Chapter 1097: Cutting Yuan Golden Thunder Falls on Three Flowers, the Infinite Wonder of the Innate Bagua

Shen Bao sat upright upon the phantom image of a black lotus.

Within this black lotus, which was almost a reflection of the Pinghu Blessed Land, dozens of demonic cultivators had gathered together, surrounding Dao Wujin of the True Transmission Sect in a circle.

Shen Bao had originally assumed that people of the demonic path were selfish and self-interested; once they fell into the same place, they would be unable to wait to strike at him.

But he had not expected the demonic path to possess such a spirit of unity and mutual assistance. Far from rushing to slaughter one another, they were actually quite frank in exchanging information and their insights regarding this place.

Dao Wujin seemed to see through his thoughts and said calmly, "It seems you haven't been mixing in very high circles, and have only come into contact with the bottom rung of the demonic path. They are indeed impatient and crazy; no matter what environment they are in, they are eager to strike at others."

"Because competition at the bottom of the demonic path is extremely intense. Everyone is a resource for others, and everyone is a competitor to others. Therefore, rather than uniting, it is better to devour others to strengthen oneself."

Shi Wuliang laughed, "But demonic lords who only know how to compete cannot grow to the realm we occupy."

"The most beautiful part of the demonic path's struggle is the struggle against people, and to struggle against people, one must learn to cooperate!"

"Therefore, people of the Daoist sects might be able to remain aloof from the world and be carefree, but the demonic path must learn to unite... because under conditions of full competition, if one does not learn to unite, one will certainly be devoured by others."

Shen Bao was slightly stunned. He naturally knew this principle, but he had not expected the demonic lords to be so... polite.

Dao Wujin said coldly, "Of course, if you truly believe his words, then the next person to be skinned and deboned will be you!"

"Hehehe..."

Shi Wuliang was not ashamed when his intentions were exposed; instead, he laughed proudly.

"Struggling without breaking—that is the secret we use to maintain the demonic sects so they do not fall."

Dao Wujin said faintly, "But beneath the rationality, the madness that tears apart all rules, and the demonic nature that insists on doing the impossible—that is indeed a realm where our demonic path transcends ordinary struggles."

Golden thunder light shrouded the entire world, condensing in all directions into hexagrams that seemed like manifestations of the Heavenly Dao.

The Acquired Bagua stood in the four directions; no matter from which angle one looked, one could clearly see them reflected in one's eyes.

Every bit of Qi in heaven and earth was divided into eight types here, and this Bagua diagram, condensed from a sea of thunder, rotated outside the black lotus, slowly grinding away the demonic Qi within!

If not for that black lotus, which encompassed heaven and earth and constituted this world, isolating ninety-nine percent of the power of the Bagua Divine Thunder...

I fear the group of demonic cultivators would have long since been refined by that terrifying Bagua diagram. Even so, wisps of thunder light still leaped upon their bodies.

Every time it leaped, a portion of their magic power was thoroughly severed...

Dao Wujin sat on the lotus at the very center, watching those wisps of thunder light. His expression was slightly solemn, but the black and white Qi on his body rotated constantly, preventing those specks of thunder light from falling upon him.

The others each displayed the fundamental divine abilities within their Golden Cores, but at most, they could only avoid seventy percent of the thunder light.

Shen Bao was the most miserable; he could not avoid even a single bolt of thunder light, and could only watch helplessly as the thunder light shaved away his Qi bit by bit.

Fortunately, Dao Wujin had already spoken: "Lei Zhuzi cultivating the Innate Bagua Great Divine Ability was indeed beyond my expectations. And later, he summoned this Demon-Suppressing Iron Palace and Bagua Divine Furnace, and even set up the Innate Bagua Array, intending to refine us to death here."

"But he ultimately failed to cultivate the Innate Bagua Array to Great Completion, so he can only open the 'Zhen' hexagram layer of change to refine us."

"Although it is only this one change of the Zhen hexagram, there are also Small Eight Gates within it!"

"The one shaving away our magic power is the 'Injury Gate', located in the Eastern Zhen Palace. The Zhen hexagram governs movement; movement leads to injury."

