Formation? Zhao Chenghuang's eyelids twitched as he witnessed the formation of interwoven water and fire. Without a second thought, the experienced Zhao Chenghuang bolted towards the edge of the formation, outside the clashing elements.

He couldn't afford to be trapped within the formation.

Zhao Chenghuang stowed away his clay figurine, transforming into a blur. In less than a moment, he reached the edge of the water and fire array, only to collide with an invisible wall of energy.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

His back muscles tensed, his arms like transmission rods, driving his fists into the energy wall with rapid, forceful punches.

Under his violent assault, capable of shattering steel, the energy wall rippled with quick, sharp waves.

Zhao Chenghuang's face shifted slightly as he changed his punches to claws, his dark, sharp nails pressing against the energy wall, violently slashing across it.

The ripples on the energy wall accelerated, yet there were no signs of collapse or fracture.

Zhao Chenghuang's heart sank; his claws could rival some armor-piercing tools, but they were futile against the barrier.

"Sneer~"

Suddenly, a hoarse laugh echoed from behind.

Zhao Chenghuang swiftly retrieved the clay figurine, holding it in his palm, and turned around slowly, on guard. He saw a figure formed of flames, with vague features, holding a narrow-bladed long knife.

On the other side, a figure made of illusory water currents slowly materialized.

What kind of item is this, capable of displaying both fire and water abilities? Where is Yuan Shi Tian Zun himself... Zhao Chenghuang, in his ghostly state, coldly scrutinized the two elemental figures.

The audience gasped, and the official practitioners present became unsettled.

Items with dual professional traits were extremely rare, almost nonexistent in exclusive spirit realms, and only appeared in multiplayer spirit realms, but even there, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, even less common than intelligent Fire Masters.

The cost of crafting such high-quality items was exorbitant, and few were powerful in function.

This item of Yuan Shi Tian Zun, capable of evolving formations, was clearly a top-tier piece.

At the same time, they recalled Yuan Shi Tian Zun's use of the Water Ghost's passive ability when he defeated Qing Songzi yesterday, indicating that the formation was not the only function of this item.

The Water Ghosts and Fire Masters began to breathe heavily.

An item with both Water Ghost and Fire Master professions was their nemesis.

Fire overcomes water, water overcomes fire; whether it's a Water Ghost or a Fire Master trapped in such a formation, they would face a crushing defeat.

But if they were to use this item, they could maximize its power because the five orderly professions of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, although common, had one unique advantage.

Home ground advantage!

For example, any peak professional would find it difficult to defeat a Water Ghost of the same level in a river.

Therefore, if a Water Ghost or Fire Master possessed the Yin-Yang Robe, the water and fire formations would become their home ground, and upon deploying the formation, their combat power would soar.

Zhao Chenghuang searched for a moment but found no trace of Yuan Shi Tian Zun. He stared at the flame figure for a while and suddenly felt it resembled Yuan Shi Tian Zun, blurting out:

"Are you Yuan Shi Tian Zun?"

After his transformation, his voice was eerily cold and sticky. The flame figure let out a strange laugh:

"You've got some insight, but don't bother trying. Once the formation is activated, no one can leave for ten minutes. Zhao Chenghuang, are you ready to be trampled under my feet?"

He really was Yuan Shi Tian Zun, capable of transforming into an element... Zhao Chenghuang revealed a look of astonishment, then a thought struck him: Ten minutes?!

"Idiot!"

The figure formed of illusory water cursed sharply:

"Your body may have turned into flames, but your brain shouldn't become a Fire Master. How could you reveal such crucial information? You're going to be the death of me!"

The flame figure was taken aback, then realized his mistake, cursing under his breath:

The noise from the audience seats suddenly quieted down a bit as the practitioners of various professions turned their gaze towards the Fire Masters nearby.

The Fire Masters either twitched at the corners of their mouths or bulged veins on their foreheads, looking ready to collectively beat up Yuan Shi Tian Zun at any moment.

After cursing, the flame figure's body suddenly disintegrated, and the flames behind Zhao Chenghuang exploded, coalescing into a human shape.

Fire Walk!

Within the flame formation, Zhang Yuanqing could appear anywhere at any time. The flame figure swung its arms, the narrow-bladed long knife slashing towards the enemy's neck.

"Boom!"

