"To deal with you, do I really need to play tricks?" Luo Changfeng said calmly.
Gongsun Hong snorted, his expression turning a bit sour.
He hadn’t expected Luo Changfeng to look down on him like this.
A powerful aura of the Empyrean Meridian Realm spread from him, and ripples began to stir around the spatial gate next to him.
Suddenly, a beastly roar echoed from within the gate.
With a loud rumble, a giant purple claw tore open the spatial gate, and a massive figure slowly emerged.
It was a monster entirely purple in color, roughly the size of a normal human.
The monster had long hair tied with a purple headband and wore a dark yellow ring around its neck.
Its ears were hidden beneath the long hair, but its dark blue earrings stood out. Its eyes were narrow and sinister.
It had no head, and like a mermaid, it had a fish-tail-like lower body supporting it.
The moment it appeared, a strong stench filled the courtyard.
"Your elders ambushed us last time, and I didn’t have time to set up my formation," Gongsun Hong said flatly.
"But now my Ultimate Ghost Demon Formation is triggered. As just an Empyrean Meridian Realm cultivator, what can you possibly do?"
As his words fell, the ghost demon opened its gaping mouth, shrouded in pale purple aura, and lunged at Luo Changfeng.
"Now this is gonna be good," Xuanyuan Xuantian said gleefully from a rooftop nearby.
"You knew about this formation?" Xu Zimo asked.
"My people saw him setting it up, but we didn’t know what kind it was," Xuanyuan Xuantian chuckled. "Judging by the look of it now, it’s pretty strong."
"You’re not going to step in?" Xu Zimo asked.
"If he dies by this monster’s hands, even better," Xuanyuan Xuantian narrowed his eyes.
...
In the courtyard, as the ghost demon charged at him, Luo Changfeng’s eyes narrowed. A surge of blood-red spiritforce enveloped him as he struck with a palm.
Boom!
Both he and the ghost demon were sent flying.
Being of the Undying Race, Luo Changfeng’s defense and regeneration were incredibly strong.
He wasn’t afraid of trading injuries.
As he fought the ghost demon, their bodies clashed violently. The demon roared and kept trying to swallow him whole.
Luo Changfeng stayed calm, looking for an opening, but the more they fought, the stronger the demon became.
If this kept up, it would never end.
He glanced at Gongsun Hong, who stood by the spatial gate, watching him with interest.
Inside the gate was a purple vortex spinning rapidly, absorbing endless spiritforce from the surroundings.
"It’s a formation," Luo Changfeng realized instantly.
The ghost demon wasn’t a summoned entity but a construct of the formation. As long as the formation existed, it couldn’t be killed.
He had assumed it was a summoning formation, clearly, he was wrong.
"If it's a formation, then it must have a core," he murmured.
He looked toward the spatial gate beside Gongsun Hong, his aura flaring.
He stepped into the void and reappeared in front of the gate.
Before the demon could stop him, he punched the spatial gate.
Pop!
As Luo Changfeng’s fist struck, the gate distorted and vanished, leaving behind only collapsed space.
Seeing Luo Changfeng’s surprise, Gongsun Hong laughed. "You really thought I’d put the core right in front of you?"
As he spoke, Gongsun Hong’s figure twisted and disappeared.
The courtyard went quiet, sealed within the formation barrier. Only the ghost demon remained, roaring furiously.
"Annoying," Luo Changfeng muttered.
The ghost demon roared again and lunged.
Luo Changfeng lifted his head slowly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Blood mist surged from him, quickly enveloping the entire courtyard.
The denser the blood mist became, the more terrifying he looked.
His skin turned completely blood-red, and a strange symbol appeared on his forehead.
The mark glowed faintly red as his body crackled with a strange sound.
Even his eyebrows, eyes, and teeth turned crimson.
At this moment, Luo Changfeng looked utterly monstrous, more fearsome than the ghost demon.
When he opened his eyes and looked at the ghost demon, it actually hesitated for a second.
"So that’s the Undying Battle Physique," Xu Zimo said with a smile.
Xuanyuan Xuantian nodded silently.
It was that same power that crushed him and took his place as the Holy Son.
"Looks like your plan failed," Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. "Gongsun Hong is in real trouble now."
"Worthless," Xuanyuan Xuantian snorted coldly.
...
In the courtyard, Luo Changfeng’s scarlet eyes locked onto the ghost demon.
In a flash, he appeared in front of it.
Before it could react, he grabbed its throat and flung it.
The ghost demon slammed into a corner of the building with a loud boom.
Half the wall collapsed, followed by half the house crumbling down.
Amidst the rubble, the demon stood back up with a distinct five-finger mark on its neck, one it couldn’t heal.
Luo Changfeng ignored it. He scanned the courtyard.
In a blur, he appeared in one corner, tore through the void, and grabbed Gongsun Hong by the neck, dragging him out of hiding.
As soon as Gongsun Hong was caught, the blood mist around Luo Changfeng faded.
He exited the Undying Battle Physique state and returned to normal.
"You know, when you’re strong enough, you don’t need tricks," he said calmly.
"Spare me and I’ll tell you where the Soft-Water Pearl is hidden," Gongsun Hong said weakly.
Luo Changfeng stared at him in silence.
"One of the Five Spirit Orbs, the Soft-Water Pearl. Don’t you want it?" Gongsun Hong pleaded. "If I die, no one will ever know where it is."
"Speak," Luo Changfeng said quietly.