Pitch-black vines had completely wrapped around the grand hall, leaving its original architecture barely recognizable; only the main entrance remained unchanged.
The dark qi emanating from the vines had grown so concentrated that it turned into a black fluid, flowing in every direction.
Inside the hall, all the bookshelves had sprouted leaves and possessed their own hands and feet. The hands were as thin as noodles, while the feet clustered densely. Row after row of bookshelves shifted at high speed, continually linking together and pulling apart to intercept an illusory figure moving so fast it seemed almost nonexistent.
At the far end of the hall, that Wei Yuan wore an expression of exhaustion. Before him floated a miniature phantom of the grand hall. His eyes remained fixed on the miniature projection, his hands moving with lightning speed as he constantly repositioned the bookshelves within it, arranging them into varying labyrinths. Yet the hall shuddered incessantly, the bookshelves struck by heavy blows from time to time, shaking violently.
After several impacts, the limbs, branches, and leaves on a bookshelf would shed en masse, forcing this Wei Yuan to withdraw it to the rear and replace it with others. But his spare bookshelves were dwindling; once they were exhausted, the labyrinth would be breached.
Wei Yuan suddenly roared in fury, "Are you insane?! Aren't you tired? Don't you need to sleep?! It's already been months—aren't you bored to death?!"
Normally, Maiden Yin-Yang would not have answered him at all, merely bombarding the labyrinth without pause to deplete the power this Wei Yuan had drawn from beyond the heavens.
This time, however, she suddenly came to a halt. In a rare display of speech, she said, "Not bored. Now that you have concentrated all your strength here, my preparations happen to be complete. We can begin."
Around the hall, a colossal formation suddenly materialized. Surprisingly, this formation was no ordinary flat plane, but a sphere, enclosing the entire corrupted hall within. Three hundred and sixty points of light then appeared across the sphere's surface, each spouting a differently colored Dao fire to begin refining the hall.
In the blink of an eye, the Wei Yuan inside the hall discerned the purpose of the grand formation and cried out in dismay, "You actually want to refine me into an elixir?! Refining innate spirituality alive—just which of us is the heart demon?!"
The corners of Maiden Yin-Yang's mouth curled slightly upward. "Guess."
Wei Yuan's expression shifted several times before he realized the formation was exceedingly seamless and tight, leaving no possibility of escape. His face darkened instantly, and he said in a low, grim voice, "You forced my hand. Then let us all be destroyed together!!"
A beam of light shot out from between Wei Yuan's brows, turning into a small square formation. This formation was also layered in nesting tiers—a three-dimensional array. He jabbed a finger into the formation's center, and a piercing, shrill shriek tore through layer after layer of obstruction, flying out of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
Across the vault of the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World, purplish-black spots large and small were scattered everywhere, numbering more than a dozen.
Below, Central City had long since altered its appearance, filled everywhere with weapon workshops and cultivation grounds. Cultivation grounds had been built on several small islands near the city, their areas far exceeding that of the islands themselves. Even that was not enough, so several floating cultivation grounds were constructed out in the sea using seaweed. In each cultivation ground, thousands of cultivators were respiring and cultivating.
Each cultivation ground differed in color and design, representing a different immortal plant. The aura of immortal plants permeated every corner of the grounds, practically forcing itself down the cultivators' throats to forcefully elevate their cultivation.
The Battle Saint Hall was ten times larger than before, its cross-shaped central thoroughfare dividing the hall's precinct into four main sectors.
Just then, Han Li appeared, leading over a hundred disciples as he flew toward the largest purple spot in the sky. A cheer immediately erupted from the city below; the louder the cheers grew, the more brilliantly the tricolored light upon Han Li shone.
The hundred cultivators flew into the purple spot and emerged in a festering small world. At this moment, the small world was quiet, with only a few dozen figures standing there. At the very forefront stood a lone man; within a hundred fathoms around him lay the carcasses of all manner of bizarre monsters.
The cultivator turned around—it was none other than Jun Weizhi. He glanced at Han Li and said, "You're early."
