In the darkness of night, seven or eight swaying figures approached, astonishingly, they were paper effigies used in funerals by mortals!
These paper effigies were all depicted as young boys and girls. The pigments adorning them were exceptionally vibrant, but what was most chilling were their eyes, which appeared incredibly lifelike.
It was as if what stood before them were not lifeless paper figures, but vibrant beings imbued with profound sentience!
"It's the Yin-Yang Sect's paper effigies!"
Wu Chengqing's eyes narrowed, and he immediately said in a deep voice, "Within the Great Yu Dynasty, five demonic sects lurk in the shadows. These paper effigies are the signature technique of the Yin-Yang Sect!"
This was a mandatory cultivation technique for all disciples of the Yin-Yang Sect. Legend had it that their sect leader possessed seven paper effigies comparable to Golden Core cultivators, whose combined offensive power could rival those at the peak of the Golden Core realm!
While the paper effigies appearing before them were not as terrifying as those wielded by the Yin-Yang Sect leader, they still possessed the aura of late-stage Enlightenment realm cultivators.
Furthermore, once they unleashed their combined attack, even cultivators in the early stage of the Spirit Sealing realm would find them a considerable headache.
Ji Yuan's heart grew solemn. He hadn't expected the first to make a move to be cultivators from the demonic path!
However, it made sense when he thought about it. Unless absolutely necessary, many sects, even if they didn't want to see the Nine Xuan Sect ascend, and wished to shake their hard-won destiny, would generally not act directly.
After all, whether successful or not, they risked exposing their identities and incurring the wrath of the Nine Xuan Sect.
In such a scenario, secretly paying a heavy sum for demonic cultivators to act became a logical course of action. If successful, all the better, but if they failed, the blame wouldn't fall on them.
"Be careful, the Yin-Yang Sect's paper effigies are most resistant to physical damage. Their only weaknesses are fire-attribute techniques and forces of pure Yang and supreme hardness!"
Wu Chengqing whispered.
This person was indeed an inner disciple of the Nine Xuan Sect. Capable of leading a team to transport supplies, he had discerned the enemy's origins, abilities, and weaknesses with just a glance.
"Fear fire?"
Ji Yuan murmured to himself. In his hand, he had already clutched a handful of talismans.
Then, to the astonishment of the other three, he raised his hand and flung twenty talismans into the air. As his spiritual power surged, they transformed into fireballs as large as millstones.
Since he had reached the second realm, the power of talismans activated by his spiritual power had undoubtedly increased severalfold!
The fireballs whistled through the air, instantly igniting several paper effigies. Just as Wu Chengqing had said, these things were vulnerable to fire-attribute attacks and ignited almost on contact. Within two or three breaths, they had reduced to a pile of ashes.
However, three paper effigies skillfully dodged the remaining fireballs and advanced to within a few dozen feet of the camp.
Seeing this, there was no need for Wu Chengqing to say anything. Six outer disciples of the first realm immediately stepped forward, joining forces to intercept the three paper effigies. The two sides engaged in a fierce exchange.
At this moment, Ji Yuan finally witnessed the capabilities of the paper effigies. Sword strikes that landed on them, or even pierced through them, had no effect whatsoever.
Their bodies, constructed from bamboo strips and white paper, possessed a physical strength comparable to martial artists of the flesh and blood realm, their punches capable of generating fierce winds.
Wu Chengqing seemed intentionally allowing these paper effigies to serve as a training opportunity for the outer disciples, watching from the side without intervening to destroy them directly.
On the other hand, he also harbored the intention of observing the minds of those hidden in the darkness.
With the enemy hidden and themselves exposed, acting rashly was indeed not a wise move. It would not only be a needless expenditure of spiritual power but would also reveal some of their strengths to the hidden enemy.
His approach earned Ji Yuan's constant nods of approval, and he couldn't help but marvel, "As expected of disciples meticulously trained by the Nine Xuan Sect."
Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard. Within three to four breaths, clear footsteps resounded in their ears.
The group quickly focused their gaze and saw over twenty paper effigies charging from the darkness, their speed comparable to that of horses!
Each of these paper effigies possessed the aura of late-stage Enlightenment realm cultivators. The energy they exuded while moving was akin to mid-stage flesh and blood realm martial artists. They were nimble as swallows, each stride covering half a zhang.
"Junior Sister, preside over the formation. First realm disciples, form a battle array to defend. Other disciples, watch each other's backs and do not advance rashly!"
Wu Chengqing shouted, then strode forward. As he passed three nearby paper effigies, he lightly waved the large banner in his hand, which was seven to eight feet long.
In a flash, a fierce gust of wind roared, like countless sharp blades, tearing the three paper effigies to shreds, leaving only a pile of fine fragments!
Simultaneously, Liu Donglai followed Wu Chengqing, his sword in hand, and a sharp aura gradually rose around him.
Facing over twenty paper effigies, the two remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic.
Then, Wu Chengqing waved his banner, its broad surface fluttering, conjuring over a dozen wind blades that swept through, scattering the paper effigies before them.
As the wind howled, countless blades of grass were cut into shreds, even the soil seemed to have been sliced by sharp edges. Needless to say, the paper clothing of the paper effigies was torn apart, most of them reduced to mere frames woven from bamboo strips.
"Senior Brother, be careful!"
