Chapter 936: Breaking the Formation!?

The Exalted Master Xuanfa, overcome with shock and fury, pointed to the heavens and cursed, "Old scoundrel! Utterly detestable! I have cultivated for countless eons upon the Sacred Emperor Mountain and rendered personal contributions beyond measure, yet you scoundrels treat me thus?! Making me the scapegoat, the one to die in another's stead?!"

"Fortune and misfortune ever lean upon each other," Shen Gongbao remarked. "Whenever a supreme treasure is about to emerge, the world faces a universal tribulation. There are those who claim the treasure, and naturally, there must be those who answer the tribulation."

Upon hearing this, Xuanfa recalled every past instance when a treasure had entered the world—had any not stirred up a storm of blood and slaughter, causing countless immortals to perish?

Correlating those memories with the words of this Daoist before him named Shen Gongbao, he suddenly found them profoundly enigmatic.

"Then, does my Fellow Daoist mean to say that I am that person meant to answer the tribulation?"

"Not quite," Shen Gongbao replied. "It is merely that someone wishes for you to be that person."

"Do not fret, Fellow Daoist. My purpose in coming here is precisely to resolve this tribulation for you!"

Hearing this, Xuanfa was instantly overjoyed. "What plan do you have to offer?"

"I have a superior strategy and a mediocre strategy; pray listen as I unfold them," Shen Gongbao said. "Should you act upon the mediocre strategy, you may withdraw from the world entirely from this moment on. In these times of grand chaotic upheaval between heaven and earth, you may well let the immortals, gods, mortals, and ghosts battle until the sky grows dark and the earth turns dim."

"However... if you choose this path, you must never again harbor any thoughts of re-entering the world, lest you surely invite fatal disaster upon yourself."

"And what of the superior strategy?!" Xuanfa pressed further.

"Throw in your lot with the mortal realm," Shen Gongbao declared.

"What?!" Xuanfa immediately expressed his displeasure. "How can those mere mortals contend with the Sea of Ten Thousand Immortals? If I demean myself by taking refuge there, will I not similarly invite fatal disaster upon myself in the days to come?!"

Shen Gongbao smiled and said, "Did you not say, Fellow Daoist, that the affairs of the mortal realm cannot be clearly investigated? Why not seize this opportunity to infiltrate their ranks, investigate them thoroughly, and see what their true foundation actually is?"

"If they truly prove no match for the Sea of Ten Thousand Immortals, with your divine abilities, would escaping then not be as easy as turning over your hand? With these several Dharma treasures in your possession, where in the world could you not wander at your own leisure?"

"You speak rightly, Fellow Daoist!" Xuanfa rejoiced at once. "Now that I have taken several supreme treasures from the Sacred Emperor Palace, all are at my disposal. With these treasures in hand, even if things go poorly, I can find a celestial sanctuary to comprehend the mysteries within them and cultivate with undivided mind. No matter how bloodthirsty a storm they stir, I need only make a further breakthrough in the future, and who then could do anything to me?!"

"And if that place truly possesses grand divine abilities beyond your current understanding, such that the Sea of Ten Thousand Immortals is forced to suffer a loss and retreat, you can use these treasures to seize the position of the foremost contributor!" Shen Gongbao added. "Would that not be vastly superior to being used as a mere chess piece at this moment, at the beck and call of others?"

Suddenly, the path ahead became perfectly clear to Xuanfa. "To think that this certain-death trap of mine, through your guidance, Fellow Daoist, has turned into a game where the entire chessboard comes alive!"

With these words, Xuanfa took his leave of Shen Gongbao and, harboring all the supreme treasures of the Sacred Emperor Palace, went forward to aid the Origin Internet Club.

...

Not long after, another old Daoist appeared, clad in green robes with sleeves fluttering in the clean breeze, riding upon a cloud toward the Demon-Slaying Platform.

This was none other than the Exalted Master Guangfa.

He had taken several Dharma treasures from the Immortal Palace of Myriad Tribulations, and he was currently riding high on success, his face radiant with delight. "I truly can scarce wait to see what sort of wretched expressions those ignorant, arrogant mortals will wear when the time comes."

"Hahahahaha..." He burst into a long laugh. With these several Dharma treasures in hand, who else in the mortal realm could possibly stand in his way?

Just then, he suddenly beheld a magnificent celestial mountain towering ahead, with a thousand layers of sheer cliffs, imposing and rugged, its deep forests leading to secluded sanctuaries, where celestial beasts could faintly be seen darting to and fro.

"Hmm...?" Just as he was gazing into it with rapt attention, a voice suddenly echoed from behind. "Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps."

