Zhang Tian took out his peach wood sword, knowing it might not work against weasels.
"Damn, boss, there are too many!" Fatty exclaimed, a hint of worry on his face.
Zhang Tian's gaze shifted to the white-haired old man slowly emerging from the ground, his eyes narrowing. This creature exuded an immense pressure, its cultivation likely far beyond his own level.
"Insignificant ants, how dare you offend immortal might!" the old man declared as he floated into the air, legs crossed, a whisk in hand, exuding an air of ethereal grace. Following his appearance, hundreds of weasels, and over thirty weasels clad in human skin, prostrated themselves on the ground, creating a spectacular scene. A chill wind swept through the surroundings, the sky darkened, and even the trees bent in the gale. The corpse that had been hanging from a branch had long since been blown away and was nowhere to be seen.
Zhang Tian cursed his misfortune at the sight.
"Lao Hu, Er Di, Jie Gongzi, our strengths are too mismatched to fight this. You guys stall for time while I set up a formation," Zhang Tian said. He felt that only Xiaoge might be able to exchange a few blows with such oppressive power, and even then, likely only a few.
Seeing the opponent's aura, everyone understood that a direct confrontation was impossible. Retreat was the only option.
"Alright, we'll assist you as best we can," Hu Bayi agreed earnestly. Though not a skilled fighter, he could handle the less sophisticated weasels. Some of the weasels here had become spirits, while others had not. The strongest, however, was undoubtedly the old man floating in the sky.
"Qilin, lend me a drop of your blood." Zhang Tian spoke again. He had no Qilin blood himself and his formation techniques were not yet perfected, so he had to rely on Zhang Qilin. Without hesitation, Zhang Qilin offered a drop of his blood. Zhang Tian then retreated rapidly behind the group.
"Heaven's wrath, unforgiving! Sons and grandsons of Huang, skin them and butcher them!" The Huang Daxian in the sky emitted a voice, and below, a horde of weasels surged forward. Having his incense offerings severed, how could he let these people go easily?
The weather began to change, and faint snowflakes started to drift from the sky. Countless weasels and those wearing human skin charged towards them. They moved with incredible speed, radiating an overwhelming sense of urgency.
"Boss, hurry up, Fatty might not hold out!" Fatty shouted from the front, the first to charge.
"Xiao Zhang Ye, it's all up to you now," Jie Yuchen said, also moving forward with a swift, graceful agility. They were too close to the weasels to escape, and attempting to scatter would be too dangerous given the chaotic magnetic field and poor sense of direction here. Thus, they had to stick together.
Zhang Qilin drew his Black Gold Ancient Saber, his figure a blur of black, like a swift gust of wind, heading directly for the Huang Daxian in the sky. He clearly found the latter's show of divine power intolerable and wished to test his mettle. Wind and clouds churned, and snow on the ground was whipped up several feet high.
"Crack!" Fatty swung his broken sword at a human-skinned weasel, producing a crunching sound.
"What the hell is this, such an ugly sound!" Fatty felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, his mind becoming disoriented.
"Fatty, don't look into their eyes, it causes hallucinations!" Hu Bayi shoved the weasel in front of Fatty aside. Fatty felt a bit better.
"Got it, Lao Hu," Fatty replied, then swiftly decapitated a weasel with his saber.
Jie Yuchen weaved through the horde of hundreds of weasels, his movements fluid and his light attacks imbued with fierce killing intent. He managed to dispatch quite a few weasels. Gradually, he began to feel the strain. "Too many." He felt his heart sink as he looked at the surrounding weasels closing in. No matter how fast he was, being surrounded would leave him unable to move, and he couldn't fly.
"Creak." The weasels emitted a creaking sound, and those surrounding Jie Yuchen were all wearing human skin.
"Look, do we look like humans?" From the face of the human skin, a sinister smile slowly emerged. Ten human-skinned weasels surrounded Jie Yuchen, each displaying a grinning face and emitting sounds. Jie Yuchen felt his vision blur and his head swim. The weasels' eyes not only had a hallucinatory effect but could also emit a gas to disorient their enemies. Jie Yuchen's body swayed, and whispers echoed in his ears: "Do we look like humans?"
