Chapter 1106: Hand in Hand

"There's no need for this,诸位. Our purpose here is the same—to seize the treasure. Though they are demons, they bear no deep enmity toward you. Why be so hostile?" Qimazi said, seeing the two sides at a standoff and the atmosphere tense.

"Hmph! Those not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. These demons once plagued the immortal realm and have been suppressed here for over a million years. Do you expect us to believe they bear no grudge and wouldn't devour us given the chance?" Lei Yuce sneered.

"Then what does Fellow Daoist Lei suggest? That we fight to the death here? The dead naturally won't get the treasure, but what of the living? How confident are they in passing through this Heaven-Piercing Sword Formation? Oh... I almost forgot. Fellow Daoist Lei, being from the Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect, naturally can manage." Qimazi said with a smile.

Lei Yuce's expression shifted, anger surging within him. Qimazi's words were insidious, truly aimed at sowing discord.

Sure enough, Jiao San and the others began to hesitate upon hearing this.

"Don't listen to his one-sided story. Demons have hearts like ghostly lairs—untrustworthy..." Wen Zhong frowned, warning.

"Heh, if we're talking about treachery and cruelty, aren't you humans even worse?" the White Bone Demon retorted with a cold laugh.

"Second Brother, I told you there's no point talking to them. Better to just fight directly?" the Bronze Lion Demon said impatiently.

The Blood Hand Demon and Tortoise Shell Demon beside him looked displeased but said nothing.

The Eagle-Nosed Demon also remained silent, only glancing sideways at the Bronze Lion, who immediately shrank his neck and fell silent.

Seeing this, the White Bone Demon nodded slightly and said no more.

"Fellow Daoist Lei, forgive my intrusion. While we argue over whether to fight or not, someone is already breaking the formation inside. If he gets there first, not only will we miss out on the treasure in this hall, but that old demon inside..." at this moment, the previously silent Xiong Shan suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, Lei Yuce's heart skipped a beat. Almost everyone was gathered here, so the identity of the person in the formation was obvious.

If someone else had entered the formation, Lei Yuce wouldn't be too worried. But the person inside was likely Han Li, whose strange abilities he could never fathom, so he couldn't help but worry.

Most importantly, the formation diagram of the Heaven-Piercing Sword Formation must not fall into his hands.

"Enough. What you say makes sense, and I can't argue. Let's set aside our differences before entering the hall and join forces to break the formation. What do you say?" Lei Yuce sighed.

Qimazi glanced at the Eagle-Nosed Demon, as if seeking his opinion.

"I'll leave it to you to decide." The Eagle-Nosed Demon nodded.

"We have no objection. It's up to you." Qimazi said upon hearing this.

Lei Yuce then turned to Jiao San and the others, who also nodded, with no one opposing.

"As a sign of sincerity, I have ordered all my subordinates to stay far away and not approach. I hope Fellow Daoist Lei can show some sincerity as well." Qimazi looked at Lei Yuce.

"What do you mean by that?" Lei Yuce feigned ignorance.

"This Heaven-Piercing Sword Formation comes from your Heaven-Piercing Sword Sect. Don't you have any method to break it to share?" Qimazi said coldly.

"You may not know this, but the complete method for setting up this formation has long been lost in our sect. The formation diagrams in our collection have evolved over the years and are no longer in their original form. As for how to break it, I'll only know once I enter the formation." Lei Yuce sighed, somewhat regretfully.

Qimazi raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing him.

"If you don't believe me, I can't help it. You could try breaking the formation first if you like; we won't stop you." Lei Yuce spread his hands, looking helpless.

"Forget it. In that case, we'll enter together. I believe once inside, you'll have no choice but to put in full effort to break it." Qimazi smiled.

"Naturally. Once inside, after investigating the changes and mysteries of the formation, I'll be confident in breaking it." Lei Yuce nodded.

With the plan set, the group split into two teams and stood before the formation.

"Everyone, once we enter the formation, remember not to move about recklessly. The more you move, the stronger the formation's attacks will be. You can first find a node to try and break." At that moment, Lei Yuce transmitted his voice to Jiao San and the others.

"Thank you for the reminder." They responded mentally, their expressions unchanged.

Qimazi glanced at them, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes, then shouted:

"Enter the formation!"

As his words fell, everyone moved and entered the sword formation.

