Li Shiming had no idea what had happened on Qixing Island. As he fell, all thirty-six formation flags had been thrown out.
When his feet touched the ground, he was already in the center of a formation.
He flicked his fingers, and six medium-grade spirit stones were sent into the nodes of the formation.
There is no spiritual vein here, and the formation that will be used in battle cannot be supported by the spiritual energy in the void.
As six mid-grade spirit stones were sent into the formation, the thirty-six formation flags disappeared in a flash, and a large formation appeared beside him.
This is the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation', a formation with amazing defensive power.
The monks on both sides who recognized this formation were all stunned. This was not an array plate, but a real array. To set up the array with array flags, one needed to calculate the environmental variables oneself.
The complex spiritual environment created by the two Jindan monks is not something that the Starlight Sea can calculate in a short time, and without the data, it is impossible to set up the formation.
Even a high-level formation master could not set up the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' as quickly as Li Shiming in this environment.
After the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' was raised, Li Shiming felt much more at ease, at least it put him in an invincible position.
When he heard that formations could be used in this operation, he prepared a suitable formation for the battle.
Since he had no shortage of spirit stones, he made a lot of formation flags. When needed, these flags could be combined at will, allowing him to set up most of the formations.
Of course, these formation flags are all made of first-grade formation materials and have limitations in their effects.
However, the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' arranged by thirty-six formation flags is definitely not something that a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage can break, unless the opponent uses talismans.
"Brother He, why don't you come into the formation!" After Li Shiming arranged the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation', he invited He Chuan.
"Junior Brother Li has invited me, so I will obey!" He Chuan was not going to be polite. He knew the risks of this battle, and he flashed into the formation.
Li Shiming looked at Shang Haoquan again. Although he didn't say anything, the invitation in his eyes was very obvious.
"Thank you!" Shang Haoquan also did not hesitate at all. This 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' was extraordinary at first glance, and he also entered the formation.
In a short time, the battle began.
The battles between monks do not pay as much attention to battle formations as the army does, mainly because the monks move too fast and each monk's movement speed is different, so the battle formation will instead have an impact on some monks who are good at flexible combat.
So at the beginning of the battle, the Qi-refining monks started fighting each other.
Three Qi-refining monks rushed towards Li Shiming. It was obvious that the Qi-refining monks of Beishu had also allocated their combat targets in a planned manner.
Even with the formation, it did not affect the momentum of the three Qi-refining monks.
"Junior Brother Li, the fighting power of these cultivators is a little too strong!" He Chuan frowned slightly and said softly.
Being protected by the formation, he had time to observe the battles of other monks.
Almost as soon as they came into contact, the Qi-refining cultivators from the Seven Sects were suppressed and beaten.
The Northern Shu Qi-refining monks did not use any special means, but simply suppressed with their stronger strength. In terms of the control of magical instruments and the application of spiritual power, the Northern Shu Qi-refining monks were more powerful.
Not only He Chuan saw it, but the Jindan elders of Qixing Island also saw it.
“After all, he is a cultivator from Northern Shu, and his foundation is much stronger than ours!” Elder Zhuo of the Demon Spirit Sect shook his head and sighed.
"Bei Shu is so big and has such a large population, not to mention its resource output. It's normal for it to be stronger than our seven sects. I just didn't expect that their Qi Refining monks could suppress the Qi Refining monks we carefully trained!" Elder Gong said with a wry smile.
Although the land occupied by the seven sects is called the continent by the seven sects, in fact this is just what the seven sects themselves say.
In the perception of other places, the land occupied by the seven sects is called Tianhai Island. Yes, it is just a bigger island.
Therefore, except for the top leaders of the Seven Sects, no one would mention the name Tianhai Island either in books or on maps.
This may seem a bit arrogant, but it is also a helpless move. Tianhai Island is separated from the mainland by a dangerous ocean and there is almost no connection between them.
Even if you know about the outside world, it is impossible to leave Tianhai Island.
Even though the cultivators from Northern Shu came to Tianhai Island, if Northern Shu was not unable to survive, who would risk leaving the rich land and come to such a poor place as Tianhai Island?
Moreover, the price paid by the Northern Shu cultivators was not small. Just in the process of exploring the way, they lost a Jindan sword cultivator, who was also the strongest among their Jindan cultivators.
Along the way, although Yun Xingyi explored the way and pointed out a relatively safe path, there were still considerable losses.
