Gao Jingxuan's expression shifted subtly, and he had no choice but to speed up his movements.
The time of a single incense stick passed quickly.
The formation was barely completed.
This Zhou Tian Star Array formation was extremely complex, filled with thousands of shifting patterns. The one laying it out needed complete mastery over every detail for it to work.
Though Gao Jingxuan's cultivation was low, his talent in formations was exceptional. Even a formation this intricate had been forced into shape by his hands.
"Senior, please stand at the formation's core," Gao Jingxuan said solemnly.
Yun Jin looked on, curious.
This formation didn't seem low-grade. There was something interesting about it. Now wasn't the time to ask questions, so Yun Jin stepped into the core position as instructed.
Xue Daoren yawned, lips curling into a faint, mocking smile.
The formation had its mysteries, true.
But that was all.
Their cultivation was pitifully low. Even if they combined their strength, it wouldn't change a thing. In fact, he likely wouldn't even need to act himself. The disciples under his command could suppress this lot with ease.
Still—
It was all so terribly boring.
He might as well humor them and stretch his limbs a little. Xue Daoren watched as they linked together into a formation, their strength flowing through the threads of the array, slowly converging toward the woman at its center.
He couldn't help but laugh.
Qi Refining.
Foundation Establishment.
Golden Core.
Most of the cultivators present were at these three stages.
A Nascent Soul cultivator could be called an expert here, and Divine Transformation cultivators were rare to the point of extinction. Perhaps this really was a powerful formation. But an ant—ten ants, even—what difference did it make to an elephant?
Even united, they couldn't shake it in the slightest.
These people were only bringing ruin upon themselves.
The commoners at the back watched nervously.
They understood now.
Whether these cultivators succeeded or failed might decide their fate.
The capital of the Kingdom, normally teeming with people, had fallen into an eerie stillness. No one dared speak, fearful of disrupting the formation's activation.
Soon enough, every strand of energy connected to Yun Jin.
Yun Jin stood calmly, feeling it all.
The power gathering around her wasn't much.
Some of it was so faint, it was barely there.
Even combined, it offered little more than a token boost to her cultivation.
But still—
Yun Jin focused, feeling each thread one by one.
Behind every strand was a cultivator.
Each one represented a person's hope.
Different cultivation methods. Different backgrounds. Different genders. Different levels.
And yet, in this moment—
Every single person had thrown everything they had into this one final gamble.
Yun Jin could faintly sense their emotions.
Some were afraid.
Some fearless.
Some in pain.
Some charged forward with unwavering resolve.
But—
Not a single one backed down.
All of it—every ounce of strength, every drop of emotion—was pouring into her alone.
Yun Jin suddenly recalled a line from a classical text.
"To reach Tribulation, one must walk both within and beyond the mortal realm, see through worldly matters, and awaken one's true heart. Without a complete Dao Heart, one cannot step into the Tribulation realm."
The Dao Heart—
It was the key to the Tribulation stage.
Yun Jin still had some distance before reaching it, but that didn't stop her from sensing this myriad of human emotion now.
Carrying the hopes of all these people, she lifted her gaze and looked straight at the Blood Daoist.
Then let's begin.
"Oh? The formation's complete?" Xue Daoren sneered. "So this is your final hope?"
No one answered. Everyone was focused on channeling their power toward Yun Jin. They were weak—but even the weakest of forces, when united, might yet shake the heavens.
Xue Daoren's pale face curled into an eerie smile. "Then let me crush that hope completely."
What he loved most—
Was watching faces full of hope slowly stained red with blood, their light dying out in despair. There was nothing quite like the agony and helplessness of humans at the edge of death.
Especially now.
They were trying so hard.
So desperate.
So full of life.
Destroying them like this—how delicious.
Xue Daoren looked at the woman at the center of the formation. His lips pulled back into a grin. He raised one finger.
Above, the sky was suddenly flooded with a crimson light.
The bloody hue spread, painting the heavens in red.
The crushing pressure descended instantly on everyone's hearts.
Mortals were the first to collapse.
Even though the pressure wasn't directed at them, they were still only human. Even the slightest ripple was more than they could bear.
Some fainted on the spot.
Others crumpled, forced to their knees.
A little girl and her mother were caught in the edge of the force. The woman clutched her child tightly as they huddled in the corner of a wall.
"Mother…" the girl whispered, her voice strained. "Are we… are we going to live?"
The woman's eyes reddened, her hand gently brushing her daughter's forehead again and again. "We will. We definitely will."
The little girl seemed to believe her.
Her head was swimming. She felt like she could faint at any moment.
But she didn't want to.
If she passed out now, would she even know if she died?
Some might say dying without knowing was a mercy.
But the girl didn't think so.
If she had to die, she wanted to face it with her eyes open.
She looked toward the woman at the center of the formation.
That big sister—she had saved her once.
She hadn't forgotten.
"Big Sister wouldn't lose. Right?"
The mortals were only feeling the slightest shockwave.
The bulk of the pressure was aimed directly at the Zhou Tian Star Array.
Xue Daoren looked relaxed, as if using only the tiniest bit of effort.
But even that much was enough to drain the color from the faces of those inside the formation. Without the threads linking their strength, some of them would've passed out already.
"This little pressure, and you're already faltering?" Xue Daoren snarled with a grin. The bloody aura condensed further, and the weight more than doubled in an instant.
Everyone's expressions shifted.
Gao Jingxuan struggled to speak. "Senior… this devil acts so brazenly. Will no reinforcements really come?"
This was human territory!
In the battles between humans and demons, humans still held the upper hand!
Could it be—
That the Demon race was now running wild in human lands, and the Four Holy Lands, the Demon-Slaying Alliance, and all the other great sects would truly turn a blind eye?
Yun Jin glanced at Gao Jingxuan and spoke calmly. "Even if they come, they will not be reinforcements."
Gao Jingxuan looked confused.
He had always been praised as intelligent.
But this sentence from Yun Jin—he didn't understand it at all.
And even if he had an inkling, he didn't want to understand.
"How dull," Xue Daoren said, eyes flat. "Then die."
The blood-colored light in the sky coalesced into a massive serpent, lunging straight toward Yun Jin.
Gao Jingxuan's expression changed dramatically.
That kind of overwhelming power—there was no way they could withstand it.
All their effort.
Everything they had just done.
It had all been in vain.
Were they really going to die here?
And if they died—who would protect the people behind them?
"Remember this. You die because of Yun Jin," the Blood Daoist's voice echoed coldly from within the sea of blood.
Just as the serpent was about to devour everything—
A sword split through the sky.
A single longsword, flashing through the heavens.