55: Chapter 55 The Poisonous Dragon Escapes
While Ning Yuan and Old Ancestor Yu Ling were clashing, the overlooked Nangong Xi was not idle; this was part of the plan she and Ning Yuan had devised earlier.
He had her look for an opportunity to destroy the Formation, but worried for her safety, Ning Yuan had given her many Grade Four Talismans to use for both destroying the Formation and self-defense.
"Junior, you dare!"
Seeing this scene, Old Ancestor Yu Ling's eyes nearly split from rage. He let out a furious roar, his anger surging so violently it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say his hair was standing on end.
"Senior, do not lose your temper so easily; it's bad for your health!" Ning Yuan smiled faintly, his tone carrying a hint of mockery, seemingly indifferent to Old Ancestor Yu Ling's fury.
Nangong Xi's movements did not stop because of Old Ancestor Yu Ling's roar. She knew time was of the essence and had to destroy the Formation as quickly as possible.
Holding a Grade Four Talisman between her fingers, a flash of determination crossed her eyes, and she immediately hurled the Talisman toward the core of the Formation.
Boom!
The Talisman streaked through the air like a bolt of light, accurately striking the core of the Formation and erupting with a deafening explosion.
The radiance of the Formation flickered violently, seemingly under immense impact, but it did not collapse immediately.
Seeing this, the fire of rage in Old Ancestor Yu Ling's eyes grew even more intense. He hadn't expected Ning Yuan and Nangong Xi to actually dare to destroy the Formation right in front of him.
"Stop!"
He let out a furious roar and suddenly shifted his body to charge toward Nangong Xi, clearly intending to stop her from further damaging the Formation first.
Ning Yuan was well-prepared. Just as Old Ancestor Yu Ling lunged, the deity transformation puppet launched an attack with lightning speed.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
In an instant, countless sword lights appeared behind Old Ancestor Yu Ling as if teleporting. If he insisted on charging toward Nangong Xi, he would be heavily wounded even if he didn't die.
With no other choice, Old Ancestor Yu Ling had to turn back to deal with it. He waved the beast soul banner in his hand, and countless beast souls surged out like a tide toward the sword lights.
Roar, roar, roar!
Those beast souls seemed to come alive, letting out deafening roars as they violently collided with the incoming sword lights.
Because of the Extreme Yang Fire, although they couldn't cause fatal damage, they could still manage to stall for a moment or two.
While the sword lights and beast souls were at a stalemate, the deity transformation puppet also continuously launched attacks at Old Ancestor Yu Ling, not giving him a chance to break away.
Boom, boom, boom!
The battle grew increasingly fierce. The figures of the deity transformation puppet and Old Ancestor Yu Ling intertwined, and the collision of spiritual power sent out waves of booming sounds.
While Old Ancestor Yu Ling was being held back, Nangong Xi worked even harder to destroy the Formation. At the edge of the Formation, she constantly looked for opportunities to strike; each of her attacks made the Formation's radiance grow dimmer.
Time flowed through the tense battle. The radiance of the Formation grew weaker and weaker, and the fight between the deity transformation puppet and Old Ancestor Yu Ling reached a fever pitch.
Crack! Bang!
Finally, under one of Nangong Xi's precise strikes, the Formation could no longer hold on. After a loud crash, it completely collapsed.
Once the Formation was broken, Nangong Xi did not linger at all, vanishing in a flash.
Seeing the Formation destroyed, Old Ancestor Yu Ling's face changed drastically. He knew the matter was settled and could no longer be salvaged.
He had gathered the strength of the entire sect just to trap the Poison Jiao, and now it was ruined. His hatred for Ning Yuan reached its peak.
"Junior, you have ruined my plans! Leave your life behind today! This Puppet of yours will just have to compensate for my losses!" Old Ancestor Yu Ling's face was distorted, his eyes filled with killing intent as he roared repeatedly.
"Senior, the Poison Jiao hasn't run away yet! It's still not too late to go catch it!" Ning Yuan said with a chuckle, while also waving his hand at him.
"Then I'll be going first. Bye-bye!"
After speaking, Ning Yuan vanished from the spot after a few flickers. The deity transformation puppet, after trading a blow with Old Ancestor Yu Ling, also took the opportunity to fly away.
"Ah! Junior, you just wait!"
Seeing this, Old Ancestor Yu Ling's roar echoed through the empty valley; his current mood was clear from the sound alone.
But he quickly calmed down. He knew that this was a critical moment and he had to remain composed.
At this point, he had two choices: either hunt down Ning Yuan or catch the Poison Jiao again before it completely escaped.
Old Ancestor Yu Ling's eyes twitched. He was naturally unwilling to let Ning Yuan escape just like that, but after weighing his options, capturing the Poison Jiao was more important.
After all, Ning Yuan had the deity transformation puppet with him, so he might not be able to resolve the situation easily. The Poison Jiao was different; with his cultivation, it would just take a bit more effort.
Having made his decision, his gaze turned to the Poison Jiao revealed after the Formation's collapse. The Poison Jiao's massive body appeared exceptionally excited after the Formation's constraints were lifted, its eyes flashing with the relief of surviving a disaster.
Although the Formation was broken, the Poison Jiao had been trapped for too long. Its spiritual power stagnated briefly, preventing it from escaping immediately. In that brief moment, it was targeted once again.
Swoosh!
Seeing Old Ancestor Yu Ling fixate on it, the Poison Jiao was scared out of its wits. It couldn't stay any longer; its body moved as it rode the wind, fleeing into the distance.
"Humph!"
Old Ancestor Yu Ling snorted coldly and turned into a streak of light to chase the Poison Jiao, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, the valley that had been filled with booming sounds just moments ago fell silent, as if nothing had ever happened.
But before long, Ning Yuan and Nangong Xi reappeared in the valley. They scanned the surroundings and then turned their gaze in the direction Old Ancestor Yu Ling had left.
"Come, let's go take a look too!"
Hearing this, Nangong Xi couldn't help but look worried. She had just seen Old Ancestor Yu Ling's strength; provoking him again was clearly not a rational act. Thus, she tried to persuade him:
"We'd better not go! After this, the Yu Ling Sect's strength will surely be greatly diminished. They might not dare to come looking for trouble with us!"
"It's fine, we'll just watch from a distance and won't get close! Of course, if there's an opportunity, it's not like we can't make a move!" Ning Yuan waved his hand and said nonchalantly.
"Let's go!"
Ning Yuan immediately took to the air, not giving Nangong Xi another chance to persuade him, and chased after them directly.
"Sigh!"
Seeing this, Nangong Xi sighed helplessly and could only follow Ning Yuan. What else could she do?
Swoosh!
Nangong Xi's figure moved, turning into a streak of light flying toward the horizon, following closely behind Ning Yuan... Boom, boom, boom!
Ning Yuan and Nangong Xi landed on a towering mountain peak. They watched the battle in the sky from afar as massive fluctuations of spiritual power continuously erupted.
Roar!
The Poison Jiao let out roars from time to time. At this moment, its injuries were even more severe than before, and even its aura had withered to the extreme.
Meanwhile, Old Ancestor Yu Ling waved the beast soul banner in his hand. An uncountable tide of beasts surged forward like a flood, surrounding the Poison Jiao to prevent it from escaping.
Old Ancestor Yu Ling also launched attacks from the side, striking the Poison Jiao from time to time and causing significant damage.
The Poison Jiao was no pushover either. Its entire body was filled with potent poison, and it used its sharp fangs and claws to launch counterattacks, but they were largely ineffective and easily dodged.