694: Chapter 693 Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Suppressing Emperor Formation

Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan gave them absolutely no gap to speak.

The curve of his lips twisted abruptly, like the cruel grin of a hunter in the final moment before a trap snaps shut—this smile was entangled with mystery, exuding a chill that made one's bones freeze.

"However—"

His tone shifted sharply, his voice like an ice blade scraping across the firmament, the coldness rushing toward them:

"Since you have come, none of you need to leave."

As the four words fell, his gaze sank like iron, and in a flash of lightning, he shouted two words:

"Act."

Before his words had even finished exploding in the air, the entire Zhenwu Dynasty imperial capital seemed to snap its eyes open from a thousand-year slumber.

The ground came alive.

Dense arrays of formation patterns erupted from deep beneath the imperial capital, like countless angry snakes slithering madly. Golden light sprayed and splashed from every crack in the bricks, scorching the firmament for ten thousand miles into a sea of molten gold.

These formation patterns took the imperial palace as their center, linking ring by ring, circle upon circle, complex enough to make one's heart race and eyes dazzle; every strand of the pattern held the Aura of the ancient, primeval wilderness, like fangs buried deep in the earth for thousands of years, suddenly revealing their sharp, white edges specifically for this moment today.

Xuanyuan Zhandao's expression changed for the first time.

Almost instinctively, he took a step forward, blood-red patterns on his heavy black armor spinning wildly, and a thick layer of profound black True Qi shield condensed in an instant, enveloping Chu Zhanxiao, Jian Tanghuang, and Xuanyuan Zhanxian within it.

At the same instant, First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou's long sword, which had never been unsheathed, was finally pushed out by a third.

Beneath the scabbard, a sword light as bright as shattered moonlight flashed and vanished, like a thunderbolt that suddenly tore through the night, cleaving a brief fissure in the surging ripples of the formation patterns.

"Go!" Xuanyuan Zhandao's low shout was like muffled thunder rolling across the world.

He waved his large sleeve, and vast profound black True Qi surged out, wrapping around the three of them as he prepared to soar into the sky.

However—

"Boom!!!"

An invisible barrier hung in the sky ten thousand feet high, like a giant golden stele hanging down from the firmament, slamming the four of them back firmly.

The barrier was semi-transparent gold, its surface flowing with ancient imprints identical to the formation patterns on the ground, exuding a majestic pressure as if it had stood there since time immemorial, as if the entire firmament had collapsed, pressing down until their internal organs felt slightly heavy.

Xuanyuan Zhandao's figure paused, a rare look of gravity flashing in his eyes.

As the Great Wu Shenwu Great General, having traversed the battlefield for thousands of years and rolled through countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his intuition for danger had long been honed to the extreme.

The formation before him was by no means an ordinary trapping formation conceived on the spur of the moment—it was a Legacy-bound National Protection Formation.

Using the entire imperial capital as its foundation, using the Luck of the ten-thousand-mile territory as its guide, and repeatedly irrigated with the heart's blood of dozens of generations of emperors, only then was this ancient fang buried deep underground forged.

"Hahaha—" Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan's laughter rolled in from outside the formation, that sense of satisfaction suppressed for too long finally pouring out like a bursting tidal wave:

"Do you really think that for these past ten-plus years, I have been safely enjoying blessings on this Zhenwu throne?"

He stood with his hands behind his back atop the highest flying eaves of the imperial palace, looking down at the people trapped within the surging golden patterns below, the smile on his face bordering on madness:

"From the moment Chu Changsheng took Chu Zhanxiao away, I have been thinking day and night—if one day you dared to step into my Zhenwu imperial capital, how I would make you... never return!"

Amplified by the great formation, his voice rang out like bells and drums, echoing between heaven and earth, every word like iron:

"This 'Nine Heavens Ten Earths Imperial Suppression Formation' is the state-protecting formation passed down by the founding ancestor of the Wutian Kingdom, continuously reinforced by thirty-six generations of emperors of my Zhenwu Dynasty, using the Dragon Qi of the imperial capital's ley lines as its bones, and the Luck of the million-mile territory as its soul—even if an Ascension Stage powerhouse were trapped within it, they would not easily escape!"

