Zhuxiang rubbed his chest and immediately nodded.
With a flash, Zhuxiang appeared within the army formation. His aura connected with the five hundred peak Golden Immortals below, and in an instant, boundless baleful qi surged forth.
"Open!"
Following Zhuxiang's loud shout, a blood-red sphere flashed past. Bloodlight flickered before Jiang Haofeng's eyes, and he found himself in a crimson space filled with baleful qi. As far as the eye could see, everything was blood-red.
The next moment, countless streams of blood-red mist rose up. The entire space was instantly flooded with baleful qi, suppressing and corroding everything within it. Baleful qi circulated around Jiang Haofeng's body, forming a protective barrier over his surface and blocking the corrosion.
Immediately afterward, Jiang Haofeng withdrew the baleful qi of his physical body. Streaks of golden light burst forth from him, and a clear aura spread out. Golden immortal light rippled outward, forming another barrier.
It was the defensive divine ability from the Grand Pure Immortal Method—Grand Pure Immortal Light!
The instant he switched, the surrounding baleful qi swarmed over him. The golden light around Jiang Haofeng visibly dimmed, but fortunately, the immortal light was resilient enough to withstand the corrosion, though only barely.
It could not be helped. In terms of immortal cultivation, Jiang Haofeng was merely at the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, far below his physical realm. If his Grand Pure Immortal Light had not been modeled after the Grand Pure Sage's, containing thirty percent of the Grand Pure Sage's spiritual essence, it would have long since been corroded by the baleful qi.
And this was only the beginning. The true attack had yet to arrive. Jiang Haofeng himself had devised this battle formation, so he understood it even better than Zhuxiang, who was currently wielding it.
"Myriad Fiends Slaughtering God Formation!"
Zhuxiang's voice came from every direction. The baleful qi in the void instantly condensed, and the qi permeating the entire space gathered into tens of thousands of streams, like blood-red spheres drifting through the air.
Boom!
The next moment, tens of thousands of streams of baleful qi transformed into streaks of light and crashed toward Jiang Haofeng. In only moments, thousands of them struck the protective Grand Pure Profound Light around him. The defensive Grand Pure Profound Light shattered at once, and stream after stream of baleful qi slammed directly into Jiang Haofeng's Great Witch Treasure Body.
Yet this baleful qi could do nothing to Jiang Haofeng's thousand-tempered Great Witch Treasure Body!
Strictly speaking, Jiang Haofeng's body was not a Martial Dao True Body. After all, he cultivated the genuine Nine Revolutions Profound Art, not the evolved Nine Tribulations Martial Scripture. It was more appropriate to call it a Great Witch Treasure Body—and a flawless, perfected one at that!
Within the formation, Jiang Haofeng, besieged by tens of thousands of streams of baleful qi, had his eyes light up. This power was impressive. A direct attack of baleful qi alone could reach the level of a mid-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal.
Moreover, baleful qi was best at defiling magic treasures, magical power, and immortal bodies. It was less effective against his Great Witch Treasure Body, since he himself cultivated baleful qi and naturally did not fear its corrosion.
If this baleful qi were instead clear qi, it would be exceptionally powerful when used against protective divine abilities. By Jiang Haofeng's estimate, even ordinary late-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortals who cultivated only magical power might not be able to withstand this corrosion.
And this was merely the first transformation of the great formation. Jiang Haofeng had spent so long deducing this formation; naturally, its might was beyond question.
Streams of baleful qi struck Jiang Haofeng, then dispersed back into the void. Under the battle formation's effects, they condensed once more, endlessly cycling without end.
Unfortunately, what could not harm him simply could not harm him. No matter how many there were, it was useless.
"Condense!"
Zhuxiang's voice rang out again. The tens of thousands of streams of baleful qi in the void gathered together, forming blood-red longswords. In an instant, the crimson space was filled with densely packed scarlet blades, and an invisible killing intent swept through the void.
"Kill!"
Tens of thousands of swords fired at once, all aimed at Jiang Haofeng, ready to pierce his heart with a myriad blades!
