Taiqing Laozi stared gravely at the fiercely raging battlefield before him. His face, usually serene and otherworldly, had darkened like the bottom of a pot.
He turned to Sect Master Tongtian beside him and said urgently, "Third Brother, the situation is dire. Quickly set up the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation!"
But Tongtian's face showed hesitation, and inwardly he couldn't help groaning.
The three of them joining forces against Nuwa had already been somewhat dishonorable. Now they were even relying on a formation to win. It was a serious blow to his pride.
But faced with Taiqing Laozi and Primordial Lord's urgent urging, Tongtian simply couldn't refuse.
When Primordial Lord saw that Tongtian still hadn't acted, he frowned deeply.
He urged him again, "Third Brother, don't hesitate any longer! If we don't set up the formation soon, how can we complete the task our master assigned us? If we delay matters, the consequences will be unthinkable!"
Under the combined pressure of his two elder brothers, Tongtian, though deeply unwilling, could only let out a helpless sigh. Then he slowly raised his hands and began chanting.
In an instant, four dazzling beams of swordlight shot up from his body. They were the fearsome Four Swords of Immortal Slaying: the Immortal Slaying Sword, Slaughtering Immortal Sword, Trapping Immortal Sword, and Absolute Immortal Sword.
As Tongtian's hand seals shifted, the Four Swords of Immortal Slaying whirled and intertwined in the air, gradually forming a vast, imposing sword formation brimming with murderous intent—the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation.
Just as Nuwa was trapped in danger, surrounded by the terrifying formation, a figure streaked toward it like lightning and slipped inside in the blink of an eye. A closer look revealed that it was Su Mu!
"Su Mu, why would you rush in so recklessly? This formation is extremely dangerous. One careless move and you'll be reduced to ashes. Get out of here at once!"
Nuwa cried out, frantic with worry. Her stunning face was filled with concern, and she wished she could immediately shove Su Mu out of the perilous formation.
But Su Mu said with unwavering resolve, "Teacher, don't worry. We only need to follow the plan we discussed earlier." His eyes gleamed with confidence and determination.
"All right..." Nuwa let out a soft sigh, the worry on her face still impossible to hide.
She murmured, "Although I'm still full of concern, Su Mu and I discussed our strategy in detail beforehand. We decided to use Merit Power to break the terrifying Immortal Slaying Sword Formation!"
Her gaze grew resolute, as if she could see a glimmer of hope piercing through the layers of mist.
At that moment, Taiqing Laozi stood outside the formation and sneered. "Nuwa, you're trapped inside the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation now, with no way to escape. This formation can only be broken by four Saints working together. Let's see how you get out of this!"
Nuwa gave a cold snort. A chill flashed in her beautiful eyes as she shouted, "Taiqing, don't get ahead of yourself! Once I break this sword formation, you'll be the first person I kill!"
Then Nuwa continued loudly, "Taiqing, do you know why the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation is so powerful? It uses endless baleful energy as its source to gather sword energy of unmatched sharpness. But without that baleful energy, this so-called Immortal Slaying Sword Formation is all show. I could break it with a flick of my finger!"
Taiqing Laozi's heart gave a sudden lurch. He turned to Tongtian beside him and asked, "Third Brother, is what Nuwa said true?"
Tongtian nodded slightly. "Junior Sister Nuwa is right. The Immortal Slaying Sword Formation is indeed centered on baleful energy. If the baleful energy within it can be dispelled, the formation will naturally collapse."
After speaking with a grave expression, Nuwa did not hesitate. She waved her hand, and a brilliant flash of light appeared. The legendary Red Embroidered Ball materialized in her palm.
Nuwa began chanting, and a mysterious, powerful force surged from her body and flowed into the Red Embroidered Ball.
At her command, the Red Embroidered Ball began to shine with dazzling light, as radiant as the midday sun. Suddenly, it shook violently, and the boundless merit within poured out like a flood bursting through a dam.
This Merit Power transformed into golden torrents that surged toward the baleful energy swirling around them, with enough force to topple mountains and overturn seas.
In an instant, a deafening roar shook heaven and earth. Merit and baleful energy collided and intertwined, forming a brilliant, dazzling haze.
Under the assault of Merit Power, the raging baleful energy scattered like smoke blown away by a gale.
In just a moment, Merit Power had completely suppressed much of the baleful energy, making it vanish without a trace.
The Immortal Slaying Sword Formation was also greatly affected. With so much less baleful energy, its power abruptly weakened, and its once razor-sharp sword energy dimmed considerably.
Seeing this, Tongtian's heart ached. His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief and fury.
He had spent countless years carefully refining that baleful energy. How could he not be heartbroken to see more than half of it destroyed so easily?
The other Four Saints were also shocked. "How could it be this easy?"
Dao Ancestor Hongjun, who had been watching secretly, felt a sinking dread at the sight. If the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation was broken, it would be much harder for the Heavenly Dao Saints to suppress the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors of the Human Race.
With that thought, Dao Ancestor Hongjun did not dare hesitate. He turned toward the sky and called out to the unseen Heavenly Dao, "Heavenly Dao, things have come to this. Why haven't you stepped in to help? If we can't suppress the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the Human Dao may awaken and take some of your authority!"