"And because Lei Zhuzi's life chart aligns with thunder, operating the Innate Bagua Array also relies on the Zhen hexagram change, so this gate operates first and is the most obvious. The golden thunder vibrates like small knives, shaving away our magic power, life chart, soul, and luck. It is like scraping bone; it is extremely fierce!"

"It secretly aligns with the purpose of the Injury Gate..."

"Even if I invert Yin and Yang, I can only prevent this thunder from falling on my body. Once contaminated by the thunder light..."

Dao Wujin extended his finger and slightly dispersed the Yin and Yang Qi. One could see a bolt of thunder light like a knife, shaving away a bit of his fundamental magic power, which fell as black heavenly flowers.

Shi Wuliang also said solemnly, "It is not just magic power. With every knife-stroke, even our souls suffer damage. The luck that is difficult to probe is also shaved away, and even the unfathomable insights we have into the Dao and our realms are shaved away. It is simply like the legendary Hunyuan Golden Dipper, damaging our Dao practice."

"With every knife-stroke like this, we will sooner or later be reduced to mortals, and it is almost impossible to recover!"

The evil monk of the Heart Buddha Sect also pressed his palms together and sighed: "Even my own heart-image has suffered damage. This thunder is shaving away not just my Daoist cultivation and magic power, but even the strength of my heart-intent, and even the accumulated cultivation entrusted within the cycle of reincarnation is being worn away bit by bit."

"If this continues, even if we survive for three days, we will suffer heavy damage to our vitality!"

It must be said that Shen Bao was the most miserable.

Bolt after bolt of thunder light shaved away the Dao practice he had painstakingly cultivated. Every time a bit of thunder fell, it shaved away at least three days of his hard work.

In the time it took for everyone to say a few words, his cultivation had already regressed by a year, almost falling back.

Dao Wujin sighed, "The Innate Bagua, Mastering Five Thunders, plus this Demon-Suppressing Iron Palace and Demon-Refining Divine Furnace are indeed fierce. This golden thunder that shaves away one's Dao practice is merely one of its Small Eight Gates. Besides this, there is the Open Gate in the Qian Palace, the Rest Gate in the Kan Palace, the Life Gate in the Gen Palace, the Obstruction Gate in the Xun Palace... and most importantly, the Death Gate in the Kun Palace."

Shi Wuliang said, "Open, Rest, and Life are the three auspicious gates; Death, Fear, and Injury are the three ominous gates; Obstruction and View are neutral. The Injury Gate and Zhen hexagram combine into one, hence this danger. But if it rotates to the three auspicious gates, we should have a chance to catch our breath!"

"For example, rotating to the Rest Gate to pause the grinding, or rotating to the Open Gate to have a chance to break the array..."

Dao Wujin sneered, "If that were the case, could the Innate Bagua still be called the number one Great Divine Ability of array Dao?"

Shi Wuliang frowned slightly: "The principle of the Eight Gates is the Great Dao of heaven and earth! The rotation of the Bagua has auspicious and ominous aspects. Only then does every array have an array eye, and only then can it operate the Great Dao of heaven and earth, allowing that brat, with only Jin Dan Dao practice, to suppress and refine dozens of us. This is an unshakable fundamental principle. Let alone the Innate Bagua, even if King Wen or the Duke of Zhou arrived in person, they could not defy it."

"Therefore, this array must have a Life Gate, and the Open Gate must be hidden! It is just being concealed by him."

Dao Wujin shook his head: "What we are probing now is the Small Eight Gates. Outside, Lei Zhuzi operating with the Zhen hexagram is the Great Eight Gates."

"Besides this, there are those eight iron palaces. Their operation of the Qi of heaven and earth, containing infinite demonic nature within, is the true Demon-Refining Bagua Array set up by the senior immortals of the Supreme Louguan."

"If you try to break out according to the Open Gate of the Small Eight Gates, you might just run into the Death Gate of the Great Eight Gates!"

"If you truly calculated the Life Gate of the Great Eight Gates, could you walk out of those eight iron palaces outside?"

"The Injury Gate governs movement. If we do not move, there is only the Injury Gate to shave away magic power. If we move, the Life Gate, Open Gate, and Rest Gate are the most terrifying. I have already concluded that when the Open Gate appears, the Great Eight Gates outside must be the Death Gate! Once we move, we will be sucked out of the black lotus and instantly locked onto by the Bagua Immortal-Slaying Divine Thunder in the sea of thunder outside. Even if a Nascent Soul True Immortal arrived, they would be hacked to death alive!"

