Despite being filled with indignation, Zhang Xuan eventually decided against going. With a deep frown, he asked in a doubtful voice, "Isn't the little princes of the Luo Clan already engaged to the young prodigy of the Zhang Clan? As an offspring of the Zhang Clan, does that Zhang Chun really intend to vie for his clan head's bride?"

"He definitely wouldn't dare do something as brazen as vying for his clan head's bride, just that the young prodigy has been missing for a very long time, and there are some rumors going around."

Yuan Xiao warily scanned his surroundings once more, and after confirming again and again that there was no one eavesdropping on their conversation, he secretly sent a telepathic message to Zhang Xuan. "It's said that even if the young prodigy doesn't appear by the third month of the next year, the Zhang Clan will still send an outstanding offspring with pure bloodline of around the same age to complete the marriage ceremony and Zhang Chun happens to be in the list of candidates! In the end, what's important is for the marriage to go through, by hook or by crook."

"There's actually such a matter?" Zhang Xuan's face reddened in fury, and he nearly exploded on the spot.

Even though he had been displeased about Luo Ruoxin's engagement with the young prodigy in the past, he had still been able to reluctantly tolerate it given that both parties were top-notch geniuses from their respective clans.

But the young prodigy was simply showing blatant disrespect for Luo Ruoxin over here. Not only did he disappear irresponsibly into thin air, he even wanted to find others to replace him in the engagement!

That was far too much!

It was not like Luo Ruoxin was a commodity for sale! Did the Zhang Clan think that just anyone would be worthy of her?

How could the number one Sage Clan of the Master Teacher Continent be so shameless?

If I have a chance to visit the Zhang Clan, I swear that I'll raise up a storm there or else my surname isn't Zhang! Zhang Xuan vowed in his heart with gritted teeth.

"But again, that is only hearsay. I can't guarantee its authenticity, so do take it with a pinch of salt," Yuan Xiao explained with a frown upon noticing that something was wrong with Zhang Xuan's complexion.

"The little princess of the Luo Clan isn't just supremely talented; she's also renowned for her unparalleled beauty as well. There's no one who wouldn't be charmed by her after catching a glimpse of her allure. Zhang Chun had the honor of meeting her once, so I guess it wouldn't be too surprising for him to be infatuated with her. And as you know, Luo Xuanqing is an overly-affectionate brother. How could he remain calm upon seeing that Zhang Chun is lusting over his younger sister? Due to that, whenever they start fighting, there's no one who can pull them apart."

Recalling the previous few times that the two of them battled with one another, Yuan Xiao could not help but cower a little.

Even though he boasted nigh invincible defense, he knew that he would be no match for Luo Xuanqing once the latter activated his bloodline ability.

The reason that human-shaped tornado had left so many managerial elders with a splitting headache was not just due to his aptitude in causing destruction. More importantly, it was due to the overwhelming fighting prowess he commanded.

Suppressing the fury in his heart, Zhang Xuan waved his hand. "Got it. I'll set up a formation here, so you just have to lure the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast over, and I'll immediately activate the formation to have it trapped temporarily."

That fellow dared lust over his girlfriend? He would have to see just how formidable that fellow was! If that fellow was not up to standards, he would have him poisoned to death!

It happened that he had just acquired the poison essence of the Crimsontail Wasp King, so he could poison even a Saint 8-dan expert to death. Considering how Zhang Chun was roughly around the same cultivation realm as Luo Xuanqing, he should not be able to withstand the effects of the poison either.

"Alright." Yuan Xiao nodded. With a grim look, he lowered his body and began rolling toward the cavern as a round ball.

Upon reaching the entrance of the cavern, he had to struggle a bit before he could squeeze his way in.

After seeing that Yuan Xiao had entered the cavern, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath before waving his hand, and several hundred formation flags immediately floated into the air.

Due to the limitations of his cultivation, he was only able to set up grade-8 primary formations. Anything beyond that would be putting far too great a strain on his strength.