The moment his words fell, deep within the Zhenwu imperial palace, five terrifying Auras simultaneously soared into the sky, like five volcanoes that had been silent for ten thousand years erupting at once, rising into the clouds like flames.

Each of these five Auras was thick and heavy, like five great mountains pressing down from thin air; even from tens of miles away, one could feel that heavy sense of oppression, as if heaven and earth were trembling slightly.

The leading Aura among them was even more vast like the sea, unfathomable, carrying a trace of an ancient, primeval Aura that made one want to prostrate themselves.

An aged yet vigorous voice slowly emanated from the Forbidden Ground of the imperial palace. The voice was not loud, but every word was clear, as if it were ringing right beside one's ear:

"Three thousand years... it has been three thousand years since any foreign enemy has dared to step into the Zhenwu imperial capital so brazenly."

A figure strolled out from the depths of the Forbidden Ground.

This was an old man dressed in a cyan Daoist robe, his white hair like snow, yet his face was ruddy and full, like that of a middle-aged man. In his deep eyes, it seemed as if stars were revolving and all things were being born and dying.

With every step he took, the formation patterns beneath his feet brightened by a point; when he stood firmly before the main gate of the imperial palace, the light of the entire formation erupted to the extreme, dyeing the sky for a hundred miles around into a brilliant molten gold.

The Zhenwu Old Ancestor—Old Ancestor Qingfeng.

All the Cultivators of the Zhenwu Dynasty present, regardless of their cultivation level, upon seeing that figure, all bowed in unison, their eyes filled with awe that came from the marrow of their bones.

Even Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan slightly turned his body and nodded to the old man in greeting.

Old Ancestor Qingfeng nodded slightly, his gaze passing over the layers of swirling formation patterns and landing on Xuanyuan Zhandao and First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou, who were trapped in the formation.

He first paused on Xuanyuan Zhandao's heavy black armor, narrowing his eyes slightly:

"Shenwu Great General... I remember you. Three thousand years ago in the Battle of the Southern Wilderness, you were nothing but a junior at the Soul Transformation Stage, charging and killing behind Xuanyuan Batian. I did not expect that three thousand years later, you have also reached the Peak of the Mahayana Stage—truly, time is like a blade, whittling people away without them even noticing."

He turned his gaze to First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou, and true gravity finally appeared in his eyes:

"Prince Jian, it has been three hundred years. Your Sword Intent has become three parts heavier. The demeanor you displayed that year when you slew the Demon Emperor with a single sword, I still remember vividly to this day."

First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou stood there expressionless, his long sword already sheathed, his white clothes appearing even colder and frostier under the reflection of the golden formation light.

He did not answer, his gaze instead passing over the old man and landing on the four soaring Auras that had risen in succession behind the imperial palace's Forbidden Ground.

The four of them were all old men and women dressed in ancient attire, three men and one woman, their Auras without exception all at the Peak of the Late Mahayana Stage.

Standing alongside Old Ancestor Qingfeng, they were like five eternal divine statues, guarding the four poles of heaven and earth.

Five at the Peak of the Late Mahayana Stage.

Among them, one was even an Old Ancestor-level existence at the Mahayana Perfection, half-step to Ascension.

Adding in Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan, a Late Mahayana Stage true emperor, and those eight vassals at the Early, Mid, and Late Mahayana Stages—

The top-tier combat power displayed by the Zhenwu Dynasty today was already so heavy that it made one's heart tighten.

"Heh—" Xuanyuan Zhandao suddenly let out a low, cold laugh.

There was no fear in this laughter, but rather a kind of nearly cruel mockery.

He slowly raised his head, and beneath his black mask, those eyes were like two black suns burning everything to ashes, scorching and frigid:

"Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan, you have laid a trap for over a decade just to wipe us all out today?"

