Mortal: I have a Spirit Gathering Cauldron

Jin Nantian's voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely penetrating, like a heavy hammer hitting Huang Long's heart.

Huang Long grunted and swayed, but his speed increased instead of decreasing as he ran wildly toward the formation without looking back.

He recalled the Ghost Head Greatsword, held it in his hand, and the spiritual light on the blade flickered.

Jin Nantian stood up.

His movements were unhurried; he patted the sand off his brocade robe, his gaze fixed on the direction Huanglong had fled.

"Chase," he said, uttering a single word.

Tie Xiong sheathed his black iron shield, brandished his crimson giant axe, and charged forward first. Su Mei put away her pink silk ribbon, lightly lifted herself up with her toes, and followed behind Tie Xiong.

Jin Nantian was the last to move. His pace was slow, but each step covered several meters, and he followed the two at a leisurely pace, as if he were taking a stroll.

A distance of a hundred zhang is within the reach of a Foundation Establishment stage expert in a single breath.

Huanglong ran incredibly fast, his feet barely touching the ground, skimming along the leeward side of the sand dunes.

Behind him, Tie Xiong's Crimson Flame Axe was poised to strike. Flames swirled across its surface, and waves of heat rolled across it, making it resemble a small sun in the night sky.

"Stop!" Tie Xiong shouted, and the Crimson Flame Axe flew out of his hand, turning into a streak of crimson light, and slashed towards Huang Long's back.

Huang Long didn't even turn around, his body suddenly dodging to the side, narrowly avoiding the axe. The Crimson Flame Axe grazed his shoulder, the scorching flames scorching a lock of hair on his shoulder.

"Damn it, that's ruthless." Huang Long cursed, and his speed increased even more.

Su Mei made her move.

Her pink silk ribbon flew from her sleeve, like a serpent winding its way through the air, faster than Tie Xiong's Crimson Flame Axe. The ribbon's target wasn't Huang Long, but the path ahead of him.

A pink silk ribbon unfurled ten feet in front of Huanglong, like a wall, blocking his path.

Huang Long gritted his teeth, suddenly channeled his spiritual power, and slashed forward with his ghost-headed broadsword, the blade light striking the silk.

"hiss--"

The silk was ripped open, and Huanglong took advantage of the moment to slip through the gap.

Su Mei frowned slightly and put the silk back.

Jin Nantian watched all of this from behind, his expression unchanged.

Huanglong was still thirty feet away from the edge of the formation.

Twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

It's now!

Jin Nantian and his two companions chased the enemy to the edge of the formation.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tie Xiong stepped into the array's range. Su Mei followed closely behind. Jin Nantian brought up the rear, his steps pausing slightly as he entered the array's range.

His gaze swept across the ground beneath his feet, as if he had noticed something.

But it was too late.

"Charge!"

Old Hu's voice boomed through the night sky.

Four array flags burst forth from the ground, radiating brilliant light. The runes on the flags seemed to come alive, swirling wildly. The four beams of light converged above the center of the array, forming a massive dark red light shield that enveloped the Gobi Desert within a radius of thirty feet.

Black runes flowed across the surface of the light shield, emanating a suffocating and oppressive aura. The moment the light shield took shape, the air within the array suddenly sank, spiritual energy was drained, and earth-evil energy surged from the ground, spreading across the surface like countless black venomous snakes.

Jin Nantian and his two companions were trapped in the formation.

Tie Xiong's expression changed, and he held the Crimson Flame Axe horizontally in front of him, cautiously looking around. Su Mei's pink silk ribbons swirled around her even faster, and a hint of panic flashed across her face, but she quickly suppressed it.

Jin Nantian stood still, motionless.

His gaze pierced through the dark red light barrier and looked outside the formation.

Four figures appeared outside the formation.

Lin Xingjian stood at the forefront, his green robe fluttering in the wind, holding a silver-white flying sword in his hand, its light flickering erratically. His face was expressionless, but the white knuckles of his fingers gripping the sword betrayed the turmoil within him.

Old Hu stood slightly behind him, holding the array plate in both hands. His withered fingers moved rapidly across the plate, controlling the operation of the array. The dark red light barrier trembled slightly with the movement of his fingers, as if it were breathing.

Huang Long crouched at the edge of the formation, panting heavily. His shoulder was charred, but it was only a superficial wound and did not affect his mobility. He gripped the ghost-headed broadsword tightly, his eyes fixed on Jin Nantian inside the formation.

Lin Bingcheng stood on the left, holding the emerald green jade pendant in his hand. The pendant emitted a soft green light that enveloped his entire being.

Jin Nantian's gaze swept over the four people outside the formation, finally landing on Lin Xingjian.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Young Master Lin, I didn't expect you to still be alive." His voice wasn't loud, but it was extremely penetrating. Even through the array's light barrier, every word was clearly heard outside the array. "It's been a long time."

Lin Xingjian gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Hmph, if you, this traitor, are still alive, how can I be dead? Today is your death day."

His voice trembled, whether from anger or something else, it was hard to tell.

Jin Nantian shook his head, his tone as calm as if chatting with an old friend: "You're still so impatient. After all these years, you haven't improved at all."

His gaze swept over the four people outside the formation, as if he were counting heads: "Is this all you're relying on? The Earthly Fiend Locking Yuan Formation, plus two traitors and an old servant?"

The moment the word "traitor" was uttered, Huang Long's face turned bright red, and Lin Bingcheng's eyes turned cold.

Lin Xingjian's face turned ashen. He stopped talking nonsense: "Still being stubborn even when death is imminent! Don't waste words with him. Release the puppets and wear them down first!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.

A silver light flew out of the bag, landed on the ground, and transformed into a leopard-shaped puppet about ten feet long. Its silvery-white body gleamed coldly under the dark red light shield.

Outside the formation, puppets surged out like a tide.

Inside the formation, Jin Nantian watched all of this, his smile never fading.

On the Gobi Desert, a dark red dome of light, like an inverted giant bowl, enveloped an area of ​​thirty feet in radius.

The black runes on the surface of the light shield flowed incessantly, like countless tiny venomous snakes swimming, exuding a suffocating and oppressive aura.

Inside the light shield, puppets surged like a tide.

Outside the light shield, puppets stood like a forest.

An unprecedented puppet war broke out on this desolate Gobi Desert.

Lin Xingjian's silver leopard-shaped puppet charged at the forefront, its movements as swift as lightning, weaving through the multitude of puppets within the formation. With each swing of its sharp claws, a puppet belonging to Jin Nantian and the other two was torn apart or sent flying.

The leopard-shaped puppet is made of a special material; its silver-white body is covered with acceleration array patterns, making it impossible for ordinary puppets to keep up with its speed.

Huanglong's giant tiger puppet, on the other hand, took a direct, crushing approach. Each pounce of its ten-foot-long black tiger body was accompanied by a dull whistling sound, and the ground trembled slightly when its paws struck.

Several armored golems tried to surround it, but it smashed them into pieces with a single claw.

Lin Bingcheng's gecko puppet lay on the rock at the edge of the formation, opened its mouth, and spat out streams of dark green venom.

The venom landed on the puppets of Jin Nantian and his companions, sizzling and corroding them, leaving pits. Several wolf-shaped puppets were hit on the head by the venom, exposing their spirit stone cores, which flickered a few times before extinguishing.