Chapter 708: You All Attack Together

By the banks of the North Flow River, a vast crowd had gathered.

This great river cuts across the mountains and wilds, serving as the necessary path for transmitting the Dharma; with the monks' stamina, crossing this river is nearly equivalent to stepping into the Divine Dynasty.

Once the True Scripture enters the territory of Great Southern Continent and comes into the sight of Li Min and the common people, even if the imperial court is most dissatisfied, it will have to hold its nose and guarantee the safe arrival of these monks at the imperial capital.

Otherwise, it would give the impression that not even the Divine Dynasty itself is safe anymore.

"So many people?"

Two streaks of light darted into the crowd; Hong Jing looked around with some surprise. He himself had not expected that once this news spread, it would attract so many cultivators to watch.

Besides the familiar faces from the Sanxian Sect, even numerous loose cultivators who had no part in this matter had rushed over to see the spectacle.

They might not know of the Great Calamity, but they could certainly sense a degree of tension from the atmosphere, thereby realizing this was a confrontation between the Qi Refining cultivators and that group of monks.

Lady Tiandong bowed slightly to the side.

Jin Lei, accompanied by several fellow disciples, raised his palm in return: "The Xianzi has also come."

"Just came to take a look."

Tian Dong Xianzi smiled faintly. She did not wish to get involved in this matter, but since she had been in seclusion for too long, it was necessary to use this opportunity to see how her peers had progressed, so she could have a clear understanding.

"Tiandong has heard of the great name of your lineage's Taixu Danhuang; I wonder if there is a chance to meet him today?"

Hearing this, Jin Lei slowly shook his head: "The Danhuang has other matters to attend to and will not be part of today's situation; my Shenxu Mountain is merely here to take a look as well."

"That is truly a pity."

Tian Dong Xianzi's words were not mere politeness; a trace of obvious disappointment flashed in her eyes.

To see the true depths of the many geniuses, there must be sufficient pressure; the Divine Dynasty will never stand idly by and watch this Scripture-Transmitting Palanquin enter Great Southern Continent, therefore, that General of Nanyang will definitely be present.

This is a splendid opportunity.

With him present, the other geniuses will surely unleash all their methods, revealing their true strength without reservation.

"They have arrived."

Just then, Jin Lei Daoist suddenly withdrew his gaze and looked toward the sky.

Involving a battle between Fourth-Rank cultivators, even as spectators, it was impossible to truly get close.

After all, who knows if you are truly just standing by watching, or plotting to let the snipe and the clam fight while the fisherman reaps the benefit.

Once you enter the game, you will inevitably be counted among the players by the others.

Therefore, they stood by the banks of the North Flow River, using the Art of Observing Qi to judge the situation.

As the words fell, divine radiance rose in the eyes of everyone present.

At the far end of the vast sky, gentle rosy light gradually approached; that was the imposing aura emitted by the True Scripture!

At this rate, within no more than half a day, that group of monks would cross the North Flow River.

"..."

At this moment, even the ancient and frail Jin Lei Daoist slightly held his breath.

Under normal circumstances, today's situation would certainly have had a place for him, but he had hidden his sharpness only to make way for Tian Dan.

But since he is a cultivator, how could he remain unmoved by such a scene?

That group of monks would certainly not walk before him so smoothly and peacefully.

As if verifying his guess.

In an instant, eight streaks of light suddenly appeared in the sky, extremely brilliant, each emitting a shocking aura, attacking that ten-thousand-foot rosy light from all directions!

The most eye-catching among them was none other than the first black-gold streak of flame; even without covering their eyes with divine radiance, the many cultivators by the North Flow River could see that faint black glint with the naked eye.

Those auras were incredibly familiar; nearly half of the geniuses from the immortal sects of Great Southern Continent had gathered here!

At the same time, that rosy light finally stopped its momentum of approaching Shenzhou.

Based on a lotus throne, the palanquin surrounded by seven mountains and seven seas holding a pagoda suddenly stopped.