Han Li glanced at the empty left sleeve of Jun Weizhi's robe, his pupils contracting slightly, yet his voice remained calm as he said, "I came at just the right time. I've rested enough, so I'm here to relieve you."
Jun Weizhi gave a carefree laugh. "Your intuition really is terrifying. Did you know I almost got killed? Still, the rest I need this time will be a bit long."
Han Li nodded and said in a heavy voice, "Rest easy. Before you finish resting, this place will never be breached."
Jun Weizhi walked over to Han Li's side and said, "It's truly strange that you don't want to run."
Han Li was silent for a moment before replying, "I've thought about it. If I just leave like this, living alone for the rest of my days would be very boring."
At that moment, the small world began to shudder again. From the festering sky and earth, foul, reeking pus welled forth. Across the sky, boils were swelling up one after another. Jun Weizhi wasted no more words and said, "They're coming again. I'll head back to rest first."
Han Li called after him, "That fellow Dugu Cangqiong has been gathering signatures and writing blood petitions, clamoring to go to the battlefield. He sneaked out of the hospital several times, and I had to haul him back every time. Most recently, he actually wanted to chop off a finger to prove his resolve—he's been quite a handful. He fears you more than me; after you go back, make him behave himself. Tell him to recover from his injuries before coming back."
Jun Weizhi couldn't help but chuckle. "Severing a finger to prove his resolve? Leave it to him to think of that—wouldn't that just make him recuperate even longer? That idiot is somewhat endearing in his foolishness. Fine, I've got it. I'll make him fall in line. Wait—"
Jun Weizhi suddenly spun around, his expression solemn as never before. Staring at a gigantic, continually swelling boil in the center of the vault of heaven, he said slowly, "Looks like I won't be leaving after all. How about you go first, Brother Han, and preserve a seed for our native realm?"
Han Li shook his head. "I was merely chosen by the world; in essence, I am still just an ordinary mortal. Without me, the world will naturally choose the next seed. I don't feel like leaving today. If there's an opportunity next time, I'll leave then."
The boil finally ruptured, pouring down pus like an overturned sea. Then, a monster, jet-black and slender from head to tail with numerous long, spindly legs, appeared in the small world.
Measured against the small world, this monster stretched over a thousand fathoms; a casual swipe of its slender limbs would gouge a deep rift across heaven and earth!
The moment it appeared, more than a dozen cultivators beside Han Li collapsed abruptly. Countless boils swelled across their bodies and burst in an instant, reducing them to puddles of pus!
These cultivators lacked sufficient strength; merely laying eyes on the monster had cost them their lives. Other cultivators squeezed their eyes shut as countless tiny blisters formed around their eyelids, with bloody water mixed with pus streaming from the slits of their eyes.
In an instant, the monster's mere arrival within this world had caused over half the cultivators Han Li brought along to die a gruesome death.
Han Li's expression turned uncharacteristically grave. He said slowly, "This thing already possesses a measure of heaven and earth's majesty; beholding it is akin to directly facing the Great Dao. Those whose eyes are uninjured, follow me! The rest, withdraw from this realm!"
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Han Li, Jun Weizhi let out a soft sigh and said, "Only today do I truly grasp the meaning of 'if not me, then who?' We came from nothingness, and returning to it here isn't a bad end."
Then Jun Weizhi suddenly gave a wry chuckle. "If only Creation Immortal Venerable were a bit more diligent..."
Han Li replied, "I've heard that in his immortal realm, Creation Immortal Venerable's progress is already considered astonishingly rapid."
Jun Weizhi sighed. "Unfortunately, against our current nemesis, it is still not enough."
Han Li fell silent as well.
Just then, Fuyao's voice suddenly chimed in from the side: "Why not count me in too?"
Han Li was startled and asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Fuyao said, "I did leave. I took a look outside, and then I came back."
Jun Weizhi raised his brows. "Came back to die?"
Fuyao said, "Without this place, and without you fellows, being alive would be devoid of joy. Better to return and return to nothingness together. But now that I've come back, do I get any preferential treatment?"
Jun Weizhi laughed heartily. "It counts as joining the uprising!"
"Will there be a reckoning afterward?"
"The moment we win, we settle scores immediately!"
Chapter 934