Chapter 1163: Breached
With Lian Hou, Yan Wang, and Qiong Lin at the forefront, all hundred-plus evil path cultivators within the Yin-Yang Hall changed expression violently.
Above them, the "Ten Thousand Lamps Illumination Diagram" suspended thousands of fireballs, baking the earth, refining the formation, and unleashing an incredibly imposing might. The ten formation towers had to be fully activated, driving six ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts, just to hold back the scroll.
If any single formation tower encountered an accident, the Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation could potentially collapse entirely.
Lian Hou handed the four ancestral artifacts left by the Song siblings to four other evil path cultivators to control, while she transformed into a vortex of yin-cold wind force, rapidly charging into the formation tower. Before she could pursue inside, Yan Wang had already attacked first.
...
Outside the Yin-Yang Hall, cultivators from various worlds could clearly see the battle within the formation, and all were now tense.
"Zhang Ruochen charging into the formation tower is undoubtedly walking a path of no return. He can only win, not lose."
"If Zhang Ruochen fails to destroy the formation tower, under the combined attack of Yan Wang and Lian Hou, he will surely die, without even a chance to escape."
"What if Zhang Ruochen does destroy the formation tower? Then the Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation will become incomplete and unable to block that divine diagram's attack."
"Look, another group of evil path experts is charging into the formation tower. This completely seals off Zhang Ruochen's retreat."
...
Yan Wang and Lian Hou were simply too powerful, like two great mountains pressing down, making those cultivators with grudges against the Yin-Yang Realm dare not oppose the Yin-Yang Hall. Now that Zhang Ruochen was being besieged by the two of them, many cultivators could only shake their heads and sigh.
Yao Jue Wang's gaze fixed on Ji Fanxin, and he asked, "Miss, do you think Zhang Ruochen, with the talismans in his hand, can withstand the combined siege of Yan Wang and Lian Hou?"
Ji Fanxin's eyes were calm, and she said flatly, "Yan Wang and Lian Hou are the leaders of the Yin-Yang Hall. Their accumulated foundation is immense, and they surely possess many talismans. Although I very much hope Zhang Ruochen can destroy that formation tower... the gap in strength is too great..."
Yao Jue Wang also wished for Zhang Ruochen to annihilate the Yin-Yang Hall. But he had to admit that these two overlords, Yan Wang and Lian Hou, were not something a junior like Zhang Ruochen could handle. Moreover, besides Yan Wang and Lian Hou, there was the watchful Qiong Lin and the still-unseen Xie Chengzi. Any one of these four giants could scare an ordinary half-step Saint King into kneeling and kowtowing. Who would dare fight them? Only Zhang Ruochen had that kind of courage.
Ji Fanxin shifted her tone, saying, "However, since we're inside the formation tower, Yan Wang and Lian Hou won't dare use overly powerful techniques. If they destroy the tower, what's the point of suppressing Zhang Ruochen?"
"So, Zhang Ruochen still has a chance?"
Ji Fanxin said, "There's definitely a chance, but the key is whether his strength is sufficient."
...
Inside the formation tower, Zhang Ruochen clashed with Yan Wang.
Both had activated Divine Demon Talismans. One threw a punch, the other struck with a palm, producing booming sounds that filled the entire first layer of the formation with chaotic power. Perhaps the force of their battle was too strong, causing the formation tower to tremble slightly, with metal fragments constantly falling from above. If the energy released grew any stronger, the tower might shatter completely.
Soon, three breaths passed, and the power on Zhang Ruochen's body rapidly declined.
Yan Wang's towering figure was like a world-covering flame demon, and he let out a loud laugh: "Without the power boost of the Divine Demon Talisman, can you withstand a single punch from this king?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was sharp and cold. He quickly took out a second Divine Demon Talisman. Immediately, divine-demon might radiated from him again, his power surging back to the level of a three-step Saint King, forcing Yan Wang to retreat step by step.
"You still have another Divine Demon Talisman? Good kid, you've brought so many powerful talismans. Tell me, who's backing you from the shadows?"
Yan Wang's expression was dark and cold. He didn't believe that Zhang Ruochen, with his financial resources, could afford a Seven-Level Floating Pagoda Talisman and a Divine Demon Talisman. There had to be a powerful world supporting him in secret.
Another seven breaths passed, and the power of Yan Wang's Divine Demon Talisman began to fade. Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen grew stronger, pressing Yan Wang back almost to the tower's entrance. Yan Wang, who could usually kill an opponent of the same realm with a single punch, was now being suppressed by a junior half-step Saint King. Naturally, he was furious.
Just as he was about to use another, even more powerful talisman, Zhang Ruochen suddenly retreated and rushed toward the second layer of the tower.
Yan Wang turned his head and saw Lian Hou standing behind him.
"Can't even handle a Zhang Ruochen? You truly disappoint me."
Lian Hou said lightly, then burst forward at maximum speed, chasing to the second layer to intercept Zhang Ruochen.
Bang, bang.
Suddenly, at the entrance to the second layer, a metal ball the size of a fist rolled down.
"What's that?"
Lian Hou's spiritual senses were sharp. Sensing danger, she immediately dodged the metal ball and raised a green bamboo fan to shield herself. But Yan Wang, who was chasing behind Lian Hou, along with a large group of evil path cultivators, couldn't retreat in time.
Bang.
