Chapter 176

Yang Mei turned his head, glanced at Hongjun, and spoke very calmly:

I only have these few friends; if they show any dissent, Hongjun, I swear I will kill you.

After speaking, he paid no heed to Hongjun's demeanor and went straight to Zhenfang, entering the Slaughter Immortal Gate; Qiankun, Yin-Yang, and the Five Elements then entered the great formation one after another.

Hongjun simply stood frozen for a moment, uncertain of his own heart, and after the others entered the formation, he too flew straight into it.

Only upon entering the Slaughter Immortal Sword Array did Hongjun suddenly realize that he now seemed to have no one left who could be called a friend.

However, Rahu would not give him time to think; countless sword qi swept toward him the moment he entered the formation.

The four sword qi—Slaughter, Extermination, Entrapment, and Annihilation—each have their own characteristics; the Slaughter Immortal sword qi is extremely sharp, even the innate pure qi famed for its clarity cannot match its keenness.

Ordinary defenses, when faced with the Slaughter Immortal sword qi, shatter on contact, and even divine bodies find it hard to withstand.

The Extermination Immortal sword qi condenses all the demon gods' resentment, the earthly fiendish qi, and the heavenly-earthly calamity qi within the sword array; even a slight touch clouds the spirit platform, causing death without awareness.

The Entrapment Immortal sword qi is similar, but with a different trait: anyone wounded by it will bleed incessantly unless the blood is completely drained, the wound will not heal, and if the formation is not broken quickly, they cannot escape misfortune.

The Annihilation Immortal sword qi undergoes endless changes, possessing threefold effects; though it appears scattered, it is actually extremely perilous, bolstered by great heavenly-earthly catastrophes, making it exceptionally difficult to contend with.

The Qiankun Elder Ancestor excels at defense, and with the Qiankun Cauldron on his person, his spirit platform remains pure, making the Extermination Immortal sword qi unable to taint him; therefore he enters this gate.

The Yin-Yang Elder Ancestor wields the Chaos Banner, whose offensive methods are supreme among the group; upon entering the Entrapment Immortal Gate, the entrapment sword qi is destroyed by him before it can even make contact, so he enters this gate.

Likewise, the Five Elements Elder Ancestor, whose Dao excels in change, can calmly cope within the Annihilation Immortal Gate; thus he enters that gate.

Yang Mei, being the strongest, therefore enters the Slaughter Immortal Gate.

His sole reason for not contending with Rahu is his unwillingness to participate in the Union of the Dao.

Hongjun entered the formation, faced Rahu directly, and said: "Friend, are you truly worthy?"

Rahu merely glanced at Hongjun with disdain and sneered:

"If you are not worthy, why have you entered the formation? If you truly care for the world, you need only swear that you will never enter the Wilderness again; I will bear this immense karma alone."

"I have never had friends; even when I cultivated under the Three Sovereigns, I scarcely associated with you lot, whereas you have friends in abundance."

"Now, looking again, what difference is there between you and me?"

"The only difference is that I actively refused, while you were seen through by them for your ill intentions and then actively cast aside."

"Although Yang Mei and the others now oppose me, I intend to abandon the Union of the Dao, end the great calamity, bear the karma, and then the two sides will simply go their separate ways, like well water not interfering with river water."

"And you?"

Rahu did not utter the rest of his words, but Hongjun knew them in his heart.

If Rahu were to give up now, it would likely turn the crowd from besieging him into besieging myself, and I would have to settle the karmic debt with him.

Even without a fight, Yang Mei and the others would sever ties with me, treating me as an enemy.

Faced with the oncoming sword qi, Hongjun merely offered the Heavenly Celebration Clouds; despite the formation having most of its strength diverted by Yang Mei and the others, it could not breach his defense.

Rahu was not surprised; he simply held the God‑Slaying Spear and thrust it straight at Hongjun.

Instantly, the sword qi within the formation was drawn to it and surged together toward Hongjun.

Hongjun unfurled the Plain‑Colored Cloud Realm Banner, dispelling the killing and calamity qi at the formation's center, and causing the sword qi provoked by the God‑Slaying Spear to vanish as well.

At the same time, the Jade Disc of Creation flickered with specks of purple light, a heavenly bridge was erected, and Hongjun stepped onto it, actively approaching Rahu. The calamity and killing qi at the formation's core were driven away; they did not simply dissipate, but gathered at the four eyes of the formation, greatly increasing the pressure on Yang Mei and the others.

"Damn it, this bastard Hongjun did it on purpose."

The Five Elements Elder Ancestor directly cursed loudly within the formation; the jade bracelets on his person flew sideways in the sword qi, being knocked east and west by the Annihilation Immortal sword qi.

Even a silver chain was worn everywhere; helpless, the Five Elements Elder Ancestor could only produce a set of spiritual treasures—the Innate Five Elements Banner—to protect himself.

The Qiankun Elder Ancestor also felt the pressure surge dramatically, but he said nothing; merely the divine fire within his Qiankun Cauldron burned much brighter.

Yang Mei merely furrowed his brows slightly, and from the space extended more willow branches, continually shattering the incoming Slaughter Immortal sword qi.

At this moment, viewing Mount Sumeru from the outside, one feels heart‑pounding awe; even a distant glance can wound the spirit.

The Eastern Continent.

Chiè was frenziedly slaughtering the incoming foes; after his series of surprise attacks ended in emptiness, he realized he had been lured into a trap.

But by the time he rushed there, it was already too late to help; he could only hope that Ao Xing and the others might escape as best they could.

To help Ao Xing and the others share the burden and gain a chance of survival, Chiè made the best choice: he issued an order to attack the great camp of the Beast Tribe.

Meanwhile, he and the accompanying Golden Immortals continually destroyed gathering places within the Beast Tribe's territory, giving the Beast Tribe hope of surrounding and killing him.

Chiè wields the Yinglong Heavenly Sword; a light upward thrust can unleash the sword qi that formerly required his full strength to produce.

"With this sword, even if Shaohao returns, I will certainly not again be as embarrassed as last time, fleeing without knowing where to go."

"Being able to clash with him in my hand, and as a Golden Immortal to reverse‑attack Luo Tianzun Shen, is also to not disgrace this sword's prestige."

Chiè murmured.

After easily disposing of this batch of enemies, several streaks of escape light suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Chiè also sensed the killing intent coming from the sky, his expression grew grave—Shaohao has arrived.

"How is it that today I see my Golden Immortals, yet they cannot even flee? Are they truly this steadfast, or has my reputation fallen so low that even Golden Immortals wish to test themselves against me?"

After Shaohao slew Ao Xing, he rushed toward the area where Chiè was located.

But he was not intending to slay Chiè; rather, because Chiè had drawn near the Beast Tribe's core, the distance to the White Tiger Tribe's people was unfavorable.

If he did not come, he feared Chiè might choose revenge; after all, those who had come were all Golden Immortals, and if they truly besieged the White Tiger Tribe, its people would suffer heavy losses.

"Reputation? I don't know what merit you have that's worth praising."

Although Chiè felt immense pressure, the memory of being hunted last time still provoked him to taunt.

Shaohao glanced at him contemptuously and laughed:

"That time I sent the sons of the Ancestral Dragon scrambling with their heads in their hands, busy fleeing—does that count as praiseworthy?"

"But thinking about it, bullying those who only know how to flee really isn't anything to boast about."

"Back when I first saw you, you wished you had two more legs to run away; now you have the courage to face me head‑on—could it be that the Ancestral Dragon and the Azure Dragon have arrived?"

Yá Niē Dùn is so angry that his veins bulge.

(End of Chapter)