Chapter 140: The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Calm Before The Storm

"No wonder you were so confident when you mentioned Victoria Quill earlier, Patriarch!" one elder said.

"Daoist Azure Lotus truly deserves his reputation," another added.

"A formation capable of killing someone at the Star Sea Realm is frightening enough, but this one gives its target almost no chance to escape!"

"What’s most impressive is how quickly it activated," a third said. "Graham Cole might possess some extraordinary speed enhancing ability, but he was caught off guard before he could react. Patriarch, your timing was impeccable!"

The praise came one remark after another.

Having witnessed Graham Cole’s overwhelming strength firsthand, the Lindsay family members were delighted to see him finally cornered.

One of the guest elders, however, was more interested in the formation itself.

"Patriarch, if even a peak Star Sea Realm expert would struggle against this technique, is there any way to escape once someone has been trapped inside?" he asked.

"There is," Reginald said, his smile widening as he recalled the instructions Daoist Azure Lotus had given him.

"But the available methods are far from easy." He raised a finger.

"First, one could attempt to dismantle the formation by understanding its underlying principles. The problem is that even if Graham Cole possesses formation knowledge equal to Daoist Azure Lotus’s, he won’t be able to use it to escape from within. The formation can only be dismantled from the outside."

He raised a second finger.

"The other option is to forcibly shatter the enclosed space," he said, chuckling dismissively.

"If breaking through space were that simple, Daoist Azure Lotus wouldn’t have earned his title as a formation grandmaster by creating this technique. The Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation is designed to withstand precisely that kind of attack."

He then brought up another incident to strengthen his argument.

"Two days ago, Damon Veil activated the Earthly Fiend Imprisoning God Formation at Arcadia Academy," he said.

"Graham Cole was unable to break through that formation’s barrier, even though it was considerably weaker than this one. What makes you think he can destroy the Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation?"

Reginald sounded utterly certain of himself.

There was only one problem with his reasoning: he had never actually witnessed Graham Cole attempt to break the formation at Arcadia Academy.

He had merely assumed that Graham Cole lacked the ability to do so.

In reality, Graham Cole had not bothered trying. The Earthly Fiend Imprisoning God Formation posed no meaningful obstacle to him, especially since he possessed a perception type rune stone.

At the time, he had been far more concerned with finding Mira than escaping a barrier that could not threaten him.

But Reginald knew nothing about that. As far as he was concerned, Graham Cole had failed to break a relatively weak formation in the past.

There was no reason to believe he could overcome one created by a renowned formation grandmaster.

The Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation was stronger, more dangerous, and far more difficult to escape. Graham Cole’s fate was practically sealed.

"Wonderful! Now all we have to do is wait for him to die!" one clansman cheered.

"With Graham Cole gone, we can finally avenge Collins and our fourth brother, Garrett!" another said.

"He actually dared to march straight into our territory and challenge the entire Lindsay family," a third mused.

"Even Victoria Quill wouldn’t be so reckless! I can’t decide whether he has extraordinary courage or simply no sense at all."

The atmosphere around the square became increasingly celebratory. The threat that had hung over the family moments earlier now seemed to be disappearing before their eyes.

However, Marcus Pryce, the Lindsay family’s Second Elder, was not convinced.

"Don’t celebrate too soon," he said, his stern warning cutting through the surrounding chatter.

"We haven’t won until he’s dead. Anything can happen while an enemy is still alive. Everyone, stay alert and prepare for the possibility that something goes wrong."

His words earned him a few reluctant glances, but before anyone could respond, his attention suddenly snapped back to the formation. His eyes widened.

The expression on his face changed so abruptly that the people standing nearby instinctively followed his gaze.

The next instant, the smiles vanished from every face. One after another, the Lindsay family members stared at Graham Cole, their expressions filled with utter disbelief.

Inside the Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation, Xavier examined his predicament with a slight frown. However, there was no trace of panic in his eyes.

The Lindsay family had dominated Valemont for generations, accumulating wealth, influence, and powerful martial artists along the way.

It was hardly surprising that a family of such standing possessed a formidable formation capable of catching an intruder off guard.

