Chapter 59: Bai Hao’s Nirvana (PART II)
Boom!
With a thunderous boom that echoed through the battlefield, the Artefact t its demise in an eardrum-shattering explosion. The entire Formation barrier fluctuated with an unprecedented intensity, its radiance diminishing by a notch!
“Fucking dammit!” Xiao Hong cursed vehently as she quickly made a hand seal and poured her Zhenqi into the Control Token, trying to control and stabilise the Formation as much as she could by forcing the two remaining Artefacts in the Main Node to take the load instead of the other two.
However, how could Fang Jin, a veteran Cultivator, let such a perfect chance pass?! Just as Xiao Hong managed to repair the hole the young man nad Xue, seized the mont with ruthless precision and attacked the Formation with all his might!
Employing his agile Movent Technique, Fang Jin closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
He focused his energy, clenched his fist tightly, and twisted his waist to gather an overwhelming surge of strength. With a resounding battle cry, he unleashed his Battle Technique with all his might!
Mountain Shaking Fist!
“HAAH!”
Boom!
A reddish brown fist the size of a head manifested and slamd into the formation with such great force that the barrier, for the first ti, developed cracks!
Fang Jin had concentrated the most powerful attack he could manifest in the smallest area he could in his attempt to directly destroy the formation in one go!
Xiao Hong, helpless in the face of Fang Jin’s onslaught, watched in horror as the head-sized fist continued pushing against the Formation slowly but surely destroying it, while she was unable to do anything but continuously expend Spirit Stone after Spirit Stone to barely maintain the Formation barrier.
It was only at this point the rest of the disciples reacted, instantly falling into a panic upon seeing the Formation developing cracks under Fang Jin’s assault.
“{Everyone! Get to the Node closest to you and start pouring your Zhenqi into the formation!}” Xiao Hong sent out a Qi Transmission broadcast to the panicking disciples along with a map of the Formation’s nodes. The best way to calm panicking people was to give them sothing to do that makes them think it would help their situation.
And just as expected, the disciples sprung into action, gathering around the nodes nearest to them, their actions tinged with the flavour of desperate determination.
As the disciples began pouring their Zhenqi into the Nodes, the cracks slowly disappeared as the Formation slowly nded itself.
Xiao Hong imdiately sent another Qi transmission to Gu Ran, Qiao Xuan and Jun iling, “{How long does it take for a Cultivator to forge their Nirvana Spiritual Body?}”
A mont later, Jun iling’s voice ca to her through Qi Transmission, “{It depends. The stronger one’s Foundation before Nirvana is, the longer it takes for them to forge their Nirvana Spiritual Body. With Senior Brother Bai’s talent and unrelenting effort,}” her voice took on a resigned tone, “{I’m afraid it will take at least a few hours.}”
‘A few hours…?’ Xiao Hong smiled bitterly, ‘I can barely maintain this goddamn thing for an hour.’
The other three, Jun iling, Gu Ran and Qiao Xuan imdiately understood from her silence that the situation was less than optimal. And they all fell into a sombre silence for a while.
‘Nowhere to run, no way to fight.’ Xiao Hong’s body sagged slightly as though drained of all energy. A profound sense of powerlessness swept her being, ‘No matter how I struggle, no matter what I do, I simply cannot win against absolute power.
‘I should’ve run away the mont True Demons were ntioned. Instead of struggling aninglessly, I’d have had a greater chance of survival if I’d done that.’ She sighed. ‘I might have had more hope-’
“Ah, Miss Formation Mistress!” Just then, that hateful bastard nad Xue spoke up cheerfully, happily waving his hand at her, “I have an offer for you: I can guarantee your life if you beco my subordinate. Believe , I have the power to do so!”
Before Xiao Hong could even say a word, he continued, “Moreover, I can promise to not use my Innate Divine Ability on you. In fact, I’ll even swear under the Will of the Heavenly Way as long as you swear to beco subordinate. We can even negotiate terms: you don’t have to obey my every command, just those you feel aren’t too much.
“I will also try my best to make up for my earlier transgression in using my ability on you. Your talent was beyond anything I’d ever seen and that made a little too hasty in my actions. I will do my best to earn your forgiveness!” he spoke earnestly.
He really, really wanted to recruit this girl. The ordinary Cultivator would never be able to see anything beyond a rather ingenious Formation. But to him who had used his Innate Divine Ability to see through so many Formations that he’d lost count, understood that this girl’s Mastery of Formations was far beyond anyone here could imagine. Perhaps, the girl herself did not understand.
So, he was extrely sincere in his offer!
‘Moreover, according to that emo guy’s and Miss Mo’s reports, she is also an extrely talented Body Cultivator!’
Such a monstrous talent, he felt he’d be wasting Heaven’s Favour if he let her go!
And he would never admit it, but he was more than a little attracted by her looks. He had truly never seen such a beauty, even with his esteed position in his Sect!
In the fleeting silence that followed, Xiao Hong's thoughts hung suspended in uncertainty. For just a mont, she thought it might actually be fine if she joined the Demonic Path before a monstrous Killing Intent erupted from her the depths of her heart pulverising even the slightest thought of joining the piece of shit!
Her entire body shuddered as an overwhelming feeling of utter visceral revulsion resonated throughout her entire being as even the thought of associating with this bastard was wiped from her Mind.
