“Open the formation, or he dies.”

The burly man suddenly pulled out a black spear from the dark mist, his voice booming like thunder as he threatened everyone. He raised the spear, poised to throw it at Zhou Ao.

Upon hearing this, the female disciples of the Sixth Peak all turned their gazes towards Xu Ziyan.

Xu Ziyan found herself in a dilemma.

She had watched Zhou Ao grow up. Despite his less-than-pleasant personality, she couldn’t just stand by and watch him die in front of her.

“Senior Sister, open a gap in the formation, I’ll guard it,” Lin Buyu stepped forward.

“And me,” Xu Taiping said, placing his hand on his sword hilt as he walked over.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you two,” Xu Ziyan finally made her decision, choosing to trust them.

She lightly slashed her sword towards the barrier where Zhou Ao was, creating a small opening in the golden light screen.

Zhou Ao’s body fell through the gap.

“Whoosh!” At that moment, the blond burly man standing on the demonic flood dragon seized the opportunity and hurled his spear.

“Boom!” The spear shot through the gap just before the barrier closed again, heading straight for Zhou Ao’s chest.

“Clang!” In a split second, Lin Buyu transformed into a sword light, slashing towards the black spear.

“Bang!” The impact sent Lin Buyu’s sword flying.

“I’ll handle this!” Just as Lin Buyu’s arm sparked with electricity, ready to summon Lin Buyan at the cost of revealing her identity, Xu Taiping leaped up with a shout, slashing at the spear with his blade.

“Bang!” Using the terrain to his advantage, Xu Taiping’s strike managed to halt the spear’s momentum.

But the spear’s power was overwhelming.

In an instant, it broke free from Xu Taiping’s control, continuing its path towards Zhou Ao.

In a flash, Xu Taiping discarded his sword, twisted his body, and grabbed the spear with both hands. With a roar, he mustered all his strength to hold the spear back.

“Whoosh!” Despite his efforts, the spear still slipped from his grasp.

However, due to the combined efforts of Lin Buyu and Xu Taiping, the spear lost its aim and embedded itself into the ground in front of Zhou Ao.

“Boom!” The moment the spear struck the ground, the entire courtyard trembled, and the impact created a deep crater.

Xu Taiping glanced at his hands, finding the skin on his palms torn apart.

The spear’s power was evident.

“Buzzing…!” Just as everyone thought they had saved Zhou Ao and avoided disaster, the black spear began to tremble violently, emitting a piercing hum.

“Ugh!” Several female disciples of the Sixth Peak started vomiting blood after a few tremors.

“This is a true demonic weapon; we need to get it out of here!” Xu Ziyan shouted.

Without hesitation, Xu Taiping grabbed the spear again and pulled it from the ground.

“Buzzing…!” As he pulled it out, the spear vibrated intensely, splitting the skin on his hands and temporarily deafening him.

“Bang!” Xu Ziyan and Lin Buyu tried to help, but the demonic cultivator above the formation raised a fist wrapped in black energy and struck the barrier.

“Boom!” The seemingly ordinary punch carried immense power, causing the golden light screen to tremble.

“Don’t worry about me, guard the formation, don’t let him break through!” Xu Taiping shouted, sensing Lin Buyu and the others’ intention to assist.

He could feel that the demonic cultivator’s power was at least at the Demon Lord level. If he broke through with the help of the demonic flood dragon, even Lin Buyu using Lin Buyan’s power might not save everyone.

Lin Buyu understood Xu Taiping’s thoughts and said to Xu Ziyan, “Senior Sister, the Golden Scales Formation isn’t fully activated yet. Let’s use the Breaking Cloud Sword Formation to hold off the demonic cultivator.”

Xu Ziyan glanced at Xu Taiping, who was struggling to drag the demonic spear out of the courtyard, and nodded, “Let’s stabilize the Golden Scales Formation first, then assist Taiping.”

“Clang!” With a sword cry, Lin Buyu and the others formed the Breaking Cloud Sword Formation, sending a giant sword shadow slashing towards the demonic cultivator.

“Bang!” The demonic cultivator staggered back a few steps, his fist’s power dissipating.

He then roared at the demonic flood dragon below, “I’ll break the formation, you block their swords.”

The demonic flood dragon roared and spat black flames at Lin Buyu and the others.

“Clang!” Lin Buyu activated the sword formation again, slicing through the black flames.

“Boom!” In the brief moment of distraction, the demonic cultivator’s muscles swelled, and he punched the Golden Scales Formation again.

The incomplete formation trembled, and several key points showed signs of loosening.

Lin Buyu and the others were entangled by the demonic flood dragon, unable to stop the demonic cultivator from breaking the formation.

Xu Taiping noticed this.

But he was already struggling to control the demonic spear, with no energy left for anything else.

Seeing the formation weakening, he couldn’t just sit and wait.

As he dragged the spear out of the courtyard, his mind raced, searching for a solution.

At that moment, the Ghost-Sealing Talisman in his left palm, dormant for so long, began to ache.

The familiar pain made Xu Taiping’s eyes light up. He thought, “The Ghost-Sealing Talisman can seal demonic souls, maybe it can seal this demonic spear too?”

He sensed that the spear, like spirit weapons, had a spirit. Its power must be tied to this spirit.

“Though it’s a desperate move, there’s no better option.”

With that thought, Xu Taiping gripped the spear with his left hand and began chanting the Ghost-Sealing incantation.

“Buzzing…!” As soon as he started chanting, the spear trembled violently, struggling like a wild beast to break free from his grasp.

But Xu Taiping held on tightly.