"Stay close to me..."

Just before entering, Lei Yuce suddenly grabbed Su Qianxi's soft jade hand and floated in with her.

Su Qianxi's heart skipped a beat, and she felt her cheeks warm.

As soon as they entered the formation, their floating forms suddenly sank, as if pressed down by an invisible force, and they all fell to the ground.

Before they could figure out what was happening, chaos surrounded them.

"Rumble..."

In everyone's ears came thunderous sounds. The world around them churned, and all they could see were patches of dim yellow light. Above their heads, it was like a layer of dark yellow chaotic clouds, obscuring everything.

Su Qianxi and Lei Yuce were together. After entering, they could only see each other; the others were completely out of sight and beyond perception.

The gravity around them seemed to have increased tenfold, making it feel as if a huge mountain was pressing down on them. They quickly circulated their divine powers to resist this force.

Not far from them on the ground, a yellow light pillar twisted upward like a dragon into the chaotic clouds. Inside the pillar, a stone sword glowing with dark yellow light was embedded at an angle.

"It seems this formation is based on the law of earth attribute. Breaking it won't be easy." Lei Yuce observed the surroundings and said.

"Based on the law of earth attribute... what does that mean?" Su Qianxi asked, puzzled.

"The Heaven-Piercing Sword Formation connects to all laws through swords. It has no inherent attribute. Depending on the law contained in the flying swords used to set it up, the formation's phenomena differ, and so do the attacks. That's one reason I said we'd only know how to break it after entering." Lei Yuce explained quickly.

"In that case, how do we break it?" Su Qianxi pressed.

"A sword formation should be controlled by a cultivator to operate smoothly. Since no one is controlling this one, its current state is likely due to the formation diagram acting as the hub. The fastest way to break it is to find the diagram. Once it's moved, the formation will struggle to function." Lei Yuce said after a moment's thought.

As they spoke, a dull sound came from above.

"Boom"

A suppressed, heavy sound came from the yellow clouds in the sky.

Lei Yuce and Su Qianxi instinctively looked up. In the depths of the thick clouds stood a majestic heavenly gate, somehow manifested. The dark yellow gate was half-closed, with a narrow gap in the middle.

Through the gap, they could see a huge yellow vortex inside, from which came waves of unsettling earth-attribute law fluctuations.

Just as Su Qianxi was about to speak, light flashed repeatedly in the vortex within the gate. Then, segments of dark yellow light shot out from the gap, falling toward various places below.

These lights coalesced into giant yellow swords, each over a hundred feet long, shimmering with dark yellow light as they crashed down onto the formation.

"Boom, boom, boom"

Two of the giant swords headed toward Lei Yuce and Su Qianxi. Before they arrived, an oppressive weight rolled down from above, as if compressing the very air above them.

"Be careful, Fairy Su..."

Lei Yuce warned and moved in front of her, raising both hands as if supporting the sky.

Light flickered all over his body. A circular talisman pattern dozens of feet in diameter appeared beneath his feet, radiating golden light. Countless giant phantom sword shadows sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain, rising into the sky.

A series of loud booms followed as the sword shadows from the ground collided with the two giant swords, shattering one after another.

The two giant swords descended in an almost crushing manner, as if an ancient divine mountain was pressing down on them. The oppressive feeling was beyond words.

Seeing the phantom sword shadows continuously break, Lei Yuce's eyes grew more astonished. He murmured:

"Is this the power of the true Heaven-Piercing Sword Formation?"

Just then, a blue light flashed beside him, and a layer of water-attribute law rippled outward.

Su Qianxi was enveloped in a blue glow, her hands clasped before her, holding a pearl the size of a dragon's eye. Blue spring water gushed from it, swirling around her slender jade fingers.

Su Qianxi's eyes were half-closed, her long lashes slightly upturned. Bathed in the hazy blue light, she seemed even more ethereal. Even the moon palace fairy might not be as captivating as she was at that moment.

She softly chanted, then suddenly opened her eyes and raised her hand to wave toward the sky.

"Splash, splash"

A loud sound of water arose. The blue spring water around her hand shot into the sky, suddenly expanding into a massive wave that crashed toward the two giant swords above.

Struck by the flood, the descent of the two giant swords slowed, but they did not dissipate, continuing to press down slowly.