Ling Fan approached with an unhurried gait.
A trace of disdain flickered in Liu Ke's eyes.
With his status and strength, how dare a mere teenage good-for-nothing presume to suppress him with a mere flip of his hand? He was simply tired of living.
However, the cold smile and disdain on his face froze abruptly the next moment!
As Ling Fan pointed a finger into the air, the formation that had imprisoned all the powerful individuals began to loosen, showing signs of escaping his control.
His eyes narrowed sharply, and he spoke in a gloomy tone, "Good lad, was it you who broke my Puppet Formation!"
"Mine was a Yellow-tier High-grade formation, further bolstered by the Five-Color Altar as its foundation. Only a Profound-tier Formation Master could break it. What formation treasure did you use to shatter my formation? Speak quickly! If you confess, I might spare your life and allow you to cultivate formation arts under me!" Liu Ke said solemnly.
Ling Fan scoffed dismissively and said, "You, an old dog clinging to life, what formation arts do you possess that you deem worthy of my following you? It's truly laughable."
Ling Fan pointed another finger into the air, and the numerous red tendrils extending from the Blood Spirit Fruit snapped apart. The powerful individuals suddenly felt their bodies lighten, their control returning to them!
They were overjoyed.
"Young Master Ling is amazing! Thank you, Young Master Ling, for your rescue!"
"This old man's formations were troublesome, but as long as Young Master Ling can break his formations for us, this fellow is nothing to fear."
"So close, so close! Fortunately, we managed to keep our lives!"
The group of powerful individuals displayed expressions of having narrowly escaped death.
Their gazes toward Ling Fan were somewhat complex.
They had belittled and antagonized this young man countless times before, yet they hadn't expected to be saved by Ling Fan once again!
Liu Ke's face was now as dark as water.
His eyes were fixed on Ling Fan; if his gaze could kill, Ling Fan would have died a thousand times over.
"How is this possible? To break a formation out of thin air, even a Profound-tier Formation Master might not be able to achieve this…"
"Who exactly are you!" Liu Ke gritted out.
He was on the verge of successfully blood-sacrificing all the powerful individuals; success was just one step away!
At that time, he would be able to consume this Blood Spirit Fruit and recover more than half of his peak strength.
But now, all of it was in vain.
"Me? I am someone beyond your comprehension." Ling Fan said indifferently, his face showing no emotional fluctuation.
"Arrogant!"
"Even the Governor of Tianchu Province, the Master of Miyun Mountain, and the Cave Master of Seven Stars Cave all show me the courtesy of juniors and treat me with utmost respect. What are you to dare speak so presumptuously before me!" Liu Ke roared, his hands forming claws as he lunged fiercely at Ling Fan.
A terrifying power fluctuation, enough to make even peak Profound Gang Realm experts turn pale, permeated the air.
He still possessed quasi-Heavenly Yuan Realm strength!
Moreover, he was at the forefront among quasi-Heavenly Yuan Realm experts, just a sliver away from returning to the Heavenly Yuan Realm Grandmaster stage.
This caused the faces of the powerful individuals to become grave.
The Golden Fruit had ultimately proven to be a trap; the surge in strength they had experienced earlier was merely an illusion.
Now, not only had their strength not improved, but a considerable amount of it had been plundered, leaving them significantly weakened.
Despite the fact that there were still over twenty powerful individuals and prodigies present, they might not necessarily be able to defeat such a formidable Liu Ke.
Just as everyone thought Ling Fan was doomed.
Suddenly, the formation light in front of Ling Fan flickered, transforming into a light shield that completely blocked Liu Ke's attack.
Liang Hutu and Liu Xiran let out a sigh of relief.
The other powerful individuals looked on in shock. Had Ling Fan already gained such control over this ancient formation?
It could almost be said that the ancient formation had escaped Liu Ke's control, with its ownership now firmly in Ling Fan's hands.
Liu Ke was so stifled that he felt like spitting blood.
This ancient formation had cost him countless efforts to construct; it was originally his greatest trump card, but now it was being used against him by someone else.
"What other means do you have now?" Ling Fan approached Liu Ke leisurely, not in a hurry.
In fact, if he wanted to suppress Xinghezi, with his current control over the ancient formation, he could directly borrow the formation's power to suppress him. However, this might cause some damage to Liu Ke's body.
Unless absolutely necessary, Ling Fan did not want to see Liu Xiran's elder brother's body harmed.
Liu Ke's eyes shot out an incomparably venomous glare, fixed on Ling Fan.
"You damned brat, you ruined my meticulously planned opportunity of a hundred years! You deserve to die, to die!"
"Do you think that by taking my formation, I have no way to deal with you?"
"I will show you my true means now!" Liu Ke screamed.
His body did not move, but a mass of five-colored spiritual light surged from the crown of his head, transforming into a ferocious and terrifying old man's likeness. Amidst shocked gazes, it rushed into Ling Fan's body.
"Spirit Body!"
"It's a Spirit Body!" Han Lao and the others exclaimed.
"Elder Han, what is a Spirit Body?" Chu Tiange couldn't help but ask.
The other powerful individuals also turned their attention.
"A Spirit Body is something only a Giant Spirit Realm King can possess. Once a Spirit Body is cultivated, even if the physical body perishes, one can still survive in the world, either by borrowing a treasure to become a spirit of an artifact, or by finding a suitable physical body, which is what people commonly call soul possession and rebirth."
"I never expected this Xinghezi to have cultivated a Spirit Body. It seems that when he perished, he wasn't at the peak of the Heavenly Yuan Realm, but a quasi-Giant Spirit Realm King!" Elder Han marveled.
Quasi-Giant Spirit Realm, such a powerful expert, let alone in Tianchu Province, there were very few such individuals in the entire Liuyun Kingdom.
He himself was currently only at the quasi-Heavenly Yuan Realm, a full major realm away from the quasi-Giant Spirit Realm, with a difference in strength that was like heaven and earth!
"Then isn't Ling Fan doomed?" The crowd exclaimed in shock.
"Under normal circumstances, Ling Fan should be doomed. After all, the soul of a teenager in his teens is too fragile. How could it possibly withstand someone who has cultivated a tangible Spirit Body? I'm afraid Ling Fan's consciousness will be wiped out at the first encounter!" Elder Han mused.
"Good that he died! Good that he died! Hahaha." Xiong Kuang and Xiong Daying clapped their hands in glee.
The City Lord of Yunmeng City, Yun Wanshi, also breathed a sigh of relief, a look of schadenfreude in his eyes.
He had initially thought that revenge would be difficult, especially since Ling Fan was protected by a powerful individual like Liang Hutu. He had no hope of capturing Ling Fan.
But now that Ling Fan was killed by Xinghezi's Spirit Body, it could be considered a resolution of a grievance.
Liu Xiwei looked at the motionless Ling Fan with a complex expression.
Finally, she sighed faintly and shook her head.
Liu Xiran, however, began to cry uncontrollably. If Liang Hutu hadn't held her back, she would have rushed to Ling Fan's side.
Liang Hutu also felt a bit uneasy.
After all, although their master possessed many skills, not only was his martial arts terrifying, but he also had that fearsome demonic flame, was a genius in weapon forging, and now had displayed talent in formations.
However, in terms of soul, he was ultimately not as strong as an old monster like Xinghezi who had lived for hundreds of years.
Ling Fan and Liu Ke's bodies remained motionless.
The atmosphere in the palace suddenly became heavy.