...
The Black Gold Ancient Saber flashed, and Xiaoge's blade descended towards the floating Huang Daxian. However, just as the saber was about to strike, the Huang Daxian vanished instantly from its spot. In the next moment, dark lightning flickered in the sky. A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down, forcing Zhang Qilin to retreat several steps. Where he had stood, a large crater had appeared. Witnessing this, not only Zhang Qilin but also Fatty and the others were stunned. It was fortunate for him that he had retreated quickly, otherwise, being struck by that bolt would have significantly diminished his combat ability.
"Holy crap, can this thing fart lightning?" Fatty quipped.
"How dare you offend divine might?" A voice boomed from not far away. The next moment, the Huang Daxian waved his whisk, and another bolt of heavenly lightning hurtled towards Zhang Qilin. Zhang Qilin retreated frantically. He was a close-combat fighter, while the opponent was a spellcaster. How could he fight a ranged attacker? Furthermore, Zhang Qilin realized something was wrong; his saber seemed unable to hit the creature unless he used Qilin blood. However, this creature was fast, and the surrounding small weasels interfered, making it difficult to drip Qilin blood to expel evil. Any carelessness could result in him being struck by heavenly lightning and injured. Zhang Qilin wielded his Black Gold Ancient Saber, dodging the heavenly lightning bolts and felling the surrounding small weasels. He knew that a head-on confrontation would not yield a good result and was unnecessary.
The group was locked in a fierce battle, and Zhang Tian's gaze swept over Zhang Qilin's situation. "The weasels are too numerous, and one person will be strained, especially since that thing's strength is also considerable," Zhang Tian murmured, shaking his head slightly. Zhang Qilin was undoubtedly strong, but in this situation, a breakthrough was difficult to achieve.
"I can only draw the Qilin formation," Zhang Tian muttered, looking at his hand. He knew his time was limited, perhaps only one to two minutes. "The talisman stones are at home, so I'll have to use another method." Thinking this, Zhang Tian sliced his hand with his saber, drawing blood.
"With blood, as the formation, to merge and blend." Zhang Tian chanted, a slight pain in his palm, but he couldn't afford to care. Blood dripped down like beads from a broken string. Relying on memory, Zhang Tian began to draw the Qilin formation. Drawing formations with blood was extremely draining for cultivators.
As Zhang Tian drew the formation, Jie Yuchen's situation had become dire. Over a dozen weasels wearing human skin were relentlessly emitting sounds at him, their proximity to Jie Yuchen increasing. Several times, Jie Yuchen had almost cried out, "Are you humans?" but his willpower held him back, sweat beading on his forehead. Jie Yuchen was not adept at dealing with illusions and lacked regional knowledge, so falling into a disadvantage so quickly was understandable.
"Fatty, Jie Gongzi is in danger, go save him. I'll handle things here," Hu Bayi shouted to Wang Fatty. Fatty's small eyes darted.
"Wang Fei, save me!" he yelled, throwing aside the weasel he was fighting and charging towards Jie Yuchen. The next moment, a large, pale red shadow appeared on Fatty's body. Wang Fei's hair and face began to rot almost instantly, revealing a terrifying visage. Her hair lashed out wildly, reducing countless weasels to dust.
"Don't let the heavenly lightning hit, or my hard-earned cultivation will be scattered to the wind," Wang Fei's sinister voice whispered in Fatty's ear. The reason she hadn't emerged earlier was her fear of the Huang Daxian's heavenly lightning. While its power might not be significant against humans, it could be amplified tenfold against ghosts, as lightning inherently countered spirits.
Fatty's heart leaped with joy, and he nodded quickly, thinking, "My beloved Fei Fei still cares about me." Ah, Fatty's youth had returned. Protected by Wang Fei, Fatty now fearlessly charged into the area where Jie Yuchen was surrounded, like a valiant general, unafraid of risk.
(It's not that Xiaoge isn't strong, it's just that the numbers are too overwhelming, and the strength of that Huang Daxian is still unknown.)