"Who goes there?!"

He turned around abruptly.

Looking left and right, he finally spotted a Daoist riding a tiger, galloping across the distant sky toward him.

He looked at the Daoist curiously. "From whence does my Fellow Daoist come...?"

...

Three minutes later...

An old man clad in voluminous green robes could be seen harboring all the Dharma treasures of the Immortal Palace of Myriad Tribulations, bearing an expression of utter arrogance as he surged downward into the lower realm with an overwhelming aura to aid the Origin Internet Club.

...

Just as he was... nearly arriving at the Demon-Slaying Platform, a Daoist clad in yellow robes was preparing to descend to the lower realm.

This was none other than the Exalted Master Yuanfa.

For this descent into the lower realm, he was dealing with ordinary humans who scarcely possessed the strength to truss a chicken, and he held in his hands the supreme treasures of the Avidya Immortal Palace. He could not help but smile. "Those several Immortal Lords are far too cautious. Even if I were to go alone, I could ensure that absolutely nothing goes amiss. This time, I fear these Dharma treasures will not even find a place to be put to use."

Before he had taken two steps, a voice suddenly drifted from behind. "Fellow Daoist, please stay your steps."

"...!!??"

He nearly jumped out of his skin, and by reflex, his hand darted to the Dharma treasure at his waist! Should anything prove amiss, he would absolutely not hesitate to strike immediately!

He turned his head sharply. "Who goes there?!"

"This poor Daoist is Shen Gongbao, a disciple of the Kunlun Sect." A Daoist riding a tiger stepped forward into view.

Yuanfa could not help but smile; it turned out to be merely a rustic Daoist from the wild mountains. It seemed he himself had indeed been far too cautious.

"We are still within the Immortal Realm, so what is there to fear?!" he mocked himself inwardly. "Even if he were an enemy rather than a friend, with this level of cultivation, I could resolve it at my leisure simply by sacrificing a Dharma treasure."

He stepped forward and inquired, "Fellow Daoist, what is the matter?"

...

In less than five minutes, a yellow-robed Daoist could be seen, his face filled with fierce determination, carrying a bundle of the supreme treasures from the Avidya Immortal Palace as he aggressively descended to the lower realm to aid the Origin Internet Club.

...

Meanwhile, the three Immortal Lords—Longchi, Wanjie, and Avidya—remained stationed with their host of celestial soldiers dozens of miles away from the new shop in the Eastern Continent.

Within the command tent, the Immortal Lord Avidya counted upon his fingers. "Reckoning the time since Xuan, Guang, and Yuan set out to handle the matter, it has been some days now. They should be returning shortly, shouldn't they?"

"It ought to be so," the Immortal Lord Longchi spoke up. "These past few days of dealing with that brat have pushed us to our limits; if this goes on much longer, I fear the lad will see through our ruse."

The Immortal Sovereign Wanjie laughed and nodded. "I have already sensed the auras of Xuan, Guang, and Yuan. Let us go! To think that this Sovereign has condescended to remain in the mortal realm for so long—this grievance is one we ought to settle with him thoroughly now!"

The Immortal Sovereign Wanjie slapped the armrest of his chair heavily, rising abruptly from his seat with murder in his eyes as he stared into the distance.

"It appears a splendid show is to be watched today!" The Immortal Lord Avidya also walked out with a grand laugh. "Hear my command, all soldiers! Follow me swiftly to exterminate the demonic scourge of the mortal realm!"

"Understood!" The response roared like thunder, shaking the heavens and moving the earth!

Before Owner Fang's shop, within the sky that had originally grown peaceful, dark clouds suddenly began to gather. A pitch-black curtain of cloud swept across heaven and earth, and above the rolling sea of clouds, the sounds of battle cries shook the sky.

Owner Fang walked out of the shop door, looked up at the sky, and spoke, "What? Have you figured out how to break the formation today?"

"Precisely!" The Immortal Lord Longchi sneered. "Today, we shall let you see how this formation collapses entirely on its own!"

Before the eyes of the three lords, some six hundred cultivators and warriors outside the shop arranged themselves into formation almost in an instant. Within it, a grim yellow wind arose, blotting out the sky and sun—it was precisely the Nine-Bends Yellow River Formation.

The Three Fairies sat poised within the formation, quietly awaiting their attempt to break it.

The three Immortal Lords each rode in their chariots, surrounded by a multitude of attending immortals, displaying an incomparable nobility. Then came a resounding call raised with a raised arm: "Where are Guangfa, Yuanfa, and Xuanfa now?! Why do you not swiftly aid me in breaking the formation?!"