Daoist Master Fei Yu could see through Qi Nanfei's intentions at a glance. He not only tried his best to prevent Qi Nanfei from approaching the Core-Induction Tower but also deliberately led the battle away from it.
Qi Nanfei ventured alone into the territory of the Flying Swan Sect with the purpose of stopping the birth of a new Gold Core Daoist Master in the sect. He was willing to endure a few attacks from Fei Yu to destroy the Core-Induction Tower.
Fei Yu exerted all his efforts to protect the Core-Induction Tower from being damaged and to ensure that the process of Wu Mingwei forming his core was undisturbed.
Qi Nanfei and Fei Yu Daoist Master had clashed several times before, knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses. Unless unexpected events occurred, it would be difficult to determine a clear winner even after two or three rounds of combat.
However, in general, destruction is usually easier than construction. Fei Yu had to protect the Core-Induction Tower, which put him in a somewhat passive position at times.
At this moment, the disciples of the Flying Swan Sect in the vicinity quickly realized the situation and rushed to help.
Typically, Foundation Building stage cultivators would not intervene in battles between Gold Core Daoist Masters, and Refining Qi stage cultivators lacked the ability to approach the battlefield.
Nevertheless, being an ancient sect with Gold Core Daoist Masters, the Flying Swan Sect had ways to influence Gold Core Daoist Masters through its disciples.
Groups of disciples gathered in front of the Core-Induction Tower and jointly activated a massive stone monument. They formed the commonly used war formation of the Flying Swan Sect, the Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation.
The complete Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation required four stone monuments and was divided into four parts. With a sufficient number of Foundation Building stage cultivators, they could suppress a Gold Core Daoist Master using this formation.
However, the Flying Swan Sect did not have enough cultivators to form the complete Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation; they could only manage a partial and incomplete formation.
Nevertheless, even a partial Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation, being the signature formation of the Flying Swan Sect, still possessed formidable power. A transparent light screen rose before the formation, protecting the cultivators behind it and the Core-Induction Tower from the aftermath of the battle between Qi Nanfei and Fei Yu Daoist Master.
Now, Fei Yu Daoist Master could fight Qi Nanfei without worrying about affecting the Core-Induction Tower.
The Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation not only provided protection but also exerted enormous pressure on Qi Nanfei's position.
Qi Nanfei's expression turned unsightly; the strength of the Flying Swan Sect's cultivators placed him in a somewhat disadvantaged position.
Unlike the Flying Swan Sect, the Northern Desert Qi Family's strength was inferior, with only two Gold Core Daoist Masters. For many years, they had been suppressed by the Flying Swan Sect in the Northern Desert.
If the Flying Swan Sect were to produce a fourth Gold Core Daoist Master, the Northern Desert Qi Family might never have a chance to turn the tables and might even face destruction.
Even if it meant paying a price, Qi Nanfei was determined to prevent the Flying Swan Sect disciples from forming their cores that day.
A stern look appeared on Qi Nanfei's face, and he intensified his attacks.
Fei Yu Daoist Master understood what Qi Nanfei was capable of and the stakes involved. He also put forth all his strength to stop Qi Nanfei.
All the cultivators from the Flying Swan Sect present, including Fei Yu Daoist Master, focused their attention on preventing Qi Nanfei. They failed to notice other changes.
Qi Nanfei's first surprise attack had already caused significant impact on the Core-Induction Tower. Although it appeared intact, its internal structure had been damaged, causing the speed of core formation to slow down.
A silver drizzle fell from the sky, not only in the direction of the battlefield and Twin Success Valley but also toward another location.
Both Fei Jiang Daoist Master, who was attacking Twin Success Valley, and Fei Yu Daoist Master, who was fighting Qi Nanfei, overlooked this phenomenon.
Qi Nanfei continued his intense battle with Fei Yu Daoist Master. Battles between Gold Core Daoist Masters could drag on for ten days or half a month without a clear victor if one side intended to prolong the fight.
Meanwhile, at Twin Success Valley, Fei Jiang Daoist Master single-handedly dominated the battle against the pseudo Foundation Building stage cultivator, Xiao Fengyan, and the sect-protecting great formation of Twin Success Valley. By the time the reinforcements from the Flying Swan Sect arrived on flying ships, the outcome was already evident.
The cultivators from the Flying Swan Sect activated another massive stone monument, forming a partial Four-Pole Town-Mount Formation, and launched an attack on the sect-protecting great formation of Twin Success Valley.
After a bitter struggle, the sect-protecting great formation of Twin Success Valley was shattered. The Foundation Building stage elders and Refining Qi stage disciples who were channeling true qi into the formation were left injured, and casualties were severe.
Xiao Fengyan, the pseudo Gold Core Daoist Master, lost the protection of the sect-protecting great formation and was slain by Fei Jiang Daoist Master.
The destruction of the sect-protecting great formation revealed Twin Success Valley's internal situation to Fei Jiang Daoist Master without hindrance.
Upon seeing a high tower within Twin Success Valley, almost identical to the Core-Induction Tower of the Flying Swan Sect, Fei Jiang Daoist Master's face turned frosty.
He no longer had the patience to investigate how Twin Success Valley learned this secret and concealed the construction of the Core-Induction Tower from the Flying Swan Sect.
"Kill them all! I want Twin Success Valley to be annihilated, not a soul left!" Fei Jiang Daoist Master's furious order resounded in the ears of every Flying Swan Sect cultivator present.
With a powerful swing of his horse-cutting blade, Fei Jiang Daoist Master struck the Core-Induction Tower with all his anger. The blow was incredibly potent, and in a massive explosion, the tower was severed in half. Inside, Shan Feiyu, who was in the process of breaking through to the Gold Core stage, perished without even knowing what had happened.
Though Fei Jiang Daoist Master destroyed Twin Success Valley's Core-Induction Tower, the Tenth Water Essence that was supposed to be absorbed by the Flying Swan Sect's Core-Induction Tower ended up flowing in another direction, away from the sect.
Fei Jiang Daoist Master continued his onslaught within Twin Success Valley, venting his anger. It was only later that he noticed this anomaly.
Meanwhile, Fei Yu Daoist Master also realized that something was amiss.
Wu Mingwei's aura had been steadily rising, but after reaching its peak, it unexpectedly stagnated. Some time later, his aura began to decline rapidly.
"This... This is a failure in forming the core? How could this happen? We made adequate preparations beforehand, and with Wu Mingwei's situation, forming the core should have been almost certain," Fei Yu Daoist Master murmured to himself.
Seeing Fei Yu Daoist Master bewildered, Qi Nanfei couldn't help but burst into triumphant laughter.
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