Honghuang: Eat a Hunyuan Daluo

At Jiepai Pass, the Ten Deadly Formations were unleashed simultaneously, their power overwhelming and obscuring the sky.

"We are disciples of the Sage of Shangqing, the Ten Heavenly Lords of the Jie Sect. We have now set up the Ten Absolute Formations and ask our fellow Daoists of the Chan Sect for guidance." The voices of the Ten Heavenly Lords resounded throughout the heavens and clearly reached the ears of the Chan Sect disciples.

Upon hearing this, the members of the Chan Sect immediately became serious, especially Daoist Ran Deng, whose brows furrowed and a look of vigilance appeared on his face.

Qin Wan and the others joined the sect relatively late, having entered after Tongtian moved to Jin'ao Island and received their initiation during the grand sermon. Therefore, the members of the Chan Sect did not know what the Ten Deadly Formations were.

However, the members of the Chan Sect, especially Daoist Ran Deng, were very clear that Tongtian's greatest skill, apart from swordsmanship, was array formation. They even said that there were traces of array formation in his swordsmanship.

Therefore, the array set up by the disciples of the Jie Sect was not to be underestimated by the people of the Chan Sect.

Not to mention, the Ten Heavenly Kings were quite a renowned figure within the Jie Sect.

As the vice leader of the Chan Sect, Daoist Ran Deng had a better understanding of the disciples of the Jie Sect. He naturally knew the Ten Heavenly Lords, who were disciples with considerable prestige within the Jie Sect, and also knew that the Ten Heavenly Lords were famous throughout the prehistoric world for their array formations.

The fact that the Ten Heavenly Kings' Ten Absolute Formations could make such a name for themselves shows that they are definitely not ordinary.

Just as Ran Deng was about to speak to remind the younger generation, he heard Ju Liusun snort and say, "Fellow disciples, I observe that those ten Heavenly Lords are all at the Taiyi Golden Immortal level, and only eight of them are in the formation. The other two formations are only driven by formation plates. With only Taiyi Golden Immortals and not even all of them present, what is there to fear even if the formation is exquisite?"

After listening to Ju Liusun's words, Taiyi Zhenren nodded in agreement. He immediately summoned the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover, which covered his entire body in flames, but his face was full of coldness: "I also think that this Ten Deadly Formations is nothing to fear, so let me experience the power of this formation!"

After hearing Taiyi Zhenren's words, Ran Deng Daoren's expression relaxed somewhat. Just as the two men said, no matter how prestigious the Ten Heavenly Kings were, they were still only Taiyi Golden Immortals. Even if the Ten Deadly Formations were powerful, how formidable could they be if they were set up by Taiyi Golden Immortals?

So even the usually cautious Randeng acted rashly for once: "Very well, I will break your Ten Deadly Formations together with my fellow disciples."

After saying that, Daoist Ran Deng summoned the Qiankun Ruler and entered the formation without saying another word.

Seeing this, the other Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect followed suit and entered the formation.

Jiang Ziya saw that Daoist Ran Deng had gone to the central Heavenly Annihilation Formation, Ju Liusun had entered the Earthly Crack Formation, Taiyi Zhenren had entered the Blazing Flame Formation, and Cihang and Wenshu had entered the Howling Wind Formation and the Frost Formation respectively. There were still 5 large formations that no one had entered.

Jiang Ziya immediately ordered his soldiers to throw some slaves into the five large formations that no one had broken.

Within the Heavenly Annihilation Formation, chaos reigned, with the earth, fire, water, and wind constantly rotating. Occasionally, heavenly lightning would rage and crash down, annihilating all things.

The Taoist Ran Deng held the Qiankun Ruler in his hand, with a bronze lamp on his head. His body shimmered with golden light, providing unparalleled defense. He remained unmoved, as steady as Mount Tai, even as divine lightning struck him.

On the array plate at the center of the Heavenly Annihilation Array, Qin Wan's avatar appeared, looking down at Daoist Ran Deng, and said with a hint of mockery: "Tsk tsk~ You're supposed to be the Vice Leader of the Chan Sect, yet you're so afraid of death? You probably brought out all the spiritual treasures you could use to enter my Heavenly Annihilation Array, didn't you?"