But the problem was that it was impossible to trap a Saint 8-dan beast without a grade-8 intermediate or even advanced formation!

My cultivation is still far too lacking

If one were to just look at Zhang Xuan's current understanding of formations, setting up a grade-8 pinnacle would not pose a problem to him. In fact, even grade-9 primary formations would not be too much trouble. However, his lacking cultivation was a problem that no amount of understanding of formations could resolve.

In order to set up a grade-8 intermediate formation, he would require the ability to construct Phantasm Space. No amount of zhenqi could substitute that.

Zhang Xuan's mind quickly spun into action, and in just the blink of an eye, a formation surfaced in his thoughts. It's not viable for me to set up a formation to confine the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast in for long, but if it's just trapping it for an hour or so I should be able to do it with the Ptilopsis Confinement Formation!

Even though the Ptilopsis Confinement Formation was just a grade-8 primary formation, it had the remarkable ability to seal all of one's senses, and this included Spiritual Perception. Those who stepped into its area of effect would find themselves plunged into complete darkness, leaving a feeling of helplessness and despair arising from the bottom of their hearts.

It was said that the elder who designed the formation had once captured 108 owl-type saint beasts that were adept in navigating through the darkness. By the time his formation was constructed, every single one of them was trapped within it, unable to escape.

It was not particularly effective against human cultivators, who could navigate their way through using a compass or the sort, but it was definitely a powerful weapon to deal with saint beasts. Of course, he would be being too optimistic to think that it could trap a Saint 8-dan beast for too long, but an hour should not be too difficult.

I'll choose this one then! Zhang Xuan swiftly imagined a few scenarios to gauge the viability of this course of action, and he eventually came to the conclusion that the Ptilopsis Confinement Formation was the most suitable one of the formations that he could construct.

Thus, he flicked his fingers.

Sou sou sou sou!

Formation flags darted across the air, falling into place in the surroundings. They dived forcefully into the various gaps in the nearby boulders or soil, disappearing from sight.

It did not matter whether formation flags were located above ground or underground. As long as they accurately harnessed the flow of spiritual energy from the surroundings, there would not be too much difference in the prowess of the formation.

After this was done, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and began waiting patiently for Yuan Xiao to return with the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast.

But after waiting for roughly ten minutes or so, Yuan Xiao still did not appear. A frown emerged on Zhang Xuan's forehead.

All Yuan Xiao has to do is pull the Netherworld Azure Dragon Beast over, should it really take such a long time?

I should head over to take a look!

Deciding to check out the situation, Zhang Xuan began making his way over to the cavern. However, before he could even walk through the entrance, an overpowering shockwave suddenly burst forth from within.

His eyes narrowed in alarm, and he hurriedly executed the Unbounded Voyager and retreated from the scene.

Peng!

However, Zhang Xuan's reaction was still a little too slow. The powerful shockwave struck him forcefully from the back.

Pu!

A sweet sensation gripped his throat, and he was sent flying into the nearby cliff, smashing out a huge hole in it.

From the impact of the collision, Zhang Xuan felt his entire body being strained to its limits. The muscles throughout his body were mostly torn, and it felt as if his bones were on the verge of being shattered into innumerable pieces. A pain that was so excruciating that it seemed to stab right into his soul assaulted him.

It was just a brief instant, but Zhang Xuan had already sustained severe injuries. If not for his recent breakthroughsespecially the enhancement of his physical resilience through the cultivation of the Heaven's Path Golden Body, which made his body as strong as a half-Saint high-tier artifactthere was a good chance that he might have died on the spot.

"Who is it?" Zhang Xuan roared as he swiftly drove his Heaven's Path zhenqi to heal his injuries.

At the same time, he pushed his palm against the wall to turn himself around, wanting to see who the culprit was. However, before he managed to do so, he suddenly felt goosebumps rising all over his body once more. Another shockwave wielding crushing might was pressing down on him.

It seemed like the other party was intent on forcing him into a corner.

