Chapter 217: Formation Backlash

Chapter 217: Formation Backlash

“What was that red light just now?”

“By the heavens, that scared me!”

The gathered cultivators stared at the sky. The red light had come and gone in an instant—striking the formation’s core before vanishing without a trace.

“Look at Master Huikong!” a disciple suddenly cried out.

All eyes turned toward the bronze pillar at the ruins’ entrance. Master Huikong, who had been meditating there, now lay motionless, blood oozing from his seven orifices.

Not only had all eighty-one of the Eternal Lamps—set as secondary formation nodes—been extinguished, but they had also been ignited with demonic flames.

Huikong had fallen unconscious, which should have caused his Purification Formation to collapse. Yet, the formation still remained.

Something else was keeping it running—but its function had been completely reversed.

Originally, Huikong’s formation purified demonic energy and suppressed the strength of the demonic remnants.

But now, an eerie, malevolent aura surged from the formation’s core. The demonic remnants, bathed in this newfound energy, saw their strength soar—those at the peak of Foundation Establishment instantly broke through to the Golden Core realm, mid-stage Golden Core remnants advanced to late-stage, and late-stage Golden Core remnants pushed toward the grand completion stage.

In contrast, the disciples of the sects found that their spiritual energy circulation had become sluggish.

The surrounding spiritual energy they could draw upon was rapidly diminishing—instead of suppressing the demonic remnants, they were the ones being suppressed!

If that had been the extent of the issue, panic wouldn’t have erupted just yet.

But then, a disciple collapsed to the ground with a shrill scream, shattering the eerie silence within the formation.

“My—my spiritual energy is being drained dry! This formation… it’s not just suppressing our spiritual energy—it’s absorbing it and converting it into demonic energy!”

“My spiritual energy is disappearing too!”

“Wait… mine doesn’t seem to be affected…”

The disciples of the Sword Pavilion remained relatively calm. Duan Feng, Xu An, and Zhen He—the three personal disciples—quickly questioned the others and soon reached a conclusion.

“Only those below the Golden Core realm are having their spiritual energy drained. Those at Golden Core and above aren’t losing energy but are still being suppressed.”

Duan Feng casually sliced through a demonic remnant lunging at him. His sharp gaze swept across the battlefield. “We only have fifteen disciples above Golden Core in the Sword Pavilion. The rest are at various stages of Foundation Establishment. There are too many demonic remnants—if this keeps up, we’ll be at a huge disadvantage. Resources don’t matter anymore. All Sword Pavilion disciples, listen up! Withdraw from the formation!”

At Duan Feng’s command, not a single Sword Pavilion disciple hesitated. They either repelled or killed the nearby demonic remnants before swiftly retreating toward the formation’s boundary.

The personal disciples stayed behind to cover their retreat.

Seeing this, the disciples of Lingxi Valley and the Pill Sect also followed suit.

As for why they acted so unanimously—before entering the small secret realm, their elders had given them clear instructions: Do not provoke the Sword Pavilion. If the Sword Pavilion avoided a place, they should avoid it too. If the Sword Pavilion charged forward, they could explore cautiously—but they shouldn’t compete for resources, because they wouldn’t win.

Now that the Sword Pavilion was retreating, it meant the situation was critical. Naturally, they had to follow suit.

Both Lingxi Valley and the Pill Sect were among the most renowned sects in the Cangyun Realm.

The Pill Sect, in particular, had ties to many other sects, as its disciples frequently visited and exchanged knowledge.

Seeing the Pill Sect disciples withdraw, other sect disciples also began retreating from the battlefield.

In an instant, nearly half of the disciples abandoned the fight against the demonic remnants and moved to withdraw.

And the tide of retreat only seemed to be growing.

A Sword Pavilion disciple reached the formation’s edge first. The moment he stepped forward, his head slammed against an invisible barrier.

“Senior Brother! The barrier won’t let us out!”

“What?!”

