Dragon Binding Broken, Powerful Foe Frightened Away

The Dragon-Binding Pillar's nine dragons chorused together, its binding force bearing down like Mount Tai crushing the crown of one's head!

The faint phantom of formation patterns beneath Xuan Chuan's feet flickered unsteadily, like a guttering candle in the wind.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Formation's foundation, activated from afar, was ultimately too distant. Not even one-tenth of its power remained, making it impossible to fully offset the terrifying suppression of this acquired spirit treasure.

Shiji was pressed to one knee, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, yet her eyes were filled with unwillingness and resolve.

A look of delight appeared on Taiyi's face. Bypassing Xuan Chuan, he reached out for Nezha's golden body within the temple!

At this critical juncture—

"Formation, rise!"

Xuan Chuan suddenly roared, his voice shaking the four wilds! He was not shouting at empty space, but at several barren mountains a few miles beyond Chentang Pass!

At his command, several streams of immortal light abruptly erupted from those barren mountains. Though differing in strength, they shared the same origin, their auras closely interconnected!

Within the immortal light, more than a dozen figures flickered in and out of sight—it was a group of elite Jiejiao disciples whom Xuan Chuan had secretly transferred and stationed here before setting out!

Most of their cultivation was at the True Immortal or Mysterious Immortal realm, with two Golden Immortals leading them!

These disciples had not been selected at random. They had all participated in drills for the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation and were the group with the deepest understanding of the simplified formation and the most seamless coordination!

They had long since laid formation foundations at several key positions calculated by Xuan Chuan. Now, upon receiving the order, they immediately activated them completely with their combined mana!

Buzz—!

Formation fluctuations ten times stronger than those Xuan Chuan had remotely invoked earlier surged from the barren mountains, swiftly spreading and linking together.

They formed a small Three Talents Space-Locking Formation—far less vast than it had been during the Golden Turtle Island drills, yet more condensed and more specifically suited to countering binding-type treasures!

Three thick pale-cyan pillars of light shot into the sky from the mountain formation foundations. They converged above Chentang Pass, transforming into a translucent azure net that instantly descended upon the Dragon-Binding Pillar!

This was not an attack, but "interference" and "cancellation"!

One of the core principles of the simplified Ten Thousand Immortals Formation was "joint defense" and "interlinked auras."

At this moment, the small Three Talents Formation concentrated all its power at one point—interfering with the Dragon-Binding Pillar's absolute control over the surrounding space and weakening its binding force!

The azure net fell upon the golden light radiating from the Dragon-Binding Pillar, producing strange sizzling sounds, as though two laws of differing natures were grinding away and clashing against each other.

The Dragon-Binding Pillar's suppressive force immediately became visibly sluggish and weakened!

The pressure on Xuan Chuan and Shiji eased!

"Bold indeed! You had men lying in ambush!" A trace of anger finally flashed through Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable's eyes. He had not expected Xuan Chuan's schemes to be so meticulous, that he had secretly prepared such a move!

He immediately poured in more mana. The Dragon-Binding Pillar's golden light blazed brighter, and the nine golden dragon phantoms grew increasingly solid as they roared and battered the azure net. The net shook violently, on the verge of shattering.

But the fleeting opening this gained was already enough for Xuan Chuan!

This was the very moment he had been waiting for—the instant when the Dragon-Binding Pillar's power was restrained by the formation and its connection to Wenshu's mind briefly wavered!

"Fate-Cutting—sever!"

Xuan Chuan moved like lightning. The violet-gold light upon the Fate-Cutting Sword blazed more fiercely than ever as he pushed the Dao resonance of The One That Escaped and the power of all his merit to their limits!

He did not attack the Dragon-Binding Pillar itself—that was beyond his ability to destroy—nor did he attack the nearby Taiyi. Instead, man and sword became one.

He transformed into a violet-gold bolt of lightning like a startled swan, striking directly at Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable himself from an inconceivable angle and at inconceivable speed!

This sword was not intended to kill, but to "sever"—to sever Wenshu's flawless, limb-like command of the Dragon-Binding Pillar in that instant!

To sever that thread of "certainty" that told him the present situation was entirely under his control!

The sword light was too fast, too strange! Its Dao resonance specifically targeted the operational core of divine abilities and magical treasures!

