Chapter 32: The Spirit-Sealing Formation

The ground collapsed with a roar. Several bandits who couldn’t dodge in time were thrown off their feet.

Cultivators on both sides of the melee froze in shock. Lao Zhao’s eyes went wide. Shopkeeper Li even cried out, “Peak Foundation Establishment?!”

An uproar swept the battlefield.

No one had expected Sun Mazi to have been hiding his strength all along.

He wasn’t late Foundation Establishment at all. He was peak Foundation Establishment!

Shopkeeper Li’s heart sank to the bottom. No wonder Sun Mazi dared to move this shipment. He had long been preparing to break through to Golden Core.

Yan Li’s gaze darkened. Peak Foundation Establishment. Harder to deal with than expected. Worse, the Spirit-Sealing Formation was already affecting him.

Before he could think further, Sun Mazi shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow, heading straight for Yan Li.

Thick bloody aura coiled around him, and the air along his path screamed.

With a savage laugh, the Ghost Head Saber swept up a sky-shrouding blood aura and chopped down at Yan Li’s head.

The blade hadn’t arrived yet, but the violent wind had already whipped the goose-yellow skirt hem into a frantic flutter.

Yan Li’s eyes turned cold. He stepped forward, spiritual power surging through him. His flying sword sang as it rose, and a silver arc of sword light shot up to meet the blow.

Clang!

A piercing blast exploded. The violent shockwave sent shattered rocks flying.

The ground beneath Yan Li’s feet cracked inch by inch, and he was forced back several steps.

“Some skill,” Sun Mazi sneered.

His gaze swept over Yan Shu, held against Yan Li’s chest, and the mockery in his eyes was plain. “Too bad. You brought along deadweight.”

The Ghost Head Saber chopped down again. The blade light howled in.

Yan Li’s eyes chilled. The silver flying sword traced an arc through the air and returned to his palm.

Facing the direct suppression of peak Foundation Establishment, he had no spare attention to control the sword from a distance.

The long sword rose horizontally.

Clang!

Another huge impact, sparks flying.

This time, something strange flickered in Sun Mazi’s eyes. The rebound from the blade was heavier than he had expected.

“Good!” Sun Mazi suddenly laughed, the vicious light in his eyes growing fiercer. “That’s got some bite!”

Instead of retreating, he rushed in close, slashing with the Ghost Head Saber again and again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The clashes rang out like dense rain, sparks scattering. The violent saber qi shattered the surrounding rocks one after another.

Yan Li shielded Yan Shu with one arm and blocked with the sword in his other hand. He kept retreating as the goose-yellow skirt fluttered wildly in the fierce wind.

Even so, his face stayed calm.

Sun Mazi, however, felt more and more that something was wrong.

‘This little woman… is creepy as hell!’

Clearly only late Foundation Establishment, yet every time they clashed, he could feel the opponent’s spiritual power condensed to an absurd degree.

What made him more uneasy was the sword. Too steady. No flourishes. Every strike went straight for a vital point.

If not for his higher cultivation and his veteran practical experience, he would likely have been run through already.

But the harder the nut, the fiercer the fire burned in Sun Mazi’s heart.

Such talent. Such temperament. If he could personally break that proud backbone…

He licked the corner of his mouth, eyes roaming over Yan Li without restraint. “I like your type. Full of fight.”

The Ghost Head Saber chopped down again. “Once I seal your spiritual power, let’s see how you keep that face.”

Yan Li’s grip on the sword tightened slightly. The anger he had been suppressing grew heavier.

Not far away, Xuan Shiyan glanced over. When he saw Sun Mazi pressing closer to Yan Li again and again, the usual smile in his eyes finally faded.

A bandit trying to pounce on Yan Li from the side hadn’t even gotten close when a pitch-black sword light passed across his neck.

Splat!

Blood shot into the sky. The head flew high, and the corpse thudded into the dust.

Xuan Shiyan withdrew his hand. His gaze swept over several bandits stirring restlessly, and he said one word, “Scram.”

The men paled and took half a step back as one.

On the other side, Sun Mazi was already laughing cruelly as he swung his saber down again.

The savage blood aura was so thick it nearly took physical form, and the blade force pressed down like a mountain.

Yan Li’s expression darkened. Spiritual power surged from his dantian, pouring into the sword like a tide.

But just then, a clear obstruction came from his meridians.

The blood-colored formation patterns around him flickered. The Spirit-Sealing Formation was showing its power.

His once-smooth spiritual power seemed to trip over invisible chains, abruptly slowing by a beat.

In that instant of delay, Sun Mazi’s saber crashed down!

Clang!

The moment saber and sword collided, a savage force slammed down through the blade.

The ground under Yan Li split and sank. He was shaken back more than ten steps, blood churning in his chest. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Yan Shu in his arms was startled into a loud wail.

“Hahahaha!” Sun Mazi laughed wildly. “Little beauty, now you know how strong I am? Inside the Spirit-Sealing Formation, what can you fight me with?”

Sun Mazi was about to press the advantage when Lao Zhao’s furious roar exploded. “Sun Mazi! You think I’m dead?” He charged over with his heavy-backed saber, his hands bloodied, breath unsteady, but his ferocity undiminished.

Saber qi swept out and forced Sun Mazi to pause for a step.

Lao Zhao grinned and spat out a mouthful of blood. He slammed the heavy-backed saber into the ground. “Anyone with a kid, fall back! I’m not lying down yet!”

Several guards still standing gritted their teeth and came forward, quickly putting themselves between Yan Li and the enemy.

Shopkeeper Li also flashed closer, his black short saber gleaming coldly. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and cupped his hands toward Yan Li. “Fellow Daoist, this time Li owes you a favor.” Then he raised his saber and charged back in.

The smile on Sun Mazi’s face slowly disappeared. His gaze passed over each of them and finally landed on Yan Li, growing darker.

“Fine. Since you all want to die, I’ll send you all on your way together today!”

The Ghost Head Saber swept out horizontally.

The blood-colored blade light surged several yards in an instant, and a wild bloody aura rolled out across the sky. Wherever it passed, the ground split and sand and stones flew.

“Not good!” Lao Zhao’s expression changed sharply. “Block it together!”

Xuan Shiyan, Shopkeeper Li, Lao Zhao, and the remaining guards all struck at once. Saber light, sword qi, and spells lit up one after another as they threw everything into the defense.

But the line they built together held for only a breath before it was blasted apart.

Under the suppression of the Spirit-Sealing Formation, the gap in cultivation between the two sides had widened even more.

Lao Zhao spewed blood and flew backward, crashing into the mountain wall. Shopkeeper Li grunted and staggered back dozens of steps. The remaining guards were sent flying one after another.

Only Xuan Shiyan still stood in place, black sword held across his body, spiritual power surging madly around him, the ground beneath his feet cracking apart inch by inch.

But in the end, suppressed by the Spirit-Sealing Formation, after a few breaths, the sword shuddered violently. A line of blood slid from the corner of his mouth, and he was forced back several steps.

Sun Mazi walked over step by step with the Ghost Head Saber, a cruel smile of certain victory on his face. “It’s over.”

Just then, Yan Shu suddenly cried even harder, her wails piercingly loud in the canyon.

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