"Who are you people?!"
A furious shout rang out, demanding an explanation from the intruders.
A Nascent Soul True Person guarding a coastal formation eye asked almost instinctively at the sight of the newcomers.
Charging at the very vanguard, Wang Yuan offered no reply. Gang astral energy erupted from his entire body as he hurtled straight forward.
Sensing trouble, the True Person unleashed a flying sword.
Wang Yuan threw a bare-handed punch straight toward it!
Clang!
Fist and blade collided, ringing with the crisp chime of struck metal.
The enemy's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. Resisting a True Artifact–grade flying sword with his bare hands?
"Senior Brother Wang, are you all right?" a voice of concern called from behind.
It was Yu Jiaolong.
Without glancing back, Wang Yuan barked, "Don't stop! Destroy every formation eye you can, prevent the Dao Sect from repairing them, and keep them from reaching Tiandi Island!"
Even as he spoke, his divine intent blazed forth, locking dead onto the enemy's aura.
Behind him, the cultivators of the Luotian Sect descended upon the Dongyuan Continent.
Yu Jiaolong joined forces with Haoranzi, while Lingfengzi rode the gale in their wake.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A colossal White Tiger puppet strode forward with head held high, thundering across the plains, and atop it stood Canglong, dressed as white as fallen snow.
"Fellow sect members, if you run into danger, remember to activate the Tier 4 talismans bestowed by Senior Brother Luo! Spare nothing!"
Catching sight of this scene, the Nascent Soul True Person locked in combat with Wang Yuan felt his courage shudder. What filled his vision was far more than just these few from the Luotian Sect.
In the distance, a titanic turtle made landfall, a black dragon ascended into the heavens, and a bewitching Ghost Sovereign drifted across the terrain.
From other directions, streak upon streak of formidable escaping light tore into the Dongyuan Continent.
That momentary shock swiftly curdled into irrepressible fury.
"You dare violate the Tianyuan Dao Sect? You deserve death!"
Wang Yuan's expression remained chilled as ice. "Come. Let this Wang see what the disciples of the realm's foremost sacred land are truly made of!"
Without another word, a life-and-death clash erupted between them.
Formidable magic power and gang astral energy blasted in all directions, turning the battleground into an inferno no low-tier cultivator could even dream of joining.
This great confrontation was no longer merely a grudge between Luo Chen and the Tianyuan Dao Sect; it was a war between the cultivation realms of the Eastern Desolation and the Central Continent.
The battlefield was divided by the various sects and factions of the Eastern Desolation, sprawling across the Dongyuan Continent like stones laid upon a massive weiqi board.
Along every path, Tianyuan Dao Sect reinforcements rushing to the scene were intercepted by powerful figures from all sides.
As Luo Chen's own sect, the Luotian Sect naturally had to take the lead and spearhead the assault.
Wang Yuan and his companions fulfilled this duty admirably. Defying death itself, they were the first wave to carve their way into the Dongyuan Continent.
Naturally, the resistance they encountered was also the fiercest.
Wang Yuan had it relatively easy; because he was not a Qi cultivator, his realm could not be measured by standard Golden Core or Nascent Soul benchmarks, and his initial opponent was merely an early Nascent Soul cultivator.
Elsewhere, however, matters were far less forgiving.
Especially where Yu Jiaolong fought.
Three immense beams of white light blasted toward her in rapid succession.
Yu Jiaolong unfurled her Nascent Soul domain in a desperate bid to slow the onslaught, but to little avail.
In that split second, she could only throw up defensive arts.
Boom!
A single beam of white light struck, leaving her severely wounded.
Watching the remaining two beams bear down upon her, despair flickered in Yu Jiaolong's eyes.
Right then—
"Get clear!"
A roll of bamboo slips unfurled before her, absorbing one of the beams. Noble upright qi then erupted forth, and within it, a fiery phoenix spiraled into the air, hurtling toward the assailant.