The metal ball exploded, releasing a vast cloud of blood mist that spread in all directions. The blood mist contained an extremely terrifying corrosive power, causing the tower's floor and walls to hiss and rapidly turn black. Even the formation inscriptions on the floor and walls seemed unable to withstand it.
One of the evil path cultivators, the first to come into contact with the blood mist, had blood gush from his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Even the sacred soul within his skull let out a miserable scream. Moments later, the evil path cultivator dissolved into a pool of pus and blood.
"Careful! It's a blood poison—don't touch it!"
Lian Hou's face turned quite pale. She discovered that even the green bamboo fan, a ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifact in her hand, was being corroded by the blood mist. The artifact spirit within wailed and gradually fell silent. What kind of blood poison was this, so terrifying? Lian Hou suspected that even with her powerful cultivation, if she got contaminated by the blood poison, it would be extremely difficult to cleanse.
Lian Hou immediately used the green bamboo fan to envelop herself and quickly rushed out of the tower.
The moment she escaped the blood mist's range, the green bamboo fan in her hand burst with a bang, shattering into blood-red fragments.
Yan Wang also managed to escape the tower, but his luck wasn't as good. A wisp of blood mist had touched his chest, and his skin and flesh had already rotted, with the decay spreading outward. At this moment, he couldn't afford to continue chasing Zhang Ruochen. He quickly mobilized the nine types of flames he had cultivated to great mastery within his body to burn away the blood poison that had invaded him.
As for the dozen or so evil path experts who had followed Lian Hou into the tower, not a single one escaped. They were most likely dead or worse.
The cultivators from various worlds watching the battle looked at each other in confusion, extremely curious about what had happened. What method had Zhang Ruochen used to force the powerful Yan Wang and Lian Hou out of the formation tower? And Yan Wang seemed to have suffered considerable injury.
After a long while, Yan Wang suppressed the blood poison in his body and reopened his eyes. "Such terrifying poison. Fortunately, I only got a wisp of it, or I might have died inside the tower."
Lian Hou's eyes were grave. "The blood mist has blocked the tower's entrance. We can no longer stop Zhang Ruochen. Now, we need to think about how to handle the situation once the Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation is breached."
Yan Wang's expression turned extremely grim. He realized that the greatest crisis the Yin-Yang Hall had faced in tens of thousands of years had arrived.
Xie Chengzi and Qiong Lin hurried over, gathering with Yan Wang and Lian Hou to discuss their next move.
...
Inside the formation tower, Zhang Ruochen charged all the way to the top. Although he encountered resistance from the evil path cultivators guarding the tower, he easily killed them all. It could be said that within the Yin-Yang Hall, aside from Saint King-level figures and the prodigies on the Sacred Merit Ranking, it was no easy task for other evil path cultivators to block even one of his sword strikes.
As for the metal ball he had thrown earlier, it was a gift from Gu Songzi. Gu Songzi was one of the most skilled poison users in the Kunlun Realm. The ball contained refined Underworld King Blood Poison, considered the most potent poison Gu Songzi had ever concocted. When Gu Songzi had given the metal ball to Zhang Ruochen, he had been quite reluctant. Even he had spent over a hundred years refining just this one.
Zhang Ruochen had already used his spiritual power to probe the situation on the first layer of the tower and was secretly shocked. All ten-plus evil path experts of the Yin-Yang Hall had turned into pools of pus and blood, including three Saint King-level experts.
Half a quarter-hour later, Zhang Ruochen killed all the evil path cultivators and formation masters presiding over the Yi Tower. The light pillar at the top of the tower gradually dimmed and finally retracted completely into the tower.
The ten formation towers were connected as a whole. Once one tower had a problem, the Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation would develop a massive flaw, and its power would be greatly reduced.
As expected, with the light pillar of the Yi Tower gone, the six ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts suspended in midair were severely affected. Under the suppression of the "Ten Thousand Lamps Illumination Diagram," they began to wobble precariously.
Boom!
All the cultivators in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market erupted in excitement, extremely stirred, realizing that the opportunity to destroy the Yin-Yang Hall had truly arrived.
Ji Fanxin's vast, distant eyes flashed with a bright light. "This reckless madman who fears neither heaven nor earth—he actually succeeded?"
Yao Jue Wang smiled. "Indeed, he's quite reckless, daring to charge into the Yin-Yang Hall alone. But, miss, you should also see that although Zhang Ruochen is arrogant and domineering, he came well-prepared. He didn't just blindly rush in like a suicidal fool. Besides the talismans we gave him, he also prepared many trump cards of his own."
Clearly, Ji Fanxin's impression of Zhang Ruochen had changed somewhat. "Talismans are just external forces. Only a cultivator who truly knows how to seize the moment can unleash their power. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen held out for so long against Qiong Lin, Lian Hou, and Yan Wang. That's truly remarkable."
"Zhang Ruochen alone killed dozens of promising experts from the Yin-Yang Hall, essentially wiping out a large batch of future Great Saints. Such methods—even I, an old man, would find it hard to achieve," Yao Jue Wang said.
Seeing that the Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation was about to be breached, those cultivators who had been hesitating no longer held back. They all struck simultaneously, launching attacks on the Yin-Yang Hall.
The Warp and Weft Heaven Net Formation held for only a single breath before it shattered with a thunderous boom. Beneath the formation, the ten grand halls and ten towering formation towers were covered in dense cracks, then split apart and collapsed into ruins. The entire Yin-Yang Hall, except for the statue of the Moon God still standing, was leveled to the ground.