Duobao Sets Up an Array to Trap Minghe

His symbolic significance as a ceremonial vessel far outweighed his practical utility!

Tongtian possessed a Chaos Spirit Treasure bestowed upon him by Senior Lin Dong, as did his Eight Great Disciples.

Moreover, they had easily refined these Chaos Spirit Treasures, turning them into their own life-bound Dharma treasures.

With these Chaos Spirit Treasures in hand, the power of the Immortal Slaying Sword Array... was something they truly didn't think much of!

However, no one would believe such a statement if it were spoken aloud.

Naturally, there was someone in the Primordial Era who could look down upon the power of the Immortal Slaying Sword Array, and that was Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who rested high upon the nine-layered clouds.

The Dao-Protecting Divine Weapons of the Three Pure Ones were all bestowed by Hongjun.

But this absolutely did not include Tongtian!

The various Sages simply assumed Tongtian was bragging.

Yet, they were convinced!

If they had been in Tongtian's position and foreseen such a situation in advance, they would have bragged even more than he did!

Compared to the lines they had instantly thought of themselves, this Tongtian could already be considered as low-key as one could possibly be!

The two Sages of the Western Teachings had just finished sighing in their hearts when they suddenly felt something was wrong.

Why had they come here in the first place?

Were they here to sing praises for Tongtian? Were they dreaming?

They were here to save their disciples!

Zhunti immediately grew anxious: "Tongtian, hurry and have Duobao withdraw the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!"

Yuanshi sneered: "Just a moment ago, Martial Nephew Duobao and fellow Daoist Minghe agreed: one side sets the challenge, the other provides the answer!"

"Why are you reneging on your word now?"

"No wonder Junior Brother Tongtian says your character is lacking!"

Zhunti was furious!

Just as he was about to erupt in anger, he suddenly felt someone blocking his path.

Zhunti focused his gaze and saw, to his shock, that it was his senior brother, Jieyin!

Jieyin took a deep breath and smiled: "The fellow Daoists are right; we two were indeed too impatient!"

Zhunti looked at Jieyin in astonishment!

He had no idea what Jieyin was talking about!

However, the two of them had been together day and night since they first took form, and Zhunti trusted Jieyin completely.

Since his senior brother had changed his tune, there must be something else that he himself could not see.

The two Sages of the Western Teachings bid farewell to the Sages of the Mystic Gate, and in an instant, they returned to Mount Sumeru.

Jieyin said:

"Junior Brother, we were too impatient!"

Hm?

Jieyin's eyes flickered.

"The doctrine of our Western Teachings is to cultivate the present life to seek the next."

"Junior Brother, you should be clear about the Karma of the Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings."

Zhunti nodded heavily.

The Ten Thousand Immortals of the Western Teachings carried immense Karma!

If it were during peaceful times, the Western Teachings would have plenty of time to slowly resolve it, which would be their boundless Merit.

But now, during the Great Calamity, conventional methods simply would not work.

Yet, they were unwilling to let go of the massive Merit of the future, so after much thought, they found an unconventional method—seizing control of the Six Paths of Reincarnation!

The result goes without saying: they were soundly beaten by Sage Pingxin.

Their original plan to resolve the Karma of some of their disciples had also failed.

A look of great compassion appeared on Jieyin's face.

"The Immortal Slaying Sword Array is a formation that requires four Sages to break if set by one Sage; if fellow Daoist Tongtian were to set it, we would truly have no way out."

"But if Duobao sets the formation, we still have a glimmer of hope!"

Zhunti nodded.

But his expression remained grim, "Duobao is a Quasi-Saint!"

"If we want to break the array, we need four Quasi-Saints."

"But we only have Minghe and Lu Ya in our sect; where are we supposed to find the other two?"

The look of compassion on Jieyin's face grew even more profound, tinged with a faint sense of sorrow, "This is the Karma and tribulation of our disciples!"

Zhunti was rendered speechless for a moment!

They had anticipated a day like this ever since they hit a wall at the Six Paths of Reincarnation!

This was the Karma of their disciples!

Even someone as powerful as Tongtian, when faced with the Karma of these Ten Thousand Immortals, could only expel them, renounce his Sage status, disband Jiejiao, and preserve his core disciples.

Although the Western Teachings had a unique way of resolving Karma.

However, there was too little time, and they could not resolve it all.

While Tongtian could display great courage and resolve to cut off his own arm to save his life, The two Sages of the West could not bear to part with them—those were all Merit, and it pained them deeply!

