Chapter 785: Powerful Defense (I)

Three days later, after several days of brewing, fierce winds swept across the Eastern Sea. The entire sky was shrouded in heavy black clouds, leaving everything in darkness. When the clouds finally reached their limit, a torrential downpour erupted. Waves churned across the Eastern Sea, surging into towering swells. More than a dozen figures sped through the driving rain toward Redcloud Island.

"Begin!" Lin Zheyu's voice rang in Cao Hongchang's ears.

Cao Hongchang nodded slightly. A terrifying surge of demonic qi suddenly erupted from his body. His body rapidly swelled until he stood nearly ten meters tall, demonic flames soaring around him as he took on the likeness of a terrifying yao. Vast quantities of black mist poured from Cao Hongchang's body and spread in every direction, engulfing the whole of Redcloud Island in an instant.

At the same time, Redcloud Island's entire island-protecting formation was fully activated. The island-protecting formation possessed powerful detection capabilities. Cao Hongchang was not skilled in concealment, so the lord of Redcloud Island detected him when he came within roughly one kilometer of the island.

Energy surged through the formation as strands of golden energy flowed from it, condensing above the island into the illusory figure of an elderly man with the bearing of an immortal. This was the lord of Redcloud Island. He was commonly known as Island Lord Fang, though rumors said his real name was Fang Mo. He was a powerful rogue cultivator, widely renowned throughout the Chaotic Star Sea.

Fang Mo's illusory figure hovered above the island-protecting formation as he gazed expressionlessly at Cao Hongchang and spoke in an even tone. "Redcloud Island and the Evilheart Sect have always kept out of each other's affairs. Does Fellow Cao intend to make enemies of both Redcloud Island and the Hidden Moon Sect with this act?"

The corner of Cao Hongchang's mouth curled upward as he sneered. "And what if I do? You old bastard, I've despised you for a long time!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the black mist enveloping all of Redcloud Island began to roil. It swallowed Cao Hongchang, and his figure vanished in an instant.

"It's useless. Fellow Tang of the Hidden Moon Sect personally arranged this fourth-tier island-protecting formation at my request. With me sustaining it, there is no possibility of you breaking through it. If you withdraw now and offer sufficient compensation as a sincere apology, I can let this matter pass and pretend that you and those young demonic cultivators never came here," Fang Mo said calmly.

Faced with the vast mist churning around him, he showed not the slightest trace of fear. A hint of disdain even flashed through his eyes. This was a true island-protecting formation, personally laid down by Elder Tang Qiying of the Hidden Moon Sect. Tang Qiying was a formally trained formation cultivator with a complete formation Dao inheritance. Those self-taught formation cultivators could not possibly compare to him.

Just as Fang Mo sat back, completely composed and brimming with confidence in Redcloud Island's island-protecting formation, a terrifying rumble suddenly erupted. The figure he had condensed from energy flickered several times like a faulty signal before bursting apart with a pop like a soap bubble.

Fang Mo was appalled. How is this possible?

The instant his condensed energy projection disappeared, a look of shock and disbelief flashed across his face.

An enraged voice rang out from Redcloud Island. "How dare you!"

A beam of purple energy shot out of Redcloud Island with a hiss. It blasted into the black mist, punching a massive hole through the dense haze. Even the heavy black clouds in the distance were torn open by the terrifying beam, allowing a ray of golden sunlight to shine through the opening.

Cao Hongchang's figure slowly emerged from the black mist, relief flashing across his face. "That was close. It nearly hit me. This old bastard really does have some skill."

Had Fellow Xiao not detected the formation's activity beforehand and secretly warned him, that attack would have struck Cao Hongchang. It would not have seriously injured him, but it would have left him in an extremely sorry state.

As the lord of Redcloud Island and a Nascent Soul realm expert, Fang Mo did not believe Cao Hongchang could break through the island-protecting formation. Even so, he had made his preparations the moment Cao Hongchang launched his attack against it. Given Fang Mo's strength, the figure condensed above the formation occupied almost none of his attention.

Fang Mo's attention was entirely focused on the island-protecting formation. He knew full well that given Cao Hongchang's strength and temperament, the man would never rashly attack Redcloud Island without confidence in his success.

Even as he conversed with Cao Hongchang, his mind had remained taut, secretly guarding against a surprise attack from other cultivators. Fang Mo had witnessed every move the Evilheart Sect had made over the past six months.

He had also heard that the Evilheart Sect had gained a powerful new sect master. According to rumor, this person's strength surpassed even Cao Hongchang's. It was this mysterious sect master whom Fang Mo had been guarding against. He hadn't expected Cao Hongchang to launch the surprise attack, and he hadn't expected him to nearly succeed.

Fang Mo's figure condensed once more above the great formation as he calmly addressed his surroundings. "Since Fellow Xiao is already here, why not show yourself?"

His tone was filled with certainty. Fang Mo was convinced that Cao Hongchang could not possibly have come alone.

Hidden within the void several kilometers away, Lin Zheyu curled his lips in disdain. "Hah, you think you can bluff me into revealing myself?"

