The Demon Eye of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Before Mu Chunfeng could finish speaking, more than a dozen dark figures darted out from the dense forest on both sides, silently blocking the entrance to the valley.

The five leaders were all at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the remaining seven or eight were at the late Qi Refining stage. They formed a fan shape, completely blocking the two's escape route.

Qi Yunxiao's expression changed, and he gripped a jade talisman tightly in his hand, nervously staring at these uninvited guests.

Among the men in black, a Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator with a face full of scars stepped forward. His triangular eyes first swept over Qi Yunxiao, then fixed on the storage bag at Mu Chunfeng's waist, his greed undisguised.

"Hehe, I underestimated you, kid. But it's alright, I only planned to capture Qi Yunxiao to report back, but I didn't expect to run into such a fat sheep as you."

Just now, when Mu Chunfeng took out the thousand-year-old spiritual herb, he happened to see it from the shadows.

Upon hearing this, Mu Chunfeng revealed a half-smile: "Do you think you can defeat me with just a few Foundation Establishment cultivators?"

The leader threw his head back and laughed wildly: "So what if you're in the late Foundation Establishment stage? We're from the Fu family of Yuanwu Kingdom! If you know what's good for you, hand over your storage bag obediently. If I'm in a good mood, I might even spare your corpse."

Upon hearing his words, Mu Chunfeng quietly spread her divine sense, scanning the area within a radius of several miles.

After confirming once again that there was no aura of a Core Formation cultivator, he felt a little doubtful—how dare a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator and four early-Foundation Establishment cultivators plot against him, a late-Foundation Establishment cultivator? Was this person too arrogant, or did he have some kind of backing?

Qi Yunxiao leaned closer to Mu Chunfeng and whispered, "I didn't expect the Fu family to still find us. Senior Mu, I'm sorry to have dragged you into this. But don't worry, I've already made arrangements for this valley."

Mu Chunfeng glanced at him: "Are you talking about the magic array in the valley?"

Qi Yunxiao was taken aback, then nodded with a wry smile: "Indeed, senior is indeed amazing, you were able to discover the formation set up inside. This valley was a hiding trap I specially chose, I had long been on guard against the Fu family chasing after us, and it came in handy today."

Seeing the two men talking quietly to themselves and completely ignoring him, the leader flew into a rage: "You won't listen to reason! Get them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen cultivators simultaneously unleashed their magical artifacts, which flashed with various colors of spiritual light as they rushed towards the two of them.

Mu Chunfeng casually tossed out a few intermediate-level fire talismans, and several fireballs exploded with a bang, the flames and smoke temporarily halting the pursuers' advance.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, he and Qi Yunxiao turned around and ran into the depths of the valley.

Qi Yunxiao rushed ahead to lead the way, and when he reached the center of the valley, he suddenly crushed the cyan jade talisman in his hand.

Almost simultaneously, an oval-shaped cyan light curtain suddenly rose beneath the feet of all the Fu family cultivators who had chased into the valley, trapping them all inside.

The surface of the light screen shimmered with spiritual light, and wisps of breeze suddenly arose within the array. At first, they merely brushed against the face, but in an instant, they became as sharp as knives.

The Fu family members were surrounded by the formation and immediately fell into chaos, unleashing their magical artifacts to attack the formation barrier.

However, those attacks, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, only stirred up faint ripples on the light screen, unable to shake it in the slightest.

Qi Yunxiao held the array plate, chanting incantations and rapidly forming hand seals.

As he moved, the gale within the formation intensified suddenly, with each wisp of wind transforming into a sharp blade, spinning and cutting wildly within the formation.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators barely managed to defend themselves with their protective magic artifacts, but the Qi Refining cultivators on the outermost edge couldn't dodge in time and were instantly slashed all over by the wind blades, screaming as they fell to the ground.

"A bunch of useless trash!"

The leader looked at his men, who were in complete chaos, but showed no sign of panic.

He reached out and patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A flash of light appeared, and a giant beast, about ten feet in size, landed with a thud, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The giant beast resembled a blue ox, with a single horn on its head, palm-sized bluish-black scales covering its back, and its four hooves gleaming with a pale silver light. It was none other than the Fu family's clan-protecting spirit beast—the level-five demon beast, the Iron Rhinoceros Beast.

The leader simultaneously took out a golden bell, infused it with magic power, and gently shook it.

