458: Chapter 458 Stunned, even Tian Jianzi was helpless.

Xu Ruyu's reminder caused Tian Jianzi's complexion to turn ashen instantly.

Only then did he remember that Zhao Qian was still in Xu Ruyu's hands.

Although he hadn't experienced the terror of that Formation personally, he could tell from Zhao Qian's disheveled state that it was definitely not something to be trifled with.

Those crimson flames could burn through even protective Spiritual Qi, and even a powerhouse at the Half-step Saint Realm couldn't withstand them.

If he provoked Xu Ruyu and Xu Ruyu really detonated the Formation, Zhao Qian would undoubtedly die.

Zhao Qian was so scared he was trembling all over, hurriedly shouting, "Junior Martial Uncle, Junior Martial Uncle, save me.

This person is crazy; he will really kill me.

This Disciple does not want to die.

Junior Martial Uncle, you must save me."

Tian Jianzi's expression turned even uglier.

He had lived for over ten thousand years, and never had anyone dared to threaten him like Xu Ruyu.

In front of him, who wasn't respectful? Who wasn't trembling with fear?

Yet today, this brat in the Qi Refinement Stage actually dared to use Zhao Qian's life to blackmail him.

This was simply the greatest insult to him.

"Do you think this Seat cannot break your lousy Formation?"

Tian Jianzi sneered, drawing his longsword and pointing it at Xu Ruyu.

The sword was snow-white, with faint lightning circulating along the blade, and as soon as it was drawn, it emitted a heaven-shaking hum.

The hum contained fluctuations of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, as if this one strike could sever everything.

Faint runes circulated on the blade; these were the Legacy imprints left by ancient Sword Cultivators, and every rune represented a supreme Law of the Dao of the sword.

Xu Ruyu's heart sank abruptly.

He knew that Tian Jianzi was about to make a move.

Although he had confidence in his Acetylene Great Array, he didn't know how long he could hold out against a top-tier Sword Cultivator at the Saint Realm Peak.

Tian Jianzi slashed out with his sword.

That strike had no flashy sword moves, no complex changes in Sword Qi, only the simplest of slashes.

Yet, this simple strike contained the power of the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Where the sword light passed, the air was torn apart, and the space itself seemed to develop tiny cracks, emitting a piercing screech.

The sword light struck the Array Pattern of the Acetylene Great Array.

"Boom."

With a loud explosion, the entire cliff trembled.

Rocks tumbled from the cliff, crashing into the valley below and emitting a muffled echo.

However—

The Acetylene Great Array only trembled slightly, and those crimson flames did not extinguish; instead, they burned even more fiercely.

The Array Pattern remained bright, and the flames continued to rage, as if Tian Jianzi's strike had caused absolutely no impact.

Tian Jianzi's expression changed instantly.

"This... how is this possible?"

He muttered, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He was a Sword Cultivator at the Half-step True Immortal stage, beyond the Saint Realm Peak; this strike was enough to split a mountain, yet it couldn't break a Formation set up by a brat in the Qi Refinement Stage?

Refusing to believe it, he slashed out with his sword again.

For this strike, he used seventy percent of his power.

The sword light was sharper than before, the Sword Intent more violent, and streaks of lightning even appeared on the blade—that was the manifestation of him invoking the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

"Boom."

The Array Pattern trembled again, the flames surged violently, but it still did not break.

Those crimson flames seemed to have a life of their own, swallowing his Sword Intent completely.

The sword light plunged into the flames like a stone tossed into the ocean, not even causing a splash.

Tian Jianzi's expression became even uglier.

He had lived for over ten thousand years and had never encountered such a situation.

His sword could even split the heavens, yet it couldn't split this Formation?

He sheathed his sword, walked to the edge of the Formation, and carefully observed the Array Pattern.

Then, his brows furrowed even tighter.

These Array Pattern were not any kind of Formation he was familiar with.

Traditional Formations, whether attack Formations, defense Formations, or entrapment Formations, could not function without the circulation of Spiritual Qi, nor could they function without the guidance of the Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Yet the Array Pattern of this Formation didn't have a trace of Spiritual Qi fluctuation.

What were they relying on to function? The structure of those Array Pattern was also extremely strange; they weren't traditional runes, but rather geometric shapes he had never seen before—there were straight lines, curves, circles, and angles, combined together to form a peculiar pattern.

He looked at the flames again.

The temperature of those flames was extremely high, but what was even more bizarre was the way they burned.

In traditional fire-element Spells, flames were driven by spiritual power and maintained by Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Yet these flames were gushing directly from the Array Pattern, as if the Array Pattern themselves were burning.

The nature of the flames was also completely different from spiritual power flames, carrying a strange aura he had never seen before.

The color of the flames was crimson, but the edges shimmered with a blue-white light, which was a sign of extremely high temperature.

He had lived for over ten thousand years and seen countless types of flames, yet he had never seen this kind.

Cold sweat seeped from Tian Jianzi's forehead.

He had lived for over ten thousand years and considered himself to have some research in the Dao of Formations.

But this Formation, he couldn't understand it at all.

Those Array Pattern, those flames—they all exceeded the scope of his cognition. He had no way to begin.

Xu Ruyu looked at him and smiled.

"Senior," he said slowly, his voice laced with a hint of mockery, "this Formation of mine is different from all the Formations in the Cultivation World.

It doesn't rely on spiritual power to function, and it doesn't rely on the Laws of Heaven and Earth to maintain itself.

It relies on—science.

You've lived for over ten thousand years, I'm afraid you've never seen this kind of thing, right?"