âSenior Feng, what should we do on the very off chance that the demons are really imprisoned within that star?â Li Caiwei asked as she followed him.
âOh, then I guess weâll either run or kneel in submission if thatâs the case,â Feng Qingyu said.
âCome on, is that what the strongest man on the continent should say?â
âI lost that title that day at Tianming City.â By now, Feng Qingyu had reached the formation of elites from Hexapath. They were like a sharp sword pointed at Taiji Peak Lake. The other sects had all made their preparations too, and were looking toward Di Zang, who had his hand raised with a firm gaze. This was the calm before the storm.
âAttack!â he ordered the combined army. The grand battle had begun. Countless abilities were launched at the Ninefold Formation, sending deafening explosions all over.
Only Biritual had held off their attack, all of them looking at Li Caiwei, who was a little confused. She grit her teeth and looked at the five-colored star with her fists tightly clenched as she pondered her dilemma. âNeither option seems appealing at allâŠ. Which choice should I make?â
Looking ahead, she saw Taiji Peak Lake, which the Biritual Demon Sect had lost. It used to be their home, and was something their forebears had wanted desperately to reclaim. But looking above, she felt an immense fear of the unknown.
âŠâŠ
Atop the Heaven Cauldron at Heaven Sacred Mountain stood two men side by side, namely Ouyang Jianwang and Yi Xingyin. Behind them was a five-colored pillar of light that shot skyward and illuminated the entire sect. In front of them were many colorful formation spirit threads spreading throughout the sect, which the many folk of Archaion and their lifebound beasts protected. They looked at the enemies outside the formation without the slightest hint of fear.
âBrother, do you know why they still came to fight this suicidal battle even though you crippled them at Tianming City? Is Nonahall so proud that theyâve lost their mind?â Ouyang Jianwang said as he put down the sword in his hand.
âImpossible.â Yi Xingyin seemed to be in deep thought. âOuyang, the fact that we managed to deal huge blows to our enemies doesnât mean that theyâre fools. We just made the best use of the opportunities available to us and took them by surprise. For them to launch an assault on the Ninefold Formation despite being at a disadvantage means that they must have some kind of trump card that we arenât aware of.â
âThe problem is that weâre in a passive position. We can only defend and we have no idea what trick they might have,â Ouyang Jianwang said.
âThatâs right.â
âI wonder how that brat is doing after going to that five-colored star. If he discovers some secret from the black hole stars, he might be able to improve our chances.â
âOh well⊠Iâm crippled now, and you canât exactly leave either. All we can do is wait and see.â Yi Xingyin weakly shook his head.
âIf you were fine like before, youâd be controlling the Ninefold Formation from Tribulation Tower right now, right?â
âYeah. Such is life. We gain some, we lose some. Thatâs all there is!â
âDonât be so pessimistic, Brother. You gave your all for Archaion, and thatâs already enough!â He patted Yi Xingyin on the shoulder and urged, âCome, drink!â
Yi Xingyin held the wine cup and took a deep breath as he looked at the army coming down on them from above. âNinefold Formation, please hold strongâŠ.â
If the formation collapsed, Taiji Peak Lake would be defenseless, leaving the civilians helpless against the terrifying samsaran enemies. No swarm tactic would work against elites like them. Even if it did, theyâd suffer huge casualties.
âGiven the current situation, the sect will be done for once the formation goes down. But donât worry. Jian Wuyi is standing guard at Tribulation Tower now. I heard he made a breakthrough last night and reached the eleventh-level death phase. Now, heâs on par with the other two sect masters, so he should be able to take care of anyone that comes. Not to mention, Fang Taiqing is coordinating the formation core there, too. Itâs safer than itâs ever been,â Ouyang Jianwang said.
âIâm just worried that Fang Taiqing will do something drastic.â
âNo way. The people from Biritual are itching to take his life, and theyâre outside knocking. Betraying us at this point does the Sterling House of Fang absolutely no favors. Not to mention, Nonahall must be itching to get rid of him too. They wonât accept his surrender anyway. Thereâs no way theyâd turn against Biritual for the sake of the Sterling House of Fang.â
âLetâs hope thatâs the case. I already split the formation core and handed control to Xuanyuan Yu and Xuanyuan Xiao. Those two control four layers of the formation, while Jian Wuyi controls the other five.â
âIt canât get any better than this. Apart from Xuanyuan Dao, whoâs guarding Her Eminence, everyone from the Archaic House of Xuanyuan is guarding Tribulation Tower. Things should all be in place.â
Yi Xingyin pondered a little more and reluctantly agreed. âOuyang, part of the Yinyang Demon Sectâs aim is to take the Heaven Cauldron, right? Will you be alright defending it alone?â
âDonât worry, Iâm already attuned to the cauldron. Unless Di Zang and Po Suo come themselves, Iâll be able to take out any number of people that dare approach. Even though Iâm no genius, Iâm basically invulnerable as long as Iâm near the cauldron,â he said with a confident chuckle. âIâve been protecting this old piece of junk for more than a century and fed it so much fine wine. Itâll definitely return the favor when the time comes.â
Ouyang Jianwang squatted down and stroked the patterns of the cauldron with a warm smile.
âThe founding ancestorâs divine body is inside the cauldron. You must defend it well.â
âThatâs right. The keyâs in my saint palace, so as long as it doesnât rupture, the key wonât appear. As long as Iâm alive, nobody can touch the divine body. Not to mention, one key alone wonât work. The Nine Dragon Formation where Xuanyuan Daoâs at is much stronger than any layer of the Ninefold Formation.â
âAlright, I guess the rest is up to the heavens!â Yi Xingyin looked up at the sky as the war cries rang out. âThe battleâs finally starting.â
Those simple words marked the worst storm the whole continent had yet seen. Almost all of the continentâs samsarans were now gathered here.
âBrother!â Ouyang Jianwang put his arm around Yi Xingyinâs shoulder without the slightest hint of fear as he watched the various abilities explode against the formation and forced Yi Xingyin to chug some wine before drinking some himself and tossing the wine jar off the cauldron.
It broke with a crisp sound when it landed at the same time as he drew his sword. Then he valiantly pointed it at the clouds and recited, âThe sole luxury, left for lowly ones like me, is a toast before the slaughter.â