"No matter how hard you stomp, it's still the same." Evan Yang smiled—this was his first time facing a Core-Formation opponent.
Even before reaching peak Foundation-Building, Evan Yang could already kill Great Perfection experts. Now, after breaking through to peak Foundation-Building, he faced the obese Core-Formation cultivator with ease—he even seemed to have the upper hand.
Evan Yang’s unyielding aura, plus the obese man’s inability to do anything to him, made the overseer secretly wonder, “Is he hiding his true cultivation?”
But Evan Yang wasn’t hiding his cultivation—this was his first time fighting a Core-Formation expert, and he was cautious in case the opponent had some hidden trump card.
One swung a giant hammer, the other dodged every incoming attack.
"Using Phantom Step at peak Foundation-Building is so much easier now," Evan Yang thought as he dodged, his strange movement technique and flickering afterimages becoming much smoother.
Facing such a bizarre movement technique and flickering figure for the first time, the fat overseer cursed, "Kid, who the hell are you? Why are you causing trouble here?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I have a blood feud with the Wong Clan." Evan Yang grinned, knowing the overseer couldn’t do anything to him.
"Damn it, could he be an enemy sent by someone who hates the Wong Clan?" The fat overseer was shocked, his expression turning extremely ugly.
"What, did your Wong Clan piss off a lot of people?" Evan Yang laughed when he saw the overseer’s face turn so grim after hearing his words.
"No matter who sent you, today you must die!" The fat overseer knew the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore in his possession could not be exposed, especially not to outsiders from other clans or sects.
Evan Yang saw the opponent unleash a powerful aura and didn't dare be careless, dodging step by step. The fat overseer tried to overwhelm him, but Evan's aura was able to match his.
"Could he really be an undercover agent sent by our enemies?" The fat overseer was shocked at Evan's undiminished strength.
"Hand over the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore." Evan had spotted the ore as soon as he entered; his purpose was both to rescue the miners and to extort the Wong Clan for revenge.
"You even know about that!" The fat overseer was shocked.
"You killed so many innocent miners just to cover up the truth." Evan snorted coldly.
"Looks like you've been lurking here for a while!" the fat overseer said darkly.
"So you'd better hand over the top-grade Spirit Crystal Ore. If word gets out, your Wong Clan won't have an easy time." Evan pretended to be an enemy extorting the ore.
"Dream on! You're not leaving here alive today." The fat overseer threw down his club and ran outside.
"Trying to escape!" Evan hadn't expected him to flee mid-fight and immediately chased after him.
But when he stepped outside the cave, he saw the fat overseer flying into the sky. Evan realized something was wrong and tried to throw his daggers, but the man's figure mysteriously vanished.
Just as he searched for the overseer's figure, the surrounding mountains echoed with his voice: "A strong enemy has arrived—everyone, assemble the formation!"
As soon as he said this, the cultivators who had been guarding the miners vanished from Evan's sight. By the time Evan tried to intercept them, they were already gone.
The mine was thrown into chaos. The ordinary mortals had no idea what was happening—only that their abusive overseers had disappeared. They tried to escape, but no matter how far they ran, it was as if something blocked them, and they couldn't get out.
The disturbance made everyone in the mine panic, searching for exits like they'd seen a ghost. But the surroundings were sealed—no matter which corner they tried, they couldn't escape. In the end, the people sat together helplessly, waiting for something to change.
Evan Yang wasn't overly anxious; instead, he carefully searched for the problem and concluded that the fat overseer and the other cultivators had set up a large formation, trapping everyone inside.
"No wonder such a small clan like the Wong Clan can carve out a place here—they have this formation." Evan muttered after understanding.
"Kid, even if I'm trapped, I'll trap you in here too. When our clan leader arrives, you can wait for death!" The fat overseer's voice echoed from above.
So they planned to trap me here and wait for reinforcements. Evan finally understood their intent, gazing up at the sky, his eyes reddening as he stared.
He saw the fat overseer in the air, while the other cultivators were distributed around, forty-something people forming a large array that sealed off the area.
"Watch me take you down!" Evan Yang drew his dagger and hurled it at the fat overseer in the air.
Something strange happened—the dagger rebounded as if it had struck something, landing back near Evan. He was startled, then calmed himself to try a double attack.
"How does this kid know I'm here?" The fat overseer had already noticed the situation below. When Evan threw his dagger, it startled him, but thankfully the formation was strong enough—the dagger couldn't harm him.
