73: Chapter 73 Ambush in the Canyon: Luring the Enemy into the Trap

Within Black Wind Gorge, the light of the Nine Apertures Illusory Killing Formation flooded every inch of space like a tide.

Nine-colored spiritual light burst from the rock walls, the ground, and even the void, weaving into a giant net that covered the entire canyon. The mist illusion distorted vision and perception, the Five Elements Trapping Formation restricted movement like an invisible quagmire, and the Thunderbolt Slaying Evil Formation continuously brought down purple heavenly thunder, precisely striking those Blood Fiend Alliance Cultivators who practiced sinister Cultivation Techniques.

"A Formation! It's a trap!"

"Retreat! Get out of here, fast!"

"The entrance is blocked!"

Chaotic roars echoed through the canyon. Over a hundred people from the three forces—Overlord Pavilion, Blood Fiend Alliance, and Zongheng Alliance—were now plunged into unprecedented panic.

They were originally the hunters, but now they had become the prey.

And the hunter had only just revealed himself.

At the canyon entrance, Lin Ye held a Bronze War Spear burning with Chaos Fire, his gaze beneath the bamboo hat sweeping over the chaotic enemy crowd like cold stars. He didn't immediately rush into the battle Formation, but instead slowly raised his left hand.

With fingers spread and palm facing down, he pressed down into the air.

"Chaos Domain... Open."

Invisible ripples spread out with Lin Ye as the center. These ripples were different from the violent spiritual energy discharge of the Nine Apertures Illusory Killing Formation; they were a deeper, more fundamental interference with the Laws. Wherever the ripples passed, the air became heavy, light began to distort, and even the flow of time seemed to undergo a subtle change.

[Chaos Domain · Elementary Full Deployment]

Range: Fifty zhang diameter (currently covering the canyon entrance area)

Effects:

1. Attribute Suppression: All enemies within range have all attributes reduced by 20% (stacks with the Five Elements Trapping Formation of the Nine Apertures Illusory Killing Formation for a total suppression effect of 70%)

2. Law Interference: All skill casting success rates within range decreased by 15%, skill power weakened by 10%

3. Chaos Erosion: Deals 100 points of defense-ignoring True Damage per second to all enemies within range

4. Ally Buff: All friendly units within range have all attributes increased by 10% (stacks with the buff from the Thunderbolt Slaying Evil Formation of the Nine Apertures Illusory Killing Formation)

Duration: Continuously consumes Divine Power; currently maintainable for 15 minutes

Cost: 300 Chaos Divine Power per second

Twenty zhang away, an Overlord Pavilion mage preparing to cast a Fireball Spell suddenly felt the spiritual energy in his body stagnate, and the fireball condensing at his fingertips extinguished with a "poof." He looked up in shock, and before he could understand what had happened, a bolt of heavenly thunder struck precisely, turning him into charcoal.

Thirty zhang away, the fifth of the Six Blood Fiends was struggling to maintain a corner Formation Flag of the Blood Fiend Grand Formation. The Law interference of the Chaos Domain caused the blood-fiend spiritual energy in his body to become turbulent, and the blood light on the Formation Flag flickered erratically. He bit the tip of his tongue, attempting to force stability, but the restraints of the Five Elements Trapping Formation beneath his feet made his movements half a beat slower—

"Chih!"

An ice-blue thin sword pierced in from behind, skewering his heart.

Su Qingyue's figure emerged behind Old Fifth. Frozen blood droplets fell from the [Cold Moon Sword] (Rare Grade, Attack +380, Ice Damage +25%) in her hand. With the Vast Cold Spirit Body buffed by the Chaos Domain, her cold Qi was even more biting than usual; wherever the sword edge passed, even the air condensed into ice crystals.

"Fifth Brother!" The eldest of the Six Blood Fiends' eyes nearly split from rage, but he was pinned down by Chen Hao and could not come to the rescue.

