Chapter 34: Fire Crow Array Roasts Green-Eyed Swimming Fish

“Amphibians,” Xiao Yifeng muttered, watching the Green-Eyed Swimming Fish flop onto the dry rock, gasping but mobile. “I should have guessed they could move on land.”

He turned to Ling Sisi. “Junior Sister Ling, before the Heavenly Luo Crocodile catches up, I need to set up a formation. Buy me some time. Don’t let those demon beasts interfere.”

“Understood.”

Ling Sisi didn’t hesitate. She gripped her sword and moved to the edge of the cave, intercepting the encroaching fish with precise, rhythmic slashes of Sword Qi.

Behind her, Xiao Yifeng worked quickly. He pulled several red formation flags from his Storage Bag and drove them into the rocky ground. Then, he produced a circular formation disk that glowed with the color of molten lava.

This was the Fire Crow Array—a high-grade defensive formation gifted to him by Lin Ziyun for emergencies.

In the underwater tunnels, a fire-attribute formation would have been useless, its power strangled by the environment. But here, in this dry air pocket, it was the perfect counter.

He spun the disk, calibrated the nodes, and pressed his palm against the surface to inject his spiritual power. The formation hummed to life.

“Junior Sister! It’s ready. Get inside!”

Ling Sisi retreated instantly.

As she crossed the boundary, Xiao Yifeng activated the core. The formation disk levitated into the air, radiating intense heat. The red flags fluttered despite the lack of wind, and crimson runes began to flow across the floor like liquid fire. A semi-circular dome of red light sealed them off from the damp cave.

Caw!

From the floating disk, over ten spectral fire crows emerged. They circled the interior of the dome, their wings shedding sparks. As they flew, they multiplied, condensing the ambient Spiritual Qi into hundreds of smaller flame birds.

A wave of scorching heat washed over the cave.

Xiao Yifeng made a sharp hand seal. “Go.”

The flock of fire birds shrieked and dove at the incoming wave of Green-Eyed Swimming Fish. They struck like a rain of sharp swords, piercing scales and flesh with searing precision. The fish didn’t just die; they were incinerated.

The flock circled back, leaving behind a perimeter of sizzling carcasses.

Ling Sisi stared at the destruction, wide-eyed. The heat was stifling, making her sweat, but the safety was undeniable.

“Junior Sister Ling, you’ve done enough,” Xiao Yifeng said, smiling as he handed her a porcelain bottle. “This is the Fire Crow Array. As a water cultivator, you can’t control it, so leave the defense to me. Take these Spirit Recovery Pills and restore your Qi. When the others arrive, we’ll have a hard fight ahead.”

“What about you, Senior Brother?” She poured out a pill but tried to hand the bottle back.

“I have plenty. Eat.”

Time lost its meaning. To Ling Sisi, it felt as if centuries had dragged by in the flickering red light of the formation.

Suddenly, the water in the center of the cave exploded. Two beams of sword light shot out, followed by two figures landing heavily on the dry rock.

It was Lin Mi and Zhu Ming.

They landed ready for battle, but froze at the sight before them.

A fiery red dome dominated the cave, relentlessly grinding down a horde of Green-Eyed Swimming Fish. The air was thick with the smell of burnt flesh. Around the base of the formation, charred corpses were piled so high they formed a gruesome rampart, burying the array flags and leaving only the front section visible.

And near the water’s edge, a nightmare awaited.

The Heavenly Luo Crocodile was a mess of torn scales and flowing blood. A sword was still buried to the hilt in its left eye socket, and its remaining golden eye burned with tyrannical rage. It was currently hammering the fire formation with massive jets of water, trying to crack the turtle shell.

Hearing the splash, the beast whipped its head around.

It saw fresh prey.

“ROAR!”

The crocodile abandoned the formation and unleashed a torrent of high-pressure water at the newcomers.

Zhu Ming and Lin Mi, caught off guard, barely managed to scramble left and right to dodge the blast. The water smashed into the rock wall, shattering stone.

Seeing them survive, the beast’s fury doubled. It had been frustrated by the turtle shell for too long; now, it had soft targets. It lunged, jaws snapping, while firing another water cannon to cut off their retreat.

