Chapter 448: Some Holes Truly Cannot Be Pierced

The combined attack of over a dozen Cultivators at the Void Refinement stage was incredibly powerful—enough, it is estimated, to flatten an area of thousands of miles and destroy everything in its path. Yet when this fierce assault hit the Mountain Protection Formation, it could only generate waves of colorful tremors; even this seemingly weak defensive barrier proved impossible to penetrate.
“This Mountain Protection Formation of the Tianxuan Sect is far more resilient than similar formations of other sects in the cultivation world. No wonder that young man was so arrogant…”
Bearded Man and the others were deeply impressed.
However, this did not stop them, as they believed that no matter how strong a cultivation world’s formation might be, it could not withstand the relentless attacks of those at the Void Refinement stage.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
Amidst the continuous explosions, Su Che and Yu Qing stood calmly within the barrier, even showing a mocking expression, as if watching a joke or a spectacle. This only fueled the anger of Bearded Man and the others. While continuing their attacks, they secretly pondered how they would torture these two youngsters if they fell into their hands…
Although Yu Qing appeared calm, he silently transmitted a message to Su Che: “If they had two or three more people, their attack strength would exceed the barrier’s maximum tolerance. In just a few strikes, they could pierce a hole through the barrier.”
Su Che nodded silently in agreement with Yu Qing’s assessment.
Any defensive barrier has a limit of endurance. If the enemy’s attack force exceeds this limit, even if the entire Mountain Protection Formation isn’t completely destroyed, an opening can still be created at some point—much like a needle piercing cloth.
Amidst the thunderous attacks, Su Che replied to Yu Qing silently: “I actually hope they can try harder. Without me deliberately weakening their attacks, they should be able to pierce a hole on their own and let a few of them in… just right…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, as that was precisely Su Che’s plan to outwit them.
While the two were communicating silently, no one noticed that Su Che’s shadow on the ground was darker than Yu Qing’s. Normally, when two people stand side by side under the same light source, their shadows should be identical. But at that moment, Su Che’s shadow wasn’t only darker—it seemed to be trembling slightly, giving off a strange vibe.

However, this change was too subtle. Su Che, Yu Qing, and even Lao Hei in the Immortal Prison had their attention focused on the dozen or so Cultivators of the Void Refinement Realm outside the barrier, so none of them noticed or cared about any changes in their own shadows…

Boom, boom, boom…

The combined attacks from Big Beard and his companions lasted for nearly fifteen minutes. During this time, the Mountain Protection Array endured countless powerful strikes, consuming an incalculable number of spirit stones—so many that it was impossible to count.

“Almost there,” Su Che muttered to himself. “If this drags on any longer, I’ll lose patience too.”

So, Su Che made several gestures with his right hand hidden behind his back. Big Beard and the others outside the barrier couldn’t see these gestures at all, as their spiritual senses couldn’t penetrate the defensive barrier; they certainly couldn’t detect Su Che’s subtle movements with just their eyes.

These gestures were meant for Tian Yin.

At that moment, Tian Yin was controlling the entire Mountain Protection Array in the sect’s main hall. Through the array’s own monitoring functions, she could see even every single hair on Su Che’s back clearly.

Upon receiving the secret signal from Su Che, Tian Yin immediately adjusted the array’s control settings, slightly reducing its defensive strength.

As a result, Big Beard and his companions, who were attacking the defensive barrier, soon noticed that the subsequent attacks caused particularly intense vibrations in the barrier—seemingly…

“Great!” Big Beard was overjoyed and immediately sent a message to all his companions, “The defensive barrier has weakened. Its strength has dropped significantly, which means their spirit stones are running out. I told you—just a sect in the cultivation world. How could they possibly have enough spirit stones to withstand such frequent and heavy attacks?”

The others were also greatly encouraged and increased the intensity of their attacks even further.

The Mountain Protection Array, which covered an area of at least tens of thousands of miles, consumed massive amounts of spirit stones even when not under attack. Now, after enduring the powerful strikes from a dozen or so Cultivators of the Void Refinement Realm, its consumption rate had increased by dozens, even hundreds of times. For a sect lacking resources in the cultivation world, it was only natural that it couldn’t hold on.

Boom, boom, boom, boom…

Another series of combined attacks caused extremely noticeable ripples in the defensive barrier in that area—clear evidence that the defensive energy was running out and the strength of the barrier had diminished drastically.

