Above the Heavenly Seal Sect, the dark red blood curtain that had shrouded the area for many days crumbled like shattered glass, and the long-awaited sunlight pierced through the evil aura and fell down.
However, the people standing in the dilapidated square showed no joy on their faces after breaking through the formation.
Ning Chenxin withdrew the divine light she had been releasing, her aura slightly weak. Although the power of the Heavenly Seal Treasure Tree was strong, activating it also consumed a great deal of her mental energy.
He followed the gaze of the crowd and looked toward the border of Banan, his pupils suddenly contracting.
Where the horizon should have been the outline of a city and verdant mountains, it was now covered by an endless expanse of scarlet.
The red color was not the glow of sunset, but a thick, impenetrable bloodlust and resentment, like an overturned giant bowl enveloping the core area of the entire Banan border region.
Amidst the blood-red light, distorted runes could be vaguely seen flowing, forming a gigantic six-pointed star pattern that was hundreds of times larger than the array within the Heavenly Seal Sect. It slowly rotated, and with each pulsation, the distant space trembled.
Even from such a distance, a chilling, malevolent, despairing, and devouring force still emanated from it like a tidal wave.
"That... that was the real evil formation..." The armored general's face was deathly pale, his voice trembling. " The Heavenly Seal Sect... was indeed just bait, one of the formation's foundations..."
The usual laziness on Han Shouyi's face had vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
Sensing the overwhelming Evil Qi in the distance, he said in a deep voice, "What a clever trick. Using six sects as sacrifices to inscribe a six-pointed star pattern, Heavenly Seal Sect is the last piece and also the trigger point."
While all our attention, including that of the main force of the Imperial Guard, was drawn to the Heavenly Seal Sect, they had already activated the true, complete grand formation at the core of the border.
Lu Mingyuan frowned and said, "The Sacred Church has quite the grand scheme. They could have set up this last corner of the array base anywhere, but they insisted on letting us discover it, just to hold us back? Could it be... that they have other purposes?"
"Who cares about all that now?" Jiang Yi clenched his fists, his nails almost digging into his flesh, his eyes bloodshot. "The border city... Huo Xuedao and the others..."
He dared not imagine what would happen to the imperial guards and border troops who remained, as well as the countless cultivators and civilians who were unable to evacuate, under the influence of such a large-scale evil formation.
Ba Xiyue swayed slightly, "With Huo Xuedao in charge, the city gates shouldn't be breached; there's still room for maneuver..."
However, Ba Xiyue, as expected of a princess of the Banan Divine Kingdom, quickly regained her footing. Her voice carried a chilling killing intent and a barely perceptible tremor, "Immediately send a message to the capital! Request the Imperial Preceptor and the Attendant Hall to provide immediate assistance! Commander Jiang, gather all the Imperial Guards who are still mobile and accompany me to the border!"
Xuanjia, you lead the Moon Shadow Guard to escort the survivors of the Heavenly Seal Sect to safety, and contact all surrounding sects and Lineage to activate the highest alert level and build a defensive line. We must not allow the Evil Qi to spread further!
"Yes!" Jiang Yi and the Xuanjia generals responded solemnly.
Qin Zhao and Yang Shao exchanged a glance, both seeing the horror in each other's eyes.
The intelligence gathered by the Supervisory Sacred Hall had never recorded an evil formation of such terrifying scale.
Qin Zhao said coldly, "This matter is no longer limited to the realm of the Banan Divine Kingdom; it must be reported to the Sacred Hall immediately."
Chu Ran also abandoned all his arrogance and contempt at this moment, and his face turned ugly.
The old man in gray said in a low voice, "Second Young Master, this place has become the eye of the storm. This old servant suggests..."
Chu Ran glanced at the gray-robed elder and said in a deep voice, "Do you think I can't handle this?"
The old man in gray froze.
Although he didn't say anything, anyone could tell that the old man in gray was indeed thinking the same thing.
Chu Ran his sleeve and coldly snorted, "Send the message back to the Lineage, saying that I can handle this all by myself!"
The moment the words left his mouth.
Chu Ran transformed into a fiery meteor and charged towards the blood curtain!
The old man in gray shook his head and sighed, then relayed the message and followed after them.
Seeing this, others followed suit.
The closer you get to the border, the more shocking the scene becomes.
The once bustling border city is now mostly shrouded in a bloody veil.
The city walls are broken, and the runes are dimmed.
Ba Xiyue's expression changed drastically, "The city has been breached? What is Huo Xuedao doing?!"
At the edge of the blood-red curtain, the earth cracked, the vegetation withered, and all life vanished. Only the thick stench of blood and lingering resentment drifted in the air. One could vaguely see some cultivators and civilians who had escaped the blood-red curtain's range, all with terrified faces and covered in wounds, fleeing desperately in the direction away from the border.
Occasionally, small groups of guards or cultivators would engage in battles with black-robed Evil Cultivator or demonic Demon Beast driven mad by Evil Qi outside the blood curtain, but they were clearly at a disadvantage and were retreating steadily.
"Damn it!" Jiang Yi's eyes were bloodshot as he saw several imperial guards being surrounded and killed by the Evil Cultivator. He roared and was about to rush down.
" Commander Jiang, calm down!" Yang Shao grabbed him and pressed him down. "Saving lives is of utmost importance, but without breaking the core formation, killing more Evil Cultivator will be futile and will only lead to a quagmire! Look over there—"
Everyone looked in the direction Yang Shao pointed.
In the center of the blood-red sky, the outline of a majestic mountain peak could be vaguely seen; that was Mount Zhenyue, the hub of the border and the location of the garrison headquarters.
At this moment, the crimson light at the mountain peak was at its most intense, as if it were the energy hub and the core of the entire evil formation.
Countless streams of crimson energy, like blood vessels, converged from various border regions—the sects previously covered by the six-pointed star—towards that location. Meanwhile, an even denser crimson Evil Qi erupted from the mountaintop, maintaining and expanding this terrifying blood curtain that covered hundreds of miles.
High in the sky surrounding the mountain peaks, dozens of powerful figures in black robes could be vaguely seen hovering, holding bone staffs or evil banners, chanting obscure incantations, and presiding over the operation of the great formation.
The aura of the leaders among them was so strong that even Han Shouyi felt a slight unease.
" Peak of the Formless Realm... and there's more than one." Han Shouyi's voice was deep. "This kind of lineup is definitely not just aiming to slaughter a single city or region."
Qin Zhao chimed in, "According to the records of the Sacred Church in the Sacred Hall, when the Sacred Church takes large-scale action, it's usually not just about slaughtering those who practice evil arts."
At this point, everyone looked at Ba Xiyue and Jiang Yi.
Han Shouyi deep voice, "What exactly is on the border of Banan?"
Ba Xiyue was bewildered.
Jiang Yi frowned, his expression grave. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "This matter concerns the secrets of the Banan Divine Kingdom and cannot be disclosed without His Majesty's permission."
Chu Ran sneered, "As expected, the problem lies with your Banan Divine Kingdom. Even now, you're still unwilling to admit it. It seems the Banan Divine Kingdom doesn't want our support anymore."
Jiang Yi sighed, "I only know a little about this matter. If the king is willing to speak, he will naturally do so."
Ba Xiyue frowned.
Even she didn't know?
At this moment.
Ning Chenxin frowned and said sharply, "Resolve this matter first, otherwise more people will be killed."
Lu Mingyuan and Han Shouyi looked at each other in bewilderment.
They now understood why Ning Chenxin's Vast Righteous Qi was so pure.
It wasn't just talent, nor was it solely because of that book.
It's because Ning Chenxin's heart is purer than any of theirs.