322: Chapter 322 Helian Yue, Commander of the Foreign Lands: My Formation is Unrivaled

At the border of the Upper Realm, rolling black miasma blotted out the sun.

The ten thousand Pojun Imperial Guards of the Xu Family were like tigers descending a mountain, slaughtering the Outworld army that surged forth like a tide. Amidst the earth-shattering battle cries, Nangong Waner and Lin Qingxue transformed into two streaks of light—one red and one white—tearing a massive hole through the enemy ranks.

Xu Chen stood at the bow of a thousand-zhang Void Realm warship, looking down upon the scene from above.

His gaze pierced through the slaughter below, locking firmly onto a bone altar shrouded in thick layers of black mist.

In the center of the altar, Helian Yue leaned lazily against a throne crafted from the skulls of exotic beasts. A suit of black, tight-fitting battle armor did not hide her proud figure; instead, it accentuated her wild, wheat-colored skin, making her look even more eye-catching.

Her dark purple hair danced in the wind, and a strange rune on her forehead shimmered with a faint light. Facing the steady retreat of her forces on the battlefield, not a hint of panic could be seen on the face of this Outworld expeditionary commander.

Below at the altar.

Several Outworld generals clad in heavy armor rushed onto the altar, covered in blood, and knelt on one knee before Helian Yue.

"Princess! The offensive from those Upper Realm natives is too fierce! The two female Sword Cultivators leading the charge are like the Reincarnations of slaughter gods! The vanguard camp can barely hold on. Please, Princess, order a retreat to reorganize our Formation!" one general shouted anxiously.

Helian Yue picked up a cup of blood-red wine from a small table beside her and took a shallow sip.

She raised her head, and a flash of undisguised contempt flickered in her narrow, fox-like, charming eyes.

"Retreat? A bunch of idiots with well-developed limbs and simple minds."

Helian Yue's voice carried a hint of raspy magnetism, reaching the ears of every general clearly despite the noisy battlefield.

"This is the Upper Realm, the territory of these natives. A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. Since this Princess dared to lead the vanguard to establish a bridgehead here, do you think I rely on you brutes who only know how to swing axes?"

She slowly stood up, her long legs encased in black armor, brimming with startling explosive power.

Helian Yue walked to the edge of the altar, her gaze scanning the chaotic battlefield below before finally stopping on the largest Void Realm warship in the sky.

Despite the vast distance, she could feel a pair of unfathomable eyes watching her from that ship.

"This Princess's 'Ten Absolute Black Water Illusory Sea Formation' would strip a layer of skin even off a Quasi-Emperor of the Upper Realm. Since their army loves to charge and kill, let them charge a little deeper."

A cruel, cold smile curled at the corners of Helian Yue's mouth as her slender fingers quickly formed hand seals in the air.

"Pass down my command: the central army is to retreat thirty li! The left and right wings are to spread out and let them all in! Close the net!"

With a sharp cry from Helian Yue, the purple rune on her forehead erupted with a burst of blinding light.

On the battlefield.

The Outworld army, which had been resisting desperately, seemed to receive some kind of signal. They abandoned their positions and began a large-scale retreat.

"The enemy is defeated! Brothers, follow me and slaughter them!"

Seeing this, the morale of the Xu Family's Pojun Imperial Guards soared. Wielding their halberds, they surged like a tide into the area shrouded in black miasma, chasing the retreating Outworld troops.

Nangong Waner and Lin Qingxue were killing with abandon. The two women combined their swords, carving a path of blood through the enemy ranks and heading straight for the bone altar thirty li away.

On the warship, the Grand Elder watched the Xu Family army's unstoppable momentum below and stroked his beard with a long laugh.

"Young Lord, this Outworld army is nothing but a motley crew. It seems that in less than an hour, we will be able to level their altar and capture that female commander alive."

"Is that so?"

Xu Chen watched the changes in the battle below, his tone non-committal.

Golden Formation patterns slowly flowed within his eyes.

Under the gaze of the Heavenly Dao Divine Pupils.

The seemingly ordinary site of the retreat below hid extremely dangerous killing intent.

The route of the Outworld army's retreat happened to avoid hundreds of hidden Formation nodes on the ground. As the Xu Family army ventured deeper, those nodes were frantically absorbing the surrounding black miasma. A massive power of illusion, capable of distorting space, was rapidly taking shape deep underground.

A Chain Sure-Kill Grand Formation.

This was the capital Helian Yue took pride in. She used tens of thousands of ordinary soldiers as bait just to wipe out this elite force of Pojun Imperial Guards, along with those two slaughter god-like female Sword Cultivators, in one fell swoop.

