Chapter 93: Xiao Qiong Crematorium Grand Opening with Big Rewards

Lost?

The outer maze formation around Xiaoqiong Peak's Alchemy Pavilion.

A group of greater demons, who had transformed into humanoid figures with monstrous faces, stared intently at the wooden sign before them, their numb expressions twitching slightly.

That damned human Qi Refiner, deserving of a thousand cuts, had lured them into this maze!

They could still see his silhouette moments ago, but now he was gone without a trace.

At the front, the old demon in the Heavenly Immortal realm slightly narrowed his slender eyes and casually shattered the wooden sign with a wave of his hand.

"Come out!"

A female demon shrieked fiercely, but there was no response from the surroundings.

The old demon who had destroyed the sign surged with demonic energy, wisps of pale yellow light erupting around him.

A strong gust of wind blew up, instantly dispersing the maze formation in the area.

The surroundings suddenly cleared, and their immortal senses, which had been obstructed, could now probe in all directions...

Almost simultaneously, these greater demons spotted a human burly man in the distance, leisurely drinking water under a large tree...

It seemed as if... he had cursed them until he was thirsty.

The group of greater demons erupted in fury!

Even the mind control of the blood mosquito was nearly broken by this surge of anger!

The burly man seemed to react slowly, only looking up at the rumbling noise and trembling slightly, his face showing panic.

"You demon brats! How did you find me?"

With that, he hoisted his large axe and fled towards the rear.

The more than twenty demon figures had fire practically shooting from their eyes as they unleashed treasures and divine abilities wildly, chasing after him viciously!

Their demonic energy exploded, each one looking ferocious and evil.

Leading the charge were the two old demons in the Heavenly Immortal realm!

The female demon on the left had a bulky figure, her body bursting with blinding green light as her white arms transformed into a pair of green wings.

She spread her wings, striking a pose like a green rooster standing on one leg, hurling a storm of green feathers weighing over two hundred jin forward!

The old demon who had earlier broken the formation, with a head covered in black fur like a rodent, swept his hand, summoning rolling black sand that condensed into pitch-black swords, shooting them fiercely at the burly man's back!

However, the burly man had only run a few steps when he suddenly roared and lunged forward, his figure vanishing strangely...

At the same time, the storm of green feathers, black swords, and dozens of streaks of light trailing behind all disappeared without a trace!

It was a formation!

Ripples like water waves suddenly appeared in the forest, and the more than twenty greater demons reacted quickly, soaring into the air.

But as soon as they left the ground, their vision blurred, and they all plunged into a starry sky, instantly disoriented, losing all sense of direction.

Before they could respond, stars filled every direction—left, right, front, and back!

Even the blood mosquito puppets were puzzled...

They had just encountered some ordinary and basic trapping formations, so why, after advancing a few steps, did they suddenly enter such a high-level grand formation that even the Heavenly Immortal old demons couldn't see through?

Why would such a mysterious formation exist on this unassuming peak?

Beyond the stars, it felt as if pairs of eyes were watching them...

Hidden in the starlight, it seemed like a group of demon-eating madmen or hundreds of emotionless, sturdy war shamans were brewing an aura of slaughter!

Two greater demons in the True Immortal realm exchanged glances and immediately began probing left and right.

But as soon as they took two steps, moving only four chi from their original position, two inconspicuous stars flickered slightly, and two streaks of sword light appeared out of nowhere at their necks...

In the next instant, their heads flew off, spraying demon blood!

Then, divine thunder struck suddenly, shattering the demon souls and primordial spirits in their corpses!

What terrified the group of demons even more was that the two corpses transformed into half-human, half-demon forms, and the demonic energy in them was instantly drained by the formation!

The group of greater demons froze, not daring to move recklessly...

The two Heavenly Immortal realm old demons immediately attacked, bombarding the surrounding starry sky wildly and flinging out their demonic energy, but their assaults echoed into nothing...

However, staying still only temporarily avoided triggering the killing formation's attacks; it didn't mean they were safe.

Wisp after wisp of colorless, odorless poisonous powder drifted quietly under the cover of the starlight, targeting every greater demon present.

Almost instantly, several greater demons with lower cultivation fainted, their eyes rolling back.

