Boom!

With a thunderous boom that echoed through the battlefield, the Artefact met its demise in an eardrum-shattering explosion. The entire Formation barrier fluctuated with an unprecedented intensity, its radiance diminishing by a notch!

“Fucking dammit!” Xiao Hong cursed vehemently as she quickly made a hand seal and poured her Zhenqi into the Control Token, trying to control and stabilise the Formation as much as she could by forcing the two remaining Artefacts in the Main Node to take the load instead of the other two.

However, how could Fang Jin, a veteran Cultivator, let such a perfect chance pass?! Just as Xiao Hong managed to repair the hole the young man named Xue, seized the moment with ruthless precision and attacked the Formation with all his might!

Employing his agile Movement Technique, Fang Jin closed the distance in the blink of an eye.

He focused his energy, clenched his fist tightly, and twisted his waist to gather an overwhelming surge of strength. With a resounding battle cry, he unleashed his Battle Technique with all his might!

Mountain Shaking Fist!

“HAAH!”

Boom!

A reddish brown fist the size of a head manifested and slammed into the formation with such great force that the barrier, for the first time, developed cracks!

Fang Jin had concentrated the most powerful attack he could manifest in the smallest area he could in his attempt to directly destroy the formation in one go!

Xiao Hong, helpless in the face of Fang Jin’s onslaught, watched in horror as the head-sized fist continued pushing against the Formation slowly but surely destroying it, while she was unable to do anything but continuously expend Spirit Stone after Spirit Stone to barely maintain the Formation barrier.

It was only at this point the rest of the disciples reacted, instantly falling into a panic upon seeing the Formation developing cracks under Fang Jin’s assault.

“{Everyone! Get to the Node closest to you and start pouring your Zhenqi into the formation!}” Xiao Hong sent out a Qi Transmission broadcast to the panicking disciples along with a map of the Formation’s nodes. The best way to calm panicking people was to give them something to do that makes them think it would help their situation.

And just as expected, the disciples sprung into action, gathering around the nodes nearest to them, their actions tinged with the flavour of desperate determination.

As the disciples began pouring their Zhenqi into the Nodes, the cracks slowly disappeared as the Formation slowly mended itself.

Xiao Hong immediately sent another Qi transmission to Gu Ran, Qiao Xuan and Jun Meiling, “{How long does it take for a Cultivator to forge their Nirvana Spiritual Body?}”

A moment later, Jun Meiling’s voice came to her through Qi Transmission, “{It depends. The stronger one’s Foundation before Nirvana is, the longer it takes for them to forge their Nirvana Spiritual Body. With Senior Brother Bai’s talent and unrelenting effort,}” her voice took on a resigned tone, “{I’m afraid it will take at least a few hours.}”

‘A few hours…?’ Xiao Hong smiled bitterly, ‘I can barely maintain this goddamn thing for an hour.’

The other three, Jun Meiling, Gu Ran and Qiao Xuan immediately understood from her silence that the situation was less than optimal. And they all fell into a sombre silence for a while.

‘Nowhere to run, no way to fight.’ Xiao Hong’s body sagged slightly as though drained of all energy. A profound sense of powerlessness swept her being, ‘No matter how I struggle, no matter what I do, I simply cannot win against absolute power.

‘I should’ve run away the moment True Demons were mentioned. Instead of struggling meaninglessly, I’d have had a greater chance of survival if I’d done that.’ She sighed. ‘I might have had more hope-’

“Ah, Miss Formation Mistress!” Just then, that hateful bastard named Xue spoke up cheerfully, happily waving his hand at her, “I have an offer for you: I can guarantee your life if you become my subordinate. Believe me, I have the power to do so!”

Before Xiao Hong could even say a word, he continued, “Moreover, I can promise to not use my Innate Divine Ability on you. In fact, I’ll even swear under the Will of the Heavenly Way as long as you swear to become subordinate. We can even negotiate terms: you don’t have to obey my every command, just those you feel aren’t too much.

“I will also try my best to make up for my earlier transgression in using my ability on you. Your talent was beyond anything I’d ever seen and that made me a little too hasty in my actions. I will do my best to earn your forgiveness!” he spoke earnestly.

He really, really wanted to recruit this girl. The ordinary Cultivator would never be able to see anything beyond a rather ingenious Formation. But to him who had used his Innate Divine Ability to see through so many Formations that he’d lost count, understood that this girl’s Mastery of Formations was far beyond anyone here could imagine. Perhaps, the girl herself did not understand.

So, he was extremely sincere in his offer!

‘Moreover, according to that emo guy’s and Miss Mo’s reports, she is also an extremely talented Body Cultivator!’

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Such a monstrous talent, he felt he’d be wasting Heaven’s Favour if he let her go!

And he would never admit it, but he was more than a little attracted by her looks. He had truly never seen such a beauty, even with his esteemed position in his Sect!

In the fleeting silence that followed, Xiao Hong's thoughts hung suspended in uncertainty. For just a moment, she thought it might actually be fine if she joined the Demonic Path before a monstrous Killing Intent erupted from her the depths of her heart pulverising even the slightest thought of joining the piece of shit!

Her entire body shuddered as an overwhelming feeling of utter visceral revulsion resonated throughout her entire being as even the thought of associating with this bastard was wiped from her Mind.

Unlike the last time she was too distracted by the headache to notice, but this time around, it was clearer than crystal.

