Zuo Mingqiu took a deep breath and slowly transferred the vast memories of the Heavenly Master's Decree from his mind into the Three Flower Lotus Crown in his hand, emitting a hum.
This was not a slow process.
The colossal lightning serpent coiling around the firmament continuously flicked its hundred-foot-long tongue, spitting sparks, its pair of venomous eyes scanning all directions.
True Master Taiwu stood high on the protruding rock summit atop the serpent's head, his domain spanning ten thousand meters. In his hands, he clutched the core pillar and plate of the Grand Tongtian Array.
Before the dust settled, he had to be cautious, unwilling to give Zuo Mingqiu any chance to turn the tables.
"Damn it."
"Heavenly Master, absolutely not!"
Around the Tongtian Pagoda, many elders watched Zuo Mingqiu's actions, beating their chests and stamping their feet, their eyes red.
Most in the Daoist sect valued promises and friendship above all else.
The old Heavenly Master had just passed away, and the person they had promised to protect was now being forced to hand over the Heavenly Master's Decree. What a humiliation.
These elders hated their own weakness, which forced Zuo Mingqiu to endure such indignity.
"This is troublesome."
True Master Yuan Tian's expression was grave as he spoke.
The turn of events had far exceeded their expectations, and their unified plan had hit a snag.
The elder beside him, who had regained his youth, nodded and sighed,
"If the Grand Tongtian Array is to be managed half by True Master Bixu, and both have the ability to activate it, then our plan is likely to fail."
The Daoist shook his head. True Master Taiwu managing the Grand Tongtian Array and True Master Bixu controlling it held two different kinds of deterrent power. It was like how even if True Master Lianduan held the array, he would still be suppressed by Bixu. True Master Taiwu might be powerful, but even with the array in his hands, the true Human King would find a way to subdue him.
True Master Bixu was different. He was already a person with one foot in the Human King realm, ranked higher than the Wine Immortal on the World Rankings. If he were to control the array, all their arrangements would become a joke.
"We must stop him."
True Master Yuan Tian's expression was solemn. He suddenly said sternly to those around him, "Our formation needs another half an incense stick's worth of time. Before then, we absolutely cannot let them complete the handover of the Heavenly Master's Decree. We must find a way to stall for time!"
The surrounding elders exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"Our confidants placed near Lianduan cannot get close to Taiwu. The hope of seizing the array plate is slim."
"And if we are accidentally exposed, even if True Master Chongming himself were to arrive..."
The elder stopped mid-sentence, as if realizing something, and quickly fell silent.
On the other side, Xu Mu quietly looked up at the sky, watching Zuo Mingqiu gradually extract the inheritance of the Heavenly Master's Decree from his mind. He watched as Zuo Mingqiu's aura rapidly declined, and a deathly gray mist emerged from his body.
Xu Mu's eyes narrowed.
This was different from the Innate Eight Trigrams inheritance he had given Zuo Mingqiu. The latter's Heavenly Master's Decree originally belonged to him and had already been absorbed for some time. To strip it away now would likely cause irreversible severe damage to his sea of consciousness and soul!
"Do you have a way to stall for some time?" the Wine Immortal turned to look at Xu Mu, simultaneously extending his palm and gently pressing it onto the Dao patterns of the grand array. Suddenly, it rebounded, and the rules of the Great Dao invaded him, forcing him to retreat a hundred paces.
The Wine Immortal's face was grim. The Grand Tongtian Array had already been activated. Without the identity of a disciple of Heavenly Master Mountain, entering it was a fantasy.
Within the array, Xu Mu looked at the Wine Immortal, his eyes flickering. He asked seriously:
"Are you hiding something from me?"
"To be honest, for a long time, I noticed the positioning of the elders from Baiyun Daoist Temple seemed unusual. And among the crowds from other factions, there also seemed to be hidden elders from Baiyun Daoist Temple. Many faces I've seen before."
"You are not here merely as observers. What are you trying to do?"
