Grand Xuan and Candle Dragon

Inside the formation, the battle raged so fiercely that heaven and earth seemed to darken. Outside it, another group arrived, some fifty or sixty people strong. Their leader called himself Grand Xuan Daoist. His true form was the Heaven and Earth Aurora, and he could transform into anything, bewildering people's minds.

Beside him stood a red-faced, crimson-skinned Daoist. "Brother Grand Xuan, what do you think of this Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation?"

Grand Xuan Daoist burst into laughter. "Brother Candle Dragon, are you testing me? With your eyes that can see the past and future, how could you not know? This formation is fiendishly vicious. It contains the Way of Slaughter, making it immensely formidable, and even has a Great Dao Incarnation that knows the Three Thousand Laws."

Candle Dragon said, "My Time Law can see through its mysteries, but I can't get inside. If those Twelve Demon Gods really kill Pangu, won't we end up enslaved by those twelve fools?"

Grand Xuan Daoist pointed at Candle Dragon and laughed. "No need to provoke me, Brother. Let's go in and take a look." Then he turned to the others. "Is anyone else interested in going inside?"

About a dozen of them answered, "We look forward to seeing Grand Xuan Ancestor's divine abilities."

"Good. Come with me and take a look. The rest of you stay outside and keep watch." As he spoke, Grand Xuan Daoist stirred his own magical power and conjured an illusion. It gradually took on the aura of the Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation, until the two blended together.

At that moment, the Great Dao Incarnation of the Twelve Divine Fiends suddenly faltered. Pangu seized the opening and punched it in the abdomen. The Great Dao Incarnation retaliated without hesitation, punching toward his face. Pangu dodged sideways, but the punch had already pierced through his own body, leaving him in a wretched state.

Xuanhuang furrowed his brow and thought, The newcomer is no simple foe. He has such formidable divine abilities.

The Great Dao Incarnation used the Killing Qi to quickly repair its body. "Someone has entered the formation. I'll go greet them first. We can fight again afterward." With that, it vanished into the Killing Qi.

"Someone has entered the formation by some strange method. It seems they first imitated the formation's Killing Qi, gradually making the formation accept them, and only then infiltrated it."

Pangu was startled. This divine ability was extraordinary, especially since it naturally countered cultivators who specialized in formations. He sat cross-legged again and focused on the Great Dao Information within the formation. Since the formation could borrow the aura of the Great Dao, it would surely help him comprehend it. He also needed to think carefully about his earlier fight with the Great Dao Incarnation and grasp its mysteries.

The Twelve Fiends were also deeply worried. Their opponents' strength seemed to exceed their expectations. No matter how they directed the Great Dao Power to attack, the formation treated their opponents as part of itself, rendering the Great Dao Laws they borrowed useless.

Things looked grim. Their opponents were already late-stage Primordial Saints, while the twelve of them were only at the middle stage. Nearly all the dozen people who had entered the formation were at their level, and there was also a red-faced Daoist who had yet to join the battle.

The Great Dao Incarnation had to both eliminate the intruders and compete with Grand Xuan Daoist for control over part of the formation. It was under considerable pressure. But this was still a formation they had created, and their ability to inflict damage remained undiminished. The trouble was that the formation also treated Grand Xuan and his people as allies. Both sides could only wait for the other to make a mistake.

Watching the battle drag on, they saw that although Grand Xuan Daoist was using his divine abilities to contend with the formation, there were bound to be lapses. A Fiend caught in the Killing Qi was suddenly controlled by a mysterious force. Facing the Great Dao Incarnation, it felt as if it were looking upon the true Great Dao itself, and could summon not the slightest will to resist. The Great Dao Incarnation killed it with a single blow.

Now nine out of ten were gone. Grand Xuan Daoist had no choice but to accept it. This was someone else's territory, and he also had to protect those who had entered the formation. He had no chance to attack.

Grand Xuan Ancestor frowned as he watched. "Brother Grand Xuan, we can't drag this out any longer. We must finish this quickly." As he spoke, he focused and joined the battle. His Time Law was formidable.

"Time Flies"

Strange light poured down, and the Killing Qi within the formation began to tremble and rapidly transform. All things in the world were born and died, flourished and declined. The Killing Qi was no exception. As time passed, it too would fade away, just as people grew old.

The Twelve Divine Fiends were shocked. What kind of divine ability was this, with such terrifying power? The formation shifted, and the Killing Qi grew elusive, like smoke and mist, blurring everything. Smoke had no roots; mist belonged to no element. It knew neither birth nor death, and knew nothing of the passage of time.

As the formation changed, Grand Xuan Daoist failed to keep watch for an instant, and two more Demon Gods were defeated by the Twelve Fiends.

Seeing that his attack had no effect, Candle Dragon didn't mind. He was merely wearing down his opponent's attention to help Grand Xuan Daoist seize control of the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation. He didn't care in the slightest whether those Demon Gods lived or died.