A figure stepped in front of Yu Jiaolong—Haoranzi, who had once shared two centuries of captivity with her in Mount Cangwu.
"Be careful, Junior Sister! There are far too many Nascent Soul cultivators on this battlefield, churning the spiritual energy and magic power into chaotic turmoil. Nascent Soul domains can no longer be used normally; we must rely entirely on our raw offensive and defensive measures!"
As Haoranzi spoke, his grim gaze fixed upon their incoming foe—a mid Nascent Soul cultivator.
On another front, Lingfengzi was also locked in a bitter struggle. Fortunately, his flight speed was extraordinary, and armed with his lethal Wind Hollow technique, he barely managed to keep from being overwhelmed.
Canglong, by contrast, had smashed through a formation sustained by over a hundred cultivators in mere moments.
Facing an incoming Dao Sect True Person, she remained completely composed. Sword light from her Canghai Zhenlong sword danced through the air, interwoven with the occasional activation of Tier 4 talismans granted by Luo Chen, thoroughly suppressing the Dao Sect True Person.
The late Nascent Soul White Tiger puppet beneath her feet continued toward the next formation eye as though out for a leisurely stroll.
High above, dozens of human and demon experts from the Eastern Desolation did not linger. Now that the Luotian Sect had breached the defensive lines, all they needed to do was drive straight in.
For many years, the Wan Jian Pavilion had possessed only a single Nascent Soul True Person—Lin Qingxuan, who had absorbed the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect all those years ago.
Whether the Wan Jian Pavilion's failure to produce a second Nascent Soul cultivator was due to Lin Qingxuan's deliberate suppression remained unknown, but on this battlefield, he stood alone, relying on nothing but his own sword.
A dignified, masterly figure, towering like an immovable mountain beside a deep abyss, barred the way before a formation eye.
Sword pills spun around Lin Qingxuan. Knowing the man before him was no easy opponent, his gaze turned solemn.
"Name!"
The man flipped his wide sleeve, and a longsword slid into his grasp. "Liu Clan, Liu Yuan!"
Lin Qingxuan flicked a finger, and the sword pills burst into ten thousand beams of sword light.
"Wan Jian Pavilion, Lin Qingxuan. Enlighten me!"
* * *
Tao Wan's heart fluttered with unease. This was her first battle since ascending to the Nascent Soul realm, and one she had never imagined facing.
The scale of this conflict was in no way inferior to the racial war between humans and demons in the Eastern Desolation all those years ago. In fact, because of the staggering concentration of Nascent Soul experts, it was even more perilous.
Yet she had to come.
Back then, Luo Chen had intervened on her behalf, securing the Dao Seed contention at Azure Pill Valley and ensuring she safely broke through to the Golden Core realm.
Later, her good fortune in winning a Nascent Soul Formation Pill at the Lingtian Auction had undoubtedly been influenced by Deng Taiyue's regard for her ties with Luo Chen.
Thus, even without the promise of the Tihu Pill that offered a chance at Deity Transformation, she would still have come to lend him her strength.
Yet the slaughter on this Nascent Soul battlefield proved far crueler than she had anticipated!
A single streak of fire soared from the earth, tearing through her defenses and grievously wounding her in an instant.
A figure resembling a flame demon slowly rose from the ground, radiating burning fury.
"Where is Luo Chen?"
Tao Wan could not answer. Crashing against the earth, the moment she caught her breath, she spewed a massive mouthful of fresh blood.
Spurt!
The magic power throughout her body felt as though someone had set it ablaze, churning and boiling to the brink of detonation.
She looked up at the figure before her, sheer terror in her eyes.
"Shi Ju!"
It was the Dao Sect paragon who had once visited the Eastern Desolation—the current head of the Shi Clan, Shi Ju!
Rumor held that he had comprehended the true meaning of laws ahead of his time and cultivated Dao Sect divine abilities, holding his own even against late Nascent Soul Great Demon Emperors.
How could someone like her ever hope to stand against him?
