350: Can you hold on?

Chen Xuan let out a feigned chuckle and ignored the woman before him. He focused entirely on constructing the Nine Luminaries God-Suppressing Formation with great poise. His intention was not a quick victory; instead, he deliberately slowed the pace to create invisible psychological pressure on Qing Li.

As expected!

A trace of irritation flashed in Qing Li's eyes. Her previously poised stance for a Flying Sword strike quietly relaxed, and she did not rush to attack. Her jade-like fingers lightly pinched, and several black water swords flew back to her side, but her gaze remained locked onto the tens of thousands of miniature Flying Swords circulating incessantly like a hawk's.

The Yao Race had always believed in the law of the jungle. In the past, they relied solely on their innate racial Divine Abilities and powerful physiques to run rampant, scoffing at the path of Formations. However, after thousands of years of clashing with the Human Race and suffering greatly from being trapped and killed by Formations and ambushes, they eventually learned to adapt. Not only did they begin to study Human Race Formations diligently, but they also learned about seventy to eighty percent of the humans' devious schemes. Among them, the Nine-Tailed Fox clan was the most adept at bewitching hearts. More than ten tower masters of the Rain God Continent's Demon Suppressing Tower had defected to the Yao Race, mostly falling victim to their charm techniques and schemes.

Although Qing Li was not from the Fox clan, she had dabbled in the basics of Formations during the Yao Race's wave of innovation, making her particularly sensitive to the bizarre aspects of Human Race Formation arts.

But... "Is it that my understanding of Formations is too shallow?"

Qing Li murmured to herself, her brow furrowed tightly as her gaze remained locked on the sky full of "stars" within the Formation. In her eyes, those miniature Flying Swords seemed to flow along profound trajectories, but in reality, they were chaotic, with no discernible pattern or the energy ripples that should accompany the activation of a Formation. They seemed like nothing more than a disorganized rabble being controlled at will. Yet, thinking of the legendary feats her opponent had achieved in the southern territories, she couldn't help but wonder if her own cultivation was indeed too shallow to see through the mystery of this Formation.

At this thought, Qing Li suppressed the doubts in her heart and decided to test it out first—after all, the seventh sun had only half-condensed, so there was still plenty of time.

With a slight movement of her fingertips, three drops of black dew shimmering with an eerie light condensed out of thin air. The moment they appeared, they instantly froze into three sharp ice crystals, shooting toward the three outermost Flying Swords of the Formation like three bolts of black lightning. She stared intently at her targets, waiting for the crisp sound of the swords shattering or the fluctuations of the Formation becoming disrupted.

However, the expected sound of impact did not ring out.

Those three black ice crystals, containing potent poison, actually passed straight through the bodies of the Flying Swords as if through illusions. They appeared in the air behind them without any obstruction, finally turning into wisps of black Qi and dissipating.

"Illusions?"

Qing Li narrowed her eyes slightly, a flash of confusion crossing her gaze.

Refusing to believe it, she performed Qi Condensation several times in succession. Black ice crystals, condensed water blades, and even Demonic Qi bombs compressed to the extreme were launched one after another at different positions of the Flying Swords within the Formation, but the result remained the same.

All her methods were like stones sinking into the ocean; they failed to disrupt the trajectories of the Flying Swords even by a fraction.

Swoosh—

The sound of breaking air was sharp and piercing as several strands of black Sword Qi, condensed as if solid, suddenly took shape. Carrying the momentum of tearing through the air, they aimed straight for Chen Xuan at the center of the Formation.

But the result still failed to exceed expectations.

Just as the Sword Qi was about to touch Chen Xuan, several miniature Flying Swords that had seemed ethereal suddenly accelerated. They shot over like meteors chasing the moon, blocking his front with unerring precision. When the Sword Qi struck the Flying Swords, it was once again instantly swallowed like a stone in the ocean without causing a single ripple. The Flying Swords continued to move along their original trajectories as if nothing had happened.

Chen Xuan kept his eyes lowered as he set up the Formation, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Since you're out of options, why not try your natal Divine Ability? I'm also curious to see what's so special about the methods of a Blackwater Nether Scorpion."