The Suanni and Benlang monks who had been clearing the way quietly loosened their embracing arms; the fierce beasts beneath them slightly lowered their bodies, emitting low growls filled with terrifying killing intent.

The White Elephant and Evil Lion monks still held up the palanquin, but turned their gaze toward the top of the palanquin.

The calamity scripture was an expected event.

However, to seize this True Scripture, one must first pass the test of the Descending Dragon and Subduing Tiger Great Ming King.

"..."

The towering figure seated cross-legged on the treasure palanquin finally slowly opened his eyes.

And at the instant he opened his eyes, eight figures suddenly tore through the long sky, darted close, and then hovered around, blocking the path ahead.

Shen Yi's expression was calm, but inside he slightly breathed a sigh of relief.

If they did not come soon, he would really have to take action himself.

After all, he had just spent a huge price to shape the Stabilizing Stones, used to guard Great Southern Continent.

The cost of the demon lifespan had not yet been recovered; he could not just stand by and watch this True Scripture be delivered to the Divine Dynasty, for then, without even needing demons to invade, the Divine Dynasty itself would fall into chaos from within.

But if he acted directly, there would be no excuse to hide his tracks.

Based on his understanding of the great sects, these members of the Sanxian Sect would most likely not allow the Renputi Sect to take the lead.

These scapegoats had finally arrived.

"Descend Dragon and Subdue Tiger Great Ming King?"

Just as Shen Yi looked at the crowd, these geniuses who had rushed over were also observing this massive figure seated high above the mountains and seas.

As the saying goes, hearing about something is not as good as seeing it; the perfect fruit of the Three Thousand Calamities is indeed well-deserved.

But today, not only him, even if Jin Chan himself arrived, this palanquin would not think of crossing the North Flow River.

"Put down the palanquin."

The man with sheep-like whiskers slowly took a step forward, looking down upon the many monks below.

He saw that the four Arhats carrying the sedan showed no reaction.

He extended his palm, and between his fingers appeared a small, exquisite seal, translucent as if carved from ice.

"I told you… have them put the sedan down!"

Since this is a magical duel, then fight properly—don't leave yourself an escape route, like running off with the sedan first.

Accompanying a sharp rebuke, the small seal shot out violently and smashed into the ground with a thunderous crash.

At the same moment, dense formation patterns rapidly spread outward; the bone-chilling cold transformed in an instant into a raging blizzard, ravaging for ten thousand miles, and everything within sight was completely covered in profound ice.

Dozens of thick ice chains suddenly burst from the ground, surging skyward like giant pythons, swiftly binding the limbs and bodies of the eight Arhats; the chill of the profound ice swept over them, leaving a thin layer of frost upon their radiant Golden Bodies.

These ice chains split into three once more, wrapping the entire lotus-platform precious sedan tightly, then crawling up onto the Ming King's mountain-and-sea-like body.

Immortal formations of this sort require flexible deployment—changing the formation at any moment.

But someone like the goat-whiskered man, who tosses out a small seal right at the start and then lets his hands hang idle, most likely isn't relying on his own ability—it's a formation treasure bestowed by an immortal sect.

The terrifying tribulation force contained within this profound ice also proves this point from another angle.

"You won't drink the toast, so you'll drink the penalty."

The goat-whiskered man let out a cold laugh and pressed his palm once more against his storage treasure.

"…"

Shen Yi lowered his gaze slightly, looked at the profound ice already covering his Golden Body, and casually shook both shoulders.

In an instant, an unbroken series of cracking sounds rang in everyone's ears!

All the ice chains shattered completely, and even the profound ice carpeting the earth showed cracks spreading at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye, covering the entire icy surface.

Boom!

The next moment, as if the earth itself had shattered, countless ice crystals flew into the air.

That small seal seated at the heart of the formation actually began to tremble violently, and before everyone's eyes, it too exploded into fragments!

Shen Yi shook the broken ice from his body, rose unhurriedly, stepped across the mountains and seas, and descended from the great sedan.

"You—"

The goat-whiskered man clutched a second small seal in his hand, his voice inexplicably sharper.

