Chapter 2031: The Owl Formation Master
Seeing Xiao Hei alive and kicking as he raged and cursed, Zuo Li's expression became extremely colorful, shifting constantly, and he could barely resist the urge to curse out loud.
Having endured two of his strikes in a row, with the second one launched using the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, yet emerging completely unharmed—Zuo Li simply couldn't fathom what kind of monster Xiao Hei really was.
Zuo Li was by no means weak. Although his strength hadn't yet reached the third level below Great Saint, he wasn't far off, and he was in no way inferior to figures like Cang Long or Yan Ba. The technique he cultivated wasn't the Heavenly Demon Tiger Roar Diagram, but since it was still a demonic art contained within the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, its essence was the same. Thus, he could still unleash tremendous power from the stone tablet engraved with the Heavenly Demon Tiger Roar Diagram.
By Zuo Li's estimation, even a top-tier Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact might not have been able to withstand that last strike and would have inevitably suffered damage.
Could it be that Xiao Hei's physical body was stronger than a top-tier Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact?
Or was there something else strange about Xiao Hei?
"I refuse to believe I can't deal with you," Zuo Li said, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes as demonic qi surged wildly from within him.
Along with the demonic qi, a large amount of black water also emerged. This was Dark Nether Water—supremely yin, supremely baleful, supremely poisonous—capable of dissolving everything. The Dark Nether Water that Zuo Li had cultivated could potentially melt even a very high-grade Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact, leaving nothing behind.
In an instant, the Dark Nether Water covered a vast area and continued to expand, as if it intended to drown this entire realm.
"Splash."
A black flood dragon, a thousand zhang long, leaped out from the Dark Nether Water, radiating an incredibly ferocious aura and disrupting the heaven and earth primal qi for thousands of li in every direction.
This scene was undoubtedly very similar to the image engraved on the Heavenly Demon Wild Flood Dragon Diagram.
"Roar."
The black flood dragon howled in fury, stirring up monstrous waves as it lunged toward Xiao Hei.
Seeing the black flood dragon charging at him, Xiao Hei revealed a look of disdain and snorted coldly, "A petty trick, and you dare ambush this Emperor twice? Watch how this Emperor deals with you."
As he spoke, Xiao Hei didn't dodge or evade at all, instead charging straight into the oncoming black flood dragon.
One could see a fiery red light glowing on Xiao Hei's body, like a patch of crimson clouds, radiating scorching heat that caused even space to ripple faintly from the burning.
"Boom."
The two collided, generating a terrifying shockwave of power.
"Whoosh."
Xiao Hei was sent flying backward again, dizzy and disoriented from the impact.
Meanwhile, the black flood dragon exploded into pieces, turning back into Dark Nether Water that scattered in all directions.
Where the Dark Nether Water corroded the ground, pits of various sizes immediately appeared, a sight that made one's scalp crawl.
"Wah yah yah, this is too much! Doesn't this Emperor have any face to save?"
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Hei flew back from the distance, his eyes bulging like copper bells, green smoke rising from his entire body.
Clearly, being knocked flying for the third time had infuriated Xiao Hei to no end.
Seeing that Xiao Hei was still unharmed, Zuo Li was quite surprised but no longer had any reservations. He sneered, "What does it matter if your defense is strong? You're still only fit to be trampled by this seat. Hand over the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription."
By now, he had basically confirmed that Xiao Hei's own power wasn't particularly strong—only his defense was astonishing, posing no real threat to him.
With that, Zuo Li activated his demonic art again, and an even larger black flood dragon leaped out from the Dark Nether Water, raising towering waves.
"Damn it, if it weren't for a problem that occurred when this Emperor was reborn, this Emperor could blow you, this demon whelp, to ashes with just a puff of breath," Xiao Hei fumed inwardly.
Back when he retrieved his physical body at the Yin-Yang Sea and underwent rebirth, an accident happened. Not only did he grow an owl's head, but he also couldn't control his former power. Even after all this time, the problem remained unresolved.
Xiao Hei now possessed a powerful body but couldn't unleash its corresponding strength, which frustrated him immensely.
In his anger, Xiao Hei flapped his wings, and a formation imprint over a hundred zhang in diameter condensed, meeting the black flood dragon head-on.
Unable to defeat Zuo Li with martial arts, he would have to rely on what he was best at—formations.
"Bang."
Although the black flood dragon was powerful, it was shattered by the formation imprint in an instant.
"When the tiger doesn't show its might, you take it for a sick cat! Die for this Emperor!"
