Xu Linglong swept her divine sense outward, trying to determine exactly how many people had come to surround her.
But the array formation was bizarre — a net of stars spanning the heavens, wrapped in countless layers.
The information her divine sense could probe was extremely limited.
She did notice, however, that Jiaxi Town itself had been relocated entirely.
Truly the handiwork of a great sect — clearing the area out of mercy before making their move.
Xu Linglong stared down at Chu Xingchen and spoke, buying herself a little time.
"My Daoist Chu, what a grand gesture — so many people to gang up on one weak woman."
"You demon woman were acting plenty fierce in there just now. Didn't you say you were going to beat me to death?" Chu Xingchen laughed obligingly, then continued.
"I've played along with your little joke. Now I hope you'll return the favor and cooperate with my plan — how about dying quietly?"
Xu Linglong replied with a playful tone. "That wouldn't be very fun..."
Chu Xingchen didn't wait for whatever she was about to say next.
He swung Wanban in a single slash.
The array lines covering the sky crashed down instantly, their overwhelming might sweeping forward like the destruction of heaven and earth.
An incredibly dense wave of energy scoured the area.
Xu Linglong had no room to dodge.
She wrapped herself in black current and simply stood her ground, taking the hit head-on.
Over a dozen cultivators took positions in all four directions.
They waited for the array's power to dissipate somewhat, then formed a combined sword formation and surged toward Xu Linglong.
Beyond their regular cultivation, these cultivators spent most of their time practicing joint formations together.
After so much training and coordination, calling them of one mind and one body wouldn't be an exaggeration.
With Xu Linglong at the center, multi-colored flashes of spiritual energy crackled endlessly.
The swirling power even gathered the scattered ambient spiritual energy into raging tides.
Through Chu Xingchen's eyes, Xu Linglong was basically in turtle mode.
Against the relentless barrage of attacks, she dodged where she could and blocked where she couldn't.
She didn't seize any opportunities to counterattack or search for openings.
As if she were just waiting to die.
Chu Xingchen felt something was off.
He sent a voice transmission to Yuyang Daozi beside him.
"Brother Yuyang, could you call on one or two of your sect's Tribulation Transcendence Supreme Elders? Maybe form a group of about a hundred to help hunt this demoness?"
Yuyang Daozi shot him a look of bewildered shock.
He replied via voice transmission. "Are you serious right now?!"
Chu Xingchen immediately gave him a thumbs up and praised him through the transmission.
"Truly worthy of being Taodao Sect's core disciple of this generation — your status is something else entirely. This is an emergency, so call them quickly."
Yuyang Daozi didn't even lift his eyelids. "Then why don't you call Bai Xuanling? If that goddess of killing shows up, you can chop this demoness into however many pieces you want."
"Naturally, I can't call her."
"And you think I can?" Yuyang Daozi pressed spiritual energy into a jade slip and triggered it. "I've already called everyone I can reach. Even at the fastest, it'll take some time."
Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod and tightened his grip on Wanban.
"That demoness is about to enter her third phase. We're really going to have to risk our lives this time."
Yuyang Daozi locked his gaze firmly on Xu Linglong.
Xu Linglong observed the situation calmly, black current churning around her body.
She gripped her weapon — part sword, part bow — tightly.
After a moment, a smile suddenly appeared on her face.
Despite the barrage of razor-sharp sword light bearing down on her, she moved forward without the slightest hesitation.
Xu Linglong clenched her left hand into a fist.
Her Mahayana-level pressure settled fully into place.
She slammed her fist downward at the sword light capable of cleaving mountains and parting seas.
Black current surged and splashed outward.
Chu Xingchen seemed to sense something.
Blue light flared from Wanban in his hand as his figure pressed toward Xu Linglong.
The black current churning around Xu Linglong obscured all vision in every direction.
It also had the ability to partially block divine sense probing.
But the array was already active — a few ripples wouldn't be enough to change things now.
Several more terrifying sword lights arrived in the blink of an eye, slashing toward Xu Linglong.
"Unrighteous..."
Xu Linglong's voice was impossibly soft, yet it reached them clearly.
The next moment, a brilliant black light pierced through the black current.
Then another, and another — countless black lights burst forth, streaking toward the array-wielding sword cultivators who were closing in.
The targeted sword cultivators remained calm.
The more people in a grand formation, the more energy it could command.
Had he encountered Xu Linglong alone, he naturally would have turned and run.
He never would have tried to take this attack head-on.
But with the grand array active... in terms of raw power, he felt he might not lose!
Sword intent surged within him.
He swung his sword at the dense volley of black arrows.
His sword intent shook the mountains.
His spiritual energy burned fierce as fire.
Every black arrow beneath his blade dissolved into nothingness.
Xu Linglong's expression remained calm.
She took the massive sword strike from behind head-on, continuing to draw her bow, aimed squarely at the lead sword cultivator.
She drew the bow to the full moon.
A silent twang of the bowstring rang in Xu Linglong's ears.
But the bow released absolutely nothing — no ripple, no fluctuation of spiritual power.
The sword cultivator naturally sensed that something was wrong.
She had endured a heavy blow just to fire this shot — and it was a blank?
His divine sense swept the area.
His sword intent formed a protective barrier.
He was on maximum alert.
Several nearby cultivators also moved to cover him.
But after waiting a moment, nothing came.
Xu Linglong's smile was warm to the point of being mocking.
For some reason, the sword cultivator's previously steady composure began to fray into impatience and anger.
It was as if he were a child being toyed with and mercilessly ridiculed.
His instincts screamed at him to stay calm.
But his body moved faster than his thoughts.
The sword cultivator's blade blazed with heaven-reaching spiritual energy.
The next moment, crimson firelight erupted skyward like a cliff face, and he brought his sword crashing down toward Xu Linglong.
Xu Linglong's smile grew even warmer.
She spoke softly.
"Bang..."
The sword cultivator felt a sudden chill in his abdomen.
Without looking down, his spiritual instincts alone told him his stomach had been punched clean through.
"Bang..." Xu Linglong continued to murmur softly.
The sword cultivator understood the situation now.
His expression returned to calm, and he swung his sword at Xu Linglong with all his remaining strength.
He didn't care whether a second arrow was coming.
He didn't care if that second arrow was aimed at his head.
All that mattered now was landing this one strike.
"Not worth it. Don't rush."
Chu Xingchen's calm voice appeared right beside him.
The next moment, a streak of blue light flashed before his eyes.
When the sword cultivator looked at Xu Linglong again, her warm smile had been replaced by an icy stare.
The sword cultivator understood that Chu Xingchen had intercepted the lethal blow meant for him.
But before he could even thank him, Chu Xingchen shoved a pill into his hand.
"Peerless healing pill. Disperse the medicinal effects once your wound has mostly closed."
With those words, Chu Xingchen gripped Wanban and pressed his attack toward Xu Linglong.
The sword cultivator stared at the pill in his hand.
He clearly knew what its special property was.
Still, he set his jaw and swallowed it without hesitation.
Yuyang Daozi also shifted rapidly, tossing out divine arts like someone scattering beans.
Half flew toward Xu Linglong, half toward Chu Xingchen.
Black current churned around Xu Linglong in all directions.
The attacks didn't stop just because one person had been wounded.
She still had to split her attention to dodge and block.
But that didn't stop her from adding a mocking tone to her voice.
"Daoist Chu, getting your own hands dirty already? That won't do at all."
Chu Xingchen's expression remained calm.
He wasn't sure whether Xu Linglong actually had a third phase or not.
But his own "call for backup" third phase was already on its way.
Whether it would be enough or not — that was a problem for Taodao Sect to deal with!
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