"You audacious madman, how dare you insult my Chan Sect! You're courting death!" With that, Daoist Ran Deng swung the Qiankun Ruler and smashed it down on Qin Wan's avatar.

Just as the Qiankun Ruler was about to strike Qin Wan's avatar, Qin Wan's avatar suddenly dissipated like a bubble and reappeared in another place.

At the same time, this avatar held a large flag. With just a slight sway of the flag, supreme divine thunder and innate qi struck the Burning Lamp Daoist.

Daoist Ran Deng was, after all, a peak-level Great Luo Golden Immortal cultivator who had also listened to the Dao Ancestor's teachings and possessed many hidden strengths.

Even when facing a cultivator at the early stage of Quasi-Saint, Daoist Ran Deng was confident that he could hold his own. Therefore, he was not afraid at all when faced with the attacks in the Ten Absolute Formations. He directly wielded the Qiankun Ruler to resist them.

"Boom, boom, boom!" A series of booming sounds suddenly came from the Heavenly Annihilation Formation.

With the continuous superposition of divine thunder and innate qi, the power was incredibly strong, directly blasting Daoist Ran Deng away.

"Its power is really that strong?" Daoist Ran Deng's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Keep in mind that Qin Wan is merely an avatar! If an avatar presiding over a grand formation possesses such terrifying power, then if his true form were to descend, he would likely find it difficult to withstand.

If the other nine formations of the Ten Deadly Formations were all this powerful, how would the other disciples of the Chan Sect resist them?

As Ran Deng was shocked, within the Earth-Splitting Array, Zhao Jiangtianjun held a red banner and waved it. Thunder roared in the sky, and flames roared on the ground as they rushed towards Ju Liusun.

Ju Liusun was a late-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal. Although his cultivation was not as profound as that of Ran Deng, he was still far superior to Zhao Jiang, a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Under normal circumstances, Ju Liusun could kill Zhao Jiang with a single slap.
At this moment, Ju Liusun looked extremely disheveled, barely able to hold on within the Earth Shattering Formation.

In the other major formations, the situation was basically the same: the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect could only parry, but had no power to retaliate.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye. Inside the Heavenly Annihilation Formation, Daoist Ran Deng could not find a way to break the formation. He had no choice but to use all his strength to activate the Qiankun Ruler, shatter a corner of the void, and escape.

"It's a pity I'm just an avatar, unable to unleash the full power of the Heavenly Annihilation Formation. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy for Ran Deng to escape." After saying this, Qin Wan's avatar shook his head, removed many of the attacking phenomena from the Heavenly Annihilation Formation, and flew into the formation plate.

The other immortals of the Chan Sect in the other great formations also made similar choices.

Seeing that Daoist Ran Deng had escaped the Heavenly Annihilation Formation, Ju Liusun immediately followed suit, pouring all his magical power into the Immortal Binding Rope and striking it into the void.

The Daoist Ran Deng was at the peak of the Great Luo Golden Immortal realm, and the one guarding the Heavenly Annihilation Formation was merely an avatar of Qin Wan. This allowed him to easily break through the void and escape.

Ju Liusun's cultivation was a minor realm lower than that of Daoist Randeng, and the spiritual treasure he possessed was also inferior to Randeng's Qiankun Ruler, so he failed to break the great formation with a single strike.

Seeing this, Zhao Jiang laughed loudly and said in an extremely sarcastic tone: "The Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect are nothing more than this. No wonder four of them have already fallen at the very beginning of the Investiture of the Gods. Ju Liusunwu's Earth-Splitting Formation is not something you can come and go as you please. Today I will put you on the list! I will make you the fifth Golden Immortal to fall."

After saying this, Zhao Jiangtian waved the red banner, and immediately more heavenly thunder and earthly fire rose up, attacking Ju Liusun.

Ju Liusun was terrified. Without thinking, he patted his chest and spat out three drops of blood.

This is a life-saving divine ability of the Yuqing lineage. By using one's own essence and blood to empower a spiritual treasure, it can unleash power far exceeding one's own strength in a short period of time.