Chen Hao was currently like a war god possessed. With the God King Body under the dual buffs of the Chaos Domain and the Thunderbolt Slaying Evil Formation, his defense and recovery reached terrifying levels. He tanked three Blood Fiend Palm prints from the Eldest Blood Fiend; though three charred palm prints were left on his breastplate, his vitality had dropped by less than a tenth. Meanwhile, every swing of the war hammer in his hand carried the momentum of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, forcing the Eldest Blood Fiend to retreat repeatedly.

"Exhilarating!" Chen Hao laughed loudly. "Again!"

Across the battlefield, similar scenes were constantly playing out.

Wang Iron Pillar led ten Heavenly Court elites to form a shield wall, firmly blocking the narrowest pass in the middle of the canyon. Their [Heavenly Court Standard Armor] saw a surge in defensive power under the Formation's buff, and combined with the team bonus of the [Small Five Elements Formation Flags], they actually held back the charge of over thirty people from the Overlord Pavilion.

Zhao Linger moved through the Formation, the [Green Wood Staff] (Exquisite Grade, Healing Spell Effect +20%) in her hand continuously releasing healing Auras and buffing Spells. Her wood-attribute spiritual energy seemed to undergo a mutation within the Chaos Domain; her healing Spells carried a faint purification effect, capable of slowly dispersing the blood poison of the Blood Fiend Alliance.

What made the enemies even more desperate was the encirclement coming from all directions.

"Azure Dragon Hall, charge!"

From atop the northern rock wall of the canyon, a loud command rang out. Thirty Heavenly Court members wearing azure armor and holding long spears and halberds leapt down from the wall, charging into the enemy's flank like an Azure Dragon entering the sea. Leading them was a cold-faced youth whose silver spear was like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, instantly piercing the throats of three Overlord Pavilion members.

The Azure Dragon Hall was the head of the four halls of the Heavenly Court, specializing in melee assault. The Hall Master, "Xiao Zhan" (Level 34, Dao Palace First Layer), was originally a centurion of the Yan State border army who was forced to retire after offending a superior, only to be discovered and recruited by Zhao Wuji. The thirty men he brought were all veterans who had undergone the baptism of the battlefield, specializing in group charges and Formation cutting.

Almost simultaneously, a sharp whistle sounded from the southern side of the canyon.

"White Tiger Hall, hidden raid!"

Over twenty dark shadows bolted from the shadows like ghosts. They didn't have uniform armor and wore varied clothing, but every one of them was agile, their movements as fast as lightning. Their weapons were mostly short blades, daggers, and throwing darts, specifically targeting vital points like the throat, eyes, and heart. Wherever they passed, blood blossoms bloomed, and enemies fell dead before they could even scream.

The White Tiger Hall specialized in assassination and reconnaissance. The Hall Master was none other than Shi Potian, and the twenty men under his command were all expert assassins handpicked by Qin Ruoxue from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, with a minimum level of 28, proficient in stealth, traps, and poison arts.

"Vermilion Bird Hall, long-range suppression!"

At the high points on both sides of the canyon, over fifty Cultivators wearing crimson robes appeared simultaneously. They either held staves or formed hand seals, as fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, and lightning poured down like rain. The landing points of these Spells were extremely precise, specifically covering areas where enemies were dense while avoiding friendly combat zones.

The Vermilion Bird Hall specialized in long-range output and magical support. Su Qingyue served concurrently as the Hall Master, and the members were mostly Outer Sect Disciples of the mage class she had met at the Yaoguang Holy Land. Since Su Qingyue was currently on the front lines, the one actually commanding was the Vice Hall Master, "Yan Yang" (Level 33, Fire Specialization), a red-haired youth with a fiery temper.

"Black Tortoise Hall, hold the line!"

The last to appear was the Black Tortoise Hall. They didn't charge, but instead firmly guarded the canyon exit and several key nodes. Forty burly men in heavy armor holding tower shields formed lines of steel, ruthlessly slamming back any enemy who tried to break out. Interspersed within their defensive Formation were over ten Talisman Masters and Formation Masters, continuously repairing the weak points of the Nine Apertures Illusory Killing Formation.