He had long since pushed the Heaven-Deceiving Art to its limit, while also using the mist pouring from Cao Hongchang's body as cover. There was no possibility that Fang Mo could detect his aura.

"Tch... I alone am more than enough to deal with an old bastard like you. Why would Fellow Xiao need to act?" Cao Hongchang said disdainfully.

His figure flickered in and out of sight within the black mist. Surging demonic qi thundered wildly through his enormous body as he remained ready to attack again at any moment. Cao Hongchang was waiting for Lin Zheyu's signal.

Although Lin Zheyu had identified eighteen flaws in Redcloud Island's island-protecting formation, a great formation under someone's active control was not so easily broken. This was especially true when the one controlling it was a powerful Nascent Soul realm cultivator like Fang Mo.

Lin Zheyu's voice rang out once more. "Attack. This time, strike from the northwest position..."

Cao Hongchang's figure abruptly vanished. The black mist roiled again, and an enormous black palm reached out from within, slamming toward the island-protecting formation.

The island-protecting formation hummed as layer upon layer of energy barriers condensed, forming an enormous shield that blocked the massive palm. Meanwhile, Cao Hongchang's true body slipped into the position Lin Zheyu had designated. A pitch-black, egg-shaped dharma treasure suddenly appeared in his hand.

Cao Hongchang chuckled. "Heh!"

He whipped his right hand forward, sending the black oval object tearing through the void with a hiss toward the island-protecting formation.

"I've been waiting for you!" Fang Mo said calmly from within Redcloud Island.

With a mere thought, three streaks of sword light suddenly slashed out from the formation. One shot toward the oval dharma treasure, while the other two hurtled toward Cao Hongchang with astonishing force.

The sword light struck the black oval dharma treasure, causing it to explode with a thunderous boom. An astonishing torrent of demonic qi surged forth. Three humanoid puppets shot out from the demonic qi, splitting up and charging toward three of the locations Lin Zheyu had identified beforehand. This was an ability Cao Hongchang had recently developed. He had separated a small portion of the imitation Yao Demon Nest's core and refined it into a special dharma treasure.

With this special dharma treasure, Cao Hongchang could bring the puppets spawned within the Yao Demon Nest outside for use. However, both the dharma treasure and the puppets were disposable, and every use came at a considerable cost. Even Cao Hongchang felt a pang of regret whenever he used them. However, they were now attacking Redcloud Island, and Lin Zheyu had promised him considerable benefits, so Cao Hongchang was putting his full effort into the assault.

The other two streaks of sword light sliced through the black mist with a sharp whistle and hurtled toward Cao Hongchang.

A crisp ring sounded as two streaks of black light flew out from beside Cao Hongchang and shielded him.

Terrifying shock waves from the battle surged out of the mist. With Lin Zheyu secretly assisting him, Cao Hongchang began launching a frenzied assault on the various flaws in the island-protecting formation.

Cao Hongchang readily admitted that if he were to attack head-on, he would be no match for Fang Mo while the latter controlled the island-protecting formation. This time, however, there was no need for a direct assault. With Lin Zheyu helping him identify flaws in the island-protecting formation, Cao Hongchang adopted hit-and-run tactics.

Terrifying explosions rang out continuously from the area shrouded in black mist. One, two, three... Under Lin Zheyu's guidance and Cao Hongchang's efforts, they breached the formation's flaws one after another. Even with his hit-and-run tactics, however, Cao Hongchang still could not completely evade Fang Mo's attacks.

Wave after wave of astonishing energy ripples surged from within the black mist. The terrifying fluctuations from the battle made the demonic cultivators of the Evilheart Sect hiding in the distance swallow nervously.

As expected of a battle at the Nascent Soul realm. If they were accidentally caught in such terrifying energy ripples, they would be severely injured even if they survived. The gap between the Nascent Soul realm and the Golden Core realm was simply too vast. Only the rarest of true prodigies could cross that gulf and possess the strength to challenge an opponent above their realm.

Within Redcloud Island, the thunderous sounds of battle continued to ring out from beyond the island.

Fang Mo's expression was exceedingly grim. "Damn it! How did this fellow find so many flaws in the formation? I have controlled this formation for over a hundred years, yet even I failed to discover them."

He had never imagined the fourth-tier formation Tang Qiying laid down would contain so many flaws. With the island-protecting formation at his disposal, he should have been able to repel Cao Hongchang with ease, or even kill him. Yet it was as though this fellow were cheating. Even while evading Fang Mo's attacks, he was somehow able to strike at weak points throughout the great formation.

That was not even the most troublesome part. What Fang Mo found most difficult to deal with was the mysterious new sect master of the Evilheart Sect, who remained hidden in the shadows. Cao Hongchang knew nothing of the Formation Dao and was almost entirely ignorant of it. The only person capable of identifying so many flaws in the island-protecting formation was that new sect master. The fact that the other party had yet to show himself clearly meant that he was waiting for the perfect opportunity.