The Origin Xia cultivators set out from the Origin Pier of the Two Halls in an imposing rush, turning into streaks of flowing light as they headed toward the Celestial Xia formation. Nearly all the cultivators seeking perfection who had participated in the previous assault on the Celestial Xia formation had joined this battle.
It was not that their strength had greatly improved since last time. Rather, they had calculated that since Celestial Xia had chosen to retreat at such a moment, it must have foreseen or sensed something and was certainly unwilling to become entangled in battle with them.
Even Daoist Zhang, eager as he was to leave Origin Xia, presumably had no mind to prolong the fight with them.
At this time, they did not need to target anyone in particular, much less fight to the death. They merely had to find a way to hold back Celestial Xia's retreat. Once the power of the True Ring of Heaven and Earth descended, these people would naturally be swept into it.
Before they reached the formation, they faced the spiritual cloud-mist Celestial Xia had recently laid down. It could not stop them, though the light trails of everyone's escape techniques slowed. Then, strands of rainbow light shone forth ahead, and under their illumination, the spiritual cloud-mist melted away layer by layer.
Since it had long been decided that they would attack the Celestial Xia formation when the True Ring of Heaven and Earth began to operate, Origin Xia had, through constant probing of the formation over the past several months, already found a way to break it.
Their initial advance went very smoothly, but as they pressed farther inward, they encountered resistance. The spiritual mist was not merely one layer deep. Changsun Tingzhi had used the past few months