163: The Four Symbols Cry for the First Time

The zombie tide was like black clouds pressing down on the city, the roars and howls deafening. Thirty Silver Corpses acted as sharp arrowheads, two hundred Bronze Corpses as thick walls, and two thousand Walking Corpses like a quagmire swallowing everything, squeezing toward the center from all directions. Even more lethal were the Purple-robed Altar Master suspended in mid-air, controlling everything, and the two Martial King Deacons flanking from both sides, waiting for an opportunity!

In this desperate situation, the essentials of the Four Symbols Battle Array and the Profound Truths of the detailed explanation of basic formations flashed rapidly through Qin Feng's mind.

"Positions!" he shouted sternly, no longer hesitating.

Without needing words, the tacit understanding between life and death was instantly reached.

Xia Ya gave a muffled groan, her Half-Step Martial King True Qi pouring unreservedly into the great shield in her hands. "Black Tortoise · Mountain Suppressor!" She stomped her feet heavily, actually advancing instead of retreating, meeting several Silver Corpses charging head-on as she slammed the great shield into the ground! Buzz—! A visible earthen-yellow airwave erupted outward from the great shield, forming an arc-shaped air wall! The three Silver Corpses in the lead crashed violently against the air wall, letting out dull thuds, and were actually forced to a halt, as if they had hit a small mountain! Xia Ya's body shook violently, her face turned pale, and a trace of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth, but she did not retreat a single step. Her eyes were wide open, like a true mountain, opening up the first space of life for the three behind her!

"Vermilion Bird · Flickering Shadow!" Almost at the same instant Xia Ya stood firm, Ji Ruxue's figure vanished. No, she didn't vanish, but turned into countless afterimages flickering at the edge of the corpse crowd! Her speed was extreme, like a butterfly weaving through flowers or a phantom of death, specifically attacking the Bronze Corpses and Walking Corpses trying to bypass Xia Ya's defense from the flanks. Every time her short sword flashed, the core of a corpse puppet would be pierced, and it would slump to the ground. She did not fight the Silver Corpses head-on but used her peerless movement technique to disrupt the corpse tide's Formation and cut their connections, gaining room for the Formation to maneuver.

"Azure Dragon · Gentle Rain!" Xiao Chun was positioned slightly behind the center. Although her cultivation was the lowest, her Myriad Medicine Body's perception of vitality was incredibly keen. She waved her hands repeatedly, scattering several types of medicinal powders she had prepared, mixed with her own pure wood-attribute True Qi. A pale green medicinal mist enveloped a three-zhang radius around the four of them. This mist was not toxic, but it could greatly delay the corpse puppets' movements and slightly purify the corpse poison. Furthermore, it refreshed the spirits of Qin Feng, Ji Ruxue, and Xia Ya, subtly accelerating their True Qi recovery speed. Simultaneously, the silver needles in her hands fell like rain, accurately striking the vital joints of the corpse puppets that had been wounded by Ji Ruxue but had not yet completely lost their mobility, finishing them off and controlling them.

"White Tiger · Slaughter Sovereign!" Qin Feng stood at the Formation Eye, the ink plum sword emitting a clear, long cry. With a transparent Sword Heart and unyielding Sword Bone, his Hunyuan True Qi resonated with the Star Power of the four directions that was subtly linked to the battle array. He no longer needed to distract himself with defense or the overall situation; all his spirit and power were concentrated in the sword in his hand!

What he looked at was no longer the vast sea of corpses, but the "nodes" of the corpse tide's operation, the two Deacons waiting for their chance, and the Altar Master suspended in the air!

"Break!"

Qin Feng moved with his sword, man and sword becoming one, turning into a dazzling white sword light. He did not charge straight into the corpse tide but carved into the left flank of the tide—which had been disrupted by Ji Ruxue, blocked by Xia Ya, and slowed by Xiao Chun—at an almost eerie angle!

There, seven Silver Corpses were trying to converge to form a new shockwave.

"Withered Wood Buries Flowers!"

