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Peng Yaolong chopped with his palm again and again, and even though he was at the Mortal Shedding Realm and possessed a formidable body, he was panting for breath from exhaustion. But he did not stop.

Various traps were constantly rotating through the formation, unleashing their might. An energy pillar shot out of the earth and turned into a sharp blade of wind that whistled toward the group. Lightning would occasionally come out of nowhere and crack down. Worst of all were the constant waves of fire that came in from all sides. The callous flames roasted the Basking Moon students while poisonous fumes made it more and more difficult for them to breathe.

The Basking Moon students had to group up, forming a defensive circle to fend off the surrounding traps. In this situation, even Peng Yaolong, who was accustomed to pushing through everything with sheer force, had to abandon his domineering style and take targeted countermeasures.

When wind blades came, he would dodge what he could rather than striking every one of them down. When lightning cracked down, he would share whatever burden he could share rather than bearing it all. In the face of the inextinguishable fire and the poisonous fumes, using blasts of wind from his palms to sweep them away was much better than just enduring it all with his body. When numerous spell arts came his way, he had to consider the pros and cons of using this or that spell art. A barrier that would shatter after taking exactly such-and-such number of attacks couldn’t be considered to have maximized its value. Rather, true value was when the barrier shattered after the attack and the remnants of the attack hit him but only caused pain, dealing no injury.

Peng Yaolong had never liked this sort of calculating combat style, but now, he had to do it. Every sliver of magic power saved was a little longer he could last, a small boost to their chances of turning the tables.

Even so, everyone was slowly being worn out by the formation.

Wei Tianchong and Qi Shaoming, who had yet to enter Mortal Shedding, were the first to run out of spiritual energy, so they had to retreat into the center of the circle to recover. After them, two of the weaker students also gave out.

“Great Brother, if this goes on, we won’t be able to last for much longer!” Zhu Fengdao shouted.

“Save it!” Peng Yaolong bluntly replied. “Even if you can’t last, you must! My Basking Moon’s students aren’t that easily brought down! If you’re lacking spiritual energy, retreat into the inner circle to recover. I’ll hold this place!”

He shook his arms, sending out a mighty wave of energy that pushed the circle of fire back several meters.

This was a rather wasteful move, but Peng Yaolong understood that battle didn’t involve only calculation. There was something even more important, something that wasn’t based on cold reason: morale!

The retreat of the circle of flames energized everyone a little, and even those furious flames no longer seemed as frightening.

But at this moment, the sound of a flute came from the distance, and following this sound, they noticed a sharp energy and six figures moving through the sea of smoke and fire.

“Mu Yi!” Peng Yaolong madly laughed. “You turtle, you’re finally willing to show yourself! Eat my punch!”

He had a lot of pent-up frustration, and now that Mu Yi was coming, he was delighted. Peng Yaolong punched at Mu Yi, but Mu Yi simply raised his hand, and a palm emerged in the air and caught the punch. He breezily said, “Senior Brother Peng, I know that you’re waiting for Tang Jie, but he will never be able to break the formation. You can see that there were nine of us, but there are only six now, so you can immediately understand that we’ve sent three of us after Tang Jie. Just give up, Senior Brother, and avoid adding to your injuries.”

Peng Yaolong laughed. “Mu Yi, you turtle, if you want to fight, just fight. There’s no need for all this chatter. I’ve already promised Tang Jie that I would hold out until the end. Whether he succeeds or not, we have to wait until the final outcome first.”

He punched two more times.

Mu Yi snapped his fingers twice to neutralize these savage blasts of energy, sighing, “If that is the case, then I am afraid I must offend you.”

He pulled out the bamboo flute, put it to his mouth, and began to play a tune.

The moment this tune began to play, Peng Yaolong and the others turned grave, saying in unison, “Watch out! It’s the Heavenly Animitta Music!”

The Seven Absolutions Sect was called the Seven Absolutions Sect because it had seven secret arts that were all profoundly mystical. In terms of power, they were comparable to the supreme arts of the other six major sects. What truly restrained them wasn’t their lack of powerful secret arts, but that all the things that they could learn divided their attention.

The Heavenly Animitta Music was one of these seven great arts. When music entered the ear, the art entered the heart. It was said to be a most treacherous and most ineluctable spell art.

As Mu Yi blew on the flute, a melody like the singing of birds wafted through the air. The Basking Moon students paled and immediately covered their ears.

A Seven Absolutions Sect student snorted. “If Senior Brother’s Animitta Music could be blocked by just covering your ears, it wouldn’t be the Animitta Music.”

The Basking Moon students instantly noticed that something was wrong.