The Black Tortoise Hall specialized in defense and Formation maintenance. The Hall Master, "Tie Shan" (Level 35, Earth Specialization), was originally the head of a security bureau in the God City. After his bureau was pressured into bankruptcy by the Overlord Pavilion, he was taken in by Zhao Wuji. The forty men he brought were all Body Cultivators or earth-attribute Cultivators who followed the defensive path, excelling most at positional warfare.

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—the four halls of the Heavenly Court, totaling over 140 people, had completed the encirclement from four directions!

And that wasn't all.

At the canyon entrance, Lin Ye finally moved.

The Yaoguang Footwork was like starlight skimming the ground; with one step, he appeared in the center of the battle Formation thirty zhang away. The Bronze War Spear swept out, the Chaos Fire at its tip drawing a grayish-white arc in the air.

"Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!"

Wherever the arc passed, three Overlord Pavilion members and two Blood Fiend Alliance Cultivators were simultaneously cut in half at the waist! No blood sprayed from the wounds, because the Chaos Fire incinerated their flesh and Souls together the instant it made contact!

"Monster! He's a monster!"

"Run! Run away!"

Panic spread like a plague.

The Barbarian King finally realized what a fatal mistake he had made. He watched his subordinates constantly falling around him, watched those wolf-and-tiger-like members of the Heavenly Court's four halls, watched the heavenly thunder continuously descending from above the canyon, and watched that gray-clothed figure who moved as if in an uninhabited land within the battle Formation...

"Eldest Blood Fiend! Let's break out together!" the Barbarian King roared. "If we delay any longer, we'll all die here!"

The Eldest Blood Fiend's face was also deathly pale. Two of the Six Blood Fiends were already gone (Old Third was struck by lightning, and Old Fifth was assassinated by Su Qingyue), and the remaining four were all injured. More importantly, the suppression of their blood-fiend techniques by the Chaos Domain and the Thunderbolt Slaying Evil Formation was too strong; they couldn't even exert half of their strength.

"Break out toward the east!" the Eldest Blood Fiend gritted his teeth. "The defense there is the weakest!"

The east he spoke of was a section of the line guarded by the Black Tortoise Hall. With only fifteen people guarding it, it was indeed a relatively weak link in the encirclement.

"Everyone! Charge east!" The Barbarian King swung his giant blade and took the lead in charging toward the east.

The remaining eighty-odd people heard this and rushed toward the east like they were grasping at a life-saving straw.

However, they had only just charged twenty zhang—

"Rumble!"

The ground suddenly collapsed! A large pit ten zhang in diameter and three zhang deep appeared out of nowhere. The dozen or so people in the lead were caught off guard, screaming as they fell into the pit. The bottom of the pit was filled with upturned steel spikes and poison caltrops; those who fell were either dead or injured.

"A trap! There's a trap!"

"Go around it! Go around the side!"

But from the rock walls on both sides, dozens of grappling hooks were suddenly shot down. The ends of the hooks were connected to iron nets; the nets unfurled, covering the enemies who tried to bypass the pit from above. The iron nets were coated with paralyzing toxins, and those covered soon became stiff and unable to move.

"Brothers of the Black Tortoise Hall, let these bastards see what true defense is," Tie Shan's voice came from behind the eastern defense line.

He stood at the very front of the line, a [Black Iron Heavy Shield] (Rare Grade, Defense +650, Block Success Rate +25%) standing like a door in his hand. Behind him, fifteen Black Tortoise Hall members raised their shields simultaneously; fifteen heavy shields lined up side-by-side, forming a seamless wall of steel.

Even more terrifying, behind the wall, ten Talisman Masters simultaneously activated the Talismans in their hands.

[Vajra Talisman] x10, [Iron Wall Talisman] x8, [Thorns Reflection Talisman] x6...