What kind of figure was Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable? He saw through Xuan Chuan's intentions in an instant and gave a cold snort.

His left hand formed a seal, summoning Jade Clarity Immortal Light, condensed as though tangible, to shield his body. His right hand moved his whisk slightly, preparing to unleash a divine ability to intercept the attack.

Yet just as his thoughts shifted, as his mana stood poised to erupt, there came a gap of one hundred-millionth of an instant in which his focus slipped due to the interference with his control over the Dragon-Binding Pillar—

Riiip!

The violet-gold sword light slipped past the edge of the immortal light swept out by his whisk like a swimming fish, missing it by a hair's breadth, and precisely "touched" the cuff of his broad Daoist robe!

Sword Qi containing the true meaning of "severance" erupted!

A neat tear about an inch long appeared at the cuff of Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable's robe!

Though it had not harmed his physical body in the slightest, damage to his robe was still a loss of face for a Golden Immortal of his status and cultivation!

More importantly, that strike had successfully disrupted his rhythm, causing his control of the Dragon-Binding Pillar to completely "disconnect" for an extremely brief instant, less than a breath!

Within that breath—

"Junior Sister Shiji! Take it!"

Xuan Chuan roared. At the same time, he slashed backhandedly, his violet-gold sword aura sweeping out to force back Taiyi, who had only just reacted and was rushing to stop them in shock and fury!

Having received the order, Shiji endured her injuries. With a full sweep of the Eight-Trigram Cloudlight Sash, she seized the moment when the Dragon-Binding Pillar's golden light suddenly dimmed due to its loss of control.

She instantly collected Nezha's golden body, protected by Xuan Chuan's restrictions within the temple, along with the hesitant soul inside it!

"You dare!" Taiyi's eyes nearly split with rage as he prepared to cast out the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood.

Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable's face was dark as water. Looking at the tear in his cuff, then at the golden body Shiji had taken away, wisdom flashed rapidly in his eyes as he calculated countless possibilities in an instant.

He sensed that the Jiejiao disciples in the distant barren mountains were swiftly withdrawing, and the formation's fluctuations were weakening.

As for Xuan Chuan before him, though his aura was unsteady, his gaze remained sharp as he stood sword in hand. Clearly, he still had strength left. Coupled with that strange sword intent and the merit protecting his body, he would be difficult to take down in a short time.

More importantly... he faintly sensed that high above in the distant heavens, an indifferent yet razor-sharp gaze seemed to sweep over this place, there and gone.

Master Tongtian!

Though it was merely a trace of attention, it was enough to show his stance. If they continued this entanglement, then perhaps...

Wenshu Guangfa Heavenly Venerable made his decision at once.

He raised a hand and recalled the Dragon-Binding Pillar, whose light had dimmed somewhat. He gave Xuan Chuan a calm glance, his gaze as deep as the sea and impossible to read.

"The will of Heaven is ever-changing, and variables arise in abundance. Nephew Xuan Chuan, take care of yourself."

With that, he ignored Taiyi, who was hopping mad, swept his great sleeve, and transformed into a streak of clear light that vanished in an instant.

"Senior Brother Wenshu!"

Taiyi panicked, but he knew the greater tide had passed. He glared viciously at Xuan Chuan, then looked at the empty temple. Left with no choice, he ground his teeth, stamped his foot, and rode a fleeing light after Wenshu.

Outside Chentang Pass, only Xuan Chuan, Shiji, and the Jiejiao disciples rapidly concealing themselves as they withdrew remained.

Xuan Chuan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, suppressing his churning blood and qi and his nearly exhausted mind.

That seemingly effortless strike just now had in truth drained every last bit of his calculation and strength.

He had succeeded. Once again, he had snatched food from a tiger's jaws before a Chanjiao Golden Immortal.

Yet there was little joy on his face.

He looked up at the heavens. Through The One That Escaped, he could clearly sense that the already obscure and chaotic heavenly secrets had become even more violent and disorderly because of today's upheaval at Chentang Pass!

Countless threads of karma twisted madly together, snapped, and were reborn. Tribulation aura surged in from all directions like boiling tides, filling heaven and earth!

The gears of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation seemed to have been violently shoved, beginning to rumble forward at an unprecedented speed!

An even greater storm was coming.