Flakes of snow fell thickly and fast, rapidly dyeing the world in a wash of silver.
This first snow of winter had arrived with exceptional untimeliness, adding a layer of gravity and oppression to an already grim and frigid atmosphere.
The biting wind swept across cheeks like ice blades, sending a bone-chilling shiver through the tense, waiting crowd.
At that very moment, a white shadow surged forward with the force of lightning, whistling through the air with an edge of fierce hostility.
Wherever it passed, the moisture in the air instantly froze into ice, and swirling vortexes of snow and ice encircled its body to form a mobile protective barrier.
With a mere flash before their eyes, this streak of white lightning streaked across the skyline and reached the outer walls of the Yunxiao Sect.
It turned out to be a Tier 7 Snow Soul Fox, its strength comparable to the peak late-stage Golden Core cultivation of a human Cultivator.
Massive in size, standing well over a man's height, its fur was as white as snow, save for a striking streak of red along its back. Blood slowly welled from its spine, dripping onto the ground to form crimson ice crystals.
The concealed defensive illusion formation quietly exerted its influence at that moment. The instant the Snow Soul Fox drew near, it seemed to crash against an invisible wall.
Its momentum stalled abruptly, and it paced anxiously back and forth outside the formation in bewilderment.
Its sharp claws, akin to pointed knives, scraped the ground with the lightest sweep, leaving deep gouges as dirt and ice flew in all directions.
Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from this Monster Beast, Lin Shanlai's eyes were filled with utter dismay.
Against such a formidable Monster Beast, even if all of them combined their forces, it would be difficult to put up a fight.
Fortunately, they were all sheltered within a barrier of isolation arrays; as long as they remained inside, they would not be easily detected by the Monster Beast.
He gripped the Dharma Artifact in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the exertion.
No matter what, he had to protect his disciples' lives.
The wounded Snow Soul Fox's azure beast-pupils betrayed a mix of pain and wariness.
It had distinctly sensed a glimmer of vitality that could save its life.
Yet now, no matter how hard it searched, that lifeline seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving not a trace behind.
This sudden turn of events left it utterly bewildered and intensely agitated.
Abruptly, it lifted its chin and let out a piercing howl toward the sky, a sound that seemed to pierce the firmament and cause a painful ringing in people's eardrums.
Following this shriek, the protective vortex of snow and ice surrounding the Snow Soul Fox expanded wildly in all directions with overwhelming momentum.
With a deafening roar akin to the collapsing of the heavens and earth, several tall, sturdy trees were instantly snapped in half and came crashing down, kicking up a flurry of snow and gravel.
Under this immense impact, the outer defensive arrays of the Yunxiao Sect shattered two layers in quick succession.
Unwilling to leave, the Snow Soul Fox was certain: this was the place! The attraction that had been drawing it all this way had come from right here!
It slammed desperately against the unseen barrier, as if determined to batter open a path to its own survival.
The ground shook violently, as though even the air was being smashed to pieces. The hearts of everyone present rose into their throats, and they broke out in cold, nervous sweat.
Under this fierce assault, the defensive formations crumbled layer by layer until only the final layer remained, struggling bitterly to hold on.
If the Snow Soul Fox were allowed to continue its onslaught, the consequences would be unimaginable.
With a focused and calm expression, Yan Jiuzhi swiftly activated a series of interlocking formations in an attempt to divert the Snow Soul Fox's attention.
His hands moved in a blur of hand seals, sending beams of light flying from his fingertips to merge into the formation.
He carefully managed the rhythm of the arrays, keeping every minute change under his tight control.
In his mind, he was rapidly calculating his next move.
He knew that this injured Snow Soul Fox had undoubtedly been lured here by something extraordinary hidden within the Yunxiao Sect.
He could not let it inside under any circumstances.
Yan Jiuzhi immediately took a radiant white spirit grass from his storage pouch.
It was an alluring spirit grass that Monster Beasts loved and found utterly irresistible.
