After guarding the gates for a hundred years, I drove the Heavenly Saint to madness.

Before the Holy Mother of Wudang could put down her teacup, an overwhelming pressure had already enveloped the entire Jiepai Pass.

Unlike Guang Chengzi's sharp and piercing purple aura, or Ju Liusun's tyrannical killing intent.

The aura that descended at this moment was a deep, deathly stillness, like an eternal night, so oppressive that it seemed to freeze one's very soul.

"Nephew, come with me!"

Without hesitation, the Holy Mother of Wudang activated the Qingping Sword Token, and the azure sword light transformed into a light curtain, attempting to tear apart this layer of oppressive sealing.

"We can't leave."

Xiao Wuji pressed down on the arm of the Holy Mother Wudang, but his face showed little panic; instead, it revealed a calmness of having succeeded in his scheme.

"Now that Ran Deng has come, he won't leave us a way out."

"Master Uncle, you just stand aside and watch how your junior brother puts on a good show for these Chan Sect masters."

After saying that, Xiao Wuji's aura suddenly changed.

The original perfect, flawless, and unfathomable Daoist aura vanished instantly, replaced by a superficial feeling of being outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

His face turned deathly pale, and a trickle of crimson blood even appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"This..." The Holy Mother of Wudang was stunned.

Before she could react, Xiao Wuji had already taken a step and staggered up the city wall.

Beyond the city gates, above the void.

The five figures were like five ancient divine mountains, stretching across the heavens and earth.

The man in the center, riding a sika deer, was thin and gaunt, with a sorrowful face. A faint ancient lamp hung behind his head. He was none other than the Vice Leader of the Chan Sect, the Daoist Burning Lamp.

To his left, Manjushri, the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Dharma, rides a blue lion and holds a dragon-遁桩 (a type of magical pillar).

Samantabhadra rode a white elephant and carried the Wu hook sword on his back.

Cihang Daoren stood on a golden-haired lion and held a pure glass bottle in his hand.

The three majestic Buddha statues shone with radiant light.

At the very back was Guang Chengzi, his face contorted with resentment, as if he wanted to tear him to pieces.

"Light the lamp!"

Xiao Wuji stood atop the city wall, his voice hoarse, as if he had suffered a severe internal injury.

"As the vice leader of the Chan Sect, how dare you resort to such bullying tactics? Bringing so many people to harass a junior like me—aren't you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?"

Sitting on the sika deer, the Taoist Ran Deng's cloudy old eyes flickered with eerie ghost fire, completely ignoring Xiao Wuji's questioning.

His gaze, like two boning knives, swept back and forth across Jiepai Pass before finally settling on Xiao Wuji.

"Your aura is unstable, and your foundation is damaged. It seems that your previous stubbornness has cost you dearly."

The sound of the lamp being lit was dry and harsh, like two pieces of rotten wood rubbing against each other.

He was naturally suspicious and never fought a battle he wasn't sure he could win.

Although Guang Chengzi said this person had extraordinary abilities, he still had to test him himself to see if he was a real tiger or just a paper tiger.

"go."

With his withered fingers, Ran Deng gently touched the Lingjiu Palace Lantern behind his head.

call--

The tiny flame instantly swelled, transforming into a sky full of grayish-white ghostly flames that pressed down on Jiepai Pass.

This fire doesn't burn grass or wood, nor bricks or stones; it only burns the souls of living beings and the spiritual energy of formations. Anything touched by it will turn to ashes in an instant.

"not good!!"

Upon seeing this, Xiao Wuji's eyes revealed a look of fear.

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood essence, his hands frantically forming hand seals, seemingly exerting all his strength to activate the great formation.

"The Twelve Heavenly Gods and Demons Formation—Pangu's True Form, activate!!"

Rumbling--

A deep, mournful wail came from deep underground.

Twelve crimson beams of malevolent energy shot into the sky, struggling to coalesce into the familiar phantom of Pangu in mid-air.

