Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The group proceeded along the corridor and entered the hall.

Although Zhang Huaide called it a room, it was more like an indoor sports field, with both length and width exceeding a hundred meters and a height of about seven or eight meters, spacious and empty.

In the very center of the hall stood a life-size upright copper mirror.

Beyond that, there was nothing else.

"Spread out, Five Elements Formation," Chen Lingyun quickly transmitted her voice, commanding.

The Five Elements Formation meant that the five-person team stood in the east, south, west, north, and center. The central striker served as the tank and primary attacker, dealing with and drawing in the guardian's frontal firepower, usually taken up by the sword immortal most adept at adapting. The other four positioned themselves in the four corners, attacking and restraining the guardian.

The one standing behind the central striker, also facing the guardian, could be impacted by the opponent's attacks, hence the battlefield pressure was only second to that of the central striker. As for the three on the sides and the back of the guardian, they could freely use various means without facing the guardian's direct assaults.

Of course, the guardian wasn't a boss in a game; there was no such thing as holding its aggro, so the actual use of the Five Elements Formation involved frequent movement and rotation—if the guardian moved or turned, the formation also had to be immediately adjusted.

For the Zhenhai Team's Five Elements Formation, Yan Yu unhesitatingly took the position of the central striker; Lin Ning acted as the deputy striker behind him, while Zhao Yuanzhen and Xie Ruoxi took the left and right flanks, respectively, and the safest rear position naturally went to Chen Lingyun, who bore the responsibility of command.
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The team arranged their formation and waited for a moment when suddenly the surrounding temperature seemed to drop.

It wasn't the body feeling cold, but a kind of chilling cold that seemed to arise from the depths of the heart, as if something terrible was about to descend.

You could see a petite and delicate girl had stepped out of the upright mirror in the center at some point.

Her hair was coiled into an extremely intricate cloud bun, adorned with various jade pins and golden ornaments, and she was wearing ancient Chinese Tang-style attire. Her upper body was tightly wrapped in a bodice, a long skirt trailing on the ground, with a large-sleeved cloak worn over it, giving off an ethereal and otherworldly feel.

However, her garments were in shades of deep black and purple-black, completely lacking the bright and grandiose air of Tang dynasty clothing, adding instead a sense of gloominess and a chilling aura.

The group noticed that she carried nothing in her hands—neither the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Prison Banner obtained from the Changping Secret Realm nor the Divine Evil Prayer Beads recently seized from the Southern Border.

But the face above the neck of the body wrapped in the dark palace attire was undoubtedly Chen Lingyun's. Her eyebrows and eyes seemed to have gained more maturity and weariness, but it was well-masked by her makeup.

"Oh my," the eerie beauty in palace attire surveyed her surroundings, her gaze flowing, and smiled, "It's the Five Elements Formation."

"Don't act rashly yet," Chen Lingyun suddenly sent a message to the group.

The palace-dressed beauty gracefully turned her head back, looking at the Chen Lingyun behind her, and said smilingly:

"You set up the Five Elements Formation to test my identity, whether I am the future you, or some copy that can read your thoughts."

"Then please enlighten me," Chen Lingyun said with a smile, "If it's the future me, you would surely tell me the answer, right?"

"Sadly," the palace-dressed beauty continued to smile, though her features were identical, her smile was extremely soft and seductive, making her seem completely different from Chen Lingyun, "it's neither. Even if I could explain it to you, the current you wouldn't understand."

"Are we done yet?" Yan Yu urged, though it wasn't clear whether he was rushing Chen Lingyun or deliberately provoking the palace-dressed beauty, "Can't we fight and talk at the same time? There are four others queuing up behind us!"

"Sure," the palace-dressed beauty turned back, smiling as she said.

Suddenly, she sat back, and a chair appeared beneath her without warning.

No, not just a chair.

What emerged from the floor was an extremely ornate imperial conveyance, carried by four stout ghostly attendants; two ghostly ladies in a maid's appearance stood behind the beauty, both hands held high, carrying a black satined Nine Phoenix Umbrella to block the sun; two other ghostly ladies on her outer sides held slanting purple-feathered pheasant fans to ward off the wind; and yet another ghostly lady knelt beside her, hand offering a white jade tray with celestial delicacies and divine brews, presented respectfully before her.

The palace-dressed beauty sat in the center of the conveyance, elegantly crossing one leg, her left arm lazily resting on the armrest, her right index finger seductively placed at the corner of her mouth, revealing a cold and superior smile:

"Then, try to please me," she said.

"If you perform well, I might share with you some... little secrets she isn't willing to share~"

"Attack!" Chen Lingyun swiftly commanded.

Yan Yu had already executed the Cloud Dividing Eight Trigrams Step, rushing toward the yin ghost conveyance like lightning.

But no matter how much he surged forward, the distance to the palace-dressed beauty remained unchanged, as if the space between them was infinitely stretching—you move forward several steps, and the space extends just as much.

This was a formation.

In the moment he realized something was wrong, Yan Yu switched from charging forward to sidestepping and cast his divine sense swiftly around.

