C965 The Battle Began!

Nine radiant palaces descended upon the forbidden lands, arrayed like a constellation of nine Holy Mountains.

The disciples of the Profound Sky Sect, positioned at the heart of the formation, were struck by a wondrous sensation of returning to their sacred homeland. Their bodies' Spiritual Spells, souls, and senses all seemed to be in harmony with the nine palaces.

Any practitioner of the Profound Sky Sect's secret Spiritual Spells experienced an amplification in their combat prowess.

Cao Jiaze took his place atop one palace, while Guanghong ascended another. The once-prodigal talent known as Cao Yi, along with other cultivators from the Unrestrained and Yang God Stages, each claimed their positions within the palaces.

Each found their power magnified to the greatest extent within the palace that resonated with their own Spiritual Spell.

Whoosh!

Mo Baichuan of the Primordial Yang Sect unveiled the Glorious Heavenly Wheel behind him. A series of suns, ablaze like celestial fires, orbited him, transforming his form.

He morphed into an enigmatic entity wielding control over the nine suns.

"Nine-headed Demon God, Sidla!"

At Mo Baichuan's command, the nine incandescent suns surged toward the Demon God with a serpentine form and nine heads.

The crowns adorning Sidla's heads emanated a chilling, sinister glow.

The next moment, Sidla's nine-headed serpent form unleashed streams of cold, flames, corrosive acid, and the strange gleam of pure gold, clashing with the nine fierce suns conjured by Mo Baichuan.

With a grunt, Mo Baichuan's towering aspect, a hundred zhang in height, descended upon Sidla, seizing two of the serpent's heads with massive arms dripping with fiery essence.

Sidla's remaining seven heads shrieked, frantically gnashing at Mo Baichuan's divine form.

Van Heqing's light cry pierced the air as his Shattering Sword carved arcs of light, engaging in a fierce melee with Adler of the Elemental Devil Clan.

Adler's formidable devil form, composed of myriad pieces of colorful armor, shattered beneath the relentless assault of Van Heqing's sword light.

With a thunderous explosion, Adler's devil form disintegrated into a myriad of colorful armor pieces.

He groaned, and the sea of vibrant armor coalesced once more, reforming to face Van Heqing in battle anew.

Fenng Pu of the Primordial Yang Sect also manifested his Aspect, with streams of flame around his waist transforming into burning whips. He wielded them in a fierce battle against Mitts, who resembled a celestial maiden.

Mo Baichuan, Van Heqing, and Fenng Pu each chose to confront three Demon Gods, seemingly aware that these beings were behind Tang Zheng's demise. The conflict erupted in an instant.

Whoosh!

Yu Yuan's true form and his Yin God merged in a flash before soaring out of the green-black barrier. Hovering above him was a cauldron, and beneath his feet, the Soul Transformation Pool. He cast a somber gaze upon Cao Jiaze, who stood atop a palace.

Unexpectedly, the Profound Sky Sect had unleashed all nine Heaven Palace Seals to shatter the formation. Cao Yi, under the guise of Ann Jieshan, had been entrusted with two of the seals, which lowered his defenses and granted him access to the forbidden territory. With the seals' extraordinary powers, he effortlessly guided other cultivators from the Heavenly Source Continent into the restricted zone.

"Fortunately, for now, only those from the Heavenly Source Continent have entered..." Yu Yuan steadied himself after the initial shock, contemplating strategies to overturn the unfavorable situation before him.

The Profound Sky Sect boasted three Unrestrained Stage cultivators, the Primordial Yang Sect two, and the Sword Sect one—Van Heqing, known as the Shattering Sword, since Ji Ningshuang had not yet reached the Unrestrained Stage. Joining them were Spirit Void Taoist and Wai Zhuo from the Thunder Sect, as well as Ruan Fu from the Cold Yin Sect.

Representatives from the Taiyuan Sect and Cloud Water Sect had not achieved the Unrestrained Stage; their leaders were all at the Yang God level.

Within the forbidden area, three Devaputra devils loomed, alongside Beru, Mia, Sansom, Quero, Tianzang, Xi Quan, Zhou You, and Luo Yue, all capable of contending with the Unrestrained Stage cultivators of the Heavenly Source Continent. Despite the odds, Yu Yuan sensed a slight edge for his side.

As long as the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation remained intact, preventing the influx of beings from the Quietus Continent and the Demon Palace—dragons and all—the battle was not lost. This realization brought him a sense of calm.

"Yu Yuan, defend the formation with your life. We can't afford to let the invaders from the Demon Palace and the Demon Palace breach our defenses again!" Tianzang declared with a chilling smile, "From where I stand, we are anything but weak!"

His Aura Altar, which was uniquely his, burst forth from his brow, expanding a hundredfold in an instant.

