564: Chapter 564 You've been living in my script all along, and you even think you're superior.

Inside and outside the light screen, there was dead silence.

Even the sound of the wind ceased, and the chirping of insects vanished; the entire world seemed to have nothing left but this one sentence from Xu Ruyu echoing repeatedly.

The members of the Righteous Path Alliance froze, mouths agape and eyes wide, as if immobilized by a binding spell.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's expression also froze on his face.

Xu Ruyu watched their reactions and slowly looked around, his gaze shifting from Ancestor Xuan Yin to the old man in the east, then to the old woman in the west, then to the middle-aged man in the south, and finally landing back on the thousands of Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators squeezed into the Martial Arts Arena.

Wherever his gaze fell, those people involuntarily lowered their heads, fearing that this Formation master might get displeased and activate the Grand Array to wipe them out.

"If that were really the case, tell me, how did a Sect Master like me, who lacks strength and is so poor that I even had to borrow Spirit Stones from my Disciples to set up a Formation, manage to trap Situ E and Zhao Qian to death?

How did I use a single Formation to kill Tian Jianzi, who was at the Half-step True Immortal Realm?

You don't actually think Tian Jianzi chased me until he died of exhaustion, do you?

You think Situ E was crippled by my explosion?

You think all those events that sound like tall tales were just me, Xu Ruyu, getting lucky?"

His voice drifted in the night wind, as if it had traveled from a very distant place.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's face turned pale bit by bit.

From red to white, from white to blue, from blue to gray, like a lamp being slowly dimmed by someone, until only a deathly ash color remained.

His hands were trembling, his shoulders were shaking, his entire body was trembling.

Xu Ruyu did not give him a chance to catch his breath; he continued.

"You thought that by using those underhanded methods to plant a few spies among our Hehuan Sect Disciples, you could uncover all of the Hehuan Sect's trump cards?

Do you think my, Xu Ruyu's, Formation Dao is that worthless?

To tell you the truth, I used those Spirit Stones for the Formation on purpose.

Those Low-Grade Spirit Stones were also deliberately inserted by me.

I wanted your people to see that the Hehuan Sect had reached the end of its rope, that the current Hehuan Sect didn't even have enough Spirit Stones to set up a Grand Array.

And that this hard-won Hehuan Grand Array wouldn't last long.

Your spies saw all of this and passed it on to you through secret channels.

Hehe, you didn't disappoint me; not only did you believe it, you also came.

You all rushed headlong into this Grand Array I set up, becoming lambs waiting for the slaughter.

You thought victory was in your grasp, but unfortunately, from beginning to end, you have all been walking within my script, yet you thought yourselves superior."

His voice stopped.

The night wind blew, causing his robes to rustle loudly.

No one spoke; no one dared to speak.

The old man in the east subconsciously glanced at his own palm.

Those silver specks of light were still moving, still burrowing inward; every time they burrowed, his Meridians twitched.

He could no longer feel them; they seemed to have melted into his blood, moving slowly, bit by bit, along his blood vessels toward his Dantian.

He didn't know where they were going, but he knew they weren't going anywhere good.

His lips twitched as if to ask something, but in the end, he closed them.

The old woman in the west's lips were trembling; her face, caked with powder, was as pale as a corpse's, and the powder fell off in clumps.

Her body was trembling slightly; she didn't know if it was from fear or anger, perhaps both.

"Not Spirit Stones? Then what is it? What is supporting it? Tell me, what is supporting it!"

Her voice was shrill and grating, like someone scratching a slate with their fingernails, giving everyone goosebumps.

Xu Ruyu looked at her without speaking.

His gaze was calm, so calm that it was as if he were looking at an ignorant child.

He didn't answer her question but turned to Ancestor Xuan Yin, looking at his gray, beaten face, his voice carrying a hint of faint mockery: "Ancestor Xuan Yin, you are, after all, an old man of wide experience.

Haven't you noticed that the more you attack, the stronger this Grand Array becomes?

Every one of your attacks—Magical Artifacts smashing down, techniques blasting in, Spirit Talismans stuck on—has been swallowed by this Formation.

Where did it go? I won't say, but you can guess for yourselves."

He paused, his smile deepening, his eyes slightly curved.

"If you want to attack, then go ahead. I'm not afraid anyway, feel free to do as you please.

I have other things to attend to and have no time to waste here with you."

He put his hands behind his back and turned to leave.

Ancestor Xuan Yin's face was completely twisted.

On that gray, beaten face, every muscle was twitching, and every wrinkle seemed to have been carved over again by a knife.

His eyes were bloodshot, red as if they were about to drip blood.

He wanted to chase after him, but his feet were nailed to the ground because he couldn't get out.

He wanted to curse, but he knew that cursing was useless; no matter how fiercely he cursed, he couldn't harm a single hair on Xu Ruyu.

He clenched one fist and pointed angrily at Xu Ruyu with the other, shouting:

"Xu Ruyu! What, what the hell do you want to do with us? You trap us here, what are you trying to do? You must give us an explanation!

You've locked up over a thousand people from our Righteous Path Alliance here; if this gets out, all the Cultivators in the world will be your enemies. Is your Hehuan Sect trying to make enemies with the whole world?"

Xu Ruyu stopped but did not turn back.

With his back to Ancestor Xuan Yin and the others, he sneered and replied indifferently: "What do I want? Isn't that a ridiculous thing to say?

From beginning to end, wasn't it your Righteous Path Alliance that rushed over in a hurry, saying you wanted to exterminate my Hehuan Sect to rid the Cultivation World of a scourge?

Wasn't it your Righteous Path Alliance that brought over a thousand people, four Half-step True Immortals, and dozens of Saint Realm experts, coming in such a grand manner to suppress and kill my Hehuan Sect?

What, now that you've become turtles in a jar, you feel aggrieved? You have the nerve to ask me what I want?"

By the end, his voice grew cold.

Xu Ruyu slowly turned around, facing the light screen again, facing those gray, fearful, angry, and desperate faces behind the light screen.

His gaze swept over Ancestor Xuan Yin, swept over those four Half-step True Immortal old men, and swept over those thousands of Righteous Path Alliance Cultivators.

"Since you're all here, don't be in a hurry to leave.

My Hehuan Sect is rebuilding; we lack Spirit Stones, Materials, and many other things.

You will stay here for the time being; when your Sects send the items, I will release you."

He began to quote prices—

"One Saint Realm Peak, one million High-Grade Spirit Stones.

One Saint Realm Late Stage, five hundred thousand.

Mid-Stage Saint Realm, three hundred thousand.

Early Saint Realm, one hundred thousand.

Nascent Soul Stage, ten thousand.

Golden Core Stage, one thousand.

Fair trade, clearly marked prices.

As for the four of you—"

His gaze lingered on the four Half-step True Immortal old men.

"We'll discuss yours separately; I'll make sure you're satisfied."