134: Chapter 134 Black Wind's Dilemma

It was like a lamp that had once shone bright and brilliant, its light dimming ever so slightly in an imperceptible way.

An ordinary Cultivator would never have noticed this faint dimming, but for Qin Ruowei, whose Divine Soul was tightly connected to the Formation, it was like a needle piercing straight into her heart.

Stationed at the top floor of the "Listening Wind Pavilion," the intelligence hub of the Lin Family, she suddenly opened her eyes.

On the light screen before her, the hundreds of lines of light representing the flow of Spiritual Qi in the Sect's protective Formation remained steady, but she could clearly feel that the consumption of Spirit Stones required to maintain this stability had increased by nearly five percent compared to just a moment ago.

"What is happening?" Qin Ruowei furrowed her delicate brows, her ten fingers tapping rapidly on the Formation Plate in front of her as streams of light containing commands vanished into it.

The scene on the light screen shifted rapidly, zooming down from the panoramic view of the Formation until it finally locked onto the deep underground, specifically the Level 2 Spiritual Vein that supported the entire Black Wind Valley.

She saw that around the main trunk of the Spiritual Vein, three tributary nodes that had once been glowing with light were now dim and lifeless, as if three invisible nails had been driven into them, severing the normal flow of Spiritual Qi.

The light screen zoomed in, clearly revealing the details of the nodes—three jet-black metal long-nails, engraved with ferocious Dragon patterns, were deeply wedged into the Spiritual Vein. The overbearing, sharp metallic Qi radiating from the nails was frantically shredding and sealing off the surrounding Spiritual Qi.

"The 'Dragon-Breaking Nail' of the Iron Sect!" Qin Ruowei's expression turned incomparably ugly in an instant.

She had only seen records of this vicious Magical Artifact in the Sect's most confidential archives; it was a forbidden weapon used by the Iron Sect to destroy the Foundation of hostile forces.

Once placed, unless removed with greater power, the Spiritual Vein would only continue to wither.

They were surrounded, and the enemy did not just want to break through the Formation; they intended to destroy the Lin Family's future at its very root!

Qin Ruowei did not dare to delay for even a moment. She immediately used the Formation to transmit the anomaly of the Spiritual Vein and her assessment to Su Qingyao, who was stationed at the main Formation eye.

At the core of the Lin Family's Formation, Su Qingyao sat cross-legged atop the Formation eye, her heart, which had just relaxed slightly due to her husband successfully achieving Core Formation, tightening once again.

After hearing Qin Ruowei's message, there was not a trace of panic in her cold, clear eyes; instead, a bone-chilling coldness ignited within them.

What a True Blood Temple, what an Iron Sect!

She took a deep breath, no longer hesitating.

She flipped her fair hand, and the "seven-heart begonia Medicinal Pill" she had just refined appeared in her palm.

The Medicinal Pill was pink and tender, yet it was wreathed in a trace of ominous black Qi.

Without the slightest hesitation, she channeled Spiritual Qi to her fingertips and gave it a gentle twist.

"Puff." The Medicinal Pill shattered at the sound, turning into a handful of pink powder as fine as dust.

Su Qingyao held her breath, her fingertips subconsciously pressing against her lips until a faint white mark appeared, before she resolutely sprinkled the powder into the light pool of the Formation eye before her.

Hum— As the powder fell, it was like pouring hot oil into a raging fire.

The light screen of the entire protective Formation trembled violently. Strands of pink mist began to spread and intertwine across the originally pure barrier of Spiritual light. Like the most skilled painter, it quickly sketched an incredibly clear panoramic view of the area outside Black Wind Valley onto the light screen.

This was the miraculous effect of the seven-heart begonia Medicinal Pill; using its unique "Qi-Condensing" property, it forcibly manifested all external Spiritual Qi fluctuations exceeding the Foundation Establishment Stage onto the Formation's light screen.

In the image, three miles outside Black Wind Valley.

A middle-aged man dressed in blood-colored robes, possessing a cold and overbearing aura, stood with his hands behind his back in the Void Realm. It was none other than the Southern Region Deacon of the True Blood Temple, Venerable Xueli.

Behind him, seven figures stood in a row, belonging to seven different forces.

Although the Spiritual Qi fluctuations on their bodies were far inferior to Venerable Xueli's, they were all at the Golden Core Early Stage, and each represented a second-rate Sect or Family in the Southern Region.