The Heavenly Dao seemed to sense Dao Ancestor Hongjun's urgency. After a brief silence, it finally made its decision.
A strange ripple suddenly spread across the sky. A vast, boundless force descended from above and enveloped the Red Embroidered Ball.
Under the influence of this Heavenly Dao power, the Merit Power pouring continuously from the Red Embroidered Ball seemed to freeze in place. It could no longer consume the surrounding baleful energy.
Nuwa's brows knitted together, and her beautiful eyes widened. She shouted, "Heavenly Dao, how dare you..." Before she could finish, she hurriedly turned to Su Mu and asked anxiously, "What should we do?"
Faced with this emergency, Su Mu remained calm, as if he had expected it all along.
He drew a treasure radiating brilliant light from his robes: the Supreme Innate Merit Spirit Treasure, the Creation Pagoda.
In an instant, the Creation Pagoda shone with myriad rays of light, dazzling enough to make it impossible to look directly at. The Heavenly Dao, Earth Dao, and Great Dao Merit held within it surged out like rushing torrents, immense and boundless.
This Merit Power rapidly spread and clashed fiercely with the baleful energy raging around them.
A sharp crackling filled the air, like a peal of thunder. The baleful energy vanished on contact with the Merit Power, purified into wisps of smoke that dissipated into nothing.
"Teacher, now's the time!" Su Mu cried, giving Nuwa a determined look. Then he flashed forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, racing toward the Immortal Slaying Sword.
At the same time, Su Mu swung the Primordial Chaos Axe in his hand. A razor-sharp arc of axe light howled forth and slashed straight toward the Immortal Slaying Sword.
A crisp clang rang out. The Immortal Slaying Sword let out a mournful cry and fell. Su Mu seized it in one smooth motion, gripping it tightly. Without pausing, he turned and rushed toward the Slaughtering Immortal Sword.
Nuwa was no less active. With a graceful figure and nimble movements, she had already secured the Trapping Immortal Sword. Now she was racing toward the Absolute Immortal Sword.
Tongtian was doing his utmost to operate the astonishingly powerful formation. His expression was grave, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Yet even though he was giving it everything he had, he still struggled to control the complex and powerful formation.
At the same time, Taiqing Laozi and Primordial Lord rushed to help without hesitation.
They used their own techniques, sending dazzling beams of light from their hands. These intertwined and merged with the formation Tongtian was controlling.
Even Jieyin and Zhunti, the two Saints who had been watching from the sidelines, joined the fight.
They used their profound Magic Power to help stabilize the formation. For a time, the entire space filled with brilliant lights and surging waves of energy.
But what was despairing was that without the crucial baleful energy to support it, the formation could not unleash its full power, no matter how desperately they struggled to control it.
All their efforts seemed futile, like a tiny boat caught in a storm, liable to capsize at any moment.
At last, with the two of them working together, Su Mu and Nuwa almost simultaneously claimed the Slaughtering Immortal Sword and the Absolute Immortal Sword. The Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, which had shaken the world, was finally broken.
The Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, and Zhunti gaped at the sight, stunned into silence.
They had never imagined that the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation, said to require four Saints working together to break, would be defeated so easily by Su Mu and Nuwa.
For a moment, their hearts were a tangled mix of shock, confusion, and disbelief.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock, the Seven Heavenly Light Divine Blades, gleaming with mysterious light and radiating immense pressure, shot toward Taiqing Laozi like lightning!
The sudden attack was so fast that it left everyone dumbfounded.
At the same time, the Primordial Chaos Axe came crashing down toward Jieyin with the force to destroy heaven and earth!
Faced with such a fierce attack, Taiqing Laozi and Jieyin both paled. The same thought sprang into their minds: This is it—we're finished!
In an instant, the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, which had been shining brilliantly, suddenly dimmed, as if it had lost all its power and vitality.
The Seven Heavenly Light Divine Blades swept forward with unstoppable force and cleaved Taiqing Laozi in two! Blood sprayed everywhere in a horrifying scene.
Jieyin fared no better. The Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit beneath him, which had always shone with sacred radiance, now lost all its light and looked withered.
Then the Primordial Chaos Axe mercilessly split Jieyin in two as well. His body fell in halves into a pool of blood.
Without hesitation, Su Mu waved his hand and swiftly collected the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit.
Nuwa, who had witnessed this, hesitated briefly before following Su Mu's example and using her power to collect the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
Across the vast Primordial Heaven and Earth, grief and sorrow filled the air, as if the entire world were weeping.
The sky, once as blue as a jewel, was now covered by a thick layer of blood-red clouds. The rain pouring down was no longer made of clear droplets, but of glaring scarlet blood!
Each drop struck the earth like a heavy hammer, splashing up sheets of blood that made the heart tremble.
The cause of it all was that two Saints, who had stood high above and looked down on all living beings, had fallen! They had once been the undisputed rulers of this world, with power to reach heaven and earth. With a wave of their hands, they could move mountains and fill seas; with a single thought, they could change the skies and stir the clouds.
Yet today, even Saints who seemed like gods had been slain, vanishing from the world in defeat.
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