Layer upon layer of defensive Auras stacked onto the shield wall, and metal spikes even grew from the wall's surface. Anyone who dared to slam into the shield wall would first have to endure the damage from the reflection and thorns.

"We can't break through... we can't break through at all..." an Overlord Pavilion member looked at that shield wall shimmering with multi-colored light in despair.

And at this moment, the pressure from the other three directions had not weakened in the slightest.

The Azure Dragon Hall's charge had already cut the enemy lines into several pieces, the White Tiger Hall's assassins were like fish in water amidst the Chaos, and the Vermilion Bird Hall's Spells never ceased their coverage. More lethally, the range of the Chaos Domain was slowly expanding—as Lin Ye moved, the center of the Domain moved with him, always enveloping the most densely populated areas of the enemy crowd.

"Damn it... damn it!" The Barbarian King's eyes were bloodshot; he had already seen at least twenty elites of the Overlord Pavilion fall, all of whom were core members he had spent countless efforts to Cultivate. "Eldest Blood Fiend! Use that move! If you don't use it now, we're all going to die!"

The Eldest Blood Fiend's expression shifted before he finally gritted his teeth. "Fine! We'll use that move! But your men must protect us!"

"Deal!"

The two quickly reached an agreement.

The Eldest Blood Fiend and the remaining three of the Six Blood Fiends quickly drew closer together. The four stood back-to-back, simultaneously biting the tips of their tongues and spitting out four mouthfuls of essence blood. The essence blood condensed in the air, transforming into an eerie blood-colored Talisman.

"With my essence blood, I sacrifice to invite the Blood Ancestor—"

"Blood Fiend True Body - Descent!"

The blood-colored Talisman exploded, and a blood mist so dense it was almost solid surged from the four men. The blood mist spread rapidly, actually managing to temporarily force back the suppression of the Chaos Domain and the bombardment of thunder! Within the blood mist, the four figures began to twist and swell, dense blood-colored patterns surfaced on their skin, and their Auras climbed frantically!

[Blood Fiend True Body (Forbidden Technique)]

Effect: Burns essence blood and Lifespan to briefly summon the power of the Blood Ancestor for possession. All attributes increased by 100%, skill power increased by 150%, and immune to most control effects.

Cost: After use, Rank permanently drops by 3 levels, Lifespan decreases by ten years, and remains in a weakened state for seven days (all attributes decreased by 50%).

Duration: 3 minutes

"Roar—!"

Four inhuman roars echoed from within the blood mist. As the mist dispersed, it revealed four monsters over ten feet tall with blood-red skin and hideous faces. Their eyes were completely filled with blood, bloody breath puffed from their mouths and noses, their fingernails grew into sharp claws, and their bodies were wrapped in viscous blood light.

"Kill! Kill them all!" The Eldest Blood Fiend's voice became hoarse and violent.

The four Blood Fiend True Bodies pounced simultaneously toward the nearest enemies—not the people from the Heavenly Court, but... the members of the Overlord Pavilion!

"Eldest Blood Fiend! You—!" The Barbarian King was both shocked and enraged.

"Sorry, Barbarian King," the Eldest Blood Fiend grinned hideously. "The Blood Fiend True Body requires a large amount of essence blood to maintain. We'll use your subordinates' lives as a sacrifice!"

The four true bodies were like tigers in a flock of sheep; wherever they passed, the Overlord Pavilion members were torn apart like straw. Their blood was absorbed by the true bodies, making their Auras even more terrifying.

"Bastard! You've betrayed us!" The Barbarian King was furious, but at this moment he couldn't even look after himself—Lin Ye had already locked onto him.

"Infighting?" Lin Ye's figure appeared beside the Barbarian King like a phantom. "Good, it saves me the trouble of killing you one by one."

"Lin Ye!" The Barbarian King roared, swinging his giant blade down with the power of his entire life. "Die!"

With this strike, the Barbarian King burned his Qi and blood, reaching the limit of the Dao Palace Third Layer. Wherever the blade passed, the air was torn with black traces, a sign that space could not withstand the force.