"Therefore, when the Open Gate appears, one must absolutely not move. To move is certain death..."

Many demonic lords' expressions changed, and they all began to calculate on their fingers.

If the Small Eight Gates rotated to the Open Gate, and the Great Eight Gates outside were the Death Gate, indeed, once they moved, this black lotus could not protect them, because they would be actively 'breaking the array'.

As long as they moved, the Open Gate would open wide, and they would slide out of the black lotus...

At that time, if the Great Eight Gates outside rotated to the Death Gate.

Everyone knew the most famous Great Divine Ability of the Shenxiao Sect, which claimed to be able to reverse-slay Nascent Souls—the Bagua Immortal-Slaying Heavenly Mansion Divine Thunder.

That was the Heavenly Mansion Divine Thunder used specifically to slay immortals on the Immortal-Slaying Platform of the Heavenly Court. Once it locked onto the Death Gate, no matter how high one's Dao practice, one could not avoid the blade.

The evil monk of the Heart Buddha Sect felt his heart skip a beat and said in terror: "Opening the gate is the most dangerous part. If we move even a little bit when the time comes, that will be..."

Just at this moment, Dao Wujin suddenly spoke: "Shut up!"

In an instant, everyone was silent.

Even Shen Bao sat motionless on the phantom lotus, his buttocks as if rooted, not daring to blink his eyes.

After dozens of breaths, Dao Wujin slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"The reversal of the Life and Death Qi of my Inverting Yin and Yang just now should have been the rotation to the Open Gate. Even if the outside is not the Death Gate, it is at least a Great Injury Gate. Once we move, we will fall from the lotus and drop into the Demon-Refining Great Array outside."

Shi Wuliang suddenly said, "If it is confirmed that the Open Gate corresponds to the Death Gate, then once we calculate the changes of the Small Eight Gates clearly, we can use this to deduce the operation of the Great Eight Gates. In this way, layer by layer, we can sooner or later break this array!"

The female cultivator of the Wan Ling Five Poisons Sect shook her head: "Not to mention that this Injury Gate, which shaves away one's Dao practice, is shaving away our cultivation bit by bit, how long can we hold on? Can we hold on until we calculate the operation of the Eight Gates of the Innate Bagua Array?"

"How can you be so sure that the Small Open Gate corresponds to the Death Gate?"

"What if it is the Fear Gate? The Fear Gate—just hearing the meaning of this gate, one knows it governs fear and injury to the spirit, evolving a deathly Qi that makes your heart jump and your soul leap, scaring you so you dare not enter the Open Gate. That is also natural..."

"Therefore!"

The evil monk of the Heart Buddha Sect revealed a meaningful smile and said: "We still need someone to sacrifice themselves to the array; only by throwing someone out can we know what the Great Eight Gates outside really are!"

Instantly, the harmonious and friendly atmosphere among the demonic cultivators was shattered.

Everyone's Qi flowed, and Shen Bao only felt that most of the killing intent was locked onto him. Who told him to be the weakest here, and also the least demonic cultivator?

But Shen Bao only said faintly, "With my cultivation, can I really test the Great Eight Gates? Even if I run into the Life Gate, it wouldn't be difficult for Lei Zhuzi to kill me, right!"

Dao Wujin slowly opened his mouth and said, "If you run into the Life Gate, you will absolutely not die! This is the supreme principle of the Heavenly Dao..."

But Shi Wuliang was somewhat hesitant: "But this Innate Bagua Array has at least three layers. If he really reaches the Life Gate, and the Innate Bagua Array on the outside layer is the Open Gate, it would send him away!"

"This brat has a deep friendship with that Louguan Dao disciple outside. He is an important bargaining chip in our hands and cannot be sent away in vain like this!"

Shen Bao felt a shock in his heart. He had originally thought he had deceived them!

He had not expected these demonic lords to be human spirits one by one; he had not deceived them at all.

The Jin Dan of the Heart Buddha Sect nodded: "That's right, this brat is the most important candidate for array sacrifice. I have the confidence that when I throw him out, the probability of the Life Gate will increase by fifty percent. He cannot be sacrificed so easily."