He didn't understand formations, but he knew how to break them—every formation must have a pivotal point, just as a house must be built on a foundation.

Destroy all the pivotal points, and the formation would collapse on its own.

The moment Yan Yu arrived at this conclusion, he saw four enormous ghostly shadows appear out of thin air in four different directions.

The minotaur holding a delicate pagoda faced Zhao Yuanzhen, using the pagoda's spiritual light to pin the Yin Wind Sword down, preventing it from advancing an inch.

The horse-faced creature wielding a thirteen-foot greatsword faced Lin Ning, blocking the Green Bamboo Sword's attacks with massive swings, and the clang of metal rang out nonstop.

The Black Impermanence holding the Ghost-painted Iron Umbrella faced Xie Ruoxi, using the umbrella to withstand the bombardment of Jade Pivot Thunder without suffering any damage.

The White Impermanence carrying a four-string pipa faced Chen Lingyun, strumming it with a tune that carried a hidden golden murderous aura, forcing Chen Lingyun to constantly move around dodging.

That gorgeously dressed beauty "Chen Lingyun" simply waved her hands and called forth four high-level Yin Ghosts, each wielding a magical treasure, to match up one-on-one against the four cultivators of the team, leaving only Yan Yu without an opponent.

Yan Yu didn't rush to assist his teammates either, but silently stared at the gorgeously dressed woman and pondered inwardly—as she looked back at him from a distance and suddenly said with a smile:

"Not taking action?"

To attack her, he must first break the formation. The pivotal points were most likely these minotaur, horse-faced creature, and the Black and White Impermanence...

"My four pivotal points are the minotaur, horse-face, Black and White Impermanence," said the gorgeously dressed woman casually. "As long as you can break them one by one, resolve my Yin Demon Great Formation, then consider this challenge as passed."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yu no longer hesitated, executed the Cloud Dividing Eight Trigrams Step, and with a flicker of his form, he suddenly rushed towards the White Impermanence.

"Choosing to help me first? That makes sense," commented the gorgeously dressed woman with a beaming smile. Her voice was not loud, but all five people on the scene could hear her clearly, "After all, I am the weakest in the team."

"Yan Yu, do you know? I don't care no matter how much you mock me usually, because I know you're just trying to tease me. But you didn't even bother to clearly understand the situation and subconsciously thought that I needed help the most. It's this kind of subconscious contempt that bothers me," she continued.

"Focus," Yan Yu quickly sent a mental message to Chen Lingyun, and they continued to attack the White Impermanence together.

Chen Lingyun grunted in acknowledgment, concentrated on commanding the Purple Extreme Sword to launch an attack.

The smile gradually faded from her face.

"Actually," the gorgeously dressed woman went on, "you all think I usually maintain a cool and collected demeanor, but that's just a mask I wear."

"I'm actually someone who's very afraid of being lonely and alone."

Yan Yu dodged the pipa's sword impact, and the White Impermanence flicked its tongue out like an arrow. Yan Yu was about to dodge again when he suddenly heard the gorgeously dressed woman's words and nearly got distracted and hit.

Not good, I really want to laugh... This spiritual attack is too terrifying!

Over on Chen Lingyun's side, her face had turned ashen. She summoned her True Yuan with all her might, masterfully commanding the Purple Extreme Sword to block every note from the White Impermanence's pipa.

Seizing the opportunity, Yan Yu controlled his sword to strike, dodging the White Impermanence's tongue attack, and a powerful sword light pierced right through its chest.

After dispatching one target, the two quickly turned to support Zhao Yuanzhen, but then they heard the gorgeously dressed woman say in a haunting voice:

"My parents' marriage wasn't happy; they were just together out of mutual benefit, resulting in my skeptical attitude towards the relationships between people from a young age.

I depended on the love from my parents, but couldn't confirm whether they truly loved me or saw me merely as a continuation of their genes; I cherish our friendship, but I also don't know if you see me as an equal and genuine friend, or if it's simply because of the benefits I can bring you."

"Shut up!" Chen Lingyun finally lost her composure and bellowed furiously.

But the gorgeously dressed woman wouldn't stop and continued:

"I can't even be sure if my feelings for Yan Yu are love, or just an illusion caused by the effects of estrogen hormones in my body. Maybe it's difficult for pure feelings to exist 100% between people, but I'm convinced that's exactly what I earnestly desire. Even with a hint of other factors mixed with affection, I wouldn't want such impurity...

because I am that kind of girl who pursues perfection in such a stubborn and twisted way."

Yan Yu felt like he was going to die of laughter, but had to forcibly keep a straight face, mentally communicating to Chen Lingyun:

"Don't engage with her, focus on the battle. The sooner we finish, the sooner we're free."

Chen Lingyun, trembling with anger, clenched her teeth and activated the Nine Heavens Yin Demon Divine Evil Prayer Beads, forcefully hurling them at the pagoda-carrying minotaur with a ferocity as if she wanted to smash it into minced meat on the spot.