Chapter 289: Standoff

Although worried in his heart,

as the cultivators of the Dongxuan Guard had their duties to perform,

after the initial panic, they flew through various parts of Dongxuan City to maintain order.

Xue Yu, Jiang Wen, Li Mu, and Liu Feifeng, the four Commandants of the Guard, had by now arrived at the peak of Mount Wanling.

Seeing Ye Qingxuan standing with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the giant bell in the sky, they spoke in unison:

"Your subordinates pay their respects to the City Lord!"

Ye Qingxuan had already sensed their arrival.

Looking at the giant bell above, which was locked in a struggle with Dongxuan City's Great Formation and could only absorb a small amount of spiritual energy from heaven and earth to replenish its own consumption,

Ye Qingxuan smiled faintly. Without turning around, he said calmly:

"No need for panic. Everything is under my control as City Lord. You four simply maintain order within the city."

"Yes, City Lord!"

Seeing that Dongxuan City still had the strength to suppress the cultivators within its walls,

as the controller of the Low-Grade Magic Treasure, the Zhen Tian Bell,

they believed that Dongxuan City's Great Formation could only temporarily resist the suppression of the Zhen Tian Bell.

They were all suppressed in place by the city's Great Formation, unable to move.

Clearly, at this moment,

"Indeed, Great Pavilion Master. How could a mere sixth-rank city formation of Dongxuan City temporarily block the suppression of the Low-Grade Magic Treasure, the Zhen Tian Bell?"

Many law-abiding cultivators within the city immediately felt much more at ease.

This power was merely lacking; it did not contain the power of profound principles and rules.

The power of the formation opposing the Zhen Tian Bell had clearly reached the threshold of the seventh rank.

The most critical aspect of true seventh-rank power is the power of profound principles and rules.

Only Gu Daoxu, the Supreme Great Pavilion Master of the Treasure Pavilion, felt his heart sink at this moment. His eyes revealed a look of shock and uncertainty as he said:

"A quasi-seventh-rank Great Formation?"

Perhaps the situation was not as bad as they had imagined.

At the same time, in a valley not far from Dongxuan City,

these Supreme Pavilion Masters of the Treasure Pavilion still held great confidence in the Low-Grade Magic Treasure, the Zhen Tian Bell.

Then, they left Mount Wanling with peace of mind.

"Great Pavilion Master, what, what is going on?"

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's words, Xue Yu, Jiang Wen, Li Mu, and Liu Feifeng breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Ye Qingxuan sensed what was happening at the city gate and let out a cold snort:

"Hmph!"

Gu Daoxu could naturally feel the terrifying power contained within Dongxuan City's Great Formation.

All cultivators who disregarded the laws of Dongxuan and attacked within Dongxuan City without cause

were, in the next instant, directly heard by every cultivator in Dongxuan City through this cold snort.

To evolve into a true seventh-rank Great Formation, the formation must generate its own profound principles and rules within itself.

However, based on the feedback from the Zhen Tian Bell,

Gu Daoxu guessed

that even if Dongxuan City's Great Formation was not a seventh-rank formation, it was not far from being a true seventh-rank formation.

If enough seventh-rank spiritual materials were integrated to allow it to automatically evolve its own profound principles and rules,

even without a seventh-rank formation master acting, there was a high hope that Dongxuan City's Great Formation could advance to the seventh-rank level.

Thinking of this, Gu Daoxu's half-closed eyes revealed a cold, sharp look.

Wang Ming'an, standing nearby, heard Gu Daoxu's words, his expression shifted, and he could not help but ask:

"Great Pavilion Master, are you saying that Dongxuan City's Great Formation has already reached the seventh-rank level?"

Hearing Wang Ming'an's question, Gu Daoxu explained calmly:

"The energy level barely reached the threshold of the seventh rank, but without the power of profound principles and rules, it does not count as a true seventh rank."

Hearing this, Wang Ming'an breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Chen Xuandao, the Third Supreme Pavilion Master, who had not spoken until now, heard this, pondered for a moment, and asked:

"Great Pavilion Master, shall we withdraw now, or...?"

Many ordinary people lived within Dongxuan City.

If possible, he did not wish for the Treasure Pavilion to commit such slaughter.

