Chapter 206

Hongjun showed no hesitation; instantly three figures emerged from his body—none other than the Three Corpses that had appeared when he faced Luohu back then.

They and Hongjun each held a side; their spiritual treasures glowed with a moist jade luster—the Good Corpse held the Taiji Diagram, the Evil Corpse held the Pangu Banner, and the Neutral Corpse held the Heavenly Auspicious Clouds and the Heaven‑Measuring Ruler.

Raise Eyebrows

Luohu also summoned the God‑Slaying Spear, but he had no intention of moving forward; instead he walked to the side of Hongjun's Good Corpse.

Although Luohu's move surprised Hongjun somewhat, the Taiji Diagram's defensive power was astonishing, so he didn't take it to heart.

Willow branches ran wild throughout the realm beyond the heavens, and Yangmei's figure appeared before Hongjun's eyes; with just a light flick of his robes, he sent Hongjun and the Fortune Jade Butterfly flying.

Along the path of Hongjun's backward flight lay layer upon layer of shattered space; under the glow of the Fortune Jade Butterfly, these shattered spaces always lagged a step behind him.

Taiji Diagram

From the Pangu Banner poured countless strands of Chaos sword qi, reducing everything in their path to nothing; Yangmei furrowed his brow, dodged aside, only to find the Heaven‑Measuring Ruler coming straight at him.

All-Heavens Auspicious Clouds

Heaven-Measuring Ruler

Jade Butterfly of Creation

Plain-Colored Cloud Realm Flag

Seeing Luohu still acting as if it had nothing to do with him, even with Hongjun's breadth of mind he couldn't help but flare with anger, shouting: "Daoist Luohu, are you not just toying with me? Don't forget that between us we are now in the same boat; I am trapped now, and who will suffer next is obvious."

As if in response to Hongjun's words, countless branches stretched out from space and lunged at Luohu nearby; the attack seemed harmless, yet it left both of them feeling extraordinarily entangled.

the Wasteland

"Back then you all had the protection of the great calamity; although your strength seemed unchanged, every point you struck was a weak spot, and my divine power also appeared to shatter at a touch."

Primordial Cloud Dream Star Array

Yangmei's voice was filled with anger, yet hid a hint of glee; back in the great calamity they were everywhere subject to others, lacking heavenly timing, earthly advantage, and human harmony.

Everyone's strength seemed unchanged, yet the gap among them was as vast as heaven and earth; otherwise, as cultivators under the Three Sovereigns protected by spiritual treasures, they would not have so easily succumbed to the calamity.

Primordial Yuan Formation

Unfortunately, no matter what, any attack seemed to strike empty air, unable to harm Yangmei in the slightest; sometimes they even collided with each other, wearing down a bit of their power.

Their coordination was so poor that Hongjun couldn't help but suspect Luohu of harboring other motives; otherwise, given their cultivation levels, how could it be like this?

Under everyone's all‑out attacks, the realm beyond the heavens began to show signs of collapse; in the primordial wilderness, fragments of that realm would occasionally fall.

Cloud Dream Marsh's Protective Formation

Of course, there were also the unlucky ones who were accidentally struck directly by fragments of the realm beyond the heavens and died without ever knowing what had happened.

If these fragments were linked with the world barrier, they might even form a cave‑heaven blessed land on the earth, waiting for later generations to explore.

However, most of them are merely pure fragments of the heavens‑beyond earth, falling into the Wilderness, and in the end they amount to nothing more than a small hill.

How the battle in the heavens‑beyond fares is unknown to Qi and Di Jun and the others; indeed, Qi even harbors some doubt—given the enormity of their movements, why has Hongjun not appeared?

The operation of the Primordial Cloud Dream Star Formation has never ceased, and the interior appearance of the heavenly realm gradually becomes clear to everyone's eyes.

Only see within it mist and vapor entwined, the ethereal clouds drifting like gauze, light and floating; at times they gather into splendid rosy clouds, at times they transform into wondrous shapes.

What is more, within it one can even see countless palaces standing in clusters above the clouds, their jade towers and jeweled halls gleaming with gold and brilliance.