Zhu Fengdao called out, “My spiritual energy is draining away at a faster rate!”

“The same for me!”

“And also me!”

The students all began to cry out.

They were already in difficult straits, and each drop of spiritual energy was more valuable than before. But now, Mu Yi’s Animitta Music was inexplicably increasing the consumption of their spiritual energy.

Mu Yi put away the flute and casually said, “This is ‘River of Sorrows’. The music enters the organs and affects the Lower Yang, which governs energy, thus exhausting the enemy. This serves as the opening act.”

Ye Tianshang snorted, “First you use the formation to exhaust the enemy, and then you drain us of our energy. Is this how the people of the Seven Absolutions Sect fight?”

Mu Yi wasn’t angry, smiling and saying, “The people of the Seven Absolutions Sect don’t fight like this, but I do. I cultivate the Revolution Mantra and the Heavenly Animitta Music, neither of which favors swift individual battles. They are more favorable for group battles, so before every battle, I must do everything in my power to weaken the enemy. Now, it is time for ‘Splendid Moon’.”

Mu Yi blew on his flute, and another tune drifted through the air, but as they listened to the music, they found their minds growing hazy, and casting became difficult.

Just like Mu Yi had said, his Animitta Music was best in group battles. No matter how many the opposing side had, his song could reach them all, and it was difficult to block. Even blocking one’s ears would not shield one from the effects.

Peng Yaolong and Ye Tianshang were shocked and enraged. If Mu Yi were allowed to keep playing, there would be no point in fighting, for Mu Yi would have basically crippled them.

Peng Yaolong roared, “Everyone, charge! Kill him!”

He rushed at Mu Yi.

Mu Yi was focused on playing, but the other five Seven Absolutions Sect students came forward. Lin Wang sneered as he pulled out a jade ruler and pointed it ahead. “One Pointer to Measure the Heavens!”

Peng Yaolong and the others felt the distance between them and Mu Yi suddenly increase, as if they could never reach the end.

At the same time, the other four students attacked, making the following signs in unison: the Firedraw Sign, the Lightning Guide Sign, and the Sudden Gale Sign. Fire, lightning, and wind blades assailed Peng Yaolong’s group.

At this moment, the twelve Basking Moon students became like furious waves while the five Seven Absolutions students became like a great dam to fend off the waves. As for Mu Yi, he was the final attacker, and as his flute played, killing power accumulated.

“Splendid Moon” made it difficult for the Basking Moon students to cast, forcing them to turn their focus onto using their spell arts and preventing them from controlling their surroundings. Mu Yi then said, “‘Three Offenses of the Silk Garden’.”

As the music played, the twelve Basking Moon students were gripped by an endless warmth that made their bodies tire and their will to fight wane.

A student shouted, “Let’s go back! We can’t win. There are only six of them, and I don’t see Xiao Wen. They must have been sent to stop Tang Jie. He can’t succeed!”

“Bull**!” Peng Yaolong roared. “I trust in Tang Jie. He won’t disappoint us. Didn’t you see someone from the other side get teleported out just now? That was definitely Tang Jie’s work.”

“Maybe it was Tang Jie who was teleported away. He can’t beat all three of them,” Long Dao grunted.

“Bull**! Bull**!” Wei Tianchong cursed. “Tang Jie won’t lose that easily.”

“Then if he has the skill, he should send off another one. If a second one goes, it should prove that the first one wasn’t him! So why is there nothing yet?” Long Dao angrily said.

At this moment, another pillar of light lit up the sky.

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“This is…” The Basking Moon students felt a hint of excitement and confusion.

Mu Yi sighed, “It’s Liu Jin. I really didn’t think that he would be able to beat two of the three people sent to stop him. Only Xiao Wen is left.”

“Hahahaha,” Peng Yaolong laughed. “As expected, he’s putting on a good show. Aren’t you the ones worse off now?”

“Not at all,” Mu Yi indifferently replied. “We can just defeat all of you before that… Four Laughs of the River Plum!”

The flute began to play again.

After sending off Liu Jin, Tang Jie caught his breath and hastened toward the Stop Gate Banner.

But he hadn’t gotten far before the figure of Xiao Wen blocked his path.

Xiao Wen was simply furious.

It was hard to blame him. This bastard Tang Jie had capitalized on the time he had taken to cast to defeat Sun Yi and Liu Jin, exploiting the darkness and the terrain. Tang Jie had really gotten one over on him. If he hadn’t suddenly realized what was going on and gone to intercept him in time, Tang Jie might have left him behind, perhaps even pulled out the banner.