Xu Chen clearly saw that at the very core of the Formation, Helian Yue was standing with her arms crossed, watching Nangong Waner and Lin Qingxue fall into the trap with a cold smile, her eyes looking at them as if they were prey.

"This woman's heart is certainly ruthless enough," Xu Chen commented to himself.

To set up the Formation, she could sacrifice her own soldiers without hesitation. This Outworld Eldest Commandery Princess was a ruthless character who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.

"Young Lord, the Formation seems a bit off!" The Grand Elder was, after all, a powerhouse at the Peak of the Saint Realm. Although he didn't have the Heavenly Dao Divine Pupils, he keenly sensed the abnormality in the Spiritual Qi fluctuations below.

"Should this old man step in and forcibly bring the two Young Mistresses back?"

"No need."

Xu Chen waved his hand, stopping the Grand Elder's movement.

He leaned lazily against the ship's railing, took out a crystal-clear spiritual fruit from his storage ring, and took a casual bite.

"This chain Formation is indeed exquisitely arranged, one ring interlocking with the next, with a killing Formation interspersed within the illusion. If an ordinary Saint were to enter, they probably wouldn't even be able to tell north from south and would be worn to death inside."

Xu Chen's tone carried a hint of admiration.

To be able to set up such a massive and complex Chain Sure-Kill Formation within the same Realm, this Helian Yue truly deserved her comprehensive score of 94.

Unfortunately, today she had met Xu Chen, who possessed the Heavenly Dao Divine Pupils.

Under the vision of the Divine Pupils, the 'Ten Absolute Black Water Illusory Sea Formation' that Helian Yue considered unrivaled under heaven—its internal Spiritual Qi flow, the distribution of the Formation eyes, and even the weak points of the illusion—were all exposed to Xu Chen without reservation.

It was like a self-important magician performing a trick for an audience member with X-ray vision; every attempt at deception appeared laughably ridiculous.

"The Formation eye is under the third beast bone on the left side of the altar. The center of the illusion is supported by the Origin of the illusory sea spirit fetus on her forehead."

Xu Chen muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear while eating the spiritual fruit.

He did not immediately move to break the Formation.

It was rare to encounter an opponent who understood Formations and had a brain. If he just slapped her to death casually, wouldn't that be too much of a buzzkill?

"Pass down the order: the army is to stop the pursuit and defend in place. No one is to act without This Young Master's command." Xu Chen threw away the fruit pit and calmly gave the order.

The Grand Elder hesitated. Now was the perfect time to pursue and strike; why stop?

But he did not dare to disobey Xu Chen's order and immediately passed the instruction down.

On the battlefield below.

With the issuance of Xu Chen's command, the Pojun Imperial Guards who were still fighting immediately stopped in their tracks and formed a tight defensive Formation.

Nangong Waner and Lin Qingxue, who were at the very front, also sensed the abnormality in the surrounding air.

"Sister Qingxue, be careful! This black mist is strange!"

Nangong Waner shattered a sneak-attacking Outworld soldier with a sword strike and grabbed Lin Qingxue's wrist.

The surrounding black miasma became extremely thick, and visibility was severely reduced. The retreating Outworld soldiers seemed to vanish into thin air, replaced by countless hideous phantoms crawling out of the black mist.

These phantoms bared their fangs and brandished their claws, letting out shrill shrieks as they constantly assaulted the two women's minds.

"It's an illusion Formation!"

A flash of solemnity crossed Lin Qingxue's cold eyes. She immediately focused her mind, her Supreme Sword Heart clear and transparent, as she tried to find a flaw among these phantoms.

This Ten Absolute Black Water Illusory Sea Formation was a sure-kill move Helian Yue had set up by combining it with her own Physique; it was not so easily seen through.

On the altar.

Helian Yue watched the Xu Family army struggling at the edge of the Formation and the two women trapped in the illusion, her cold smile becoming increasingly smug.

"Do you think stopping your footsteps will allow you to escape? Once you enter this Princess's Illusion Sea Formation, even if you are dragons of the Upper Realm, you'll have to coil up for me!"

Helian Yue stuck out her crimson tongue and licked her lips, her eyes filled with the cruelty and excitement of being about to harvest her prey.

She raised her head and looked again at the Void Realm warship floating in the sky.

"Aren't you coming down to save your women?" Helian Yue muttered toward the warship. "Or is it that you, the so-called Young Master of the Imperial Clan, are just a coward who only has a reputation?"