Chapter 803 The Core of the Formation
Before, when dealing with Luo Yanghong, Hu Feng had used her most powerful illusion technique, which had almost crippled Luo Yanghong.
Such a powerful illusion technique required an equivalent amount of mental energy. Although Hu Feng's mental energy was far superior to ordinary martial artists, such a massive expenditure was unsustainable. She could only use it once within a certain period.
However, formations were different. As long as someone controlled them, their power might not match her independently cast illusion, but with more people, they could achieve an infinitely close effect!
Hu Feng did not know how many peak Grandmasters Zhou family and Luo Yanghong had brought.
She had only one thought now: to stall these people for as long as possible.
And also, for Senior Uncle Chen Yang, who was in seclusion, to quickly come out.
Based on the fluctuations of aura emanating from underground these past few days, Hu Feng guessed that Senior Uncle Chen Yang would likely emerge from seclusion soon.
With that, and plus Bei Xuan and the others, stopping the Zhou family should not be a problem.
The Zhou family peak Grandmasters and Luo Yanghong who had just entered the mountain directly fell into Hu Feng's illusion formation.
The illusion formation that Hu Feng had created this time was not just offensive, but also directly damaged the physical body, a killing formation!
Furthermore, with more than a dozen Grandmasters from the Hall of Heavenly Physicians controlling it simultaneously, its power was comparable to that of a peak Grandmaster.
In a short period, considerable damage was inflicted on the Zhou family's warriors.
Luo Yanghong felt the illusions around him, his face turning ashen.
After experiencing Hu Feng's illusion technique last time, Luo Yanghong now had a psychological shadow cast over him.
As for Zhou Zeyao, he watched the illusory fluctuations around him with some delight.
Without a doubt, he knew that the only one capable of such profound illusion mastery could only be his disciple.
Even Chen Yang did not possess such illusion skills.
"Why is this guy's illusion so strong? Why can't we break through it?"
Zhou Qingming was also among the Zhou family's peak Grandmasters sent this time. The unsuccessful trip to the southwest had caused his prestige within the Zhou family to plummet. Zhou Qingming was directly relegated to this cooperative venture.
To say "relegated" might not be entirely accurate.
Zhou Qingming knew that he had stirred up immense trouble in the southwest. The Zhou family, including the patriarch, was somewhat displeased with him. Therefore, Zhou Qingming was extremely invested in this cooperation.
As long as he could help the Zhou family acquire the Yangyangyang Company, it would undoubtedly alter their perception of him.
Luo Yanghong heard this and coldly snorted, "An illusion set up by a peak Grandmaster, how could it be easily broken? We need to find the core of this illusion formation!"
As Luo Yanghong spoke, a black figure holding a sharp sword lunged directly towards Luo Yanghong's heart.
Luo Yanghong, his mind still reeling from the stimulation of the illusion, was momentarily unable to recover. He was about to be struck by the sword.
"Bang!" A surge of force sliced through, and Zhou Qingming effortlessly shattered the illusory figure.
Zhou Qingming looked at Luo Yanghong with some confusion.
Although this illusion formation was powerful and could trap them, the killing moves within it were too weak. It could deal with ordinary Grandmasters, but against a group of peak Grandmasters like them, it was indeed too feeble.
Luo Yanghong, after all, was a true peak Grandmaster, yet he couldn't even handle these attacks.
Although Zhou Qingming said nothing, the gazes of everyone else revealed much.
After Luo Yanghong recovered, instead of thanking Zhou Qingming, he became rather impatient and said, "It's just an illusion, do you think I'm afraid? That I would need your help?"
Despite feeling uncomfortable with such words, Zhou Qingming didn't say much.
Arguing with Luo Yanghong was less important than breaking through the illusion before them.
But just because Zhou Qingming remained silent didn't mean the other members of the Zhou family could swallow their pride.
Zhou Zeyao spat forcefully and said, "Ungrateful wretch, Zhou Qingming saved your life! I truly wonder what kind of master would produce a disciple like you!"
His words immediately drew laughter from many of the Zhou family's peak Grandmasters.
Among the Zhou family's peak Grandmasters who had come to help, apart from Zhou Zeyao and Zhou Qingming who were direct family members, the rest were all Zhou family retainers. They had no prior knowledge of Luo Yanghong and simply saw him as a very young genius. Although he had shown disrespect to them along the way, they had tolerated it.
But tolerating did not mean they had no temper.
The Zhou family had collaborated with these two for reasons unknown. If the Zhou family members themselves remained silent, they couldn't act on their behalf.
Now that Zhou Zeyao had spoken, they were naturally willing to join in.
"Brother Zeyao, your words are inaccurate. A master can only teach martial arts. As for other things, those without parents would naturally not learn them."
These retainers of the Zhou family enjoyed supreme respect within the family.
Suddenly, a Luo Yanghong appeared, naturally making him unwelcome.
Luo Yanghong's anger was immediately ignited by these taunts. In his mind, these external peak Grandmasters were merely ordinary martial artists who were unaware of the immensity of the world. If not for the fact that he needed these Zhou family members to fight and die for him on this mission, he would have shown them no respect at all.
Zu Chongshan, fearing that his junior brother would clash with them, stood beside his junior brother and said with a light smile, "Esteemed seniors, my junior brother recently suffered a severe injury and has not yet fully recovered. Please be understanding."
Before anyone else could speak, Zu Chongshan immediately shifted the topic to the illusion formation at hand.
"I have found the core of this illusion formation. I request the esteemed seniors to help me forcefully open a path."
Zu Chongshan claiming to have found the core of the formation truly raised the eyebrows of everyone present.
Especially Zhou Zeyao.
Zhou Zeyao had some skill in formations himself, but even he had not yet fully deciphered the core of the current illusion formation.
Yet, Zu Chongshan had already found it?
Zhou Qingming asked with great curiosity, "Certainly. But where exactly is this core?"
To break through an illusion, brute force was ineffective; one needed to use mental energy to probe the flow of energy within the formation. When Zhou Qingming had used his internal energy earlier, he had felt some resistance, but his mental energy was suppressed even more severely.
Under such circumstances, to find the center of the formation, unless one knew the formation's layout beforehand, it was...
A faint smile appeared on Zu Chongshan's face. He did not answer the question but instead pointed a finger in the air. A ripple then appeared before everyone's eyes.
"This is a secret technique of our sect, which can not only detect formations but also diagnose injuries. My senior brother is proficient in this art, so a mere illusion formation is nothing to him."