Among them, the Iron Sect Leader, Tie Kuang, had a physique as burly as an iron tower, carried a giant axe gleaming with cold light on his shoulder, and had a sinister grin on his face.

Beside Tie Kuang, a beautiful woman with an enchanting figure and alluring eyes was particularly eye-catching; she was the Cave Master of the Illusion Moon Cave, Yue Ji.

Su Qingyao's gaze locked tightly onto Yue Ji.

In the illusion manifested by the powder, she clearly saw Yue Ji using her sleeve to cover her movements, silently handing a small Jade Slip to an old man wearing the robes of a Formation Master beside her.

On that Jade Slip, a faint, elusive Illusion Moon mark flashed and then vanished.

She was inciting the Lin Family's Formation Masters to rebel!

No, to be more precise, she was bribing the Guest Elder Formation Masters who had been hired by the Lin Family at high salaries to assist in maintaining the Formation!

Su Qingyao's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

Internal trouble and external aggression—this was the true killing trap!

Just at this moment, outside the Formation, three figures were speeding over from the distant mountains and forests; they were Lin Haoyu, Tie Xin, and Yun Shang.

"Move aside!"

Lin Haoyu let out a low shout. He could see that dozens of Loose Cultivators and small Family Cultivators who were attached to the Lin Family were gathering at the entrance of the Formation with panicked expressions, pointing and gesturing at the outside.

Fear was spreading like a plague.

He did not offer any explanation. Dragging the turtle-shell shield that had just been condensed by the void ring and was still somewhat unstable, he walked straight to the front of the Formation's light screen, facing the group of malicious onlookers outside.

These people had already been watching from the sidelines when his father was Undergoing Tribulation; now, seeing the grand Formation of Venerable Xueli, they were even more eager to make a move.

Lin Haoyu did not say a word. He took out the black crystal he had obtained in the underground river, which was sealed with the Bloodline essence of the True Blood Temple, from his storage ring.

He held it high, letting everyone see the burning blood-drop emblem on the surface of the crystal. Then, amidst the suspicious and uncertain gazes of the crowd, he slammed the crystal onto the ground at his feet!

"Pshhh!" The moment the crystal touched the ground, there was no loud noise.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Centered on the crystal, all the vegetation within a ten-zhang radius—whether it was the verdant tender grass or the tough vines—withered, charred, and turned into fly ash within a single breath, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The earth seemed to have been drained of all its vitality, turning into a desolate, dead gray-white.

That aura of coldness, decay, and the devouring of all life force was intuitively presented before everyone.

"Hiss—" The sound of people gasping in cold air rose one after another.

Those onlookers who had originally held onto a hope for luck and wanted to fish in troubled waters were now all retreating in horror. The eyes with which they looked at the crystal in Lin Haoyu's hand were filled with fear and wariness.

This was the power of the True Blood Temple! To touch it was to die!

This intuitive demonstration instantly intimidated all the petty villains, making them afraid to come even an inch closer to the Lin Family's Formation.

"Hmph! Playing God and playing ghosts!"

A violent shout, like a sudden clap of thunder, came from three miles away.

The Iron Sect Leader, Tie Kuang, was clearly enraged by Lin Haoyu's display of control. He suddenly pulled nine three-foot-long Formation-Breaking Cones from behind his back.

"Go!"

His arm muscles bulged, erupting with terrifying power. The nine Formation-Breaking Cones turned into nine streaks of black light, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, and slammed fiercely into the light screen of the Lin Family's Formation!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The dense sound of impacts merged into one. At the point of impact of each Formation-Breaking Cone, the Formation's light screen rippled violently, like the surface of a lake into which a stone had been thrown.

The entire Formation was humming and vibrating, and the speed of Spiritual Qi consumption skyrocketed instantly!

Inside the Formation eye, Su Qingyao's face turned pale, and she let out a muffled groan.

She did not hesitate in the slightest; biting down with her pearly white teeth, she bit open her own fair fingertip.

A drop of crimson blood with a faint golden hue was flicked out by her, precisely merging into the Formation eye light pool before her.

This was her Natal Essence Blood!

"Boom!" As the Essence Blood merged, it instantly reacted with the remaining seven-heart begonia Medicinal Pill powder in the pill pool.

A pink pill-fire surged up along the veins of the Formation, erupting violently at the location where the nine Formation-Breaking Cones were striking!