Zhao Chenghuang didn't move; the clay figurine in his palm raised a dull gray light screen, and the narrow-bladed long knife chopped down on it, as if hitting a sandbag, scattering sandy light fragments.

After being attacked, Zhao Chenghuang turned around "belatedly," swiping a claw at the flame figure.

But all he hit was a burst of expanding firelight; the flame figure once again escaped using Fire Walk.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

The flame figure circled around Zhao Chenghuang, slashing the light screen with one knife after another, creating a dense shower of sandy light fragments.

Whenever Zhao Chenghuang counterattacked, he would use Fire Walk to move and sneak attack from behind or the side.

In the flame home ground, the flame figure was like a fish in water.

And Zhao Chenghuang, holding the clay figurine, became exceptionally slow, his shoulders as if bearing a great mountain.

This was the cost of the item; the defensive items of the earth monster profession generally had the "heavy" price.

Seeing the protective light becoming increasingly unstable and the clay figurine in his palm starting to shake, Zhao Chenghuang knew the item's defense was insufficient to withstand the blade's edge and decisively stowed the clay figurine away.

"Seeking death?" The flame figure laughed arrogantly, slashing with the knife.

Zhao Chenghuang sidestepped the blade, his dark claws enveloping the flame figure's head.

Boom!

He brutally crushed the flame figure's head.

The headless flame figure swung its knife, slashing a bone-deep wound across Zhao Chenghuang's waist and abdomen.

The two separated after a brief contact.

"Stupid, I'm immune to physical attacks." The flame figure laughed wildly.

Zhao Chenghuang's face darkened, he took a deep breath of scorching air, and the wound on his waist and abdomen quickly writhed and healed.

After his transformation, his vitality and self-healing had greatly increased; as long as his head wasn't removed, even if his heart was damaged, he could linger on for a long time, enough to wait for the life essence to heal him.

Thud!

The flame figure stepped forward heavily, the arm holding the narrow-bladed long knife stabbing out fiercely. Zhao Chenghuang, agile, sidestepped and extended his dark, sharp claws, tightly gripping the blade.

The flame figure tried to retract its arm and withdraw the knife, but Zhao Chenghuang held on tightly, his hands immediately oozing bright red blood, his claws scratching white marks on the blade.

Trying to take the knife?

The flame figure snorted coldly, ready to exert force, but suddenly felt an inexplicable strength on the blade, assisting Zhao Chenghuang in taking the knife.

Looking towards the blade's tip, he saw assisting Zhao Chenghuang was a spirit servant with black lips.

Spirit servants had the ability to control objects.

Zhang Yuanqing, transformed into an element, was immune to spirit servant attacks but also lost the means to counter them.

The narrow-bladed long knife slipped from his grasp bit by bit, and the flame figure gradually slid towards Zhao Chenghuang. The water duplicate, assisting Wraith Number One in dealing with the Yin Corpse, sneered:

"Useless, I told you that knife should have been mine. Look at you, you didn't kill the man, and now the knife is being taken."

The flame figure roared in anger: "Shut up, do I need you to teach me how to do things?"

After speaking, he spat a flame onto the blade, heating it to a glowing red iron. "Sizzle~"

Zhao Chenghuang's hands smoked, the stench of burning flesh filled the air, his face contorted in unbearable pain.

"Still not letting go!" The flame figure opened its mouth, spewing another scorching flame, this time burning Zhao Chenghuang.

In an instant, Zhao Chenghuang's hair, eyebrows, and clothes all caught fire, his dark skin covered in burn marks.

The flames continued to burn, his skin gradually carbonizing, glowing red. Finally, with a roar, Zhao Chenghuang withdrew his claws, retreating rapidly, leaving the area scorched by the flames.

Seizing the opportunity, the flame figure followed closely, the narrow-bladed long knife chopping and slashing, inflicting deep, bone-exposing wounds on Zhao Chenghuang's body, his dark skin gleaming metallically, but under the blade, it was as fragile as paper.

If not for Zhang Yuanqing's lack of swordsmanship, he would have already slain Zhao Chenghuang. In the audience seats, the Taiyi Sect members suddenly stood up, shouting towards the elder seats: "Foul play, he's cheating!"

"This must be a Saint-level item."

"Using such a quality item is cheating; there's no way to fight back, only to passively take hits."

"Elders, say something."

