Given Luo Chen's experience, he had immediately noticed the peculiar nature of Qian Ting's bronze basin. Even when using the chains derived from the Primordial Unity Cauldron to interfere and restrain the flying sabers, they always flew back to Qian Ting's side as if rooted to him. Now it was clear the sabers themselves were nothing special. The real trick lay in the basin! The sabers were simply fledgelings returning to the nest, fish returning to the water.

When Qian Ting saw Luo Chen's gaze fall upon his life-bound treasure, a trace of anger appeared on his face. "Xiang brothers, stop holding back and let's end this quickly! Dragging it out will only bring more trouble!"

With their trump cards now revealed, there was no turning back. In an instant, Qian Ting shot out the two flying sabers toward Luo Chen from both sides. Luo Chen tried to dodge, but his massive form had become a perfect target. Even as he shifted with Voidburst Step, thin cuts kept appearing across his body. And that was not the only threat.

Whoosh!

A flail tore through the air.

Clang!

Luo Chen raised the cauldron to block. Yet the next moment, another flail struck from behind. He staggered several steps in midair and spat out blood. The Xiang brothers each held a flail and took positions on either side. Together with Qian Ting, they had locked into a triangular formation that sealed Luo Chen in the center.

"This guy's physique refinement technique is quite strange. I don't see any fortified qi, yet his body is this strong. He took a strike from my flail and didn't even get cut in half. Impressive!" commented one of the Xiang brothers. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Though he praised Luo Chen, his hands never stopped. The two massive flails swept through the air in relentless arcs.

Meanwhile, Luo Chen focused most of his attention on the flying sabers.

Qian Ting was ruthless. Seeing the sabers did little damage to Luo Chen's massive form, he changed tactics and targeted weaker points, like his eyes, ribs, and groin. Thankfully, Luo Chen had consumed large amounts of Black Sovereign Paste and tempered his body to the extreme, making it comparable to a top-grade third-tier puppet; it was only due to this that he had no obvious vulnerabilities. Otherwise, he would have lost his combat ability long ago under such attacks. If he was careless, such attacks could deal serious damage.

The situation had reversed in mere moments. At the start, Luo Chen had taken advantage of their lack of knowledge and transformed into his Sky Roc True Form, unleashing explosive power to instantly kill one of them. But after that brief burst, his advantage became a burden. Qian Ting and the Xiang brothers were not weak by any means; they were all sharp and experienced. There was no way they'd fail to take advantage.

Even in his Sky Roc True Form, Luo Chen was only at the late stage of the third tier, which was more or less equivalent to a late-stage Adept. To face two such powers alone was indeed taxing.

As another wound opened on his body, Luo Chen grew frustrated. If I had a defensive enchanted treasure protecting me, I wouldn't be in such a bad state.

Seeing that his attacks kept landing, Qian Ting couldn't help but smile. "Luo Hai, are you wondering why the formation isn't helping you anymore? Ha! Jin Zhan isn't dead. He went into the sea on purpose to find whoever's controlling it. By now, that person's probably dead. This formation was meant to trap us... but now it's your cage. Just surrender!"

Luo Chen's lips twisted into a feral grin. "Is that so? Then why don't you take a look down?"

Qian Ting did not actually look down, but he did use his divine consciousness to scan the sea, only for his expression to change drastically. On the sea, a corpse rose and fell with the waves. It was Jin Zhan! He had faked his death and slipped into the sea, hoping to find the person controlling the formation. And much to his dismay, he had, in fact, found that person.

At that same moment, the Oceanseal Eight Trigram Formation shifted again. Towering waves surged from the sea and rose into the sky. Black souls emerged from the eight pillars of light and rushed toward the three of them. Han Zhan's voice followed. "Sorry, I was delayed a bit."

Luo Chen did not reply. His massive winged form shot toward Qian Ting. Trapped between the crashing waves and the Ghost Kings, Qian Ting saw the attack, and his expression turned ruthless. He struck the bronze basin.

Donggggg!

A terrifying soundwave spread out. The waves and Ghost Kings halted in place. The two flying sabers merged into a black-and-white beam and shot toward Luo Chen's forehead. Just as the strike was about to land, Luo Chen moved. He grabbed the beam tightly in his hand, and the Primordial Unity Cauldron once more came crashing down like a falling mountain.

Qian Ting's face twisted in shock. How is that possible!? He wasn't affected by my divine soul attack?

Naturally, he had no way of knowing about Luo Chen's Forsaken Chess Piece. A mere soundwave divine soul attack could not affect him. That earlier moment had only been an act. It was meant to remove the threat of the two flying sabers and create an opening for his next move.

As the massive gray cauldron descended, Qian Ting had nowhere to dodge. With no time to think, he instinctively raised the basin to block it. In his view, the cauldron was no different from a big rock, with no special functions, and he only needed to withstand the blow. But this time, the Primordial Unity Cauldron did not come down to smash him. When it reached above his head, it stopped and hovered in place. In the distance, Luo Chen held the twin sabers tightly, and even though blood streamed from his hand, his grip did not loosen. At the same time, his free hand formed seals without pause. Beams of firelight descended from within the cauldron; a searing curtain of fire enveloped Qian Ting, and an extreme heat erupted instantly. Even the air seemed to warp. Qian Ting's face was drenched in sweat, and his flesh seemed to melt.

"Refine him!"

Luo Chen's expression turned savage. He didn't have much mana left, but he poured it out without restraint. He intended to refine Qian Ting alive using the cauldron! Strands of Withering-Flourishing True Fire spread out from his body, speeding up the refining process. With Qian Ting putting up the best defense he could muster, the two fell into a stalemate.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the Xiang brothers were filled with dread. They could not kill all the souls. No matter what they did, Ghost Generals led by Ghost Kings surged endlessly upon the waves. Though they were putting in as much mana as they could and their flails whistled through the air unceasingly, it was painfully clear that their efforts were futile.

"Big Brother, this won't work. At this rate, we'll be worn down and killed."

"The one controlling this formation is stronger than us. This doesn't look good for us."

They spoke in turn, yet their thoughts were in perfect synchronization. After exchanging a glance, they swung their flails forward at the same time in a massive crescent slash. A titanic blade of light shot toward the nearby light barrier.

Chiiiii...

A thin crack appeared—the brothers' combined attack had torn open the barrier that six people had previously failed to break! It was unbelievable! Yet upon closer look, it was obvious that the once-radiant flails had dimmed. They had paid a dear price for freedom: sacrificing their life-bound treasures to unleash that blow. But at this point, the Xiang brothers no longer cared. Compared to their lives, anything else was insignificant.

Xiang Da leapt out through the opening without hesitation and turned back to look. "Little brother, get out now!"

Xiang Er was a step too slow. Just as he leapt to escape, a flood dragon surged up from the sea. Its massive jaws opened, and a terrifying force dragged him downward.

Xiang Da's eyes nearly burst with blood. "BROTHEEEEER!"

He drove his damaged enchanted treasure into the light barrier, trying to force his way back in, but the barrier did not even budge. Suddenly, Xiang Da's expression changed and his protective robe flapped violently as a fierce gale descended from the sky.

This single strike shredded both his enchanted robes and his skin, to the point where he turned entirely bloody. He looked up and saw a woman up in the sky, holding a massive plantain fan and struggling to swing it. She was already preparing a second strike!

"Little Brother, I swear I will avenge you!"