The three drops of essence blood were naturally imbued into the Immortal Binding Rope by Ju Liusun.

The Immortal Binding Rope burst forth with dazzling light, its power surging, finally helping Ju Liusun break through the barrier of the Earth-Splitting Array and escape the great formation. With both Ran Deng Daoist and Ju Liusun fleeing, the other Golden Immortals panicked and used their supernatural powers to escape the great formation as well.

Outside the Ten Deadly Formations, the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect were panting heavily, their faces pale.

Even for saints, essence blood is extremely precious, let alone for them, the Great Luo Immortals. It takes at least a thousand years of arduous cultivation to replenish a single drop of essence blood. Just now, in order to escape the great formation, Ju Liusun used three drops of essence blood, which is equivalent to three thousand years of cultivation going down the drain.

Manjushri, Cihang, and Julusun all expended three drops of their essence blood to escape from the formation. At this moment, they were pale-faced and severely weakened.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Ziya quickly went to greet them, showing great concern: "Uncle-Master Randeng, fellow disciples, are you alright?"

The Taoist Ran Deng glanced coldly at Jiang Ziya, thinking, "If you, Flying Bear, weren't such a useless piece of trash, why would we have had to get involved so early?"

Taiyi Zhenren's expression was equally grim. He glanced at Jiang Ziya with a gloomy look and said, "Junior Brother Ziya, this formation is extremely powerful. We do not have a way to break it for the time being. Let's retreat first!"

At Jiepai Pass, Huang Feihu, witnessing the power of the Ten Deadly Formations, laughed heartily: "Excellent! With the Ten Deadly Formations in place, how can Xiqi and the disciples of the Chan Sect attack my Sishui Pass? Issue my order: Han Rong and Zhang Kui, lead the army out of the city, set up a long snake formation, and launch a horizontal attack on the Xiqi army!"

"It's the marshal!"

Subsequently, Han Rong and Zhang Kui personally led their troops, forming a long, serpentine formation with the head and tail of the snake.

Strike the snake's head, and its tail will move and coil.

Strike the snake's tail; the snake's head moves, and it bites.

The snake's body lunges sideways, head and tail together, then it twists!

Under the formation of the long snake, the Shang army seemed to transform into a terrifying serpent, constantly strangling and killing the Xiqi army.

After half a day of fierce fighting, Han Rong and Zhang Kui gave an order to stop fighting the Xiqi army, break out of the encirclement, and retreat back to Jiepai Pass.

As the sun set and the great battle ended, the land in front of Jiepai Pass was stained red with blood, emitting a strong stench of blood. Corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed for miles, a scene of utter carnage.

In this battle, Xiqi suffered nearly 100,000 casualties, while the Shang Dynasty lost only over 10,000 soldiers. Such a high casualty ratio undoubtedly made it another great victory!
At this moment, in the main tent of Xiqi, Ji Shuang's face was so gloomy that water could drip from it. The sand table in front of him was simulating the previous battle. The tragic results were shocking even to Ji Shuang, who had been on the battlefield for many years. These were all soldiers and civilians of his Xiqi!

While Ji Shuang was heartbroken over the losses suffered by her army, in another tent, the Golden Immortals of Kunlun gathered together to discuss how to break the Ten Deadly Formations.

To be honest, the Golden Immortals of Kunlun never expected that the Ten Deadly Formations would be so powerful.

Although Daoist Ran Deng did not achieve the status of a Quasi-Saint by severing his corpse, he was still able to contend with Quasi-Saints. Even he had not been able to break through one of the formations, which shows how troublesome the Ten Deadly Formations must be.

What made the Kunlun Golden Immortals even more troublesome was that of the ten people who set up the Ten Absolute Formations, only eight had arrived, and all of them were at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm.

Two people are missing, and without a Great Luo to oversee it, this formation is already so powerful. If all ten Heavenly Lords were to arrive, how terrifying would this Ten Absolute Formations be?
Seeing that his disciples were in low spirits, Daoist Ran Deng comforted them, saying, "Don't lose your composure. In the primordial world, every formation has a way to be broken, and the Ten Deadly Formations must also have a way to be broken."

