Yellow Springs You Ming

Pangu withdrew his Spiritual Sense, shook his head, and began to comprehend his own Great Dao. In truth, each strand of Primordial Violet Qi contained a remnant wisp of its original owner's consciousness, but something had hidden them away. Hong Yun and Hong Hu had only been drawn by Kun Peng's aura, and with Hong Hu possessing the Nirvana Method, this bizarre incident had occurred. This was entirely an accident, so of course Pangu could detect nothing.

Chaos once again fell into a temporary calm. How long this calm could last—perhaps only a moment. Too many sought to break it. Where there is desire, there is pursuit, and this was the highest goal every God or Devil could hope to achieve in a lifetime.

Yellow Spring was undoubtedly one of the most eager to break this calm. Though eager, he had not lost his composure. He stared at Pangu, so close yet hesitating to advance.

"Elder Brother, this Pangu is formidable. Those two Gods and Devils had no chance to fight back. And that sudden red light—terrifying. We..."

Yellow Spring pondered for a long moment, then steeled himself. "Brother, fortune favors the bold. Without the Great Dao, we end as dust. Dare or not, choose for yourself. I, for one, will take the gamble."

Netherworld laughed heartily. "Why would I not dare? I follow Elder Brother's arrangements completely. I will give my all."

Yellow Spring's boldness surged as well. He clasped his hands. "Good, good. Then we two brothers will slaughter to our hearts' content."

Taking a few quick steps forward, they saw Pangu and the other two, startling them again. They felt somewhat intimidated. Sensing the lingering aura of the recent battle, they realized those two seemingly unlucky fellows were no simple beings either.

Yellow Spring studied Pangu carefully. "Daoist friend, greetings. I would not wish to be your enemy, but the Heavenly Mandate is hard to defy."

Pangu's eyes snapped open, shooting out two beams of sharp light. "Far better than that hypocrite Kun Peng. Fight!"

Yellow Spring felt the word "fight" ring directly in his ears, a surging battle intent stirring his mind and spirit. Netherworld fared little better.

"Good. Then we shall use our strongest divine ability to face you—the Nine Bends Yellow Springs Great Formation." Yellow Spring transformed into his true form: a Nine Nether Yellow Springs, twisting in nine bends and eighteen turns, filled with yellow Corpse Water. Any flesh and blood touched by this water would corrode, and each drop could become an external incarnation. As long as the Corpse Water did not dry up, Yellow Spring was nearly immortal.

Netherworld said nothing, turning into a cloud of Black Mist that shrouded the Yellow Springs. The black Netherworld Heavenly Book floated between them as the Formation Eye, radiating waves of Light of Nirvana.

At this moment, a voice rang in Pangu's Primordial Spirit. "Daoist friend, dare you enter the formation and fight?"

Methods to break a formation included using overwhelming force—gathering several times the formation's power in a single crushing blow—or constructing a formation of equal caliber to counter it. The conventional method was to find the Formation Eye and dismantle the formation from within.

Pangu roared, "Why would I not dare!"

Once inside, he felt Demonic Qi churning, sinister winds howling, and Black Mist blotting out the sun and moon, with the power to dissolve souls and extinguish spirits. Corpse Water combined with Demonic Qi to form countless Gods and Devils, a frenzy of demons surging in all directions. Pangu swung his axe, unleashing a divine ability. The countless charging Gods and Devils were annihilated beneath the axe blade before they could even draw near.

But the Nine Bends had no straight paths; their twists exhausted the wonders of creation—false within true, true within false. Finding the Formation Eye was no easy task. The Gods and Devils spawned endlessly. Without sufficient ability, one would be worn down to death, not to mention the Light of Nirvana that struck without warning, directly damaging the Primordial Spirit. A moment's inattention could mean utter dissolution. Pangu, however, had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Golden Body method, binding his Primordial Spirit tightly to his flesh. He could manage, but he dared not be careless. His Primordial Spirit still existed; any damage would hinder his future cultivation. To be struck down by a sneak attack in a moment of mental fog would be a sorry end indeed.

The Nine Bends Yellow Springs Great Formation was one of the mightiest formations under heaven—both bizarre and deadly.

Seeing that simple Gods and Devils could not trouble his opponent, Yellow Spring thought, "Illusion Array—false within true, true within false, each giving birth to the other."

The surging Yellow Springs water on the ground began to coalesce into a powerful giant, holding a great banner that flapped loudly. The banner unfurled, and sheets of Corpse Water materialized out of thin air, forming a coiling yellow dragon that lunged at Pangu with claws bared.

Pangu smiled faintly. He had slain even Cang Dui; what fear had he of a mere conjured dragon? He swung the Sky-Opening Axe, and the yellow dragon shattered into fragments. But the fragments immediately recombined and charged again. Another axe stroke, and the dragon split in two—two yellow dragons. He struck at one with his axe, but the airflow and Axe Shadow passed straight through. Pangu's heart tightened. "False." He used a divine ability on the other—the same result. "Still false."

While Pangu pondered, the two yellow dragons howled as they closed in. One reared its head to ram him; the other swept its tail. A constant tearing sound filled the air. The yellow dragons carried the Corpse Water's property of corroding flesh and blood. Fortunately, Pangu's Nine Revolutions Golden Body had forged his flesh to a formidable degree, or he would have suffered greatly. He chopped at the charging dragon—the axe passed through nothing. "Still false."

