346: Forced Breakthrough

The scene of a dozen Cultivators instantly turning to ashes before the Emperors Tomb made the fanatic crowd feel as if they had plunged into an ice cave, their greed instantly suppressed by cold fear.

“This tomb is guarded by an Emperor Formation. Forcing entry means certain death!”

The voice of a Venerable Elder from the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, who specialized in the Dao of Formations, trembled. The Compass in his hand spun wildly, and his Divine Thought locked onto the terrifying, flickering runes at the entrance.

“No! Although this Formation is powerful and contains boundless Emperor's might, it has endured for countless ages, and time is merciless!”

A glint flashed in his eyes, as if he had discovered a shocking secret.

“Even the supreme Formation laid down by an Ancient Great Emperor cannot escape the erosion of the River of Time!

It's just that its overall structure is too profound, and the damaged areas are hidden extremely deep, making them undetectable by ordinary people!

As long as we search carefully, we will surely find the weak points of the Formation!”

“Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and search!”

Many factions immediately dispatched Formation Great Masters to investigate, attempting to find flaws in the Formation.

After an unknown period, just as everyone was gradually losing patience, a voice suddenly rang out excitedly!

“Found it! At the Southeast Xun position and the Northwest Qian position, there are several spots where the Dao Rhyme circulation is obscure and the rune connections seem cracked!

Those are permanent damages left by the erosion of time—fatal weaknesses that the Formation can no longer heal by itself!”

An ancient voice, suppressing excitement and trembling, suddenly sounded, like a stone shattering the calm of a pool.

Everyone looked over, only to see a Formation Grandmaster from the Central Province whose white hair and beard moved without wind, and whose cloudy old eyes were now bursting with bright light.

“Fellow Daoist, is this true?!”

The Imperial Lord of Great Zhou stepped forward, Imperial Dragon Qi faintly visible around him, his gaze like a torch.

“Absolutely true. Imperial Lord and everyone, please look——”

The Formation Grandmaster took a deep breath. His already withered body seemed to shrink by another third, but the Aura around him suddenly soared.

His hands quickly danced, forming countless dazzling ancient seals.

“Qian, Kun, Xun, Zhen! The Four Symbols rotate, the Qi mechanism pulls, Manifest!”

With a final Dao shout, he used his own pure Formation Dao cultivation as a guide and fiercely urged it forward!

“Buzz——!”

A thin, hair-like, yet incredibly condensed azure spiritual light, containing a specific guiding Dao Rhyme, shot out abruptly, sinking with extreme precision into the southeast region of the vast and terrifying Emperor Formation ahead.

“Crack!!”

A faint sound, extremely subtle yet clearly audible to all the experts present, drifted over.

Everyone focused their gaze, and saw that in the Void Realm of the Southeast Xun position, several core Emperor Dao runes, which were originally integrated and continuously flowing with light...

...had their brilliant divine light suddenly flicker, flash, and dim several times uncontrollably!

It was as if they lacked sufficient power and could not maintain a stable radiance.

Even more alarming was that in the instant the runes flickered, a few strands of spiderweb-like, extremely subtle dark cracks faintly appeared where they connected with the surrounding Dao patterns!

Although they vanished in a flash, quickly covered by the flowing Formation pattern light, what kind of eyesight did the people present possess? That momentary flaw was firmly captured!

The Formation Grandmaster's face was as pale as gold foil, clearly indicating immense exhaustion.

“Fellow Daoist, your mastery of Formations is profound; I admire you.” The Imperial Lord of Great Zhou's gaze held a hint of approval.

“Since the weak points have been found, what method should be used to break this Formation?”

As soon as he spoke, the eyes of all the powerful figures focused once again on the withered Formation Grandmaster, filled with anticipation.

However, under everyone's gaze, the flush of excitement quickly faded from the Grandmaster's face, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness and bitterness.

He slowly shook his head, his voice hoarse from exhaustion and filled with unconcealed reverence:

“Imperial Lord, you overpraise me. I am unworthy of such praise.

To merely find this flaw was already a stroke of luck, achieved only by borrowing the power of time and the Formation's own operational mechanism to glimpse a trace.”