But Lin Ye simply raised his spear to parry.

Clang—!!!

The sound of clashing metal resounded through the canyon. Centered on the two, a terrifying airwave exploded, sending everyone within ten yards flying.

The Barbarian King's eyes widened, looking at his giant blade in disbelief—at the point where the blade met the spear shaft, the giant blade actually began to crack! Meanwhile, Lin Ye hadn't budged an inch, and even the ground beneath his feet showed no cracks.

"How is it possible... You are clearly only at the Dao Palace First Layer..." the Barbarian King muttered.

"Who told you I was at the Dao Palace First Layer?" Lin Ye said indifferently.

Inside his body, the Big Dipper True Scripture operated at full power, and the three big dipper star seals rotated frantically in his Dantian. Within his Heart God Treasure, the Chaos Fire burned fiercely. More importantly, under the continuous battle and pressure, the Bottleneck that had stuck him for so long finally loosened.

Boom!

A majestic Aura erupted from Lin Ye's body.

Dao Palace Second Layer!

A Breakthrough in the middle of battle!

[System Notification: Congratulations on breaking through to the Dao Palace Second Layer (Level 41)]

[All attributes +20%, Divine Power limit +30%, skill power +15%]

[Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body adaptation increased to 38%]

[New skill unlocked: Chaos Return to Ruin (Embryonic Form) — Area annihilation attack, deals Attack Power × 500% Chaos damage to all enemies within a ten-yard diameter, consumes 8,000 Divine Power, 30-minute cooldown]

At the moment of the Breakthrough, Lin Ye's Aura surged. The range of the Chaos Domain expanded from fifty yards to sixty yards, and the suppression effect increased from 20% to 25%! As for the newly unlocked skill, Chaos Return to Ruin, although it was only an embryonic form, its destructive Aura already made everyone who felt it tremble with fear.

"Now, it's time to end this."

Lin Ye twisted his wrist, the Bronze War Spear jarring the giant blade away as the spear tip lunged toward the Barbarian King's throat like a venomous snake.

The Barbarian King tried to parry, but the suppression of the Chaos Domain made his movements half a beat slower. He could only barely twist his body, and the spear tip grazed his neck, bringing forth a spray of blood.

"Ah—!" The Barbarian King screamed and retreated, a wound so deep the bone was visible on his neck, blood gushing out like a fountain.

Lin Ye did not pursue him, because he sensed a greater threat approaching.

Deep in the canyon, the four Blood Fiend True Bodies, after devouring the essence blood of dozens of Overlord Pavilion members, had seen their Auras climb to the Peak of the Dao Palace Fourth Layer! Furthermore, they seemed to be developing a tendency to merge—the four true bodies were slowly drawing together, and the blood light began to interweave!

"I can't let them merge," Lin Ye judged instantly.

He gave up on chasing the Barbarian King and shot toward the direction of the Blood Fiend True Bodies like a bolt of lightning. At the same time, he sent a voice transmission to Su Qingyue: "Qingyue, cooperate with me, use ice to restrict them!"

"Understood!" Su Qingyue replied.

She formed hand seals, her Vast Cold Spirit Body operating at full capacity. Ice-blue cold Qi surged from her body, condensing into four massive ice dragons in the air. The ice dragons roared and pounced toward the four true bodies, freezing even the blood mist into ice crystals wherever they passed.

"Paltry tricks!" The true body transformed from the Eldest Blood Fiend threw a punch; blood light collided with an ice dragon, and the ice dragon shattered.

But the shattered ice dragon did not disappear; instead, it turned into countless ice crystal shards that adhered to the surfaces of the four true bodies. The ice crystals spread rapidly, freezing their joints and Bloodlines.

"Now!" Lin Ye had arrived.

He hovered in mid-air, holding his spear in his right hand and clenching his left hand. In his palm, a speck of gray-black light began to condense.

That light was extremely tiny, yet it seemed to contain the power to devour everything. The air around the light twisted and collapsed, and even light was absorbed into it, forming a miniature black hole.

