As soon as Lishang’s voice trailed off, Taishu Xu sensed that the formation was under attack, his expression instantly changing drastically.
"Wen Shiqing, do you really mean to drive me into a dead end?"
"I simply don't want you to compound your mistakes."
"Since that is the case, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Taishu Xu's expression turned vicious, leaking with resentment. Driven by his manipulation, the operation of the Spirit Sacrifice Formation accelerated significantly. In the blink of an eye, the martial artists who were originally expected to hold out for another quarter of an hour were reduced to blood fodder, turning into white skeletons, their vital energy and souls both becoming nourishment for the Spirit Sacrifice Formation.
Wave after wave of heart-rending screams and twisted, ferocious souls turned this realm into a living hell.
"Ah Xu, stop!" It was rare to see Lishang, usually so aloof, give vent to anger. He remembered the last time Lishang had intervened was when they were capturing Yeyun, stepping in to block him.
Seeing that Taishu Xu had plunged into a state of madness, recklessly manipulating the Spirit Sacrifice Formation, Lishang hesitated for a moment before striking once more.
As a master of the Alchemy Pavilion, aside from his exceptional talent in the way of alchemy, Lishang's talent in formation arrays was notoriously renowned.
For a moment, Lishang set his sights on destroying the formation.
Meanwhile, Taishu Xu was determined to sacrifice and slaughter all living beings within the formation. Within just ten breaths, Divine King martial artists fell one after another. Every time the Spirit Sacrifice Formation devoured someone, its power grew by a fraction. The higher a martial artist's cultivation realm, the stronger their divine sense, even if they were not soul cultivators.
The Spirit Sacrifice Formation devoured powerful souls, functioning like a stack of buffs upon Taishu Xu, causing his cultivation to soar steadily. Even if he could not shatter the void, it was more than enough to surpass the Divine Emperor Peak—perhaps reaching the Half-Emperor or even Quasi-Emperor tier.
If he successfully shattered the void and weathered the tribulation lightning, he would become a true Divine Emperor.
"Life Soul, suppress!"
A stern shout rang out, and those Divine King and Divine Emperor martial artists who were on the verge of failing to hold on suddenly felt their souls return to their bodies. In particular, those whose souls had already been drawn out of their bodies by the Spirit Sacrifice Formation had been within a hair's breadth of merging completely with it.
Upon feeling their physical bodies once more, they instantly heaved a sigh of relief. This was truly a brush with death!
"Old me's Xuan Qi seems to have recovered!"
"My cultivation is back, hahahaha! Human Emperor old dog, how dare you try to plot against me? Hand over your life!"
As soon as their cultivation was restored, quite a few martial artists immediately charged at Taishu Xu. To fend off the sneak attacks, Taishu Xu had no choice but to stop manipulating the Spirit Sacrifice Formation.
The very moment his concentration slipped, cracks appeared across the light barrier of the entire Spirit Sacrifice Formation. Then came a series of cracking sounds, followed by a resounding collapse.
The Spirit Sacrifice Formation was destroyed!
As the master controlling the Spirit Sacrifice Formation, he bore the brunt of the backlash. Raising his head to look, he saw a massive spirit boat hovering in the sky above, three banners fluttering upon it. The central banner was pitch-black, from which hung heavenly mountain gold and jade, shaped like a yellow pouch and red as cinnabar fire, bearing the crest of a divine beast with six legs and four wings—the family crest of the Di Family.
The banner on the left was white with dark gold, featuring a nine-tailed fire fox hanging upon it—the symbol of the Fire Fox Hua Family. The banner on the right was black and gold with drifting blue, featuring a human-faced, snake-bodied figure of entirely red hue—the spiritual image of the Ancestral Witch, serving as the family crest of the Leng Ancestral Witch Family.
The ancestors of the three families stood at the very front, flanked on either side by Bai Luoqing, You Shisi, Gong Yutian, and Yeyun, with the contemporary heads and elders of the three families arrayed behind them...
"It is the descent of the Emperor Ancestors! I never expected that with the Three Realms Heaven in chaos, even the Emperor Ancestors would come out of seclusion."