That single palm strike earlier had nearly killed her on the spot.
Or rather, it was not that he couldn't have finished her, but that he had deliberately spared her life to pry loose Luo Chen's whereabouts.
Yet Tao Wan could not answer, nor did she want to.
She could only watch helplessly as Shi Ju strode through the air toward her step by step, his face twisted in ferocious wrath.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two streaks flew in, positioning themselves to the left and right in front of Shi Ju.
Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Tao Wan wobbled into the air, looking at their backs as she gasped with difficulty, "Chang Xi... Meng Ye... it's you."
Shi Ju continued his advance as though no one stood before him.
"You cannot stop me. Even if the three of you join hands, you are no match for me. Tell me, where is Luo Chen? I know he has already arrived!"
That earlier palm print that had traversed the ocean to carve through half the continent was something he could never mistake.
It was the signature ultimate technique of the Desolate Hermit Luo Chen—the Qingyang Great Handprint!
Chang Xi's expression remained tranquil as she held her sword, shielding Tao Wan behind her.
"Your opponent is not us. It is Senior Brother Jiuling."
Shi Ju's head snapped upward!
High in the void, a dreamlike celestial river of light slowly began to flow.
Within it, the silhouette of Sovereign Jiuling flickered in and out of sight.
"You are not yet worthy to be Luo Chen's opponent. Allow this seat to test your mettle instead!"
Shi Ju grinned ferociously. "Very well. Once I slaughter every last one of you, Luo Chen will show himself soon enough."
With that, he rocketed toward the sky, Solar True Fire erupting around him as he forcefully threw himself into the Great Nine Heavens Celestial River.
The moment he departed, Chang Xi and the other two let out a long breath of relief.
Shi Ju was a true Dao Sect paragon, not someone they could hope to contest.
Even an ordinary Great Cultivator might not be able to suppress him.
Perhaps only Sovereign Jiuling, once hailed as the foremost figure beneath the Great Cultivators, could fight him to the death.
"What about us?" Tao Wan asked.
Chang Xi smiled faintly, her gaze landing upon an immortal city in the distance.
A formation eye happened to reside within.
Yet that smile vanished almost immediately.
From within the immortal city, figure after figure began to emerge in rapid succession. Though they possessed only Golden Core cultivation, the geographical advantage of the city combined with the formation's support gave them enough lethal might to pose a real threat to Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Kill!"
* * *
Meanwhile, beside a great lake.
Four figures descended from the heavens.
The aged Tianduzi led the way.
Along the lake shore, two Dao Sect True Persons barred their path without retreating an inch.
"Senior Brother, leave these two to us!" Tianquanzi said.
Tianduzi nodded, his steps never pausing as he continued toward the great lake.
Leading two newly ascended Nascent Soul junior brothers, Tianquanzi laid out a formation, trapping the two Dao Sect True Persons within.
Tianduzi did not bother to glance at the outcome of their battle, quietly studying the tranquil lake instead.
A moment later, his eyes flickered, and he jabbed out a finger.
Chii!
A wisp of magic power sank deep into the lake, sending ripples churning across the surface as spiritual light flared.
Bang!
Like a bursting bubble, the great lake shattered in an instant, laying bare the intricate formation patterns etched into the lakebed.
Yet the glow across those patterns was already dimming.
With a flick of his hand, this formation eye was dismantled.
Tianduzi did not leave immediately. Instead, he studied the fading patterns with deep scrutiny, wearing a thoughtful look for a long time.
"Though this is a Tier 6 formation, it is built from individual Tier 4 formations that form Tier 5 grand arrays across each continent, all combined to constitute the Heavenly Vault Continent-Gathering Formation."
"Naturally. Cultivators in this realm have yet to reach the Void Refining stage; how could they easily set up a Tier 6 formation otherwise?"
"A clever concept—linking array to array to multiply their might. Yet the flaw is equally glaring: disturb one part, and the whole body reacts. So long as the formations across a single continent suffer extensive damage, success becomes impossible."
