Murong Yi felt as though she had been struck by lightning.
She froze where she stood, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief.
"M-Master..."
Her lips trembled, but she could no longer form a complete sentence.
The realization hit Murong Yi like a bolt of lightning.
The Nine Nether Poison Tempering Pearl had already fused with him.
The only way to retrieve it...
...was for him to die.
A sharp ache welled up in her chest as tears blurred her vision.
So from the very beginning...
Master had been protecting her.
Everything he had done, every word he had spoken, had been to shield her from the consequences of obtaining the Immortal Artifact fragment.
At that moment, Mo Yu's small figure seemed to grow endlessly in her eyes.
Like an unshakable mountain that stood between her and the storm.
A shelter against the wind and rain.
A guardian who refused to let harm reach her.
Su Meier looked toward Jun Wuhen once more, her voice icy.
"What you want is impossible."
"We can compensate you with something else."
"How about a Top-Grade Spirit Treasure in exchange for that item?"
Jun Wuhen frowned slightly.
He hadn't expected the Poison Tempering Pearl to have already fused with Mo Yu.
But the surprise only lasted for an instant.
A jet-black spear condensed in his hand, its tip aimed directly at Mo Yu.
"Hand him over."
"We have our own methods of retrieving my item without taking his life."
Mo Yu merely chuckled and shook his head.
"I've already told you."
"Anything that falls into my hands belongs to me."
"I have no intention of returning it."
Murong Yi suddenly stepped forward, summoning the Nine Nether Poison Tempering Pearl into her hands.
She held it out with both palms, her voice resolute.
"The item is with me. It has fused with me."
"I'll go with you."
"Let them leave."
Before she could take another step, Mo Yu grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.
"Stop making trouble."
"M-Master..."
She wanted to continue, but Mo Yu cut her off.
Spiritual light flashed.
Ropes woven from pure spiritual power instantly wrapped around Murong Yi, binding her from head to toe.
Within moments, she was tied up like a rice dumpling.
Mo Yu casually tossed her behind him.
"What's mine is mine."
"Even you are mine."
"So why would I hand you over?"
He truly couldn't understand how someone could be this naïve.
Did she really believe Jun Wuhen would keep his promise?
Even Mo Yu wouldn't dare entrust his own life to the words of a Demonic Cultivator.
Murong Yi struggled with all her strength, but the spiritual bindings only tightened around her body.
Soon she could barely move.
She could even feel her breathing becoming difficult.
Tears silently rolled down her cheeks.
There was nothing she could do.
Even... she belonged to Master?
Her cheeks instantly turned crimson.
When Master grows up...
...it wouldn't actually be impossible...
Her face stiffened.
Murong Yi!
At a time like this...
What are you even thinking about?!
She silently cursed herself, shame and guilt intertwining in her heart.
Jun Wuhen's expression completely darkened.
His eyes overflowed with murderous intent.
"Since you've chosen this path..."
"Then I'll simply take it from your corpses."
Mo Yu smiled faintly.
"We've been talking for quite a while."
"It's about time everyone witnessed my latest masterpiece."
He stomped heavily on the ground.
The Four Symbols Formation Plate beneath his feet erupted with dazzling radiance.
Brilliant pillars of light shot into the heavens, illuminating the entire sky.
Mo Yu slowly raised his hand.
"Four Symbols Formation..."
"Black Tortoise Formation—Rise!"
As Mo Yu's words echoed across the battlefield, the earth began to tremble violently.
Mountains shook, the ground split apart, and endless spiritual energy surged toward the heavens.
A colossal phantom of the Black Tortoise slowly rose from beneath the earth.
Its massive body seemed capable of supporting the heavens themselves.
The moment it fully manifested, it let out a thunderous roar.
The deafening cry reverberated across the nine heavens, while an ancient and majestic aura swept over the battlefield like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Jun Wuhen's expression changed dramatically.
"A sixth-tier Formation?!"
For the first time, genuine astonishment appeared on his face.
Jun Sha's heart also skipped a beat.
He had never imagined that Mo Yu was also a Formation Master.
A sixth-tier Formation...
That was a Formation capable of contending with a Void Refinement Realm cultivator.
Yet the one controlling it was merely a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.
How was that even possible?
Setting aside the profound mastery of Formation Dao required, the sheer amount of spiritual energy needed to activate such a grand Formation was far beyond what any Nascent Soul cultivator should possess.
And this boy...
...was only twenty-four years old.
If he could already achieve such a feat now...
What terrifying heights would he reach in the future?
For the first time, Jun Sha felt a genuine sense of apprehension.
Even...
Fear.
Not far away, the other two Body Integration Realm Elders of the Starry Sky Holy Land exchanged silent glances.
Each saw the same unconcealed shock reflected in the other's eyes.
Behind Mo Yu, Murong Yi remained tightly bound by spiritual ropes, wrapped up like a rice dumpling and unable to move.
Even so, her eyes sparkled with amazement.
She didn't understand the intricacies of Formation Dao.
Nor did she know just how incredible a sixth-tier Formation truly was.
But one thing was perfectly clear.
Master was amazing.
That alone was enough.
As expected of the Son of Luck...
Su Meier was also caught off guard.
She vividly remembered that not long ago, Mo Yu had been utterly clueless about Formations. He had even become hopelessly trapped inside one of Ling Wanqing's Illusion Formations.
Yet now, he was capable of deploying a Formation of this caliber.
His comprehension was simply monstrous.
"Sister Mei'er, catch!"
Mo Yu's voice rang out.
Su Meier instinctively reached out and caught the object flying toward her.
It was a Formation Plate.
The Big Dipper was engraved across its surface, with only the final star glowing faintly, radiating a soft starlight.
"That's the core Formation Plate."
Mo Yu explained calmly.
"Although the Black Tortoise Formation is only sixth-tier, its defensive power surpasses many ordinary seventh-tier Formations."
He looked at her with complete confidence.
"Senior Sister... with this, defeating them shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Naturally."
Su Meier smiled confidently.
With this Formation under her control, her combat strength would increase dramatically. The combination of the Formation and her own abilities would produce far more than a simple addition of power.
However, the moment she extended her Divine Sense into the Formation Plate, her expression subtly changed.
A flash of astonishment crossed her beautiful eyes.
An Immortal Artifact...
So that was the reason.
No wonder Mo Yu had been able to construct a sixth-tier Formation despite only being at the Nascent Soul Realm.
It wasn't merely his comprehension—he had also been using the power of an Immortal Artifact.
Now everything made sense.
*****
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