The "formation" she mentioned should be the place where the "black river" was cleaved open with a narrow slit, the very passage through which the rushing ghosts entered this realm.
But— "How do we break it?" Her voice was like a nut pressed within, each word needing an accent to be spoken.
Indeed, how to break it?
Fu Wanyan froze for a moment, looking around in bewilderment.
How could they breach that pitch-black area whose boundaries were almost indistinguishable?
What good was it for her to know the location of the formation?
Among the people present, who could accomplish such a feat?
Suddenly, as if injected with spirit, Fu Wanyan scanned her surroundings with her bright eyes.
Where was Liu Jiang Fusheng?
He definitely could!
Yes, only him.
He was born with the destiny of the Celestial Dao, and he was also the husband whom she, Fu Wanyan, was destined to assist in becoming the leader of the righteous path. Should he not be by her side at this moment?
Where had he gone?
"Fusheng—"
She quickly pushed aside the people around her and shouted loudly, "Liu Jiang Fusheng—"
But her voice did not travel far at this moment, for the momentum of the vengeful spirits above was growing fiercer, their cries and howls piercing, darkening their vision almost as much as the night.
Yu Chengshi, who was privy to some of the secrets of the twenty-eight heavens, considered the catastrophic consequences of Fengdu's actions, and felt as though the sky itself was about to collapse.
"Swamp Prison Vicious Spirits, Manifold Calamities. Must this tribulation truly fall upon us?"
As the surrounding ghostly energy intensified, the spiritual power they could sense was increasingly compressed.
"No more hesitation. Let us charge!"
Yu Chengshi wiped his face, sweat and blood mingling on his palm. He personally led the charge, forming a diamond shape with the others as they surged forward.
"With the combined strength of all, we shall shatter the formation and reseal these passages of the vicious spirits! Fengdu intends to use these spirits to create a vast ghost realm, thereby enhancing the power of ghost cultivators. How can we allow them to succeed!"
"Break the formation!"
The spiritual lights formed by their hundreds and thousands of people streaked through the night like a brilliant comet. They saw the vast expanse of ghostly energy scattered, but it quickly coalesced again at its tail.
The mist filled the sky, the scent of blood suffocating.
Gradually, their advance slowed, meeting resistance.
This was the power of the Ghost Domain.
"Yu Chengshi, look at your current disheveled and powerless state. It truly brings this King great joy, hahaha… You cultivators always believe you can defy heaven and change destiny, that you can control these twenty-eight heavens. Today, this King will show you what it means when righteousness cannot suppress evil!"
The Yu Yi Ghost King ascended to the highest point and directly plunged into that narrow black opening, using his own strength to widen the hole in the sky.
As a result, the number of ghosts became even more astonishing, surging like a swarm of locusts.
Unable to find Liu Jiang Fusheng, Fu Wanyan felt as though the entire area was enclosed in a sealed bottle. Not only was the visibility decreasing, but she was also struggling to breathe.
She pinched her palm and looked up at the sky.
She saw the disciples of the cultivation sects using their spiritual power, guiding their respective flying swords and magical artifacts to dart and weave. However, each beam of spiritual light appeared so weak amidst the dark, ghostly miasma. Blood dripped down, seeping into the earth, the sounds of slaughter reaching the heavens.
A drop of blood landed on her veil. She reached out to touch it, then gritted her teeth, "Why has it come to this?"
At this moment, a spiritual light exploded above, ten thousand beams of golden light piercing the darkness. The previously misty sight suddenly seemed to gain illumination.
The chaotic and bewildered monsters seemed to sense something and paused their movements.
Yu Chengshi, Yan Tianjiao, and the others looked back and saw that Chenghong, the City Lord of Huacheng, and others had arrived.
The leader was surrounded by Buddhist light, his plain white robe shimmering like the dawn glow, radiating such brilliance that it was difficult to look at.
"Brother—"
Seeing Chenghong, Ru Lan's eyes filled with tears, and she cried out.
She was truly in a miserable state now. Those vengeful spirits harmed without form, and each of them had to deal with over a dozen surrounding them simultaneously, making them utterly flustered. Her body was now covered in either bloodstains or the sticky ghostly aura of the vengeful spirits.
Chenghong clearly had just come from a battle. His plain white gauze robe was stained with quite a few dark brown bloodstains. He wore a solemn and tranquil expression. He swept a glance at Ru Lan, seeing that she only had superficial injuries and was not in grave danger, before looking away.
"May my Buddha's compassion abound—"
"Buddha Child—"
The situation was critical. Chenghong did not speak further with anyone. He flicked his sleeve, and a foot-long green lotus appeared beneath his feet. The light illuminated the sea of clouds, scattering in vibrant colors, brilliant as brocade. He hovered in mid-air, and above his head, a great Buddha materialized out of nowhere.
Its divine presence awakened all things; its might opened the eyes of heaven and earth.
The Buddha's awe-inspiring gaze, its divine solemnity, was revealed without question at this moment.
"In this world of the five defilements and evil, I shall enlighten these stubborn sentient beings, subdue their minds, and lead them to abandon evil and return to righteousness!"
He saw a Buddha's palm in the air expand infinitely, vast as the sea of clouds, and descend towards the black clouds filled with grievances and resentment, a place that "hid filth and accumulated disgrace."
*Bang—*
The steadfast Buddhist light in the air emanated immense power. Everything was bright and radiant. Everyone was enveloped by this light, feeling as though their eyes beheld the scene of the sky clearing and becoming pure.
The black clouds rolled like ink, but were scattered by a sweeping wind. Wherever they passed, vengeful spirits shrieked and vanished into nothingness, and the black energy gradually thinned...
"Success... succeeded?"
"The formation is broken?!"
The cultivators flying in the sky, seeing that all the vicious spirits around them had been annihilated, leaving only empty air, felt their hearts pound like drums. Some were excited, others surprised.
But before they could rejoice for even a second, they saw that the black cloud seemed to show signs of returning. The hole created by the destruction of the formation's core was gradually repairing itself...
The smiles on their faces froze on their lips. For a moment, they didn't know what to do.
*Cough...*
Chenghong was not his true self, and the power he displayed was less than half of his original strength.
Moreover, this half had been completely expended to resolve the crisis of the disciples in the sky. His condensed form began to fade.
Ru Lan cried out in alarm, "Brother—"
He cast a final glance in the direction of Rongcheng, then lowered his eyes. His long eyelashes seemed like floating moons on the water, clear and shimmering. Light as a gentle breeze, he whispered.
Until we meet again...
As Chenghong's figure faded into the wind like faint mist and disappeared completely, Ru Lan, eager to rush towards him, was caught by Lu Ziyin.
"Don't worry, this is just his external manifestation! He himself is elsewhere!" Lu Ziyin quickly comforted Ru Lan.
Ru Lan blinked, "Manifestation... My brother has an external manifestation?! No, can one have an external manifestation in the Deification Realm?"
"He is a Buddha Child. Why wouldn't he be able to?"
"The formation is not broken!" Yan Tianjiao said with a grim expression.