Ancestor Hua stood upon the spirit boat, flicking her fiery red tail and casting a sidelong glance at the battered crowd below. "Yo, what happened to Ancestor Lan? Back then, you were so dead set on coming to this Human Emperor Palace to establish the Demon-Slaying Legion. How now? The demons haven't been slain yet, but you yourselves almost became the nourishment?"
"Ancestor Hua, do you really have to spare no mercy?" Ancestor Lan retorted unhappily.
"Spare what mercy? Did you think I came to rescue you? This ancestor merely came to watch the show, and at most, to gloat and see if you old immortals have managed to transcend mortality yet?
Aiya!
I am utterly disappointed. After all this time, you old immortals are still alive. My hope of annexing your nine families has been dashed."
The various ancestors: "..."
Although this was indeed something a fox would do, saying it right to their faces felt somewhat inappropriate, didn't it?
Yet no one dared to speak up, for provoking a fox meant getting foully entangled in trouble.
Unable to afford offending them, they could only hide.
***
"Teacher..." Yeyun called out softly. Seeing Lishang in the Human Emperor Palace was indeed unexpected, especially given that he showed no surprise whatsoever at the appearance of Yeyun and the others—it was as if he had anticipated it all along.
Lishang put away his white silk sash. Without raising his head, he said in a low voice, "You arrived just in time, and your cooperation was spot-on; otherwise, breaking this Spirit Sacrifice Formation would not have been so easy."
"Teacher, why are you here?"
"Since you are this master's student, this master naturally has a duty to protect you."
It was still those exact words. Ever since she entered discipleship, Lishang had uttered this sentiment, and he had consistently proven it through his actions.
Yet this scene of a compassionate teacher and filial student appeared utterly ironic in Taishu Xu's eyes. He sneered derisively on the spot, "What a touching and heartwarming scene! Ye Shiqi, oh Ye Shiqi, I never expected you to deliver yourself right to our doorstep. Could it be you thought that with Wen Shiqing backing you up, you could sit back and relax without a care?"
Wen Shiqing?
Who was that?
"Oh! Right, judging by your expression, you haven't the slightest clue that your so-called Teacher Lishang has always moved about under an alias! Everyone says that Teacher Lishang of the Lishang Hall is fiercely protective of his own, and that if any of his students are bullied, he will certainly go demand justice. They say the bond between teacher and student is deep, yet he was unwilling to even tell you his real name." Taishu Xu laughed grimly, his malicious tone entirely disconnected from his usual benevolent facade.
Since things had fallen apart, he simply dropped all pretenses and no longer bothered to conceal anything.
Hearing this, Yeyun finally understood that Lishang was merely a codename, and his real name was Wen Shiqing.
Only...
If Taishu Xu thought he could use this to drive a wedge between teacher and student, it was utterly laughable.
Furthermore...
"Wen Shiqing... Teacher, what a lovely name you have." Yeyun smiled faintly, then turned solemn. "Teacher, today my husband and I, along with the others, will assist you in upholding justice on behalf of heaven!"
The corners of Lishang's mouth curled up. "Very well."
Battle!
As the fierce battle broke out instantly, Taishu Xu no longer held back. The Spirit Sacrifice Formation was destroyed, but the Blood Slaughter Formation remained. Although it lacked the bolstering power of the Spirit Sacrifice Formation, it was still a trump card—it only needed half an hour to help Lord Emperor Venerable break free.
Yet in the blink of an eye, a familiar stern shout echoed through the air.
"Break!"
Boom! The Blood Slaughter Formation shattered as well. Taishu Xu glared at the culprit who had broken the formation with eyes split and teeth gnashing, roaring through clenched teeth, "Ye Shiqi! You dare ruin my hope of shattering the void? Today, I will grind your bones to dust!"
"Blood Sacrifice Soul-Capture Bell! Condense!"
With Taishu Xu tossing out a magical treasure resembling an ancient Eastern Emperor Bell, but radiating pitch-black Qi throughout, the buzzing sound shook many of the newly recovered martial artists into a state of disquiet, draining the color from their faces.
As for the martial artists who were already injured, they had zero resistance left, lying on the ground clutching their heads and screaming in agony, wishing they were dead.
"Ah... Kill me... Kill me..."
"I beg you, just give me a quick death! I can't take this anymore."