Chapter 182

"Form formation!"

Ning Zhongtian roared.

In an instant.

Four hundred soldiers' qi was linked by Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu, merging into a single whole like a drawn sword, its tip being Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu.

This was the brutality of an army.

Once a great formation was assembled.

With Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu united, their combat power could even withstand a strike from a fifth-rank Ocean-View martial cultivator.

Li Rui

He stood at the hilt's position.

Why not flee?

The place they were in was already surrounded by demonic beasts covering every hill and valley—where could they run?

In large-scale battles, the most deaths occur not during combat, but during retreat.

Soon, the truth proved it.

Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu's decision to form a formation on the spot was utterly correct.

As soon as the formation took shape, dense waves of demonic beasts surged before them.

What is a demonic beast tide?

One demonic beast, ten demonic beasts, even a hundred demonic beasts do not count as a demonic beast tide—it must number at least five hundred.

Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu became the central formation nodes.

Each platoon leader served as a sub-node, fifty men per group, arranged in eight directions as sub-formations to resist the demonic beasts' ferocious assault.

Some held shields, others spears and blades.

Shield-bearers stood in front to absorb the demonic beast tide's impact; blade- and spear-wielders followed behind, waiting for openings.

Of course, the most critical element of the sub-formations were the platoon leaders.

They were the formation's primary offensive points; Ge Hong and several other platoon leaders were drenched in blood within moments, having slain countless demonic beasts.

Li Rui's Thundering Tiger Cavalry also formed a formation.

Tan Hu attacked, Li Rui defended.

This formation had been drilled countless times; their coordination was flawless.

Tan Hu, born with a Vajra body, possessed boundless strength—far more suited as the offensive point than Li Rui.

The two, one attacking and one defending, barely held back the charging demonic beasts.

Li Rui drew his waist blade, slicing a bear-like demonic beast in half with one stroke; his Barrier Blade became a silver shield, guarding his entire body without a single flaw.

Sensing the faint, elusive stench in the air, his heart stirred:

"Poison!"

A demonic beast tide occurs once every hundred years—it is a natural disaster.

But Li Rui sensed a unique fragrance in the mountains and forests.

Someone had deliberately triggered the demonic beast tide.

Ghost Ming Sect—may their hearts be damned!

"Brother, this trick is brilliant!"

Wu Yun, standing high above, watched the Anning Guard soldiers trapped by demonic beasts, his eyes brightening.

He had just been wondering:

The Anning Guard had sent hundreds—how could the two of them possibly kill their target amid such a large force?

Now it was clear: Qiu Ping had prepared this all along.

"Brother's demonic toxin has improved further."

He flattered, yet his wariness deepened.

Triggering a demonic beast tide.

Easy to say, but difficult to accomplish—demonic beasts act purely on instinct, utterly uncontrollable.

He could not do it, nor even dare to imagine it.

Gathering such a vast number of demonic beasts was extremely difficult.

Moments later.

Wu Yun's smile gradually faded.

The Anning Guard, amid the demonic beast tide, stood firm as a rock—instead of breaking and fleeing, they held formation and moved steadily downhill.

"The Yu Kingdom's army is truly formidable."

Qiu Ping's eyes flickered with surprise.

Of course, he never expected a single wave of eighth- and ninth-rank demonic beasts to kill four hundred Anning Guard soldiers.

The demonic beasts were powerful.

But their strength lay in their intelligence—and so did their weakness.

The demonic beast tide looked ferocious, and the Anning Guard had indeed lost many, but their core strength remained untouched.

The dead were all common soldiers—not a single squad leader had fallen.

For the Anning Guard army, their combat power had barely diminished.

"The poison's effect lasts only fifteen minutes. After that, the demonic beast tide will dissipate. I'll kill Ning Zhongtian—you handle the others."

Qiu Ping never expected a wave of only eighth- and ninth-rank demonic beasts to kill Ning Zhongtian, a sixth-rank.

He merely intended to use the demonic beast tide to create chaos.

To distract Ning Zhongtian's attention, so he could strike in the confusion.

"Good!"

Wu Yun's lips curled into a cruel smile.

They had the list from the Ancestor too—besides Ning Zhongtian, the strongest were Tan Hu and Li Rui.

He had full confidence against both.

"Born Vajra."

Wu Yun's mind stirred.

He always studied his targets before killing.

According to intelligence, Li Rui only broke through to seventh-rank at seventy-three, barely managing it through trickery—his strength was among the weakest in seventh-rank.

But Tan Hu, born Vajra, possessed boundless strength—among seventh-rank, he was exceptionally formidable.

But it didn't matter.

Due to his cultivation method, he had lingered in seventh-rank for over a decade, yet his foundation was terrifyingly solid.

He considered himself among the top in seventh-rank.

Others feared Tan Hu—he had no fear at all.

"Kill!"

"Roar!"

His blade slit the throat of a white-tailed tiger demonic beast, its massive head falling from its neck.

Li Rui kept himself centered in the formation, slowly moving downhill with Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu.

The Thundering Tiger Cavalry, as Night Scouts,

could not deploy their mobility due to being surrounded.

So they mostly filled gaps—wherever a breach appeared, they rushed to seal it.

Now they were fully dispersed.

