actually slumped down in the field.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator grinned, raising his thick saber and slashing it directly down at the man.

The moment the saber light fell, the drizzle suddenly turned horizontal, drawn from all directions in the field by some invisible decree. It converged into an extremely thin rain curtain, standing before that Cold Household member.

The thick saber slashed into the rain curtain.

The rain curtain only held for an instant before being split apart by the Evil Qi.

Jiang Xingchuan's figure appeared in front of that Cold Household member. He reached out, grabbed the man's collar, and violently threw him toward Xu Qinghuai.

"Catch him!"

Xu Qinghuai hurriedly lunged forward and dragged the Cold Household member behind him.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator looked at Jiang Xingchuan, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

"Level two Qi Refining? What kind of technique is this that can actually block my strike?"

He then began to grin savagely.

"You actually have the nerve to block me."

Jiang Xingchuan did not answer.

His palm felt slightly numb.

Although that slash just now was blocked by the rain curtain for a moment, the Evil Qi still vibrated into his Meridians along the Rain Water, making half of his arm feel somewhat cold.

Chen Xiaoyan's thoughts immediately conveyed her concern.

Jiang Xingchuan replied very quickly.

"Don't come over."

Chen Xiaoyan, however, did not listen to him.

While using a Clear Water Talisman to suppress the Evil Qi for the injured Cold Household member, she had already quietly drawn her own Qi into Jiang Xingchuan's Spiritual Terrace.

The Ritual Counterpart Shadow-like connection between the two suddenly became much clearer.

Jiang Xingchuan only felt his Spiritual Terrace brighten slightly.

Chen Xiaoyan's thoughts, breathing, and mana fluctuations were all clearly reflected in his heart.

Yan Zhaopo gave a "heh" from deep within the Spiritual Terrace.

"What a timely arrival."

"Didn't you complain that my Wind and Rain Edict was just something I threw together casually?"

"If you don't try it now, you'll lose your life here."

Jiang Xingchuan's gaze was low and somber.

His right hand hung within his sleeve, his fingertips moving slightly.

The drizzle in the field that had not yet dispersed suddenly paused for a moment.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator was about to charge again, but his footsteps faltered slightly.

He sensed something was wrong and instinctively came to a halt.

Jiang Xingchuan whispered two words:

"Wind and Rain."

Chen Xiaoyan finished the second half of the sentence in her heart.

"Hear the Edict."

The next moment, the sound of wind suddenly rose in the field.

The drizzle that was originally meant for irrigating the spirit fields suddenly swirled back, mixing with the damp mud on the ridges to transform into a gust of wind and rain that pressed down toward the short, stout Evil Cultivator's face.

This Wind and Rain Edict was far from complete.

But it excelled in its purity and ingenuity.

It excelled because this spirit field had just been watered by Jiang Xingchuan, and his Water Qi was everywhere.

It excelled because Chen Xiaoyan's thoughts were in sync with his; almost before he even formed the thought, she had already joined him in driving the wind and rain, constantly strengthening the Qi.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator slashed out, his Evil Qi crashing into the wind and rain.

The wind and rain were instantly split mostly apart.

The remaining strands of rain still bypassed the saber light, lashing against his face, neck, and wrists.

But a Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivator had already undergone a transformation, and their physical strength was extraordinary.

The wind and rain hitting his body only slowed his movements by half a breath.

And this half-breath was enough for Jiang Xingchuan to take a step back, leading the several Cold Household Cultivators behind him to retreat behind the light of the Formation Flags in the field.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator's face darkened.

"Interesting."

He raised his thick saber, Evil Qi climbing up the blade inch by inch.

"But you think you can stop me with just this?"

Jiang Xingchuan did not speak.

He could feel Chen Xiaoyan's heartbeat, and he could also feel that remnant soul deep within his Spiritual Terrace watching this scene coldly.

Guest Retainer Fang Huaiduo and Tao Sheng were both tied up.

The Middle Stage Qi Refining Evil Cultivator before them could only be blocked by them.

Jiang Xingchuan slowly exhaled, his fingers forming another seal within his sleeve.

Chen Xiaoyan only whispered in her heart:

"I'm here."

The last bit of panic in the depths of Jiang Xingchuan's eyes also slowly dissipated with those two words.

The wind and rain rose again.

This spirit field outside the Eastern Array Base was already equipped with a small-scale Field Protection Formation.

It's just that this Formation wasn't strong to begin with; usually, it was used more for gathering Water Qi, protecting Spirit Seedlings, and warding off some Mortal Beasts and Wild Insects.

If it truly faced a heavy attack from a Qi Refining Cultivator, being able to block a few rounds of spells from the Early Stage of Qi Refining would already be considered good.

Now affected by the spells, the entire small Formation was even more precarious.

But as long as the Formation wasn't completely shattered, there was still a chance to borrow its power.

Xu Qinghuai dragged the injured Cold Household Cultivator behind a Formation Flag and gritted his teeth, pouring his remaining mana into a nearby Formation Flag.

