Cultivation is just so scientific!

Chapter 226: Chapter 159 Formation Setup_2

The small hammer flew out of the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation” and transformed into a gigantic, ethereal hammer as it heavily smashed down towards a Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator.

The Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator hastily dodged, understanding that if He Chuan was nearby, he had various methods to deal with He Chuan, but with He Chuan situated within the formation, it made it very difficult for him to counterattack.

Moreover, this small hammer was also a top-grade magic tool of excellent quality that emphasized power, each strike possessing the explosive force of a peak cultivator’s single blow.

Shang Haoquan also employed his own magic artifact, which was a long whip, an unusual choice for cultivators wielding such a weapon, yet in his hands, it was as lively as a spirit snake, entangling two other Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators.

“Shiming, let the cultivators of each sect enter the formation and defend together,” Elder Yin’s deep voice transmitted to Li Shiming’s ears.

Li Shiming glanced over the battlefield, noting that some Qi Refining Cultivators from the Seven Sects had already fallen behind in such a short time; the rest were struggling, with not a single cultivator from the Seven Sects having the upper hand.

“Fellow seniors, enter the formation, we will resist the enemy together!” Li Shiming also understood the strength of the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators and shouted loudly.

At the same time, a sword light flew from his hand, blocking the attack of a Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator who was fighting a young monk from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, thus giving the monk a chance to break free.

The monk from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect, given the chance to disengage from the fight, shouted loudly, and his copper bowl flew out towards the closest pair on another battlefield.

Although the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators were formidable, they still could not face two top-tier cultivators of the same realm at the same time.

The Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator made a tactical retreat, dodging the heavy strike from the monk of the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect.

The battlefield was suddenly abuzz; these Seven Sects cultivators were experienced in combat. They didn’t choose to immediately enter the formation; instead, by helping each other, they allowed all the cultivators from the Seven Sects to catch a brief respite.

While holding off the attacks of the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators, they retreated into the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation.”

The only one with reservations was a cultivator from the Holy Ice Sect, who was very aware of the conflict between Li Shiming and the Holy Ice Sect, and also knew that Li Shiming was participating in this competition in place of Du Bingyan, whom he had killed.

Hesitation in battle led to the consequence of missing the chance to enter the formation.

The Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators, caught off guard by the sudden actions of the Seven Sects cultivators, found themselves scrambling. Once they recovered, they vented all their fury on the solitary Holy Ice Sect cultivator who failed to enter the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation.”

The Holy Ice Sect cultivator’s ice armor, along with his high-grade defense magic tool, couldn’t withstand even a moment before being shattered by the combined strike of several Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators, his body pierced and he fell dead on the spot.

The magic artifacts and the storage bag of the Holy Ice Sect cultivator were taken by a Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator, who flaunted them in hand, displaying a provocative stance.

The Golden Core Elder of the Holy Ice Sect, watching the battle, was shamed, not only grieved by the loss of a talented cultivator but also angered by the cultivator’s hesitation.

Though the Seven Sects lost one Qi Refining Cultivator on the battlefield, the tide of the battle began to turn in their favor.

The Seven Sects cultivators inside the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation” could freely attack the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators outside the formation.

However, the attacks of the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators were blocked by the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation,” and at least until the formation was breached, the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators were unable to attack the cultivators of the Seven Sects.

“Break!” A Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator took out a talisman and flung it at the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation.”

Li Shiming sensed something special about the talisman and tried to intercept it with sword light under his control.

But the talisman couldn’t be intercepted at all, as it turned into a high-speed energy the moment it was thrown.

The talisman hit the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation,” causing it to shake.

“Junior Li, it’s an Array Breaking Talisman!” He Chuan provided a timely reminder.

Li Shiming already perceived it; the “Array Breaking Talisman” was continuously damaging the spiritual power patterns of the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation,” intending to induce an error and thereby cripple the formation.

Truth be told, had Li Shiming not been within the formation, this “Array Breaking Talisman” might indeed have had a chance to breach the “Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation.”

