Final Battle - 11
Ji Wang, however, showed no sign of panic.
He didn't even look up immediately to see the source of the incident. Instead, he pulled Bu Jiu into his arms, tightening his grip to form a protective embrace: "I'm here... don't be afraid."
Bu Jiu's eyes, which were somewhat unfocused due to exhaustion, instinctively grabbed Ji Wang's front.
He wanted to say "Run!" and "This formation is too powerful, you should run to preserve your strength!" but his throat was so dry that he couldn't utter a complete syllable; he could only squeeze out rapid breaths from between his teeth.
Just then, the dark purple array of light beneath everyone's feet suddenly stopped without warning.
For the first time ever, Yue Yuan uttered a single, questioning sound: "...Hmm?"
A jarring noise was now emanating from the outer perimeter of the array surrounding the Bu Nian Temple.
The sound did not come from structural damage within the formation, but from a wider external space, as if some force was forcibly interfering with his meticulously woven network from all directions.
Yueyuan's brows furrowed slightly, and Qianji realized the situation had changed and landed beside Yueyuan.
Ji Wang knelt on one knee beside Bu Jiu, gripping the Reverse Scale Shuttle tightly in one hand and wrapping his other arm firmly around Bu Jiu's shoulder.
He raised his head and smiled smugly at Yue Yuan: "You know to call your henchmen to set you up, do you think I don't know to call in people? Do you really think I wasted my life three hundred years ago?"
Then, as if to prove his words, countless rays of light and sword energy of different colors, yet equally sharp, shot into the sky from the hidden places around Bu Nian Temple.
It instantly tore through the night and also broke through part of the Leap Abyss Formation's blockade of the outer perimeter.
A group of people surged into the courtyard like a tide, numbering nearly a hundred at a glance. Their auras were solid, clearly indicating that they were all elite disciples from various sects and factions.
Looking at their attire, besides their original allies, there were several other renowned righteous sects.
They didn't rush in blindly, but rather with great method.
A group of people quickly formed a formation, using the formation to break the formation, and began to forcibly neutralize the power of the Leap Abyss Formation from the outside.
Another group rushed to the battlefield, their swords flashing and spells crisscrossing, working with Huaiqing to bring back the minds of the controlled disciples.
"Xun Jing!" A figure burst out from the crowd with astonishing speed, ignoring the remaining chaos around him, and rushed straight towards Xun Jing, who was already losing consciousness.
With a face full of anxiety and heartache, the woman stretched out her arms and tightly embraced Xun Jing, who was covered in blood and barely breathing.
She lowered her head, pressing her cheek against Xun Jing's cool, sweaty forehead: "Xun Jing, it's alright. Master is here."
As she spoke, a gentle spiritual energy flowed into him like a warm current, stabilizing his heart meridian, which was on the verge of collapse.
At the same time, she raised her head, and her gaze sweeping across the battlefield instantly sharpened, pointing directly at Yueyuan, whose face had turned completely somber on the eaves.
You Hang was quickly protected by two fellow disciples and given medicine. Sui An was picked up by Liu Yang, who had rushed over after receiving the news, and his injuries were examined.
Several young disciples dressed in the same clothes and looking excited surrounded Gui Tiao, calling him "Junior Uncle" and "Brother Tiao".
As Ji Wang watched the endless stream of reinforcements pouring in from all sides, his heart, which had been taut to the extreme, finally relaxed a little.
Then, feeling Bu Jiu's breathing gradually calm down in his arms, he took out the pill that Huai Qing had given him in advance and coaxed Bu Jiu to take it.
He made the right bet.
Before leaving the far north, he sent urgent requests for help to all the sects he could possibly trust, through Gui Tiao and Ming Qi, at the fastest speed and in the most secretive channels.
He gambled that these sects were not unaware of the threat posed by Yueyuan, that they would not stand idly by and watch the destruction of the Danian Temple and the fall of the Dao Source into enemy hands, and that they would be willing to join forces at this moment.
"Yueyuan." Ji Wang shielded Bujiu at his side. "Your formations, your schemes, your grand ambitions... today, it seems they will come to an end."
The battlefield is just like the Wuwang Plain three hundred years ago.
Blood splattered into the sky, spiritual energy surged wildly, and broken runes littered the ruins.
The dark purple array of light, like the pulse of a dying beast, continuously emitted a devouring aura amidst its unstable flickering.
Bu Jiu was panting, each breath straining his nearly depleted demonic power and shattered meridians. Fortunately, the pills suppressed his energy, giving him the strength to fight.
He barely managed to raise his hand to touch the Reverse Scale Shuttle in Ji Wang's hand. The shuttle hummed weakly for a moment, then fell completely silent. Clearly, the attack that had severely injured Yue Yuan had exhausted all its power, and it had now become a dead object.
“The Reverse Scale Shuttle…” Bu Jiu’s voice was hoarse, “It’s unusable.”
Ji Wang simply hugged him tighter: "It's okay, I'm here for you."
The moment the words left his mouth, Ji Wang's aura suddenly changed.
A more restrained yet vast and powerful aura of innate Dao source slowly emanated from his body.
"Fellow Daoists!" Ji Wang spoke loudly, "Please lend us a hand to stabilize this world and prevent external formations from eroding it!"
"Yes, sir!" "Don't worry, Sect Leader Ji!"
The elites from various sects who arrived quickly adjusted their formations.
