The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#213 - The strongest formation

Even with Xia Huai's help, Lu Jing still found it very difficult to deal with the two elusive flying swords.

In just a short while, he was already in grave danger, even forced to resort to rolling on the ground. Getting covered in dirt was secondary; the main issue was that he was struck by a sword on both his right arm and his side.

The former was fine, as it was blocked by his arm guard and didn't draw blood. However, the latter was a disaster. If he hadn't trained his Fire Scale Armor to the third level, this sword might have cleaved him in two at the waist.

Fortunately, Jing Xiang, who had been waiting for a long time on the other side, finally completed the reconnection at this critical moment and came back online.

He had done many things using the valuable time that Lu Jing and Xia Huai had bought him.

First, he planted forty-nine array flags in different directions. Then, he bit his finger and drew a rather complex array diagram on the ground.

Finally, he inserted his iron knife, engraved with small red characters, into the center of the array diagram, using it as the array eye.

Having completed all of this, a determined look flashed in his eyes. Not having time to wipe the sweat from his cheeks, he rapidly began to move his fingers.

And as he cast his spell, this time, all the small red characters on the iron knife disappeared into the ground beneath his feet.

Even Gu Zhongling seemed to sense something, actually stopping his pursuit of Lu Jing and recalling his flying swords back into his sleeves.

Then, he turned his head and looked again at his former colleague not far away, surprised.

"This is… the array you mentioned to me before?"

"That's right, this is my self-created Thousand Luo Myriad Image Array," Jing Xiang said. "When I first proposed it at the academy, the professor warned me that such an array could not exist in the world, because the consumption of mystic power was too great, and it simply couldn't operate."

"The truth is indeed so. However, after entering Another Heaven and Earth, because the mystic power here is particularly dense, my previous idea was unexpectedly realized."

"I spent several years finally creating this array, but to be honest, I didn't expect there would be a day when it would be used." Jing Xiang looked at the opposite side with a very complex expression.

Gu Zhongling still had that confident look, and upon hearing this, he just smiled and said lightly, "In that case, I will help you test its power."

After speaking, he finally took a step forward.

This was the first step he had taken tonight.

Not to retreat, but to actively meet the enemy.

It was simply like a true reflection of his life.

And the next moment, the yin-yang pattern composed of red characters reappeared, but as soon as it flew towards Gu Zhongling, it was mercilessly shattered by the flying swords.

But this time, those scattered characters did not fly back to the iron knife, but immediately completed their arrangement and combination again.

As the red characters approached again, before even touching Gu Zhongling's body, he already felt a bone-chilling cold, so much so that his eyebrows and hair were covered with a layer of thin ice.

"Interesting." Before Gu Zhongling finished speaking, the flying swords struck again, and the red characters in the air were shattered again.

However, before he could change his target and redirect the flying swords to attack Lu Jing, the persistent red characters were reorganized once again.

At the same time, a new piece of red characters appeared in the Xun trigram direction, swaying and floating towards him.

With the appearance of those characters, the surrounding air became distorted due to the high temperature.

Gu Zhongling was not flustered, and the flying swords continuously slashed through the two groups of red characters.

Unfortunately, it was as if he was fighting an opponent that could never be defeated. Whenever the red characters were shattered, they would reform into a new array at the fastest speed.

Not only that, but the number was also increasing.

And the array that Gu Zhongling faced was constantly upgrading and evolving from the most basic Five Elements Array into a higher-level array, as if each destruction was only to make their next rebirth stronger.

Faced with an opponent who grew stronger with each kill, even Gu Zhongling frowned rarely, feeling quite棘手(棘手：prickly; thorny; troublesome; knotty).

At this time, Lu Jing and Xia Huai had also retreated to Jing Xiang's side. The girl tore off a large piece of her skirt and simply bandaged Lu Jing's wound.

Seeing that the situation had gradually returned to control, Lu Jing cupped his fist to Jing Xiang and said, "Thank you, Senior Jing, for your help. Senior Jing's array skills are truly remarkable."

"It's just taking advantage of the terrain. Once we leave here, this array will be useless." Jing Xiang didn't show much pride, waved his hand, and then praised the two of them, "You two are also very skilled. If you hadn't held on long enough, I wouldn't have been able to set up this array."

"Senior Jing, is there anything else you need our help with?" Lu Jing then asked.

And after the two left, the expression on Jing Xiang's face seemed to be relieved.

Then, he looked around, found a small wooden stool, moved it to the array eye, and just sat there.

About half an incense stick of time passed.

The Thousand Luo Myriad Image Array, which was originally constantly increasing in power, suddenly collapsed without any warning!

Those red characters that formed the arrays didn't even return to the iron knife, but just dissipated into the air.

So much so that Gu Zhongling, who was being bombarded by spells, was a little unexpected and stunned.

His figure looked a little embarrassed, and two small swords, one cyan and one silver, hovered in front of his chest.

"You deceived me?" Gu Zhongling seemed to have thought of something, frowning as he looked at Jing Xiang sitting on the wooden stool. "Your Thousand Luo Myriad Image Array was not completed at all."

Jing Xiang did not deny it, nodding and saying, "That's right, when I was halfway through, I found that I still couldn't solve the problem of insufficient mystic power. Professor Wei, who taught me the array, was right. This array is simply impossible to make."

"Then you used this half-baked thing to deal with me?" Gu Zhongling said coldly, "You know that with only this little time, it's not enough for them to get rid of me."

"I can still intercept them before they enter the cave."

"I know," Jing Xiang nodded. "I never thought of using this half-baked thing to deal with you, just to scare you. You're good at everything, but you're a little too calm. No matter what happens, you always look like you're in control, which makes people angry."

"Childish." Gu Zhongling pinched his fingers, preparing to cast a spell, when he heard Jing Xiang say, "No, no, don't rush to use the Immobilization Spell on me, I still want to say a few more words to you."

"Delaying time is meaningless. No matter how fast they are, they can't be faster than my flying swords."

"I'm not delaying time, I just want to tell you that, like those days when we joined forces, this time I didn't fail your expectations, and I once again completed your entrustment," Jing Xiang said earnestly, looking into Gu Zhongling's eyes.

"I did everything you asked me to do, um… except for that one time I was willful, using Another Heaven and Earth to revive you, but I never regretted that."

Gu Zhongling seemed to realize something upon hearing this, and without saying any more nonsense, he quickly pinched the spell for the Immobilization Spell with his only remaining hand.

However, this time Jing Xiang was one step faster.

"Finally, what I want to tell you is… the array I planned to use to deal with you is actually this."

After Jing Xiang said the last word, he smiled at Gu Zhongling, and the next moment, an earth spike rose from beneath his feet, directly piercing his own heart.