Chapter 96: Killing Formation

"Good!" Ji Jiuxuan answered with delight.

Though she had the help of the phantom, she did not intend to let him act unless it was truly necessary.

She still remembered what Long Xuan had said: the phantom, as well as Suiyi, could lend assistance, but if they were called upon too often, it might attract trouble that need not be invited.

She did not know what that trouble would be, but since Long Xuan had warned her, it was best to avoid it. So until the critical moment came, she would not let the phantom make a move.

Passing through the protective formation, even the system could not help but marvel that its host also possessed remarkable talent in arrays. In so short a time, she had already grasped them to this degree.

One had to know that the formation before her was no low-level thing. Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible to break. Yet Ji Jiuxuan had directly found the nodes within it and slipped through the barrier into the interior.

Pressing herself against the wall, she moved forward slowly. Only when she caught sight of Yu Heng did she crouch down and begin to observe him carefully.

Though night had fallen, the moonlight made the black aura on Yu Heng's body plainly visible.

As the black energy rose and fell with his breathing, dark patterns appeared on Yu Heng's face and neck.

According to the records in the book, such marks appeared only on high-ranking demons.

Not far away, a great bird with fiery red plumage and a golden crown upon its head was chained at the feet; lightning flashed around its shackles as it let out a pained cry. The sound roused Yu Heng, who had had his eyes closed.

His blood-red pupils turned coldly toward the Imperial Phoenix Bird, and the black qi in his hand shot toward it at once.

A faint protective barrier flickered around the chained Imperial Phoenix Bird as it tried to resist, but the moment the black energy struck, it was sent sprawling to the ground.

Only then did Ji Jiuxuan notice the many wounds upon the bird's body, each one so deep that bone showed through, while some of its feathers still bore the scorched traces of lightning.

"The grievance energy you wanted, I have brought back. I would have been better off exposing you, and yet you treat me like this. It seems you have no intention of living."

The Imperial Phoenix Bird's tone was extremely unfriendly, its gaze toward Yu Heng filled with a hatred that wished to kill.

"Who are you speaking to? Hmm? It seems you still do not understand the situation," Yu Heng said, his voice carrying murder. The black aura attacked the bird once more.

The Imperial Phoenix Bird, which had just been so fierce, immediately wilted. It lay on the ground with its head drooping, its attitude changing at once. "If you have any orders, just say them."

Watching from her corner, Ji Jiuxuan suddenly found herself unable to bring herself to act.

At first she had felt some pity that the Imperial Phoenix Bird was being treated so brutally by Yu Heng, and a trace of reluctance had stirred in her heart. But after witnessing its lightning-fast change of expression, and hearing the meaning behind its words, she understood.

The grievance energy Yu Heng needed for cultivation had all been gathered by the Imperial Phoenix Bird.

That bird was simply filthy to the core.

"System, I suddenly do not want to catch this Imperial Phoenix Bird to eat anymore. Let's let this go this time, since it is not even your assigned mission."

The system knew why she had abruptly changed her mind. "You do not want to eat it anymore? The meat of this Imperial Phoenix Bird is quite good."

It was not lying. As a high-level spirit beast, the spiritual power contained in its flesh was far beyond that of ordinary beasts.

"Not eating it. I have lost my appetite just from looking at it. Still, killing it to keep it from harming others again would be fine." The Imperial Phoenix Bird had abetted evil, and now it was even helping Yu Heng gather grievance energy. Ji Jiuxuan would not be soft-hearted in killing it.

She watched Yu Heng's condition and at last understood why the system had said that coming at night could deal him a severe blow. In his current state, with his demonic nature briefly showing and unable to be concealed, his weakness had clearly arrived.

It was a pity that her cultivation was still insufficient. If she could settle it in one stroke, that would be the most complete solution.

"Go gather more grievance energy," Yu Heng ordered coldly. He did not even bother to look at the Imperial Phoenix Bird on the ground, nor did he seem at all worried that it might resist or expose him.

The Imperial Phoenix Bird tried to stand, but it could not.

Now!

Seeing that Yu Heng's demonic energy was in turmoil and that control over it was becoming difficult, Ji Jiuxuan understood. That Purple Enchantment Pill had not been useless after all.

She flung the talisman paper in her hand toward Yu Heng's position, and before Yu Heng could react, a massive formation trapped him within its bounds.

The talisman flared with light, and as it spun, the power of the entire formation multiplied infinitely. Caught in the sudden prison array, Yu Heng was thrown into instant panic.

His expression darkened as he looked toward Ji Jiuxuan's position. "Come out!"

He glanced at the protective formation outside. The original array was actually unharmed.

Such a person made Yu Heng wary.

Wrapped in a black cloak and altered by the shapeshifting talisman, the figure he could now see was merely a delicate woman in a hooded robe, her face and form obscured.

Ji Jiuxuan gave him no reply whatsoever. She threw out more talisman paper, and the prison array instantly transformed into a killing formation, surging toward Yu Heng with lethal intent.

In his anxiety, demonic energy rolled violently around him as he tried to break the array, only to discover it was futile. Worse still, with every layer of reinforcement and transformation the formation received, its destructive force grew even more formidable.

High-grade talismans were drawn from her spatial storage as though they cost nothing, one after another hurled toward Yu Heng.

The system was stunned by Ji Jiuxuan's method. As expected of someone who had entered the path of formation arts, perhaps she was the only one who would use arrays in such a manner. So many formations fused together, yet she did not fear chaos at all.

Endless spiritual power flowed within her, and her body possessed a dantian unlike that of ordinary people. Sustaining this formation would never have made anyone guess that the person laying it was merely a four-year-old child at the Qi Refining stage.

With a heavy crash, Yu Heng was struck down to the ground.

Ji Jiuxuan's eyes shone with excitement, and she pressed the advantage, continuously refining the formation.

"Stop! Stop!"

As Ji Jiuxuan unleashed her power with near frenzy, the system hurriedly called out to her.

"Do not strengthen it any further. People have already begun to notice this place. If others are drawn here, you will be in more trouble."

With the system's reminder, Ji Jiuxuan strengthened the outer protective formation once more.

Then she turned her gaze to Yu Heng. This time, even if she killed him on the spot, her eyes would not blink.

"That should be enough to kill him now, right?" She kept feeding more talismans into the array.

The stench of blood filled the air. Yu Heng's body was covered in wounds, and he looked to be at the end of his strength.

But Ji Jiuxuan did not dare relax in the slightest.

"Can you use spatial formations?" Suiyi's voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

"No." Spatial formations were among the more advanced and difficult kinds of arrays. She had not yet begun studying them.

"Then that is a pity."

As soon as Suiyi finished speaking, Ji Jiuxuan understood why a spatial formation was needed. Without fully sealing off the space, Yu Heng, though grievously injured, still managed to forcefully break free from the formation. He then used a secret demon technique to turn into black smoke and flee outside, his demonic aura completely exposed.

Ji Jiuxuan withdrew the array with some regret, then glanced toward the Imperial Phoenix Bird and directly shifted the formation's direction.

The Imperial Phoenix Bird had already been badly injured by Yu Heng. Although the array's power had weakened somewhat, there was still more than enough energy left to kill it.

The moment the Imperial Phoenix Bird gave its last breath, Ji Jiuxuan erased every trace of talisman marks around the area, then left Yu Heng's courtyard.

By then, the appearance of demonic black qi outside had already thrown everything into chaos.