He shook his head heavily again, his gaze toward the vast Emperor Formation filled with an almost pilgrimage-like awe.

“This is a supreme Restriction personally laid down by an Ancient Great Emperor. Even with the wear of time, the profound nature of its fundamental structure and the interweaving of its Dao principles are far beyond what we junior Cultivators can fathom. To be able to glimpse it is our limit. As for breaking the Formation...”

He scanned the surroundings and said, word by word:

“Forgive this old man for speaking frankly, but we are powerless. This cannot be solved by technique or deduction. It is like an ant seeing a crack in a mountain, but absolutely lacking the strength to move the mountain.”

The atmosphere instantly solidified.

“Are we just supposed to watch, entering a mountain of treasures only to return empty-handed?”

An Elder from a Holy Land couldn't help but ask anxiously.

“It is not entirely hopeless.”

The Formation Grandmaster stabilized his breathing, and a complex light flashed in his eyes.

“If the path of technique is blocked, only one route remains: using absolute external force to forcibly strike and tear open this weak spot!”

He slowed his speech, his tone carrying a strong warning:

“However, this method is extremely perilous! The Emperor Formation possesses its own spirituality, and its counterattack might be earth-shattering.

Moreover, external force will inevitably trigger a chain reaction throughout the entire Grand Formation, causing an unpredictable storm of destruction! The extent and scope of the impact are immeasurable!”

His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over the hearts of many who had been blinded by greed.

Forcibly breaking the Formation required bearing such terrifying consequences and risks!

Consideration, hesitation, and apprehension circulated in the eyes of the various faction leaders.

“Hmph!”

A cold snort, full of wildness and disdain, exploded like thunder, originating from the bronze war chariot pulled by Nine Flood Dragons belonging to the Southern Region Demon Clan!

“Looking ahead and behind, being overly cautious—is that the behavior of a seeker of the Dao? Why make such a fuss over a mere broken Formation!”

Before the voice faded, a figure on the war chariot suddenly stepped forward. It was the Demon Lord of the Southern Domain!

His Demonic Qi soared to the heavens. In his hand, he held up an object: an ancient bronze bell, covered in savage totems, which was currently emitting a terrifying Aura that forced all Yao to submit and made the Void Realm tremble!

“The Demon Emperor Bell! It's the Yao Race's Supreme Emperor Weapon!”

An old-generation Cultivator with extensive knowledge cried out in shock.

“Not good! Retreat quickly!” Ling Canglan's expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly.

But it was already too late!

The Demon Lord of the Southern Domain revealed a cruel, ferocious smile. Disregarding the dense crowd below, he frantically poured massive Demonic Power into the bronze bell!

“Clang——!”

A crisp bell sound, yet containing the supreme will of destruction, echoed through heaven and earth!

The bronze bell swelled upon meeting the wind, transforming into the size of a mountain. Its mouth aimed at the weak node of the Emperors Tomb Restriction, and it shook violently!

A visible, dark cyan sound wave of destruction, like a massive flood wave breaching a dam, or the collective roar of billions of Yao Beasts, carrying terrifying demonic might capable of crushing stars and slaughtering the populace, violently slammed forward!

Simple! Brutal! Utterly reckless!

“Madman!”

“How dare the Yao Race!” Several Holy Lords of the Human Race were both shocked and furious.

Below, countless Cultivators were so terrified their Souls Flying Away and Spirits Scattering!

“Combine forces to resist!”

Several Holy Lord-level figures were forced to act in haste, jointly setting up defenses to protect the disciples behind them.

However, the Demon Emperor Bell's attack was too sudden and too concentrated!

“Rumble!!!!!”

The dark cyan sound wave collided fiercely with the Emperors Tomb Restriction!

A destructive energy storm swept wildly in all directions like a tsunami!

“Run!”

Piercing screams and desperate shouts were drowned out by the roar of energy.

The crowd completely collapsed, trampling over each other just to get one inch farther away from the storm of death.

The destructive turbulence was still expanding, threatening to turn the area outside the Emperors Tomb entrance into a desolate land that would swallow tens of thousands of lives!