The Ten-Direction Shadowless Formation was a renowned third-tier formation of the Primordial Devil Sect, and it had two modes. In its dormant state, it could conceal all auras and even the ambient spirit energy between heaven and earth. Once activated, it transformed into a defensive formation capable of resisting external attacks. Even after it was broken, the formation retained some residual power, allowing the user to generate illusory projections and confuse an enemy's divine consciousness.

Such a formation was far beyond the reach of ordinary disciples of the devil sect. They could neither learn it nor obtain the required formation tools. Under normal circumstances, the sect only granted the Ten-Direction Shadowless Formation to outstanding True Inheritors of its three lineages. Only the Myriad Immortal Society cultivators knew how they had found this place. In any case, the remnant of the devil sect hiding within had to be formidable to possess such a formation.

Luo Chen stood to the south and appeared to be taking pills to recover his mana, but his attention stayed on the black shadows filling the sky. There were too many to count, somewhere in the thousands, and each one looked solid, like a real person. Yet only one of them was the actual man.

I broke the formation before it could reach full power. If it had been fully deployed, there would've been far more shadows, and finding the man would've been much harder. Still, with four Adepts here, there's no way he's getting away. For now, I'll hold back and watch. The more I can learn about him before we clash, the better.

This was Luo Chen's plan. It was nothing too complex—as the saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered in, so he had no desire to stand out right now. He had indeed made the first move, but that move had been aimed not at the target but at the formation. There wasn't any significant risk to him, and he had time to prepare fully and act at his own pace.

Now, however, the one to make the first move was bound to face a fierce retaliation, and it was up to Duan Li and Hao Ye to face the target head-on. The danger they faced was far greater than what Luo Chen had dealt with.

In all fairness, Luo Chen's little scheme was not particularly clever, but in the rush of the moment, neither of them noticed. Hao Ye even seemed pleased with how things had turned out. Perhaps this was the nature of rogue cultivators: They had plenty of combat experience, yet in some matters they were surprisingly short-sighted. They focused on conserving their own strength and letting others bear the cost, and they forgot that one must first invest in order to gain.

Luo Chen's gains soon proved that his early move had been the right choice.

Above the sea, the four Adepts each took a position and watched the shadows scatter everywhere. The Angler's side had the fewest, only a dozen or so. Luo Chen's side came next, with two hundred or so. Meanwhile, on Hao Ye and Duan Li's side, the shadows packed together so densely that they blotted out the sky.

This person is quite sharp. In just a moment, he sized up both me and the Angler and chose to avoid us. Instead, he's going after the other two.

As he pondered, Luo Chen also took action. Nine crimson chains burst out from his body. At a glance, they resembled nine massive tentacles. The tips of the chains were sharp, and they shot forward like spearheads, tearing through the air.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

It sounded like balloons bursting. The two hundred or so black shadows rushing toward him collapsed under the chains. Within just a breath, they vanished, leaving behind only wisps of black smoke that faded into the void. The Angler's eyelid twitched at the sight. He was watching Luo Chen from the east, quite attentively, but Luo Chen's attack left him rather confused. Luo Chen did not care and instead focused most of his attention on Duan Li and Hao Ye. How will you guys deal with these shadows and find the real one?

As if in response to Luo Chen's thoughts, Duan Li and Hao Ye acted at once. Duan Li threw out a three-chi-long white jade ruler, which flew into the sky and turned into countless illusory rulers. Explosions rang out, and the black shadows rushing toward Duan Li were scattered in just a few moments.

Although Hao Ye looked tense, his movements were swift as well. He sent out a flying sword, which turned into a streak of light and pierced into the densely packed shadows.

These shadows existed only to deceive and possessed little defensive capability. Facing Hao Ye's flying sword, they collapsed upon contact. However, there were simply too many of them. Hao Ye's mana was not pure enough, and his control over the flying sword was slightly lacking. Though he destroyed most of the shadows, a few still slipped past him and fled north.