Evan prepared two daggers and launched them with full force toward the fat overseer. The sound of the daggers slicing through the air startled him, but the daggers were still blocked by the formation.
"Whew, good thing for this formation," the fat overseer thought, but kept mocking: "Kid, give up! This is the Wong Clan's Level Four Compound Formation—even a Peak Alchemy Realm master would be trapped, let alone you!"
Evan was shocked that even his strongest attacks couldn't affect the formation. Hearing the overseer's words, he closed his eyes and reopened them, returning to his original state.
"Am I really going to be trapped here, waiting for the Wong Clan's experts to arrive?" Evan muttered in frustration.
"Kid, just wait here for death! Haha!" The fat overseer saw Evan stop moving and burst into laughter.
"Damn it, I didn't expect the Wong Clan to have such a formation." Evan said helplessly, thinking about the situation.
"Big brother, don't you have that formation technique taught by the immortal?" Jade Rabbit reminded him.
Evan snapped back to himself and replied, "I don't know when the Wong Clan's people will arrive, but I won't just sit here and wait for death. I'm going to see if I can break the formation in front of me."
"Okay, big brother, I'll keep watch for you," Jade Rabbit said.
"Alright, I'll leave this to you. If anything happens, wake me up immediately." Evan was running out of time—he had to break the formation quickly, or else things would get troublesome when the Wong Clan's patriarch arrived.
Evan glanced at the sky, then walked back into the cave. The cultivators outside had no idea what he was up to, especially the fat overseer, who looked down in confusion: "What is he doing?"
The change forced the fat overseer and his cultivators to maintain the formation, afraid Evan might try a sneak attack. This allowed Evan to easily find a comfortable spot in the cave, sit down, and begin studying formation techniques recorded in his Heaven-Form Aspect Art, similar to those used by the cultivators outside.
After a long while, Evan still hadn't emerged, making the fat overseer look extremely grim: "I hope the patriarch gets the message and comes quickly."
Earlier that morning, when they planned to kill those people, a disciple was sent to deliver a secret message to the clan. Since he was only Foundation-Building stage, he had to travel on foot, making the journey much longer.
When the disciple arrived at the Wong Clan, it was already evening.
At that moment, in the deepest part of the Wong Clan estate, a middle-aged man and a young man sat in a room.
"Hong, have you heard any news about Evan Yang lately?" The speaker was the middle-aged man, Wong Ming, head of the Wong Clan. He had been troubled for a year, investigating his youngest son's death. Evan had appeared half a year ago, but slipped away again.
"No. Ever since he appeared at the Rising Sun Sect and the Situ Clan half a year ago, he's vanished." Wong Hong answered coldly, glancing at his right hand missing a thumb.
"Who is this guy, anyway? Not only can he refine pills, but his strength is extraordinary." Wong Ming stared at his only son, hating Evan Yang even more.
"No matter who wants him, I will destroy him!" Wong Hong was determined, especially after repeatedly escaping in embarrassment before Evan, which haunted him during cultivation.
Wong Ming was just as furious: "I must tear out his soul to avenge Liang!"
"Dad, I want to go there to cultivate." Wong Hong suddenly raised his head and pleaded with Wong Ming.
"No, that demon is dangerous. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't let you go near him." Wong Ming shook his head and refused.
"But Dad, after being humiliated by Evan so many times, all I think about is revenge. I can't even cultivate—if I meet him again, I'll be crushed under his feet. I don't want that. I must destroy him myself!" Wong Hong was completely enraged, losing all composure.
Wong Ming frowned deeply, torn between his son's safety and his desire for revenge.
At that moment, a disciple rushed in with a secret message: "Patriarch, urgent news from the mine!"
"Speak!" Wong Ming barked.
"A powerful enemy has invaded the mine. The overseer requests immediate assistance!"
"Who is it?" Wong Ming asked.
"The overseer suspects it may be Evan Yang."
Wong Ming and Wong Hong exchanged glances. "Prepare to leave immediately!"
The two left the room, gathering a group of experts and heading for the mine.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang was still inside the cave, studying the formation techniques.
Heaven-Form Aspect Art recorded many formation techniques, and Evan carefully compared them with the formation outside.
After a long time, Evan finally understood the formation's structure and began to break it down step by step.
Just as he was about to succeed, Jade Rabbit suddenly shouted: "Big brother, the Wong Clan's experts have arrived!"