Liu Donglai's voice was low, and he immediately moved forward, exposing himself!
His long sword transformed into an infinite array of sword shadows. Amidst the flashing cold light, he, single-handedly, held back three paper effigies that had suddenly erupted with the aura of the second realm!
There seemed to be a qualitative leap between the first and second realms for these paper effigies. The former could be easily cut by ordinary blades, while the latter were as hard as iron and stone. Even spiritual artifacts could only leave a slight white mark upon them.
Instead, the surge of spiritual power ignited countless sparks!
Liu Donglai, with his solitary might, managed to hold back the three paper effigies. Several seemingly ordinary and unremarkable sword techniques, in his hands, came alive. His sword light danced, thoroughly suppressing the paper effigies.
Witnessing this, Wu Chengqing altered his movements. The roaring wind bypassed Liu Donglai, sweeping all the paper effigies preparing to swarm him to over ten zhang away.
"They are truly sparing no expense. I want to see just how many paper effigies you have refined!"
Wu Chengqing muttered, a cold glint in his eyes.
In the night ahead, more and more paper effigies appeared, charging towards them one after another.
In the ferocious winds generated by his banner, over thirty paper effigies had already been torn into countless tiny fragments by the countless blade-like wind currents.
"Junior Sister! There are paper effigies on the other side too!"
An outer disciple shouted, his voice tinged with nervousness.
Wang Xiaoxuan immediately turned to look and saw two to three dozen paper effigies appearing on the other side of the camp. With their nimble bodies, they had quietly approached within a few zhang of the camp.
Her gaze sharpened, and she immediately channeled her spiritual power into the formation disk in her hand. The formation flags previously planted by Wu Chengqing immediately materialized, emitting a soft glow that protected the camp.
Even as two to three dozen paper effigies pounded down with their fists, the protective aura of the camp remained unshaken.
However, as the paper effigies attacked, Wang Xiaoxuan's spiritual power was rapidly being consumed.
At this rate, she would likely only be able to sustain it for about half a quarter of an hour!
This was the difference between temporary formation flags and a fully established grand formation.
Grand formations, such as those protecting mountain gates, once laid, were immovable. They drew upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, or the earth veins within the formation, not only consuming none of the controller's spiritual power but even bolstering their cultivation, temporarily raising it by a few minor realms.
But these temporary formation flags were different. Although portable and convenient to set up, they required the consumption of the controller's spiritual power, or the prior placement of a large quantity of spirit stones.
"Conceal the formation."
Ji Yuan took a few steps forward and then spoke.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoxuan gazed at his retreating back. After a moment of hesitation, she gritted her teeth and withdrew the formation's emitted glow.
With their path unobstructed, the paper effigies surged towards the camp like a tide.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's expression remained exceptionally calm. He abruptly swung his arm, and over a dozen talismans clutched in his hand were instantly tossed into the air.
A total of more than thirty yellow paper talismans were instantly ignited at their core by spiritual power, transforming into fireballs as large as millstones, raining down upon the paper effigies like a fiery deluge.
Within two to three breaths, the area outside the camp became a sea of fire. Crimson flames ascended into the night sky, and within them, a few blurry figures could be vaguely discerned – paper effigies that had not yet been completely incinerated.
Two to three dozen paper effigies were simultaneously engulfed by the sea of fire and quickly burned to countless ashes.
The Nine Xuan Sect disciples, amid the waves of heat, instinctively swallowed. While there was an element of mutual repulsion at play, the dozens of millstone-sized fireballs still deeply shocked them.
Let alone these outer disciples, even Wang Xiaoxuan was greatly astonished. In the past, when inner disciples like themselves engaged in combat outside, even if they occasionally used talismans, they would use them sparingly, one by one.
When had they ever seen someone unleash twenty to thirty talismans at once, covering a single direction?
And that was the second time!
In just the time it took to swing his arms twice, over fifty talismans were expended, which was at least five hundred taels of silver gone up in smoke!
Wang Xiaoxuan's mouth twitched. She felt incredibly... envious of such prodigal spending!
Just then, Ji Yuan suddenly let out a cold snort. Following that, he reached out and grasped the air, and a pale blue long whip was held in his palm.
The Nine Yuan Heavy Water Scripture circulated within his body, and streams of pure spiritual power poured into it. With a cold expression, he swung the long whip, and the pale blue whip body immediately tore through the air.
It darted through the air like a spiritual snake. The whip body, two to three zhang long, suddenly extended to over ten zhang, and then rapidly plunged into the sea of fire.
Just as Wang Xiaoxuan and the Nine Xuan Sect disciples were bewildered by his actions, several blurry figures suddenly appeared within the sea of fire.
Ji Yuan let out a deep cry and then flicked the pale blue long whip in his hand. The whip body then swung upwards, detaching itself from the gradually dying sea of fire.
Then, everyone saw that the ten-odd zhang long whip body had pierced through the bodies of five paper effigies, lifting them all several zhang into the air.
These paper effigies had suffered no damage in the sea of fire, merely acquiring a few scorched marks on their bodies. They exuded fluctuations in their aura comparable to early-stage second realm cultivators.
If Ji Yuan hadn't detected them, these paper effigies, with a sudden outbreak of an attack, would have left Wang Xiaoxuan with no time to activate the formation, and a group of Nine Xuan Sect disciples would have suffered heavy casualties!