Jieyin consoled him: "As long as we sacrifice a portion of our disciples, the Immortal Slaying Sword Array can be broken—and then the Investiture of the Gods Calamity will be over!"

Zhunti nodded fiercely!

The wager between the two sides was: one side sets the challenge, the other breaks it, and the loser must grant any one request made by the winner.

Zhunti's eyes suddenly lit up: "As soon as fellow Daoist Minghe comes out, we will demand their disciples directly!"

Jieyin smiled slightly: "The Eight Immortals of Biyou Palace are quite good!"

Zhunti also smiled slightly: "Excellent!"

The Eight Immortals of Biyou Palace were, after all, eight True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue!

And they were all Quasi-Saints!

Just thinking about it made the two Sages of the West incredibly excited!

In the Zixiao Palace beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, Hongjun watched the smiling Two Sages of the West, speechless; their smiles suggested they thought the Western Teachings already had the victory in the bag!

The Dao Ancestor's face turned dark!

He simply could not understand it.

The Eight Immortals of Biyou Palace were eight peak Quasi-Saints!

And they were peak Quasi-Saints who were also True Immortals of Fortune and Virtue!

What could the Western Teachings possibly use to win?

Hongjun thought for a moment, and his expression shifted again; he had realized the reason—the two Sages of the West lacked sufficient cultivation and could not see through the true strength of Duobao and the others!

Normally, this would be impossible.

But Hongjun happened to know the reason—Penglai Immortal Island!

The amount of Merit on those eight True Immortals of Biyou Palace was absurd!

Hongjun secretly calculated that if their cultivation reached the Hunyuan realm and they possessed Primordial Violet Qi, it would be enough for them to attain the Dao directly!

Besides the Master of Penglai Immortal Island, who else could have such a grand hand?

For the mysterious Master of Penglai Immortal Island, these Merits were likely just a casual gesture!

However, this severely disrupted his plans!

What Hongjun had not expected even more was that Tongtian had actually passed the Immortal Slaying Sword Array to Duobao!

This was originally a lethal weapon Hongjun intended to use to scheme against Tongtian.

He never expected that, after many twists and turns, it would be used by Duobao to deal with the original Ten Thousand Immortals of Jiejiao!

Hongjun's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

In his design, sixty percent of the Ten Thousand Immortals of Jiejiao were indeed meant to be slaughtered.

However, it was not supposed to be Duobao doing the killing!

It was supposed to be the Two Saints of the Mystic Gate, Taishang and Yuanshi!

Furthermore, times had changed.

When Hongjun designed this, he had not expected that the Ten Thousand Immortals who originally belonged to Jiejiao would be handed over directly to the Western Teachings.

To him, this was a massive stroke of good fortune.

Hongjun did not want the Ten Thousand Immortals to be slaughtered at all!

It was just that...

He swept a glance at the Four Saints of the Mystic Gate, who were eyeing the two Sages of Jiejiao like tigers stalking their prey.

Wanting the Western Teachings to win was going to be difficult!

No!

He had to find a way.

Appearing directly was certainly out of the question.

Then he would have to take a roundabout approach!

Hongjun made up his mind!

The Immortal Slaying Sword Diagram had enclosed all the great powers on the Investiture of the Gods Battlefield.

The disciples of the Mystic Gate were all jubilant.

The disciples of the Western Teachings turned pale with fright!

They shouted in unison: "The Immortal Slaying Sword Array!"

However, their tones were vastly different.

The Eastern Mystic Gate disciples were pleasantly surprised.

The Western Teachings disciples were terrified!

Minghe was stunned, and after he realized what was happening, his face turned livid: "Duobao, you actually borrowed the Immortal Slaying Sword Array from the master of Biyou Palace?!"

Duobao suddenly realized: "Ah? So you wanted the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!"

"As you wish!"

Huh?

What did that mean?

Did that mean the question Duobao had posed earlier was about how to leave the Immortal Slaying Sword Diagram?

It wasn't about how to break the Immortal Slaying Sword Array?

Then what was the point of what he had just said?

Had he increased the difficulty for himself?

Just as Minghe was about to speak, he saw four precious swords fly out from the top of Duobao's head!

They arranged themselves toward the east, west, south, and north.

They were none other than the four peerless, vicious swords: the Immortal Slaying Sword, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, the Immortal Trapping Sword, and the Immortal Vanquishing Sword!

As soon as the four swords were set in place, the interior of the Immortal Slaying Sword Array changed instantly.

