With the emergence of two Nascent Soul ancestors, the demon race's assault was temporarily halted. Huang Feifei, however, remained vigilant, guarding Xiao Fei's cave dwelling.
At that moment, Huang Feifei's brow furrowed. A flying sword materialized above her head, and runes lit up beneath her feet, spreading outwards.
A grand formation had already been laid out by Huang Feifei around the cave dwelling. As the formation activated, a radius of one li fell under her control.
Through years of cultivation, Huang Feifei's combat power had significantly increased, nearly matching that of cultivators at the same level.
However, her true strength lay in formations. With the aid of a properly set up formation, her combat power could at least double.
As she activated the formation, Tian Si and two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Wu Kingdom could no longer conceal themselves, appearing in a corner of the formation.
"Hahaha…"
"Fairy Huang, long time no see! How have you been?"
"Since we last parted, I have greatly missed you, Fairy. Your grace and beauty are ever-present in my mind, haunting my dreams and leaving me sleepless and gaunt with longing…"
Despite Tian Si's appearance – a face with triangular eyes, bushy eyebrows, a toad-like mouth, and prominent teeth, enough to make one wish to gouge out their own eyes – he possessed a glib tongue. An unsuspecting young girl might very well have been deceived by his words.
However, in Huang Feifei's eyes, all men, save for Xiao Fei, were to be killed! Such words from others only filled her with disgust and revulsion.
Tian Si continued to prattle on, showering her with a torrent of sweet nothings, feeling quite pleased with himself.
Just as he believed he was moments away from persuading Fairy Huang and having her fall into his arms…
"Slap!"
A crisp sound echoed. Huang Feifei, controlling the formation, delivered a swift slap to Tian Si's face with a palm of light, causing a burning pain.
Especially since Tian Si had just been boasting in front of his two companions, this slap utterly humiliated him.
"Bitch! You refuse my kindness, and I swear I will refine you into a puppet and torment you daily!"
Tian Si roared and lunged towards Huang Feifei, his two companions following closely behind.
Still a li away, Huang Feifei remained unhurried. Her hands danced like灵蝶 (ling die - spirit butterflies), sending dozens of runes into the air that merged with the formation.
Numerous green vines immediately erupted from the formation, separating the three charging figures into different positions.
Then, with the vines temporarily restraining two of them, Huang Feifei's flying sword was unleashed towards Tian Si.
Seeing the incoming flying sword, Tian Si hastily summoned his magic artifact to block it. However, countless vines from the air snatched his artifact away.
As he attempted to dodge, more vines coiled around him, preventing his escape.
With Huang Feifei's flying sword about to strike, Tian Si roared, unleashing several golden beams from his body that shattered the surrounding vines.
Simultaneously, he slapped a talisman onto himself, forming a radiant shield around his body.
At this moment, Huang Feifei's flying sword arrived.
"Boom!"
The flying sword was successfully blocked by the light shield.
"Boom boom boom…"
While the shield could withstand one blow, it could not endure ten or eight.
The green vines within the formation, condensed from spiritual energy, quickly regenerated after being severed, continuing to entangle Tian Si.
Trapped within Huang Feifei's pre-arranged formation, Tian Si could only endure the onslaught. Every attempt to retaliate was thwarted by the vines.
However, Tian Si was indeed skilled. Under conditions where he could only be attacked but not counter, he managed to persist for over ten breaths before Huang Feifei broke through his defenses and cleaved him cleanly in two.
Even his Nascent Soul was bisected precisely down the middle.
Huang Feifei's daily culinary skills, it seemed, had honed her swordsmanship.
Utilizing the formation in conjunction, she successfully slew Tian Si, whom she detested the most, and drank a bottle of spiritual wine.
Her spiritual power somewhat replenished, she summoned her flying sword again, targeting the next adversary.
The remaining two, though bound by the numerous vines and unable to move, had been observing the battle with their divine senses.
Upon witnessing Huang Feifei's successful execution of Tian Si, they naturally refused to be captured passively and each unleashed their signature abilities.
One of them split the skin on his head, and a Nine-Eyed Demon race member emerged.
The moment it appeared, it transformed into black smoke and vanished into the formation. The dense vines within the formation could no longer impede it in the slightest.
Concurrently, the other, a rather gaunt Nascent Soul cultivator, showed little outward change. A ring shimmering with flames appeared around him, igniting any vines that drew near.
This gaunt Nascent Soul cultivator did not transform; he was a pure human, albeit one who had betrayed humanity and become a lackey of the demon race.
Huang Feifei, who was controlling the formation, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. The scenery before her shifted, transforming into a swamp.
Her consciousness grew hazy, her mind muddled.
Suddenly, a ring of flames hurtled towards her. Huang Feifei reacted instinctively, and a multitude of vines from the formation flew out, forming layers of defense that blocked the fiery ring.
She was too familiar with combat and formations. Even with her consciousness affected by the Nine-Eyed Demon race, she could still protect herself within the formation through instinctive reactions.
The gaunt man launched multiple sneak attacks on Huang Feifei with his ring of flames, but she instinctively used the formation to block them.
The Nine-Eyed Demon race excelled at divine sense control and creating illusions to deceive others.
Seeing that their combined efforts could not harm Huang Feifei in the slightest, he conceived a plan. He channeled his divine sense to create illusions for Huang Feifei.
He intended to conjure a projection of someone important to her, thereby disrupting her judgment.
In her dazed state, Huang Feifei suddenly saw a man appear before her, smiling and beckoning to her.
Her consciousness was blurred, and she couldn't recognize him, but she felt an instinctive sense of closeness.
As she prepared to approach the man, she saw several sword lights slash towards him, yet he remained oblivious.
Huang Feifei, relying on instinct, channeled the formation's power to firmly shield the man, protecting him from harm.
But at that very moment, the ring of flames once again hurtled towards Huang Feifei.
Huang Feifei instinctively channeled the formation's power to protect herself. However, just as she formed a defense of vines before her…
She realized she had inadvertently used the vines protecting the man, causing him to be injured. Her heart was instantly pierced with agony, more painful than if she herself had been wounded.
The formation's power could only fully protect one individual at a time.
In her muddled state, Huang Feifei instinctively desired to live, but seeing the man injured caused her even greater distress.
Without hesitation, she used all her vines to protect the man before her.
Then, the ring of flames struck Huang Feifei, instantly cleaving her body in half. Blood and shredded flesh rained down.