"Watch out!"
They barely had time to shout in alarm before instinctively defending themselves...
However, this time, the formation was far more rapid and powerful than before. Their defenses, unprepared and hastily erected, were as fragile as paper, instantly collapsing.
In their panic, none of their various techniques proved effective, and they could only watch helplessly as they were completely engulfed by the terrifying waves of the formation.
"Ah!!!"
Boom!!!
A scream echoed far and wide, accompanied by a massive explosion.
At the same time, the ground shook violently.
Even Lin Fan and his two companions, who had already run a considerable distance, could feel it clearly.
"What a powerful formation." Fan Jianqiang looked into the distance, his face full of shock. "Second Elder, your divine might is invincible. Judging by their screams, they must have been completely annihilated by your formation, reduced to ashes."
Lin Fan almost burst out laughing, barely managing to suppress it, though it was extremely difficult.
Wu Xingyun blinked, a trace of bewilderment flashing across her beautiful face.
She even began to doubt herself.
Indeed, she had set up the formation, and quite a few at that.
It could be confirmed that the formations had activated, as evidenced by the screams of those people earlier.
But still...
It shouldn't be like this!
Judging by the full-throated shouts of those people, even if they were injured, the injuries wouldn't be severe. Moreover, her formation was a series of linked arrays, one triggering another.
Logically, as soon as one formation was triggered, all would activate simultaneously, madly attacking the intruders.
But if they could withstand the first wave and start breaking the formation, they shouldn't suddenly be overwhelmed halfway through and be killed by her formation.
Furthermore...
The recent intense explosion, powerful enough to shake the ground from such a distance!
Since when did her formations have such power?
She didn't know!
Yet the voices were indeed those of the people from before.
From a distance, the location of the intense explosion aligned perfectly with where she had set up the formation.
She grew more bewildered, unable to figure out what went wrong.
Meanwhile, Fan Jianqiang continued his flattery, making Wu Xingyun almost swell with pride.
She thought to herself: Could it be that her understanding of formations had reached a new level? Or perhaps, in the urgency of setting up the formation, she made some unintentional error that, by a stroke of luck, enhanced the formation's power?
Unable to find another explanation, she could only think so.
She concealed her bewilderment and embarrassment. "Ahem, I've studied formations for many years. Though I'm not exceptionally skilled, dealing with a few small fry is no problem."
Even she found it hard to believe her own words.
Lin Fan was inwardly delighted.
As expected, I was right. This guy must be one of those lucky survivors! Whether or not he's the protagonist, he's definitely a survivor. Such a person, even if not the main character, would be a great asset to recruit!
And he sure could put on a show~!
Fan Jianqiang enthusiastically praised, "Second Elder, you're mighty! In the future, I will definitely learn from you..."
Wu Xingyun coughed. "Ahem."
So awkward.
Yet she couldn't show it and had to appear profound and unfathomable...
Even more awkward.
But what was really going on here?
She couldn't help but recall the details of her formation while hurrying along, but despite racking her brain, she still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
Even more confused now.
At this moment, Fan Jianqiang, who had been boasting just moments ago, suddenly took out his equipment from his storage bag. "Sect Master, Second Elder, this disciple has just had a flash of inspiration and wants to perform a divination."
"Go ahead."
Here we go again.
Lin Fan didn't stop him; instead, he watched with amusement as Fan Jianqiang began his performance.
Receiving approval, Fan Jianqiang didn't hesitate and immediately started working.
A moment later, he looked terrified.
"Huh?! Sect Master, Second Elder, the divination shows a great misfortune, a very bad omen! It's a terrible fortune!"
Lin Fan was not surprised at all.
"Hmm?" Wu Xingyun was slightly taken aback. "A bad omen? This? I have some knowledge of divination, and from the hexagram just now, it should be 'Thunder Fire Abundance', right? The so-called Abundance Hexagram signifies abundance and greatness, a true reflection of its name. In the hexagram, the upper trigram is Thunder, and the lower trigram is Fire, representing 'thunder and lightning both arrive'. Thunder is heard by the ears, lightning is seen by the eyes. Hearing is intangible, seeing is tangible. What is heard is 'reputation', what is seen is 'achievement'. This hexagram can be interpreted as gaining both fame and fortune. Even though it is not a hexagram of great luck, it is still a rare auspicious hexagram."
A hexagram indicating fame and fortune, and you call it a bad omen?
After hearing the Second Elder's explanation, the corner of Lin Fan's mouth twitched slightly.
But considering that the person who said this was from the 'Survivor Sect', he understood.
What is the 'Survivor Sect'?!
A 98% chance of survival is equivalent to certain death!
A merely auspicious hexagram, not a hexagram of great luck, what's the difference from certain death?
So it can be understood... like hell it can!
How do people like that think?!
Lin Fan secretly mocked.
Fan Jianqiang, however, was stunned and thought to himself that this was bad.
He muttered inwardly, "Why does the Second Elder know a bit of everything? Logically, shouldn't the elders of such a small sect have limited knowledge and skills? How can she even know divination? This... makes it hard to deceive! Miscalculation! If I had known, I should have come up with a different excuse. Now… What should I do?"
Fortunately, he reacted quickly.
"Second Elder, you don't know. This hexagram was not divined for us, but for... the other pursuers. Precisely because of this, an auspicious hexagram, for us, is a bad omen! If they gain fame and fortune, doesn't that mean we..."
"Is that so?!" The Second Elder was surprised. "Is there a way to break it?"
She indeed had some knowledge of divination, but it was just a bit of knowledge.
Understanding the hexagram was one thing, breaking it was beyond her ability.
"There is!" Fan Jianqiang immediately nodded, confidently saying, "Second Elder, your formation skills are so high. Previously, you set up some formations and wiped out a part of the enemies. In that case, why not do it again?! I imagine that the later pursuers, after discovering the traces of the formation, would naturally assume that the formations had already been triggered by the infiltrators. Who would think that, even with caution, it would still take some time. Who would think that, in such a distant place, there would still be hidden formations?"
Wu Xingyun blinked: "Set up the formation again?"
"Set up the formation again!" Fan Jianqiang nodded emphatically.
"Alright!"
Although she didn't know where the problem was, the formations she set up earlier had certainly worked. So, why not do it again?
Immediately descending, Wu Xingyun didn't care about the cost and started working right away.
Fan Jianqiang, however, clutched his stomach again. "Oh, I was so scared just now that I came halfway through relieving myself. Now that there's some time, this disciple can't hold it any longer."
Lin Fan, finding it both amusing and annoying, looked at him with a half-smile. "Go ahead."