Upon hearing this, Ju Liusun's face darkened as he said, "Uncle-Master speaks so lightly. This Ten Deadly Formations is a formation passed down by the Shangqing Sage. Apart from the disciples of the Jie Sect, who else knows its weakness? How can we possibly break it?"

Upon hearing this, Master Taiyi seemed to have been inspired: "Why not capture one or two disciples of the Jie Sect with weaker cultivation and interrogate them?"

Cihang slowly shook his head and said, "Senior Brother Taiyi, apart from those who were expelled from the sect by Uncle Tongtian long ago, and the cultivators who were ordered to go down the mountain, all the other disciples of the Shangqing lineage, regardless of their cultivation level, are quietly reciting the Yellow Court Classic on Jin'ao Island. Do you think we can go to Jin'ao Island to arrest people?"

"What should we do then? This Ten Deadly Formations is incredibly powerful. What should we do next?" Manjushri asked worriedly.

At this moment, Ran Deng sighed and slowly said, "Nephew Ziya, we cannot break the Ten Deadly Formations. Why don't you return to Kunlun Mountain and ask the Sage for guidance?"

Jiang Ziya knew this was the only way, so he nodded and said, "Then I will return to Kunlun. However, I am too slow when I fly. I wonder if any senior brother would be willing to give me a ride?"

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, and in the end, it was Taiyi who led Jiang Ziya to Kunlun.

The two transformed into a streak of light and quickly returned to Kunlun Mountain.

Upon returning to Kunlun Mountain, Jiang Ziya did not delay and went straight into the Jade Void Palace, where he bowed deeply to Yuanshi: "Disciple greets Master."

Yuanshi glanced at Jiang Ziya with a calm expression and asked without any emotion, "What brings you back to the mountain this time?"

Jiang Ziya gritted his teeth and said, "Replying to Master, we led the Western Zhou army to attack Shang. At Jiepai Pass, we encountered the Ten Deadly Formations. This formation is extremely powerful, and we found it difficult to break. Therefore, we ask Master for guidance."

"The Ten Deadly Formations?" Yuanshi frowned slightly. Throughout the entire prehistoric world, Tongtian was the best in the art of formations, and no one dared to claim second place. He didn't know much about the Ten Deadly Formations either, and who knew when Tongtian had come up with them.

Even so, for the sake of the Investiture of the Gods calamity, Yuanshi still used all his magical power to begin calculations.

It was thought that the interference of the calamity energy would obscure the cause and effect, making the calculation extremely difficult. However, this time, the calculation of the Ten Deadly Formations by Yuanshi was unexpectedly smooth, and all the causes and effects related to the Ten Deadly Formations were exceptionally clear.

Yuanshi Tianzun once again experienced the feeling of omniscience and omnipotence that he had before the Great Calamity began.

And the one who could do all this was undoubtedly the Heavenly Dao, which secretly assisted Yuanshi.

Without the interference of the calamity energy, Yuanshi Tianzun used his saintly power to calculate for a few breaths and then came to a conclusion.

He slowly opened his mouth and said to Jiang Ziya, "Ziya, your Ten Deadly Formations gather the evil energy of heaven and earth to attack, but this evil energy of heaven and earth is limited."

Therefore, as long as a cultivator of Golden Immortal rank or higher perishes within the formation, the baleful aura will dissipate, and the formation's power will drastically decrease. To break this formation, someone must first perform a ritual to sacrifice to it.

"To break the formation, a sacrifice is needed?" Jiang Ziya's heart trembled. There weren't many disciples of the Chan Sect! Who could be used as a sacrifice?
Yuanshi Tianzun hesitated for a moment, but after a while, he made up his mind. When he signed the Investiture of the Gods in Zixiao Palace, the Chan Sect had selected some disciples with poor aptitude and character. Now it was their time to face the tribulation.

Then Yuanshi Tianzun spoke up and said, "My disciples Deng Hua and Xiao Zhen are already in the midst of the Investiture of the Gods calamity. They can be used to sacrifice for the formation."

(End of this chapter)