As he spoke, his eyes moved, and he was about to snatch a demonic cultivator who was slightly stronger than Shen Bao, with a third-rank Jin Dan.

But Dao Wujin pointed his finger, and the black and white Qi rotated, interrupting the large hand he had extended.

"Now is not the time for infighting!"

"Which one of us here does not have a firm will? If you throw any one of them out, they won't even groan when they die, and the next one will certainly have the determination to fight to the death. Having someone operate the Innate Bagua Array outside to refine us is already troublesome enough! If we fall into chaos internally, I don't have the confidence to preside over the overall situation!"

"After all, the demonic path doesn't say much else, but determination is something that will never be lacking..."

Dao Wujin pondered slightly, then said, "The person presiding over the Innate Bagua Array can push the operation and changes of the Eight Gates, so the Eight Gates array is like a lock core. Only when all the life paths are aligned is it the opportunity to break the array. But unlike a rigid lock core, once someone presides over the array, they can push the Eight Gates and change their speed of rotation."

"Therefore, we can never count on the Life and Open gates being perfectly aligned, allowing us to break out of the array without taking any risks."

"Sometimes, one must take the risk to break through the View Gate, Obstruction Gate, or even the Injury Gate and Fear Gate to see the path of life."

"But there are two concerns!"

"The Great Eight Gates outside are drawn but not released. We do not know the limit of their power! Are the View Gate and Obstruction Gate also capable of suppressing and killing us, or can we support ourselves for a few breaths in the Injury Gate and Fear Gate?"

"Secondly, it is the speed at which Lei Zhuzi pushes the changes of the array, which is determined by his cultivation and the realm of his mastery of the Innate Bagua Great Divine Ability."

"The higher the cultivation, the faster the Eight Gates rotate. When encountering that kind of speed of pushing the array that exceeds the reaction speed of those trapped in the array, the Life Gate becomes the Death Gate in an instant. No one can survive and get out!"

Shi Wuliang shook his head: "No matter how Lei Zhuzi is, he is only a first-rank Jin Dan. The more layers the Bagua Array has, the further out it is, the more difficult it is to push the changes."

"Although that Demon-Suppressing Iron Palace is fierce, it faintly suppresses a Nascent Soul Heavenly Demon!"

"If we fall into it, if it is not the three auspicious gates, we will surely die. But I suspect Lei Zhuzi cannot change the rotation speed of those Eight Gates at all, and the outer Eight Gates are also extremely heavy for him to push. Even if he uses all his strength to operate it, a complete Eight Gates will take more than..."

Shi Wuliang calculated on his fingers.

The terror of the Innate Bagua Array lies in the fact that it can almost maximize the use of the power of heaven and earth, and time sequence is one of the greatest powers of heaven and earth.

Therefore, the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and the Four Pillars of the time are one of the most important variables for anchoring the Eight Gates.

Shi Wuliang said firmly: "At least more than four quarters!"

"Even if the eight demon palaces outside operate at their fastest, it will take four hours!"

"I suspect that his current speed of pushing the outer Eight Gates is the same as the Small Eight Gates. In this way, the operation of the Eight Gates is relatively stable, and he can lock the Open Gate to the Death Gate, setting a death trap for us. But seeing that we haven't fallen for it for a long time, he will certainly change the operation of the outer Eight Gates. And at that time, the Open Gate and Death Gate will no longer overlap, and since we have become accustomed to the Open Gate being certain death, we will let a Life Gate pass by in vain..."

The evil monk of the Heart Buddha Sect interrupted him, shook his head, and said: "We cannot even be certain now that the Opening Gate necessarily corresponds to the Death Gate!"

"At least it is one of the three ominous gates!" Shi Wuliang said: "Being able to invert Dao Wujin's Life and Death Qi must be a fatal crisis."

Dao Wujin said calmly: "Let's join forces to determine the changes of the Small Eight Gates first..."

Lei Zhuzi sat upright on the Supreme Demon-Suppressing Stone Tablet, calculating constantly in his hands, but a smile appeared on his face.

"They really fell for it!"

"In the changes of the Small Eight Gates, once the Open Gate moves, one must exit the lotus and fall into the Great Eight Gates."

