"My apologies, True Person."
Li Duanduan floated in the air, cupping his hands in greeting to Bi Xu Zhenren from afar, then speaking with a smile.
He didn't seem to care that he hadn't killed Zuo Mingqiu and was trapped within the Tongtian Great Formation.
This was because he held the formation eye and formation disk of the Tongtian Great Formation in his hands.
Bi Xu Zhenren's pupils contracted instantly. He stiffly turned his head, looking at the ground beside Zuo Mingqiu.
There lay two wooden sticks.
Li Duanduan had stolen the formation disk and formation hub of the Tongtian Great Formation using a substitution technique. All that remained were two useless pieces of wood.
Suppressing his shock, Bi Xu Zhenren summoned his Dharma Image of Heaven and Earth with lightning speed. The towering Dharma Image of the Daoist sect, half of its body shrouded in clouds, unleashed a terrifying sword strike at Li Duanduan, moving too fast to discern its trajectory.
Bi Xu's sword was naturally faster than Zhao Qingdong's, for he was a great True Person ranked twenty-seventh on the Realm List. His sword, ten thousand meters long, reached Li Duanduan in an instant.
Li Duanduan gazed at the Dharma Image soaring into the firmament, its celestial aspect reaching into the Void Domain. Fear flickered in his eyes, but an unnatural flush soon appeared on his face.
He feared Bi Xu Zhenren, and even more so, he feared the sword strike, but he felt no dread.
Fear was a natural instinct; he was merely a Domain Lord at the peak of the fifth stage. Though his talent was high, Bi Xu could kill him with effortless ease.
He felt no dread because he held the Tongtian Great Formation.
"Boom!"
Li Duanduan injected Dao Source into the formation disk and formation eye. Then, the terrifying power of the Great Dao rules within the Tongtian Great Formation surged towards Bi Xu Zhenren.
"Rumble!!!"
The Tongtian Great Formation's killing power was immense. It was impossible for it to be defeated by Bi Xu Zhenren's sword. After a brief stalemate, the Dao rule converged by the Tongtian Great Formation, along with the sword, pushed Bi Xu Zhenren's Dharma Image back several thousand meters, stirring up a storm.
"Damn it!"
The Dharma Image trembled, the Great Dao rules flowing across its surface vibrating incessantly. Bi Xu Zhenren, seated within, had a grim expression.
As the sect leader of Tianshi Mountain, he had personally participated in the repair of the Tongtian Great Formation. Therefore, the formation was familiar with him, and the attack just now had not utilized the Tongtian Great Formation's full potential.
Yet, he had still been easily overwhelmed.
He dared not imagine what would happen if Li Duanduan were allowed to fully activate the Tongtian Great Formation and force this terrifying ancient formation to unleash its full might. Even he, the sect leader, would have no choice but to flee.
And whether he could escape was uncertain!
"Villain, don't think you can do anything to me just because you hold the great formation!" Bi Xu Zhenren remained silent for a moment, then his expression hardened, and he produced a sheepskin scroll.
The scroll was densely inscribed with obscure ancient script. Bi Xu Zhenren drew a drop of vital blood from his fingertip and let it fall onto the sheepskin scroll.
"Boom!"
Tens of thousands of golden characters scattered across the peaks of Tian Guang Peak, embedding themselves with the Great Dao rules of the Tongtian Great Formation.
The Tongtian Great Formation did not resist these characters.
So it quieted down.
Li Duanduan, the handsome True Person, froze.
He couldn't believe that the characters sprinkled by Bi Xu Zhenren could render the Tongtian Great Formation ineffective. But that was the Tongtian Great Formation!
The foremost formation of the Daoist sect, how could it possibly fail!
Below, countless people watched in shock as Bi Xu Zhenren's Dharma Image, reaching heaven and earth, resplendent and golden, exuding brilliant Dao Source, infused the characters. It then suppressed the veins of the Tongtian Great Formation, preventing them from converging for attack.
The Wine Immortal Daoist observed, saying with some surprise:
"It's remarkable that he could devise such a method."