“Senior Brother Zhu! Senior Sister Lin!” Xiao Yifeng’s voice cut through the chaos. “Get to the formation! I’ll cover you!”

Inside the dome, Xiao Yifeng manipulated the formation. A swarm of fire birds detached from the main flock and streamed out, intercepting the water blast in a cloud of steam and harassing the crocodile.

A path of fire opened up in the sea of monsters.

“Go!” Lin Mi shouted.

The two disciples launched themselves into the air, flying desperately toward the red light. The crocodile roared and gave chase, its heavy body moving with terrifying speed on the rock.

As they neared the barrier, a gap flickered open. They dove through, landing hard on the rune-inscribed floor.

Snap!

The gap sealed shut an instant later.

THUD!

The crocodile slammed headfirst into the barrier, shaking the entire cave. Denied its meal again, it went berserk. It clawed at the red light, bit at the energy shield, and whipped it with its tail. Behind it, water columns rose from the pool and hammered the dome like siege artillery.

Zhu Ming, face pale and trembling, looked at the shaking shield. “Junior Brother Xiao… is this thing stable? Do you need help?”

Lin Mi rolled her eyes, humiliated by his cowardice. “Can you have a little backbone?”

Zhu Ming managed a weak, embarrassed smile but didn’t argue.

“Relax,” Xiao Yifeng said calmly, his hands steady on the controls. “This is a top-tier Foundation Establishment formation. If we were underwater, I’d be worried. But on land? It can’t break this turtle shell. As long as my spiritual power holds, we are untouchable.”

“That’s good… that’s good,” Zhu Ming exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Junior Brother,” Lin Mi asked, catching her breath, “that crocodile… it’s supposed to be Qi Refining Perfection. How did it reach Foundation Establishment? And how did you two end up fighting it?”

Ling Sisi quickly summarized the situation.

Lin Mi’s eyes narrowed as she listened. Then, realization dawned. “Wait. Junior Sister, you mentioned you couldn’t help because of your element… but I have a Fire Spiritual Root.”

“Yes!” Ling Sisi beamed. “Senior Brother Xiao has been maintaining this alone for too long. If you can help…”

“Say no more.” Lin Mi turned to Xiao Yifeng. “Junior Brother, do you need an extra battery? I can’t handle complex controls, though.”

“Senior Sister Lin, it’s simple,” Xiao Yifeng said. “Just inject your Fire Qi into the disk. I’ll handle the targeting.”

“Done!”

Lin Mi smiled and placed her hand on the floating disk.

With a fresh infusion of Fire Qi, the formation flared brighter. The number of fire crows doubled, and their flames turned a deeper, hotter crimson. The pressure on Xiao Yifeng vanished instantly.

“What about me?” Zhu Ming asked, scratching his head.

“Just rest,” Xiao Yifeng said. “When the other two arrive, we’re going to kill that thing. We’ll need you at full strength then.”

“Right! Rest! I can do that,” Zhu Ming nodded eagerly.

Xiao Yifeng popped a recovery pill and settled into a meditative rhythm. “I’m fine to keep this up. The formation is efficient. We’ll wait for reinforcements.”

“Be careful, Junior Brother. Your reserves are… honestly terrifying,” Ling Sisi murmured. Feeling useless again, she sat down to meditate, sighing at her own inadequacy.

Outside, the siege continued.

The Heavenly Luo Crocodile, realizing brute force wasn’t working, began a war of attrition. It summoned water from the pool to douse the flames, but water and fire were mutual counters—and this was a Foundation Establishment fire formation. The water evaporated into steam before it could do any real damage.

Meanwhile, the Green-Eyed Swimming Fish continued their suicidal assault. Like moths to a flame, they threw themselves at the barrier, adding their charred bodies to the mounting pile of corpses.

It was a gruesome, meat-grinder stalemate.

Xiao Yifeng watched it all with indifferent eyes. He had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of fire in his past life; a few thousand fish and an angry lizard were nothing.

Ling Sisi, however, kept her eyes squeezed shut. She tried to block out the shrieks of the dying beasts and the cloying smell of burnt meat, but the horror of the slaughter seeped in anyway.