"Tch, they noticed a bit soon, their conversation proved interesting...", Wu Long first clicked his tongue, and then releasing the hand seal that controlled the eavesdropping talisman, traced his chin with a smile appearing on his face, "...but one thing I did learn is already good enough haul... so the ones to cover up Lust Cultivators were the Corrupt Path..."
He asked Lian Zhiqiu to activate the formation as soon as Gui Jianyu noticed something. Even if the three he was spying on could not detect the anomaly, there was still already a shadow of doubt, so their conversation was unlikely to produce any further results.
"Sorry, Wu Long, it seems I was not able to set it up discreetly enough", Lian Zhiqiu, standing in the middle of a small array circle with a flagpole, said with a sigh as Wu Long smiled toward the beauty.
"Hahaha, what are you talking about? Your Spiritual Formation released absolutely no fluctuations. It was a malfunction of my illusion talismans masking your preparations." he lightly laughed, and then turned his gaze up to the Spiritual Formation, thinking that he should have used concealment talismans he was proficient with instead.
"Even if I asked Madam Liang for cooperation in creating those, the one manipulating the Illusion within them is still me. And my talent with illusions is... well not great", Wu Long added with a wry smile.
He then turned to Lian Zhiqiu, asking "Manageable?"
"Barely. We used the power of only a quarter of all Spiritual Lands and it's still too overwhelming to do anything more than the Aura Suppressing Field and the Prison Barrier", her voice sounded a little strained as she replied.
As they left array disks and set up Spiritual Formations in the Southern Archipelago on their way, as well as adding a few on this Continent, she was able to channel the power of the Supreme Grand Formation here as well.
"Hahaha, any less won't be able to suppress the Aura of Essence Gathering Realm cultivator, the two others would be fine with the output of 10 to 15 Spiritual Lands", he chuckled, as his eyes reflected the orange glow, adding "Besides, this time you don't have Mingyu's help after all"
It was the same day when Nie Xiwang abdicated the throne, and they arrived here not long before Gui Jianyu, witnessing him enter the mountain range while already concealed within illusion, setting up the Spiritual Formation.
In fact, it was on Gui Jianyu's long coat that Wu Long sneaked in the eavesdropping talisman through the Spiritual Formation of the Blood Demon Cult.
They moved so fast since Wu Long anticipated that the reaction is likely to be immediate, his prediction turning out to be spot on.
But the urgency also meant that they could not travel here all together, and thus, a smaller group that could travel fast was chosen out of those who wished to participate.
Bi Rui, Shen Min, Wu Mengqi, Hua Ziyan, Feng Yi and Nie Xiwang stood beside them in the middle of a smaller barrier that was set up to protect Lian Zhiqiu while the rest went inside.
Bi Rui and Shen Min were the first to volunteer, the former being left out of fighting in the last battle, and the latter because it was related to Lust Cultivators.
But even as Wu Long explained that this place was unlikely to have them, she still insisted on going to get battle experience.
Wu Mengqi, Hua Ziyan and Feng Yi also were enticed by real combat experience, the fiery red-haired fledgling Archery Cultivator especially eager to get more familiarity with her new weapon, as she got a taste of its power the last time.
At first Nie Xiwang was persuaded to stay in the capital, after all her speed was far slower than everyone, as she used the basic movement technique, her speed of movement only aided by her high cultivation.
However, since this was something related to her as well, she was determined to "see it through" with her own eyes.
Thus she learned and mastered a slightly inferior movement technique but one that will allow her to keep up if they used a Movement Formation, within half an hour, demonstrating her monstrous talent and comprehension.
Wu Long circled his ladies with a look that reminded them to be careful, a talisman on each of their backs that they did not know was present reflecting in his vision.
While he trusted that they were strong, he did not like to leave things to chance in this case.
In addition to this hidden measure, all of his ladies knowingly carried talismans he made at all times, some that they could use, some that had automatic protection. And he updated them as soon as he had the means to create stronger ones.
"You ready?", he then asked Lian Zhiqiu who nodded with "Anytime"
"Well then, let's start...", he chuckled, turning his gaze forward, and his hands made a series of hand seals as a small array circle appeared beneath his feet and talismans floated around him, his eyes glowing with orange light of Lian Zhiqiu's Spiritual Formation.
The pattern covering the skies glowed, and five array circles appeared beneath it, the first one on top about 20 meters in diameter, and the ones below it consecutively decreasing by 2-3 meters each.
A ray of light passed through the glowing patterns, becoming more condensed and intensifying as it passed each one, and then went straight down to the palace.
A buzzing sound resounded as the entire mountain the palace was on glowed with crimson patterns, a blood-colored barrier dome materializing from its transparent state to shield it.
The ray hit the barrier with an explosive sound, as bright light lit up the mountain range, the entire prairies shuddering from the collision and then a tremor continued to rock the surroundings as the ray of orange-yellow light continuously grinded the dome.
Under the shocked eyes of the Blood Demon Cult members on the palace grounds, and the three that stood on the edge of the pagoda tower's top floor looking up, cracks started forming in the barrier, spreading from the top to the sides with growing speed.
A high-pitched shattering sound reached their ears and the ray of light hit the main Array Circle of their Blood Formation within the lake of the palace, as shards of crimson barrier began their fall.
The glowing patterns on the rocky surface of the mountain immediately started shattering in batches, going from the smallest ones close to the top, to the larger ones at the foot of the mountain.
The furious roar of the Blood Demon resounded across the mountain range, but as its echoes still lingered in the air, the ray of light completely broke the Blood Formation and disappeared, thunderstorm clouds enveloping the sky in a matter of moments in a swirling motion, and a lightning strike fell right on the top of the pagoda tower the three stood on.
With an explosive sound, the tower was enveloped in a cloud of dust and flying pieces of debris as the whole palace shuddered.
"Khu-khu! Khu-khu!", Gui Jianyu was coughing, waving his hand in front of him as he did not react in time, while Linghun Mo and Gui Xiaolan were staring intently at the center of the completely demolished tower, standing within a blood-red film that shielded them.
A figure enveloped in thick arcs of lightning soon appeared within their view as the dust slowly cleared up.
The eyes of God of Slaughter opened up amid the smoke, piercing the three that froze feeling chills for the first time in millennia.
But as they just started to realize what happened, coming out of their initial shock, another explosive sound came from the foot of the mountain.