The Taiyi Sect's Night Touring Ghosts were anxious; they never expected Yuan Shi Tian Zun to have such a miraculous item, pushing Zhao Chenghuang to the brink of danger.

This was not what they expected; in their minds, Yuan Shi Tian Zun should be the one in danger, with Zhao Chenghuang overpowering the enemy.

On the Five Elements Alliance side, everyone was excited but suppressed their cheers, all looking towards the elder seats.

In their view, this item was indeed a bit overpowered. The armored swordsman spoke loudly: "Silence! Don't disrupt the match." This was tantamount to endorsing Yuan Shi Tian Zun; the item was not against the rules.

The Yin-Yang Robe was obtained in the Transcendent stage spirit realm, and it was indeed not a Saint realm item.

"Ha ha, Zhao Chenghuang, your time of death has come. Kneel down and call me grandpa, and I might spare your life."

The flame figure was ecstatic, wielding the narrow-bladed long knife in a relentless pursuit, occasionally manipulating the flames to cause explosions, doubling the pressure on the enemy.

Seeing Yuan Shi Tian Zun fight so wildly and unrestrained, the watching Fire Masters nodded slightly in approval, forgiving his earlier insulting words.

Zhao Chenghuang took another hit, but by then, he had already retreated to the boundary where water and fire merged. Seeing the flame figure swing the knife again, he leaped over the fiery boundary.

In an instant, the illusory water currents surged forward, colliding with his chest. Though the water was illusory, it felt real and cold, soothing the burns on his body and bringing a refreshing coolness.

The flame figure stopped at the boundary, not pursuing further. Seeing this, Zhao Chenghuang curled his lips and said:

"I've been wondering why the elders didn't call a halt, why such a powerful item isn't against the rules. Now I understand, it truly is a Transcendent quality item.

"Your item has a fatal flaw, which is that water and fire cannot merge. The two duplicates each manage a region, clearly demarcated."

He had fought the flame duplicate for a long time, and even during the knife struggle, the water duplicate didn't intervene, indicating there were limitations; the water duplicate couldn't touch the fiery region.

The flame figure raged: "So what!"

Zhao Chenghuang said:

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"The attack won't work! The attack power of Transcendent stage Water Ghosts and Fire Masters is limited; neither can do anything to me. The real threat to me is the knife in your hand.

"So, your formation can only trap me; it couldn't have hurt me originally. That's why the elders didn't call a halt."

The flame figure fell silent.

"You look down on me?" The water duplicate appeared silently behind Zhao Chenghuang, throwing a punch at the back of his head.

Zhao Chenghuang sank his knees, lowering his body by a dozen centimeters, avoiding the punch aimed at the back of his head, and at the same time, he spun around and swept his claw, cutting the water duplicate in half at the waist.

"Splash~"

The water duplicate dissolved into illusory water currents, enveloping Zhao Chenghuang from all sides. Water was formless, yet deadly.

On the other side, the level 4 Yin Corpse, caught in the beating, slowly spoke, his voice hoarse:

"Night Touring Ghosts have strong vitality; even without breathing, I can last a very, very long time, long enough for your formation to end."

The flame figure roared:

"Switch places!"

It lifted its foot and stomped heavily.

The water and fire formation rotated like a millstone, swapping water and fire positions.

Zhao Chenghuang, who was originally in the water formation, along with the two Yin Corpses, appeared in the area surrounded by flames.

The flame figure, holding the knife, chased after Zhao Chenghuang and the Yin Corpses.

The latter didn't engage with him, leading the Yin Corpses into the water formation, saying indifferently: "This is meaningless!

"I won't fight you anymore. There's only one knife; if the flame duplicate holds the knife, I'll avoid the fire; if the water duplicate holds the knife, I'll avoid the water. You can only threaten me from one side.

"That's your flaw."

As he spoke, Zhao Chenghuang exited his ghostly state, breathing heavily. He couldn't maintain that state any longer due to his physical strength, but it didn't matter; he had already seen through Yuan Shi Tian Zun's tricks.

In the following time, Zhao Chenghuang used this rule to repeatedly leap back and forth in the water and fire formation, blocking without attacking, avoiding without fighting.

Until ten minutes were up, the illusory fire and scorching flames returned to the Yin-Yang Robe in the air.

