Peach Mountain's Array Core Revealed, Yang Jian Moves to Break the Heavenly Emperor's Seal!
"Mother!"
Yang Jian's eyes instantly turned blood-red.
Fifteen divine elephant particles roared in unison within him. His immense blood energy surged skyward, battering the golden light of Peach Mountain's Sealing until it shook wildly.
Yu Ding Zhenren's expression changed, and he raised a hand to stop him.
But in the next instant...
Yang Jian abruptly turned his head.
There was no immortal light in that gaze, nor any magical power.
Only the crushing pressure of blood energy, dense beyond measure.
Boom!
The protective golden body before Yu Ding Zhenren shuddered violently.
The single crack that had appeared over its chest instantly spread outward, fine fractures crawling across half the golden body.
Yu Ding Zhenren let out a muffled grunt as the rocks beneath his feet crumbled inch by inch.
He retreated several steps, his sleeves snapping in the wind. For the first time, undisguised shock surfaced in his eyes.
Peach Mountain suddenly fell silent.
The mountain wind stopped.
The Sealing's golden light flickered around them, yet seemed too cowed by that blood energy to draw near.
Yu Ding Zhenren lowered his head and stared at the cracks in his golden body, saying nothing for a long time.
The Eight-Nine Arcane Art he had painstakingly cultivated for years had always been renowned for its protective golden body and the stability of its primordial spirit.
Yet today, the pressure spilling from a youth's eyes had forcibly shaken its very foundations.
This shocked him even more than Yang Jian's earlier feat of enduring Peach Mountain's restrictions head-on.
For what had been shaken was the very foundation of the Dao arts in which he took the greatest pride.
"You..."
Yu Ding Zhenren slowly raised his head, his voice growing deeper.
"Just what cultivation art are you practicing?"
As he studied Yang Jian, he mentally considered the Three Teachings of the Mystic Gate, the various arts of the Western Religion, and even the bodily cultivation legacies of the ancient Witch Clan.
None of them matched.
There was no Jade Purity Immortal Light around Yang Jian, no Shangqing sword intent, and no Western vow power.
That power had only one defining trait.
Weight.
So heavy it seemed capable of crushing all arts.
So heavy it seemed capable of forcing every divine ability to bow before the flesh.
Yang Jian did not answer.
He looked into the depths of the broken cliff.
There, Yao Ji's presence flickered beneath layer after layer of the Heavenly Emperor's Sealing, so weak that it seemed she might fade away at any moment.
"Move aside."
Yang Jian's voice had turned utterly cold.
"Today, I'm only here to save my mother."
Yu Ding Zhenren's brows knitted tightly.
He could sense that Yang Jian was on the verge of erupting.
If he continued to bar his way, this youth would fight him to the death without hesitation.
Worse still, Peach Mountain's Sealing had already been disturbed.
If they delayed any longer, those in the Lingxiao Treasure Hall would inevitably notice.
Yu Ding Zhenren withdrew the Jade Purity Immortal Light from his fingertips, softening his tone.
"Young friend, I did not come on the Heavenly Court's orders, nor do I intend to harm you."
Yang Jian's gaze remained icy.
"You stopped me just now."
Yu Ding Zhenren fell silent for a moment.
"I stopped you because Peach Mountain's Sealing is bound to the Heavenly Court's edict. If you strike it head-on by force, the disturbance will be too great. Before you can rescue her, the Heavenly Court's army will arrive."
Yang Jian's fingers slowly tightened into a fist.
The fifteen divine elephant particles vibrated within him with a deep rumble.
Deep in his dantian, the Hell Furnace began to turn as well. Sensing the formidable immortal power within Yu Ding Zhenren, its flames gave a faint leap.
Yang Jian forcibly suppressed that restless surge.
Today, he was here only to save his mother.
Every breath of delay he could avoid was a breath saved.
"What are you trying to say?"
Seeing that he was willing to listen, Yu Ding Zhenren felt a little relief.
This youth possessed an exceptionally fierce killing instinct, and an equally fierce obsession.
But he was not someone who killed indiscriminately.
That was enough.
"Young friend, your power is incomparably domineering. I have never seen its like in my life."
Yu Ding Zhenren looked toward Peach Mountain's main peak, his expression turning grave once more.
"But the Peach Mountain Grand Array is no ordinary restriction. It is rooted in the earth veins and reinforced by the Heavenly Emperor's Edict. With every punch you throw, the array draws power from the entire mountain range to repair itself."
Yang Jian's gaze shifted slightly.
He had sensed that himself just now.
Peach Mountain's Sealing was like an enormous net.
He could tear open one corner.
But new golden runes would soon fill the gap.
"Is there a way?"
Yu Ding Zhenren nodded.
"There is."
