## AST 1055 – Seven Steps Nine Palace Crush; Destroying Formations

With Qing Shui, the Seven-Headed Crystal Beast and the Six-Headed Windfire Wolf hot on their heels, the people were all killed within seconds. There weren’t even any corpses left behind.

The Seven-Headed Crystal Beast was a formidable creature, but Qing Shui could easily defeat it if he used his Buddha’s True Eyes to summon the Buddha image. If he did not use that skill, his base strength was equal to that of the Seven-Headed Crystal Beast. Even that level of strength was considered very amazing.

Qing Shui thought of the Seven-headed Scarlet Serpent. He wondered if the Seven-Headed Crystal Beast would be as powerful as the Seven-headed Scarlet Serpent if it reached the Sacred Land of Panacea. There, its strength wouldn’t be restricted by the laws of the earth…

The Seven-Headed Crystal Beast was a Heaven and Earth spiritual species. Beasts which belong to these spiritual species were naturally unconfined by the laws of Heaven and Earth. The higher their spiritual power, the more powerful they were.

When everything settled down, another ten people appeared not far from them. These people were about the level of the Old Ancestor. The person who stood out at the front was a gentle-looking old man.

Even though the man was old, his condition was very good. He had long eyebrows and narrow eyes on a thing face. His white clothing, combined with his long white hair and beard, gave him a sort of unworldly deity-like aura.

Qing Shui’s spiritual sense was very sharp, so he could tell that the old man had very weak vitality. Once a person’s vitality ended, he would die. A weak vitality was a sign that the old man didn’t have long to live. From the man’s aura, Qing Shui could also conclude that this man was indeed the uncle who had come back from the Four Continents to retire.

The people behind him were mostly old men, but there were also some middle-aged men. Right now, each of them was looking angrily at the scene in front of them. The angry look on their faces was as if they almost wanted to swallow Qing Shui alive.

The Wen Clan had absolute power here. No one dared to offend the Wen Clan, and most chose to avoid them at all cost. This was also the reason that the Wen Clan had become arrogant tyrants, doing all sorts of evil in the dark.

The Ghost Sect was not a righteous sect in the first place, so the Wen Clan’s status in Ghost Sect did nothing much to curb them. There were even some members in Wen Clan who wanted to take over as head of the Ghost Sect.

However, the Ghost Sect was a huge sect and not anyone could just take the position of head, especially not any kind-hearted, righteous soul. Therefore, the members in Wen Clan did not dare to take any sort of risky action. Even though they were powerful, they knew they could not pay that sort of price.

The previous fight with Qing Shui could not be considered a crippling loss, but it was still quite significant. The five Elders had been top-tier cultivators. The Old Ancestor, the second most powerful cultivator in the clan after his uncle, was also dead.

Among this new group, Qing Shui felt that only the single old man in front posed a threat. He had the confidence to deal with the others, but Qing Shui was afraid that they would use a formation. It would be troublesome if these men used that Netherworld Formation again.

The people that gathered here were probably all the remaining elites of the Wen Clan, so Qing Shui wanted to keep them busy here. This would be their retribution for their evil plot and a form of justice for the innocent people killed in the mansion.

Qing Shui could not gauge how powerful the old man was. The sense of danger that hung in the air was very intense, so Qing Shui kept up his current equipments and buffs, planning to deal with the old man in his current state.

If he could, he would kill that old man in front of him as quickly as possible to prevent the possibility that the situation would change. Qing Shui felt a little uneasy that he had this thought, because that meant that he still didn’t have enough confidence in himself.

“Sigh, I am still late. Young man, you have enraged me. I don’t have many years left to live, so why did you have to disturb my peace?” The old man sighed, as if he was grudgingly accepting what was before him. The old man spoke in a normal manner, just like any other elder on the street.

“Do you mean I should’ve just stood there and let myself be killed? Don’t you know what sort of trash you people with the surname Wen are? Do I need to spell it out for you?” Qing Shui retorted furiously. He really hated people who used their seniority to avoid blame.

Qing Shui’s malicious words definitely riled up the old man before him. After all, the old man was also a member of the Wen Clan. It was obvious that Qing Shui was insulting him, a man of even higher status than the Old Ancestor. The old man had not heard such words directed at him for many years. Although he still had a pleasant disposition, it did not mean that he was not angry.

“Ignorant fool. Do you think you are really undefeatable with your capabilities? What a joke…” the old man said to Qing Shui contemptuously.

Qing Shui was startled by what the man said. In his current state, it was not possible for someone to properly estimate how powerful he was, but his opponent seemed unbothered by this.

“Maybe, but you will find that it isn’t that funny in a while. It must be difficult for the Wen Clan to exist after today.” Qing Shui was already fed up with talking. A huge Primordial Flame Ball appeared from the tip of his Big Dipper Sword.

At this point, this matter could be settled with just a battle. Qing Shui took action first, summoning his Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant and throwing the Primordial Flame Ball towards his opponent.

Boom!

Vajra Subdues Demons！

Currently, the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant’s Vajra Subdues Demons had an area-wide weakening effect, so it hit the opponents before the large Primordial Flame Ball’s explosion with billowing smoke.

With Qing Shui’s current stats, his Primordial Flame Ball was considerably powerful. With that explosion, the two weakest Elders died on the spot, some of the middle-aged man disappeared and many of the rest were badly injured.

Now, the old man raised his brows but his expression still didn’t change by much.

“Evil Spirits Dragon Trapping Formation!”