Dozens of disciples skilled in formations immediately joined forces, and streams of pure spiritual energy rose from their hands, intertwining in the air and quickly constructing a defensive barrier covering a small part of the Bu Nian Temple.
The barrier was covered with unique runes from various factions, which firmly blocked the remaining purple-black array light and the sporadic attacks that came rushing in.
Upon seeing this, Bu Jiu took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the surging bloody smell in his chest.
He gently broke free from Ji Wang's embrace, and the moment he regained his footing, sparks quietly appeared from his fingertips, then silently spread and condensed into several flames, swirling and gathering power between his fingers.
Ji Wang stood beside him. The long sword in his hand still pointed diagonally at the ground, its blade trembling slightly and emitting a soft hum.
The innate Dao source around him was becoming increasingly intense at a visible speed, like a rising sun that was temporarily obscured by thick clouds, struggling to break free of its restraints, carrying a magnificent righteous energy that purifies all things.
"Senior brother, it's time to settle this score from three hundred years ago..." He slowly raised his sword, the tip pointing at Yue Yuan's brow, "...it's time to settle this properly."
The moment Ji Wang uttered the words "Senior Brother," a small ripple appeared in Yue Yuan's eyes.
A complex emotion flickered across that face that seemed unshakable by anything—as if a distant memory had been forcibly stirred up, or as if the address had reopened a long-healed old wound.
"Ji Wang..." Yue Yuan's voice lost its composure for the first time, tinged with a hint of bitterness, but he immediately suppressed it and said stiffly, "With your current crippled Dao Source, do you think you're worthy to settle scores with me?"
He instructed the person beside him, "Qianji—go and meet those prestigious sects first."
As soon as he finished speaking, dense and frenzied roars and crawling sounds of beasts rang out again around the hall.
This time, however, the newly emerged monsters did not rush towards Ji Wang and Bu Jiu, who were nearby. Instead, they all turned towards the reinforcements who were struggling to wipe out the remaining enemies and try to stabilize the defense line.
Qianji, who had been clinging to him like a ghost, accepted the order. His blurry figure swayed slightly and instantly merged into the surrounding shadows.
"Protect yourselves! Form a defensive formation!" Huaiqing noticed immediately and, along with Mi Quan and the others, quickly led the disciples to a defensive stance, engaging in combat with the formations and demonic beasts controlled by Qianji.
Ji Wang and Bu Jiu exchanged a glance, and without a word, they understood what the other was thinking.
Bu Jiu lightly touched the ground with his toes, his body not lunging forward, but instead drifting back several feet, creating a better distance between himself and Yue Yuan. The flames no longer condensed at his fingertips, but spread outwards.
But the flames did not burn randomly. Under his control, they transformed into intricately interwoven chains that coiled and shrunk from mid-air, from cracks in the ground, and even against the light of the array, toward the leaping abyss on the roof!
The instant Bu Jiu began to act, Ji Wang pushed the power of Dao Source to its limit and charged fiercely toward the leaping abyss on the roof!
"Well done." Facing the flames enveloping Bu Jiu and the swift sword thrust by Ji Wang, Yue Yuan neither dodged nor evaded.
His left hand remained pressed down, maintaining control over the remaining formation below, while a small, constantly rotating dark vortex appeared in the palm of his right hand.
"Buzz—!"
The flames of Bujiu were constantly being swallowed and dissolved by the darkness, but new flames kept replenishing them, tightly binding the vortex and significantly slowing its rotation.
In that brief moment, Ji Wang's sword arrived.
He thrust his sword forward, the tip of the sword piercing fiercely into the center of the dark vortex that was temporarily blocked by the flames!
"Screech—!" A piercing tearing sound rang out! The dark vortex trembled violently, and unstable signs of collapse began to appear at its edges.
Yue Yuan's expression darkened slightly, and he suddenly pushed his right palm forward! More power surged out and poured into the vortex, attempting to stabilize it.
But would Ji Wang give him that chance?
With a flick of his wrist, his swordplay suddenly changed, the sword light like a waterfall, each strike specifically targeting the flow points around Yue Yuan's body, as well as the weak points near his unhealed wounds.
The offensive relentlessly pursued Yueyuan, giving him no chance to catch his breath or fully activate the formation.
Meanwhile, Bu Jiu perfectly coordinated with Ji Wang's close-range attacks from a distance. Whenever Yue Yuan tried to mobilize a larger array of power or gather a powerful counterattack, a tricky flame would always strike in time, interrupting his rhythm and forcing him to focus on defense.
The formation became increasingly sluggish, like a rusty giant wheel struggling to turn, emitting a harsh creaking sound.
Interference from external reinforcements and repeated damage to the internal core have caused more and more cracks to appear in the cage that Yueyuan has carefully constructed.
However, even a cornered beast will fight, let alone one leaping from an abyss.
He clicked his tongue, and the dark purple array of light surged back like rivers flowing into the sea, converging towards where he stood.
Ji Wang hurriedly retreated, and in the blink of an eye, he was protecting Bu Jiu's side.
Yue Yuan himself was no longer standing on the eaves. As his domain condensed, he took a step forward, as if shattering an invisible staircase, and slowly descended from mid-air, finally stepping onto the scorched and broken ground below. Wherever his soles touched, the already cracked bricks and stones silently turned into finer dust.
The formation moved with him, temporarily isolating him from the outside world and bringing the most deadly threat directly to Ji Wang and Bu Jiu, who were only a dozen steps away from them.
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