"Excellent!"
Jiang Haofeng chuckled and did not dodge. Baleful qi surged around him as he fully activated his Great Witch Treasure Body. Chaotic-colored profound light rippled across his body, and the light of his flesh was as indestructible as Primordial Divine Gold.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Tens of thousands of longswords fell in succession, yet every one of them was deflected. They could not harm Jiang Haofeng in the slightest.
This was a complete Great Witch Treasure Body. His flesh was comparable to a Postnatal Spirit Treasure, incomparably formidable, and it was also the foundation upon which the Witch Clan now dominated the Primordial World.
"Gather!"
As Zhuxiang's words fell, tens of thousands of streams of baleful qi converged, forming a massive cloud of baleful qi. The cloud continuously compressed until it finally became a blood-red longsword!
The longsword resembled a blood-colored jade treasure, its killing intent piercingly sharp. As it aimed at him, Jiang Haofeng's Great Witch Treasure Body actually felt a prickling pain.
Jiang Haofeng's eyes lit up. This strike could break through his defenses!
The longsword whistled through the air like a bloody meteor, unleashing razor-sharp killing intent. For the first time since their sparring began, Jiang Haofeng felt pressure, and a serious look appeared on his face.
Jiang Haofeng pressed his fingers together and slashed at the sky. The blood-red sword qi overhead silently split in two, and the formation space enclosing Jiang Haofeng split apart with it!
"Not bad. Very strong. With the Myriad Fiends Slaughtering God Formation, five hundred peak Golden Immortals working with a peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal can already rival an ordinary late-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal."
"The Earth Fiend Camp's clansmen may be lacking in cultivation, but they can still contend with early-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortals."
Jiang Haofeng withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction.
Faced with Jiang Haofeng's praise, Zhuxiang stared blankly at the finger he had lowered. "Haofeng, was that Heaven Opening Earth Splitting just now?"
"Yes!"
"Heaven Opening Earth Splitting is actually this powerful?"
The sharpness of that strike could not be described with words. Nothing in the world could convey the splendor of that move. The baleful sword formed from the qi of five hundred peak Golden Immortals and one peak Grand Unity Golden Immortal had been like tofu before that sharp edge, effortlessly cleaved apart.
The outer great formation had suffered the same fate, crumbling like dry weeds. One move had torn everything apart!
"Of the nine Martial Dao divine abilities I passed down, Heaven Opening Earth Splitting is unquestionably the strongest. If its power were not great, how could it stand first among the Martial Dao Nine Divine Abilities?" Jiang Haofeng said with a smile.
A gleam flashed through Zhuxiang's eyes at those words, and his heart stirred. With such a powerful divine ability, if he mastered it, he might be able to fight a Grand Luo Golden Immortal while still a Grand Unity Golden Immortal!
Jiang Haofeng glanced at the eager Zhuxiang. "Forget it. I told you before that Heaven Opening Earth Splitting cannot be cultivated at low realms. Wait until you break through to the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm."
"Fine!"
Jiang Haofeng dispersed the Two Forms Micro Dust Great Array, and the humans returned to Central Phoenix Mountain.
After everyone dispersed, Jiang Haofeng further refined the formation while the others went off to cultivate.
Jiang Haofeng also returned to his small house.
Jiang Haofeng's house stood beside the Human Clan Pavilion. Two small houses had been built to the left and right of the Ancestor Pavilion. One was Jiang Haofeng's residence, built after he returned from his travels.
On the other side stood a simple bell tower, with a golden bell inside for gathering the Human Clan elders.
A streak of golden light flashed through the void, and Zhisheng appeared atop Central Phoenix Mountain. Inside the small house, Jiang Haofeng opened his eyes, rose, and stepped out the door.
"Haofeng!" Zhisheng looked at Jiang Haofeng with a warm smile.
"You're here. How are the humans outside?" Jiang Haofeng smiled as well and asked casually.
