This Is Simply Too Much!

"Junior Brother! You're back!"

"What did the Master say?"

Everyone hurriedly gathered around him, as if they'd seen their salvation.

Jiang Ziya's expression, however, was far from pleasant. He caught his breath, then gave them a bitter shake of his head.

"Master... knows about this."

"But Master said this is a calamity our disciples must face, and we have to overcome it ourselves. A Sage of his stature cannot interfere in disputes between juniors."

"What?!"

Jiang Ziya's words were like a basin of ice water, dousing the flames in everyone's hearts.

Was their Master... abandoning them?

"How... how could this be?" Taiyi Zhenren said in disbelief. "Is Master really going to stand by and watch that demoness humiliate us and strip away our cultivation?"

"Master also said..." Jiang Ziya swallowed with difficulty before continuing, "Master said that although the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation is a vicious formation, it might not be impossible to break. He told us to find a way to break it ourselves."

"Find a way ourselves? What can we possibly do?" Chijingzi slumped to the ground.

Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.

Even their only hope had been dashed.

Did they really have to suffer this calamity, only to have all their cultivation wiped away?

Just as everyone was sinking into despair, Guangchengzi, the eldest disciple of the Sect of Explanation, suddenly stepped forward.

His face held neither anger nor despair anymore, only the calm of someone who had seen through life and death.

"I understand what Master means."

He looked around at his junior brothers and spoke slowly.

"Master isn't abandoning us. He's testing us."

"We disciples of the Sect of Explanation cultivate the Way of following Heaven's will and responding to the needs of the people. Our creed is to 'strive'! We strive against Heaven, against Earth, and against other people! If even this little challenge can scare us into backing down, then why cultivate immortality or seek the Dao? We might as well disband now and go home to live as mortals!"

Guangchengzi's words rang out with force, like a morning bell and an evening drum, striking every heart.

"Today, we Twelve Golden Immortals will venture into her Nine Bends Yellow River Formation together!"

"If we succeed, the Sect of Explanation's prestige will soar, and our path to the Dao will be clear!"

"If we fail, we'll merely take a trip to the Investiture of the Gods! That's still better than hiding here like cowards for the rest of our lives and enduring the world's ridicule!"

"Junior brothers, do you dare to follow me to our deaths?"

Guangchengzi's eyes blazed as he looked at each of them in turn.

His words reignited the fighting spirit in Taiyi Zhenren, True Man Yuding, and the others.

"What is there to fear?"

"Eldest Senior Brother is right! So what if we die? We won't endure this humiliation!"

"Today, we'll fight those demonesses of Sanxiao to the death!"

For a moment, their spirits soared.

Led by Guangchengzi, the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation truly cast aside all their misgivings and resolved to break the formation together!

"Good!"

Guangchengzi shouted and took the lead, summoning the Sky-Turning Seal.

Chijingzi summoned the Yin Yang Mirror, True Man Yuding wielded the Immortal Slaying Sword, and Taiyi Zhenren held up the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Cover...

The twelve Golden Immortals summoned all their respective treasures above their heads, forming a temporary formation. With grim determination, they flew toward the terrifying formation outside the city, shrouded in yellow mist.

"Oh? They're coming out!"

Bi Xiao, standing before the formation, saw the twelve streaks of light. She was startled at first, then overjoyed.

"Hahaha! Those cowards finally have the guts to come out!"

"Perfect! Today, I'll show you the might of my Nine Bends Yellow River Formation!"

She shouted to Yun Xiao and Qiong Xiao inside the formation.

"Big Sister! Second Sister! The fish have taken the bait!"

With that, she made a spell gesture and opened the formation's entrance.

Guangchengzi and the others didn't hesitate. They exchanged glances, then resolutely plunged into the yellow mist.

The instant they entered the formation,

Yun Xiao's icy voice rang throughout it.

"Close the gate!"

"Fall!"

The entrance to the formation closed instantly.

The Primordial Golden Dou, floating above the Formation Eye, shuddered violently. Countless streams of golden light poured down, completely sealing off the entire formation.

Then the dou flipped over, its mouth pointing downward.

An indescribable, irresistible force of suction poured from its mouth, enveloping the Twelve Golden Immortals who had just entered the formation.

"Oh no! What is this power?"

"My magic power! My magic power is draining away!"

"Ah! My Three Flowers on the Crown!"

The formation rang with the Golden Immortals' screams of utter terror.

Beneath the golden light, the protective treasures they had once been so proud of dimmed one by one, then fell from the sky like ordinary iron.

The yellow mist swept over their immortal bodies, instantly fouling them.

And the Three Flowers on the Crown and Five Qi in the Chest they had painstakingly cultivated over countless eons were forcibly drawn, against their will, from their crowns by that terrifying suction. They became streaks of light and were sucked into the Primordial Golden Dou!

It took no more than a blink.

The Twelve Golden Immortals, who moments ago had been so imposing and arrogant, fell from the sky one after another like kites with their strings cut, crashing onto the muddy banks of the Yellow River.

The immortal light around them had vanished completely.

Their Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation had been stripped away, leaving not a trace.

Now, they were no different from ordinary mortals.

The Nine Bends Yellow River Formation was terrifying indeed!