"Damn it!" Knowing that he could very well lose his life if this shockwave were to strike him, Zhang Xuan hurriedly activated his Dominion.

With his cultivation reaching Leaving Aperture pinnacle, his Dominion no longer spanned over a radius of one meter. Instead, just like a normal Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator, it covered a radius of five meters around him.

On top of that, the power of his Dominion was extremely compact, making it far stronger than a Grand Dominion realm primary stage cultivator's.

The emergence of his Dominion managed the incoming attack significantly, but before Zhang Xuan could heave a sigh of relief, cracks suddenly began creeping across his Dominion.

Kacha! Kacha!

They swiftly consumed his entire Dominion before eventually shattering it with a resounding explosion.

Pu!

Another spurt of fresh blood spilled forth from Zhang Xuan's mouth as the incoming shockwave pushed him further into the cliff, threatening to reduce him into a lump of meat paste.

The other party is simply too strong! At the very least, they must be a Saint 7-dan pinnacle expert! Zhang Xuan thought as a chilling sensation arose in his heart.

After the two consecutive blows they had traded, it was apparent that Zhang Xuan was in an absolutely disadvantageous position. In fact, he did not even manage to catch who his opponent was throughout the entire encounter.

This deeply reminded him of the plight that he had been in when he first met Luo Chengxin.

In face of the devastating strength that the other party wielded, Zhang Xuan found a hint of helplessness arising in his heart.

"Just who in the world are you?" Knowing that there was no time to be wasted, Zhang Xuan flicked his hand as he roared, "Puppets, block him!"

Hu la!

The hundred or so puppets he had in his storage ring immediately emerged in the area.

These were the puppets that he had managed to tame from the Vicious of the Northern Marshlands.

While most of them were only at the Leaving Aperture realm, their combined strength was still a sight to behold!

Boom!

As soon as the puppets appeared, they immediately positioned themselves in a formation before launching an assault on the fellow who had attacked him from behind.

After becoming an 8-star formation master, Zhang Xuan had made some rearrangements to the collaborative formation of the puppets, thus bringing their prowess to a whole new level. Sonic booms erupted here and there under their powerful might.

Back then, while the puppets were using the offensive formations of the Combat Master Hall, they had been able to defeat the Saint 6-dan primary stage Pavilion Master Yue with ease. With their current enhanced ability, even dealing with Saint 7-dan opponents was within their means!

Sou sou sou sou!

What was frightening about them was how relentlessly their attacks fell, reminiscent of the endless waves of an ocean. However, before they could reach their full strength, another powerful force burst forth once more.

It was a strength that carried the imposing air reminiscent of an avalanche. It felt as if, no matter how one struggled, there was just no way to escape from it.

Peng peng peng peng!

Amid a series of sonic booms, the collaborative formation of the puppet was forcefully torn apart. Following which, the puppets were sent flying one after another. With astounding force, they were slammed into the cliff face around the area, incapacitating them for good.

Sou!

While the puppets were sent flying one after another, a slight buzz suddenly sounded in the air. At some point in time, a sword had appeared right above them. It warped into a streak of light blue as it charged forth with incredible prowess.

It was apparent that this sword had been charging up for a very long time. Its emergence swiftly caused a massive vortex to gather in the area, and it took just an instant for it to appear behind the assailant.

Lingxu Sword!

Zhang Xuan knew from the start that the puppets would be no match for the assailant, so he had hidden the Lingxu Sword among them to ready the true killing strike!

Even though he had no time to execute the Sea Severing Sword, the Lingxu Sword was still a blade that was no weaker than Saint 7-dan experts. Its assault clearly displayed its superior might, and it charged forth with strength that threatened to slice even the world apart!

Weng!

Zhang Xuan thought that this assault would send the assailant into a panic, but then he suddenly heard a slight buzz.

Following which, the structure of the surrounding space warped, and it felt as if the Lingxu Sword had fallen into a folded space, resulting in a complete termination in their telepathic link.

Saint 8-dan Zhang Xuan thought as his body stiffened in horror.