Duan Feng strode up to the formation’s boundary and struck it with his sword—but the barrier didn’t budge an inch. His expression darkened. “What the hell is Huikong doing?! Why would he set up a formation that only lets people in but not out? Has he lost his mind?”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Upon realizing they were trapped, the sect disciples erupted into panic, launching a barrage of attacks against the barrier.

But instead of breaking, the formation absorbed the spiritual energy from their spells, growing even stronger.

“You cowards!”

A cold voice rang out from above.

Everyone looked up to see Song Chiyue standing atop a massive canopy of flower vines, her expression frosty.

“You’re all ready to run just because of a small setback?” she sneered. “This is merely a formation backlash. I’ve already assigned disciples to heal Master Huikong. All you need to do is hold out for half an hour. Once Master Huikong reverses the formation, these demonic remnants will be nothing!”

Hearing this, hope reignited in some hearts.

Although the demonic remnants had grown stronger, holding out for half an hour seemed possible.

Song Chiyue tapped her toes against the vines, and thousands of emerald-green needles rained down, piercing through the battlefield. Wherever they landed, demonic remnants were instantly torn apart.

This surge in momentum reignited the disciples’ fighting spirit.

Song Chiyue continued, “If I, a mere woman, can stand at the front, then surely the rest of you can as well. If you still lack confidence, I’ll call in Qin Daoist to assist… If we stand united, we’ll hold out until Master Huikong awakens and reverses the formation!”

“She’s right! We can’t give up!”

“Listen up! This formation contains reversed Dao principles—injecting spiritual energy into it only fuels the demonic energy! Instead of wasting our energy attacking the formation, we should focus on holding back the demonic remnants and buy time for Master Huikong!”

“Come on! Let’s take down these demonic remnants!”

In just a few words, the retreat was halted.

The disciples turned back and resumed their battle against the demonic remnants, forming small groups to fight more efficiently.

Seeing this, Song Chiyue’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Her voice rang out again, loud and clear: “Now this is the spirit of Cangyun Realm cultivators! If we drive back the demonic remnants and open the sect ruins, everyone here may choose two treasures from the spoils! If nothing suits you, you may come to me for additional resources!”

The moment she finished speaking, the sect disciples fought with even greater fervor.

Song Chiyue glanced at the Sword Pavilion disciples, pursed her lips, and continued leading the charge.

“Senior Brother, what should we do? Everyone’s fighting the demonic remnants now. Should we…”

The Sword Pavilion disciples gazed expectantly at their three senior brothers.

They wanted resources, but more than that, they felt it would be embarrassing to just sit back.

Duan Feng frowned but hadn’t spoken yet when Zhen He—the most composed of the Hidden Sword Peak disciples—snapped open his folding fan and fanned himself lightly.

“We, of course, should retreat to the very back—right by the formation’s edge.”

“Senior Brother Zhen He, what do you mean?” Xu An asked.

Zhen He smirked, a mysterious glint in his eyes. “Just watch.”

He pointed toward the towering bronze gates of the sect ruins. There, amid the swirling demonic energy, six blood-red figures sat cross-legged.

They were clearly demonic remnants—but nothing like the ones outside the gate.

“As the strongest sword cultivators in the Cangyun Realm, we must act at the most critical moment. Wasting our energy on these lesser remnants is pointless. Instead, we should wait until the others are too exhausted to fight—then we’ll step in and clean up. That way, we get both resources and prestige.”

The Sword Pavilion disciples exchanged knowing glances.

“That makes sense! We can’t just swing our swords at anything!”

“Exactly! If we strike, it must be against worthy opponents!”

“Brilliant idea, Senior Brother Zhen He! We’ll wait by the formation’s edge!”

Ignoring the looks they were getting, the Sword Pavilion disciples sat down near the barrier, closing their eyes to meditate.

Zhen He shook his fan with a grin—but his gaze met those of Xu An and Duan Feng, and they silently exchanged messages.

【Something’s wrong. Jade Pool Holy Land is acting suspiciously.】