"bite--"

The crisp sound of the bell carried a special spiritual energy fluctuation, penetrating the whistling wind and reaching every corner of the formation.

The Iron Rhinoceros immediately let out a deep, resonant moo, and a black light shield suddenly appeared on its body, protecting all the Fu family cultivators inside.

The countless wind blades struck the light shield, producing only crisp "clanging" sounds, leaving not even a trace.

"With our Fu family's clan-guarding spirit beast here, what can your formation do to me!"

The leader's arrogant voice rang out through the formation, his smugness overflowing.

"The clan's guardian beast? It really is the Iron Rhinoceros Beast."

A glint of light flashed in Mu Chunfeng's eyes as he recalled the level 5 demon beast in the original story that could withstand a full-force attack from a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator.

Ordinary spirit beasts need to recognize a master and be carefully tamed before they can be driven, but this Iron Rhinoceros Beast is different—as long as you get that one and only golden beast control bell, anyone can directly command it.

Having such a readily available Core Formation level combatant right in front of you is like a treasure delivered to your door.

Upon seeing this, Qi Yunxiao's expression became even more solemn.

He gritted his teeth and activated the array plate again, pushing the power of the Heavenly Wind Raging Array to its limit.

The howling wind was like the wailing of ghosts, and the dense wind blades were like a torrential rain, continuously pounding on the Iron Rhinoceros Beast's light shield, but all to no avail.

Seeing this, the leader's smile grew even more sinister. He rang the bell again, and the sound became more rapid.

"roar!"

The Iron Rhinoceros Beast let out a roar like muffled thunder, the sound waves of which even through the array caused Mu Chunfeng's blood and qi to ripple slightly.

Qi Yunxiao's face turned deathly pale, his eardrums were ringing, and he almost lost his grip on the array plate.

The Iron Rhinoceros stomped its four hooves on the ground, its massive body crashing into the azure light barrier like an out-of-control chariot.

"Bang!"

A deafening roar shook the entire valley.

The light screen shook violently, its surface instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and its spiritual light dimmed considerably.

The leader was overjoyed at the sight and kept shaking the bell, ordering the iron rhinoceros to continue its ramming.

Each collision deepened the cracks in the light barrier, and Qi Yunxiao's face paled further.

Although the Heavenly Wind Frenzy Formation that Xin Ruyin gave him could briefly withstand attacks from the Core Formation stage, it could not withstand such a brutal and continuous onslaught.

At this rate, the formation will shatter completely in at most ten more breaths.

Qi Yunxiao's heart was in his throat. He was about to use another formation to fight to the death when Mu Chunfeng suddenly said, "Young friend Qi, once the Heavenly Wind Formation is broken, immediately activate the other formation. Remember, only trap people, not Iron Rhinoceros Beasts."

Qi Yunxiao was taken aback. Forgetting his shock that Mu Chunfeng had discovered another formation, he hurriedly advised, "Absolutely not! Senior, this is a level five demonic beast, comparable to a Core Formation cultivator. Releasing it would put us no match!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Mu Chunfeng's gaze was fixed on the rampaging beast, his eyes gleaming with undisguised desire. "You just need to continue using the formation to trap those Fu family cultivators. I'll handle the Iron Rhinoceros Beast."

Qi Yunxiao wanted to persuade him again, but just then, a crisp "crack" sounded.

The Iron Rhinoceros Beast crashed into the light barrier once again, and the already overburdened cyan light barrier finally shattered completely, turning into countless specks of light that dissipated into the air.

"Hahaha! The formation is broken! Kill them!"

The leader was overjoyed and rang the bell to command the iron rhinoceros to charge.

But just as the Heavenly Wind Formation shattered, Qi Yunxiao, following Mu Chunfeng's instructions, suddenly crushed another white jade talisman.

Countless white threads suddenly rose from the ground, instantly weaving into a huge net that precisely trapped all the Fu family cultivators who were still in place—including the leader—except for the Iron Rhinoceros Beast, which had already broken out of the original formation's range.

This is the Illusionary Heavenly Net Array jointly crafted by Xin Ruyin and Qi Yunxiao, specifically designed to trap low-level cultivators with weak spiritual sense. Once entangled, they are unable to break free in a short period of time.

"What?!"

The leader's expression changed drastically; he hadn't expected Qi Yunxiao to have hidden a formation.

He desperately tried to break free by channeling his magic, but the white threads tightened more and more, and he couldn't move at all.