"I concluded that the Yin and Yang Qi cultivated by the True Transmission Sect can sense life and death, so I deliberately aligned the Open Gate with the Open Gate. And those demonic lords must think that the Great Eight Gates correspond to the Death Gate. Without seeing through this point, no matter how they calculate, they cannot break the array."

Jiang Shang watched Shen Bao almost being thrown out and also felt some lingering fear.

He hesitated: "Yan Yan Shixiong Lei, the triple Innate Bagua Array is already extremely complex. Without great wisdom, great courage, and great perseverance, it is absolutely impossible to break the array within three days."

"And after three days, even the strongest Dao Wujin will have to regress from his Jin Dan, making it even harder to break the array!"

"But opening the three gates wide from the beginning, isn't that a bit too risky?"

Lei Zhuzi looked back at him and laughed: "You also think this Innate Bagua Demon-Refining Great Array only has three layers of Eight Gates?"

"Actually, there are four flag gates. That moment just now was indeed the Small Eight Gates, the outer Eight Gates, and the eight demon palaces were all Open Gates. But outside the Innate Bagua Array, this Pinghu Blessed Land is a lotus flower. I used the spiritual treasure Karma Fire Red Lotus to set up the four flag gates of 'Life, Death, Illusion, and Extinction' outside the Innate Bagua Array."

"Just now, the three Open Gates overlapped. As long as they moved, they could break the array and get out, but they would certainly fall into my Illusion flag gate. In this way, I can save your good friend, and also make them fall into the illusion array!"

"That feeling of life and death being inverted that Dao Wujin perceived is the illusion-character flag simulating the qi-mechanism of the Life and Death flags..."

"I concluded that they are all human heroes and would certainly see through the secrets within in the shortest possible time! But even as heroes, falling into an array like this, they would certainly be extremely cautious at the beginning. Therefore, I deceived them once first, letting them miss their only chance of survival!"

"Next, the Eight Gates and Four Flags will operate. The next time the three auspicious gates overlap and the path of life opens wide, it will be eight days later!"

"Under the Yuan-Cutting Golden Thunder, even the strongest Dao Wujin can only hold on for seven days..."

"And the only remaining chance of survival, the time when the auspicious gates overlap, is two days later. At that time, only Dao Wujin will have a chance to break out! And he must see through my calculations within a mere two days!"

"Therefore, for most people in the array, they have already fallen into a death trap."

Jiang Shang hesitated: "The Illusion flag should have the least lethality among the four flag gates, except for the Life flag!"

"That's not necessarily true. If an illusion array cannot be seen through, it is even more terrifying than a killing array! Moreover, each of the four flag gates is presided over by a junior brother. The Illusion flag is the strongest, Cui Dan. With his Five-Colored Profound Light rotating, not many will be able to escape."

Lei Zhuzi said frankly: "Unless the demonic path works together with one heart..."

"Sigh! The demonic lords are cunning and too good at fighting. Even though I have set up many arrangements, they still have a fifty percent chance of breaking out of the illusion array."

Jiang Shang knew that at least twenty percent of this fifty percent was because of the need to rescue Shen Bao.

He immediately bowed in shame: "It is I who have made things difficult for Yan Yan Shixiong..."

Lei Zhuzi waved his hand and laughed: "Yan Yan Shixiong doesn't care about their lives at all. Even if they break into the illusion array, so what? At worst, I'll just drive them out of the blessed land!"

"In this game, if the demonic lords lose, they will be thoroughly refined by me. But if they win, it will be nothing more than escaping with their lives!"

"How could I not dare to gamble?"

"There is only one point that makes me hesitate."

"That is that black lotus. I can calculate everything, but I cannot calculate its reaction."

"After all, all these demon-refining great arrays and the operation of the four flags are locking onto the fixed numbers within the array."

"Being able to reverse variables within the Innate Bagua Array is difficult even for a Nascent Soul True Immortal. But within the array, there is that black lotus with truly infinite variables. I originally had ten percent confidence in suppressing and killing all the demonic lords except Dao Wujin, but if that black lotus makes a move, I fear..."

Jiang Shang advised: "If not for that lotus, the demonic cultivators would never have entered the trap."

"Being able to have this opportunity to sweep away the demonic hordes is already due to Yan Yan Shixiong's Innate Bagua Great Divine Ability and the heaven-penetrating and earth-shaking power of this array!"

(End of chapter)