Xu Mu gazed at the Wine Immortal, his eyes as cold as frost. The latter blinked with an expression of natural surprise.
He shook his head and chuckled,
"Who are you talking about? You're mistaken."
"I also don't want Zuo Mingqiu to lose his position as Heavenly Master just like that. After all, who knows what the situation will be like after Lianduan takes over."
The Wine Immortal smiled, with no flaws in his demeanor.
Xu Mu gave him a deep look and turned away. He hadn't actually seen any familiar faces, and since the Wine Immortal didn't admit it, he couldn't press further. After all, the pressing issue now was how to deal with True Master Taiwu.
But how could he, a cultivator in the third stage of the Huacai realm, deal with True Master Taiwu in the fifth stage who held the Grand Tongtian Array? Even with the divine beast Qiongqi, who had just emerged from seclusion and was half a step into the fifth stage, they were still no match.
Xu Mu looked at the particle cannon in his hand, casually tossing it into his spatial ring, followed by the rocket launcher, elemental missile spreader, and other technological weapons. The highest lethality of these items was only at the fifth realm, they couldn't even kill Lianduan, let alone True Master Taiwu who held the array.
"Eh?"
Seeing that time was running out and Zuo Mingqiu was about to hand over the complete Heavenly Master's Decree, Xu Mu's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at a large blue spear.
"Railgun!"
Xu Mu's mind buzzed. The snake under True Master Taiwu's feet was a fifth-realm great demon formed from a lightning vein, containing endless lightning elements within its body.
And his railgun could disrupt the magnetic field of space, or rather, it could interfere with the Dao rules of the lightning attribute in this world!
If he could hit that snake, he would have a ninety percent chance of causing it to explode uncontrollably!
A fifth-realm great demon formed from a lightning vein, if it were to explode, the power generated would surely surpass the fifth realm, and True Master Taiwu standing above its head would inevitably be injured, or even die directly!
Xu Mu took a deep breath and said,
"Wine Immortal, if you have any trump cards, you can prepare them now."
"I might be able to injure True Master Taiwu, or even kill him. If this array plate is dropped this time, it must not fall into Lan Qi True Master's hands again."
The Wine Immortal was stunned by his words and asked,
"You have a way?"
Xu Mu took a deep breath and said earnestly,
"Let's try!"
The Wine Immortal looked at Xu Mu deeply once more.
But those who also turned to look were True Master Taiwu. He turned the serpent's head, gazing down at Xu Mu. The shadow on his face turned frosty, and the temperature of the space suddenly dropped.
"To this day, I still don't know what you're trying to do, but I've already guessed who you are."
True Master Taiwu looked at Xu Mu, his expression grave:
"I will not kill you, because that would offend too many factions. But this does not mean you can act with impunity."
"I command you, for the next hour of incense, not to move even an inch, otherwise, I will no longer keep your identity a secret."
Xu Mu's body stiffened at these words.
True Master Taiwu had guessed who he was.
"Although you have changed your appearance and color, that unique aura of a divine beast can still not hide from him." Xu Mu stopped moving, glanced at Qiongqi, and then transmitted a message to the Wine Immortal, "This fellow has guessed I am Xu Mu and is threatening me not to move rashly."
"If I can cause him some trouble, can you find a way to seal his mouth?"
This question forced the Wine Immortal to admit their ulterior motives.
The latter was speechless, but he had no choice but to answer, because they had to stop Taiwu now.
"Go ahead."
The Wine Immortal said, looking at Xu Mu with a serious expression, "We will find a way to make him shut up."
Xu Mu fell silent at this, turned his head, and met True Master Taiwu's gaze across the distance. Even though the distorted rules of the Great Dao filled the sky and the Grand Tongtian Array could kill him at any moment, he resolutely gripped his weapon.
"Just one chance, and we need to be fast," Xu Mu whispered to Qiongqi. Their thoughts were connected, and they instantly disappeared from their original positions.
Then, he arrived at the tail of the lightning serpent, raised his railgun, and fired a brilliant blue light at it.
...