Qi only felt as if it were an illusion—within it there were no living beings, yet for some reason there existed such a Divine Pavilion of Thunder, and looking at its appearance, it seemed to have its own layout.

It was only that the sound waves of the Chaos Bell transmitted there, causing many buildings to begin to shake; fortunately, that was all, and they suffered no damage at all.

It was simply that much of the heavenly clouds and rosy hues were torn apart, making them seem to lose a touch of their immortal aura and charm.

The formation flags waved ceaselessly, and the gods walked within the formation according to a wondrous rhythm, each step corresponding to the stars filling the sky, wherein lay hidden mysteries.

Anyone who could behold this formation was shocked by its divine might, so stunned that they lost their composure and felt themselves unable to match it in strength.

Now, gathering the power of the gods, the formation turns, drawing forth the light of myriad stars—this is hardly something ordinarily visible, and its power has long surpassed that of the Cloud Dream Marsh's protective formation.

Its scale, compared to before, is even more grandiose, and the starlight it summons is greater; naturally, this is why it has such effect.

Qi gazed at this scene, and his mind involuntarily wondered whether, with this formation as it stands now, it might be possible to contend in the Primordial.

But after thinking it over, Qi again felt it was not very realistic; perhaps the power of this formation exceeds the limit of the Primordial Dao, yet compared to the true Primordial it still falls far short.

"If there truly exists in the world a formation that can rival the Primordial, just what scale and power would it require, and how marvelous would it be?"

Qi sighed softly, causing Nüwa beside him to feel a bit puzzled, not knowing why he would have such a thought.

However, seeing that the situation before them was quite favorable, Nüwa, while pleased, also felt inclined to join the conversation, teasing, "If such a formation truly existed, it would probably not be something ordinary people could comprehend; and if you, Qi, could build it, you would surely become the foremost formation master of the Wilderness."

"How about it, our Wilderness's foremost formation master—do you have any thoughts on a formation that could rival the Primordial?"

Hearing Nüwa's joking words, Qi could not help but smile and opened his mouth to say:

"The title of Wilderness's foremost formation master—I think that even if such a formation does not exist now, I would still deserve the name." "As for a formation that could rival the Primordial, besides me I do not think anyone else could be more likely to build it."

Qi's tone revealed strong confidence; in terms of cultivation, he felt he was still in the Wilderness's second echelon, ahead of whom stood Hongjun the Great God, Yangmei the Great God, and others.

But aside from them, among the gods now active in the Wilderness, Qi does not feel that there are several who could surpass him.

If we speak solely of formations, Qi even feels that even if it were the people of Yangmei the Great God and Hongjun the Great God's era, he would not lack a chance to prevail.

The Primordial Cloud Dream Star Formation—this formation born in his hands—Qi, after wandering the Wilderness for many years, has yet to see any formation that could rival it.

The Three Clans also once had their own unique formations, but during the great catastrophe, none displayed the ability to rival the Primordial Cloud Dream Star Formation.

Even the Three Clans that once dominated the Wilderness and divided the world lacked such a formation; how much less could those who, under the Three Clans' might, could not even resist and could only tremble in fear possibly possess it?

Nüwa, although pleased that Qi could have such confidence, still habitually wanted to rebut; after searching her memory a moment, she said, "Your formation is indeed strong, but it is not without peers who could match it—just like Di Jun and his elder brother, their understanding of formations is tops in the world."

"Within the Primordial Cloud Dream Star Formation, they too have contributed; how can you be so smug, thinking they would fall short of you?"

This is both the object Nüwa, helplessly, seeks to rebut, and also what she is curious about.

As she said, Di Jun and Fuxi are both extremely skilled in formations, and they are the only ones Nüwa can presently think of who could rival Qi.

But precisely because of this, Qi possesses such confidence; after a light laugh, he then explained to Nüwa:

"You do not understand formations, and you are not even concerned about them, which is why you are unaware; in the realm of formations, I have long surpassed the two of them by a great margin."

"If it were back when I first entered the Luo Tian Zun God realm, there was not much difference between us; we all studied together, and what we gained was mutually shared, so naturally our realms were not far apart."

