Chapter 186

The five Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Martial Arts Hall captured the attention of most of the red-furred beasts. This allowed Li Fan to hide safely within the Heavenly Spirit Fire Dragon Formation, calmly observing the battle on the island without pressure.

Five sword-shaped Foundation Establishment artifacts struck out alternately, resembling a sharp drill bit, churning any beasts blocking their path into mincemeat.

In contrast, the giant Core Formation beast seemed completely indifferent to the rapidly advancing five-person Heavenly Transformation squad. It merely sped up its rate of grabbing and devouring its own kind.

Along the way, the red-furred beasts, fearless of death, frantically formed a defensive line with their bodies, seeking to block the Heavenly Transformation squad at all costs. These beasts, after all, possessed Foundation Establishment stage power. Under successive waves of the beast horde, the five members of Heavenly Transformation, despite their sharp swords, inevitably slowed their advance.

They had relied on a surge of momentum. Now, with their momentum checked and their advance slowed, the seemingly endless red-furred beasts caused their pressure to sharply increase, which in turn led to an even slower rate of assault.

The situation deteriorated rapidly. At this critical juncture, Huan Sui roared, "Change formation!" Instantly, the other four individuals positioned themselves behind Huan Sui, channeling all their spiritual energy into him. In a dazzling flash of light, the five swords gradually merged into one.

With the five swords combined, their power surged. Sword energy crisscrossed, easily carving a deep gully into the ground. The red-furred beasts blocking their path dissolved in the sword light as if they were made of paper.

In a short time, the giant sword reached the Core Formation beast. By then, the Core Formation beast, having devoured a large number of its kind, had completed the transformation of its upper body from ethereal to corporeal. However, with the sword light upon it, it had no further opportunity to increase its strength.

Reluctantly pounding its chest, the Core Formation beast then extended its thick arms, clamping the giant sword—which was about to cleave its head—firmly in place. The giant sword erupted with incandescent light, attempting to break free. But a black mist, like incredibly tough threads, swirled around the Core Formation beast's claws, firmly binding the sword.

The beast's body had a gaping maw that suddenly opened wide. A horrifying, grotesque roar emanated from it. The sword light abruptly dimmed. From a distance, the sword body appeared twisted, as if crushed by an invisible, immense force.

"Change!" Huan Sui's voice rang out again. The sword light disintegrated, splitting from one into five. The Core Formation beast's powerful grip suddenly found nothing.

The five members of Heavenly Transformation each flashed to different positions, and five distinct swords simultaneously struck the Core Formation beast. "Roar!" The beast let out a pained howl; no blood gushed forth, but its form became slightly more ethereal. It shook its arms, knocking the five swords away. It then violently swung a fist towards the direction of one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, before the shockwave from the punch could reach that Heavenly Transformation squad member, the formation changed again.

The five gathered together once more, appearing behind the Core Formation beast. This time, a different person took the lead. The five swords merged into one again and savagely struck the beast's back. Suddenly taking a heavy blow, it stumbled, nearly knocked to the ground. It then grabbed a handful of its own kind, threw them into its mouth to recover from its injuries, while simultaneously waving its arms to block the sword light.

However, the five-person Heavenly Transformation squad did not engage it in a head-on fight. A moment later, the five separated again, appearing in different directions, leaving five new wounds on the beast. In this manner, the Heavenly Transformation squad continuously weakened the Core Formation beast's power through their shifting formation of separation and combination. Although the beast possessed immense brute strength, it could never land a blow on them. It could only helplessly endure passive attacks, watching its injuries gradually worsen.

Its anger accumulated, and its breathing grew heavier and more ragged. In a fit of rage, the red fur on the beast's body stood on end. After being heavily struck by the merged sword light once more, its rage finally reached an extreme. The red fur instantly seemed to come alive, growing wildly. The beast tore off a large clump of its fur and flung it into the air. This twisted clump of red fur emitted an ominous aura, then continuously elongated like twisted tentacles. The Core Formation beast did not stop, tearing off all the fur from its body.

In the space around it, the red fur intertwined like tangled balls of yarn. If a sword light accidentally touched it, it would be ensnared, requiring great effort to break free. As the red fur grew, the space available for the five Heavenly Transformation members to maneuver became smaller and smaller. They often had to skirmish for a long time before they could land a single sword strike. In contrast, the Core Formation beast, with the red fur acting as a protective aid, became increasingly agile. No longer worried about sword light attacks, it simultaneously launched its own assaults while conveniently throwing swarming fellow creatures into its mouth to strengthen itself.

"It seems the situation is not looking good." Li Fan, observing from a distance, frowned slightly after incinerating a stealthy red-furred beast that tried to approach. He considered whether to secretly offer assistance.

Just then, Jiang Zhengji's voice came from above: "Do you know where you went wrong? The moment that beast fully manifested, you should have launched an all-out attack. Instead, you hesitated, waiting for it to devour a large number of red-furred beasts and undergo a qualitative change in strength before acting. In a life-or-death struggle, a moment of hesitation can lead to failure. Once it entered the Core Formation realm, the outcome of your mission was already sealed. While the Heavenly Transformation formation is formidable, this Core Formation beast has an almost endless supply of its kind as provisions; it will only grow stronger the longer it fights. Your strength, on the other hand, will only diminish. However, your teamwork in forcing out its red-furred form was unexpected. It seems your daily practice was not in vain. For this time, I'll consider you barely qualified."

Upon hearing this, the five individuals, including Huan Sui, first showed a trace of shame. But then, hearing that they had qualified for the mission, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Before Jiang Zhengji's words finished, he appeared above the Core Formation beast's head. The beast sensed danger and attempted to react, but it was already too late. The heavy snow fluttering between heaven and earth now rapidly flew towards the beast. The blizzard, vast enough to obscure the sky, settled entirely upon its body. In mere moments, it completely enveloped the beast. A somewhat comical giant snowman thus appeared at Jiang Zhengji's feet. At first, the beast inside the snowman tried to struggle, but as the snow accumulated thicker and thicker, its movements became progressively weaker. Eventually, it completely lost the power to resist.

While the Core Formation beast was sealed by the heavy snow, the twisted red fur around it writhed, attempting a rescue. But the red plum blossoms, blooming everywhere on Myriad Sounds Island, scattered countless petals in the wind. The red plum petals, like knives, continuously and endlessly sliced through these red tangles of fur. The red fur, cut into extremely fine fragments, fell beneath the red plum trees along with the petals. The petals, carrying the red fur, gradually withered. They turned into dust and were absorbed by the red plum trees, leaving only a clear fragrance in the world.

Jiang Zhengji gazed with appreciation at the red plum trees, now left with only bare branches, and lightly stepped forward, placing his foot on the snowman's head. The massive snowman then gradually shrank. Finally, it became a palm-sized miniature model, which Jiang Zhengji collected. In the blink of an eye, to the shock of Huan Sui and the others, the Core Formation beast that had rendered the five-member Foundation Establishment Heavenly Transformation squad helpless was thus easily captured. This demonstrated the vast difference in power between the mid-Core Formation stage and the Foundation Establishment stage.