As the sword light passed, the Hunyuan Sword Intent erupted, reversing life into deathly silence! The silver light on the surfaces of those seven Silver Corpses instantly dimmed, as if all the power supporting them had been drained. Their movements stiffened, and then, under the erosion of the Sword Qi, they turned into fly ash in an instant, as if time had been accelerated millions of times!

With one sword, seven Silver Corpses were destroyed!

"What?!" The pupil of the Deacon flanking from the left shrank. The power and precision of Qin Feng's strike far exceeded his estimates. He hurriedly waved his Bone Staff, spewing out thick black Corpse Baleful Energy that turned into a giant claw, grabbing at the remaining momentum of the sword light.

"Your opponent is me." A cold voice rang in his ear. Ji Ruxue's figure seemed to grow out of the shadows, her short sword stabbing straight at his throat! He was forced to pull back his staff to save himself.

Seeing an opportunity, the Deacon on the right pointed his Bone Staff, firing dozens of ghastly green Corpse Fires that shot like meteors toward Xiao Chun in the center of the Formation and Xia Ya, who was currently regulating her breathing.

"Black Tortoise · Counter-Shock!" Xia Ya roared, the earthen-yellow light on the surface of the great shield flourishing. She tilted the shield slightly, forming an inclined plane. Most of the Corpse Fires slammed into the shield face and were actually deflected and bounced back by that steady, heavy earth-system True Qi and clever force-shedding technique, instead blowing the charging Bronze Corpses into a chaotic mess. Xia Ya groaned again, the web between her thumb and index finger splitting, blood staining the shield handle, but she still stood like a mountain.

With a focused mind and the help of the shared perception and power flow brought by the Formation, Qin Feng clearly grasped every change on the battlefield. Under the nourishment of Xiao Chun's medicinal mist, Xia Ya's solid protection, and Ji Ruxue's ghostly support, his sword could be swung to his heart's content!

"Hundred Flowers in Chaos!"

The sword light suddenly split, like a hundred flowers of Sword Qi blooming simultaneously, enveloping the Deacon on the right and over ten Bronze Corpses around him. The Sword Qi seemed gorgeous but hid endless killing intent. That Deacon was terrified and frantically waved his Bone Staff to protect himself. But the Sword Qi was omnipresent, instantly leaving several bone-deep bloody gashes on his body, while the surrounding Bronze Corpses were shredded into pieces.

The Altar Master's expression finally changed. He had originally thought he could easily resolve this with corpse sea tactics and cultivation suppression, but he hadn't expected this strange Formation of theirs to be so difficult to deal with. The four of them cooperated with seamless tacit understanding, attacking and defending as one, actually reducing the threat of the corpse tide to a minimum and instead starting to efficiently slay his elite corpse puppets!

"Preposterous!" the Altar Master roared. No longer caring about preserving his strength, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the Skull Prayer Beads. The prayer beads radiated a great blood-red light, his entire aura surged, and he suddenly threw the prayer beads into the air!

"Ten Thousand Corpses Paying Homage!"

The prayer beads exploded, turning into a huge blood-colored rune imprinted in mid-air. On the ground, the green fire in the eyes of all corpse puppets—whether Silver, Bronze, or Walking Corpses—instantly turned blood-red. They let out frantic roars as their strength and speed increased sharply, falling into a complete frenzy and surging toward the four people regardless of everything! And under the influence of the rune, the two injured Deacons' auras also became violent, and they lunged forward again, unafraid of death.

The pressure increased sharply! Xia Ya's great shield emitted a groan of being overburdened, and blood continuously leaked from the corner of her mouth. Ji Ruxue's figure weaving through the frenzied corpse crowd also became increasingly perilous. Xiao Chun's face was pale, and the range of the medicinal mist was being compressed.

Qin Feng knew he had to break the situation! The target was straight at the core—the Altar Master!

"Four Symbols Rotation, gather power in me!" Qin Feng bellowed.