Among the humans, Zhisheng was the one closest to Jiang Haofeng. She had been the first human Jiang Haofeng met, and they interacted most frequently in daily life.
As one of the twenty-six elders of the Visible Lineage, Zhisheng and Xuandu were the only two without descendants. Xuandu cultivated with the Grand Pure Sage, while Zhisheng traveled randomly among the Visible Lineage's human tribes.
Whichever tribe she reached was where she stayed. Since she had no tribe especially close to her, it made no difference where she went.
After staying in a tribe for some time, Zhisheng would return to Central Phoenix Mountain, remain there for several days, then head to another tribe for several days, repeating the cycle.
Zhisheng visited Central Phoenix Mountain more often than anyone else in the Visible Lineage. She was the bridge connecting the humans of the two lineages. Back when Jiang Haofeng broke through, it was Zhisheng who spread the news.
"Very well. Everything has been going smoothly, no different from before."
The two stood side by side, gazing into the distance together.
After a pause, Zhisheng spoke again. "However, our human territory is about to come into contact with the Witch Clan and Demon Clan. In the far south of human territory, there is a Demon King at the Grand Unity realm. I hear he is even a descendant of one of the Demon Court's Demon Gods."
"To the north, we are also nearing a Witch Clan tribe. We are only about a day's journey away from them. Before long, we will share borders with both clans."
Jiang Haofeng immediately frowned. "Why has the expansion been so fast? Didn't I remind the clansmen not to expand excessively?"
Zhisheng gave a bitter smile. "There was no choice. The clansmen's numbers have grown too quickly. Without expansion, we simply cannot support the existing population."
"Even two ordinary clansmen incapable of cultivation can have nearly a hundred children over their lifetimes!"
Jiang Haofeng fell silent. The spiritual qi of the Primordial World was far too dense now. Heaven and earth contained inexhaustible innate spiritual qi, and even without cultivation, living beings enjoyed long lives under its nourishment. Ordinary Acquired Humans could easily live for a thousand years.
Over a thousand years, even those who had few children would generally have more than a hundred descendants, while the more prolific could have several hundred.
Generation after generation accumulated, and the human population continued to grow like a rolling snowball. Their territory likewise kept expanding.
Even though Jiang Haofeng had specifically warned the elders of the Visible Lineage before, the rate of expansion remained extremely fast.
"We cannot come into conflict with the Witch Clan and Demon Clan. The Witch Clan rules the earth, and the demon race rules the skies. The humans are absolutely no match for them."
"The two clans will not take the initiative against humanity for the Sage's sake. But if humans strike first and they come to our door, even the Sage will have nothing to say."
Zhisheng smiled. "Don't worry. I know the stakes. The Witch Clan and demon race are so powerful that humans can hardly avoid them fast enough. How would we dare approach them?"
"I have already emphasized this to the northern and southern tribes. From now on, they will not expand even an inch toward the borders."
"That's good." Jiang Haofeng nodded.
"Have you gotten results from the battle formation you were deducing?" Zhisheng asked curiously.
"I have." Jiang Haofeng smiled.
"It's all right if you haven't. There's still plenty of time, so take it slow... What?"
Zhisheng, who had been giving her usual reassurance, froze. She then looked at Jiang Haofeng with delight in her eyes.
Haofeng had been deducing this battle formation for a very, very long time. Zhisheng had asked about it many times, and every time, there had been progress, but it had not yet been fully deduced. She had only asked as usual today, never expecting such a surprise.
"I've already deduced it. It is called the Myriad Fiends Slaughtering God Formation!"
"How powerful is it?" Zhisheng asked expectantly.
"By combining the power of five hundred Golden Immortals under the command of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, it can fight a Grand Luo Golden Immortal across realms. Zhuxiang, leading five hundred peak Golden Immortal innate humans, can unleash the power of a late-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal."
Zhisheng's eyes widened instantly as she stared at Jiang Haofeng in disbelief. Fighting a Grand Luo across realms—and even at the late stage!
Did that not mean Zhuxiang could easily defeat her?
Before you continue