When all four seals are deployed, the immortal formation can be completed.

This was the confidence his sect had bestowed upon him.

But before he could even gather the tribulation force needed to activate this formation seal, he had already lost one small seal.

Watching Shen Yi step down from the precious sedan, the goat-whiskered man flung down the second formation seal in some panic and retreated backward at the same time.

Striking first was meant to steal the spotlight—not to fight this Ming King alone.

Yet that formation seal hadn't even hit the ground.

When it was swallowed by the golden long river and vanished without a sound.

Another formation treasure lost.

The goat-whiskered man's heart felt as though it were bleeding: "I told you to put the sedan down so the four Arhats' hands would be free—lest you accuse us of using numbers to bully the few. What an ignorant fool!"

"Could it be that you mean to take on our eight with just five?"

Sure enough, the Lion Luo Han and the Wolf Arhats glanced back slightly: "Withdraw first."

The Puti Sect and the Sanxian Sect had entirely different objectives from the start.

They only needed to deliver the true scripture into the Divine Dynasty, and that would count as a complete meritorious deed; there was no need whatsoever to seek any sense of presence from these prodigies, so long as they could hold them off for half a day.

The moment the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Great Ming King made his move, it greatly steadied the hearts of the Arhats.

"Heh."

Mount Tianwu's Xuanwu stood calmly, and only now finally let out a low chuckle.

He had merely wanted to see what caliber this Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Great Ming King actually was, and so had held his hand; he hadn't expected it would give these Monks the absurd notion that they could escape this place.

Leaving five Great-Tier Arhats behind, thinking they could hold him off for half a day.

Wasn't that a bit too fanciful?

Yet the instant Mount Tianwu's Xuanwu raised his palm, his expression suddenly shifted.

He saw that the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Great Ming King hadn't turned around; he merely, at the moment the White Elephant and Fierce Lion Arhats lifted the lotus-platform precious sedan and prepared to rise into the air, reached out and pressed his hand on the edge of the lotus platform.

The next moment, he saw him casually press his palm down.

Rumble rumble rumble!

The sky-obscuring lotus platform was actually pressed down with a thunderous crash, and the four Arhats beneath it, caught utterly off guard, were pinned beneath it with faces full of shock.

The massive White Elephant and Fierce Lion both bent their limbs, kneeling on the ground and struggling to hold it up.

The four Arhats, eight arms in total, all had muscles bulging as they trembled madly, even their fingers emitting creaking sounds.

And all of this was because of that single palm on the edge of the lotus platform.

"Ming King… what is the meaning of this?!"

The Lion and Wolf Arhats stared blankly—could it be that he lacked confidence in holding off these Sanxian Sect prodigies, and wanted to leave a few behind to reinforce them?

Yet the other party had never lifted his palm, and the act of forcibly suppressing the four Arhats didn't quite seem to mean that either.

Hearing this, Shen Yi cast a casual glance at the group of Arhats.

Five against eight?

The corners of his lips lifted slightly into a fierce expression, and the dragon and tiger heads on his shoulders also revealed murderous intent.

Wrong.

It's one against sixteen.

This true scripture—today no one is taking it away. Along with it, the lives of these so-called prodigies and Arhats will remain here as well.

Shen Yi, who once served as a constable in a county town, knew better than anyone how despairing it was when ordinary people were swept into a calamity of life and death because of a single whim from those above.

Death was one thing, but what disgusted him most was that those people, standing higher than others, not only toyed with ordinary lives but also toyed with their minds.

Those who survived by luck were expected to be grateful to the very culprit.

Whether it was Jin Guang Manor or Songfeng Manor, whether it was the Sanxian Sect or the Puti Sect, they all seemed to be of the same breed.

Shen Yi was not without temper; he simply felt that expressing powerless indignation was meaningless.

But the calamity-force marks on his body, and the golden threads merged into the Dragon-Taming and Tiger-Subduing Fruit Seat, he recorded every single one of these accounts.