Her Essence cultivated by the Celestial God’s Essence Cultivation Method, her Body forged through the Ancient God's Physique Scripture and her Soul enhanced by the Spirit God’s Soul Cultivation Method all fluctuated with an unprecedented intensity, giving off a feeling of pure disgust! The feeling of being inexplicably controlled was an absolute disgrace to her, who cultivated all three Methods!

Her entire being screamed at her! Every cell in her body revolted against the mere suggestion of an amicable relationship with the matter, space, and energy that was before her!

Her eyes radiated undisguised Killing Intent as she raised a middle finger and spat out her tone more venomous than the most poisonous serpent, “Fuck off.”

The young man did not understand what her raising the middle finger at him meant, but her words he did understand. The smile on his face froze.

His eyes flashed with a subtle wrath. Chuckling airily, he retorted with a meaningful tone, “I truly hope you can still be so feisty later on. I won’t be so lenient with my conditions the next time.”

Xiao Hong just gave him another middle finger conveying her unwavering disdain for his offer.

Fang Jin, who had temporarily stopped attacking to let the young man try his attempt at recruitment, resumed his relentless assault on the Formation. He used his most powerful moves, each of which was beyond anything Xiao Hong could achieve even if she struck with her best! Each strike caused the barrier to fluctuate violently, testing its limits.

Amidst the chaos, Gu Ran, who had been silent for a while now, suddenly sent a Qi Transmission, “{Actually, there’s a way to extend the amount of time the Formation can hold on.}” The three of them - Jun Meiling, Xiao Hong and Qiao Xuan immediately snapped their heads towards Gu Ran, who continued, “{There is a method I’ve heard of that can help by sacrificing the Artefacts to temporarily increase its power. It’s not very different from Cultivation Burning Secret Techniques - it’s just for Artefacts instead of Cultivators. We can use it to buy some more time for Senior Brother Bai’s breakthrough}”

“{How long can we buy?}” Jun Meiling asked hastily, her voice tinged with urgency.

“{Looking at the state of the Artefacts, about an hour, I think}” Gu Ran replied.

““{We’ll use it!}”” All three of them instantly answered. It wasn’t enough, but it did give them a bit more hope. The sacrifice of Artefacts to temporarily boost the Formation's power offered a slim chance, but it was a chance nonetheless.

Gu Ran nodded and directly communicated the method to Xiao Hong, who directly chucked it into the system.

‘15 minutes to beginner under 333x Amplification.’ Good enough for now.

The relentless assault from Fang Jin continued as the Formation struggled to hold on against the tidal waves of destructive power as the disciples inside felt their hearts in their throats. The shockwaves produced from collisions had long obliterated the nearby trees into dust.

15 minutes passed quickly.

‘Now!’ Xiao Hong quickly made several hand seals in quick succession before slamming her hand on the ground above the Main Node.

The two Artefacts comprising the Main Node showed signs of wear. Tiny cracks webbing across their initially sleek and shiny surface. Their once-vibrant glow had dimmed, flickering like a candle struggling against the wind.

In a sudden burst of brilliance, the Artefacts emitted a radiant glow, and the minuscule cracks started to repair themselves faster and faster. In a few moments, the cracks had disappeared entirely!

Yet, Xiao Hong could feel there was something off about it. Like there was something that was slowly being drained from it. Xiao Hong sighed inwardly, her heart a little heavy, ‘One of those two was given by Sister Ying…’

But what could she do? She had to keep herself and her Sectmates alive. So, she sighed inwardly and made several hand seals before pushing her Zhenqi into the Control Token.

Woom!

The Formation lit up brightly, causing Fang Jin who was poised for another assault to freeze in confusion. “Huh?”

He turned to Xiao Hong who once again sported a mischievous smirk. Sensing his gaze, she turned to him and stuck her tongue out. “Hehe, thank you for your help once again, Senior Fang!”

She knew that the detestable bastard named Xue would see through it immediately, but that did not stop her from mocking Fang Jin. At least, it relieved some of the pressure on her heart when she saw his face that was so red, it was visible through his aura! Satisfaction blossomed as she observed his temples throb.

That happiness bloomed even more as Xue shook his head and communicated with Fang Jin, whose face turned redder still! He had actually been fooled by this damned Junior!

Meanwhile, Gu Ran who was Xiao Hong’s antics felt his lips twitch involuntarily. He quietly added a ‘Death Seeker’ tag to her file.

Boom! The Formation barrier started to shake more heavily than before as Fang Jin’s attacks became stronger still.

***

In a blink of an eye, almost two hours had passed and the Formation Barrier, battered by the relentless onslaught of Fang Jin, reached the point of inevitable collapse. It fluctuated violently with every attack Fang Jin unleashed upon it!

Xiao Hong realised that she had underestimated the enemy by quite a bit, ‘I had calculated the case where the True Demon would attack relentlessly without any break.

‘But despite Fang Jin taking quite a few long breaks, the Formation lasted much less than what I speculated…’

She tried to suppress the fear that was rising in her heart. Wiping her clammy hands on her robes she stared at the gigantic palm descending upon the Formation Barrier that was so dim now that it might as well be non-existent.

The moment she saw the attack, she knew that the Formation had reached its limit.

With a loud crash and a powerful gust of wind that swept the area, the Formation finally gave in!