One after another, the group of greater demons collapsed in moments, while the two Heavenly Immortal realm old demons held on for just two more breaths, roaring in frustration before slowly falling...

Outside the formation,

Li Changshou's paper effigy, with part of his mind attached, sat on a tree branch and put away the porcelain bottles in his hand.

Deep within Xiaoqiong Peak, the thirty-six formation bases gradually retracted their spiritual energy.

This killing formation, named Xingzang Qian Dou Huanlin Juexin, returned to its dormant state.

Compared to poisonous pills, Li Changshou was more concerned about the consumption of the formation bases' spiritual energy, especially since Xiaoqiong Peak's killing formations would need to be used repeatedly today.

As the formation shut down, layers of ripples appeared in the air.

One by one, the strangely shaped demon corpses materialized, falling from the sky and piling up like a small mountain.

Most of them were in half-human, half-demon forms, their demon souls already corroded by the second wave of potent poison...

"Still, releasing poison by hand doesn't waste any of its potency."

Li Changshou muttered to himself, and three paper figures jumped out from the sleeve of the burly paper effigy, transforming into three stern-faced old Taoists who rushed forward skillfully...

With so many paper effigies under his simultaneous control and the battle situation urgent, with the next batch of enemies on their way, he had to simplify the cleanup.

The paper figures sprinkled three bottles of bone-eroding, soul-melting water and tossed out two soul-capturing beads...

Li Changshou personally flung out handfuls of Samadhi True Flame, and these demon corpses, with most of their defenses dissolved, were instantly engulfed by the true fire.

To protect Xiaoqiong Peak's environment, the three paper figures carefully controlled the range of the Samadhi True Flame while reciting scriptures aloud.

Suddenly, a faint mosquito buzz echoed through the forest.

Li Changshou was prepared; tiny arcs of electricity immediately appeared around the paper effigy's body.

But before the blood mosquito could get within three chi of him, a long tongue suddenly extended from a nearby branch, precisely wrapping around the mosquito and pulling it away.

Croak—

The jade-eating frog on the branch croaked softly at Li Changshou, as if seeking credit.

Cheers of frog croaks rang out from various spots in the forest...

Li Changshou thought it was a pity; he had wanted to test if his "electric mosquito net" worked.

And now it's seeking credit...

After the fight, I'll stir-fry you in a dry pot!

Turning and jumping down from the branch, Li Changshou added more true fire.

Soon, the corpses were reduced to ashes, and he solemnly struck a palm, scattering the ashes in all directions.

Ah, that felt good...

"Another bit of merit earned."

Though compared to the incidental incense merit he had accumulated, this merit from eliminating karmic obstacles was quite insignificant...

The three stern-faced old Taoists quickly cleaned up the battlefield, reverting to paper figures and jumping back into the burly paper effigy's sleeve.

Li Changshou glanced at the damaged trees ahead, feeling a twinge of regret.

Many of these trees were ones he had planted after coming to the mountain...

Oh well, sacrifices are inevitable to protect the mountain gate.

If the Duxian Sect can hold out this time, after the war, he could sneak over to other peaks and transplant some spiritual trees and roots—as a reward from the sect, so to speak...

With a light laugh, he ran to the outer maze formation and hung up a new "Lost?" wooden sign.

Then, the burly man patted his face, sprinkled some spirit beast blood on himself, tore his clothes, messed up his hair, and made his aura chaotic, as if he were severely injured and putting on a brave front...

Restoring his earlier arrogant demeanor, he hoisted his large axe, leaped into the air, and charged toward Potian Peak, shouting loudly.

"Ahahaha!

You demon brats! Your grandpa's back!

Come at me head-on if you've got the guts!

That bunch of useless ones got taken out by my treasure!

Hahahaha!"

On Xiaoqiong Peak,

The outer maze formation that had been blown apart was now restoring itself.

The hidden formation bases emitted light again, slowly returning to their proper positions under the drive of the deeper formations.

A true linked formation system wasn't just about one ring inside another;

Beneath the surface formations, there were deeper formations to maintain and repair them.

The burly paper effigy hadn't gone far when the entire forest looked as it had before, indistinguishable from the outside...