"With such an obvious shortcoming, how could the Tianyuan Dao Sect overlook it? Did they deem it beneath concern, or did they simply never anticipate that someone would come to destroy it?"
As he pondered, the nearby battle concluded.
The three figures of the Tiandu Sect reappeared. One sat on the ground with withered aura, another stumbled against a boulder and panted heavily, and only Tianquanzi looked much the same as before.
As for the two Dao Sect True Persons, they had been reduced to pools of bloody water.
Tianduzi frowned. "The three of you joined forces, aided by the Tri-Phase Extermination Formation I tailored specifically for you. Why was it still so strenuous?"
Tianquanzi gave a bitter smile. "Our two junior brothers lack seasoned mastery of their realm, after all, and the Dao Sect experts proved astonishingly tenacious. Slaying both without paying with our lives can already be considered fortunate."
Realization dawned upon Tianduzi, and he instructed, "Take one incense stick of time to regulate your breathing. Then we head for the southeastern junction. According to my deduction, a vital local node lies there. Once we unravel it, seven surrounding formation eyes will be paralyzed!"
"Understood!"
* * *
As time sped by, battles erupted across half of the Dongyuan Continent.
The situations on each front varied drastically.
Some, like the Luotian Sect, spearheaded the charge and became bogged down in grueling combat; others, like the Nine Spirits Sect, met evenly matched adversaries. Factions with fewer, weaker Nascent Soul cultivators mostly relied on surprise raids.
The Tiandu Sect operated with methodical precision, handling every strike with relative ease.
Yet when it came to sheer, domineering force, nothing surpassed the two strongest sects in the contemporary Eastern Desolation.
The Dongyang Sect and White Deer Grotto!
One fielded five True Persons, led by the Dongyang Grand Elder at the peak Nascent Soul stage.
The other fielded six Nascent Soul True Persons. Aside from newly ascended Kongtongzi, the remaining five were all seasoned veterans of terrifying strength. True Person Tieguan, for instance, had fought alongside Luo Chen on the battlefields of the Badao Domain all those years ago, carving out an illustrious reputation. Meanwhile, Grand Elder True Person Pengxiang had reached the late Nascent Soul stage, personally stepping in to execute troublesome Dao Sect experts.
These two forces advanced unopposed, driving straight toward the core of the Dongyuan Continent—the Lanke Mountain Range.
According to Luo Chen's intelligence, that was the true linchpin!
It was both the ancestral court of the Dao Sect and the core formation eye of the Heavenly Vault Continent-Gathering Formation.
Only by breaking that position could all lingering threats be put to rest.
To breach the Dao Sect ancestral court, Luo Chen had long arranged for a Tier 5 ghost-god to wreak havoc within.
Yet formidable as the Kui ox ghost-god was, the foundational heritage of the Tianyuan Dao Sect was not to be underestimated. There was no telling whether they might activate some Deity Transformation–tier measure to swiftly suppress it.
Consequently, follow-up reinforcements were of paramount importance.
At this moment, three mighty forces swept across the Dongyuan Continent like three arrowheads pointed straight at the Lanke Mountain Range.
They were three arrowheads because, beyond the Dongyang Sect and White Deer Grotto, there was also the contingent of demon experts.
Having been forcibly conscripted by Luo Chen under his title as Master of Duzhen Hall, these demon experts were seething with suppressed grievance.
Unable to vent this resentment upon Luo Chen, and even less capable of defying the orders of Mount Cangwu, they had held it in check, bottling it up until the instant their feet touched the Dongyuan Continent!
That towering rage erupted in full force!
Once more than twenty Demon Emperors set foot upon the continent, a tempest of blood and carnage was unleashed.
Led by the Thunder Prison Divine Peng, supported by the three Great Demon Emperors Bi Zheng, Niugui, and Juan Kuang, they spearheaded a host of Demon Emperors that cut down mortals and immortals alike.
