The bandits at the forefront bore the full brunt of the blasts, their forms obliterated into nothing more than scorched smithereens. The remaining members of the two squads were either completely annihilated or left writhing on the ground, their skin blackened and burnt to a crisp. Even some of the Six Fangs Fighters had their limbs torn apart, their agonized screams mingling with the nauseating, crackling sounds of smoldering flesh and the sharp tang of ozone.
This was the third step of the plan: Earth Explosion Array.
The Earth Explosion Array was a booby trap, designed to remain dormant until the precise moment its creator triggered the detonation. To enhance its lethality, Wu Ya had used all of the village's Five Fangs monster cores as catalysts, amplifying the array's destructive power.
Ordinarily, the Earth Explosion Array possessed only enough potency to kill cultivators below Three Fangs and injure those under Five Fangs. However, with the rare energy of the enhanced cores, the current formation was powerful enough to shatter the bones and blast apart the reinforced limbs of Six Fangs Fighters.
But when and how had Wu Ya set up such a lethal array without alerting the scouts?
The girl who had played in the dirt with Wu Xin was Wu Ya herself. Luotian had changed her appearance during the meeting, using an array to make her look like a child.
The array was called the Constitution Minifying Array, a unique creation of Luotian's from his past life. This array temporarily transformed an adult into a child for an hour, though it came with a heavy cost—reducing the subject's cultivation by two levels. Originally, Luotian had invented the array as a mere prank to play on Mei Yue'er during their time together. He hadn't expected this seemingly childish creation to become such a valuable strategic tool in a life-or-death struggle.
Wu Ya watched the trap erupt around the bandits, scarcely believing its effect. "Incredible," she murmured. "Everything is going exactly as Young Hero Feng said."
Once the thunderous echoes of the explosions died down, the villagers, led by Wu Neng, charged out from their hiding spots with a unified roar. With newfound confidence and the artificial strength granted by the Theríon Augmentation Array singing in their veins, they attacked without a flicker of hesitation. They moved to finish off any bandits who had survived the initial blasts.
Mao Quanzhou could finally see what was happening inside the village. His elite squads were being slaughtered. Furious, he pointed toward the fighting and rounded on the lookout.
"You said they were doing chores! How did they prepare those arrays under your nose, you useless idiot?!"
The lookout, his face ashen and trembling in absolute fear, stammered as he backed away. "It's true, Vice Leader! I swear! There was no one there except a couple of kids playing in the dirt!"
"Nonsense!!" Mao Quanzhou bellowed, his frustration and disbelief spilling over like a dam breaking. His sharp eyes scanned the battlefield, trying to make sense of how a collection of peasants had orchestrated a catastrophe of this magnitude.
Beside him, Jiu Hao watched his men being blown into fragments and slaughtered one after another. The carnage unfolding before his eyes pushed him beyond the limits of his volatile tolerance. Theríon began to seep uncontrollably from his pores, a crimson gaseous flame enveloping his massive figure as his eyes burned with an unrestrained, hellish rage.
Seeing his leader's furious outburst, Mao Quanzhou also unleashed his Theríon. Dark red wind blades began circling his form, slicing through the air with a high-pitched whistle as he prepared to join the fray and salvage what remained of their forces.
The enraged duo darted toward the village, their speed a blur of murderous intent. But just as they took their first explosive step, two black spears shot toward them from the periphery, hissing through the air like vipers.
Mao Quanzhou's sharp instincts kicked in instantly; he twisted his body in mid-air, the black spear whistling past his ear with a chill. But Jiu Hao, blinded by a red haze of anger, merely roared furiously at the interruption. "You think a petty sneak attack can stop me?!"
With a deafening cry that shook the trees, he equipped his Bone Claw Gauntlets, the ivory talons gleaming with a dull, murderous light as he braced himself to intercept the spear head-on.
Mao Quanzhou turned sharply toward Jiu Hao. He had recognized the array on the spears.
"Dodge it, you idiot!! It's a restrictive array!!" Mao Quanzhou shouted, his voice cracking in a rare moment of sheer desperation.
But the warning was lost to the wind. Jiu Hao, his mind a boiling cauldron of rage, ignored the scholar's cry. With reckless, bone-deep confidence, he reached out and caught the spear mid-air with his gauntleted hands, the metal screeching against the ivory of his Bone Claw Gauntlets.
Clank.
The sound was not that of a simple impact. The moment Jiu Hao's grip tightened, the solid black shaft liquefied, morphing into five abyssal chains that coiled around his massive arms and torso like writhing, obsidian snakes. The metal hissed as it constricted, the ends of the chains plunging deep into the earth with a dull thud, anchoring him in place.
This was the Abyss Bind Array—an advanced-level array designed for absolute immobilization. It required a complex magic circle to be etched onto a pole-arm or projectile; once it made contact with a target's Theríon, the object would transform into these spectral tethering chains.
Feng Luotian and Tu Lingxi had emerged from the tree line, the pair having circled back to the village after Luotian finished the grim task of collecting the souls from the fallen third squad. Their timing was surgical.
As with the previous traps, Luotian had infused the Abyss Bind Array with every Six Fangs monster core the village possessed. Without such a massive surge of external energy, the formation would have lacked the sheer density required to restrain an Eight Fangs Fighter like Jiu Hao. Now, the bandit leader strained against the links, the ground beneath him cracking under the pressure, but the chains held firm.
The instant the leader was ensnared, Luotian and Lingxi launched a coordinated follow-up. Each armed with a gleaming dagger, they blurred into motion, dashing toward the immobilized giant. Their movements were swift and silent, aimed at the gaps in his armor to eliminate the bound target before his brute strength could tear down the restraint.
