At the edge of Black Wind Abyss, a mournful wind howled, and grayish-black mist churned incessantly like a living creature, shrouding the entrance in an eerie atmosphere. The air was thick with a bone-chilling cold and a faint scent of sulfur; when Divine Sense probed into it, it felt like a clay ox entering the sea, facing immense suppression.

Fang Hao restrained his entire aura, lurking like a ghost behind a jagged black boulder. He pushed his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to their limit, piercing through layers of mist to meticulously observe the situation near the abyss entrance.

Just as expected!

Near the entrance, amidst several seemingly natural rocks and depressions, he keenly captured a few strands of extremely subtle spiritual fluctuations and deliberately suppressed breathing. At least five Cultivators were lying in ambush there! Four of them were at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage to Great Perfection Foundation Establishment; their auras were condensed, clearly elites of the Gongming Family. In the center of a sunken area, a deep, abyss-like Golden Core pressure was faintly discernible—it was Gong Mingliang!

"They’ve truly laid an inescapable net..." Fang Hao’s eyes were icy. The opponent had clearly calculated that he would come and was incredibly patient, waiting for the rabbit to hit the tree.

Charging in blindly definitely wouldn’t work. The enemy was rested while he was weary, they held the geographical advantage, and they had a Middle Golden Core Stage Cultivator presiding over them. Rushing in would be no different from throwing himself into a trap.

He had to find a way to lure them into terrain favorable to himself, or... disrupt their deployment!

Fang Hao’s gaze swept over the terrain near the entrance of Black Wind Abyss. Strange rocks stood in clusters and the topography was complex, but the positions where the enemy lay in ambush were clearly meticulously chosen, echoing each other with almost no blind spots.

"It seems I can only take the initiative to create chaos." Fang Hao made a plan in his heart. His advantage lay in his Formation attainments and his adaptability in battle. He would utilize the unique environment of Black Wind Abyss to set up Formations during the fight, turning this area into his home field!

He retreated a certain distance soundlessly, finding a relatively hidden depression. His hands moved rapidly as he precisely struck pre-prepared Formation Flags and Formation Plates into the ground and rock crevices. He wasn’t setting up a large-scale killing Formation—there wasn’t enough time, and it would be easily discovered—but rather several small, hidden auxiliary Formations: a Mist Formation (to enhance the natural mist and interfere with Divine Sense), a Spirit-Disturbing Formation (to disrupt the stability of Spiritual Qi in a certain area and interfere with spellcasting), a Slowness Formation (to reduce the speed of enemies within range), and the foundation for a core Small Five Elements Confinement Formation.

Individually, these Formations weren’t very powerful, but if used in combination, they were enough to change the course of battle at a critical moment. After finishing the setup, he carefully concealed all traces and then returned to his previous lurking position.

Next was how to lure the snake out of its hole.

Fang Hao pondered for a moment before taking out a low-grade Magical Artifact from his storage ring—an ordinary Flying Sword. He attached a sliver of weak Divine Sense to it, then exerted his full strength to hurl the Flying Sword toward the other side of the abyss entrance, opposite to Gong Mingliang’s ambush point!

Swoosh!

The Flying Sword sliced through the mist, letting out a sharp whistling sound as it instantly vanished into the fog of Black Wind Abyss.

"There’s movement over there!"

"It’s the sound of a Magical Artifact breaking through the air! Did someone enter from that side?"

A slight commotion immediately broke out at the ambush points, as the Divine Senses of several Foundation Establishment Cultivators instantly swept toward the direction where the Flying Sword had disappeared.

"Quiet!" Gong Mingliang’s low voice rang out, carrying a hint of suspicion. "Investigate with Divine Sense! Careful of a trick!"

The Foundation Establishment Cultivators immediately intensified their Divine Sense scans, but Black Wind Abyss suppressed Divine Sense too heavily. Coupled with Fang Hao’s deliberate distraction with the Flying Sword, they failed to discover his true hiding place for the moment.

"Third Elder, no sign of anyone over there. Could it just be a probe?" a Great Perfection Foundation Establishment Cultivator reported.

Gong Mingliang’s eyes flickered. He was an old fox and naturally wouldn’t be easily fooled. "Stay calm! That kid is full of tricks; he might be trying to lure us into dispersing! Hold your positions!"

The first probe failed to fool the opponent.

Fang Hao wasn’t discouraged; he had expected this. He took out a low-grade ’Fire Snake Talisman’. After activating it, a small fire snake hissed and slithered along the ground, circuitously darting in another direction to create the illusion of someone sneaking around.

"There’s movement over there too!" another Foundation Establishment Cultivator whispered.

Gong Mingliang’s brow furrowed tightly as he expanded his Divine Sense to its full extent to perceive carefully. The environment of Black Wind Abyss was unique and the interference was too great; even he couldn’t be entirely certain.

Right at that moment, Fang Hao moved! He spotted a Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator at the edge of the ambush circle who was slightly distracted by the continuous false movements. Combining Divine Spirit Steps and Shrinking the Ground to an Inch, his figure flickered like a ghost, soundlessly gliding out from behind the boulder. He struck a Star Shattering Finger with full force towards the Cultivator’s back! His speed was as fast as a bolt of lightning!

"Watch out!" Gong Mingliang had the strongest Divine Sense and was the first to notice, shouting out sharply!

That Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator turned around in horror, only to see a fierce finger wind already before his eyes! In his haste, he only had time to sacrifice a shield!

Bang!

The force of the Star Shattering Finger struck the shield, producing a dull, thunderous boom! The shield vibrated violently and cracks appeared! The Cultivator was sent flying backward, his blood and Qi churning from the shock!

"Enemy attack! He’s here!" The other ambushers immediately reacted and struck out! Sword light and Spells instantly enveloped the position where Fang Hao had appeared!

But Fang Hao retreated after a single strike, having no intention of lingering! His figure blurred again, and using the cover of the mist and jagged rocks, he instantly vanished from everyone’s Divine Sense lock once more.

"Chase him! Don’t let him escape!" Gong Mingliang was both shocked and enraged. He hadn’t expected Fang Hao to be so cunning as to launch a proactive sneak attack and almost succeed! His body moved, turning into a streak of light as he took the lead in the pursuit! The other four Foundation Establishment Cultivators also immediately rushed out from their ambush points, closing in from different directions in a fan-like Formation!

"Here they come!" Fang Hao sneered inwardly; this was exactly the effect he wanted! He boosted his speed to the limit, but instead of running in a straight line, he maneuvered circuitously along the edge of the area where he had previously laid down the Formations!

"Where do you think you’re going!" Gong Mingliang was the fastest, closing the distance within a few breaths. He struck out with a scorching flame palm print from a distance!

Fang Hao didn’t take it head-on. He used Shrinking the Ground to an Inch to narrowly dodge the palm wind, while simultaneously flicking his hands. Several trigger Talismans for the Mist Formation and Spirit-Disturbing Formation that he had been holding were instantly activated!

Buzz! Buzz!

The already thick mist suddenly intensified, as if turning into a viscous liquid, compressing the Divine Sense detection range to its limit! At the same time, the surrounding Spiritual Qi became violent and chaotic, causing even Gong Mingliang and the others’ spellcasting to experience a moment of sluggishness!

"It’s a Formation! Be careful!" Gong Mingliang was experienced and immediately sensed something was wrong, shouting a warning. But it was too late!

Fang Hao seized this opportunity, suddenly turning around as the yitian sword unsheathed! The sword light was like a bolt of silk, stabbing directly at the nearest Great Perfection Foundation Establishment Cultivator! Simultaneously, he secretly activated the Slowness Formation!

That Cultivator was in the middle of a full-speed pursuit when he suddenly felt his body grow heavy and his speed plummet! Seeing the sword light approaching, he was terrified and tried desperately to dodge!

Slash!

The sword light swept past. Although he avoided his vitals, an arm was severed at the shoulder, and blood sprayed wildly! 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Ahhh!" A miserable scream rang out!

"Junior, you’re looking for death!" Gong Mingliang was furious at the sight. His Golden Core pressure erupted fully, forcibly shaking off part of the mist to lock onto Fang Hao. He sacrificed a flame Flying Sword, which carried a heaven-burning momentum as it slashed toward Fang Hao!

At that moment, with a thought from Fang Hao, the final Small Five Elements Confinement Formation was suddenly triggered! Five-colored pillars of light rose from the ground, instantly enveloping the leading Gong Mingliang and two other Foundation Establishment Cultivators!

Although this hastily arranged Confinement Formation couldn’t possibly trap a Golden Core Cultivator for long, gaining just a single moment was enough!

Fang Hao’s target had never been Gong Mingliang! It was the remaining Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

As the Confinement Formation activated, the movements of Gong Mingliang and the other two stalled! Fang Hao’s figure was like lightning as he bypassed the Confinement Formation. His Star Shattering Finger struck out again, aiming straight for the Late Foundation Establishment Cultivator who was panicking due to his companion’s heavy injury!

"No!" Facing Fang Hao’s fierce offensive, the Cultivator was completely unable to resist. His protective spiritual light instantly shattered, and his forehead was pierced by the finger force, killing him on the spot!

In the blink of an eye, Fang Hao had used the Formations and the environment to strike the east while feinting west. With a Late Foundation Establishment cultivation, he had actually injured one and killed another right under the nose of a Middle Golden Core Stage Cultivator!

"Break for me!" Gong Mingliang roared. His flame Flying Sword slashed wildly, causing the Confinement Formation’s light screen to shake violently, looking as if it would shatter at any moment!

Fang Hao didn’t linger. Having succeeded in his strike, he immediately fled into the distance, vanishing once more into the thick mist and jagged rocks.

The scene was a mess: one Foundation Establishment Cultivator dead, one heavily injured. Gong Mingliang was trembling with rage! He, a dignified Middle Golden Core Stage expert leading Family elites in an ambush, had been played like a fool by a Foundation Establishment junior and suffered heavy losses!

"Chase him! Capture him at all costs! I will pull out his soul and refine his spirit!" Gong Mingliang’s roar echoed at the edge of Black Wind Abyss, filled with endless killing intent.

Meanwhile, Fang Hao had already used his familiarity with the terrain and the cover of his Formations to temporarily shake off the pursuit, but he knew the real danger had only just begun. Gong Mingliang was thoroughly enraged; what followed would surely be a life-and-death struggle!

As for his trump card... the golden puppet... could it still be of use before it was repaired? Fang Hao had no certainty in his heart. He touched his storage ring, his gaze becoming increasingly determined. No matter what, he had to find the repair Materials as soon as possible.