The four beasts exchanged a glance before opening their mouths in unison, releasing countless black wind blades that swept toward the crimson giants like a torrential storm.

In contrast with normal wind blades, these ones seemed to be phasing in and out of existence as they surged through the air, and upon striking the crimson giants, large chunks of their bodies would instantly vanish amid flashes of black light.

The four beasts themselves also sprang forward behind the wind blades, then swept their front limbs through the air to unleash lethal black blade projections.

However, the crimson giants were completely fearless as they reached out with their massive hands, releasing a burst of fierce blood Qi. At the same time, the tentacles on their backs also transformed into a blood barrier before them.

Countless wounds were instantly inflicted upon the giants, indicating that they were clearly no match for the Mythical Black Beasts, but with their immortal bodies, they were able to instantly regenerate regardless of how grievous their injuries were.

Even though the Mythical Black Beasts held a clear upper hand, they were rather fearful of the giants' crimson tentacles, and thus, an impasse ensued.

"Master, I'll go and face those Mythical Black Beasts. They're quite troublesome to deal with, but I just so happen to know some of their weaknesses," Yang Deer said in a respectful manner.

"There's no need for that. Those four blood spirits were only recently refined, so it wouldn't hurt for them to face powerful opponents. I have another task for you," Ma Liang replied.

"What is it, Master?" Yang Deer asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, this formation should have a pair of formation cores; go and destroy one of them for me. As soon as the formation cores are destroyed, I'll no longer have to use most of my magic power to resist the formation's restrictions, and I'll be able to take care of all of these opponents with ease," Ma Liang said.

"As you wish, Master. May I ask how you plan to deal with the other formation core?" Yang Deer asked in a hesitant manner.

"Hmph, just do what I tell you to do; there's no need for you to worry about the other formation core," Ma Liang harrumphed coldly as his expression darkened slightly.

A chill ran down Yang Deer's spine, and it hurriedly said, "Forgive me for asking unnecessary questions, Master; I'll set off to destroy a formation core right away."

"Hold on, I have some things to give you."

Ma Liang raised a hand as he spoke, and a ball of azure light emerged from the giant umbrella above the river of blood, forming another miniature umbrella that was several inches in size. He then pointed a finger at his own glabella, upon which a translucent bead emerged.

"Take these with you. This sensory bead contains the location of the formation core I just detected. Take it with you, and I'll be able to monitor your situation from here as well. As for this Azure Chaos Umbrella clone, it can nullify the restrictive effect that the formation has on you, but there's a time limit, so make sure to act quickly," Ma Liang instructed as he tossed the two items toward Yang Deer.

"Rest assured, Master; I won't disappoint you," Yang Deer promised as it accepted the two items.

It then tossed the small umbrella forward, and the umbrella transformed into an azure light barrier that enshrouded its entire body. After that, it inspected the location recorded within the bead, then transformed into its deer-bear hybrid form before rushing out of the river of blood toward a certain direction.

Following Yang Deer's departure, Ma Liang released a crimson jade box out of his sleeve before pointing a finger at it.

The lid of the box was removed, revealing a tiny crimson figure with several golden talismans plastered to its surface.

The miniature figure was only around half a foot tall with long crimson hair and a ghostly mask on its face. Its eyes were tightly shut, and there were crimson spirit patterns all over its body, all of which were emanating faint red light.

A serious look appeared on Ma Liang's face at the sight of the miniature figure, and he made a hand seal before releasing a streak of silver light toward it.

The silver light vanished into the miniature figure's body in a flash, following which the golden talismans were stripped away, and the eyelids on the ghostly mask slowly peeled back to reveal a pair of wooden and emotionless eyes.

Ma Liang injected his magic power into his own glabella, and another sensory bead appeared before flying into the miniature figure's body.

"Go and destroy the other formation core, and kill anyone who dares to oppose you," Ma Liang instructed.

