Volume 2, Chapter 92 – Adorable Tiger in the Formation

“Close the doors! Release the tiger!”

A cold, merciless female voice came from the formation above.

Everyone was shocked at once.

The sword sect disciples all wore expressions of alarm.

Two sect masters had personally arrived, and the rescue plan had been proceeding so smoothly. No one expected such a turn of events at this final moment.

Song Shixuan’s face turned pale, his expression ugly.

Due to the shock Song Shiyuan had given him earlier, he still felt somewhat weak and drained.

On the other side, while everyone’s attention was drawn to the voice from above, Huang Shangshang quietly retreated to a corner with the unconscious Song Shiyuan.

The formation now activating was the one arranged by Huang Shangshang’s mother. Naturally, she knew the safe nodes within the formation beforehand.

Her current task was to protect the unconscious Song Shiyuan and prevent her from being caught up in the fully operational formation.

Looking at Song Shiyuan’s completely bloodless face, Huang Shangshang silently took out a pill from her pocket and quietly fed it to her.

This medicine was given by Lu Zhuxin.

A treasure from the Fox Monarch’s collection, a high-grade pill for nourishing the heart meridians and bones.

It could protect Song Shiyuan’s meridians and spiritual roots from being twisted by the out-of-control spiritual energy surging backward during her unconsciousness.

At the same time, it would repair the internal injuries caused by the rampaging spiritual energy in her body, minimizing the negative effects of qi deviation as much as possible.

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“Fox Monarch!!”

Jiang Hongliang and Liu Funing exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.

“How could the Fox Monarch be outside? We’ve been tricked?” Liu Funing said.

“This formation! It’s impossible!” Jiang Hongliang said. “It’s completely different from the formation diagram the Immortal Venerable gave me.”

“World-Ending Fox Monarch… when did she modify the formation?!”

“And this formation…” Jiang Hongliang swept his spiritual consciousness across the formation before him.

As a sect master, although Jiang Hongliang wasn’t well-versed in formations, he still had the necessary discernment.

“These modified formations are clearly designed to target Eighth Realm super powerhouses…”

“It’s as if the Fox Monarch already knew Eighth Realm powerhouses would attack here and specifically strengthened the formations targeting them.”

Liu Funing looked at Jiang Hongliang. “There’s always been a traitor within the Sword Sect. You shared the rescue plan with sect disciples, so it’s not strange that the Fox Monarch found out in advance.”

Jiang Hongliang said, “The sect disciples I brought this time were all personally verified by me as trustworthy.”

“Unless…” Jiang Hongliang’s expression grew grave.

Besides the elite disciples Jiang Hongliang brought, there were two other disciples who had the opportunity to leak the plan.

Young Sect Master Song Shixuan and his sister Song Shiyuan.

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Among them, Song Shiyuan’s possibility was highest, but Song Shiyuan didn’t know Jiang Hongliang’s true purpose. What she knew was mostly what Lu Guan told her.

Even Lu Guan didn’t know the complete plan. For these elite disciples, all they knew was the part about going to the Fox Palace to rescue people.

To deal with a group of low-level disciples wouldn’t require an Eighth Realm World-Ending Fox Monarch to modify formations overnight.

The only one who knew the complete scope of Jiang Hongliang’s plan was Young Sect Master Song Shixuan alone.

But Jiang Hongliang didn’t believe Song Shixuan would expose their plan. He had no reason to do such a thing.

“Don’t underestimate fox demons’ methods,” Liu Funing said. “I’ve dealt with fox demons many times and know how dangerous this race is.”

“Just like Miss Song earlier, she too is a victim of fox demons.”

“The major sword sects have long explicitly forbidden their disciples from contacting fox demons, yet cases of sword sect disciples secretly consorting with fox demons remain common.”

Liu Funing’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Whenever I think of those outstanding young people being led astray by fox demon seduction, it fills me with regret and sorrow.”

“Mm.” Jiang Hongliang raised his natal sword horizontally, fierce sword intent brewing in his eyes. “Although I don’t know how the fox clan learned of our plan in advance, in just a few days’ time, setting up a killing formation capable of threatening Eighth Realm powerhouses without anyone noticing is impossible. No matter how skilled the formation master, they couldn’t do it.”

“This Fox Palace’s new formation is still primarily a trapping formation.” Jiang Hongliang made his assessment.

“So?” Liu Funing furrowed her delicate brows.

“The Fox Monarch’s plan is to trap us in this formation, cutting off our escape routes. Then…”

“Watch out!”

Before Jiang Hongliang finished speaking, a white tiger claw swiped toward the back of Liu Funing’s head.

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Although Liu Funing was a sect master, she ultimately wasn’t a true Eighth Realm powerhouse. If this strike landed solidly, the only result would be her skull splitting open!

However, Jiang Hongliang reacted extremely quickly. The moment the tiger claw appeared silently, he responded, swiftly thrusting his sword and positioning the blade horizontally before Liu Funing, blocking this lethal strike for her.

With a clang, Jiang Hongliang’s natal heavy sword was bent backward by the tiger claw’s impact.

Jiang Hongliang gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, his palms numbed by the shock, barely managing to withstand the attack.

He pushed forcefully, and the natal sword straightened instantly under the infusion of spiritual power, finally pushing the tiger claw back.

Only then could he clearly see the perpetrator of this attack.

It was a half-tiger, half-human little tiger girl, fluffy all over with a pair of soft, furry tiger ears on her head.

Seeing her attack blocked, she looked at the back of Liu Funing’s head with some regret.

Liu Funing felt her scalp tingle under that gaze.

“A half-beast tiger demon?” Jiang Hongliang’s eyes showed confusion.

Adult tiger demons could long ago switch between full beast form and human form. They normally used human form, but would fully transform in battle to unleash the tiger clan’s full combat power.

Among the Four Demon Clans, probably only the fox clan would fight in half-beast form, which allowed them to possess the advantages of both human and beast forms simultaneously.

Of course, the main reason was that the fox clan’s true form was too weak in combat. Even fully transformed, they were far less formidable than other races. Half-beast form actually allowed the fox clan to display their maximum combat power.

Therefore, Jiang Hongliang found it strange to see a half-beast tiger clan girl.

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However, the tiger clan girl before him didn’t give Jiang Hongliang any more time to think. After regaining her stance, she immediately attacked again.

The adorable tiger’s sharp claws were Hu Po’s most powerful weapon.

Just like the natal swords of Lingxiao sword cultivators, cultivated to the extreme, one claw could split mountains, two claws could divide seas, three claws could open the heavens.

Of course, these were all marketplace legends, but they demonstrated the formidable power of tiger clan claws.

“Be careful! This is another Eighth Realm tiger clan member!” Liu Funing also wielded her azure sword.

She and Jiang Hongliang fought Hu Po together.

The two battled one tiger. Jiang Hongliang took the offensive while Liu Funing assisted from the side.

With their coordinated effort, the two could barely withstand Hu Po’s offensive, gradually gaining a slight advantage.

Even so, both their expressions were grave.

“Where did the fox clan get such a formidable Eighth Realm tiger clan member from?” Liu Funing asked.

This half-grown girl before them was clearly much more powerful than that tiger clan retainer in Mingzhao City!

Jiang Hongliang’s focus differed from Liu Funing’s.

“The Fox Monarch hasn’t shown herself until now, instead relying on outsiders to deal with us.”

“She’s truly lost her combat ability!”