Unlike the last ti she was too distracted by the headache to notice, but this ti around, it was clearer than crystal.
Her Essence cultivated by the Celestial God’s Essence Cultivation thod, her Body forged through the Ancient God's Physique Scripture and her Soul enhanced by the Spirit God’s Soul Cultivation thod all fluctuated with an unprecedented intensity, giving off a feeling of pure disgust! The feeling of being inexplicably controlled was an absolute disgrace to her, who cultivated all three thods!
Her entire being scread at her! Every cell in her body revolted against the re suggestion of an amicable relationship with the matter, space, and energy that was before her!
Her eyes radiated undisguised Killing Intent as she raised a middle finger and spat out her tone more venomous than the most poisonous serpent, “Fuck off.”
The young man did not understand what her raising the middle finger at him ant, but her words he did understand. The smile on his face froze.
His eyes flashed with a subtle wrath. Chuckling airily, he retorted with a aningful tone, “I truly hope you can still be so feisty later on. I won’t be so lenient with my conditions the next ti.”
Xiao Hong just gave him another middle finger conveying her unwavering disdain for his offer.
Fang Jin, who had temporarily stopped attacking to let the young man try his attempt at recruitnt, resud his relentless assault on the Formation. He used his most powerful moves, each of which was beyond anything Xiao Hong could achieve even if she struck with her best! Each strike caused the barrier to fluctuate violently, testing its limits.
Amidst the chaos, Gu Ran, who had been silent for a while now, suddenly sent a Qi Transmission, “{Actually, there’s a way to extend the amount of ti the Formation can hold on.}” The three of them - Jun iling, Xiao Hong and Qiao Xuan imdiately snapped their heads towards Gu Ran, who continued, “{There is a thod I’ve heard of that can help by sacrificing the Artefacts to temporarily increase its power. It’s not very different from Cultivation Burning Secret Techniques - it’s just for Artefacts instead of Cultivators. We can use it to buy so more ti for Senior Brother Bai’s breakthrough}”
“{How long can we buy?}” Jun iling asked hastily, her voice tinged with urgency.
“{Looking at the state of the Artefacts, about an hour, I think}” Gu Ran replied.
““{We’ll use it!}”” All three of them instantly answered. It wasn’t enough, but it did give them a bit more hope. The sacrifice of Artefacts to temporarily boost the Formation's power offered a slim chance, but it was a chance nonetheless.
Gu Ran nodded and directly communicated the thod to Xiao Hong, who directly chucked it into the system.
‘15 minutes to beginner under 333x Amplification.’ Good enough for now.
The relentless assault from Fang Jin continued as the Formation struggled to hold on against the tidal waves of destructive power as the disciples inside felt their hearts in their throats. The shockwaves produced from collisions had long obliterated the nearby trees into dust.
15 minutes passed quickly.
‘Now!’ Xiao Hong quickly made several hand seals in quick succession before slamming her hand on the ground above the Main Node.
The two Artefacts comprising the Main Node showed signs of wear. Tiny cracks webbing across their initially sleek and shiny surface. Their once-vibrant glow had dimd, flickering like a candle struggling against the wind.
In a sudden burst of brilliance, the Artefacts emitted a radiant glow, and the minuscule cracks started to repair themselves faster and faster. In a few monts, the cracks had disappeared entirely!
Yet, Xiao Hong could feel there was sothing off about it. Like there was sothing that was slowly being drained from it. Xiao Hong sighed inwardly, her heart a little heavy, ‘One of those two was given by Sister Ying…’
But what could she do? She had to keep herself and her Sectmates alive. So, she sighed inwardly and made several hand seals before pushing her Zhenqi into the Control Token.
Woom!
The Formation lit up brightly, causing Fang Jin who was poised for another assault to freeze in confusion. “Huh?”
He turned to Xiao Hong who once again sported a mischievous smirk. Sensing his gaze, she turned to him and stuck her tongue out. “Hehe, thank you for your help once again, Senior Fang!”
She knew that the detestable bastard nad Xue would see through it imdiately, but that did not stop her from mocking Fang Jin. At least, it relieved so of the pressure on her heart when she saw his face that was so red, it was visible through his aura! Satisfaction blossod as she observed his temples throb.
That happiness blood even more as Xue shook his head and communicated with Fang Jin, whose face turned redder still! He had actually been fooled by this damned Junior!
anwhile, Gu Ran who was Xiao Hong’s antics felt his lips twitch involuntarily. He quietly added a ‘Death Seeker’ tag to her file.
Boom! The Formation barrier started to shake more heavily than before as Fang Jin’s attacks beca stronger still.
***
In a blink of an eye, almost two hours had passed and the Formation Barrier, battered by the relentless onslaught of Fang Jin, reached the point of inevitable collapse. It fluctuated violently with every attack Fang Jin unleashed upon it!
Xiao Hong realised that she had underestimated the enemy by quite a bit, ‘I had calculated the case where the True Demon would attack relentlessly without any break.
‘But despite Fang Jin taking quite a few long breaks, the Formation lasted much less than what I speculated…’
She tried to suppress the fear that was rising in her heart. Wiping her clammy hands on her robes she stared at the gigantic palm descending upon the Formation Barrier that was so dim now that it might as well be non-existent.
The mont she saw the attack, she knew that the Formation had reached its limit.
With a loud crash and a powerful gust of wind that swept the area, the Formation finally gave in!
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