124: Chapter 124 Showing weakness to lure the enemy into a trap

"Pfft!" A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed wildly from Gu Yan's mouth once again, splattering onto the Formation Plate before him that was already showing cracks.

His face was pale as paper, and his figure, which had originally stood tall like a pine, now swayed like withered grass in a gale, stumbling as if he might collapse at any moment.

"Quick! Spirit Stones! Are there any more Spirit Stones?!"

He let out a desperate, hoarse roar toward the now empty martial arts practice field behind him.

"Old Ancestor... they're really gone! Not a single one left!"

Steward Gu Zhong knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, clutching a handful of grayish-white stone powder—the residue left after the final batch of Spirit Stones had been exhausted.

High in the sky, Golden Core Master Wu Yong stood with his hands behind his back, his sinister eyes locked onto the crumbling Formation below and the young family head who appeared to be at the end of his rope.

A playful curve tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"No more Spirit Stones?"

"This is somewhat interesting."

But he did not strike immediately. As an old Devil Head who had been struggling and climbing in the Immortal Realm for hundreds of years, suspicion was ingrained in his very bones. The more it seemed like a guaranteed victory, the more cautious he became.

"Continue the attack!" He coldly ordered the five panting Disciples at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"Blast that turtle shell to pieces for me!"

"Yes!" Although exhausted, the five Disciples felt a surge of energy at the sight of impending victory, and their Magical Artifacts shone with dazzling light once again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A new round of bombardment descended once more!

This time, the four-colored light barrier, already pushed to its limit, could no longer hold.

On the light barrier, the Four Symbols runes that had been flowing ceaselessly began to stutter; the light flickered on and off, like a candle in the wind, on the verge of extinction.

Especially in the due north, where the Black Tortoise position of the defensive light barrier was located, a pitch-black bone awl had forcibly gouged out a hole the size of a washbasin!

Swish!

A strand of sinister black Evil Qi slithered through the gap like a venomous snake, heading straight for Gu Yan at the Formation core!

"Watch out!" Leng Yuechan cried out in alarm, wanting to swing her sword to block it, but it was too late.

Gu Yan seemed to have exhausted all his strength, his reaction a half-beat too slow. He only managed to barely turn his body, and the Evil Qi grazed his left shoulder, sending a spray of scarlet blood into the air!

"Ugh!" Gu Yan groaned, clutching his shoulder as he stumbled backward, crashing heavily into the stone pillar behind him, which barely helped him steady his figure. His aura instantly withered.

"Hahaha! It hit! Grand Elder! This brat is finished!" The Disciple who had fired the bone awl shouted excitedly.

High in the sky, Golden Core Master Wu Yong's eyes flashed.

That strike was real.

The smell of blood, the withered aura, the look of despair... none of it was fake. This brat had truly reached the end of his rope.

"Gu Yan, you brat!" Golden Core Master Wu Yong looked down from above, his voice filled with undisguised contempt and satisfaction.

"I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it."

"Now, even if you kneel and beg me, I will extract your soul and refine your spirit, ensuring you never reincarnate for all eternity!"

Hearing these words, Gu Yan suddenly raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot and crimson, a wild and ferocious smile appearing on his face.

"Old dog! If you have the guts, come down here!" He pointed at the sky, roaring hoarsely like a lone wolf driven into a desperate corner.

"I may have exhausted my Spirit Stones, but I still have my life!"

"If you dare to come down, I will detonate my Dantian! I'll drag you, this old Golden Core freak, down with me!"

"Even if I die, I'll knock out two of your teeth!"

Bravado.

That was the first word that popped into Golden Core Master Wu Yong's mind.

A Cultivator at the Early Stage of the Foundation Establishment Stage dreaming of injuring a Golden Core Master by self-detonation? It was absolutely laughable! This was clearly just bluffing out of despair!

"Self-detonation?" Golden Core Master Wu Yong laughed maniacally toward the sky, his laughter shaking the clouds.

"Good! I'd like to see just how hard your bones are, you ant!"