Tianzang bared his teeth in a sinister grin, positioning himself above the Aura Altar. His massive demonic form, with its blue fangs, loomed over the area as he fixed his gaze on the Spirit Void Taoist. "Old coot, if you think you're worthy of a Primordial Spirit's seat, prove your mettle."

With a whoosh, the Muddy Devil Embryo shot out, transforming into a blue shadow that raced toward the Spirit Void Taoist and the Ethereal Stage's Spiritual Master.

Simultaneously, Beru, Sansom, Mia, and the other ninth-level leaders from various races were spurred into action by Tianzang's words, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

They had grasped the implications of Tianzang's statement: to strike a crippling blow to the forces from the Demon Palace and the Demon Palace before they could advance into the Heavenly Source Continent.

Should Unrestrained Stage powerhouses like Feng Pu, Mo Baichuan, Van Heqing, and the Spirit Void Taoist fall before the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation crumbled, they might still stand a fighting chance when the Golden Elephant Ancient God, Yao Huangqi, and their ilk made their entrance. The key was to prevent the enemy forces from joining together.

"Hmm?" At the trial's entrance, the nefarious cultivators from the Quietus Continent were taken aback as they beheld a series of palaces aglow with divine brilliance.

Nine stately palaces cast a resplendent light across the forbidden area, making every detail visible.

The Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation's dark green barrier, once impenetrable, now struggled to contain the radiance emanating from the nine palaces.

The barrier itself became significantly more translucent as a result.

"Nine Heaven Palace Seals!"

"There! I see Feng Pu, Mo Baichuan, and the Spirit Void Taoist!"

"The envoys from the Heavenly Source Continent have successfully breached the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation, thanks to the Nine Heaven Palace Seals!"

Excitement erupted among the ranks of the Devil Palace and Demon Palace.

"Cao Jiaze truly has some tricks up his sleeve!" The Peacock King's eyes narrowed into a smile, her gaze penetrating the barrier to spot the fallen Grey Wolf King. "That lascivious wolf still breathes. Such a shame."

Her demeanor and tone suggested she wouldn't mind seeing the Grey Wolf King, a fellow member of the Demon Palace, perish in the forbidden zone.

The infamous Grey Wolf King was unpopular, not just externally, but seemingly even within the Demon Palace itself.

"The Soul Plague remains contained," observed the Devil Envoy, her eyes flickering with clusters of clouds, as if on high alert around the frosty woman with the scorpion's tail...

Yao Huangqi whispered to herself, deducing from the Devil Envoy's behavior that she harbored a wariness towards the Ice Concubine.

"That woman is the mightiest Evil Demon within the Evil Cauldron, having evolved from a Heavenly Demon," Mo Yan said, utterly captivated as he gazed at the Ice Concubine, suspended in midair, radiating a chilling aura. "She's extraordinary, having assimilated the tombstone of the Cold Abyss Ghost King and wielding the power of the Nether Abyss."

"Nether Abyss!" Yao Huangqi's face paled slightly.

He instantly realized that the stranger from the Iridescent Cloud Miasma Sea's intent to unleash the Soul Plague upon the forbidden land must be linked to the demise of the Ice Concubine.

Despite his closeness to Zhu Zhenxun, he held an everlasting respect for the Devil Lord Tan Xiaotian.

Tan Xiaotian had once hinted that the peculiar Soul Plague of the Devil Envoy could potentially be countered by the power of the Nether Abyss—a secret known only to him, Zhu Zhenxun, and two other elders from the Devil Palace.

Thus, upon learning that the Ice Concubine could harness the power of the Nether Abyss, he understood the implications.

Swoosh!

A streak of crimson light drifted in, warping the void to reveal Ann Wen of the Blood God Cult.

"Ann Wen!"

Yao Huangqi, the Golden Elephant Ancient God, Peacock King, Mighty Spirit King, and the other formidable figures all wore stern expressions.

As peers among the mighty forces of the Boundless Land, they were well aware of Ann Wen's strength and madness. None of them felt confident that they could best Ann Wen in single combat.

When Ann Wen showed up so nonchalantly, those unaware of his motives readied themselves for a potential ambush.

"Relax, everyone. I'm just here to spectate," Ann Wen said with a playful grin, nodding and bowing to them. "As long as you don't strike at me, I'll simply observe. I've declared it before—our Blood God Cult stands neutral! Why should the Artifact Sect and the Babel Chamber of Commerce have the monopoly on neutrality and not us?"

With those words, he dismissed Yao Huangqi's potential response and turned his attention to Cao Yi, whose appearance had been altered.

A chill crept over Ann Wen's expression.

Cao Yi, seated within the confines of a grand palace, offered a respectful bow.

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