‘Array Breaking Talisman’ is said to be miraculous, but in reality, it amounts to a method where an Array Master copies a part of their Formation’s power, the Array Formation Starlight Sea, and seals it into a Spiritual Object.

The materials used are far more precious than those for a normal talisman. Moreover, creating an ‘Array Breaking Talisman’ is also damaging to the Array Master themselves, requiring a long time to recover. That’s why the more powerful the ‘Array Breaking Talisman’, the rarer it is.

Of course, all those who were fighting were elite Qi Refining Cultivators, so it was normal for them to have powerful ‘Array Breaking Talismans’ at hand.

Li Shiming estimated that the Array Breaking Talisman must have been created by a top-tier, high-level Array Master.

His Spiritual Thought swept quickly over the Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation, continuously harmonizing the Spiritual Power within the Formation; the impact of the ‘Array Breaking Talisman’ was soon soothed.

The ‘Array Breaking Talisman’ lasted for five seconds, unable to break through the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’, and its internal energy was exhausted.

Seeing that the ‘Array Breaking Talisman’ was ineffective, the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators’ faces all turned pale.

You can’t possibly allow the Seven Sects cultivators to turn the battle into a war of attrition using the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’.

Within the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’, the Seven Sects cultivators could sit cross-legged and cultivate, or even sleep; in terms of a war of attrition, the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators would be at a disadvantage.

More importantly, the Seven Sects cultivators inside the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’ could easily launch concentrated fire attacks, with multiple Seven Sects cultivators attacking a single Beishu Qi Refining Cultivator simultaneously.

This left the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators somewhat in disarray, and they could only retreat more than a hundred meters away from the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’.

“Thank you, Junior Li!” At this moment, with the battle temporarily halted, the Seven Sects cultivators finally had the opportunity to express their gratitude to Li Shiming.

The benefits of a solid formation in large-scale Qi Refinement battles were obvious to all.

After expressing their thanks, the Seven Sects cultivators began discussing how to deal with the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators.

“The individual strength of Beishu’s cultivators is very strong; in a one-on-one match, I could at most hold out for thirty minutes before I would be defeated!” a monk from the Ten Thousand Buddha Sect said with a heavy tone.

He spoke the truth without any intention of concealment.

“The formation can only protect us from attacks, but it cannot secure our victory!” He Chuan frowned slightly as he spoke.

“If anyone has any techniques up their sleeve, don’t hide them now. This battle is a matter of life and death!” another Qi Refining Cultivator added.

At this time, Li Shiming was observing two cultivators from the Xuanming Sect, both accompanied by copper corpses, and not just any, but top-grade copper corpses.

In a confrontation with the Beishu Qi Refining Cultivators, those likely to last the longest were probably the two Xuanming Sect cultivators.

They were essentially two against one, holding a numerical advantage.

The two Xuanming Sect cultivators, upon seeing Li Shiming’s gaze, thought he was reminding them.

“We could let the copper corpses self-destruct, with the power roughly equal to one hit from a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. However, after self-destructing, we would suffer significant recoil and retain, at most, about fifty percent of our combat strength!” The Xuanming Sect cultivator didn’t hide anything and straightforwardly revealed their trump card.

Two copper corpses self-destructing would almost certainly eliminate several opposing Qi Refining Cultivators.

“However, after we win the battle, we need to obtain their relatively intact bodies!” the other Xuanming Sect cultivator stated directly.

Everyone could understand that point; the Xuanming Sect’s copper corpses were an important combat force for the Xuanming Sect cultivators, and obtaining the raw material, the corpses, was extremely difficult.

The requirement of Heavenly Spirit Root alone was almost like competing with other sects for the top cultivator prospects.

Li Shiming was taken aback, as he had not expected his casual observation to lead to a misunderstanding by the Xuanming Sect cultivators.

He had underestimated his own influence; at this moment on the battlefield, the ‘Inverted Nine Palace Trigram Formation’ was essentially what had saved all the Qi Refining Cultivators of the Seven Sects. At least at this time, the Seven Sects Qi Refining cultivators would be willing to heed his suggestions.