Chapter 119: Breaking the Formation

Li Sibai successfully dodged the rain of swords by leveraging the enhanced vision provided by his Purple Light Divine Eyes, the super-computing power of the Bamboo in his consciousness, and the progress he had made in physical refinement.

The wind-element puppet was taken aback, stunned that he had evaded the strike so easily.

Li Sibai broke into a cold sweat. While his evasion had appeared effortless, the toll on his stamina was significant. Despite the Bamboo's powerful processing, the mental strain was immense, and his Purple Light Divine Eyes consumed a great deal of vital energy when kept in such a state of high tension for long periods.

Li Sibai was secretly astonished. The "Method Alley" certainly lived up to its reputation. Although the wind-element puppet was only at the third level of the Phoenix Initiation Stage—which should have been manageable—the challenge lay not just in the puppet, but in the terrain. Generally, wind-element spells were control-oriented; because wind is intangible, their raw destructive power was often inferior to more refined elemental spells. However, the presence of the iron sand, combined with the puppet’s techniques, had more than doubled the lethality of the attacks.

Another characteristic of wind spells is the need for the caster to generate wind using their own true energy in environments where none exists. Here, however, the air was already filled with gale-force winds, allowing the puppet to bypass that requirement entirely and focus solely on controlling the existing air currents, saving a vast amount of energy. With these two advantages, this third-level puppet was more formidable than a fourth-level opponent.

Li Sibai deduced that such environmental augmentation within the quiet inner courtyard must be the result of a grand formation. He realized that if he could break the formation, dealing with the puppet would become significantly easier.

These thoughts flickered through his mind in an instant, thanks to the immense computational power granted by the Bamboo in his consciousness—his greatest current advantage.

The puppet, having recovered from its momentary stupor, launched a second wave of attacks. This time, it corrected the lack of precision that had allowed Li Sibai to exploit its gaps. The iron sand blades that had just attacked him gathered around the puppet, interlocking in the air to form a massive net, which surged toward Li Sibai under the puppet’s command.

Li Sibai realized he was in trouble. Before he could dodge, the net enveloped him and began to tighten, transforming into a pouch designed to trap him completely.

Realizing the net was too vast to escape, Li Sibai gave up on fleeing. While the previous iron sand blades had gaps he could slip through, this net was a seamless, inescapable web. He protected his vital points just as the last sliver of light vanished, plunging him into darkness. The net had closed into a sphere of iron sand, with Li Sibai trapped inside.

Inside the pitch-black sphere, Li Sibai felt no discomfort other than the lack of vision, and there were no follow-up attacks. He shook his head; the spell was impressive for capturing prey, but it lacked versatility. If he were the one casting it, he would surely control the sphere’s shape to launch further strikes.

After waiting for a while and seeing no further change, Li Sibai settled his mind. With the Bamboo working rapidly and his Purple Light Divine Eyes reactivated, his surroundings gradually became clear. He quickly identified the sphere’s weak point; he could escape whenever he chose.

However, he was in no hurry. Leaving now would only mean facing the puppet’s next assault. Staying here allowed him a moment of quiet. As he recalled the battle and the room’s layout, he used his sight to calculate the core of the formation.

Once he had finalized his plan, he gripped his Xuantian Sword and confirmed that the weak point of the iron sand sphere remained unchanged. He channeled his vital energy into the blade and struck. With a thunderous boom, the entire sphere shattered.

Li Sibai didn't hesitate. Instead of attacking the puppet, he bolted toward the northwest corner of the room. This was the source of the wind, and he guessed the formation’s mechanism must be hidden there.

The puppet was shocked to see him escape. It hastily reformed the scattered iron sand into blades and launched them at Li Sibai, closing in on his back within moments.

Li Sibai was still ten meters from the vent. Realizing how fast they were, he turned, dodged, and used his Xuantian Sword to parry the incoming volley.

He tried to press forward, but every time he took a few steps, the persistent iron sand blades reformed and struck again. It was maddening; the blades were not strong enough to injure him, but their sheer numbers made them like a swarm of relentless flies.

At this rate, he would never reach the vent.

Anxious, Li Sibai cast his Purple Light Divine Eyes toward the vent. Looking closely, he spotted a protrusion in the ground, hidden in the shadows of the corner, which he had missed before. Distracted by this discovery, he failed to dodge a blade in time, and a shallow cut appeared on his arm.

Ignoring the blood, he flicked his wrist, sending the Xuantian Sword flying toward the protrusion. A moment later, with a loud "bang" and a series of clattering sounds, the wind died down. The iron sand collapsed to the floor, and the entire formation ceased to function.

With a wave of his hand, the sword returned to his grasp. Li Sibai charged at the puppet. Deprived of the formation's augmentation, the puppet could control only a fraction of the iron sand—less than a fifth of its previous volume. It abandoned the sand entirely and engaged Li Sibai in hand-to-hand combat.