Chapter 234: Doing the Opposite of an Escape

After almost two hours, Master Mu stepped forward and asked General Hei Yu, "Are we good?"

"

Almost," General Hei Yu said. "Just let my brothers practice a few more times and we should be good to complete the formation."

"Sure," Master Mu responded before he turned and left.

With a flip of his hand, he retrieved this black python that was as thick as his arm. When he took the python out, it was asleep.

As he gently caressed the python, the python suddenly lifted its head and opened its eyes, revealing a pair of vertical pupils.

Plop.

When Master Mu set the python down, it immediately burrowed underground.

With a plop, its entire body submerged inside and disappeared in the soil.

As the python disappeared, Master Mu closed his eyes in meditation, fully immersing himself in his senses. After a while, the python burst out of the ground several dozen zhang away.

He then opened his eyes and said, "We can start."

Immediately, General Hei Yu waved his hand and called out, "Brothers! Set up the formation!"

His subordinates in the Chamber of Loyalty had already studied the formation diagram. When they heard this, they immediately dispersed. With the location where the black python broke out of the ground as the focal point, they organized themselves according to the major and minor positions and positioned themselves within the formation.

Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Pushan had secretly chosen positions at the very edge and on elevated ground, allowing a broader view and easier observation of the entire area.

Master Mu stood on the focal point of the formation and shouted, "Activate!"

Boom!

The seventy-two diabolical cultivators activated their foundational qi at the same time, moving the energies of the world according to the method of activation outlined in the enchanted formation. This would then gather the Earthly Evils and activate the Earthly Evils' channels of yin qi which existed underground.

Human abilities might have their limitations, but the vastness of the universe would be boundless.

The core of this formation technique would involve using humans as both the lock and the key to harness the boundless energies of the heavens and earth, achieving what man alone could not accomplish.

Xu Hongqiu, whom Chu Liang had met previously, inherited the legacy of righteous formation techniques, and her cultivation focused on mastering these techniques. By the fourth realm of cultivation, Xu Hongqiu could manipulate the flow of time within a designated area.

These were feats unimaginable for other arts and techniques but possible for those who had mastered formation techniques.

Whizz!

To move a mountain, one must start with small stones. At this moment, the diabolical cultivators would serve as the leverage. With the collective effort of the group, they activated the underground channels of yin qi.

The circulation of cultivation energy within the diabolical cultivators reached a frenzied state, and foundational qi flowed out of them like a river.

With the roar of thunder, the power of the Earthly Evils surged like terrifying waves in the underground channels, transforming into a black dragon swirling around.

Instantly, a dark mist billowed, and the entire place was shrouded in chilling black fog that seemed endlessly vast.

Everyone felt the weight of this heavy power pressing down on them.

The burden that Master Lu bore was the greatest. He served as the core of the formation and all the energy converged within his body before flowing outward from him.

As the terrifying pressure emanated from all around his body, his clothes fluttered, and he soon began to tremble.

How could the body of a human being handle such immense power?

In fact, Master Lu was not the bearer of this power as he merely served as the bridge.

He held the black-colored half-circle jade plaque in his grip, the shape appearing rather similar to the missing piece on the mountain wall.

It should be the replica that was made to open this hidden realm.

At this moment, Master Lu was infusing power into this jade plaque.

Halfway through the activation of the enchanted formation, Chu Liang glanced over at Luo Yao and Pushan, secretly telling them to be careful through Voice Transmission.

There was something wrong with this enchanted formation.

He had examined the formation diagram. The normal activation of this formation would not have required this much foundational qi. Could Master Mu, being the core of the formation, be intentionally absorbing their cultivation energy?

Initially, Chu Liang thought that they could simply get by no matter what they had to do. However, from what was happening now, it seemed like the situation was about to deviate from what would be expected.

While he was hesitating on whether he should remind General Hei Yu about this, he noticed Enchantress Liu flying over and whispering something to General Hei Yu.

At this moment, the Major Enchanted Formation of the Earthly Evils started operating at an increasingly rapid pace.

Something's not right!

As the Major Enchanted Formation approached the end of its operation, it should have started to slow down. Yet, instead of slowing, the speed continued to increase.

This meant that the power they would have to bear would continue to grow. They would be unable to stop it!

"Stop!" He shouted as he immediately stopped practicing the Qi-Circulation Technique.

Upon hearing his shout, Luo Yao and Monk Pushan quickly stopped what they were doing and exited the formation.

However, the other members of the Chamber of Loyalty didn't know them and naturally chose not to listen. Instead, they hesitated, casting glances toward General Hei Yu.