Unfortunately for them, catching him by surprise was the extent of their achievement. Graham still had plenty of ways to deal with them.

He raised his head to observe the blue lotus floating above him.

Its petals continued to rain down, striking his body and colliding with the chaotic energy that instinctively protected him.

After studying the phenomenon for a moment, he let out an amused chuckle.

"So these petals are the formation’s primary means of attack?" he murmured.

The Lindsay family members could see him through the isolated space, and he could observe them just as clearly.

Although the spatial barrier prevented sound from passing through, he could still make out their expressions.

Reginald and the others looked far too pleased with themselves.

Their smug faces suggested they had already decided how this battle would end.

Their confidence had initially made Graham wonder whether the formation possessed some hidden danger he had overlooked.

Now that he understood how it worked, his concerns vanished. The petals were simply consuming his chaotic energy. That was all.

"Each petal only takes away a tiny amount of chaotic energy," he said. "Even if they keep attacking me continuously, they won’t accomplish anything."

He quickly calculated the cost of enduring the formation’s assault.

"With the chaotic energy stored in the hundred star spaces within my body, I could stand here for three days and nights without moving, and the amount consumed would still be insignificant," he said, shaking his head, almost regretting the caution he had shown earlier.

He had given the Lindsay family’s formation far too much credit.

Although he knew little about the formations commonly used in this world, one principle remained true regardless of where he went: when faced with a sufficiently large difference in strength, overwhelming force could solve problems that complicated techniques could not.

Initially, he had considered escaping through the void. He could also have taken out the spatial rune fragments he had obtained from Collins Lindsay’s spatial ring and used them to escape.

However, the formation suppressed spatial fluctuations, making both options unreliable.

Since the convenient methods were unavailable, he would simply destroy the formation.

Graham lifted one hand and released a burst of Wind and Thunder Sword Intent.

A dazzling streak of sword energy shot toward the invisible boundary enclosing the formation.

The impact produced a series of ripples across the spatial barrier, but it remained intact.

He followed up with a strike of Chaos Divine Palm. The barrier shuddered more noticeably this time.

Graham’s eyes brightened.

As expected, Chaos Divine Palm was considerably more effective against the spatial barrier than Wind and Thunder Sword Intent.

He immediately put away the Dragon Slayer Sword and began launching palm strikes with both hands, one after another.

Chaos Divine Palm was particularly suited to this kind of assault.

Its attacks could be unleashed repeatedly as long as he possessed sufficient chaotic energy, allowing him to maintain relentless pressure on his target.

Its main drawback was its considerable energy consumption.

A full powered strike used roughly one fifth of the chaotic energy stored in a single star space within his body. Under ordinary circumstances, that would have been a significant expense.

For him, however, it was hardly worth worrying about.

The depletion of chaotic energy would not cause the corresponding star to lose its light permanently.

The energy would gradually recover on its own, so he had no reason to hold back over such a manageable cost.

He continued striking the spatial barrier.

Ten palm strikes later, a fine crack appeared across its surface.

Graham’s attacks grew even more forceful. By the time he delivered his twentieth strike, the crack had spread throughout the barrier.

With a deafening shattering sound, the entire structure broke apart like glass.

The isolated space collapsed. At the same time, the enormous blue lotus hanging above him vanished, and the endless stream of petals disappeared with it.

The Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation had been destroyed!

* * *

"What?!" one clansman gasped.

"Impossible! That’s the Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation! How can someone break through its spatial barrier so easily?" another demanded.

"Quick! Send word to the Ancestor!"

"We underestimated him! Call upon the Grand Elder immediately. We need him to end his seclusion!"

The Lindsay family’s experts stared at the scene in disbelief. From the moment the formation trapped Graham Cole to the instant he shattered its spatial barrier, less than a minute had passed.

They had barely finished congratulating themselves on their apparent victory when their supposedly helpless enemy destroyed the formation that had been meant to kill him.

For a moment, no one could understand what they had witnessed.

How could Graham Cole possess such overwhelming strength?

And what kind of palm technique could destroy a formation that was supposed to be nearly impossible to escape?