Even if he couldn't recover the principal, it was time to calculate the interest.

"If the Bright King does not withdraw his hand, do not blame us for resisting!"

The White Elephant and Evil Lion Arhats roared in unison. They had endured until now without mobilizing calamity force, not because they feared the opponent, but only because they considered the Bright King's status as the Scripture Protector.

"Do as you please."

Shen Yi left the treasure sedan and stood among the sixteen Sanxian disciples whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Fourth Grade.

The Sanxian Sect geniuses, including Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix, all froze for a moment under this sudden change.

"You seek death!!"

Once they fully grasped Shen Yi's intent, even the man with sheep's beard, who had just suffered heavy losses, immediately and without hesitation activated his remaining two small seals!

All were unparalleled geniuses; who could tolerate such contempt.

Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix's face grew somber. He spoke no more, slowly drawing the pitch-black Dao sword from his waist. The sound of the blade scraping the sheath resembled the cry of a Jin Wu, and accompanying that cry, a wisp of purest black flame ignited on the blade, as if that ancient beast of ill omen had spread its wings.

In an instant, dense yellow sand swept across, heavenly thunder rolled in waves, sword light surged within like a great dragon coiled in Wang Yang, and at the very top, a massive green seal, expanding with the wind and wider than the lotus throne, crashed down with a boom.

This scene, resembling a world-destroying natural disaster, nearly encompassed all methods of immortal combat, gathering the various types of protective treasures bestowed upon disciples by such great immortal gates.

And their target was only one: the most towering figure in the arena!

When the sword light struck, the great seal fell, and heavenly thunder rolled washing over the earth, only the howling of the wind remained in the ears.

The yellow sand grew denser, like a wall reaching from earth to sky.

In an instant, a thick golden palm reached out from the sand wall. It seemed to have grasped the wild wind, and under the gaze of so many eyes, it tore this sky apart with its own hand!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The giant carrying the dragon and tiger on his shoulders was covered in heavenly thunder and sword scars; his other hand held that enormous green seal as he stepped forward.

"..."

Even Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix, having seen this scene earlier, felt his eyelids twitch slightly.

Putting aside everything else, speaking solely of this body-protecting skill, he was far inferior to the other.

But when did a Qi Refiner need to compete with a Walker in body protection?

The sword was already drawn; the Jin Wu descended upon Mount Tianwu like the morning sun, just about to rise!

"This sword has waited for you for a long time!"

Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix finally swung his sword. Heaven and earth plunged into a darkness like eternal night; that was the surging black flame covering the entire firmament.

And within that darkness, a wisp of golden light flashed forth, as intense as the morning sun, carrying the scorching heat that could burn all things, piercing straight for the brow of that towering form.

Shen Yi stood with his head raised.

Calamity-force treasures were something he had possessed before; it was a large net for intercepting rain carried by a disciple of Master Qingmei when he first joined the Demon-Slaying Bureau, containing roughly six calamities of power.

But the sword before him contained at least three thousand calamities, plus Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix's own cultivation. With their minds connected, it was far from the simple stacking seen when a cultivator holds an immortal seal, which gave rise to this terrifying might.

But...

Shen Yi suddenly pressed the green seal in his palm forward.

One force breaks ten thousand methods!

The "force" in this phrase was now calamity force: nine thousand five hundred and some calamities of force!

The dragon and tiger roared together, causing the sky-filling black flame to scatter. The green seal shattered under the immense power, yet Shen Yi's palm continued forward; his five fingers clenched suddenly, grasping that "Jin Wu."

Splat!

In Mount Tianwu's Black Phoenix's eyes, the golden light on the sword suddenly extinguished, and his vision was immediately occupied by even more surging golden radiance.

The glory of the morning sun was like a firefly before the true great sun.

He raised his head in a daze, gazing at the towering giant before him like a mountain to be revered, his whole body already soaked in cold sweat.

How is it possible... someone could walk this far on the path of the Fourth Grade... our end point is not even half of the other's journey!

Monster! This is a monster!

(End of this chapter)