The Attack

Within the Zhou Clan Tribe.

Zhou Yu, having just finished his simulation, had barely stepped out of his quiet room when he received word from his clansmen that the Marquis of East Sea had arrived with a Celestial Immortal in tow.

Upon reaching the front courtyard of the tribe, Zhou Yu saw an Earth Immortal of the Void Refinement stage accompanied by a Celestial Immortal clad in golden dragon robes.

The moment he saw the Celestial Immortal's attire, Zhou Yu understood: the visitor was not only a Celestial Immortal but also a prince of the imperial clan.

"Senior Immortal Ganyu, we meet again." The Marquis of East Sea, an Earth Immortal, bowed respectfully.

"You are too polite, Marquis."

Zhou Yu smiled faintly. He had managed to keep the Zhou Clan Tribe established in the Donghai Commandery for three million years, and his relationship with the Qingmu Clan of the East Sea remained quite good.

However, the Marquis had never been this humble before. It seemed his recent display of power had truly rattled the Qingmu Clan.

"Senior Immortal Ganyu, this is Prince Qi." The Marquis immediately introduced the Celestial Immortal who had accompanied him.

"Immortal Ganyu, I have come under the orders of His Majesty. Might we speak in private?" Prince Qi asked with a polite bow.

In his eyes, Zhou Yu must have had some Empyrean God or True Immortal backing him—one who clearly favored him, given the repeated interventions on his behalf.

The connection was evidently extraordinary.

"Please." Zhou Yu thought for a moment before agreeing.

He had anticipated that his previous actions would draw the attention of the Seamless Gate and the Xia Emperor; it was only expected that the Xia Emperor would send an envoy.

Prince Qi's visit served two purposes: first, to warn Zhou Yu that the Celestial Bamboo Wood he had killed belonged to the Seamless Gate, a terrifying force within the Three Realms, and that they would certainly not let the matter rest.

Secondly, Prince Qi was there to invite Zhou Yu to join the ranks of the Xia Emperor, ensuring that if the Seamless Gate sought revenge, the Xia Emperor would naturally provide support.

"I am well aware of what you speak of, Prince Qi, but I have some confidence in dealing with the Seamless Gate." Zhou Yu naturally declined.

Before this simulation, he might have accepted; with the Xia Emperor's help, resisting the Seamless Gate would have been far easier, and he would not have needed to reveal more of his trump cards.

But now? It was truly unnecessary.

With the invitation rejected, Prince Qi said no more and soon took his leave.

Upon receiving the report, the Xia Emperor merely nodded. He, too, was quite curious about the identity of the Empyrean God or True Immortal behind Zhou Yu.

Since Zhou Yu had chosen to resist head-on, everything would surely come to light soon enough.

The Seamless Gate's retaliation came swiftly.

Not long after Prince Qi departed, thirty-six figures suddenly appeared within the Donghai Commandery.

These thirty-six figures were all Celestial Immortals, and their strength was immense—each one no weaker than Celestial Bamboo Wood.

They were the true trump cards in the hands of "True Immortal Blood Hand."

Together, these thirty-six Celestial Immortals could form an array capable of slaughtering almost any other Celestial Immortal.

However, upon appearing, the thirty-six did not rush to attack. Instead, they flashed toward the base of a massive peak, roughly a thousand miles high.

Ascension Peak was the tallest mountain in the Donghai Commandery; its presence was majestic, resembling a divine sword.

"This is the place."

The Celestial Immortals acted with perfect coordination. One figure in grey robes chanted an incantation and immediately unleashed the "Mountain Moving Technique."

Rumble!

The vast, towering mountain began to tremble violently. Under the immense power of the Celestial Immortals, the peak was on the verge of being uprooted.

At the critical moment, rays of light erupted from beneath the mountain, attempting to halt the process.

"As expected, it is protected by an array."

The other Celestial Immortals struck simultaneously to suppress the formation. In the blink of an eye, the towering peak was uprooted and shifted a thousand miles away.

For a moment, the energy of heaven and earth within the Donghai Commandery fell into turmoil. Countless cultivators felt a sense of heart-stopping dread, though they clearly had no idea what was happening.

Meanwhile, in an inconspicuous small city outside the Donghai Commandery, True Immortal Blood Hand, the master of the Blood Cloud Tower, sat disguised as an old man drinking tea, watching the events in the Donghai Commandery from afar.