Master Mu, serving as the core of the formation, heard the warning. Immediately, his eyes narrowed as he withdrew the infusion of foundational qi.

The immense Power of the Earthly Evils resembled a vortex propelled into action by everyone. If the members of the Chamber of Loyalty stopped first, he, as the core of the formation, would have to bear all the recoil. Conversely, if he stopped first, the others executing the major enchanted formation would bear the consequences of the recoil.

As the one orchestrating this formation, he had propelled for the vortex to spin rapidly and fiercely.

At this moment, the enchanted formation abruptly ceased its operation, followed by a sudden recoil and the sound of an explosion.

Boom!

When the underground channels suddenly exploded, clouds of black qi surged upward and the Power of Earthly Evils, manifested as the gigantic black dragon, shattered.

Master Mu, who was already prepared, retreated swiftly by flying back.

However, the diabolical cultivators trapped within the enchanted formation had no means of escape. The diffused Power of the Earthly Evils enshrouded the diabolical cultivators and some died, while others were injured.

Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Pushan were the only exceptions. They had already flown back and taken cover.

The remaining diabolical cultivators that survived had depleted all their foundational qi. They were severely injured and collapsed on the ground.

In this instant, the Chamber of Loyalty suffered heavy casualties.

...

On the other side, Enchantress Liu had been talking to General Hei Yu.

With an alluring smile, she said, "General Hei Yu, you are young and capable. I really made the right choice asking you for help."

As she spoke, her arm casually edged closer to General Hei Yu, gently brushing against him. There was something ambiguous about her actions.

Instead of moving closer, General Hei Yu stepped back, creating some distance between himself and Enchantress Liu.

"Enchantress Liu, you don't have to be so courteous. This was a happy collaboration. We will collaborate again next time."

Enchantress Liu was about to say something when she suddenly heard Chu Liang's yell, causing her expression to twist into a fierce grimace.

"

Eh?

" General Hei Yu looked over.

In the blink of an eye, Enchantress Liu shouted sharply and raised her hand, delivering a swift palm strike!

This palm strike is accompanied by a dense blood-stained aura, as swift as lightning! Moreover, it was so close that it's practically impossible to dodge!

In the midst of panic, General Hei Yu only lifted half of the black feathers on his cloak. Instantly, the black feathers hardened, transforming into armor-like thorns and spikes, effectively blocking Enchantress Liu's palm strike. Upon impact, the feathers shattered completely!

Enchantress Liu had already reached the sixth realm, while General Hei Yu remained at the fifth realm, significantly weaker than her. A sneak attack from a cultivator at a higher level was not easily countered.

Puff!

His blood vessels exploded.

General Hei Yu felt as if half of his body's blood had been forcefully expelled by this palm strike!

The blood-controlling divine techniques of the Scarlet-Robe Hall was extremely devious and malicious!

"I was doing my best to help you, but you wanted to harm me!" General Hei Yu shouted, enduring the severe pain of his injuries as he retreated backward with the momentum.

"You were just too naive." Enchantress Liu sneered coldly as she explained. "Do you know what hidden realm this is? It's the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm. How would I possibly allow a living witness to such a secret?"

While she was talking, General Hei Yu lifted the remaining half of the black feathers on his cloak, transforming it into a huge pair of wings. He spread the wings open and prepared to leap into the sky to escape!

As he fled for his life, he moved at an incredible speed. However, Enchantress Liu made no attempt to pursue him, simply watching as he was about to make his escape.

"Trying to escape?"

Suddenly, General Hei Yu heard a shout from above.

General Hei Yu was completely focused on Enchantress Liu. Upon hearing the voice from above, he was startled and quickly looked up.

A ripple appeared in mid-air, and Master Mu materialized above him. The air behind him had transformed into a barrier resembling a black mirror.

They had already set up a secret enchanted formation here!

Both Enchantress Liu and Master Mu had planned to discard them after they had served their purpose.

General Hei Yu finally understood why Enchantress Liu, despite her high level, had been eager to collaborate with him. It was simply because it would be easier to silence them forever!

Upon considering this, General Hei Yu realized that the request for him to find the Eternal-Youth Pills was likely just a pretext, intended to make this invitation for collaboration seem as if it had occurred naturally.

Such intricate schemes!

Despite General Hei Yu's realization, it came too late.

Master Mu was able to attain the status of a formation specialist, holding an extremely high position within the diabolical sect.

His cultivation level was at the sixth realm, higher than that of General Hei Yu.

Even if all members of his chamber were in perfect condition, they might not have been able to escape the combined efforts of the two sixth-realm cultivators. Moreover, having fallen into a trap, they had already lost their ability to fight.

Clearly, their fate was sealed—they could only wait to be slaughtered...