Endless killing intent and murderous aura manifested out of thin air, and the four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind rolled and surged.

Minghe turned pale with horror and roared: "Form the formation, bring out your defensive magic treasures!"

But how could they be fast enough?

The Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind belonged to the four disasters of the Heaven-Opening Calamity; even a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal had to handle them with caution.

Among the disciples of the Western Teachings, there were over three thousand Primordial Unity Golden Immortals, and more than half of them could not react in time, becoming tainted by these four disasters.

In an instant, they were reduced to ashes!!

The disciples of the Western Teachings were silent!

They were stunned by this sudden turn of events!

Minghe's heart was bleeding.

He was the successor heavily cultivated by the two Sages of the West.

He knew deeply what these three thousand-plus Primordial Unity Golden Immortals represented—they were a massive amount of Merit!

But, in the blink of an eye, they were gone!!

The confidence the Western Teachings disciples had originally held was directly shattered by these four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind!

If these disciples had been killed or fallen on a conventional battlefield, the disciples of the Western Teachings would never have even blinked.

The doctrine of the Western Teachings was to cultivate in this life to seek the next; even facing death was not a source of despair for them!

But to perish at the hands of the four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, where not even their True Spirit could escape, meant they were utterly annihilated, body and soul!

How could there be a next life after that?!

They were afraid!

Having been fated to attain enlightenment and enter the Dao, who didn't want to achieve the ultimate liberation?

The cultivators of the Western Teachings were also immortals, and naturally, they yearned to attain Great Liberation.

Falling to the four disasters of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind was simply not something they could endure!

Duobao looked at Minghe with a strange expression.

"Fellow Daoist, I originally only intended for you to explain how to leave this Immortal Slaying Sword Diagram."

"But since you insist on the Immortal Slaying Sword Array, I have no choice but to satisfy you!"

"By the way, this Immortal Slaying Sword Array was not borrowed from my Master; it was bestowed upon me by him a long time ago."

He smiled slightly.

"My junior brothers and sisters can all bear witness to this!"

Minghe's heart went cold in an instant!

He didn't believe a single word of what Duobao said!

Satisfying his request?

Tongtian bestowing the Immortal Slaying Sword Array long ago?

Did he take him for a complete fool?

The Immortal Slaying Sword Array was the supreme treasure of the former Jiejiao, something that even Sages would covet.

Could Tongtian just casually bestow it upon Duobao?

It must have been lent to him specifically for this battle.

However, pointing that out was meaningless!

Duobao said with a beaming smile, "This is the challenge I have set."

"As long as you can break the Immortal Slaying Sword Array, then the fate of us disciples of the Mystic Gate will be decided by you!"

"But if you cannot..."

Duobao's smile vanished.

"Then please ascend the Investiture of the Gods List!"

He commanded, "Junior Sister Qiongxiao, please guard the Immortal Slaying Sword with me!"

"Junior Sister Jinling, Junior Sister Bixiao, please guard the Immortal Slaughtering Sword!"

"Junior Sister Wudang, Junior Sister Yunxiao, please guard the Immortal Trapping Sword."

"Junior Sister Guiling, Junior Brother Zhao Gongming, please guard the Immortal Vanquishing Sword!"

The seven immortals bowed in unison: "We obey the Senior Brother's decree!"

Duobao then instructed, "Teacher Randeng, please lead the fellow Daoists from Chan Jiao and the Wa Imperial Palace as a mobile force, patrolling beneath each sword."

Randeng dared not act arrogant and readily complied.

The Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Jiao, having just been pressured by Yuanshi, dared not say a word.

Furthermore, this was the legendary supreme killing formation; their sense of security increased greatly.

The courage of everyone in Chan Jiao surged.

After finishing his instructions, Duobao smiled at Minghe again.

"Fellow Daoist, this is the Immortal Slaying Sword Array."

"I will tell you the method to break the array directly."

"As long as you can remove the Immortal Slaying Four Swords simultaneously, the great array will be broken!"

"However... even if you remove three swords, as long as one remains..."

"The sword array cannot be broken!"

Duobao added with a smile, "I am telling the truth; believe it or not, that is up to you!"

Lu Ya sneered: "Would you be so kind?!"

He said to Minghe: "Teacher, you must not believe this fellow's words—he appears honest on the surface, but he is full of wicked schemes!"

The Two Sages of the West treated Minghe with great respect, addressing him as a fellow Daoist.

Therefore, the Western Teachings all addressed Minghe as Teacher.

Minghe nodded.