He placed it inside a special container and tossed it into the illusion-entrapment formation, using the power of the array to diffuse the fragrance of the spirit grass outward.
The Snow Soul Fox immediately caught the scent of the spirit grass with acute sensitivity. Its nostrils twitched slightly as it greedily inhaled the faint, elusive aroma hanging in the air.
An uncontrollable look of excitement flashed across its eyes.
Yet, it did not charge toward the spirit grass right away, choosing instead to scan its surroundings with cautious vigilance.
Its footsteps faltered slightly with hesitation.
Ultimately, however, its craving for the spirit grass overcame its wariness, and its massive frame began to inch slowly in the direction of the herb.
Every step was executed with extreme caution.
The master and his three disciples watched the Snow Soul Fox's every move with bated breath, not daring to exhale deeply.
Lin Shanlai gripped the Dharma Artifact controlling the formation even tighter, his palms slick with sweat.
Inwardly, he silently prayed for the plan to proceed without a hitch.
The moment the Snow Soul Fox drew close to the spirit grass, Lin Shanlai activated the formation without a moment's hesitation.
A flash of light swept across the area as the formidable power of the array instantly enveloped the Snow Soul Fox.
It panicked and tried to flee, but it was already too late.
Having successfully lured the Snow Soul Fox into the illusion-entrapment formation, Yan Jiuzhi let out a breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Two options lay before them now. One was to use the formation to fight a war of attrition against the Snow Soul Fox.
His only chance to forcibly break through his cultivation limits and slay the Snow Soul Fox came with a heavy cost.
It would take a severe toll on his body, rendering him unable to channel his Spiritual Power and Divine Sense for a considerable time.
The alternative was to stall for as long as possible, dragging things out until that pack of scum from the Changyue Sect tracked them down.
This Snow Soul Fox was the very beast they had been pursuing and injuring before it fled in this direction.
Yan Jiuzhi had always been exceptionally pragmatic and clever; he was by no means the sort of pedantic fool who would sacrifice his life merely to save face.
Whenever conditions and methods could be put to use around him, he would seize and employ every last one of them without a moment's hesitation.
He would never let slip a single factor that might work to his advantage.
Amidst the current complex and perilous situation, the slightest lapse in judgment could lead to irreversible consequences.
Compared to the safety and lives of his master and the others, everything else paled into insignificance.
Both plans required buying time.
He had also set up a hidden, joint restraining attack formation within the array, which would trigger the moment he forced through his cultivation barrier, aiding him in slaying the Snow Soul Fox in a single stroke.
As long as he could defricate the immediate crisis and rescue his master and the others from danger, no price was too high for him to pay.
Trapped within the formation, the Snow Soul Fox paced back and forth in agitation.
It could not understand why it had been in a frozen wasteland just moments ago, only for the scenery to transform into a grassland.
It trotted about the spot in bewilderment, the wound on its back continuing to ooze blood and stamping the snow with patterns like blooming red plum blossoms.
Taking advantage of the Snow Soul Fox's entrapment in the illusion, this was the prime moment to launch an attack.
Lin Ruo brandished a large parcel and began hurling Talismans by the handful, sending them streaming endlessly toward the Snow Soul Fox in the array.
The Talismans fluttered through the air, emitting a faint glow.
These were all Wind Blade Talismans and Fireball Talismans; though they were of low grade, they made up for it in sheer volume.
When the Talismans struck the Snow Soul Fox, they caused momentary disruptions to its movements, and the wound on its back even appeared to widen slightly.
Filled with towering battle intent and a palpable aura of killing, Yan Jiuzhi brandished his sword, slashing out several invisible arcs of sword qi that headed straight for the Snow Soul Fox, adding multiple new lacerations to its hide.
Yet, as a peak Tier 7 Monster Beast possessing formidable strength, the illusions could not hold sway over it for long.
Besieged by such a flurry of harassment and attacks, it quickly shook off the brief spell of confusion.