Pangu's heart jolted. He smiled wryly. "What seems real is false; what seems false is real. Truly elusive." He had no time to dwell on it. The two yellow dragons self-destructed, Corpse Water pouring down like a torrential rain. The Chaos Green Lotus shielded him just in time, but after being drenched by the yellow water, its Green Light dimmed considerably.

Seeing this, the Yellow Spring Giant kept waving his banner, sending wave after wave of yellow dragons at Pangu. Helpless, Pangu swung his great axe, unleashing the divine ability "Sweep Across the Thousand Armies." But these dragons, shifting between false and true, were hard to handle. Sometimes, to spare the Green Lotus, he had to rely on his formidable flesh to endure. Fortunately, his body was as hard as rock, and golden light restored any damage, so he suffered no major harm.

Within this space, he dared not use the Sky-Opening Three Styles. What if he threw the Sky-Opening Axe and couldn't retrieve it? Using the trajectory of force to evolve three axe divine abilities was somehow countered. He could only rely on his flesh and the Green Lotus to hold the line.

Yellow Spring saw that this divine ability, though troublesome, could not harm his opponent. He moved his Spiritual Sense. "Maze Array—spinning loops, losing oneself."

The great formation seemed to shift. Pangu stared blankly as the yellow dragons suddenly vanished. Then he felt the world spin, a stifling pressure in his chest. He began to move involuntarily, his mind clearing for a moment. But as he spun, he felt large loops enclosing small loops, small loops connecting to large loops—turning out only to turn back, turning back only to turn out again. The more he spun, the more complex it became, gradually losing all sense of direction, unable to tell north from south, east from west. And the Light of Nirvana kept assaulting his Primordial Spirit.

This was the terror of the great formation. If things did not improve, he would lose himself, then his Primordial Spirit, and perhaps become a walking corpse forever.

It was also Pangu's fault for cherishing his companion spirit treasure. The Chaos Green Lotus, already dimmed by the yellow dragon's Corpse Water, had been forcibly withdrawn into his body. Perhaps it was Pangu's fate to suffer this calamity. The Chaos Green Lotus's spirituality had declined, and it could no longer actively protect its master. If only it could have sent a stream of Pure Qi, he would have been refreshed, all evil dispelled, and Yellow Spring easily captured.

Everything is fate. Pangu, lost in a daze, faced a crisis of life and death.

Netherworld and Yellow Spring grew confident. This Pangu was nothing special. They still had many tricks unused, and he was already failing. Suddenly, the great formation shook—an unexpected development.

"Elder Brother, someone has entered the formation."

Yellow Spring pondered, then sent his Spiritual Sense. "This newcomer seems no simple being—able to enter freely without us opening the formation's gate. But we cannot switch formations yet. Pangu's Primordial Spirit is only just beginning to waver. Let's watch and see."

The one who had broken into the formation was none other than Xuanhuang, who had left and returned, now with an Exquisite Pagoda emitting Xuanhuang Qi atop his head. The endless oppressive aura could not touch Xuanhuang's body, and the misty, confusing formation was as clear as day to him.

Xuanhuang studied the formation carefully. It was built on the principle of Taiji giving birth to Two Forms, Two Forms to Four Symbols, Four Symbols to Eight Trigrams. Using 365 Yellow Spring Banners as nodes, it formed the eight palaces of Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui, Zhen, Li, Kan, and Xun. Outside the eight palaces, a central palace was established, creating a complex Eight Trigrams Nine Palaces diagram. The Formation Eye was at the Eight Trigrams Platform in the central palace.

Netherworld said, "Elder Brother, what do we do? This Daoist seems unaffected by the Maze Array. What now?"

Yellow Spring replied, "Brother, maintain the formation well. I'll send an incarnation to harass him." To his frustration, the Gods and Devils conjured from his Yellow Spring water could not even approach the Daoist's body.

Xuanhuang quickly found Pangu. Seeing him dazed and confused, his heart sank. If not for his own selfish motives, Pangu would not have suffered such a calamity. He activated his technique, and Xuanhuang Qi swirled around Pangu, instantly clearing his mind.

Pangu realized it was Xuanhuang. He bowed. "Thank you, Daoist friend."

Xuanhuang returned the bow. "Daoist friend, I'm glad you're unharmed."

He continued, "I have observed this formation for some time. The Formation Eye is the Eight Trigrams Platform in the central palace of the Nine Palaces. Follow me."

Yellow Spring and Netherworld were greatly alarmed and deeply troubled. They had not expected this Daoist to be so skilled in formations, seeing through the countless Maze Arrays at a glance and heading straight for the Formation Eye.

Yellow Spring moved his Spiritual Sense. "Odd Formation—yin and yang unite, the wonder of creation." The formation shifted. Yellow and black qi gradually thickened, coalescing into two Daoists, one black and one yellow. Two beams of Primordial Spirit light infused them, and their auras climbed steadily until they reached the late-stage Primordial Saint realm. Within the space they had created, their presence felt even closer to the Great Dao.