He stared fixedly at the Immortal Slaying Four Swords, his mind racing to devise a countermeasure.

The Immortal Slaying Sword Array was renowned throughout the Primordial Era, the supreme treasure of Biyou Palace.

However, very few people actually knew the method to break it.

This, is the Heavenly Secret!

Minghe asked Chang'er Dingguang Xian—he who was originally the Attendant Immortal most trusted by Tongtian, "Fellow Daoist, is what Duobao said true?"

Chang'er Dingguang Xian's face was full of shame: "Teacher, this disciple truly does not know!"

Lingya Xian, however, said: "Teacher, although this disciple does not know how to break this array, I am willing to try!"

Minghe thought for a moment and immediately made a decision, "I will trouble you five fellow Daoists to go and attack the Immortal Vanquishing Sword together!"

"I will arrange for others to block the enemies for you!"

Chang'er Dingguang Xian glared fiercely at Lingya Xian without a trace, wishing in his heart he could kill him.

This is the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!

How could it be so easily broken?

Yet this guy had to go and show off!

Chang'er Dingguang Xian dared not disobey Minghe's orders, so he had to bow along with the four other immortals: "We obey your decree!"

The Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace all had cold light in their eyes: "Chang'er Dingguang Xian... he deserves to die!"

Those with different paths cannot make plans together!

In the past, Tongtian gathered the Ten Thousand Immortals of Jiejiao in Biyou Palace to expel the inferior disciples.

The reasons given were all different.

The other immortals were expelled from the great sect because their sins were heavy and their Karma was too deep.

Only Chang'er Dingguang Xian, Lingya Xian, Qiushou Xian, Jinguang Xian, and Piluxian were expelled for being two-faced!

Regarding those disciples with heavy sins, The Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace, from Duobao downwards, truly did not take them to heart.

Those with deep Karma were destined to turn to dust sooner or later.

It was not good to have even half a point of entanglement with them.

But the Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace could not let go of the five Attendant Immortals!

The Attendant Immortals of any Sage are the most trusted disciples of those Sages—without exception!

The Attendant Immortal of Taishang of the Human Sect is Grand Master Xuandu.

The Attendant Immortal of Yuanshi of Chan Jiao is Antarctic Immortal.

The Attendant Immortal of Nuwa of the Wa Imperial Palace is Fairy Qingluan.

The Attendant Immortal of Jieyin of the Western Teachings is Mahasthamaprapta, and the Attendant Immortal of Zhunti is Maitreya.

These Attendant Immortals may not be named as personal or true disciples, but they are direct descendants!

They understand what the personal disciples and true disciples understand.

In fact, they even understand things that the others do not!

It was the same for Tongtian.

And because Tongtian taught without discrimination and was all-encompassing, The original seven Attendant Immortals had a relationship with Tongtian that was even above these true disciples!

It was only the secrets that certain sect-leading disciples needed to know that they were not qualified to learn.

Their status was quite transcendent.

Duobao and the others did not know, That in another timeline, when Jiejiao faced the siege of the four Sages, Tongtian entrusted the Six Soul Banner, the hope for Jiejiao's comeback, to Chang'er Dingguang Xian—not to any of the true disciples.

This is enough to show how much Tongtian valued Chang'er Dingguang Xian.

Otherwise, the Eight Great Disciples of Biyou Palace would have been even more furious!

But even if they did not know, The spiritual sense of peak Quasi-Saints told them that these five immortals must die!

In the Primordial Era, only Karma is discussed, not right or wrong.

There is a saying that circulates in the Primordial Era: trust only your own spiritual sense, do not trust your own logical judgment!

Because, the Heavenly Dao exists in the Primordial Era!

And the spiritual sense of a cultivator is the opportunity bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.

Often, at certain times, there is a feeling of a sudden impulse.

This is the Heavenly Dao giving a warning!

Duobao, Jinling, Wudang, Guiling, Zhao Gongming, and Sanxiao exchanged glances and gave a slight nod.

No matter which sword these five immortals attacked, they were doomed to die!

On the other side, Chang'er Dingguang Xian wished he could devour Lingya Xian alive!

Ever since he was taken in as a disciple by Tongtian, he had been ranked alongside the other six as an Attendant Immortal.

He had spent countless millennia getting along with Lingya Xian and the others!

How could he not know this guy's habits?

This fellow had an extremely sycophantic personality.

In other words, he was a bootlicker!

Beyond that, he loved to show off and often lost track of who he was!

But, one had to consider the situation!

This was the Immortal Slaying Sword Array!