Bang!

As Master Mu's palm descended, General Hei Yu once again used the other half of his cloak to block. Even so, he still suffered severe injuries and was ruthlessly knocked to the ground.

"

Ahh...

" General Hei Yu coughed up a mouthful of blood and roared angrily, "Aren't you two afraid of the Elder of the White-Bone Hall?"

"Heh, you think too highly of yourself. The Elder of the White-Bone Hall would never offend the Scarlet-Robe Hall for your sake," Enchantress Liu said with a charming smile. "Besides, do you think I would return to the diabolical sect after exploring the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm?"

She fluttered as she flew over. She was just about to take General Hei Yu's life and enter the hidden realm in peace when Master Mu suddenly shouted, "Thief! How dare you!"

...

Within the blink of an eye, the situation changed drastically.

As Chu Liang had warned in advance, the team of undercover agents retained their full combat strength.

They watched as the situation unfolded.

Master Mu and Enchantress Liu worked together and slaughtered the remaining injured members of the Chamber of Loyalty.

While Chu Liang possessed the Crimson Executioner, its effect would only be effective against Enchantress Liu, who was at the sixth realm.

Even with the Crimson Executioner, there was still a possibility of defeat.

When it came to Master Mu, the Crimson Executioner showed no reaction.

This meant that although Master Mu was involved in the diabolical sect, he hadn't taken the lives of many innocent people.

Instead, the Crimson Executioner targeted the injured ones on the ground, as well as General Hei Yu.

It would be easy for him to dispatch each of them with a single strike.

At this point, Chu Liang even wondered if he could earn a chance at life by turning against his fellow members of the chamber and joining Enchantress Liu's side.

Since they couldn't win, their first choice was to run.

While Enchantress Liu and Master Mu launched a joint attack on General Hei Yu, the three ascended into the sky. However, their path of escape was abruptly blocked by a barrier in the form of a black mirror.

Luo Yao waved her palm, but was then sent flying backward by the recoil.

It would not be easy escaping from an enchanted formation carefully set up by a powerful formation specialist.

Chu Liang could bypass the barrier using Dimension Compression, but his two teammates would remain trapped inside, unable to escape.

And so, he decided to temporarily abandon the idea of escaping alone.

The first thing the three did was to crush the tracking jade talisman and request assistance from their respective teachers and sects.

However, they were currently at the Ancient Dragon Lair, which was located far away. It would take some time for the elders to arrive.

It would be nearly impossible for them to withstand the combined attack of two experts at the sixth realm.

Even if he had summoned Old Fei, as a fragmented Battle Soul, he wouldn't be powerful enough to fight against either of these two sixth-realm cultivators.

With thoughts racing through his mind, every scenario flashed before Chu Liang's eyes.

Finally, he caught sight of the half-circle iron plaque with inscriptions on the mountain wall, with Enchantress Liu's already embedded on the wall.

At that moment, Enchantress Liu and Master Mu were on the opposite side, leaving this area empty.

Chu Liang's eyes gleamed with determination as he exclaimed, "Follow me!"

Instead of moving outward, he dashed inward.

His body flashed!

Whoosh—

In his urgency, he used the Dimension Compression and materialized before the mountain wall in an instant. Then, he retrieved the other half of the inscribed iron plaque and forcefully slammed it into the missing piece on the wall.

Bam!

With both iron plaques attached to the mountain wall, the missing shape was now placed and the entire wall was complete.

At that moment, a brilliant white light illuminated the surroundings, accompanied by faint dragon chants.

The mountain wall transformed into a massive vortex.

Back then, the Southern-Route Guider was concerned about the potential risks within the Blue Dragon's Hidden Realm.

He was determined to obtain the seventh-realm Battle Soul before embarking on the exploration.

However, this delay resulted in his efforts and sacrifices benefiting someone else instead. And the one who benefited from this was the individual who caused his demise.

Master Mu immediately detected the anomalies in this area. The two sixth-realm cultivators hadn't anticipated this development at all! They had viewed these individuals as trapped prey.

Yet, who would have expected that they would be able to unlock this door?

Not even Luo Yao and Monk Pushan had expected this turn of events, let alone the two sixth-realm cultivators.

Even though they recognized Chu Liang's extraordinary abilities and his capacity to achieve feats beyond the reach of ordinary individuals...

They still found themselves surprised by the unexpected turns events took.

Enchantress Liu and Master Mu unleashed a surge of cultivation energy as they rushed towards them.

However, it was already too late. In the blink of an eye, the three were sucked into a massive vortex on the mountain wall and disappeared.

The two exchanged glances and simultaneously bellowed, "Follow them!"