But inevitably, some areas inside had been affected by divine abilities, leaving faint traces.

A moment later, two more figures rushed toward Xiaoqiong Peak from other directions— naturally, the other two paper effigies luring enemies.

The same scenario played out again.

The female paper effigy deliberately got hit by a flying treasure from behind and plummeted downward.

The sword-bearing paper effigy quickly chased after her, with more than ten figures following suit.

Also at the formation's edge, a few of them sensed danger and stopped far away.

But the male paper effigy's actions soon drew their attention again...

The male paper effigy first pushed his "junior sister" into the forest, then turned to face the enemies, his right hand gripping the sword hilt on his back.

"Don't make me draw my sword!"

The group of pursuers couldn't hold back; one led the charge, and they all moved together.

...

In a narrow, dim corner,

Li Changshou felt that if anyone saw his expression now, they might think he was mad.

Sometimes he looked serious and upright;

Other times he grinned mischievously, cursing under his breath;

And then he'd appear carefree, chuckling coldly with a hint of contempt in his eyes.

As for acting skills...

Well, this was because he was simultaneously controlling multiple paper effigies, carefully attending to each one's demeanor, expressions, and details...

The three paper effigies took turns luring enemies around Potian Peak, with Xiaoqiong Peak's grand formation playing a crucial role, isolating the outside view and continuously drawing enemies into the formation, where they were eliminated by killing formations and poisonous pills.

Although his true body was no longer in the Duxian Sect, Li Changshou was giving it his all right now.

So far, excluding the earlier sneak attack with Elder Wan Linjun,

Through operations like poison formations, poisoned arrows, self-destructing paper figures, and luring with paper effigies, he had taken down about a third of the enemy's forces, greatly alleviating the pressure on the Duxian Sect!

In fact, he had become the decisive weight on the scales of victory...

Though the Honghuang world didn't have balances yet...

Apart from Elder Wan Linjun, who had some suspicions, the other immortals of the Duxian Sect were completely unaware of this "reinforcement," left puzzled.

At the same time, Li Changshou had to allocate part of his mind to watch over his junior sister.

A Heavenly Immortal realm old Taoist and a True Immortal realm demon peng were heading east to attack the Duxian Sect disciples who had escaped the disaster via the earth vein teleportation array.

This information had been passed on by the Supreme Elder to the outer affairs elders protecting the disciples.

But with over a thousand disciples and sect members there, how could they evacuate safely on short notice?

Instantly, panic spread through the picturesque valley, with many disciples showing fear on their faces.

For them, a Heavenly Immortal attacking was definitely bad news.

So...

Youqin Xuanya stepped forward again!

"Elders, I volunteer to lure away the enemy!"

"No!"

An outer affairs elder in the True Immortal realm shouted, "How can we cower and let you young disciples risk your lives while we survive?

Elder Tian, let's go face that villain together!"

"Agreed!" Another elder stood up, and the two immediately prepared to take to the air.

Just then, a slightly anxious murmur came from the crowd: "Why not use the earth vein teleportation array to bring in two Heavenly Immortal realm experts from the sect?"

All eyes turned toward the source— it was Lan Ling'e speaking.

Many people suddenly realized this was a good idea.

But a small group of sect members and disciples smiled bitterly.

Those smiling bitterly were the last batch to use the earth vein teleportation array;

In fact, there should have been hundreds of Yuanxian realm members teleporting together, but at the last moment, they chose to stay in the sect and fight to the death with it...

To avoid exposing the disciples' whereabouts, those Yuanxian had personally destroyed the array, cutting off their own escape route.

After a few explained this quietly, the disciples became fired up!

"Let's fight them here to the end!"

"That's right!

Our masters are battling the invaders in the sect— we can't die like cowards!"

"So what if we scatter our souls? I never thought I'd survive my heavenly tribulation anyway!"

Li Changshou frowned inwardly at this situation, as it made his plans harder to execute.

Fortunately, Youqin Xuanya was right there.

'Li Changshou' pulled his junior sister aside and whispered a few words, and the two approached Youqin Xuanya.

The next plan required leveraging Youqin Xuanya's status and prestige as the chief disciple...

A true non-paper tool person.