Chapter 290: Breaking the Three-Eyed Toad Formation Eye

Breaking through is the sole reason I gathered these hundred mouse immortal juniors for the 'Steal the Beam Replace the Pillar' plan.

They are good in water, have Xiūwéi, and can perfectly cooperate with me to accomplish what I want to do.

Regardless of the outcome, we can at least give it a fight.

The river water kept pounding our bodies, wave after wave rising higher, lightning flashed overhead like a weave, and thunder roared.

The river water gradually rose past my chest; at this height, the mouse immortal juniors behind me were almost submerged, leaving only a 'White Dragon' formed by a hundred white porcelain lanterns connected on the water surface.

The 'Hundred Children Causing Dragon Lantern' sacrificial rite is about to end—shattered lanterns send off the gods.

Crackle!

At the moment the final heavenly thunder struck, I reminded again: 'Children, guard the lanterns!'

No sooner had my words fallen than the river ahead suddenly rose up more than a person's height, a huge wave lunging straight at us.

I gripped the Soul-guiding Lamp tightly, planted myself firmly in the river, and faced the huge wave head-on.

In the blink of an eye, the huge wave was already before me.

The river water kept falling according to the wave's shape, revealing the three-eyed toad lurking behind the wave.

That three-eyed toad was enormous, standing about two meters tall.

It lay prone in the river, its body covered in big and small bumps, a pair of bulging eyes staring down at us from above, and the third eye on its forehead slowly opened under my gaze.

A golden light gradually seeped out from beneath its lifted eyelid.

That was Buddha light.

The moment the Buddha light appeared, the three-eyed toad suddenly rose to its feet.

At the same time, I waved my hand, holding the Soul-guiding Lamp, and charged at the three-eyed toad.

While shouting loudly: 'Children, hold onto the white porcelain lanterns, follow me!'

Upon the surging river, the light of the Soul-guiding Lamp shone like the morning star in the night, leading the 'White Dragon' troop to charge at the massive creature opposite.

In an instant, I only heard the howling of bloody wind and rain, plus the 'bang bang bang' of shattering white porcelain lanterns, interspersed with the pained groans of the mouse immortal juniors.

I couldn't see the way ahead, but I could feel the little hand gripping my clothes at my waist still there.

The mouse immortal juniors were still holding on; what reason did I have to retreat?

From the moment they gathered and entered the water, they chose to trust me completely; thus I bear the responsibility to lead them through five passes and slay six generals, and even if we ultimately fail to break through, I must die alongside them.

Without the 'Steal the Beam Replace the Pillar' stratagem, the giant three-eyed toad could not have appeared.

The sacrificial formation array encountered a problem, and the opposing side hastily adjusted its strategy.

The moment the giant three-eyed toad appeared, I realized that the formation array's controlled active sacrifice had turned into a passive sacrifice.

Only by destroying the formation array of the giant three-eyed toad do we have a chance to survive.

Only then do we have a chance to confront the Buddha-head formation array.

My feet never stopped; I struggled to adapt to the surroundings, my eyes snapping open and shut rapidly, keeping my sight from being obscured by the three-eyed toad's mucus.

I constantly waved the Soul-guiding Lamp in my hand, using its light to scan the entire space.

The whole space was a blur of red and yellow, everywhere covered with nauseating mucus.

I lifted my head to look upward.

Within that red-and-yellow expanse, countless pairs of half-open eyes, like those from the abyss, stared deeply at me.

I understood in my heart that among those countless eyes, only one was the Zhènyǎn.

Only by precisely finding it and destroying it can I break the formation.

The sound of shattering white porcelain lanterns and the painful groans of the mouse immortal juniors grew louder, constantly swirling around my ears and disturbing my judgment.

Too many.

Those eyes were far too numerous, all identical, making them impossible to distinguish.

Time trickled by second by second; the Heavenly Tribulation of the three-eyed toad was nearing its end, each second possibly deciding its fate and our lives.

I clenched my lips, biting hard until they bled, to keep my mind clear and not be enslaved by illusions.

Yet my vision inevitably began to sore and blur.

The eyes above my head gradually seemed to merge into a single sheet, becoming a huge Buddha Eye radiating Buddha light…… I snapped my eyes shut, took deep breaths, and silently chanted in my heart: Xiao Jiu, stay calm! You must stay calm! All of this is illusion, all fake!

In the flash of lightning, something streaked across my mind.

I reached out and pulled from the grave the Golden Scale I had retrieved, holding it in my hand and giving it a light flick.

The Golden Scale emitted a golden Merit Light.

I raised my hand, and at the moment I tossed the Golden Scale high, I opened my eyes and swiftly scanned the entire sky.

Among those countless half-open eyes, I locked onto the target in an instant.

I sprang up, reached out to retrieve the Golden Scale into my hand, then pressed my sword finger against the lamp cavity; the wound at my fingertip pressed out fresh blood, and the demonic face on the lamp cavity instantly became excited.

I flicked my sword finger toward the upper front right; there was an eye there, and at the moment the Golden Scale appeared, a hint of blood-colored light flashed in its pupil, and the four demonic faces howled in unison as they surged toward that eye.

The demonic faces precisely bit that eye and tore at it frenziedly.

The next moment, the entire space began to shake.

Countless globs of mucus rained down, as if trying to drown us all.

The incessant sound of shattering white porcelain and the mouse immortal juniors' moans in my ears were suddenly drowned out by a shrill croak.

The space was too turbulent; I could barely stay upright, swaying left and right while holding the Soul-guiding Lamp.

Even so, the little hand at my waist still clung tightly to me.

The long line behind me swayed and staggered, drifting up and down, yet from start to finish not a single person let go or fell behind!

As the demonic faces' tearing and chewing grew louder, the half-open eyes above blinked out one by one and vanished.

Until one demonic face gulped the Zhènyǎn into its mouth, a shrill croak accompanied by a thunderous boom rang out, and with a bang the whole space split apart.

Our bodies were swept into the river, rapidly spiraling toward the center with the churning waters.

The siphoning river water's force was too great; after my body tumbled a few times in the water, it was suddenly forcibly held in place.

Behind me, there was a strong thrust, as if twisted into a rope, continually pushing my body forward.

That feeling was too strange.

I was like an arrow placed on a bowstring, but the taut bowstring was buried beneath the silt, the arrow and bowstring turned to stone, and were firmly nailed down under the silt.

The surging river water swiftly receded, scraping past our bodies.

I silently let out a breath.

The small hand that had been gripping my side's clothing also loosened.

I grabbed that small hand, pulled it back, and pressed it to its original position.

Although the Three-eyed Toad Formation had been broken, we had not yet secured final victory.

Everything was not yet over.

The next moment, not far ahead in the direction of Small Camp Mouth, a flash of Buddha light appeared, and there stood a person.

A monk wrapped entirely in Golden Copper Coins!

He walked toward us step by step.

He lowered his head, one hand raised before him, the other constantly turning his prayer beads; with each step, the halo of Buddha light beneath his feet expanded outward by one circle toward us.

Gradually, that halo of Buddha light began to envelop me.

In that instant, it seemed as if only he and I remained in the whole world.

He extended the palm that held his prayer beads toward me, and a familiar, gentle voice sounded: "Awu, let us ascend together…".