"If I'm not mistaken, the characters in that sheepskin scroll were personally written by the great Daoist True Person, Lu Zu. They contain the ultimate principles of the Daoist heaven and earth, originating from the same source as the operational rules of the Tongtian Great Formation."
"Furthermore, as the sect leader of Tianshi Mountain, Bi Xu's aura is recognized by the Tongtian Great Formation. With both factors combined, the Tongtian Great Formation would not perceive Bi Xu Zhenren as an enemy, and thus it would lose its effectiveness."
Xu Mu raised an eyebrow at this.
The method Bi Xu Zhenren used to suppress the Tongtian Great Formation sounded somewhat unbelievable.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why Bi Xu had prepared such a contingency against the Tongtian Great Formation. Had he foreseen that the formation eye and disk would be stolen, or did he have other plans?
"You truly live up to your name, Bi Xu, to be able to forcibly suppress the Tongtian Great Formation with such a method."
Below Tian Guang Peak, a large group of Tianshi Mountain elders flew in on their Dao swords, their demeanor immortal and imposing.
The speaker was a short, white-haired old man, hunched over with teeth nearly all gone. He looked at Bi Xu Zhenren, whose face was purple, whose Dharma Image was constantly weakening, and whose aura was rapidly declining, and spoke with mockery.
"Bao Yun Zhenren!"
In the air, Tai Wu Zhenren, the peak master of Luosha Peak,'s expression immediately turned solemn upon seeing the old man.
Bao Yun Zhenren was a Supreme Elder of Xianyou Peak. He had competed for the position of sect leader of Tianshi Mountain three times during his tenure as peak master of Xianyou Peak.
However, he had failed each time.
"His last bid for the position was twenty years ago," the Wine Immortal explained to Xu Mu with some surprise, watching Bao Yun Zhenren.
"At that time, Bao Yun was already one hundred and fifty-eight years old. So, although he defeated Bi Xu Zhenren, the old Heavenly Master ultimately appointed Bi Xu Zhenren as sect leader because Bao Yun was too old."
"Afterward, Bao Yun retired to Xianyou Peak, becoming a Supreme Elder, and lived a life of reclusion, seldom concerning himself with worldly affairs. I had almost forgotten about him. To think that he harbored such schemes."
The Wine Immortal was somewhat surprised.
Bao Yun Zhenren's competition with Bi Xu Zhenren for the sect leadership of Tianshi Mountain had involved many people back then.
And he had assumed that those matters had long since faded with Bi Xu Zhenren's appointment as sect leader and Bao Yun Zhenren's retirement. But he never expected Bao Yun to remain silent for twenty years, only to reappear and join the rebellion.
His reason for rebellion was simple.
Because Bao Yun Zhenren was the martial uncle of Li Duanduan.
"If I couldn't be the sect leader, then the one you support shouldn't be the Heavenly Master either!"
"Zuo Mingqiu is still young and is in no position to be the Heavenly Master. Kill him, and Tianshi Mountain will be led by Li Duanduan!"
Bao Yun Zhenren declared with a ferocious, mad laugh.
Seeing this, Bi Xu Zhenren's mind wavered. The characters flickered, and he almost lost his grip on suppressing the Tongtian Great Formation. He quickly regained his focus, not daring to slacken. Li Duanduan was also struggling to hold his ground.
Witnessing this, Bao Yun Zhenren's laughter grew more rampant. Without Bi Xu's obstruction, who else could stop them from killing Zuo Mingqiu?
Below, Xu Mu looked at the large contingent of Xianyou Peak True Persons soaring into the sky, then at the stunned Lan Qi Zhenren and the others below, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
At this point, he finally understood where the mysterious forces hidden within Tianshi Mountain, who were only interested in stirring up trouble and instigating conflict between Zhao Qingdong and Zuo Mingqiu's factions to create chaos, originated from.
"So it was because of you."
Tai Wu Zhenren sighed, his expression one of great solemnity. He formed hand seals and summoned a terrifying thunderstorm from the void, instantly engulfing the Tongtian Tower.
The other three True Persons also expanded their domains, jointly guarding the Tongtian Tower, refusing to yield an inch.