The two elders were already turning away, exhausted and silent, their robes scorched and tattered from their violent duel. The smoke still hung thick in the air, curling around the shattered remains of the courtyard. Wei Ji stood quietly among the ruins, his expression unreadable, his robe swaying in the faint wind. He looked at the two men's backs—figures of immense power who could crush entire sects with a wave of their hands—and he spoke softly.

"Where are the two of you going?"

His voice was calm, too calm, cutting through the silence like a blade.

Both men stopped. Slowly, they turned around. The Sword Shandian Sect elder's brows furrowed, while the Demonic Sect elder gave a low chuckle, the sound dry and heavy.

"What do you want, boy?" the sword elder asked, his tone weary but edged with impatience.

The demonic elder smirked, his red eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light. "You should be hiding instead of speaking to us. Don't tell me you plan to stand in our way?"

Wei Ji's gaze didn't waver. His hands hung loosely by his sides, and his expression was strangely tranquil. "I killed them both," he said simply.

For a moment, neither elder spoke.

The air went still.

"...What did you say?" The sword elder's voice was low, almost confused.

Wei Ji nodded slightly toward the lifeless body still half-buried under the writhing roots. "That one," he said, pointing to Ren's drained corpse. "And the one you were both looking for—the demonic cultivator you mentioned. I killed them both."

The words dropped like thunder. Both men stared at him, utterly bewildered. Their exhaustion vanished in an instant. The sword elder's aura flared faintly, lightning crawling across his arm as he took a step forward.

"You're saying you killed my disciple?" the demonic elder asked slowly, his voice growing colder with every word. "The one who slaughtered dozens in the southern forest?"

Wei Ji nodded. "Yes. That was me."

The sword elder's face twisted into a scowl. "And you're admitting you killed one of ours too? The Shandian disciple Ren, of all people?"

"Yes." Wei Ji's tone didn't change. His eyes were steady, his voice calm, like he was stating simple facts rather than confessing to murder.

The two elders exchanged glances.

The demonic elder gave a deep, throaty laugh. "Why are you telling us this, boy? Do you have a death wish? You're standing before two cultivators who could erase you with a flick of their fingers. Even if we fought, neither of us was truly defeated. What can a child like you possibly gain from this confession?"

The sword elder crossed his arms, watching Wei Ji closely. "You're either mad or lying. Either way, you're wasting our time."

Wei Ji looked at the broken courtyard. His voice came softly, but there was a quiet sharpness behind it. "You are leaving after destroying my courtyard. After destroying my peace. Both of you have to pay."

The demonic elder raised an eyebrow, amused. "Pay? What kind of payment could you possibly demand from us?"

Wei Ji's eyes lifted. "Both of your lives."

The silence that followed was heavier than the smoke still hanging in the air.

Then the two elders burst out laughing.

Their laughter was harsh and mocking, rolling across the ruins like the growl of thunder. The sword elder's aura flared again, lightning dancing around him in small arcs. "You? You think you can take our lives?"

The demonic elder smirked, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "You should be grateful we're sparing you for standing in the middle of our fight. But it seems you're begging for death."

Wei Ji's face didn't move. He took a single step forward, and the ground beneath him pulsed faintly with light. A low humming sound filled the courtyard. The air began to twist, and faint golden symbols appeared on the floor, spreading outward like cracks in the earth.

At first, the two elders ignored it.

The sword elder snorted. "Formation energy? Don't tell me you think a little illusion will work on us."

The demonic elder laughed again. "Your cultivation is far too low. Whatever trick this is, it won't even slow us down."

But then the air changed.

A pressure dropped suddenly over the courtyard, so heavy that both elders felt their knees tremble for a fraction of a second. The formation symbols that had been faint a moment ago suddenly burned bright crimson and gold, weaving together in layers that expanded up into the air. A huge glowing circle appeared above them, filled with spinning runes that crackled like living energy.

The sound was deafening. The entire sky seemed to respond.

Both elders' expressions changed instantly.

"What is this?" the sword elder shouted, his lightning aura flaring wildly as he tried to rise into the air—but his body didn't move. His boots were pressed hard into the ground, as though invisible weights held him there.

The demonic elder snarled, dark Qi swirling around him like smoke. "Impossible. This—this is not a simple formation!"

Wei Ji's expression remained calm as he slowly raised his hand. He made a simple hand sign, and the glowing circle above pulsed once.

A low cracking sound filled the air. Both elders were slammed to the ground at the same time. The impact was so hard that the cracked stones beneath them shattered completely.

The sword elder gritted his teeth, spiritual lightning surging violently around his body as he tried to force himself up. "This… this can't be!" he hissed. His muscles trembled from the effort, but the invisible pressure only increased, forcing him down again.

The demonic elder struggled beside him, his hands clawing at the earth as if he could rip the formation apart through sheer will. "What is this technique? Tell me!"

Wei Ji's eyes were distant. "You broke my home. I warned you."

The demonic elder roared in anger, his dark energy expanding violently. The ground quaked under the pressure. Black roots exploded outward, reaching for the circle above, trying to shatter it—but the moment they touched the glowing runes, they burned to ash. The elder cursed loudly, his face twisting with disbelief.

The sword elder tried next. His body glowed with arcs of lightning, and he swung his sword upward, sending a blade of pure thunder straight toward the sky. It struck the formation, flashing brilliantly for a heartbeat—then rebounded, striking him in the chest. He coughed blood and fell to one knee.

Wei Ji watched without expression.

"You… what kind of monster are you?" the demonic elder spat, his voice shaking. "You're just a mortal in the infusion stage. This shouldn't be possible!"

Wei Ji said nothing. He walked a few steps closer, his movements slow and deliberate. The formation circle rotated faster above them, lines of light crawling like rivers of energy across the sky.

The sword elder and demonic elder exchanged a look. Both of them were sweating, their spiritual energy flaring desperately as they pushed against the crushing pressure.

"Let's combine our strength," the demonic elder hissed. "If we don't, we'll both die here."

The sword elder nodded reluctantly. "Fine. On my count."

They focused, their auras merging—lightning and darkness colliding, twisting together into a single unstable storm of power. The ground trembled as they shouted in unison, releasing their combined strength in a burst that made the air explode with sound and heat.

For a moment, the light of their combined energy seemed to push back the weight of the formation. Cracks appeared in the glowing circle above them. The two of them roared louder, straining with every ounce of power they had left.

Wei Ji stood still, watching them struggle. His lips moved quietly as he whispered a word under his breath.

The light of the formation pulsed once.

And then the cracks closed.

The pressure increased again, even heavier than before. The two elders were thrown flat on their faces, gasping, their limbs trembling violently as the formation crushed down harder than ever. The demonic elder's body trembled, his eyes wild with disbelief.

"This… this can't be!" he rasped.

The sword elder slammed his fist into the ground, lightning bursting uselessly across the stone. "What kind of cursed formation is this?!"

Wei Ji didn't answer. He only lowered his hand, his gaze calm as ever, while above them the glowing circle spun silently like a second sun—unshakable, inescapable, merciless.

The two elders exchanged one last look of raw disbelief as they realized the truth—they could not move. They could not escape.

And for the first time in centuries, they both felt the cold taste of fear.

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