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—" A harsh melting sound rang out. The pink pill-fire, while appearing soft and beautiful, contained terrifying high temperatures and corrosiveness. It actually melted the leading three Formation-Breaking Cones alive in mid-air into three pools of molten iron, and foul-smelling black smoke shot up into the sky!

Tie Kuang's expression changed. He had not expected the Lin Family's protective Formation to counterattack so fiercely. Feeling the pain of the loss, he hurriedly withdrew the remaining six Formation-Breaking Cones.

Just at the moment of this intense internal and external confrontation, Lin Haoyu felt a surge of heat in his right arm.

The void ring on his index finger seemed to have sensed the immense crisis from the outside world; without needing to be activated, it automatically triggered!

A surge of majestic Earth Qi poured out from the ring, instantly condensing on his right arm into a heavy and ancient Earth Spirit armor covered in turtle-shell patterns!

This armor was more solid than the temporary armor he had activated himself before, and it was filled with an unshakeable sense of protection.

"Giggle, giggle..." In the distance, the Cave Master of the Illusion Moon Cave, Yue Ji, saw this scene and suddenly let out a silver-bell-like, charming laugh. "Venerable Xueli, it seems that this young gentleman of the Lin Family really has some ability. This turtle shell of his looks much harder than his father's face."

Her laughter was charming, but her eyes were as cold as knives. Before her voice had even faded, three poisonous needles, as thin as ox hair and almost completely transparent, shot out silently from her wide sleeve, aimed directly at the Formation light screen where Lin Haoyu was!

These poisonous needles were silent and soundless, carrying not a trace of Spiritual Qi fluctuation. On the chaotic battlefield, they were almost impossible to detect!

However, just at the instant when those three poisonous needles were about to touch the Formation's light screen—

"Thump!" A dull, massive sound, like the heartbeat of an ancient giant beast, suddenly came from the deepest part of the underground of Black Wind Valley, as if a muffled thunderclap had exploded in everyone's heart!

Accompanied by this loud noise, an indescribable, savage, and overbearing wave swept across the entire scene.

Everyone present, whether it was the Lin Family's disciples, or the onlookers on the periphery like Venerable Xueli, Tie Kuang, and Yue Ji, and even including Lin Haoyu, felt the Spiritual Qi within their bodies stagnate for a split second at this moment!

It was as if they had been gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand, unable to circulate!

This abnormal fluctuation came quickly and went quickly, lasting no more than a single breath.

But when experts fight, a single breath is enough to be fatal!

Because of this momentary stagnation of Spiritual Qi, the trajectory of Yue Ji's three poisoned flying needles deviated imperceptibly. They grazed past the Formation's light screen and sank into the mountain rocks behind, corroding a large area of rock into black water.

"A Spiritual Vein riot?!" Venerable Xueli's expression changed drastically. The composure and sense of control on his face vanished completely.

He knew better than anyone that this was definitely not an ordinary Spiritual Vein fluctuation.

He looked up sharply, staring into the depths of Black Wind Valley. For the first time, surprise and wariness appeared in his eyes.

He no longer held back. His Divine Sense pressure, as vast as the sea, descended with a boom. Like an invisible mountain, it pressed down fiercely upon the entire Lin Family Formation, attempting to completely suppress this sudden anomaly!

Under this pressure of Divine Sense, the Formation's light screen emitted an unbearable "creaking" sound, and the light on its surface dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Inside the Formation eye, Su Qingyao bore the brunt of it. She felt as if her Divine Soul had been struck by a heavy hammer, and a mouthful of blood could no longer be suppressed, overflowing from the corner of her mouth.

She stared fixedly at the manifested image on the light screen, watching as the Golden Core Cultivators of the seven major forces, at the signal of Venerable Xueli, also began to exert pressure on the Formation simultaneously.

On the top floor of the Listening Wind Pavilion, on the light screen before Qin Ruowei, the numerical value representing the consumption of Spiritual Qi was skyrocketing madly. Blinding red light flashed continuously, emitting a sharp alarm sound.

"Formation Plate Spiritual Qi overload at thirty percent! ...fifty percent! ...seventy percent!"

"Spiritual Pressure at the main Formation eye has exceeded the threshold!"

"Spiritual Qi output from Guest Elder Formation Masters number three, seven, and eleven has been interrupted!"

One lethal alarm after another rang out in succession, declaring that the Formation's defensive system was being dismantled from the inside out.

Just at this moment, a cold and firm voice sounded behind Qin Ruowei.

"Move aside."