The last trace of doubt he had originally held vanished completely under Gu Yan's "foolish" provocation. Replacing it was the rage of a Golden Core powerhouse whose dignity had been challenged, and... the greed for the secrets and treasures about to fall into his hands!

He did not want to wait any longer. What if this brat really went crazy and self-detonated, destroying the Storage Pouch on his body or the secret to "rejuvenation"? Wouldn't all his efforts be in vain?

Furthermore, he didn't want his subordinates to steal his thunder. Only by personally torturing and killing this brat who had caused him to lose face could he quench the hatred in his heart!

"Stand down!" Golden Core Master Wu Yong barked at the Disciples who were still attacking.

"I will personally... send him on his way!"

Before the words had even faded, he moved. Black clouds rolled beneath his feet.

He transformed into a streak of pitch-black light, diving straight down from hundreds of zhang in the air, carrying a terrifying pressure capable of crushing everything, toward the gap in the Formation below that had exposed a fatal flaw!

"He's coming!"

At the Formation core, Gu Yan remained half-kneeling on the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder, his face showing the same despair and madness, unchanged in the slightest.

But beneath his lowered eyelids, in the depths of his seemingly unfocused pupils, a cold glint—sharper than a blade and colder than ice—quietly... flashed and vanished!

The fish... has finally taken the bait!

Rumble—

The diving momentum of a Golden Core Master was truly terrifying! Before he even landed, the violent airwaves had already blown away all the bluestone slabs on the martial arts practice field!

"Die!" Golden Core Master Wu Yong's figure instantly appeared less than ten zhang above Gu Yan's head!

His right hand formed a claw, and in his palm, a terrifying sphere of energy, black as ink and emitting a nauseating, fishy stench, was spinning and compressing frantically!

That was his signature technique—the Black Evil Devil Hand!

Once it made contact, let alone a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, even a Cultivator at the Early Golden Core Stage would be corroded until not even bones remained!

He intended to use this move to completely wipe this annoying ant from the face of the world!

Gu Yan raised his head, watching the Devil Hand rapidly enlarging in his pupils. There was no fear on his face. Only a kind of... cold, calculated satisfaction.

"System." He called out softly in his heart.

There was no response. That damned notification sound of "Watching the Grand Finale" still hung in his mind like a joke.

"Heh..." The corners of Gu Yan's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a self-deprecating sneer.

As expected, one still has to rely on oneself. However... that's enough!

"Rise!" His right hand, which had been pressing on the Formation Plate and appeared to be exhausted, suddenly... pressed down!

The Four Symbols Heaven-Locking Array, which had become dim and even fractured due to the exhaustion of the Spirit Stones, suddenly... experienced a resurgence at this moment!

No! It wasn't a resurgence! It was a massive amount of spiritual power that Gu Yan had secretly intercepted and accumulated for a long time, held back and waiting, that was now, in this instant, unleashed... without reservation!

Hum—!!!!!!

The four pillars of light, which had been on the verge of collapse, erupted at this moment with a blinding divine light ten times more brilliant than at the very beginning!

The gap in the Formation that Golden Core Master Wu Yong had viewed as the Breakthrough point suddenly... like a giant mouth that had been open and waiting for a long time, slammed... shut!

"What?!" Golden Core Master Wu Yong, who was in mid-air preparing to launch his finishing blow, had his expression change drastically!

He felt an unprecedented fluctuation of the Formation, carrying a powerful binding force, instantly engulfing his entire body!

That wasn't a defensive Formation! That was... a trapping Formation!

"Oh no! It's a trap!" Golden Core Master Wu Yong's heart pounded wildly; years of combat instinct allowed him to react instantly. He forced his body to twist, wanting to soar into the sky and escape this damned trap!

However. It was too late.

"Since you've come, you might as well stay."

Gu Yan slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at the Golden Core Master who was trapped in the center of the Formation like a turtle in a jar, his eyes boiling with murderous intent.

"Elder Wu, since you've come... then... don't leave!"