Uru Hong Jing observed his surroundings, ahead of him there seemed to be yet another volcano.
But.
His eyes shone with an strange glimpse.
In a tiny mound in one of the crescents, there lied a dome.
This dome was invisible to the naked eye, even now it was hard to perceive.
It was continuously camouflaging itself with the surrounding terrain.
Flickering pink flames shone through, distorting the view, altering the sight, distorting space and reality itself.
"Fire mimicking Space with a hint of Formation, truly an intricate product." He stated mildly surprised.
Still his eyes were more focused on the goal.
However.
He soon frowned.
"I've heard of this Formation's properties before, it is said that once you attack, it will automatically counter attack sending powerful flames towards its target.
Against those flames, even Rank 7 Gu Masters would suffer quite a bit."
He touched his chin.
"Using brute force is out of the question, while this Formation lacks a source, and thus will inevitably run out of energy how much Immortal Essence do I require to achieve this.
A thousand beads? If I do this, let alone the other participants I am afraid I would die in my next Tribulation."
He then pondered.
"I guess I could use my Out of Sight Killer Move to turn myself intangible, but what if it fails?
I'm not sure if it has some phantom counter measure, and while I use that Killer Move, most of my defenses vanish.
Thus, if my intangibility vanishes even for an instant, as I cross through that dome, I am as good as dead."
Upon understanding this, he then tilted his head.
"I guess this is not intended to be taken by force, or through clever Killer Moves, but rather through deduction and shattering of the Formation." He frowned.
His understanding of Formation Path was while not blank, completely ordinary.
Suddenly.
He raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? My roaming eyes do inform me of an intruder…" Without caring about anything else, he rapidly turned towards the ground.
Where he closed his eyes, like a ghost he passed through several meters of dirt.
Finally lying in a cave, even then, he concealed himself through several Killer Moves.
Just a few seconds afterwards.
A woman appeared.
She was flying freely.
The hair of the woman was green, with several pink flowers decorating her hair.
Across her skin several tiny leaf's could be seen, as if they were hide.
There was a faint fragrance of a river, emanating from her body, and several veins brown like branches could be seen, beneath her skin.
The woman turned her gaze towards the Formation.
"mmm….I finally found a flag." She spoke plainly, still there was no hint of anxiety in her voice, only annoyance.
"It was about time already, I have so many things to do than to remain here. Such a shame that the others are too slippery. Or else, I'd rather beat all of them instead of playing this ridiculous game."
She shook her head.
"I am getting distracted yet again, ugh…My Cultivation Technique does have its demerits.
Still, its advantages outweigh it a tenfold." With a confident smile, she raised her arms.
[The Seasons Fly!]
Her body flew towards the skies, intense green-hue hurricanes surged beneath her as this passed.
Her green long beautiful hair soon turned yellow, then it began to fall down.
Similarly, the leaf's surrounding her skin slowly got detached and surged like a million of tiny projectiles spiraling around her.
Soon, her hair got shorter and shorter, and it became whiter and whiter.
Suddenly, there was a blizzard.
Intense powerful wind surged through surrounding the dome, as the wind begun to spin around, she said.
"Cyclical Blizzard!" Despite the powerful blizzard, not a single drop of ice or snow, hit the purple flames, instead it spun around barely a few centimeters away from it.
And yet on spite of that the purple flames reacted.
They moved wildly spinning randomly, without any logical sense.
And yet steadily, the flames grew thinner.
The minutes, the hours went by.
Until finally.
The Formation was completely gone.
Uru Hong Jing who was observing the scene was tongue-tied.
"How could this happen?" He frowned.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank as a wild idea appeared in his mind.
"Before she used the Killer Move, she said 'Cyclical Blizzard', and I know of her Cultivation Technique, or rather physique.
Four Seasons Physique, it is said that amongst the Qin Clan there is a a Killer Move.
And those who Cultivate this 'Killer Move' before ascending to Immortality can gain a chance to attain such a physique upon their ascension.
The powers of her physique are related to the four seasons, and her body and powers fluctuate depending on this…" He frowned.
"While I am not sure, perhaps she's using those same principles surrounding her body towards the Formation, by using her ability she accelerated the Formation itself, until it drove itself to extinguishment."
Formations, unless one were a great grandmaster.
Usually were not able to last for long.
Of course, there were ways to stretch their duration such as by putting the Formation in a dormant state, or by continuously fueling it through Immortal Essence or Immortal Stones.
Regardless, no matter how exquisite the method or how plentiful the resources are, Formations have a limited duration in which they can work on.
Which at the best scenario is limited by the amount of fuel it has.