Xiao Hei roared, flapping his wings repeatedly, sending out one massive formation imprint after another.
Zuo Li's expression changed immediately. He quickly activated his demonic art, condensing thick pillars of water to try and block the formation imprints.
"Boom."
Though the water pillars were strong, they couldn't withstand the terrifying power contained in the formation imprints, shattering on contact.
"Formation imprints casually condensed are already this formidable. Could this strange owl be a Formation Earth Master?" Zuo Li's mind churned, vague guesses forming.
Outside the Blood God Sect, there were three interlocking ninth-rank formations. A Formation Earth Master must have repaired the ancient formation patterns left by the sect's ancestors. An ordinary Formation Saint Master would never have had that ability.
Could it be this creature?
Zuo Li had initially thought his luck was good, encountering a weaker opponent. Now, it seemed things were far from as simple as he had imagined.
Involuntarily, Zuo Li's expression grew serious, and he no longer dared to underestimate Xiao Hei in the slightest.
At the same time, the cultivators watching from the sidelines also widened their eyes, most of them wearing expressions of astonishment.
"What's going on? That owl's formation mastery is actually this high? An owl formation master? This…"
"Able to easily withstand Zuo Li's attacks, he's most likely a Formation Earth Master, heh heh."
"That's good too. Otherwise, this bet battle would have no excitement at all. I'm really looking forward to seeing that owl turn the tables."
…………
For a moment, countless cultivators became eager. If the renowned Zuo Li were to be toyed with by an owl, that would be quite interesting!
On the Blood God Sect's side, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. Watching Xiao Hei get knocked flying time and again, their hearts had all been in their throats, worried that Xiao Hei might prove unreliable at this critical moment and hand over the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription.
On the Black Demon Realm's side, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. This situation was clearly not what they had hoped to see.
Just moments ago, they all thought Zuo Li had victory in his grasp. In the blink of an eye, everything had become uncertain again.
The methods of a Formation Earth Master were mysterious and unpredictable, impossible to judge by ordinary standards.
According to legend, some powerful Formation Earth Masters could rival Great Saints.
Mo's eyes narrowed slightly. Even he couldn't help but feel some concern for Zuo Li now.
If Zuo Li lost to that owl and lost another Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, it would be extremely hard for him to accept.
"Boom, boom."
On the battlefield, with a series of explosive sounds, the black water pillars Zuo Li had condensed kept exploding.
Xiao Hei struck continuously, sending out dozens of formation imprints that rained down on Zuo Li from all directions.
Under these circumstances, Xiao Hei quickly gained the upper hand, seizing control of the initiative, while Zuo Li could only defend passively.
"Come on! Weren't you so arrogant? Let this Emperor show you what's what!" Xiao Hei raised his head and taunted.
Clearly, Xiao Hei had a belly full of pent-up anger that he needed to vent to feel better.
Xiao Hei lifted a foot, and instantly, fourteen layers of formation circles formed, stacking on top of each other, locking onto Zuo Li and completely sealing off his retreat.
Zuo Li's eyes flashed with killing intent as he said coldly, "You underestimate this seat too much. So what if you're a Formation Earth Master? You'll still be trampled under this seat's feet."
As he spoke, Zuo Li erupted with an immensely powerful aura, drawing in the heaven and earth primal qi from thousands of li around, causing the area covered by Dark Nether Water to expand rapidly.
"In front of this Emperor, you still think you can mobilize heaven and earth rules and power? How naive," Xiao Hei sneered.
"Whoosh."
Seven black formation flags flew out from Xiao Hei's body, instantly forming a grand formation.
"Seven Stars Seal Heaven Formation, seal for this Emperor!"
Xiao Hei released a vast surge of spiritual power, pouring it into the seven formation flags and fully activating the formation.
The formation operated, cutting off the connection to heaven and earth, completely isolating a thousand-li radius from the outside world.
Immediately, the heaven and earth rules and power that had been mobilized fell silent, no longer serving Zuo Li at all.
For a cultivator at the Threshold Dao Realm, being unable to mobilize heaven and earth rules and power would severely diminish their strength, and many techniques might even become unusable.
"Not good."
Zuo Li's heart sank, and he could no longer remain calm.
Without any hesitation, Zuo Li immediately activated his demonic art, simultaneously dealing with the fourteen layers of formation circles and attacking the Seven Stars Seal Heaven Formation, trying to break it open as quickly as possible.
For a time, waves surged sky-high, sweeping across all directions, holding back all fourteen layers of formation circles. At the same time, pillars of black water shot up into the sky, violently crashing against the grand formation.