The Formation Flag glowed slightly, reopening an inch of the Formation's patterns.

"Inject your mana!"

Xu Qinghuai's voice trembled as he shouted, "Don't run around! Send your mana into the Formation Flags!"

The remaining few Cold Household Cultivators finally snapped out of it as if from a dream.

There were originally eleven Cultivators at the Eastern Array Base; Guest Retainer Fang Huaiduo and Tao Sheng, the two Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivators, were each tied up by Evil Cultivators.

Another Cold Household member had just been injured; right now, those who could still move were only Jiang Xingchuan, Chen Xiaoyan, and six Cold Household Cultivators.

The cultivation levels of these six were not high.

The highest, Xu Qinghuai, was only at the Perfection of level two Qi Refining.

But at this moment, with everyone sending their mana into the Formation Flags together, the power of this Formation was instead raised to a new level.

Jiang Xingchuan immediately noticed this.

Chen Xiaoyan's thoughts came almost simultaneously.

"The three flags in the southeast can still be used; the one to the west is already cracked, don't use it."

With a thought from Jiang Xingchuan, the wind and rain swirled up along the three Formation Flags in the southeast.

Now, with the assistance of the Ritual Counterpart Shadow, it was as if the two of them were standing before the same chessboard; where their thoughts intersected, the next move naturally fell into place.

The Evil Cultivator sneered, Evil Qi surging on his thick saber as he slashed out again.

Jiang Xingchuan took half a step forward instead of retreating.

The drizzle turned diagonally, and borrowing the remnant light of the three southeastern flags, it spread into a light curtain in front of him.

This light curtain still couldn't block a full-strength strike from a Middle Stage Qi Refining Evil Cultivator.

But it wasn't meant for blocking in the first place.

The blade edge fell into the rain curtain, and just as the Evil Qi exploded, Chen Xiaoyan's thought had already reached Jiang Xingchuan's heart a step ahead.

"Grab his left wrist."

Jiang Xingchuan didn't hesitate for a second; a strand of water immediately wound out from his sleeve along the rain curtain, coiling toward the short, stout Evil Cultivator's left wrist that was holding the saber.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator's gaze sharpened, and with a shake of his wrist, he dispersed the water thread.

Using the diverted saber wind, Jiang Xingchuan retreated behind the Formation Flags with two Cold Household Cultivators.

"You just need to guard the Formation Flags!" he shouted in a low voice.

Those two Cold Household Cultivators turned pale and hurriedly nodded, pouring their mana into the Formation Flags all at once.

The short, stout Evil Cultivator had been delayed twice by him, and his face finally showed some impatience.

"A level two Qi Refining brat dares to play these little tricks in front of me?"

He suddenly crushed a ridge in the field, the Evil Qi on his body surging violently as Saber Qi swept across.

As his saber momentum unfolded, he intended to sweep through and break several nearby Formation Flags along with the Cold Household Cultivators.

Jiang Xingchuan's heart sank.

He couldn't block it.

Chen Xiaoyan understood his judgment at the same instant and sent that strand of clear and pure Qi from within her body through the Ritual Counterpart Shadow connection between them.

In that instant, Jiang Xingchuan felt his Meridians overflowing with spiritual power.

His spell originally had a disconnected and unstable part, which was easily patched by Chen Xiaoyan's strand of Qi.

The wind and rain rose abruptly, swirling along the blade's edge and diverting the Evil Qi by several inches.

The more the short, stout Evil Cultivator fought, the more he felt something was wrong.

The youth before him clearly didn't have a high cultivation level, and his spells weren't particularly brilliant, but he could always avoid the killing moves at the most critical moments.

Just as he was about to slash the Formation Flags, the other's wind and rain would divert the blade first.

When he wanted to kill the Cold Household members first, the other could always snatch half a breath's time to drag them back behind the Formation.

When he wanted to foul the Formation with Evil Qi, the female Cultivator behind the youth would immediately intercept the malevolent intent with her clear Qi.

Their coordination was seamless.

It was as if two people shared one pair of eyes and one heart.

In the distance, Guest Retainer Fang Huaiduo and Tao Sheng were still each tied up by Middle Stage Evil Cultivators.

Three Early Stage Qi Refining Evil Cultivators were outside the Formation, constantly bombarding the damaged Formation, trying to completely shatter the remaining Formation Flags.

The six Cold Household Cultivators could only grit their teeth and inject mana; once one person's mana was exhausted, another would immediately take over.

Xu Qinghuai's spiritual power was almost completely exhausted, yet he still held onto the Formation Flag with a death grip.

"Hold on!"

His voice was hoarse.

"Manager Zhou will definitely come!"

When he said these words, he actually didn't have much confidence himself.

The Eastern Array Base was only one of the four array bases at the foot of the Zhou Family's mountain.

This time the Evil Cultivators came too coincidentally; there was a high probability that all four array bases were being attacked simultaneously.

In the Central Array House, there was only Zhou Youning, the only Cultivator who could truly direct operations; if other places were more critical than here, he might not be able to rush over immediately.