"Damn it, another block card wasted."

Chen Xuan grumbled to himself; he only had sixteen cards left now. He felt like a support player being 'imprisoned' under a tower, only able to throw a lantern behind him and then Flash repeatedly—he was gambling on this one move, waiting to see if she would run!

The moment the words "Blackwater Nether Scorpion" were uttered, Qing Li's pupils contracted sharply. The composure on her face finally showed some cracks, while her heart was already surging with stormy waves. She took a deep breath, quickly suppressing her current panic, and stared fixedly at the white-robed figure. She asked in a heavy voice, "How did you know my true form?"

Her true form had always been a secret; even within the Yao Race, very few knew of it. Chen Xuan had only been fighting her for a short while; how could he see through it at a glance? One must know that many among the Yao Race used water techniques, and very few would guess that her true body was a pitch-black venomous scorpion.

Because I'm using cheats!

Facing her questioning, Chen Xuan merely smiled without a word. That unfathomable smile made Qing Li's heart tighten more than a direct answer would have.

However, Qing Li was a Yao Race powerhouse who had survived countless battles. She soon stopped dwelling on the exposure of her true form. Her attention refocused on the Nine Luminaries God-Suppressing Formation. Combining her previous tests and blocks, a clear conclusion formed in her mind: these Flying Swords were not always ethereal, nor were they always solid. Instead, they could freely switch between illusion and reality. When an attack was directed at the Formation or the user, they would instantly turn from illusion to reality to block all strikes; but when the outside world actively attacked the Flying Swords themselves, they would turn into nothingness, leaving one with no way to strike.

Since single-point attacks were useless, she would include all the Flying Swords in her attack range simultaneously, leaving them with nowhere to hide!

A cold light flashed in Qing Li's eyes as she made her decision. She no longer hesitated, her hands quickly forming seals as she silently recited a Yao spell. The Demonic Qi around her body suddenly surged, and black mist billowed like a tide.

"Blackwater Sky-Prison!"

She gave a low shout and flicked her fingers. Dozens of black dew drops shimmering with eerie light appeared out of thin air, instantly expanding to the size of millstones as they shot toward all sides of Chen Xuan. With a muffled boom, these black dew drops quickly closed together at the periphery of the Formation, transforming into a black rectangular light barrier several zhang high. The surface of the barrier was swirled with layers of water-ripple patterns, trapping the entire Formation along with the sky full of Flying Swords inside, forming an airtight, closed cage.

While Chen Xuan, trapped within the Formation, had yet to figure out what had happened, killing intent was already blatant in Qing Li's eyes. Her other hand suddenly clenched. "Ice Spike Execution!"

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The sound of breaking air was as dense as rain as dozens of black ice crystals shot toward the sky full of Flying Swords in the Formation simultaneously. They were not aimed at any single Flying Sword; instead, they spread out in a fan shape, covering every corner of the entire Formation, leaving no room for any Flying Sword to dodge.

Sure enough, facing this indiscriminate, carpet-style attack, those Flying Swords that were originally in an illusory state still did not materialize. The ice crystals passed through the bodies of the Flying Swords without hindrance, shooting toward the opposite side of the light barrier.

But this was exactly the result Qing Li wanted!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As soon as the dozens of black ice crystals touched the inner wall of the rectangular light barrier, they were instantly bounced back by the water-ripple patterns on the surface. Their direction changed abruptly, shooting toward the Flying Swords on the other side of the Formation once more. The ice crystals penetrated the Flying Swords, hit the barrier and bounced back, then penetrated the Flying Swords again, then bounced back... The entire process was as fast as lightning, repeating in a never-ending cycle.

On the battlefield below, the Golden Lion Shadow summoned by Chu Haotian barely managed to block a technique from the Yao Race. He looked up toward the sky. The energy ripples that had just come from above made him feel a sense of dread.

Not far away, Master Qing Xuan also gazed at the distant horizon, where the seventh sun had now fully condensed.

He thought to himself: Can Senior Chen hold on this time?