This however would not generally be an issue, Shung Mia Yin was no fool, the trial was meant to last a month, and the formation surely had enough to last three times as long.
However.
What if the time which the Formation went through was different than the time elsewhere?
"Just like with an aperture, the time in and out are not the same, I guess anything within her move can accelerate to a rapid speed.
Perhaps she can also do the opposite and slow things down to a crawl." He felt a chill in his spine as he considered this possibility.
In truth the Four Seasons Physique was one of a kind, only a chosen member among every generation in the Qin Clan would attain such a physique.
And once somebody attained such a Physique it could be said that their road to Rank 8 would be guaranteed!
For within the treasury of the Qin Clan there was the complete set of Immortal Gu that they would require ranging from 6 to 7.
As well, as a myriad amount of Killer Moves that were designed by the predecessors.
In other words, while Qin Jiji may not be herself a 'Great Grandmaster' in her Path, she had inherited the Gu and Killer Moves from such experts.
Her complete set of complementary Gu, plus her physique, plus the suitable Killer Moves, plus the fact that she was not that far away from Rank 7.
Made her a complete monster unrivaled in her Realm.
Uru Hong Jing stood there thinking.
Could he truly take down such a monster on his own?
While he was immersed in his thoughts.
There was a cracking sound.
The cave where he was hiding at, suddenly had an strange reaction.
The ground around him trembled.
In a violent manner.
"What is happening????" He wondered confused.
Qin Jiji turned her glance sideways to glance at the trembling ground.
She narrowed her eyes, her focus sharp as she scanned the zone.
Until she found his location, and without any other word.
She charged towards him!
…
Some distance away.
Le Tu was observing the situation with some cold sweat in his forehead.
In truth he had already extended some of his branches there, and had just used them to force a confrontation between the two.
Still, there were some risks.
Had he been uncovered; death was a real possibility.
"Still, the situation has yet to reach its final stage. I still need a few more things before I snatch the flag." He concealed his aura, and observed the battle.
…
Uru Hong Jing who observed the approaching Qin Jiji shouted.
"You fool! Cannot you see? Do you truly think I would have done something as foolish as to openly flaunt my own location.
I was hiding nearby, but someone made a move to force us to engage!" He shouted trying to discourage her.
But Qin Jiji merely smirked.
"Is that so? But frankly, I do not care. Whether your words are a lie, or not, or whether what is in front of me a trap or not, who cares?
Even if I fall into your schemes, can you defeat me?" He shouted confidently.
[The seasons Fly!]
Her body surging with an intense aura.
And just like before, her body and her hair continuously began to change and morph.
When it became white, she shouted.
"Unending Frostbite!" A powerful wind surged through, pushing through everything sending an intense shockwave at his location.
Uru Hong Jing gritted his teeth.
Several eyeballs appeared around him.
[Warm Gaze]
Heating his body slightly.
"Slow, and weak do you truly think you can defend yourself against me like this?" Her hair changed of colors again.
She pressed her two palms together, and then charged a golden ball in her hands.
[Sun Bomb!]
The sun like object was shoot at a tremendous speed towards him.
Uru Hong Jing turned towards his right.
[Glimpse ahead]
His body flickered, barely giving him the chance to evade but then.
[Growth Season!] Countless spores surged through from every angle, being shoot like a myriad of projectiles.
Covering each and every place where he moved at.
Suddenly, the woman's image flickered.
She appeared in front of him.
Stretching her palm, from which a poisonous energy flowed through.
[Decay Touch]
Uru Hong Jing gritted his teeth, closing his eyes.
The energy passed through his body as if it were ether Qin Jiji raised her eyebrows in surprise.
The move concluded, and using that opportunity Uru Hong Jing unleashed a red skeletal armor, towards her trying to grip her.
But Qin Jiji smiled lightly, before he could even get close, she was several meters away.
"Heh. Heh. This is too easy." She chuckled.
"My seasons fly Killer Move is too perfect, as it not only gives me an incredible flying speed, but also enables me to cycle between the four seasons.
And while I lose some precision because of this, the strength of my Killer moves is further amplified.
And what is amplified are my already plentiful Dao Marks, which needless to say are quite greater than yours.
With all those factors what do you rely on?
Do you truly believe you stand a chance?
Just give up already." She taunted, trying to make him lose his edge.
But Uru Hong Jing merely snorted coldly.
"You may overtake me in strength, but to make me give up, is not that easy!" He closed his eyes, and burrowed towards the ground.
Qin Jiji frowned.
"You are just wasting your efforts." She sighed, before chasing after him.