Chapter 922: The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation and... The Descent of Gods and Demons!

"Now... even Kong Xuan has fallen at the hands of the two masters of the Western Sect..."

The onlookers exchanged glances. "Does this mean... there is truly no one left to bar Xiqi's march against Zhou...?"

But in that very instant, their eyes caught the next portent: "Before Jiepai Pass, a clash with Zhuxian!?"

"What is Zhuxian!?" There was clearly one more episode to unfold today, but unable to contain their fervor, the members of the Investiture of the Gods tour group, organized by Owner Fang, burst into a flurry of animated discussion.

Yet ahead, before Jiepai Pass, a magnificent and terrible array stood revealed!

Where the formation was cast, heaven and earth were completely enveloped in a crimson glow. Daoist Duobao, knowing that the disciples of the Chan Sect had arrived, struck his palm to unleash a thunderclap, spreading the red mist wide to unveil the grand array.

Indeed it was:

It is neither bronze, nor iron, nor tempered steel, once hidden away beneath Mount Sumeru's crest;

No need for yin and yang to turn and forge anew, does it lack water and fire to quench its sharpest edge?

The Zhuxian cuts swift, the Luxian brings demise, while the Xianxian spreads red light through every domain;

The Jiexian transforms with infinite, wondrous grace, staining the robes of the Great Daluo Immortals with blood!

Previously, they had only witnessed the formidable power of the Jie Sect's disciples, but they had never seen a Grandmaster make a move. This time, however, Grandmaster Tongtian was truly taking the field!

Within the Zhuxian Array, as the golden bell tolled, a pair of banners unfurled. Seated upon the Kui Ox was Grandmaster Tongtian, flanked on either side by generations of his disciples.

Opposite the array, Yuanshi sat enthroned, his disciples standing in attendance on both sides. Exactly at the hour of midnight, a cloud of celebration manifested above Yuanshi's head, draped with pearls and jade tassels, bearing ten thousand golden flowers that flowed in a ceaseless, brilliant stream, illuminating the near and far.

When the Grandmasters fought disciples before, it smacked of the mighty bullying the weak, but now... Grandmaster against Grandmaster, it was a spectacle that made everyone want to scream from the depths of their souls!

In the past, they had never even dreamed that they would be permitted to behold a battle of such a celestial tier!

The crowd now closely followed, standing within the Zhuxian Array. They watched Yuanshi atop his Nine-Dragon Aloeswood Carriage, steadying the airborne vehicle. Inside the array, at the Gate of Zhuxian, a precious sword hung aloft, bearing the name: "Zhuxian Sword."

Yuanshi struck his carriage, and in an instant, ten thousand golden lilies shone in the sky. Seated in their midst, Yuanshi drove directly through the gate into the Zhuxian Array.

This manifestations of divine power and supernatural arts left the onlookers utterly dazzled and spellbound. On the day the Nine-Bends Yellow River Array was broken, they had not yet seen Yuanshi Tianzun display his true Daoist arts. Seeing it today, they finally understood:

Both Jie and Chan possess the true fruits of moral virtue, only now is it known the two sects do not bear vain reputations!

Yet at that moment, Grandmaster Tongtian unleashed a palm-strike thunderbolt, shaking the array and causing a precious sword to sway. Astoundingly, even though it was Yuanshi Tianzun, a single lily was actually shorn from the crown of his head!

"Heavens—!" a chorus of terrified shrieks erupted.

Everyone stared at the scene in sheer horror. Though one side held the advantage of the array's positioning, for this formation to possess such might that even a Grandmaster-level figure—whom they deemed invincible—could have a lily shorn away, it was simply...

The shock in their hearts was beyond measure. Such an absolute array, a formation so terrifying that even the Grandmaster of the Chan Sect could not escape entirely unscathed, caused an unprecedented look of dread to wash over every single face!

It was as if what stood before them was no longer a mere array, but rather... an abyss of eternal damnation!

By the time Yuanshi Tianzun exited the array, without realizing it, nearly everyone was breaking out in a cold sweat, unable to suppress a violent shudder!

Immediately following, they witnessed Laozi enter the fray.

Three breaths of qi emerged from the crown of his head, transforming into the Three Pure Ones, and Laozi returned to battle Grandmaster Tongtian.

From the true east came the toll of a bell, and a Daoist came riding upon a beast. He wore the Nine-Cloud Crown and a crimson robe embroidered with white cranes and river-silk. Holding a precious sword, he chanted aloud: "The Primordial Chaos first divided, the Dao stands supreme, ever present, ever absent, attaining nature's stream; The purple mist flows thirty thousand miles from the east, five thousand years since Han Pass was first crossed in peace."