Li Rui frowned slightly. The fiercest wave of the demonic beast tide had passed; the surrounding demonic beasts were dwindling—danger should be decreasing.

Then why was the smoke's color growing darker?

"Something's wrong!"

Li Rui instantly went on alert.

Almost as he retreated near Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu,

sudden change erupted!

"Hehehe"

A chilling laugh echoed as a dark shadow darted over the treetops, descending precisely into the heart of the Anning Guard formation.

Whoosh!

A black cloak whipped up a gale.

Vast clouds of white smoke spilled from within.

Soldiers touched by the smoke clutched their faces, screaming in agony, their skin peeling away to reveal crimson flesh.

"Ten Thousand Ghost Poison!"

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Ning Zhongtian stared at the gaunt black-robed man who had breached the formation, his eyes blazing.

This entire disaster was his doing!

Qiu Ping sneered: "You brats think you can kill me?"

Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu had crossed the Dragon Gate over a decade after him.

One against two.

He was not afraid.

The strength of poison attacks lies in their indiscriminate nature—they need not distinguish between one enemy or ten, making them most effective against the Yu Kingdom's troops.

"Evil villain, die!"

Ning Zhongtian and Feng Yu coordinated with perfect synergy.

The great array activated.

Most of the strength of four hundred men flowed into the two of them.

A single slash carried the force of ten thousand catties, aimed at Wan Duigui.

Wan Duigui knew the array's power and dared not meet it head-on; he darted and dodged, spraying vast clouds of poison mist and toxic fluid, one soldier after another collapsing in agonized screams.

Ning Zhongtian was furious.

His assault intensified, yet no matter how hard he chased, he could never match Wan Duigui Qiu Ping's movement.

His anxiety grew deeper.

Many Anning Guard soldiers had been poisoned by Qiu Ping's mist, their combat power severely diminished.

The beasts, stirred into frenzy, charged wildly.

The array was broken, gradually showing signs of collapse.

Li Rui gazed at the infamous Wan Duigui not far off, his heart sinking.

At that moment—

Another cry erupted from his right.

A soldier of the Running Tiger Cavalry stared wide-eyed, limbs stiff and suspended in midair; he looked down in terror.

A pair of bloodied hands had pierced straight through his chest!

"Four-Armed Demon Ghost!"

Li Rui had long studied the files on the Twelve Blood Disciples; apart from the six hiding their identities, the martial arts of the other six were well known to him.

These bloodied hands were the signature technique of the Eleventh Disciple of Blood Shadow Ancestor: Four-Armed Demon Ghost Wu Yun.

"Another Blood Disciple?!"

Ge Hong, who had been charging toward Wan Duigui, froze, his pupils contracting sharply.

At the same moment.

Figures emerged from the mountain forest.

At a glance, there were over a hundred—ghost Ming cult disciples and their tamed beasts.

Ge Hong drew a sharp breath.

Tonight, the Anning Guard would suffer heavy losses.

"Why are you chasing me?"

The trees around Li Rui blurred past rapidly.

Four-Armed Demon Ghost had killed several Anning Guard soldiers, then headed straight for him.

The battle formation had shattered; he took the opportunity to plunge into the forest.

Soon.

He arrived before a small river, one zhang wide.

This place was called Xiao He Gou because of this river; Li Rui had often come here when he used to pasture horses for the Zhu family.

Familiarity with the terrain was the first step to counterattack.

"Oh? Why stop running?"

Wu Yun sneered, watching Li Rui standing by the riverbank.

"Old man, weren't you good at running?"

His voice was cold.

He hadn't expected this old man to be mediocre in combat but exceptional in escape—he simply couldn't catch up.

This had already doomed half of tonight's plan.

Though there was a beast tide and over a hundred ghost Ming cult experts deployed, he knew full well they could never wipe out a four-hundred-man army.

His and Qiu Ping's goal had always been simply to kill those on Blood Shadow Ancestor's list and then withdraw.

But now, even if he slashed this old man to death, by the time he returned, the battle would be long over—everything would be cold and ruined.

Thinking of this, his fury surged!

"I originally only wanted to kill you and let you die quickly! Now, old man, you'll suffer."

"I know a hundred ways to make you beg for death."

Li Rui looked at the long knife in his hand and shook his head:

"Young man, you've made two mistakes."

Hearing Li Rui's words, Wu Yun's brow twitched slightly.

Madness before death?

Li Rui spoke calmly: "First, I scattered poison powder on the path. Don't you feel a faint numbness one chi seven below your right chest?"

Wu Yun, by nature suspicious, his expression shifted slightly.

Earlier, in his full pursuit of Li Rui, he hadn't noticed his surroundings.

Now that he had stopped, he couldn't help but suspect Li Rui had indeed poisoned him—he diverted some focus to carefully sense his body.

There really was a faint tingling beneath his right chest.

Li Rui continued: "Second, I—"

Wu Yun did not hear the second point—he received instead a blade that hummed faintly like a dragon's roar, glowing with emerald light, coiled by a two-winged Ying Dragon.

His pupils shrank to pinpricks; he stared in disbelief at the emerald glow:

"Dragon shape?!"

"Damn it, this old bastard is devious—he's been hiding his strength!!"

(End of Chapter)