"Fellow Daoist Yin, it is better to let all the Qi-refining cultivators enter the formation and unite. Otherwise, we will be no match for the Qi-refining cultivators of Northern Shu!" Elder Gong said to Elder Yin.
"Senior Brother Yin, the overall situation is more important. Besides, if other Qi-refining cultivators die, Li Shiming's formation will be difficult to resist!" Elder Sheng also reminded softly.
Elder Yin was silent for a moment and nodded.
Li Shiming deployed the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' and easily blocked the three attacking Northern Shu Qi-refining monks outside.
"Two senior brothers, this formation can be used for external attacks. You can use spells or magic weapons as you like!" He said to the two senior brothers who seemed to be watching the show.
"Is it so cool?" He Chuan's eyes lit up, and a small hammer appeared beside him and flew out.
After the small hammer flew out of the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation', it turned into an illusory giant hammer and smashed down heavily on a Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator.
The Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator dodged hurriedly. If He Chuan was nearby, he would have many ways to deal with He Chuan, but He Chuan was in a formation, making it difficult for him to counterattack.
And this small hammer is a top-grade magical weapon of excellent quality, which focuses on power. Every strike has the explosive power of a peak cultivator.
Shang Haoquan also used his own magic weapon, which was a long whip. It was extremely rare to see cultivators holding long whips, but the long whip in his hand was like a spirit snake, entangled the other two Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivators.
"Shiming, let the monks from all sects enter the formation to fight the enemy together!" Elder Yin's low voice came to Li Shiming's ears.
Li Shiming took a look at the battle situation. Some of the Qi-refining cultivators from the seven sects had fallen into a disadvantage in such a short period of time, and the rest were also fighting hard. None of the Qi-refining cultivators from the seven sects had the upper hand.
"Fellow brothers, enter the formation and let's fight the enemy together!" Li Shiming also understood the power of the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivators and said loudly.
At the same time, a sword light flew out from his hand, blocking the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator who was fighting with a young monk from the Wanfo Sect, giving the monk from the Wanfo Sect a chance to escape.
The monk from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Sect had a chance to escape from the battle. He shouted loudly, and the copper bowl in his hand flew out and hit the nearest battlefield.
Although the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivators are very powerful, they still cannot face two top cultivators of the same realm at the same time.
The Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator retreated, avoiding the heavy blow from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect monk.
The battlefield instantly came to life. These monks from the seven sects were experienced in combat, and none of them chose to enter the formation immediately. Instead, they helped each other, giving all the monks from the seven sects a short period of respite.
While resisting the attacks of the Northern Shu Qi-refining monks, they retreated into the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation'.
The only one who had an idea was the Qi-refining cultivator from the Holy Ice Sect. He was well aware of the conflict between Li Shiming and the Holy Ice Sect, and he also knew that Li Shiming was participating in this competition in Du Bingyan's place because he had killed Du Bingyan.
The consequence of hesitating during a battle is losing the opportunity to enter the battle.
The Northern Shu Qi-refining monks were caught off guard by the sudden action of the monks from the seven sects. After they reacted, they released all their anger on the only monk from the Holy Ice Sect who had not entered the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation'.
The ice armor and top-grade defensive magic weapons on the body of the Holy Ice Sect monk were unable to withstand even a breath of attack before they were broken by the joint attack of several Northern Shu Qi Refining monks. His body was pierced and he died on the spot.
The magic weapon and storage bag on the body of the Holy Ice Sect monk were taken away by a Northern Shu Qi-refining monk, who proudly held them in his hands and waved them in a provocative manner.
The Jindan elder of the Holy Ice Sect, who was watching the battle, had a gloomy face. He was heartbroken that a talented cultivator had died, but also angry at the cultivator's hesitation.
Although the seven sects were missing a Qi-refining cultivator on the battlefield, the situation began to turn in their favor.
The cultivators from the seven sects in the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' can attack the Qi-refining cultivators from Beishu outside the formation at will.
However, the attack of the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator was blocked by the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation'. At least when the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' was not broken, the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivator could not attack the cultivators of the Seven Sects.
"Break!" A Qi-refining cultivator from Northern Shu took out a talisman and threw it towards the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation'.
Li Shiming sensed the specialness of the talisman, and the sword light under his control tried to intercept the talisman.
But this talisman could not be intercepted at all, because it turned into a stream of extremely fast energy the moment it flew out.