[Chaos Return to Ruin · Embryonic Form]

Lin Ye gently pressed the black-hole-like ball of energy toward the four merging true bodies.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

And then—

"Hum..."

There was no loud noise, no explosion.

There was only a sound of annihilation, as if all things were returning to silence and their original source.

Centered on the energy ball, everything within a ten-yard diameter—rocks, corpses, weapons, blood light, ice crystals—began to silently dissolve, crumble, and turn into the most primitive particles. Those four Blood Fiend True Bodies with their terrifying Auras didn't even have time to scream before they disintegrated in the gray-black light, finally turning into four wisps of blue smoke and dissipating into nothingness.

In one strike, he had wiped out four Blood Fiend True Bodies at the Peak of the Dao Palace Fourth Layer!

The entire field was deathly silent.

Whether it was the remaining enemies or the members of the Heavenly Court, everyone stopped their movements and stared blankly at that empty area.

Within the ten-yard range, the ground had dropped by three feet, forming a perfect hemispherical depression. The surface of the depression was smooth as a mirror, without any rubble or dust, as if it had been "erased" from the world by some force.

"Mon... monster..." a Cultivator from the Zongheng Alliance slumped to the ground, his crotch wet.

Zhao Zheng's face was now as pale as paper. He looked at Lin Ye's figure hovering in the air, at the erased patch of ground, and at the members of the Heavenly Court's four halls who were like wolves and tigers around them...

He knew he was finished.

The Zongheng Alliance was finished.

"Escape... I must escape..." Zhao Zheng muttered to himself, turning to rush toward the canyon exit.

But a figure appeared in front of him.

Shi Potian had blocked the exit at some unknown point. His twin blades were dripping with blood, and his eyes were as cold as knives.

"Alliance Leader Zhao, where do you think you're going?"

"Get out of the way!" Zhao Zheng swung his sword frantically, but in his heavily injured state, how could he be a match for Shi Potian?

After three moves, Shi Potian's short blade pierced Zhao Zheng's heart.

The Alliance Leader of the Zongheng Alliance was dead.

With Zhao Zheng's death, the remaining few from the Zongheng Alliance completely collapsed, kneeling one after another to beg for mercy. The Barbarian King of the Overlord Pavilion lay heavily injured on the ground and had his skull crushed by a hammer from Chen Hao. The Blood Fiend Alliance was completely wiped out.

The battle reached its end less than an hour after it began.

The four halls of the Heavenly Court began to clear out the remaining enemies, treat the wounded, and clean up the battlefield.

Lin Ye descended from the air, his face slightly pale. The consumption of Chaos Return to Ruin was too great; a single strike had used up a third of his Divine Power. But the effect was also sufficiently shocking.

He walked to the erased depression, squatted down, and reached out to touch the ground.

It felt smooth and slightly warm. He could feel that the material structure of this area had been completely altered; it would take at least a hundred years to return to normal rock.

"So this is the power of Chaos Return to Ruin..." Lin Ye murmured.

Although it was only an embryonic form, it had already shown terrifying destructiveness. If fully mastered, it might truly have the power to return all things to ruin and recreate Chaos.

"Lin Ye." Su Qingyue walked to his side and handed over a bottle of Medicinal Pills. "You've consumed a lot, recover first."

Lin Ye took the pills and swallowed them, feeling his Divine Power slowly recover. He looked up toward the top of the canyon, where Qin Ruoxue's figure had just appeared.

"Pavilion Master Qin, how is the situation outside?"

Qin Ruoxue leaped down from the rock wall, her expression somewhat grave. "Not very good. The people from the War God Hall and Green Robe Tower are still watching and have no intention of leaving. Also... my people discovered another team appearing three miles outside the canyon, about fifty people. Their identity is unknown, but their Auras are very strong, the lowest being at the Dao Palace First Layer."

More people are coming?

Lin Ye frowned slightly.

It seems this ambush isn't completely over yet.