The best way to deal with the âThunder Cloud Skillâ is to immediately use speed to escape the attack range of the âThunder Cloud Skillâ.
However, the three great cultivators of the Righteous Path had established the strongest defense, and itâs too late to retreat now. Even if they could, they wouldnât dare, because retreating would cause the defense system theyâve painstakingly built to vanish, unable to resist Li Shimingâs attacks anymore.
"Fellow Ji, letâs join in the defense!" Great cultivator Shen Ze said to great cultivator Ji Chuan.
Originally, great cultivator Ji Chuan had planned a counterattack, but in order to deal with the âThunder Cloud Skillâ in the sky, Ji Chuan decided to join in the defense alongside the others.
With a helpless expression, great cultivator Ji Chuan withdrew his flying sword from its prepared state and brought out a Fourth Grade Top Shield to cover the heads of the three cultivators, establishing the final layer of defense.
Li Shiming saw his action and a smile appeared on his face.
Then his figure vanished, and simultaneously the âThunder Cloud Skillâ in the sky gathered sufficient lightning, releasing bolt after bolt downward.
With forty âThunder Cloud Skillsâ combined, the scene was as terrifying as an apocalyptic arrival.
The Formation Palace was the first to be struck; great cultivator Liao Yi felt the formation couldnât withstand such an onslaught, so he had to let go of some of the formationâs effects, allowing lightning attacks that the formation couldnât resist to fall inside, taken up by the other two cultivators.
At this moment, Li Shimingâs figure appeared in the illusion of the chessboard.
He kicked three pieces consecutively, causing changes in the formation that great cultivator Liao Yi had set up.
The formation turned from an internal-to-external defense to an internal defense, losing all defensive capabilities outwardly, leaving the attacks to fall into the formation.
This change dramatically increased the pressure on the defenses of great cultivators Shen Ze and Ji Chuan, leaving them without the time to notice anything else, not even having the capacity to notice Li Shimingâs approach, focusing all their efforts on maintaining their treasures.
Only great cultivator Liao Yi spotted Li Shiming. He wanted to use the formation to suppress Li Shiming, but was shocked to find the formation was somewhat out of control.
Even though the chessboard and pieces were his treasures, with their connection intact, the formation seemed rigid as if he wanted to cancel it but couldnât.
This is the feeling of being outmatched in skills; great cultivator Liao Yiâs level in formations was at best that of an ordinary array master, but with Li Shimingâs combination with the IBMz15, itâs nearly at the top of the formation techniques pyramid in the cultivation world.
Li Shiming stood within the formation, choosing not to attack the three cultivators below as it wasnât necessary anymore.
The Formation Palace now acted as a prison for the three great cultivators of the Righteous Path; even if they wanted to leave, they needed to break through the Formation Palace first to escape the battlefield.
The Formation Palace also restricted the living space of the three great cultivators; it was previously minimized to optimize its defensive effectiveness and now only barely wrapped around the three cultivators.
With such a small range to move within, facing the endless lightning from the sky, they lost even the ability to dodge.
"Fellow Liao, whatâs going on? The formation is trapping us instead?" Great cultivator Shen Ze felt unable to withstand the power of the lightning attacks from the sky. He was about to dodge when he found himself blocked by the Formation Palace, urgently asking.
"The formation is out of my control, Li Shiming is within the formation, heâs controlling it!" Great cultivator Liao Yi replied despondently.
Great cultivator Ji Chuan abandoned his shieldâs defense. Unable to enhance the flying swordâs attack power with the Secret Technique anymore, he could only forcefully drive the flying sword towards Li Shiming.
Unfortunately, the flying sword gave a âclangâ sound upon striking the walls of the Formation Palace, failing to penetrate its defenses.
The current situation was quite strange. Clearly, it was a formation from the side of the Righteous Path great cultivators, but it became Li Shimingâs formation.
The three great cultivators of the Righteous Path were like caged birds, although calling them caged birds was somewhat inadequate; they should be described as meat in a pot with the lightning from the forty âThunder Cloud Skillsâ being the fire.
Great cultivator Ji Chuanâs strike had no effect, yet it brought significant trouble.
He abandoned the defense, but the lightning didnât spare them.
Great cultivator Shen Zeâs water curtain shield was the first to collapse under the pressure, then the lightning fell within the small area where the three cultivators were.
The terrifying lightning instantly filled the entire narrow space, and the lightning from the sky continued to fall, increasing the amount of lightning within the cramped space.
"Alas!" Li Shiming sighed deeply.
This was the fate of the three peak great cultivators, even though he didnât intend to kill them; it was all their own doing.
Li Shiming waved his hand, dispersing the thunderclouds in the sky, and entered the Formation Palace without waiting for the internal lightning to dissipate.
Not to mention that the lightning was generated by him, even if it wasnât, with the âHeavenly Human Techniqueâ body, bolstered by the âHeavenly Strike Thunder Hammerâ and âShenxiao Thunder Pearlâs Thunder Resistance Secret Methods, he could withstand the lightningâs power for a while.
The three great cultivators of the Righteous Path were lifeless; like great cultivator Ji Chuan, whose Nascent Soul hadnât even entered his body before being obliterated by the lightning, causing the soul crystal ring and life-bound artifact to appear.
Li Shiming collected the corpses of the three great cultivators along with their treasures.
Then he waved his hand, adjusting several chess pieces within the Formation Palace, causing it to disappear.
Due to the demise of the owner of the chessboard and pieces, great cultivator Liao Yi, the chessboard and pieces dropped from the air, swept by his Divine Sense and collected.
He looked into the distance, noticing a flying boat rapidly approaching.
The âDivine Sightâ could see for eight thousand miles, and he knew reinforcing cultivators had arrived, unwilling to engage in battle with more cultivators.
Though now, he was likely in a situation where the entire unknown world was against him.
He focused his gaze in another direction, triggering âOne Step to Reachâ, and his figure instantly vanished.
Appearing eight thousand miles away, he didnât flee further but activated the Water Escape, rarely used by him.
With the âHeavenly Human Techniqueâ as a foundation, he had no difficulty cultivating this escape skill, which he learned specifically for use in the ocean.
His body transformed into a stream of water, entering the ocean, slowing his speed dramatically, far below âOne Step to Reachâ or even âHeaven and Earthâ.
But with his body as a stream of water, finding him as a water stream in the ocean was nearly impossible.
Even if he wanted to flee far, without a map, distant escape without any direction or target wasnât safe.
If he truly stumbled into the perception range of a mighty one, he would be throwing himself into a trap.
A moment after Li Shimingâs figure vanished, a medium sized flying boat arrived at the battlefield.
"The battle aura here remains, heavy thunder skill aura detected, and Senior Brother Shenâs combat aura!" Inside the medium sized flying boat, a great cultivator stared at the boatâs scanning formation, speaking to the other great cultivators.
"Then where is Senior Brother Shen?" Another great cultivator asked.
The medium sized flying boatâs scanning formation intensified, scanning not only the sky but also the ocean below.
They wanted to detect great cultivator Shen Zeâs aura elsewhere, to determine his leaving direction for easier rescue operations.
But as the scanning data displayed, the cultivators of the Mirror Moon Sect within the medium-sized flying boat grew more disappointed and alarmed.
The only possibility was great cultivator Shen Ze hadnât escaped, but from the moment he sent a distress signal until they arrived wasnât long, and coupled with two peak great cultivators joining forces, what kind of enemy could wipe them out so quickly?
"Report to the sect, and contact Purple Cloud Sect and Starry Lodge Sect, informing them of what occurred!" One great cultivator said solemnly.