"Not good!!" Mao Quanzhou exclaimed, his voice sharp with urgency.
In a flash of dark red light, the scholar unleashed his Theríon in full force. He gestured violently, conjuring a swirling, dark red wind barrier that roared to life around the trapped Jiu Hao. The wind shrieked, forming a protective, semi-solid shield of rotating blades that prevented Luotian and Lingxi from closing in.
"Change of plan. Get the vice leader first," Luotian ordered. The wind barrier was too dense to break through quickly. If they couldn't finish Jiu Hao now, they would have to deal with Mao Quanzhou before the bindings failed.
"Got it," Lingxi acknowledged, her voice a calm echo of his resolve. She seamlessly adjusted her trajectory, her boots kicking up a spray of dirt as she pivoted toward Mao Quanzhou, sticking close to Luotian like a shadow.
Luotian fixed his gaze on Mao Quanzhou, and CRONOS displayed the vice leader's profile. He stopped short, his boots digging into the dry earth.
"What's wrong?" Lingxi asked, pulling up beside him, her hand tightening on the hilt of her dagger as she tracked his gaze.
///// Seven Fangs Evil Wind Dusk Chasing Owl /////
///// [Evil Cyclone]: Every time the user's melee attack hits the target, one cyclone is generated, which can be used for attack or healing injuries. /////
Luotian narrowed his eyes. "That ability is troublesome. We need to take him out quickly, or this fight will drag on longer than we can afford."
"You know his ability?" Lingxi asked, her voice laced with genuine surprise. There had been no exchange of blows, no display of skills, and yet—how could he possibly know the specific mechanics of a Seven Fangs opponent?
Luotian gave her a faint, knowing smile without explaining. Lingxi stared at him, astonished that he could be so certain before they had even fought the man.
She stood momentarily speechless, the wind from Mao Quanzhou's barrier whipping her hair across her face. She blinked, recovering her composure quickly, and muttered, "The more I learn about you, the more mysterious you seem."
Luotian let out a soft chuckle, the sound breaking the sudden tension. "Little Sister Tu, we cannot let his melee attacks connect with us—avoid them at all costs. One hit is enough to complicate this whole operation."
Once Mao Quanzhou began generating cyclones, they would have to contend with both his attacks and his healing.
"Understood," Lingxi replied. A competitive grin spread across her face as she added, "Speed has always been my strongest asset."
Luotian glanced at her with a teasing smirk, his own Theríon beginning to circulate in a controlled hum. "Really? Then let's see."
Without further delay, he dashed toward Mao Quanzhou, his movements swift and precise, cutting through the dust like a blade. Lingxi, not one to be outdone, followed suit instantly, her lithe figure matching his pace as they closed in on their target, two shadows converging on the eye of the storm.
Noticing the approaching duo, Mao Quanzhou sneered, the dark red wind blades surrounding him whistling with a sharper, more violent frequency. "You think a Six Fangs Fighter and a…"
His sentence trailed off as his gaze sharpened, narrowing on the young man. A flick of confusion crossed his features; he realized something fundamentally wrong. He couldn't sense a single drop of Theríon emanating from the boy. This discovery made him pause, the silence of the boy's cultivation ringing louder than any battle cry. After a brief reflection, a mocking chuckle escaped his lips.
"Even though I can't sense your level, judging from your momentum, you can't possibly be stronger than Six Fangs, right? In that case, come and meet your end! Evil Typhoon!!"
With a piercing cry, Mao Quanzhou unleashed his ultimate skill without a moment's hesitation.
BOOM!!
The surrounding wind roared to life, its color transforming into a sickening, bloody crimson hue. The atmosphere within a 500-meter radius was dyed red as the oppressive force of the Evil Typhoon descended like a physical weight. The air became thick, viscous, and heavy with the scent of dry iron.
Everyone within range felt the pressure at once. Their movements slowed to an agonizing crawl, as though they were trying to run through deep mud.
Only Wu Neng, who shared the same Seven Fangs level as Mao Quanzhou, was able to move without significant difficulty. However, he remained locked in a desperate struggle with the remaining squad leaders, unable to break away to assist the others. The members of the Vulture Bandit Troupe, long accustomed to their vice leader's technique, fared far better than the villagers, who buckled under the overwhelming suppression.
The situation deteriorated rapidly as five Evil Cyclones emerged from the red gale. They spun and crackled ominously around Mao Quanzhou's figure, their menacing presence amplifying the tension as they waited for his command to strike or heal.
"Damn it! I underestimated him," Feng Luotian muttered, his boots grinding into the dirt as he fought against the atmospheric pressure.
Although Mao Quanzhou's cultivation wasn't remarkable, his skill was another story entirely. Luotian could tell immediately that the Evil Typhoon was a high-ranked compatible skill, a rarity that even most cultivators never encountered. Finding a technique that harmonized perfectly with one's bloodline ability was difficult enough, but this was likely a Unique Skill at the very least.
Not only did Evil Typhoon sap the speed of his enemies—granting him ample opportunities to land the melee hits required to generate more Evil Cyclones—but it also granted him five of the fatal orbs upon activation. He had effectively started the duel at full capacity.
Despite the daunting odds, Luotian knew he couldn't afford to wait. The Abyss Bind Array restraining Jiu Hao wasn't eternal; the obsidian chains were already beginning to strain under the leader's Eight Fangs fury. If Mao Quanzhou managed to stall them long enough for Jiu Hao to break free, the village would be erased.