The three-day deadline passed in the blink of an eye.
Xi Qi City remained as deathly silent as ever.
The immortals of the Sect of Explanation paced like ants on a hot pan, unable to sit still.
The Nine Bends Yellow River Formation was even more terrifying than they had imagined.
In just three days, they had clearly felt one of the Three Flowers on their Crowns grow dim, while the Five Qi in their Chests had begun to fall into disarray.
Though the changes were slight, the sensation of their cultivation regressing made every one of them break out in a cold sweat.
At this rate, forget a hundred years—in less than ten, they would be knocked down an entire realm!
"Why hasn't Junior Brother Jiang come back yet?" Taiyi Zhenren, the most impatient of them all, paced back and forth in the courtyard, fidgeting anxiously.
"The journey from Xi Qi to Kunlun Mountain is long. The round trip will take at least five or six days. Junior Brother, please be patient." True Man Yuding was anxious too, but managed to stay composed.
Guangchengzi said nothing. He merely looked up at the yellow fog beyond the city, his face so gloomy it seemed water might drip from it.
He had a faint sense of foreboding.
Would their master come?
For his disciples' sake, would their master really disregard the dignity of a Sage and personally take the field to deal with three juniors?
He couldn't be sure.
While the immortals of the Sect of Explanation endured their agonizing wait, Bi Xiao had nearly run out of patience in the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation outside the city.
"Eldest Sister! It's been three days! Those cowards still haven't even dared to make a peep!"
Standing on the high platform at the Formation Eye, Bi Xiao complained to Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao.
"Did that old Jiang Ziya get lost on his way to Kunlun Mountain?"
Qiong Xiao frowned as well. "Are they planning to hide in the city until we run out of patience and take down the formation ourselves?"
"In their dreams!" Bi Xiao scoffed. "They can wait us out? We can wait them out too! Our elder brother's revenge is still unavenged. I'd guard this place for a thousand years, even ten thousand, before I ever took down the formation!"
Yun Xiao looked at her two anxious younger sisters and gently shook her head.
"They'll come out."
Her voice was as calm as ever.
"The disciples of the Sect of Explanation are all arrogant, and think of themselves as the orthodox heirs of the Mystic Gate. Now we've trapped them in the city and made them a laughingstock throughout the Primordial Era. They won't be able to endure this humiliation for long."
"We just need to add a little more fuel to the fire."
Yun Xiao's gaze fell beyond the formation, on the wandering cultivators from all across the Primordial Era who had come to watch from afar out of curiosity.
These past few days, word that the Three Xiao sisters had set up the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation and trapped the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation had spread throughout the Primordial Era like wildfire.
Countless powerful wandering cultivators had secretly made their way to the area around Xi Qi, eager to witness the great spectacle of infighting within the Mystic Gate.
"Bi Xiao," Yun Xiao called.
"Here, Eldest Sister!" Bi Xiao answered at once.
"Go to the front of the formation and tell the spectators about its mysteries," Yun Xiao said calmly. "Let them know just how powerful my Nine Bends Yellow River Formation is. And make sure those inside the city hear you clearly too."
"Got it!"
Bi Xiao's eyes lit up. She instantly understood what her eldest sister had in mind.
This was a way to strike at their hearts as well as their bodies!
She gave a wicked grin, then flashed to the edge of the formation.
She cleared her throat, gathered her magical power, and sent her voice ringing clearly across a thousand li.
"Hey, fellow Daoists and fellow disciples! Come take a look, everyone!"
Bi Xiao's voice was bright and sweet, but her words were full of mockery.
"Everyone says the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation are powerful and mighty. So how come the three of us sisters have them penned up in Xi Qi City like a pack of turtles hiding in their shell?"
"You probably don't know just how powerful the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation we sisters set up is!"
"This formation follows the Three Powers within, conceals the Nine Palaces, and encompasses all things. Within it are the Immortal-Confusing Pill and the Immortal-Sealing Incantation. It can rob immortals of their divine sense, dissolve their souls, trap their forms, weaken their vital energy, strip away their foundations, and cripple their limbs. When immortals enter, they become mortals; when mortals enter, they turn to ashes!"
"Best of all, even if they stay hidden in the city, my formation can strip away the Three Flowers on their Crowns and destroy the Five Qi in their Chests from a thousand li away! In less than ten years, no matter how powerful a Grand Unity Golden Immortal may be, he'll be reduced to a helpless mortal!"
As Bi Xiao spoke, she punctuated her words with lively gestures, her expression animated as she spun her tale.
The wandering cultivators watching from afar listened in astonishment, chattering among themselves.
"My heavens, there's really a formation that powerful?"
"The Three Xiao Immortals truly live up to their reputation! The Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation have finally met their match!"
"Serves them right! They're always looking down on us wandering cultivators. Now someone's trapped them at home and is cursing them out. It's so satisfying!"
Every word of their discussion and laughter carried into Xi Qi City and reached the ears of the Sect of Explanation's immortals.
"Pfft—"
Taiyi Zhenren, the most hot-tempered of them all, was already burning with rage. After hearing Bi Xiao's heart-piercing taunts, he could hold back no longer and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Unforgivable! This is too much!!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a madman.
"I'd rather die fighting in the formation than endure such humiliation!!"
With that, he actually summoned his Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover. It transformed into a streak of fire as he prepared to charge out of the city!
"Junior Brother! Don't!"
Guangchengzi was horrified. He hurriedly summoned the Sky-Turning Seal to stop him.
"If you go out now, you'll only be throwing your life away!"
"Then let me die! It's better than hiding here like a coward!" Taiyi Zhenren roared.
"You!" Guangchengzi was so furious he couldn't speak.
It wasn't only Taiyi Zhenren. Chijingzi, True Man Huanglong, and the other Golden Immortals were all red-faced too, clearly on the verge of exploding.
The disciples of the Sect of Explanation valued their reputations above all else.
Now, in front of the entire Primordial Era, the Three Xiao sisters were grinding their pride into the dirt.
This torment was worse than death!
Just as the Sect of Explanation was on the verge of falling into open revolt,
a streak of golden light shot in from the eastern horizon and landed in Xi Qi City.
It was Jiang Ziya, who had hurried back from Kunlun Mountain day and night.
Before you continue