It grew increasingly difficult for the group to inflict further damage upon it.
The Talismans thrown by Lin Ruo could no longer get anywhere near its body.
Elder Gao tossed toxic Elixirs into the mix, detonating them into billowing green mists of poison in hopes of further eroding its strength.
The irritating assaults came wave after wave, and the wounds on the Snow Soul Fox gradually multiplied.
Growing increasingly frantic, a ruthless glint flashed in its beast-pupils. The power of ice and snow around it surged at a terrifying speed, sending icicles bursting outward in all directions.
With a thunderous explosion, the ground fractured into several deep fissures, shaking violently as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth falling away, sending earth and stones flying in all directions.
The array shattered for a split second before trembling back together and repairing itself.
Lin Shanlai gripped the formation-control artifact so tightly that the veins on his hands bulged. Spiritual energy surged violently within his body, only for him to forcefully suppress it.
After all, he was at the Golden Core stage and could still weather this blow, but Lin Ruo, who was merely at the Qi Condensation stage, was blasted away by the fierce shockwave like a kite with a broken string, slamming directly onto the ground.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips, and she lost consciousness.
Elder Gao's face turned ashen. With his internal Qi in disorder, he was clearly suffering from internal injuries, and blood trickled from his nose and mouth.
At that moment, he had no time to check on Lin Ruo's condition. He simply stuffed Elixirs into his mouth by the handful, swallowing them along with the blood, and rapidly circulated his spiritual energy in hopes of recovering quickly enough to face the hard fight ahead.
Yan Jiuzhi formed a protective barrier with his Divine Sense to barely block the impact. Pain lanced through his internal organs, and the spiritual energy in his body churned violently.
Fortunately, he was still able to move freely. He leaped to Lin Ruo's side in a flash.
Lifting her up, he fed her a couple of healing pills, carried her unconscious form a safe distance away, and set up a rudimentary protective array.
With that done, he immediately hurried back to the sides of his master and Elder Gao. Seeing that their condition was passable and they were barely holding on, he turned his gaze back to the Snow Soul Fox trapped within the formation.
The Snow Soul Fox possessed extremely high intelligence; these despicable humans had not only wounded it, but had also trapped it.
Its instincts told it that its current situation was perilous in the extreme.
A ruthless glint surfaced in its azure beast-pupils, and discarding all regard for its own injuries, it began to slam madly and frantically against the walls of the array.
One strike, two, three... In the span of a breath, it had hammered the barrier a dozen times in rapid succession, leaving the formation teetering on the verge of collapse.
Spiritual power poured frantically from Lin Shanlai into the formation-control artifact. His face flushed bright red as he fought desperately to maintain the integrity of the array.
He could not afford to retreat; his close friend, his beloved disciples, and the citizens of Angcheng behind him...
Even if he died right here, he could not take a single step back.
The violent tremors of the earth and the roaring sound akin to the collapse of heaven and earth caused Lixi and the others atop the city walls to tremble in unison.
In the distance, flashes of magical light and ceaseless roaring echoed through the air, bearing witness to the ferocious intensity of the battle.
The entire retinue of the City Lord's mansion was likewise stationed on the ramparts. The City Lord, a low-level Cultivator at only the Qi Condensation 5th Layer, wore a face lined with wrinkles and pale with terror, drenched in a cold sweat despite the freezing weather.
Since everyone in the city was a Mortal, they were completely helpless at this moment and could only pin all their hopes upon the Cultivators of the Yunxiao Sect.
The residents within the city did not even dare to step outside, choosing instead to stay huddled in their homes and offer silent prayers.
Lixi's eyes brimmed with tears as her body trembled uncontrollably, her hands clasped together in a gesture of supplication.
She pleaded unceasingly with the heavens to keep her master, Elder Gao, and her senior and junior fellow apprentices safe on their return.
Her fellow disciples joined her, offering up silent prayers.
With a degree of piety they had never known before, they sincerely beseeched the heavens for the safety of their loved ones.