The talisman hit the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation', and the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' shook.
"Junior Brother Li, it's the formation-breaking talisman!" He Chuan reminded at this time.
Li Shiming has already sensed that the 'Array Breaking Talisman' is constantly destroying the spiritual power lines of the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Array', intending to cause errors in the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Array', thereby paralyzing the array.
To be honest, if Li Shiming hadn't been in the formation, this 'Formation Breaking Talisman' might actually be able to break the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation'.
The 'Breaking talisman' is said to be magical, but in fact it is equivalent to a method for the array master to replicate part of the power of his own array starlight sea and seal it into a spiritual object.
The materials used are much more precious than those of normal talismans. In addition, making a "Formation-Breaking Talisman" is also a kind of damage to the formation master, and it takes a long time to recover. Therefore, the more powerful the "Formation-Breaking Talisman", the rarer it is.
Of course, those who went into battle this time were all elite cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage, so it was normal for them to have powerful "Formation Breaking Talismans" in their hands.
Li Shiming estimated that the person who made this "Array Breaking Talisman" should be a top-notch senior array master.
His spiritual thoughts quickly swept through the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation', constantly harmonizing the spiritual power in the formation, and the impact caused by the 'Formation-Breaking Talisman' was quickly soothed.
The 'Breaking Array Talisman' lasted for five seconds, but it was unable to break the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Array', and all the energy inside it was consumed.
Seeing that the "Breaking Formation Talisman" was useless, the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivators all changed color.
We can't let the monks from the seven sects use the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' to turn the battle into a war of attrition.
The monks from the seven sects in the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' can practice cross-leggedly and even sleep. When it comes to a war of attrition, the Qi-refining monks from Northern Shu will suffer.
More importantly, the monks from the seven sects in the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation' can easily carry out a concentrated fire attack, with multiple monks from the seven sects launching an attack on a Northern Shu Qi-refining monk at the same time.
This made the Northern Shu Qi-refining cultivators somewhat flustered, and they could only retreat far away from the 100-meter range of the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Diagrams Formation'.
"Thank you, Junior Brother Li!" The battle was paused at this time, and the monks from the seven sects had the opportunity to express their gratitude to Li Shiming.
In this kind of large-scale Qi Refining Stage battle, the benefits of a solid formation are obvious.
After expressing their gratitude, the cultivators from the seven sects began to discuss how to deal with the Qi-refining cultivators from Northern Shu.
"The individual strength of the cultivators in Northern Shu is very strong. In a one-on-one fight, I can only hold out for an incense stick before I am defeated!" said the monk from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect in a serious tone.
He told the truth without any intention of concealing it.
"The formation can only protect us from attacks, but it can't help us win!" He Chuan frowned slightly.
"Don't hide what tricks you have. This battle will decide life and death!" another Qi-refining cultivator continued.
Li Shiming was observing two cultivators from the Xuanming Sect at this time. They both carried bronze corpses, and they were top-level bronze corpses.
In the duel with the Qi-refining cultivators from Northern Shu, the two cultivators from the Xuanming Sect were probably the ones who could last the longest.
They were outnumbered two to one and had a certain numerical advantage.
The two Xuanming Sect monks saw Li Shiming's eyes and thought that Li Shiming was reminding them.
"We can let the bronze corpse self-destruct. The power will be about the same as a blow from the middle stage of foundation building. However, we will also suffer a considerable backlash after the self-destruction, and our combat power can only be retained at most about 50%!" The cultivator of Xuanming Sect did not hide anything and frankly stated his trump card.
If the two bronze corpses exploded at the same time, it would almost certainly kill several Qi-refining monks on the other side.
"But after winning the battle, we need to obtain a relatively complete corpse of the opponent!" another Xuanming Sect cultivator said bluntly.
Everyone can understand this point. The bronze corpse of Xuanming Sect is an important combat force of the Xuanming Sect's monks, and its raw material, the corpse, is too difficult to obtain.
Just the fact that he had natural spiritual roots was almost enough to compete with other sects for top-notch immortal cultivators.
Li Shiming was stunned. He didn't expect that his unintentional observation would lead to misunderstanding by the cultivators of Xuanming Sect.
He underestimated his own influence. At this moment on the battlefield, the 'Inverted Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Formation' was equivalent to saving all the Qi-refining cultivators of the seven sects. At least at this time, the Qi-refining cultivators of the seven sects would listen to his advice.