The Yin-Yang Robe fell, and Zhang Yuanqing's body materialized, reaching out to catch the robe. The two Yin Corpses each withdrew and returned to their master's side.

Seeing this, the Taiyi Sect's Night Touring Ghosts breathed a sigh of relief.

It was too dangerous; Zhao Chenghuang almost lost to Yuan Shi Tian Zun, but fortunately, he cleverly spotted the item's flaw and averted the crisis.

"Phew, that was a close call. Yuan Shi Tian Zun has no moves left, right?"

"Zhao Chenghuang is not lightly injured; to push him to this extent, Yuan Shi Tian Zun didn't have it easy either."

"This is called the turn of the tide."

Sun Miaomiao, the Maoshan sorcerers, and others didn't speak, but they too breathed a sigh of relief.

The Saint realm figures like the Duke of Ghosts and Yin Ji showed satisfaction; as the backbone of the Taiyi Sect, they didn't wish to see Zhao Chenghuang defeated by Yuan Shi Tian Zun.

As for the practitioners of the Five Elements Alliance, except for those who bet on Zhao Chenghuang to win, most had disappointed expressions on their faces.

Yuan Shi Tian Zun's response was quite brilliant, using the battle armor to enhance the Yin Corpses' resistance against Zhao Chenghuang, and then deploying the formation with that robe to counterattack the "ghostified" Zhao Chenghuang.

Striking the strong with the weak, he managed to firmly suppress his opponent.

If it were anyone else facing the powerful Zhao Chenghuang, they would have already admitted defeat. "It's a pity, this Zhao Chenghuang is quite clever and not easy to deal with." Annie said regretfully. "No, you need to think differently." Mr. Bill, however, smiled:

"It was Yuan Shi Tian Zun who successfully resolved Zhao Chenghuang's terrifying state. Look, Zhao Chenghuang is not lightly injured; that state put a great burden on him, while Yuan Shi Tian Zun is calm and composed, with hardly any consumption."

Annie was startled, scrutinizing the slightly panting Zhao Chenghuang, her eyes lighting up: "Indeed."

Mr. Bill spoke seriously:

"Zhao Chenghuang knows his own condition best, so next, he will use his trump card and won't tangle with Yuan Shi Tian Zun any longer.

Inside the arena.

It's a pity I couldn't finish him within ten minutes... Zhang Yuanqing shook out the Yin-Yang Robe and draped it over himself, his face full of regret.

In the state of water and fire duplicates, he was immune to physical attacks and spirit servant ambushes, almost completely countering Zhao Chenghuang, directly letting his mysterious spirit servant fail.

It was the best opportunity to defeat the enemy.

But as Zhao Chenghuang said, the Yin-Yang Robe had its limits and flaws. Insufficient output was the biggest flaw, especially when the use of items was limited to three; relying solely on water and fire abilities, he barely managed to fight Li Xianzong, depending on items for assistance.

Let alone the ghostified Zhao Chenghuang.

Being able to spot the flaw of the Yin-Yang Robe in a short time, this Zhao Chenghuang was quite capable.

"This is your trump card, right?" Zhao Chenghuang exhaled lightly, his breath completely disordered, like an ordinary person after intense exercise.

His physical strength had dropped by at least forty percent.

The ghostification was too taxing on the body, and coupled with the knife wounds and burns suffered in the formation, repairing the wounds was also depleting cellular vitality. In just ten minutes, he was already very tired.

"Yes!"

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, not denying it.

"Then it's my turn to use my trump card." Zhao Chenghuang breathed heavily, speaking coldly:

"You should know I have a spirit servant that I rarely use, but you definitely don't know why I don't use it."

"Why?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, following the flow.

Zhao Chenghuang's gaze suddenly sharpened: "You'll know soon enough."

As his words fell, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a bronze box measuring 1 meter in length, width, and height. The box's surface was carved with scenes of two armies clashing, swords and spears in hand, quite gruesome.

A chilling aura of death washed over them.

Seeing this box, the armored swordsman sitting in the elder seats exclaimed: "Soldier Puppet Storage Box?"

The elders of the Five Elements Alliance were taken aback upon hearing this.

From a short distance away, Elder Zhao laughed: "It's just a replica."

The armored swordsman gave him a deep look "Even if it's a replica, if it has the characteristics of a Marionette Master, then it's against the rules!"

Elder Zhao remained silent, smiling.

