Ling Yin stood up, a small carving knife appearing in her hand. Flames erupted around her, and she became like a coiled leopard, ready to spring.
She prepared to intercept Dada herself.
As Dada drew closer, the flames around Ling Yin suddenly surged. She stomped on the ground with her toes and shot towards Dada like an arrow loosed from a bow.
It was unclear what attribute or characteristics these flames possessed, but even from a distance, Dada could feel their terrifying explosive power.
He had a premonition that with the opponent's explosive strength, if he were truly impacted, his physical body would be shattered by the force of the direct strike. This was true even though he was of the God race and possessed a more formidable physique than the demon race.
Ling Yin held the small carving knife in her hand, her eyes wide, her arms extended in front of her. Her burst of power was immense, waiting for the instant she reached Dada to thrust out the carving knife.
Dada saw this, but he did not retreat. If he did, his innate divine ability, "Invincible Formation," would be broken.
The will of the formation was to fight to the death without retreat! It relied on sheer grit.
Dada increased his speed. He intended to engage Ling Yin in a head-on collision.
In the blink of an eye, the two collided with a thunderous impact.
BOOM!!!
After a deafening explosion, Dada’s form stopped, and behind him was Ling Yin.
A gaping, translucent hole appeared in the chest of Dada's hundred-zhang-tall, imposing physique.
Ling Yin had pierced directly through him.
A woman who dared to directly mock and defy Chai Yan could not possibly be weak. After all, Chai Yan's combat power ranked among the top hundred in the Tai Xu Realm of the Fire Hall of the Five Elements Hall.
Ling Yin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked up, her expression turning to shock.
There were no signs of the four youngsters before her.
It turned out that as she and Dada were about to collide, the four youngsters had broken free from Dada's protection, circled around, and headed straight for the formation-breaking artifact on the ground.
In terms of speed, Xia Yubing, who was most skilled in sneak attacks and bursts of power, was naturally the fastest.
Xia Yubing, employing some unknown secret technique, suddenly accelerated. Her form became a blur, and before the disciples of the Five Elements Hall could react, she raised her curved blade and lunged at the formation-breaking artifact.
As a technological creation of the immortal realm, the formation-breaking artifact was not inherently fragile. Moreover, it was protected by a shield. Simple blade energy attacks could not penetrate it, especially since Xia Yubing's specialty was close combat.
The disciples of the Five Elements Hall immediately surged towards Xia Yubing, but no matter how fast they were, they could not match Xia Yubing's movement technique.
Xia Yubing weaved and dodged, skillfully evading all attacks. In an instant, she reached the formation-breaking artifact and swung her blade to strike.
However, just as she was about to strike, the formation-breaking artifact suddenly emitted a series of beeps, and a green exclamation mark appeared on its screen.
The formation-breaking artifact had succeeded in breaking the formation.
The formation that enveloped the battlefield began to dissipate rapidly.
Xia Yubing's thoughts moved far faster than her actions. Upon seeing the formation-breaking artifact succeed, she immediately changed her intention from destroying it.
The formation had already been broken, and there was no point in destroying the artifact.
Thus, Xia Yubing changed her strike to a lift. The tip of her blade dug into the ground beneath the formation-breaking artifact, and with an upward flick, she sent the artifact flying. She then snatched the formation-breaking artifact from the air and stored it in her storage bag.
In the sky, the formation was rapidly disappearing, and the battlefield fell silent.
"Success! The formation-breaking artifact worked!" a disciple shouted, overjoyed.
"My formation-breaking artifact was stolen!" Ling Yin cried out from a distance.
"Don't worry. With the formation broken, these little thieves can no longer suppress us. Once we kill them, we can take back your formation-breaking artifact," Chai Yan said, a smile appearing on his usually stern face.
As the formation was destroyed, the black mist dissipated, and the intensity of the purple rain weakened.
Without the formation's amplification, it became difficult for Wan Lei and the others to weaken their opponents. Although they had killed many people, the enemy still numbered sixty to seventy, and their chances of victory remained slim.
It seemed like a great slaughter earlier, but that was due to the group debuff and the formation's attacks. The overwhelming onslaught had prevented the enemy from organizing their formations. Once their formations were disrupted, the enemy could only exert ten to twenty percent of their true strength.
But now, the enemy was no longer afraid.
Wan Lei and the others clearly understood this. They immediately retreated from the battlefield, regrouped, and created distance between themselves and the enemy.
The disciples of the Five Elements Hall reassembled.
"Wan Lei, what other tricks do you have now? Feel free to use them all," Chai Yan said, his cold smile gone, his expression grim, his eyes flashing with a chilling light. "You killed so many of my Five Elements Hall disciples. If I don't grind you to dust today, how will the Five Elements Hall maintain its dignity?"
Wan Lei glanced at him coldly, remaining silent, his mind racing to devise a plan to counter the enemy.
However, the enemy clearly would not give him much time. After Chai Yan's taunt, he immediately led the disciples of the Five Elements Hall in an attack.
Suddenly, from within a distant mountain, a powerful Immortal Realm aura erupted, drawing everyone's attention.
In the sky, dark clouds churned, and lightning surged as thunderclouds began to condense.
"What's going on? Is someone breaking through to the Immortal Realm here?" Chai Yan frowned, muttering to himself, then looked towards Wan Lei and the others. These individuals were all in the Tai Xu Realm; they weren't about to undergo their immortal tribulation.
"Why should we care? It's not our business if someone else is undergoing their tribulation. Let's kill these little thieves first!" Ling Yin's eyes blazed with killing intent as she lunged towards Xia Yubing, having witnessed the child steal her formation-breaking artifact.
"Retreat!" Seeing that the Fire Phoenix had successfully passed its tribulation, Wan Lei immediately led his companions in a tactical withdrawal, heading towards the location of the Fire Phoenix's tribulation. He intended to use the immortal tribulation to deal with the enemy.
As they flew, Wan Lei circulated the Heavenly Dao Lightning within his body, releasing it and guiding it into the thunderclouds. He couldn't control the immortal tribulation itself, but he could control lightning. This was not contradictory; he could indeed draw the lightning of the immortal tribulation onto himself, but with the Heavenly Dao Lightning, due to its inherent fusion with the Dao, it could enable him to control a portion of the immortal tribulation's lightning to deal with the enemy.
Seeing Wan Lei and the others attempting to flee, Chai Yan did not hesitate and led the disciples of the Five Elements Hall in pursuit. To avoid raising suspicion, Wan Lei and the others silently communicated and agreed to slow their pace, making the pursuers believe they were catching up.
Under the careful orchestration of Wan Lei and his group, by the time they reached the Fire Phoenix's tribulation site, their pursuers had caught up. The enemy surrounded them.
A chaotic battle immediately ensued. This time, Wan Lei and his companions were on the defensive, passively enduring the onslaught. They formed a circle, collectively resisting the enemy's attacks, able only to parry but lacking the power to retaliate.