"Brother Li! I have come to lend you a helping hand!"

This was the Shangqing Daoist!

From the true south came another bell toll, and a Daoist wearing the Ruyi Crown and a pale-yellow Eight Trigrams robe arrived riding a heavenly steed. Holding a lingzhi ruyi sceptre in one hand, he chanted: "First exiting Han Pass to reach Kunlun's height, unifying Hua and Yi under the Dao's sole light; My body is as old as heaven and earth's own span, though Mount Sumeru falls, my nature outlives man."

"Brother Li! I am here to assist you in subduing the Tongtian Daoist."

This was the Yuqing Daoist!

Immediately after, the crowd saw yet another Daoist wearing the Nine-Heavens Crown and a Purple Mist Robe of Eight Treasures and Longevity. Holding a dragon-whisker fan in one hand and a Three-Treasures Jade Ruyi in the other, he arrived riding a terrestrial lion!

This was the Taiqing Daoist!

"This is...!?" Every cultivator and warrior present felt a colossal surge of emotion in their hearts, ready to erupt like a volcano.

What an overwhelming shock it was, beating against their minds like a war drum.

"This is actually... the Three Pure Ones!?" Everyone looked utterly aghast.

It was impossible for them not to know of the Three Pure Ones. After all, in their deepest impressions of The Legend of Sword and Fairy, these were the very three enshrined within Shushan's Three Pure Ones Hall! The supreme deities of Daoism!

And now, they were actually manifested by a single person!

One Qi Clarified into the Three Pure Ones!

Those Three Pure Ones each displayed their own supernatural arts and Daoist laws, their strength almost on par with Laozi himself! At this moment, everyone felt that primordial wave of chaotic, pure qi that seemed to come from the very creation of the universe—the most primal and terrifying aura in existence.

They were simply powerless to think of anything else, completely subjugated by such transcendent divine arts!

The Grandmasters of the three sects might differ slightly in their divine powers, but a magical battle of this scale...

"Why are you all watching this on your knees...!?" a voice suddenly shrieked in terror! The speaker sounded on the verge of crying from fright!

...

"This Laozi is actually so formidable—!" Although the array was not yet broken, even Grandmaster Tongtian had been struck two or three times by the flat of his staff.

And that was within the confines of this terrifying Zhuxian Array.

At this point, to say nothing of the cultivators and warriors, even the elves were completely dazed. They only felt that this one was incredibly powerful, while that one was matchless. How could there be so many terrifyingly strong figures in this place!?

Lest we mention the Valkyrie Isabella, who witnessed this scene on the grand screen.

Fortunately, she had not yet recovered her strength; otherwise, even if she had, she would have been frightened into a collapse in the pool all over again.

"These entities... Tongtian, Laozi, Yuanshi Tianzun... how can they be so terrifying!?" she cried out alone in the pool, her hair standing on end as cold sweat poured down. "Where on earth is this...!? It is too horrific!"

As a primordial deity, she had never known what fear felt like since the day she was born.

But at this moment, she truly experienced it!

And that dread pierced straight to her core.

It then transformed into an indescribable sense of awe.

A reverence for this heaven, this earth, these mortals, and these gods!

This was perhaps... the first time she had ever conceived such a feeling since becoming a goddess!

...

"This Grandmaster Tongtian is also incredibly powerful!" the crowd exclaimed.

Though his divine arts fell slightly short of Laozi's, when it came to breaking his array, even Laozi had to assemble the strength of four Grandmasters before it could be shattered!

"Can this array be—!?" Su Tianji gasped.

"If it were offered to you, could you even learn it?" Owner Fang rolled his eyes at her. "Are you foolish?"

"It does seem like I couldn't learn it..." Then her beautiful eyes glared. "You're the foolish one!"

This elder is only a little bit of a slacker, how am I foolish?!

"Don't slander me, alright!"

"..."

...

And at this moment...

Across the Sea of Ten Thousand Immortals, upon the Devil-Slaying Platform, countless immortals gathered as their banners fluttered and swayed!

The Pantheon of Gods.

Golden light converged where the deities stood proud between heaven and earth!

Beneath the Nine Netherworlds, ten thousand demons bowed their heads, and within that endless darkness, terrifying dark gods awakened one after another from their ancient tombs!

"Since I have descended upon this world... heaven and earth shall submit...!"

"The conspiracy we have sustained for tens of millions of years can finally be fulfilled...!"

"The mortal realm shall be the battlefield...! Even if the heavens are destroyed and the earth is shattered, even if this realm is utterly annihilated through myriad tribulations, we must seize the supreme holy object of creation...!"

"I... shall ultimately be eternal!"

.