"Time Dazes"

This time, the divine ability made the Killing Qi feel drowsy. The Killing Qi also had a spirit, so the Great Dao Incarnation divided its attention and sent a strand of Spiritual Sense into the formation, rousing the Great Formation Spirit.

Grand Xuan Ancestor unleashed several more divine abilities in succession, but the Twelve Divine Fiends met them without the slightest hesitation.

Then, the Twelve Divine Fiends suddenly felt the formation slipping out of their control.

Grand Xuan Ancestor laughed heartily. "You twelve fools! My brother Grand Xuan has already taken control of this formation. My attacks and the Demon Gods who perished were all meant to help him understand the formation's changes. You can die without regrets now!"

The Twelve Fiends let out a furious roar. The Killing Qi around them melted away like snow beneath the sun.

Grand Xuan Ancestor swept his wide sleeves and shouted, "You still refuse to accept it? What good will that do you? Be gone!"

"Past and Present"

Most of the Twelve Fiends' Essence, Qi, and Spirit seemed to be dragged into the river of time. Some were carried into the future, while others were swept into history, completely swallowed by its surging flood.

Amid the fading river of time, the Twelve Demon Gods roared in defiance. "You'll never have a good ending! Our formation isn't so easy to control!"

Some unlucky Demon Gods hadn't managed to dodge in time. Perhaps Candle Dragon had done it on purpose.

Suddenly, the formation stirred, and the Killing Qi condensed once more. A new Great Dao Incarnation appeared. It bowed to Candle Dragon and said, "Haha, thank you, Brother Candle Dragon. Let's go see Pangu."

Grand Xuan Ancestor pulled Candle Dragon aside. "We should make some careful plans. This formation is in our hands. You and I know, heaven and earth know, but no one else does. That means we're in the shadows, and our enemies are in the open. Isn't this an exciting game?"

Grand Xuan and Candle Dragon, hidden in the shadows, looked at Pangu and Xuanhuang, who were quietly cultivating. After studying them carefully, they couldn't help admiring the two. Even in the midst of danger, they remained so composed.

Grand Xuan said, "Pangu, I've cleaned up those bandits. Let's continue our fight."

Pangu opened his eyes. "Good. I've been waiting for you."

The two traded punches once more.

Now, when Pangu fought others, he relied mainly on his physical body, with divine abilities as support. Ultimately, he still had to depend on his terrifying physical strength to comprehend his Rule of Strength. Once Pangu's body reached a certain level, heaven and earth could decay while his body remained immortal; heaven and earth could perish, but his body would not!

The Great Dao Incarnation was formidable too. The Killing Qi continuously gathered to restore it, its recovery was no weaker than its opponent's, and it could also borrow the Great Dao Power.

Their fists drew closer and closer, until they struck one another directly. In that instant, a heaven-shaking boom rumbled through the formation and echoed outside it, roaring like a storm.

A gale exploded from the point where their fists met, sweeping outward and stirring the boundless Killing Qi.

Boom!

Pangu's body shuddered, his blood and qi roiled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. The impact drove him back several steps.

A series of cracking sounds came from the Great Dao Incarnation's right arm. Invisible ripples spread from it before shattering, and its Killing Qi scattered as it stumbled back several steps.

As he retreated, Pangu swung out an Axe Shadow. Strangely, it didn't strike the Great Dao Incarnation, but instead cleaved into a place that appeared to be wreathed in Killing Qi.

"Years Like a Shuttle." Candle Dragon used a time-acceleration divine ability and barely dodged the seemingly simple axe strike.

Pangu pointed at the Great Dao Incarnation and said calmly, "You aren't one of the Twelve Fiends. You're much weaker than they are. You know that we've fought before, but you don't know what divine ability we were testing."

Grand Xuan Daoist had to admit that he had underestimated his opponent. He had assumed Pangu was a simple-minded brute with strong limbs. In truth, not a single Chaos Demon God was simple; some had merely been born at the wrong time.

Grand Xuan Daoist laughed heartily. "Perhaps you're mistaken, fellow Daoist. We're no weaker than the Twelve Fiends. You simply haven't felt it yet. My Brother Candle Dragon's Time Law is also a Great Divine Ability of Chaos. We'll find out when we fight."

Xuanhuang said, "Then I'll experience Fellow Daoist Candle Dragon's Time Law."

Candle Dragon glanced at Xuanhuang. "Fellow Daoist Xuanhuang, you have the strongest defense in heaven and earth. I wonder what offensive abilities you have. You should make an interesting opponent."

Xuanhuang didn't even blink. "I hope I won't disappoint you." With that, the two began to fight. One was a giant of time, while the other believed in non-action and following nature. Time seemed always to flow in accordance with the Great Dao, and Xuanhuang seemed to be part of it. No matter how overwhelming his opponent's divine abilities were, he met them with his own strength and dispelled them one by one.