It's just that later they both became distracted, whether plotting against the three clans or gazing at the starry sky, this took up too much of their time and energy.

But I am different from them; although I initially delayed some time, compared to the two of them, it was ultimately much shorter—so short that it wasn't even a fraction of theirs.

While they were distracted, I never let up on my obsession with formations; whenever I had time from cultivation, I never put the book down—do they ever show this kind of dedication?

Fuxi is still okay to talk about; he cultivates heavenly mechanism calculations, and if he now gave up everything and focused solely on the formation path, perhaps he would still have a slim chance to catch up to me.

Di Jun is different; even if he now wholeheartedly studied formations, he could never catch up to my pace.

Moreover, they were never interested in this to begin with, so even they couldn't; look again at the primordial wilderness—could anyone there surpass me in formations?

Qi's voice was not concealed; many innate deities heard his words, involuntarily raising their eyebrows and turning their gazes toward Fuxi and Di Jun.

Di Jun merely smiled and said: 'What Qi says is not entirely without reason; I indeed have no interest in this, but if I were to abandon everything and focus solely on formations, I would not feel inferior to Qi.'

Faced with Di Jun's stubbornness, Qi had not yet spoken when he heard Fuxi's voice come over, laced with dissatisfaction: 'Qi, it's been a long time since we last met; how have you become so arrogant? The way of formations is vast and profound—how do you know I am now inferior to you?'

The calculation of heavenly mechanisms has always been longest associated with this path; my advantage is extremely obvious.

Fuxi paused, then spoke again with a smile: 'However, I do agree with part of what Qi said—that Di Jun, fellow cultivator, truly has no hope of catching up.'

Let alone his lack of interest; even if he were interested in this path, compared to you and me, he would still be far inferior.

After hearing this, Di Jun directly opened his mouth to laugh and scold:

'How are you also playing this trick? With my talent, if I were to devote myself to study, you and Qi would be nothing but empty learning.'

The two of them spoke increasingly exaggeratedly, mostly teasing, but it also revealed part of their true thoughts: neither thought they would be inferior to the other two.

Seeing the three leaders still having energy to joke, the gods couldn't help but relax a lot; within the formation, there were many more cheers and laughter, and the atmosphere became much livelier.

Seeing that the two still had some reservations, and that the solemn atmosphere of the heavenly realm had been eased by their forced openness, Qi, feeling relieved, laughed and said to them bluntly: 'If you are not convinced, why not ask Taiyi? As a person born to cultivate, he has always been the most sincere; let him judge, and even after waking you two will be convinced.'

Di Jun and Fuxi fell silent for a moment, then instead of discussing asking Taiyi for judgment, they continued to argue with each other.

Within the great formation, cheerful laughter suddenly rang out; the leaders who had always loomed large in their hearts now had a day of teasing each other, which inevitably gave them a sense of closeness.

Seeing the two refute each other like this, Nüwa originally thought they could truly compete with Qi for superiority, but after seeing their attitude, she realized they were merely forcing themselves to save face.

'Qi, you said my elder brothers were not like this before; how have they also become so concerned with saving face and insincere?'

Nüwa's voice did not sound outward; she merely moved her lips slightly, transmitting the sound into Qi's ear alone.

Qi gave Nüwa a slightly strange look, hesitated a little, but still chose the same way to tell her why this situation had arisen.

'In my impression, you have always been exceptionally wise; how could you today act so foolishly?'

'It's just that the atmosphere was too dull, so they resorted to teasing; how could they not know their own level?'

'The current argument is merely to draw closer to those innate deities.'

'Don't you feel that those innate deities ultimately still have some distance between us?'

'The time they have spent with us is ultimately still too short; we need some means to draw closer to them.'

'Just look at their demeanor, and you'll know they also understand the reasoning in their hearts; moreover, they enjoy it and want to draw closer to us.'

Nüwa suddenly realized, and also felt a bit embarrassed, thinking she had been foolish—indeed, she truly felt that Di Jun and Fuxi had changed their appearance.

Seeing Nüwa understand, Qi turned his head and joined the crowd's laughter; drawing a little closer to each other is always better than distant respect.

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