170: Calm the Dark Yin Rift

"Heavenly Demon Palace?" Lin Feng felt a jolt in his heart. He had heard of this name; it was one of the Seven Demonic Sects of the Canglan Continent and the most mysterious and unpredictable Demonic Path Sect. They acted eccentrically, worshipped the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons, and harbored grand schemes.

They had actually appeared here and even assassinated the Moon Guardians.

Before Lin Feng could think further, the Saintess turned around abruptly and made a decisive decision: "Qingyao!"

"Disciple is here!"

"Pass the order to initiate the highest alert! All Elders are to immediately head to the periphery of the Forbidden Ground, deploy defenses according to Plan No. 3, and prevent any external forces from approaching the rift! The remaining Disciples, form the 'Moonlight Formation' to stabilize the surrounding earth veins and delay the erosion of the Evil Qi! Quickly!"

"Yes!" Yun Qingyao acknowledged the order, her figure flashing and disappearing; she was evidently using a secret technique to transmit the message rapidly.

The Saintess turned to look at Lin Feng: "Fellow Daoist Lin, the situation is critical. Please, come with me!"

Having said that, she flicked her sleeve, and a gentle yet irresistible force enveloped Lin Feng.

The next moment, their figures had vanished from the courtyard.

Almost in an instant, Lin Feng felt the scenery before him change rapidly, and a chilling, bone-trembling Evil Qi rushed toward him. They had appeared at the edge of a vast abyss. The sight before him made Lin Feng gasp.

The cold wind formed by the Evil Qi howled and swirled, carrying a bone-piercing chill. Lin Feng steadied his mind and locked his gaze forward.

The ink-black Evil Qi in the Profound Yin rift surged endlessly. The grand yin pearl connected above it had disordered radiance, and its trajectory was clearly tilting westward. The Kui Water energy flow, which should have been steadily transported, was now as violent as an angry Dragon, with an ominous tendency to reverse and backfire upon the grand yin pearl.

The Moonlight Formation formed by the Illusory Moon Sect Cultivators attempted to restrain and stabilize it, but the collision of nearly identical sources of power not only failed to tame the counter-current but acted like dropping cold water into a boiling pot of oil, inciting even more violent energy turbulence.

Several Disciples with shallower cultivation were already pale, evidently having reached their limits.

"Senior Sister! The southwest Formation eye cannot hold on much longer!" A young female Cultivator, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, shouted urgently.

"Steady! Shift the spiritual power to the Kun position!" Yun Qingyao's face was as white as paper. Her hands changed dharma seals as she forcibly guided the Formation's power, yet she groaned, her figure swaying slightly.

The Saintess's eyes sharpened; she knew that conventional means were no longer sufficient. She took a deep breath and said loudly: "Qingyao, protect the Formation base! All Disciples, listen to my command: hold your focus and protect me!"

"Qingyao, hold the Formation steady!" The Saintess gave a clear shout, her figure floating up to hover above the abyss.

She formed seals with her hands, and the Moonlight power around her surged suddenly. Her spiritual power, far purer and more majestic than that of the Cultivators below, transformed into a bright white beam. She attempted to use her more refined control from the Mid-stage Core Formation to penetrate the energy like threads and guide it back to smoothness.

However, the gloom and dead silence contained within the retrograde Kui Water power had already been completely ignited, as if it had developed its own will. As soon as the Saintess's Moonlight power penetrated, it was repelled. The two forces, both belonging to the grand yin, not only failed to achieve Fusion but instead created an even more violent conflict and vortex at the core of the energy flow.

"Pfft!" Yun Qingyao, who was presiding over the Formation below, was the first to suffer the backlash. She spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Formation's light barrier flickered.

The Saintess groaned, the Moonlight around her fluctuating; she had clearly also suffered a significant impact. A flash of helplessness and determination crossed her eyes. She formed a complex and ancient seal before her chest, and the Moonlight power around her condensed and burned at an unprecedented speed.

