Outwitting the Demon Saint, the Formation Shows Its Might

Boom—!!!

This was no ordinary thunder. It was as though thunder's origin, accumulated over countless ages, had erupted in a single instant!

At the center of the platform, the grayish-purple thundercloud suddenly collapsed inward, then transformed into countless bolts of raging lightning as thick as water vats, deep purple and nearly black, shooting indiscriminately in every direction!

Every bolt contained violently destructive innate thunder aura. Wherever it passed, space was scorched into twisted distortions.

The seawater vaporized instantly, and even the natural thunder patterns across the dark azure mountain's surface lit up!

Ji Meng's certain-kill slash was forcibly interrupted by this sudden, all-encompassing eruption of lightning!

"Damn it!" Ji Meng cursed, forced to withdraw his blade and defend. His ghastly white bone saber whirled into a pale wheel of light, splitting apart several raging bolts that crashed toward him.

Yet the power of innate thunder aura within the lightning still left his arms slightly numb, while a scorched smell rose from the blade.

Xuan Chuan was likewise within the lightning's range, but because he stood closer to the cloud, he bore the brunt of it instead!

At that critical moment, purple light flashed fiercely in his eyes. He pushed The One That Escaped to its limit, and in the tiny gap between life and death, made a move that seemed to defy all reason—

Rather than retreating, he advanced, charging straight toward the vicinity of the thundercloud's densest center!

Because he had "seen" it! Within that violent, chaotic thunderstorm, the impending birth of the Kui Ox caused the innate formation's power to fluctuate intensely, creating an exceedingly brief and minuscule "gate of life" where the thunder power was comparatively thin!

It was a flaw produced by drastic internal changes in the operation of a heaven-and-earth formation, one that even the formation's creator—Heaven and Earth itself—might not be able to patch up in an instant!

Pfft!

Several arcs of lightning from the edge grazed Xuan Chuan's body, making his protective immortal light flicker unsteadily as a thread of golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

But he ultimately crossed the most dangerous region and landed on the other side of the black platform, roughly a hundred zhang from Ji Meng, with the thundercloud still spraying lightning madly between them.

Ji Meng was initially stunned. Then he grinned viciously. "You're courting death! Once you get close to the thunder source and the Kui Ox fully emerges, its first natal thunder aura will smash you to pieces!" But as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression changed slightly.

After landing, Xuan Chuan did not adjust his breathing. Instead, his hands formed seals, moving as swiftly as phantoms!

The dozens of obscure nodes he had quietly set up earlier, outlined with Fate-Cutting Sword Intent and his own mana, were all activated at once!

These nodes were neither an offensive formation nor a defensive formation. They were instead—a formation of guidance and amplification!

From the very beginning, Xuan Chuan had never expected to defeat a Daluo Realm Demon Saint head-on. His target had always been this Primordial Thunder Secret Realm itself, the heaven-and-earth domain nurturing the Kui Ox!

"Let heaven and earth lend me their law; thunder, heed my command!"

Xuan Chuan called out in a low voice. Several drops of pale golden essence blood were forced from his fingertips and flicked into the formation's core. The One That Escaped operated at full force, disrupting the heavenly secrets of this place.

For a brief time, his intent to "guide" replaced part of the formation's natural intent to "protect" and "nurture"!

Buzz, buzz, buzz—!

The entire dark azure mountain shook violently! The countless natural lightning patterns over its surface seemed to come alive, silver-white electricity surging wildly with unprecedented brilliance.

They converged, and finally, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, all rushed into the thundercloud at the center of the platform, which had collapsed and then expanded anew!

The cloud's color swiftly changed from grayish-purple to a heart-palpitating black. From within came an ancient, childish, yet majestic bellow—Moo!!!

The Kui Ox was about to be born! Moreover, due to Xuan Chuan's guidance, the thunder origin power gathered at its birth far exceeded normal levels!

Ji Meng finally realized something was wrong. "Brat! You dare scheme against me!" He wanted to rush over and interrupt Xuan Chuan, but it was already too late!

Rumble—!!!

The pitch-black thundercloud abruptly exploded! A strange beast emerged proudly, treading on lightning!

It resembled an ox, with an azure body and no horns, possessing only a single leg!

Its eyes were like two small purple suns. Dense innate thunder aura coiled around its body, so thick it could not be dispersed, and every inch of its skin bore natural lightning Dao patterns!

It was the ancient thunder beast—the Kui Ox! Though it had only just been born and remained in its infancy, the pressure of an innate thunder beast emanating from it was already enough to make ordinary True Immortals tremble in fear.

Having been born, the Kui Ox instinctively wished to release its first thunderous roar, proclaiming its existence and venting the excess innate thunder aura within its body.

And at this moment, Xuan Chuan's guiding formation played its most crucial role!

It slightly diverted the direction in which the Kui Ox unconsciously released its thunder aura, while also layering and directing part of the thunder power accumulated throughout the entire secret realm toward the same target—Ji Meng, Demon Saint of the Northern Netherworld!

"Moo—!!!"

Accompanied by an ox bellow that shook the soul, an indescribable pitch-black pillar of lightning, condensed to the utmost extreme and ten zhang thick—

Burst from the Kui Ox's mouth, carrying a terrifying aura that shattered space and annihilated all laws. At a speed beyond thought, it blasted toward Ji Meng!