Any Nascent Soul cultivator daring to resist was torn to shreds and blasted to dust.
Every fortified immortal city standing in their path was smashed into rubble.
They had but a single objective: drive straight into the heart of the enemy and storm the Dao Sect ancestral court!
Along the way, the three forces advanced with astonishing speed, encountering virtually no meaningful resistance. The occasional Dao Sect True Person appeared only in pairs or trios.
This small number raised suspicions.
There were far too few of them!
Though the Tianyuan Dao Sect had suffered an unprecedented catastrophe, discerning observers estimated that at least a hundred Nascent Soul experts remained.
Over the past century and more of intensive nurturing, that number should have grown considerably.
Even dispersed across three continents, the Dongyuan Continent—serving as the Dao Sect's ancestral court—should have held fifty or sixty at the very least.
Yet the resistance encountered across the battlefield was nowhere near that intense.
Factions such as Fenghua Palace, the White Crane Sect, the Hundred Beasts Sect, and even the Dieyun Sect and Seven Caverns Mountain proceeded smoothly with their task of destroying formation eyes.
In fact, before the Duzhen Hall demon cultivators and the two top human Nascent Soul sects even breached the Lanke Mountain Range, the majority of formation nodes across the Dongyuan Continent were dismantled within a single day.
Damage of this severity was enough to compromise the entire grand array's operation.
Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, the Dongyuan Continent, which had been creeping toward Tiandi Island, ground to an abrupt halt.
The earth shuddered, the ocean overturned, and boundless waves surged into the sky.
Outside Tiandi Island.
With his back to the towering waves, Luo Chen gazed toward an empty expanse before him.
Ripples stirred within the void, and a figure slowly materialized.
It was Li Canghai!
"Senior truly kept his word."
Li Canghai smiled faintly, glancing behind him. "This old man never imagined you could stir up such a storm, drawing so many Nascent Soul experts at your call. Tsk, tsk... is this the sheer rallying power of an Alchemy Grandmaster?"
Luo Chen smiled without answering.
It was not merely the prestige of an Alchemy Grandmaster, but also the sterling reputation he had diligently upheld over the centuries.
Take Li Canghai: as a master of arrays, did he lack rallying power?
Yet apart from his legendary cultivation history, his reputation was hardly stellar.
At the very least, he had rarely extended a helping hand to former fellow Daoists.
After ascending to the Deity Transformation realm, he had hardly guided or supported rising juniors.
The so-called Canghai Righteous Dao Alliance had been nothing more than a tool in his grasp.
When the demon army broke free from Yamadeva, he cast righteousness aside to seize spiritual mountains and forge treasures. When the Tianyuan Dao Sect took dominion over the Northern Sea, Li Canghai discarded the Righteous Dao Alliance without a second thought. Once the Dao Sect retreated and the demon race grew powerful, he readily turned to cooperate with demon grandees.
With such fickle opportunism, no matter how miraculous his arts, few would ever be willing to bleed for him.
At times, when a person possessed immense power and offered substantial benefits, a good name remained the deciding factor in forging genuine alliances.
Seeing his silence, Li Canghai did not press Luo Chen on how he had rallied so many allies. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the island before them, which resembled a miniature continent.
"Tiandi Island!"
"The true heart of the grand formation, where the Dao Sect forefather Lian Cheng resides."
"Little friend, do you dare enter with me to pay him a visit?"
Luo Chen's smile faded, replaced by a permeating aura of chilling intent.
"Why wouldn't I?"
With that, he took a single stride, traversing ten li in an instant to set foot upon the firm soil of Tiandi Island.
Li Canghai raised an eyebrow, seemingly full of admiration for Luo Chen's courage, and followed him onto the island.
The moment they arrived, both men swept out their divine senses in unison, casting them toward the peak that had once held dominion over the world.
Around the severed Tiandi Peak, seas of white clouds and mist curled lazily.
Atop the flattened summit, a young man sat cross-legged, slowly opening his eyes.
Chapter 1077