Dazzling white light erupted from her body, illuminating her as if the Moon Goddess had descended to the mortal world. Seeing this, the Disciples below all revealed expressions intertwined with awe and worry; they knew the Saintess was about to forcibly execute some secret technique that would consume a great deal of energy.

Just then, Lin Feng, who had been watching the battle and racking his brain for a countermeasure, felt the heaven-stealing vine deep within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly send a clear throb, as if outlining for him the various nodes of the flow within that violent energy stream.

Lin Feng had no time to think carefully. Almost instinctively, he channeled his own gentlest Water Attribute and Wood Attribute Sword Essence, which contained vitality. Following that mysterious sensation, it transformed into a wisp of blue-green spiritual light as thin as a thread, shooting toward the node pointed out by the heaven-stealing vine.

To others, his action looked like a futile attempt born of desperation. However, when that faint spiritual light merged into the violent energy, the energy core, which was in the midst of a fierce confrontation, seemed to be injected with a strange soothing agent.

The conflict, which had been deadlocked and on the verge of eruption, actually stalled. It was like two giants wrestling, suddenly pricked by a needle in a nerve point, causing both their movements to stiffen simultaneously.

This change was minuscule, but how could it escape the notice of the Saintess, who was exerting her full strength in the secret technique and whose perception was extremely sharp?

Her beautiful eyes suddenly erupted with a look of disbelief. Although she did not understand how Lin Feng had done it, she had captured this turning point that appeared in a flash of lightning.

"Stabilize Essence, Return to Void!" Seizing this fleeting opportunity, she changed her hand seals. The Moonlight power transformed into a dense and gentle net of light, wrapping around the energy core layer by layer at the moment it stalled. At the same time, she shouted sharply downwards: "Qingyao! Take this chance, guide the spiritual flow!"

Yun Qingyao, who had been near despair, was greatly encouraged by the sight. Forcing herself to muster her final spiritual power, she shouted delicately: "All Disciples, follow me to guide it! Moonlight Tracing Current!"

The remnants of the Formation's light shone again. Although far inferior to before, it was finally able to follow the gap opened by the Saintess and begin to slowly divert the retrograde energy.

The violent energy flow above the abyss finally began to gradually calm down, and the disordered radiance of the grand yin pearl also stabilized.

The crisis was temporarily resolved.

For a moment, only the heavy panting of the people remained by the abyss. The surviving Illusory Moon Sect Disciples sat down cross-legged one after another, swallowed Medicinal Pills, and tried their best to regulate their breathing.

All the Illusory Moon Sect Disciples, including Yun Qingyao, looked at the figure who had caused the final turning point with bewildered and incredulous gazes.

The Saintess slowly descended from the air, her footsteps slightly unsteady, showing she had consumed a great deal of energy. She immediately locked her gaze firmly on Lin Feng, her brows furrowed.

She had seen it clearly; at the final moment, it was that seemingly insignificant wisp of Lin Feng's spiritual power that played the key role of "deflecting a thousand pounds with four ounces."

"Fellow Daoist Lin..." Her voice carried a hint of imperceptible hoarseness and fluctuation. "Just now... thank you for acting. If not for your critical strike, the Illusory Moon Sect would likely have been unable to escape the danger of total destruction today."

Lin Feng quickly cupped his hands: "Senior, you are too kind. This Junior was merely lucky; it was just a blind hit."

The Saintess shook her head slightly: "It was definitely not luck. I perceived it very clearly; although your spiritual power was weak, it precisely touched the most critical point in the retrograde current."

"Its nature was gentle and full of vitality, and it was actually able to briefly soothe that cold and dead silence, creating the only opportunity for me. Little Friend's Cultivation Technique seems quite different from what our Sect practices, and even from the ordinary Dao of the Five Elements?"

Lin Feng felt a slight chill in his heart, knowing he could not hide it, so he deliberated: "The Cultivation Technique that this Junior practices indeed emphasizes the circulation of the Five Elements. Just now, in the urgency of the moment, I subconsciously channeled the gentlest Water and Wood powers to attempt a diversion, not expecting it to actually be effective."