At this moment, Zhao Chenghuang inhaled deeply, exhaling a stream of Taiyin force.

This Taiyin force drifted behind his head, coalescing into a shadowy figure draped in tattered robes, floating in the air like a deity from the tales, arms outstretched.

"Open!"

The bronze box lid lifted.

The shadowy figure behind Zhao Chenghuang gazed down at the box, its ten fingers emitting slender, illusory black threads.

The threads cascaded into the box like a waterfall, and shortly after, a humanoid object leaped out from within.

It was a bronze puppet, its features resembling that of a terracotta warrior, with fierce eyes and a body, limbs, and joints all made of bronze, covered in verdigris and long rusted. It wobbled to a stand, its joints emitting a grating sound.

In its hand, it held a rust-covered war blade.

The Night Touring Ghosts in the audience could see a phantom black thread extending from the back of the bronze puppet's head, leading to the spirit servant behind Zhao Chenghuang.

One by one, more figures leaped from the bronze box—ten, twenty, thirty... a total of thirty bronze puppets.

They all bore the same visage, wielding the same standard-issue long blades, standing unsteadily, emitting grating noises.

The tattered-robed spirit servant's arms trembled slightly. "Creak~"

All the bronze puppets' heads tilted, their gaze uniformly fixed on Zhang Yuanqing. Despite their expressionless faces, they exuded an aura of chilling horror.

Zhao Chenghuang spoke coldly:

"The reason I don't use this spirit servant is that its function is too singular; it can only manipulate lifeless puppets and needs to find a suitable item to unleash its strongest potential.

At the elder seats, Elder Gou turned his head, glaring at Elder Zhao, and said, "Shameless! How is this different from using a Marionette Master's ability?"

Controlling thirty puppets with a spirit servant was akin to thirty people ganging up on Yuan Shi Tian Zun; how could he win?

Elder Zhao simply smiled:

"If he had used the Marionette Master's ability, then one puppet would be enough to slay Yuan Shi Tian Zun. You can't accuse my great-grandson of cheating just because his spirit servant can control puppets."

Marionette Master was a level 7 Scout skill, aptly named "Marionette Master," with the ability to control soldier puppets.

A Marionette Master was equivalent to a thousand troops, an entire army.

The Soldier Puppet Storage Box belonged to an elder of the White Tiger Soldiers, and only a Marionette Master could use it; otherwise, the puppets inside were no different from dead objects.

That's why the armored swordsman said that if the Marionette Master's traits were used, it would be considered cheating.

But Zhao Chenghuang indeed hadn't cheated; the spirit servant's control over the puppets was different from the Marionette Master's ability, though both could control puppets in a similar manner.

To the elders, the spirit servant's manipulation technique seemed crude and rudimentary. But for Transcendent stage practitioners, it was unbeatable.

Zhao Chenghuang still had this trick up his sleeve?

Watching the densely packed, thirty bronze puppets, the audience was dumbfounded.

Is this still a match? This is bullying.

Mr. Bill's expression changed slightly: "God, it's over..."

At the White Tiger Soldiers' seating area, Fu Qingyang's companion, Qi Cilang, angrily said: "Damn it. Five years of funding gone."

Feng Laiyi and others remained silent.

"So, Zhao Chenghuang's spirit servant is this..." The Maoshan sorcerer sitting next to Sun Miaomiao laughed out loud, gleefully saying:

"Sun Miaomiao, why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had, I would have bet more."

As a former loser to Yuan Shi Tian Zun, he was delighted to see Zhao Chenghuang crushing his "enemy."

Sun Miaomiao glanced at him: "I didn't know either. This thing was probably crafted overnight by the scholar families at Elder Zhao's request. Zhao Chenghuang has never used it before."

"Tsk, having a Sovereign-level grandfather is bliss." The Maoshan sorcerer remarked.

At this time, Elder Zhao, wearing a smile, heard Elder Sun next to him speak with a tone of deep regret:

"It's over, it's all over..."

Elder Zhao turned his head, somewhat surprised, and frowned: "Aren't you quite disdainful of this Yuan Shi Tian Zun?"

Elder Sun replied irritably: "I meant your great-grandson's trump card is finished." With that statement, Elder Hongying and others also turned their heads to look.

"Elder Sun, what do you mean?"

PS: I'll correct any typos later.