He swept his hand, sending a strand of Jade Purity Immortal Light into the mountain path.
In an instant, countless tiny array patterns appeared around them.
The patterns overlapped in layer after layer, stretching from the foot of the mountain into the depths of the broken cliff, each one connected to the earth veins.
"This array's strength lies in borrowing power."
"But however powerful an array may be, it still has a central pivot."
"If we find the Array Core, you can drive that divine strength of yours into its weak point and briefly throw the Sealing out of balance."
Yang Jian stared at him.
"Why are you helping me?"
Yu Ding Zhenren did not answer immediately.
He looked at this youth, whose body brimmed with blood energy yet whose entire obsession centered on saving his mother, and sighed inwardly.
According to the original workings of heaven, Yang Jian should have become his disciple.
But now, an unseen hand had forcibly rewritten that Master-Disciple Karma.
If he continued to throw his weight around as a Chan Sect Golden Immortal, he would only push that bond beyond reach altogether.
"Young friend, there was meant to be a karmic bond between us."
Yu Ding Zhenren spoke slowly.
"Today, I do not ask you to trust me. I only ask that you remember one thing: I will not help the Heavenly Court capture you."
Yang Jian's gaze sharpened slightly.
"A karmic bond?"
Yu Ding Zhenren did not elaborate.
Now was not the time to explain such things.
Within Peach Mountain's Sealing, Yao Ji's presence was growing weaker and weaker.
Yang Jian heard it too.
His patience was nearly exhausted.
"I'll trust you once."
Yang Jian stepped forward, coming to Yu Ding Zhenren's side.
"If you deceive me, I will find you, whether I must scour the azure heavens above or the netherworld below."
Yu Ding Zhenren's expression grew solemn.
He could tell that not a single word this youth spoke was an empty threat.
"I understand."
He wasted no more words. Forming seals with both hands, he spread Jade Purity Immortal Light from his sleeves, sending it creeping up the mountain path.
One by one, Heavenly Court runes hidden deep within the mountain emerged beneath the immortal light.
The more Yang Jian saw, the colder his gaze became.
These runes pierced the entire mountain like chains.
Every one of them led into the depths of the broken cliff.
That meant his mother had endured more than the mountain's crushing weight all these years. These countless seals had also been wearing away at her immortal body, day and night.
"The Heavenly Court."
Yang Jian's voice was low.
"What a fine Heavenly Court."
The fifteen divine elephant particles trembled in unison.
Sensing that killing intent suppressed to its utmost limit, Yu Ding Zhenren was secretly startled.
If this youth grew into his full strength, he might truly become a great scourge to the Heavenly Court.
Yet in the next instant, an anticipation he could not suppress arose within him.
He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
Just how far could such utterly pure bodily strength shake the Heavenly Emperor's Sealing?
"I found it."
Yu Ding Zhenren suddenly spoke.
He raised a hand and pointed toward an inconspicuous rock face halfway up the mountain.
It looked entirely ordinary, but beneath the Jade Purity Immortal Light, a dark-gold sigil appeared within the rock.
Within that sigil, the Heavenly Emperor's Edict could faintly be seen flowing.
"This is the outer Array Core."
"Smash it open, and the Sealing's power will briefly flow backward."
"In that instant, you must rush into the broken cliff."
Yang Jian did not hesitate.
He slowly raised his right fist.
The fifteen divine elephant particles lit up together.
Deep within his dantian, the Hell Furnace spun with a roar, compressing the blood energy within him to its utmost limit.
All of Peach Mountain began to tremble.
On both sides of the mountain path, countless golden runes seemed to sense the danger and converged madly on that Array Core.
Yu Ding Zhenren's expression changed.
"Quick!"
Yang Jian stepped forward.
The ground collapsed.
His figure instantly appeared before the rock face.
"Mother."
"Your son is coming to save you."
As his words fell...
He unleashed a punch!
Boom!
The rock face exploded, and the dark-gold Array Core twisted violently.
At that moment, Peach Mountain's entire Sealing let out a piercing hum. Every rune surged backward at once, as though someone had ripped an opening through it from within.
From the depths of the broken cliff, Yao Ji's weak voice sounded once more.
"Jian'er... don't..."
Yang Jian's eyes grew even redder.
He did not stop.
His body became a streak of dark-gold light, charging straight toward the opening in the broken cliff.
And at that same moment...
In the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
The Heavenly Emperor's Dharma Mirror lit up fully, its surface clearly reflecting two figures at the foot of Peach Mountain.
One was Yang Jian.
The other was Yu Ding Zhenren.
Haotian slowly rose from the Emperor's Throne.
The entire Lingxiao Treasure Hall instantly grew so cold it felt as though it had plunged into an ice cavern.
"Jade Void Palace."
"You, too, would meddle in my family's affairs?"