Xiao Wen was no fool, but everyone was a fool at the moment they were played. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

In front of him floated a strange diagram made from spiritual energy, flashing with brilliant light.

The Wuji Diagram?

Tang Jie naturally knew what this was.

The Heavenly Animitta Music was characterized by variation, making it difficult to defend against, and every cultivator would have a different specialty in it. But the special attribute of the Wuji Diagram was fixed—or perhaps it was better to say that its variation was limited.

The image on the Wuji Diagram was actually an energy circulation route, each stroke possessing a profound meaning.

It had only three reasons for existing: to circulate energy on behalf of the body, making art manifestation faster; to extend energy circulation, making spells more powerful; and finally, to do both of these things at once.

Xiao Wen had never used the Wuji Diagram in the tournament, so Tang Jie didn’t know which path Xiao Wen had chosen, but he knew that anyone who had completed the Wuji Diagram was an opponent best avoided, as it meant that his strength had risen by a whole tier.

He looked at Xiao Wen and smiled. “So it was Senior Brother Xiao! Senior Brother Xiao has such profound strength, so why are you seeking out a lowly junior like me? You should just let me pass.”

He turned to move to the side, clearly planning to get around Xiao Wen.

Xiao Wen angrily said, “Don’t even think about running!”

He formed a sign and pointed, and an arc of light shot at Tang Jie. Not daring to take this attack, Tang Jie dodged it. He saw that arc of light strike the stone that was behind him, and in a burst of light, all that was left on the ground was an unimaginably huge crater.

Tang Jie was scared out of his wits. “The Arclight Slash!”

The Arclight Slash was on the level of an art. While its power was on the weaker side of arts, its art manifestation was rather fast, and with the power of the Wuji Diagram, Xiao Wen could use it like a spell. The speed made Tang Jie’s blood turn cold.

He then understood that Xiao Wen had clearly chosen the quicker casting path for his Wuji Diagram.

This was the path with the biggest boost early on. The offensive power that came from casting arts at the speed of spells could easily be imagined.

Xiao Wen saw that his first attack had missed, so he formed signs with both hands, an Arclight Slash coming from his left and his right.

“Fuck!” Tang Jie yelped in fear. Xiao Wen could cast with both hands!? It was no wonder he had chosen the Arclight Slash. This spell art really was a spell art that could be cast in parallel.

Two arcs of light swept toward Tang Jie, fast and powerful. Even Tang Jie couldn’t dodge them, so he could only focus on dodging one while letting the other strike him. Thankfully, he had activated the Aquagel Shroud and Formless Golden Body beforehand.

Bang! The Formless Golden Body didn’t break, but Tang Jie was still blasted back while throwing up blood.

“Again!” Xiao Wen roared. Before Tang Jie could land, he unleashed two more Arclight Slashes.

“Screw you!” Tang Jie cursed. He swung the Heartbreak Saber several times. Bang! Bang! The Heartbreak Saber struck both Arclight Slashes, but the immense power was not completely neutralized and still sent Tang Jie flying. Tang Jie realized that he wouldn’t be able to land.

Xiao Wen arrogantly laughed as he attacked again. Now that he had activated the Wuji Diagram, he didn’t need to use any other spells. Simply by firing off the Arclight Slashes from both hands, he became a human-shaped mobile cannon, constantly pouring out firepower. The Wuji Diagram in front of him constantly flashed, and each flash indicated that an Arclight Slash was rapidly manifesting through its power.

In the face of this frenzied salvo, all Tang Jie could do was dodge, block, and endure.

He dodged what he could, blocked what he couldn’t dodge, and endured what he couldn’t block.

Blood erupted from his mouth again and again as his body flew through the air. Rather than jumping into the air himself, he had been blasted and blown into the air, never able to land.

Tang Jie wanted to strike back, but Xiao Wen’s attacks were so fast and wild that he simply didn’t have the chance. Whether it was the golden thread or the Mindseizer, Tang Jie didn’t have the time to use them. If Tang Jie relaxed for even a moment, several Arclight Slashes could turn him into a corpse.

As for Xiao Wen, his anger had made him completely disregard any mercy, nor would he care about any sort of sect relations.

“Hahaha, Tang Jie, let’s see how savage you are now! Die!” Xiao Wen laughed, his face somewhat distorted in rage. Arclight Slashes crazily swept out with incredible speed, so fast that one pair of Arclight Slashes hadn’t even reached the target before another pair erupted. The whistling of Arclight Slashes was all around, and the formation was in tatters, all traps, fire and smoke having been obliterated and torn to shreds by Xiao Wen’s berserk attacks.

“Fuck you! When have I ever been a savage?” Tang Jie felt deeply helpless.