He paused, the hoarse, metallic texture in his voice becoming even more chilling:

"Have you ever thought—since we dared to come, why would we fear your mere formation?"

First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou did not say a word, but his hand had already slowly gripped the hilt of his sword.

This hand was slender and steady, the knuckles slightly white.

The temperature of the entire battlefield, at the instant he gripped the sword hilt, suddenly dropped by three parts.

The smile on Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan's face stiffened slightly.

Old Ancestor Qingfeng's gaze also, for the first time, changed from composed to focused and sharp.

And Chu Zhanxiao, who had been standing silently behind Xuanyuan Zhandao, suddenly spoke softly.

His voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the surging Killing Intent that filled the field:

"Senior Brother... Senior Sister."

His voice was calm, even carrying a trace of apology: "Sorry, I have dragged you both into this as well."

Jian Tanghuang did not even turn her head, her crimson martial attire fluttering fiercely in the golden light, her tone as casual as if she were speaking of a matter of course:

"What silly things are you saying? You are our Junior Brother; if I don't protect you, who will?"

Xuanyuan Zhanxian turned his head slightly, looked at Chu Zhanxiao, and a very faint yet very warm curve appeared at the corner of his mouth: "We are family; there is no need to speak of two families."

Chu Zhanxiao looked at their backs and did not speak again.

He only slowly gripped the silver-gold halberd in his hand, and deep within his silver-gold pupils, this trace of cold sharpness began to dance violently.

He knew that today, this battle was unavoidable.

He also knew that his current cultivation in a confrontation of this level might be nothing more than a thin boat in a raging storm.

But he knew even more—he had never intended to stand behind others, watching helplessly as others' blood flowed for him.

"Hum—" The silver-gold halberd emitted a low and majestic hum.

Silver-gold True Qi surged out from his body like a bursting torrent, pouring into the halberd shaft; the dense patterns on the halberd lit up one by one, blooming with an ancient and tyrannical Aura.

Chu Zhanxiao's gaze became sharper than ever before.

He knew that his opponents today were those old monsters of the Mahayana Stage.

But he was not afraid.

Because standing behind him were his Senior Brother, his Senior Sister, his Revered Master who treated him like his own child, and that Shenwu Great General who always protected him behind his back and always taught him to stand straight and be a man with a backbone.

He took a deep breath, crushing all distracting thoughts in his heart and pressing them into the deepest part of his lungs.

Then—he took a step forward.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Xuanyuan Zhanxian and Jian Tanghuang.

The three of them were like three newly unsheathed sharp swords, standing behind Xuanyuan Zhandao and First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou, forming a second front line.

And in front, Xuanyuan Zhandao and First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou also, at the same instant—completely released all their Aura.

Two majestic Auras of the Peak Mahayana Stage, half-step to Ascension, soared like angry dragons, colliding violently with the surging golden formation patterns in the formation, erupting with a roar like the fission of stars.

The entire Zhenwu Dynasty imperial capital trembled violently at this moment.

Zhenwu Emperor Li Tianxuan stood atop the flying eaves of the imperial palace, looking down at the two figures as towering as mountains below, and the smile at the corner of his mouth finally vanished completely.

Replacing it was a decisiveness that was chilling to the bone.

"Since you have come—" He slowly raised his right hand, his five fingers spread open, facing the sky dyed golden.

"Then stay here, all of you."

"Formation activate—kill!"

The moment the last word exploded out, within the entire Nine Heavens Ten Earths Imperial Suppression Formation, countless golden sword lights condensed from thin air, like a golden rainstorm, pouring down onto the people in the formation!

At the same time, the four old men and women at the Peak of the Late Mahayana Stage behind Old Ancestor Qingfeng also moved at the same instant.

The five of them transformed into five streams of light, from five completely different directions, surrounding and strangling Xuanyuan Zhandao and First-Rank Prince Jian Jiuzhou!

The great battle—it ignited at the slightest touch.