After more than five hundred formations were refined, Zi Linling had leaped from an intermediate formation master to an advanced formation master.
With her advancement to an advanced formation master, her understanding of formations became even more profound, making it easier to locate formation cores.
Now, she no longer needed to calculate deliberately. With a careful perception using her spiritual sense, she could detect the unique fluctuations at the formation core.
In just a few breaths, Zi Linling had found the core of the five hundred and sixty-third formation. Just as she was about to break it, Elder Du stopped her. "Girl, if you don't want to be captured easily and become someone's dual cultivation furnace, don't be in a hurry to break the formation. Recovering yourself to your best state is the kingly way."
Zi Linling was taken aback and asked, "Elder Du, did you discover something?"
Elder Du nodded. "That dog of a sect leader from the Joyful Union Sect has already sent people to catch you!"
"How do you know?"
Zi Linling asked, then realized the question was redundant. With Elder Du's formation mastery, it was not difficult for him to observe through the formations.
Indeed, Elder Du gave her a "Are you stupid?" look and said, "You only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn!"
Hearing this, Zi Linling quickly took out a few pills and swallowed them whole. The pills included Replenishing Pills to accelerate spiritual energy recovery, Soul Augmentation Pills to restore soul power, and Spirit Blood Pills to regain stamina.
After swallowing them all at once, Zi Linling began to multitask, rapidly absorbing the pills' energy. It was fortunate that she was an Emperor-level alchemist, allowing her to divide her attention to control pills of different natures. Anyone else would have risked exploding instantly.
The time for an incense stick to burn passed in an instant, and Zi Linling's condition had recovered eighty percent.
She opened her eyes and casually set up a few illusionary confinement formations and concealment formations within the five hundred and sixty-third formation. The moment the concealment formation was successfully set up, the spiritual energy screen in the formation control center of the Joyful Union Sect, which had been displaying a clear image, was suddenly replaced by mist.
Li Hehuan's pupils contracted sharply, and he muttered, "Interesting! I underestimated you!"
At the same time, he suddenly had a bad feeling. Without hesitation, he commanded, "Send two more people to assist the Second Elder. Make sure to capture that woman alive!"
"Yes!"
Someone acknowledged and left.
Within the five hundred and sixty-third formation, Zi Linling clapped her hands and said, "This is only halfway. I'm not foolish enough to reveal all my trump cards here!"
Elder Du stroked his beard and chuckled, "Not bad, not bad. You can be taught! Hiding your strength and pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger, I like it!"
Zi Linling said haughtily, "If I can expose one part of my strength, I will never expose two. Otherwise, if I scare them away, there will be no fun!"
Just as Elder Du was about to retort, he felt several fluctuations of aura. If he could feel them, how could Zi Linling not?
"Peak Emperor Realm? This sect leader of the Joyful Union Sect truly looks down on people!" Zi Linling pouted, displeased. With her current strength, within the same tier, opponents would practically be serving themselves up on a platter.
Elder Du reminded her, "Don't be careless! Although concealment formations can mask spiritual energy fluctuations, they have their limits. And once you use your full power, this limit will be broken. Therefore, it's best not to use your full strength. Otherwise, even with concealment formations, they won't be able to hide your spiritual energy fluctuations."
It must be said, Elder Du understood Zi Linling's combat limits too well. Once Zi Linling unleashed her full power, not to mention the current advanced concealment formations, even if Elder Du himself set up an Emperor-level concealment formation, it might not be able to completely hide Zi Linling's spiritual energy fluctuations.
Zi Linling chuckled, "Don't worry! These are just a few appetizers, not worth my full effort!"
Elder Du said grumpily, "Be careful of capsizing in a gutter!" He remembered when he first met Zi Linling, she always exuded a distant coldness. At that time, Zi Linling was exceptionally aloof, not even showing an extra expression. Elder Du had thought then that Zi Linling was very steady, and despite her stubborn temper, she had a good heart.
But now? Where was Zi Linling's aloofness? Cunning and unpredictable, incredibly dark-hearted, she could scheme without batting an eye. When she was cold, her actions were ruthless but left room for maneuver. But once she appeared harmless, her enemies were very close to hell. What was even more infuriating was that she also had pride and would show off. And if you said she was fat, she would pant, her thick skin comparable to a city wall.
Therefore, to prevent Zi Linling from becoming arrogant, Elder Du rarely praised her. Instead, he often deliberately put her down.
Zi Linling didn't mind. She knew Elder Du meant well, so she didn't hold grudges for his criticisms. Instead, she found their bickering to be a source of enjoyment. Of course, the outcome of this enjoyment was often her winning and Elder Du losing.
However, although Zi Linling could be proud, coy, and boastful, she knew how to control herself. She wasn't foolish enough to risk her life due to arrogance. Thus, Elder Du gradually realized his worries were unnecessary. But even if they were unnecessary, he still did it with relish. Or rather, it had become a special way for him and Zi Linling to communicate their feelings.
Returning to the matter at hand. As Elder Du's words fell, five figures appeared in the five hundred and sixty-third formation. Leading them was the Second Elder of the Joyful Union Sect, the lecherous bald man Wei Chusheng, who was in charge of the Joyful Union Sect's mountain entry formation.
Wei Chusheng and the four people behind him looked at Zi Linling, lust flashing across their faces, their mouths watering. It wasn't Wei Chusheng's fault; Zi Linling's real appearance was even more stunningly beautiful than her image on the spiritual energy screen. People of the Joyful Union Sect all cultivated the dual cultivation path of harvesting yin to supplement yang and had no resistance to beauties, let alone a beauty as captivating as Zi Linling.
"Little girl, who are you and why are you disrupting our Joyful Union Sect's mountain entry formation?" Wei Chusheng asked, his eyes leeringly scanning Zi Linling's chest and hips.
Zi Linling's eyes turned cold, and she sneered, "Are all people of your Joyful Union Sect so blatant? Truly a nest of snakes and rats, in cahoots together!"
"What did you say?" Wei Chusheng's and the four behind him's faces turned grim.
"What did I say?" Zi Linling said word by word, "I said that a bunch of beasts like you can actually form a sect. Is Heaven blind?"
"You're courting death!" The four behind Wei Chusheng shouted angrily. Being called beasts to their faces, how could they possibly endure it!