As soon as the experts from the Yining Sect departed, the atmosphere in the arena became tense with an air of impending conflict. Both sides were on high alert, the colorful flying artifacts glimmering under the sunlight, signaling that a fierce battle was about to erupt. Just as the cultivators were selecting their opponents and preparing for combat, an unexpected event occurred.
Suddenly, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a radius of several dozen miles began to rapidly converge toward the center of the battlefield. This previously invisible energy appeared like a thick fog, and soon after, a flash of white light enveloped the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, over two hundred experts at the Dividing Spirit stage and above vanished before the eyes of tens of thousands of spectators. A strange scent filled the air, and the onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what had transpired. For a moment, the entire Thousand Zhang Flat fell silent.
After a while, the crowd of thousands of cultivators reacted: something had gone wrong! However, no one could ascertain exactly what had happened, leading to a cacophony of inquiries that echoed throughout the area.
The cause of this chaos was none other than Guo Xingyue's handiwork. Long before the Yining Sect entered the battlefield, Guo had awakened from his meditation, recognizing the unavoidable outcome of a large-scale brawl. Rather than allowing both sides to suffer heavy casualties, he decided to activate the formation he had prepared and leverage its power to eliminate the enemy. Being a former assassin, Guo adhered to the principle of avoiding direct confrontation unless necessary; to him, open warfare was foolish. His objective was clear: eliminate the enemies by any means possible.
As all eyes were drawn to the arrival of the Yining Sect experts, Guo quietly retrieved a half-immortal artifact from his storage bracelet and placed it at the formation's center (the location he had deliberately chosen earlier during his meditation). He then quickly set up a small Gathering Spirit Formation using five elemental crystals, keeping it discreet. Once the Yining Sect left and everyone else readied their artifacts for battle, Guo activated the Gathering Spirit Formation, drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy from a radius of several dozen miles. Since the Gathering Spirit Formation utilized five elemental crystals, its power was substantial, catching everyone by surprise. No one could guess that this phenomenon was the effect of the Gathering Spirit Formation, as ordinary formations typically collected spiritual energy slowly.
Immediately after, Guo unleashed another series of hand seals to activate the Kanli Killing Formation, absorbing all the gathered spiritual energy. In a flash of white light, the formation activated, trapping all the experts within.
The Jinshi Sect, positioned near the formation's center, remained unharmed by its effects. Instead, they experienced illusions, finding themselves suspended above an ocean. All the experienced cultivators realized they had been caught in a formation; knowing that recklessly rushing out would incur the formation's wrath, they quickly summoned their artifacts to defend against any unforeseen attacks. Guo Xingyue flew over to the Dongxu Elder and Lin De, smiling as he said, "Don't worry, gentlemen. This formation was set up by me, and everyone is currently at the formation's center. As long as you stay here, you won't be attacked."
The Dongxu Elder, puzzled, looked at Guo Xingyue and asked, "When did you set this formation up, and how did I not notice? What kind of formation is this? It appears immensely powerful; I wouldn't dare step inside." Lin De added, "What exactly is going on here? How could this formation appear out of thin air?"
Guo Xingyue smiled, "I apologize for not informing you in advance. I set this formation up days ago, as I was concerned about leaks. I hope you can understand. The formation is called the Kanli Killing Formation."
"Kanli Killing Formation!" The experts collectively gasped. This was one of the three legendary killing formations, long thought lost. The cultivators present were all disciples of prominent sects, with both Jinshi Sect and Huining Sect boasting millennia-long lineages. They were familiar with these three formations, and their respective sects even possessed fragments of the remaining formations. Throughout the ages, many brilliant minds had studied the remnants, but no one had ever succeeded in restoring any of the three killing formations. To see one of them now, created by this young man, was truly astonishing.
The Dongxu Elder chuckled, "Old brother, just how many hidden talents do you possess? Haha, luckily I'm not your enemy; otherwise, I'd have to experience the effects of this Kanli Killing Formation myself. Ha, ha! The Sword Heart Sect is in for it now."
The Kanli Killing Formation encompassed the five elemental forces of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, which could counter one another with extreme lethality. If anyone trapped within had a water attribute, they would face earth attacks, and so on for the other elements. Without knowledge of the formation, recklessly charging in would only lead to deeper entrapment, likely resulting in annihilation.
Meanwhile, the Sword Heart Sect found themselves ensnared by the formation and did not share the same advantage as Jinshi Sect, who were near the formation's center. Instead, they were deep within the formation, immediately subjected to its assaults. Suddenly, the arena was engulfed in flames, torrential floods, swirling sand, and raging winds. The trapped experts, possessing various attributes, faced attacks from all five elemental forces, leaving them in disarray. Fortunately, being at the Dividing Spirit stage, they managed to avoid casualties, but if they couldn't break free from the formation, they would surely face extinction.
Lin Jian, the Sword Heart Sect leader, was renowned for his individual attack prowess, but his understanding of formations was limited. Sensing the dire situation, he hurriedly moved closer to Dongfang Feixing, asking whether he had any solutions to break the formation. After all, Dongfang Feixing was the most knowledgeable regarding formations among the assembled experts.