Everyone present were masters in their own right. When Yu Ci released the purple light, they immediately realized that this was not an ordinary True Qi or True Sha.
Their judgment was spot-on. What Yu Ci had utilized was the True Purple Smoke Warm Jade's inherent purple mist. This technique of "Condensing Qi into Light" was acquired by Yu Ci from the elders during a trade, specifically for activating the True Purple Smoke Warm Jade. The purple mist had no lethal power, but it possessed the ability to ward off evil. It might be effective against the Flesh and Blood Puppet, so Yu Ci decided to test it out.
From afar, it was not noticeable. But as Yu Ci approached, he saw that the Flesh and Blood Puppet, acting as the formation's eye, was as towering as a small mountain. It was crudely shaped like a human, with greatly simplified limbs, but the Rune Patterns etched on its special clay surface were incredibly intricate, with a mercury-like fluid flowing within the patterns.
At this moment, the purple light reached the puppet.
The emitted purple light appeared as a mere glow from afar, but to Yu Ci, it was more like a translucent veil. It began to dissipate about twenty feet away from the puppet, consuming and being consumed by the surrounding Yin Demons, but it managed to land on the targeted Flesh and Blood Puppet.
A layer of ghastly green smoke abruptly erupted, hissing as it reacted with the air. Yu Ci, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the light from the clay patterns dimming at a visible rate. Knowing that his plan was working, he let out a battle cry.
This was the moment to display their tacit understanding. As his battle cry echoed, a chilling Sword Energy whizzed past his shoulder, striking the chest of the Flesh and Blood Puppet.
A moment ago, the dense Rune Patterns on the puppet would have gathered a massive amount of Yin Demons' evil energy, protecting itself with a rotating formation, reducing the Sword Energy's lethality, or triggering a deeper change in the formation to unleash a turbulent wave, killing most people within the formation. But now, having just been cleansed by the purple mist, its ability to gather the Yin evil energy was greatly weakened. The Sword Energy, released by Gan Shi Zhen, contained Grand Righteous Qi, naturally possessing the power to break evil. With a single strike, it tore through the dissipating Yin energy and heavily hit the clay surface.
With a muffled sound, Yu Ci, who was closest, saw a head-sized bloody hole explode in the puppet's chest, splattering filthy blood and nearly destroying all the Rune Patterns. Then the second wave of attack arrived. These were the works of the Golden Elixir cultivators, either remote attacks from Magical Instruments or piercing sword auras. In the blink of an eye, the towering Flesh and Blood Puppet was torn to shreds.
Despite the puppet's destruction, Yu Ci did not relax. Instead, he once again condensed the purple light into a beam as thick as an arm and fired it diagonally at the ground. Due to the destruction of the key node, it triggered the Eighteen Dark Demons Wheel Formation's counterattack. The ground where the puppet was shattered became like an unplugged pool, rapidly sucking in the surrounding Yin Demons' evil energy, even forming a visible vortex. At the same time, influenced by the formation, this wave of evil energy began to automatically condense into Rune Patterns. Once successful, it would be as if the "wheel" had turned another round, greatly increasing the lethality of the evil formation.
At this very moment, the column of light imbued with the swirling purple smoke arrived.
The powerful exorcising power of the True Purple Smoke Warm Jade came into play. Though it was insignificant compared to the massive evil Yin energy, it was enough to stir up some chaos. The purple light penetrated the ground, instantly disrupting the alignment of the gathering Yin energy. Under the imbalance, the enormous Yin energy clashed and crushed violently, causing a series of muffled explosions near the earth's surface.
Yu Ci hastily retreated, only a hundred feet back when he saw a ripple of shock waves sweeping across the low altitude in front of him. Higher up was another ripple, followed by the Yin Fire shooting straight into the sky, spewing more than ten feet high. Such tumultuous activity made quite a spectacle, yet the damage was reduced to a minimum. Moreover, it disrupted the order of the "Eighteen Dark Demons Wheel Formation". The pressure on Gan Shi Zhen's sword circle defense instantly lightened, and cheers could already be heard from behind.
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"That's the way!"
A burst of joy surged in Yu Ci's heart as he rushed towards another Flesh and Blood Puppet. Gan Shi Zhen's Sword Energy paved the way for him. In the blink of an eye, three more puppets were destroyed. At this point, the Yin energy in the formation had significantly diminished. The Yin Demons, whether transformed or turned into smoke, were howling incessantly around him, but none could approach him. And whenever Yu Ci's purple light appeared, those in front of him would be reduced to ashes.