"Fellow Daoist, stop them! The real one must be among them!" Duan Li shouted.

Hao Ye's expression tightened. He ignored the few remaining shadows in front of him and immediately drove his flying sword after the fleeing ones.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword pierced them one by one. Each shadow burst apart and dissolved into wisps of black smoke. The man was nowhere to be seen.

"Huhhh..."

"He's next to you! Watch out!!"

Hao Ye froze for a moment. Immediately, a sense of danger surged in his heart. Without hesitation, he slapped a talisman onto himself, and in the next instant...

BOOOMMMM!

A pale hand tore free from the shadows and struck his chest. The talisman flared with light and met the pale hand and held on for a moment before shattering. The surge of mana sent both sides flying apart! Hao Ye spat out a mouthful of blood as he barely steadied himself in mid-air. He wiped his mouth and said to Luo Chen, "Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist!"

The second warning had come from Luo Chen. Luo Chen did not bother with modesty or unnecessary words. He was now focused on the white-robed man who had appeared inside the triangle they formed. The scattered black smoke began to gather toward the man.

The man had sharp features, pale skin, and a slender build. Under the gaze of the three, he showed no fear. However, it was clear to Luo Chen that he was not as calm as he appeared. When he looked at the Angler, who was floating somewhere in the distance with his hands in his sleeves, wariness filled his eyes. "Blackgold Rod, Sound-Capturing Bell, Heavenly Broken Line... Liu Ziweng!"

The Angler's eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "I didn't expect a junior like you to recognize me. It's been many years since I last used that name. But since you know who I am, you're clearly not some reclusive hermit, and you're no spring chicken either. Go on, tell me your name. When you're dead, I'll find you a proper resting place and set up a tomb in your honor."

The white-robed man sneered. "I am Qin Tianming. I've crossed the four seas and survived more life-or-death trials than you can count. Even the Primordial Devil calamity couldn't take my life, so what makes you think you can?"

When he heard the name, the Angler's brows knitted at once. "You're that famous prodigy of the Blood Sea Lineage? No... that doesn't make sense. He reached the late stage of Golden Core in just two hundred years, and you're barely at the first."

Then, as he scrutinized Qin Tianming, his expression shifted slightly. "I see... the Primordial Devil calamity really didn't kill you, but it left you badly wounded. Your cultivation must have truly fallen, forcing you to lie low in the Winding Sea for the past century to recover."

Qin Tianming did not explain further. He simply looked at the three who had him surrounded. Their combined spirit pressure bore down upon him and pinned him down; every movement felt as though he were stuck in a swamp. "So what do you people intend to do?"

This time, it was Luo Chen who replied. "Enough talk! Fellow Daoists, attack!!!"

As he spoke, he pretended his mana had recovered and took out an enchanted treasure from his storage ring. Light flared and sparks flew; the Flowing Fire Hammer crashed forward with a thunderous strike. The other two followed at once. A flying sword and a jade ruler struck from either side.

Qin Tianming was enraged at the assault. He spread his hands wide, and his robe billowed without wind. Though suppressed by spirit pressure and unable to act, he still withstood the three attacks head-on. But it lasted only a moment. After that, his robe shattered like butterflies, flying away and revealing the brown inner armor beneath.

What a waste of an enchanted-treasure robe.... Luo Chen thought to himself. He focused more, then drew the Flowing Fire Hammer back to gather power and watched his opponent's move. From what the Angler said earlier, blood arts are what I need to watch for. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

As his focus tightened, he saw Qin Tianming flick something toward him. It shot forward at great speed and made no sound. Upon closer inspection, it was a green pearl. Luo Chen had no idea what it was, but he had no intention of letting it get too close. Without hesitation, he retreated and formed seals with both hands. The spell he was activating was his self-created defensive spell, the Sevenfold Skyblaze Ring. In the next instant, rings of green flame appeared in midair.

Seeing this, Qin Tianming sneered and pinched his finger.