Xia Ya suddenly poured her last bit of True Qi into the shield, activating her strongest defense, "Immovable Black Tortoise"; Ji Ruxue's figure came to a sudden halt, her short sword pointing at the ground as all Shadow Power retracted for protection; Xiao Chun bit her finger and flicked a drop of essence blood containing majestic vitality, merging it into the medicinal mist, which instantly refreshed Qin Feng's spirit.

Qin Feng felt three distinct but heart-linked powers subtly converging. With a flash of inspiration, he no longer stuck to fixed sword moves. With a clear Sword Heart, he channeled the gathered protective power, the spirit of agility, and the essence of vitality, fully merging them into his own Hunyuan Sword Qi and the White Tiger's intent of slaughter.

The ink plum sword emitted an unprecedentedly impassioned sword cry. On the blade, phantom images of the Four Symbols subtly appeared!

"Four Symbols Return to One · Slash!"

Qin Feng and his sword became one, turning into a Chaos-colored grand Sword Gang. Ignoring the corpse puppets pouncing frantically along the way, he slashed with a determined momentum straight at the blood-colored rune in mid-air and the Purple-robed Altar Master behind it!

This sword seemed to transcend the limits of the Early Stage Martial King. Carrying the power of the four people and the mysteries of the Formation, it slashed through the corpse energy and tore through the blood light!

"Impossible!" The Altar Master was terrified and frantically pushed all his Corpse Baleful Energy to set up layers of defense in front of him.

The Sword Gang slashed down!

The blood-colored rune shattered like glass!

The layers of corpse baleful defense were split open!

The Sword Gang's remaining momentum did not fade, slamming heavily onto the Bone Staff in the Altar Master's arms as he hurriedly blocked!

"Crack!" The Bone Staff snapped!

"Pfft—!" The Altar Master spat out a mouthful of black blood mixed with organ fragments. A bone-deep sword gash on his chest almost split him diagonally. His aura instantly withered to the extreme, and he flew backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily into the distant mountain forest, his life or death unknown.

With the Formation master heavily wounded and near death and the blood-colored rune shattered, those frenzied corpse puppets immediately lost their unified control. They fell into complete Chaos, beginning to attack indiscriminately, even tearing at each other.

The two Deacons also roared as they suffered from the Formation's backlash, their movements stalling.

"Now!" Qin Feng endured the swelling pain in his Meridians and the sense of weakness, exchanging a glance with Ji Ruxue.

Ji Ruxue's figure was like lightning. Taking advantage of the Chaos, her short sword traced a lethal arc, cutting the throat of the Deacon on the left.

Qin Feng forced his True Qi up, and the ink plum sword flew from his hand, turning into a stream of light that pinned the Deacon on the right, who was trying to escape, to the ground.

Having lost their core control, although the remaining corpse puppets were still numerous, they were no longer a threat. Although the four of them had consumed a massive amount of energy, the prototype of the battle array had been formed, and their cooperation became increasingly tacit as they began to methodically clear out the remnants.

When the last Silver Corpse turned to fly ash under Qin Feng's sword, and the remaining scattered Walking Corpses were resolved by Xia Ya's shield bash and Ji Ruxue's finishing blows, the eastern sky had already begun to turn pale.

Outside Green Ox Village, corpses littered the field and patches of scorched earth remained, but the shroud of deathly clouds had finally dissipated.

Qin Feng stood leaning on his sword, his breathing fluctuating. Ji Ruxue's figure appeared, her face slightly pale. Xia Ya was almost exhausted, leaning against her great shield to keep from falling. She was covered in blood but grinned. Xiao Chun hurried forward to distribute Medicinal Pills and treat everyone's wounds.

The four of them looked at each other. Though exhausted, their eyes held the joy of surviving a disaster and a heavy sense of having experienced life and death together, forging trust.

[Ding! First actual combat for the Four Symbols Battle Array, compatibility increased!]

[Ding! Xia Ya favorability +20, current favorability 80 (Depending on each other in life and death, absolute trust)]

[Ding! Ji Ruxue favorability +5, current favorability 82 (Deeper tacit understanding, recognizing the leader)]

[Ding! Xiao Chun favorability +15, current favorability 135 (Reliance and reverence)]