The remaining ten people instantly stood in formation. The old man took out a large onyx-black cane and swung it at Qing Shui. A large black phantom-like figure rushed towards Qing Shui.

This was the Ghost Sect’s secret technique: Haunting Phantoms!

It was actually a type of technique that used spirit energy created by an accumulation of Yin Energy. It is similar to Qing Shui’s Golden Buddha Palm, which concentrated Yang Energy.

Great Golden Buddha Palm!

A large Buddha hand grabbed the phantom!

The air filled with a loud, intense boom. Qing Shui waved his arms and sent two Golden Buddha Palms towards the old man!

The old man reacted and blocked the attack with another two black phantoms!

Sssss!

The old man made a summoning gesture and a large illusory serpentine demonic beast enveloped him.

Demonic Beast Armor Manifestation!

Qing Shui’s two Golden Buddha Palms were in a deadlock with the opponent’s phantoms. Qing Shui raised a hand and threw out a Descending Heavens Talisman.

4000 stars!

This outcome was a little surprising for Qing Shui. The old man’s strength was actually slightly above 80,000 stars. Qing Shui now felt assured about the fight’s outcome. Even though the old man could back his arrogance with his capabilities, he did not know that Qing Shui’s Arhat Rosary Beads was a Sacred Object of Heaven and Earth

Five Waves Great Golden Buddha Palm!

A row of dazzling large Golden Buddha Palms appeared, imbued with sacred qi, and headed in the old man’s direction. For a moment, the entire place was filled with a golden glow.

Underworld Jiao Rushing the Sky!

The old man pointed his large onyx-black cane towards Qing Shui and a large amount of black colored qi rushed out. In an instant, the qi transformed into a vicious jiao head that grew larger and larger as it flew out of the cane.

Roar!

It carried an evil aura as it headed towards the Five Waves Golden Buddha Palm.

Boom! Boom!

The clash between the Yin and Yang energy created a large explosive sound. Qing Shui’s Golden Buddha Palm were destroyed one after another. Meanwhile, the jiao head flickered, its tail connected to the old man’s cane. The old man channelled his own spirit energy continuously into the attack.

Primordial Flame Dragon Dance! Dragon Transcends the Sky!

A life-like gray dragon with the girth of a man’s calf appeared at the tip of Qing Shui’s Big Dipper Sword. This was a dragon totem that Qing Shui was familiar with. The dragon zigzagged towards the large black Jiao.

The two creatures created with huge amounts of spirit energy intertwined. Both men were very confident in their own abilities, and this head on attack was not only a battle of how strong their spirit energy was, but also one of how large a reserve each had.

Qing Shui was not afraid to fight with the old man using his spirit energy. His spirit energy expenditure was very low, and even if they wanted to compete on how destructive their spirit energy was, Qing Shui held an advantage.

If the old man knew that Qing Shui had an item like the Arhat Rosary Beads, he would not have chosen to fight Qing Shui with his spirit energy. The old man already sensed that Qing Shui had a treasure which boosted his spirit energy, but he did not believe that Qing Shui’s spirit energy was comparable to his.

After this lasted for fifteen minutes, the old man suddenly realized that something was wrong. He quickly gave a command, “Activate the Formation!”

The opponents’ formation started moving, but Qing Shui stood his ground. The skies turned dark as if a large cage hovered above them.

“Evil Spirits Dragon Trapping Formation！”

Qing Shui felt the surrounding Ghostly Qi devouring him bit by bit. This was countered with his Nature Energy. He did not know what would‘ve happened to him if not for his Nature Energy.

With the Evil Spirits Dragon Trapping Formation, his opponents’ strength greatly increased. Qing Shui was not sure if this formation defied the natural laws or if it was because of the “Ghostly Qi”. He only knew that he was not greatly affected by it.

Taking advantage of the situation, the old man swung his cane again, and an invisible Yin Qi surrounded Qing Shui. Qing Shui suddenly felt as if he was stuck in a room which four walls closing him inside.

Immovable Mountains!

‘Whatever happens, I won’t falter’, Qing Shui thought to himself.

Hu hu!

The spirit energy around Qing Shui became erratic and the old man seemed to grow stronger and stronger, but Qing Shui focused and realized that the old man was the eye of the formation. The old man was where all the energy of the formation was accumulated.

Qing Shui started cursing inwardly. The old man’s strength was now about the same as his. If the formation continued to boost the old man’s capabilities, Qing Shui would only be able to protect himself.

Emperor’s Qi! Once his opponent was weakened, Qing Shui stepped on his Big Dipper Sword and leapt upwards in a spiral. Each step was heavier than the one before, but each was laden with profoundness.

Seven Steps Nine Palace Crush！

This was a powerful technique of his Nine Palace Steps, which he had never used before. Even though he was trapped in a formation, everything was still within the logic of the Nine Palace. Once the Nine Palace of the formation crumbled, the formation would be destroyed.

One step, two steps…

Qing Shui moved slower and slower. These were heaven-defying steps, as if he were crushing the sky with each step. The old man tried to attack Qing Shui, but he was unable to do so.

Each step grew heavier and heavier. The old man felt as though Qing Shui was stepping directly on his heart, and his face started to grow pale.

Four steps, five steps…

“Stop him!” the old man hollered.

Six steps!

Qing Shui felt as if his feet were 10,000 catties in weight . He lifted one foot and his face also turned pale.

Seven Steps Nine Palace Crush！

Once the seventh step hit the ground, the old man immediately spat out blood. The first step in using the logic of Nine Palace to destroy formations was that the eye of the formation had to be brought down. That was where the energy was consolidated.