But this phantom was far less solid than the previous one.

Its shape was somewhat blurry, and it was even trembling constantly, as if it would collapse at any moment.

Faced with the endless rain of ghostly flames, the phantom of Pangu let out a silent roar, spreading its arms to form a barrier of malevolent energy.

sizzle-

The moment the will-o'-the-wisp came into contact with the malevolent energy, it emitted a corrosive sound that made your teeth ache.

The barrier of malevolent energy began to melt rapidly under the scorching heat of the ghost fire, becoming thinner and thinner.

"puff--!"

As the controller of the formation, Xiao Wuji's body trembled violently. He coughed up another mouthful of blood and staggered backward, almost falling off the city wall.

He leaned against the flagpole, his hair disheveled, his eyes unfocused, yet he still stared intently at the lantern in the sky, gritting his teeth:

"You old thief, Burning Lamp! If I hadn't exhausted my energy refining the Heaven-Turning Seal, how could I have allowed your ghostly fire to run rampant?!"

Looking at him like this, anyone would see that he was at his last gasp.

Even the Holy Mother of Wudang, who was hiding in the shadows, was terrified. If she hadn't experienced Xiao Wuji's true strength before, she would have almost intervened to save him.

Above the clouds.

Looking at the crumbling Pangu phantom and Xiao Wuji coughing up blood, Randeng's tense old face finally relaxed, and a disdainful sneer appeared on his lips.

"As expected, this is the work of the remnants of the Witch Clan."

Ran Deng withdrew his finger, and the will-o'-the-wisps hung suspended in the air, like a cat playing with a mouse.

"Nephew Guangchengzi, you've been deceived by him."

Randeng glanced back at Guangchengzi and said calmly, "Although this boy has the Fantian Seal in his hand and is protected by this evil formation, he is ultimately just a Taiyi Golden Immortal."

"Activating such a large-scale formation is draining his life force with every breath."

"He's now completely exhausted, just clinging to life by sheer willpower."

Manjushri, the Heavenly Venerable of Vast Dharma, riding on a blue lion, nodded slightly: "What the Vice Master says is absolutely right."

"The evil aura of my temple is weak and unstable, and the phantom of Pangu is even more unstable. It is clear that it is running out of strength. The fact that it was able to block the Heaven-Turning Seal before was probably its limit."

"If that's the case, what are we waiting for?"

Cihang Daoren had a compassionate expression, but his eyes were icy cold.

"Get him on the list as soon as possible, so that this karmic debt can be settled sooner."

Guang Chengzi looked at the disheveled figure on the city wall and felt extremely pleased, but also a little doubtful.

When I hit him that day, this kid was really fierce. How come he's become so weak after just a few days?

But he prefers to believe it's true.

After all, no one can keep jumping around after offending the entire Chan Sect.

"Uncle-Master, let me take his head!" Guang Chengzi gritted his teeth, summoned the Fallen Bell, and charged down.

"slow."

But Ran Deng stopped him. Although the old fox had confirmed that the other party was at his last gasp, he still did not want to take the risk.

"A cornered beast will fight to the death, which is the most dangerous thing. After all, he still has the Heaven-Turning Seal in his hands."

Dipankara gazed intently at the three great bodhisattvas beside him.

"Manjushri, Samantabhadra, and Compassionate One."

"The three of you should each occupy one side and set up the Three Talents Annihilation Formation to first refine the evil energy of this Boundary Gate Pass."

"Once we break through this tortoise shell, Xiao Wuji will be like fish on a chopping board, at our mercy."

"I will obey the decree."

The three monks responded in unison, each urging their mounts to spread out in a triangular formation, surrounding Jiepai Pass in the center.

Xiao Wuji, standing atop the city wall, watched this scene with a look of despair on his pale face. But if one looked closely, one could see a hint of a knowing smile hidden beneath his lowered eyelids.

"It's finally time to get involved."