But Gu Daoxu had no intention of retreating. Looking around, he smiled lightly and said:

"Hehe, no need to worry. Once the Zhen Tian Bell fully awakens, Dongxuan City can be broken in the snap of a finger."

"Let us go. It is time for us to appear and lend the Zhen Tian Bell a hand."

Having finished speaking, Gu Daoxu led everyone, flying towards the Zhen Tian Bell.

He would not allow any power other than the Treasure Pavilion in the Xingluo Province to possess such terrifying strength.

Therefore, Gu Daoxu decided to crush this power in its cradle and completely destroy Dongxuan City.

Unfortunately, what Gu Daoxu did not know was

that Dongxuan City's Great Formation was merely an ordinary sixth-rank supreme formation, far from reaching the threshold of the seventh rank.

The Great Formation relied solely on the power amplification brought by the Starlight Hall, a Low-Grade Magic Treasure of the Three Stars.

And the power of the Starlight Hall itself had truly reached the seventh-rank tier.

Moreover, they were at the very peak of the Seventh Rank.

At the summit of Mount Wanling in Dongxuan City.

Ye Qingxuan looked at the twenty-plus figures who had suddenly appeared, fleeing from afar to land above the giant bell, and a carefree smile spread across his face.

Upon seeing the figures of Bai Qing'an and Wang Ming'an, Ye Qingxuan suddenly understood and said:

"I wondered who suddenly attacked our Dongxuan City. It turns out to be the esteemed ones from the Treasure Pavilion?"

Ye Qingxuan's voice instantly spread throughout the inside and outside of Dongxuan City.

Hearing that the Treasure Pavilion had attacked Dongxuan City, the cultivators within the city reacted in various ways.

Some were shocked, while others were angered by the Treasure Pavilion's actions.

Concealed by array formations, the people of the Treasure Pavilion could not yet see the scene inside Dongxuan City.

Naturally, they could not see the Starlight Hall before Ye Qingxuan, which had grown increasingly brilliant and was now fully restored.

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's words, Gu Daoxu did not speak much.

Now was not the time to boast with words.

After bringing the numerous Grand Elders of the Treasure Pavilion to the space above the Heaven-Shaking Bell, Gu Daoxu ordered:

"Pour all your spiritual power into the Heaven-Shaking Bell. Finish this quickly to avoid complications from a prolonged delay."

"Yes, Grand Elder."

Upon hearing Gu Daoxu's order, the others did not dare hesitate and quickly began pouring their own spiritual power into the Heaven-Shaking Bell.

With the spiritual power of more than twenty Soul Transformation realm cultivators being poured in,

the might of the Heaven-Shaking Bell began to grow ever stronger, and the bell body, which had previously stopped, started to descend slowly once more.

However, Gu Daoxu was not satisfied with this.

Without the stimulation of forces from the same rank,

completely restoring the Heaven-Shaking Bell through artificial intervention by relying solely on the spiritual power of these Soul Transformation realm cultivators was far from enough.

Otherwise, he would not have deployed the Heaven-Shaking Bell to suppress Dongxuan City before it had fully restored.

He never expected that something he thought would be easily accomplished would develop to this point.

Biting his lip, Gu Daoxu waved his sleeve, and thirty low-grade spirit crystals instantly materialized before him.

Looking at the thirty low-grade spirit crystals before him, Gu Daoxu, with a pained expression, injected all of them into the Heaven-Shaking Bell.

Originally, Gu Daoxu had intended to save these thirty low-grade spirit crystals, but now it seemed that was impossible.

Low-grade spirit crystals can only be condensed by Seventh Rank spiritual veins.

Even within the Treasure Pavilion, which had inherited its legacy for many years, low-grade spirit crystals were scarce.

The spirit crystals of the Treasure Pavilion were obtained thousands of years ago as a fortunate windfall from a Seventh Rank treasure sold outside the Starfall Province.

Over these years, the Treasure Pavilion's spirit crystals had been almost entirely consumed.

These thirty low-grade spirit crystals already accounted for one-third of the Treasure Pavilion's entire stock.

Gu Daoxu did not wish to use them unless absolutely necessary.

(End of this chapter)