"The fifth one," Yu Ci had already set his sights on the next target. As he was about to move, the earth suddenly shook. He was taken aback, then quickly noticed the intense vibration beneath his feet. He immediately slid sideways, widening the distance.
Just as he was about ten feet away, the ground exploded with a loud bang, and a massive shadow enveloped Yu Ci. Turning around, he cursed, "They have reserves!"
Almost identical to the one he had just destroyed, a clay puppet emerged from the recently blasted hole, slowly rising. Not only here, but the puppets he had just destroyed also "grew" from the ground, so neatly that it left one speechless.
Ignoring the smell of blood around him, Dong Yan gasped, "Over these decades, the missing people in the city... could they all have been kept in this underground palace?"
Dong Yan had been close to the White Sun Mansion in the past and was aware of some situations. He knew that although Cliff City seemed peaceful over the decades, in reality, every year there were thousands of people who disappeared without a trace. However, compared to the city's population of millions, it wasn't so noticeable.
Of course, there were other reasons for the disappearances, but even if only thirty to fifty percent were considered, the number over decades would be staggering. If Monk Yi Xin really had such means, their group would be in trouble today!
The external pressure increased dramatically, and Yu Ci, under the cover of Gan Shi Zhen, retreated. He had circled around in vain, his face was not looking good, but the more practical issue was: forcibly extracting so much swirling purple smoke, the True Purple Smoke Warm Jade also couldn't bear it. This Exotic Treasure of Heaven and Earth could certainly regenerate the purple smoke, but it needed time, and the current stock was not much. Originally, Yu Ci's plan was to destroy two more puppets and then break the formation forcefully. Now, naturally, it had turned into a pipe dream.
His plan had been thwarted, yet he had not lost his sanity. He turned to Gan Shi Zhen and said, "To break the formation, one must consider the bigger picture."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he and Gan Shi Zhen felt a mutual resonance. They looked up in surprise to see seven or eight stars sequentially lighting up in the eastern horizon, corresponding to their own, and in the central sky, more stars shone brightly. The flashes of more than a dozen stars were like the most dazzling diamond stars, their light undimmed even by the fiery golden clouds that filled the sky.
Then came the projection of starlight. It was indescribable, the sight of seventeen or eighteen star lines falling, a dream-like shower of stardust, each one clearly aimed, each hanging over the head of a Flesh and Blood Puppet. Inside the cloud-encased wheel formation, the air suddenly became stagnant.
The fiery clouds burst open, and golden light spilled out. The Golden Body of the Amritakundalin seemed angered by this, its already furious face becoming even more ferocious. It extended two long arms, one holding a Vajra Scepter, the other a Wheel of Precious Appearance, ready to swing them in the air. As it moved, flames surged around the Golden Body, and Black Flames slithered around its body, raining fire across a ten-mile radius.
"Be careful!"
Gan Shi Zhen shouted a warning, urging everyone to retreat quickly and avoid the rain of fire. But even before she could finish, the high clouds split open, and a silver-gray light fell, looking no different from the aura around Ming Lan, but much larger. As if drawn by a similar substance, Ming Lan's smaller aura suddenly transformed into a Long Rainbow, shooting straight into the larger light and merging with it in an instant.
At this moment, a bell rang in the void, its sound melodious and far-reaching. The star lines that had just fallen became even more crystalline.
The silver-gray light then spread its wings like a Crane Cloak. As it spread, a figure appeared within, a figure much taller than the average person!
Just as most people were puzzled, someone screamed:
"Oh my God!"
The one who lost her composure was Shan Jiao of the Xuan Yin Sect. As soon as her words left her mouth, an unparalleled force descended from the sky. The central atmosphere had no chance to groan before it completely surrendered: the ten-mile fire rain extinguished in an instant, and the eighteen Flesh and Blood Puppets on the ground all shrank simultaneously, silently disintegrating into piles of flesh like water-soaked sand.
At the same time, among the crowd, Good Beauty Monk and Incense Slave, who had been by her side, both knelt down, their bodies touching the ground in reverence.
What was happening?
Looking at the majestic figure standing proudly under the silver-gray cloak, Yu Ci felt a violent tremor in his Niwan organ, his Divine Soul almost leaping out of his head. He pressed his brow to alleviate it, and at this moment, he faintly heard Gan Shi Zhen murmuring:
"Xuan Yin's Separate Consciousness and Thoughts."
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