Inside the barrier, Su Che’s expression also changed drastically. He quickly sent several message jade talismans behind him, giving the impression that he felt the situation was dire and was urgently sending a message to someone in control of the formation, urging them to increase the supply of spirit stones and never stop the energy support for the defensive barrier…

“Hmph, just futile struggles!”
The bearded cultivator indeed thought Su Che’s actions were a plea for help, so he sneered and said, “You might hold out for a while, but can you hold out forever? Besides, it’s already too late to make up for it now!”
Roar!
With his fierce roar, the other thirteen people also unleashed their strongest attacks, all targeting the same point on the barrier.
Pfft!
A strange piercing sound followed, which to the bearded man and the others sounded like the most beautiful music in the world.
It had been pierced—finally pierced!
A hole less than a foot in diameter had indeed been created in the barrier ahead.
Although it was only a foot wide, since it was a real penetration, the next step was straightforward.
The prepared bearded cultivator immediately conjured a ring-shaped magic artifact and inserted it precisely into the hole in the barrier.
Using ring-shaped magic artifacts to reinforce the defensive barrier was a basic principle in the cultivation world, and this was how most people handled such situations in critical moments.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
The ring-shaped magic artifact rapidly expanded, its diameter reaching about four feet, but under the pressure of the defensive barrier, it could no longer grow any larger. However, a hole four feet wide was enough for these Cultivators of the Refining Void to pass through quickly.
No wasted words, no pauses!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…
While the bearded cultivator was still fighting against the immense pressure of the defensive barrier with his magic artifact, his companions seized this fleeting opportunity and rushed toward the hole in a nearly straight line…
Whoosh! The first person at the front slipped in effortlessly, but his figure vanished immediately, disappearing without a trace.
Whoosh! The second person, who followed closely, didn’t have time to react. Following inertia, he also slipped in, only a thousandth of a moment slower than the first. He too disappeared.
Whoosh! Although the third person was also very fast, he had already noticed the sudden disappearance of the first two. He tried desperately to stop himself, but his upper body had already passed through the hole in the defensive barrier.

This person reacted extremely quickly and should have been able to stop himself, but unfortunately, the fourth person behind him was unaware of anything. Driven by the huge inertia of his forward momentum, he crashed into him with a thud.
As a result, the third person completely passed through the hole and vanished without a trace.
It was then that the fourth person realized something was wrong. Using the reaction force from his collision with the third person, he moved several feet sideways and managed to dodge in time, avoiding falling into the trap like the first three.
Those further back also noticed the anomaly and braked sharply, coming to a halt instantly, so no one else fell into the invisible trap ahead.
“Only three…”
Su Che, inside the barrier, shook his head in disappointment, thinking it was a pity—the number was far too small.
Where had the three people who had just entered gone?
The answer was simple: they had all fallen into the completely invisible Mi Xian Realm. Su Che had long opened the entrance to the Mi Xian Realm there, setting up traps and waiting for them to come in on their own.
Who could have imagined that after barely breaking through the barrier, there was still an invisible trap waiting for them—a mysterious trap that even the divine senses of the Lianxu stage couldn’t detect in advance. It was simply unbelievable!
It could only be said that the Mi Xian Realm, such a unique spatial artifact, existed only in this universe, within the realms of immortals and mortals. Before this, they had never encountered anything like this and had no idea such an anomaly could occur…
Now, even though there was still a four-foot-diameter hole in the defensive barrier, no one dared to enter. The eleven Lianxu-stage cultivators, including the bearded monk, were all stunned outside.
“What, too afraid to come in?”
Su Che waved his hand casually and said indifferently, “Since none of you want to come in, then close the door. With it open, the wind is strong, and mosquitoes will get in too.”
His words were filled with mockery: If mosquitoes can get in, how dare you not have the courage to enter…
Faced with such mockery, the eleven people outside didn’t say a word in reply. Their minds were still stuck on the strange scene just now: How could three of their companions at the Lianxu stage disappear silently and without a trace?
How was that possible?
What exactly had happened?
Even these powerful cultivators who had lived for thousands of years couldn’t figure out what kind of trick or scheme the other party had used.
Snap! Snap!

Su Che knew they truly no longer had the courage to break in, so he made two more gestures. Tian Yin inside the main hall, seeing his gestures, immediately adjusted the defense strength of the mountain protection formation to its strongest state.
Click, click, click…
The circular magic artifact still propping up the hole began to make noises as the pressure from the barrier it was bearing suddenly increased several times over. Even though it was an elite Dao artifact, it found it extremely difficult to withstand the power of the entire formation.
The bearded cultivator sighed silently, waved his hand, and quickly retracted his magic artifact. Whoosh! The hole closed, and the defense barrier returned to its originally flawless and impregnable state.
After this round of attacks, none of the eleven Lingxu cultivators present dared to look at Su Che with disdain anymore, for they had all realized that although this young man’s personal cultivation level was not high, he seemed to possess some, or even several, unimaginably terrifying weapons.
In his eyes, these so-called Lingxu powerhouses were nothing but prey…