Wherever the lightning pillar passed, space shattered piece by piece like glazed glass, revealing the deep darkness behind it!

This was not a spell. This was the baptism of birth of an innate thunder beast nurtured by heaven and earth!

It was the eruption of a portion of the origin accumulated in this thunder secret realm through who knew how many epochs! Its might was already infinitely close to a Quasi-Saint's strike!

"No—!!!" Ji Meng's face changed drastically. He finally understood every part of Xuan Chuan's scheme!

This brat had never intended to fight him head-on. He intended to borrow the might of the Kui Ox's birth, borrow the power of this world, to kill him!

He frantically activated his mana. The phantom of the Northern Netherworld behind him solidified, transforming into a thick barrier of mysterious ice before him.

At the same time, he raised the ghastly white bone saber before his chest. Every demon pattern on the blade lit up, spewing forth pallid God-Slaying Blade Aura in an attempt to offset the attack.

However—

Crack! Boom!!!

Before the black lightning pillar, the mysterious ice barrier was like paper pasted together, instantly vaporized.

The God-Slaying Blade Aura lasted only half a breath before being swallowed. Ji Meng barely had time to hold the bone saber itself before him before his entire body was completely engulfed by the pitch-black lightning!

"Ah—!!!" A miserable scream came from within the lightning. A figure could vaguely be seen struggling madly as his demon aura was continuously purified and vaporized by the thunder.

Only after three full breaths did the lightning pillar gradually disperse.

At the spot, Ji Meng knelt on one knee. His entire body was charred black, more than half his scales and armor shattered. The ghastly white bone saber had dimmed, and several fine cracks had even appeared on its blade.

His aura had weakened to the extreme. Blackish-red demon blood continuously spilled from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he had suffered an unimaginable grave injury, and his cultivation had likely fallen by an entire minor realm.

He raised his head and looked at Xuan Chuan, his gaze filled with boundless resentment, terror, and a trace of disbelief.

Xuan Chuan's face was pale as paper, and his aura floated unsteadily. Forcefully guiding the secret realm's power just now had consumed a tremendous amount of his essence blood and soul power, and he had suffered an enormous backlash.

Yet he still stood straight, the Fate-Cutting Sword pointed at Ji Meng as he said coldly, "Get lost. Or leave your life behind."

Ji Meng stared fixedly at Xuan Chuan, then glanced at the young Kui Ox beside him, which seemed somewhat close to Xuan Chuan.

The young beast was curiously studying him with its purple lightning eyes, while several pieces of Innate Thunder-Pattern Iron rested in Xuan Chuan's hand.

Extreme unwillingness gnawed at his heart like venomous snakes.

But he knew even more clearly that his injuries were now severe, and less than one-tenth of his strength remained.

Although the other side had also expended greatly, he had the assistance of a newly born innate thunder beast in perfect condition, along with that strange sword intent and formation mastery...

"Good... very good, Xuan Chuan of Jiejiao!" Ji Meng gritted his teeth, every word seeming to be stained with blood. "I will remember today's gift! The Demon Master Palace will never let you go!"

After leaving behind those harsh words, Ji Meng no longer dared linger. He barely gathered his last trace of mana, transformed into a dim demon light, and fled in miserable disarray through the Innate Concealment Formation, vanishing beyond the horizon.

Only after confirming that Ji Meng had truly departed did Xuan Chuan let out a muffled groan. His body swayed, and he supported himself with his sword as he panted heavily.

This clever victory had seemed magnificent, but it had truly been perilous beyond measure. The slightest mistake would have meant body and soul alike being destroyed.

After catching his breath for a few moments, Xuan Chuan looked at the young Kui Ox beside him.

Perhaps because Xuan Chuan was the first thing it saw upon being born—and because he carried a familiar aura that had guided its power—

It bore him no hostility. Instead, it moved closer and gently rubbed its huge hornless head against Xuan Chuan's arm, giving a deep, thunder-laced moo that sounded remarkably affectionate.

Xuan Chuan smiled faintly. Suppressing his exhaustion, he extended a hand. A wisp of pure mana containing a trace of The One That Escaped's Dao rhythm appeared in his palm, and he gently stroked the Kui Ox's forehead.

The Kui Ox narrowed its purple eyes comfortably.

However, just as Xuan Chuan began establishing a connection with the Kui Ox and prepared to put it away along with the spirit materials before leaving, his brow suddenly twitched.

Relying on The One That Escaped's lingering sense of danger and the delicate perception strengthened by Merit, he vaguely sensed that beyond the entrance to the Innate Concealment Formation—

In the direction Ji Meng had fled, that heavily wounded demon aura had not completely gone far away. Instead, it was lingering at some distance, concealing itself.

At the same time, another demon aura, even more concealed but equally powerful, seemed to be rapidly approaching from an extremely distant place!

"Reinforcements... have they truly come?" Xuan Chuan's heart sank. He swiftly stored the Innate Thunder-Pattern Iron in his storage treasure, then patted the Kui Ox on the head.

The little fellow seemed to sense something. It gave a low roar, transformed into a streak of lightning, voluntarily shrank its body, and entered Xuan Chuan's sleeve.

He had to leave immediately! But before leaving...

Xuan Chuan looked down at this thunder secret realm, damaged by the Kui Ox's birth and the battle just now but with its core still intact. A resolute gleam flashed through his eyes.