A burst of faint red light flashed through the miniature figure's eyes, and it rose up into the air before flying away as a streak of crimson light, seemingly completely unaffected by the power of laws within the formation.

Ming Zun's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he turned to the Six-winged Frost Centipede, and said, "It looks like that true immortal has already discovered the locations of the formation cores. Even though the formation cores are being guarded by Fellow Daoist Han and the others, as a safety precaution, I would like you to stall this true immortal's minions as much as possible."

"Do you think I'd be capable of stalling them in my current state?" the Six-winged Frost Centipede asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Rest assured, I'm not asking you to face them head-on. I have a formation plate here that was refined from an incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasure, and you'll be able to trap the enemy for some time using the formation plate. If they somehow manage to break out of the treasure, then you can simply flee the scene," Ming Zun replied.

Only after some contemplation did the Six-winged Frost Centipede give a slightly reluctant nod in response. "In that case, I can agree to do this,"

A faint smile appeared on Ming Zun's face, and he flipped a hand over to summon a white formation plate, which he tossed through the air.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede drew the formation plate into his own grasp, and his expression eased slightly after a brief inspection of the treasure.

"Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, please go and assist him as well," Ming Zun said to the Ice Phoenix.

"Of course. All of our lives on the line, so it's only right that I do my part," the Ice Phoenix willingly agreed.

A pleased look appeared on Ming Zun's face upon hearing this, and he made a grabbing motion to summon a small black flag, which he pointed at the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix.

A burst of spatial fluctuations emerged beneath them, and a dazzling light formation appeared before instantly teleporting them away.

Right at this moment, Xuan Jiuling suddenly transmitted his voice toward Ming Zun. "Ming Zun, do you need me to go to the other formation core? I don't think I'll have to do anything here anytime soon."

"Can you take on that red thing? If you perish to it, our entire plan will fail," Ming Zun replied in a hesitant manner.

"Rest assured, that thing's aura is rather strange, but at the very most, it's just a manifestation of some type of spirit beast. My cultivation arts will directly suppress it, so I'll be able to kill it and return here with time to spare. Besides, who else can go in my stead? You have to stay here to monitor the situation using the power of the formation," Xuan Jiuling communicated in an unhurried manner.

"Alright, in that case, go on ahead. I'll teleport you there directly, but don't make any unnecessary delays; kill that thing as quickly as you can, then get back here right away," Ming Zun agreed after a brief pause.

"Don't you have confidence in my abilities? I'll be back before you know it," Xuan Jiuling replied in a confident manner.

Immediately thereafter, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a set of grey robes appeared in front of Ming Zun amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.

Ming Zun raised his small black flag before pointing it at Xuan Jiuling, and another five-colored light formation appeared, instantly teleporting Xuan Jiuling away.

In the river of blood down below, Ma Liang had golden light flashing within his eyes, and he was able to see what Ming Zun was doing. However, he didn't do anything aside from look on with a cold smile as a series of fierce battles raged on around him.

Ming Zun was naturally quite happy to see this as well, and he also sat still on the azure moon without making any additional moves.

......

Han Li was still seated on the altar, meditating calmly with his eyes closed.

All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly as he opened his eyes before casting a surprised gaze toward a certain direction.

Almost at the exact same moment, a burst of energy fluctuations surged forth from the distance amid a rumbling boom, but due to how far away it was, it was unable to pose any threat to the formation core.

However, the trade guild guards responsible for protecting the formation immediately tensed up upon sensing this disturbance.

Blue light flashed within Han Li's eyes, and he was able to instantly see everything thousands of kilometers away.

All of a sudden, a giant white light formation appeared in the distance, and a massive figure that was several hundred feet tall was doing everything in its power to break out of the formation, but to no avail.

Above the formation was a man and a woman. The woman wore a set of silver robes and had a cold expression, while the man wore a set of white robes and had golden and silver spirit patterns etched all over his face.

A hint of surprise appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he murmured to himself, "Oh? It's her! Then that person accompanying her has to be the Six-winged Frost Centipede."