"With one of the key foundations of this Heaven and Earth Great Array broken, let's see how that Immortal Ganyu resists my subordinates." True Immortal Blood Hand sneered inwardly.

The Heaven and Earth Great Array was indeed a formidable formation, but its weakness was obvious: it was easily sabotaged.

His Seamless Gate was not without experts in the way of formations. After having someone perform a few calculations, he had pinpointed several of the array's foundations in the Donghai Commandery.

Each one destroyed would diminish the array's power by thirty percent.

In the eyes of True Immortal Blood Hand, Zhou Yu himself was no longer worth mentioning. The next step was to see if he could force out the Empyrean God or True Immortal behind him.

He had appeared here specifically to deal with that potential threat. In truth, he had not come alone; he had also notified two other True Immortals from the Seamless Gate responsible for the invasion of the Great Xia World.

After all, the Xia Emperor might intervene, and the Xia Emperor's strength among True Immortals was immense. More importantly, he possessed too many treasures. It would be difficult for True Immortal Blood Hand to handle him alone; he needed backup to ensure nothing went wrong.

"Move."

"To the next foundation."

The thirty-six Celestial Immortals did not hesitate, each unleashing their movement techniques to head toward the next target.

However, just at that moment—

Above the gathered Celestial Immortals, a massive vortex suddenly appeared, and the boundless power of heaven and earth began to condense frantically.

"Haha, have you noticed?"

"Too bad, it's already too late!"

"Form the formation!"

The thirty-six Celestial Immortals laughed aloud, instantly uniting as one, and a colossal, single-legged beast manifested between heaven and earth.

The Kui Ox Formation.

By using thirty-six top-tier Celestial Immortals as the foundation, the strength of this formation had reached the threshold of a Heavenly God or True Immortal.

This was precisely why these thirty-six Celestial Immortals could kill any Celestial Immortal when they joined forces.

Even a peerless Celestial Immortal like Celestial immortal would be unable to withstand a single blow from their combined power.

At this moment—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless attacks descended from the heavens, yet they were easily blocked by the Kui Ox.

In truth, even if the formation had been intact, these thirty-six Celestial Immortals would have been confident in resisting, so now that the formation's power had diminished, these attacks were of no consequence.

The Kui Ox beast endured the barrage of strikes, quickly arriving at the location of the next formation base, and easily destroyed it.

As the power of the grand formation dropped further, the Kui Ox turned and headed toward yet another base.

"When gods fight, mortals suffer."

At this moment, within the city of Donghai Commandery, the Celestial Immortal ancestor of the Qingmu Clan personally activated and presided over the grand formation that the Qingmu Clan had spent hundreds of millions of years laying down, all to prevent being caught in the crossfire.

That Immortal Ganyu didn't seem like anything special before, yet now he has provoked such formidable enemies. I wonder if he can hold his own, the Qingmu Clan ancestor pondered.

Soon, all the formation bases within Donghai Commandery were completely destroyed, and the Kui Ox beast arrived upon the plains where the Zhou Clan Tribe was located.

By this time, Zhou Yu had already arrived outside the tribe to wait.

"Immortal Ganyu, you have quite the nerve; you still haven't fled?" the leading Celestial Immortal sneered.

"Although you have broken my formation, are you really so confident that you can deal with me?" Zhou Yu stood there with his hands behind his back, his expression calm as he asked the question.

Seeing Zhou Yu so composed, the thirty-six Celestial Immortals could not help but feel a secret tremor of alarm. They naturally knew that this Immortal Ganyu might have some Heavenly God or True Immortal backing him; could it be that the other party had already arrived?

Of course, that alone was not enough to scare them.

The greatest trait of the Kui Ox Formation was its resilience; even if a true Heavenly God or True Immortal were to strike, it would take time to tear their formation apart.

In that time, True Immortal Blood Hand, who stood behind them, would have long since arrived to save them.

"Bluffing won't scare us. If you have the ability, show it; if not, then go join Zhumu in the grave!" The thirty-six Celestial Immortals did not stand on ceremony, manipulating the Kui Ox beast to stomp down with a single hoof.

Boom!

The heavens and earth trembled.

At that moment, space completely stagnated, and it felt as if nothing remained between heaven and earth but that single, massive ox hoof.

"Too terrifying. If it were me, I fear I would have died in an instant." The Qingmu Clan ancestor felt the power of that strike from far away, and he could not help but break into a cold sweat.

He understood that if no one stepped in to help, this Immortal Ganyu was doomed.