On the seventh day after the formation was completed, the weather changed.
In the blink of an eye, the entire sky of the Xuanhuang Home Realm suddenly darkened.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had grabbed all the light in this world and crushed it to pieces.
Inside the Green Mountain Daoist Temple, Qi Yun suddenly opened his eyes.
His eyes blazed with a brilliant light, like two primordial Great Sun illuminating the entire Wuji Sacred Sect.
The Mountains and Rivers Cauldron hangs beside him, and nine divine dragons raise their heads in unison, their roars tearing through the sky and shaking the tiles of the entire Daoist temple.
"They're here," Qi Yun uttered in a low voice.
He stood up, took a step, and his figure was already above the Great Void Hall.
There, dozens of True Lord had already gathered.
Each True Lord has taken their place, each occupying a corner, and is infusing their own Great Dao power into the formation.
When Qi Yun appeared, all eyes turned to him.
" Primordial Unity Daoist Hunyuan," True Lord Qingyuan spoke, his voice clear yet tinged with tension, " the Great Tide of Time —has arrived."
Qi Yun nodded slightly.
He didn't say much, but his body sank down and landed in the Great Void Hall, where he sat cross-legged on the center of the formation.
"Fellow Daoists," his voice, though not loud, clearly reached the ears of every True Lord, "Proceed according to plan."
"Good!"
Dozens of voices rang out simultaneously, converging into a deafening sound wave.
Meanwhile, in the outer void.
The Great Tide of Time has arrived.
The first thing to appear was light.
It was not a single ray of light, but billions of rays of light, gushing forth from the deepest part of the Long River of Time, like billions of celestial rivers bursting their banks at the same time, rushing and spreading in all directions.
They come together and transform into a vast, boundless, ever-surging ocean of light.
That is the tide of the Long River of Time.
It's here.
There is no sound, for sound loses its meaning before it; there is no trajectory, for space loses its direction before it; there is no time, for it is itself the source of time.
It surged forth from the deepest part of the Long River of Time with an unstoppable and irresistible force, sweeping towards the direction of the Xuanhuang Home Realm!
Wherever the ocean of light passed, the lifeless stars floating in the void were instantly swallowed up, crushed, and turned into nothingness, like grains of sand thrown into a torrent.
Those shattered fragments of the world, the remains of those fallen True Lord, the relics of civilizations forgotten in the corners of time.
Everything, under the wash of that ocean of light, collapsed, dissipated, and returned to chaos like a sandcastle.
That was not destruction, but "return".
Return it to the years, return it to time, return it to the eternal and irreversible [ Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time ]!
The entire boundary wall outside the Xuanhuang Domain began to tremble violently in the face of this terrifying power of time.
Countless fine cracks spread across the boundary wall.
The boundary wall was trembling.
It is resisting, struggling, and doing everything in its power to maintain its integrity.
But the power of the Great Tide of Time is too vast, too immense, and too unstoppable.
"Click"
A crisp sound, like shattering glass, exploded in the silent void.
Large chunks of the boundary wall peeled off the main body and fell into the ocean of light, where they were instantly swallowed up, crushed, and turned into nothingness.
The boundary wall has been breached.
It didn't completely collapse, but rather a crack was torn open by the Great Tide of Time.
A massive, bottomless chasm stretching for thousands of miles.
And in the deepest part of this ocean of light, at the source of the Long River of Time, at the beginning and end of time and space!
Eyes lit up.
They float silently in the depths of the ocean of light, at the source of the Long River of Time, in that supreme dimension that even True Lord cannot reach.
The gazes of the Dao King.
They made no move, made no sound, and simply watched silently.
Looking at the torn boundary wall, looking at the ocean of light surging into the Xuanhuang, looking at the faintly visible...
Xuanhuang Treasure Tree, rooted in the boundless, thick soil.
That fruit is ripe.
The Great Tide of Time has finally arrived.
A voice emanated from the golden light.
Not high, not low, not fast, not slow.
There was no excitement, no greed, only a faint sense of emotion, like reuniting with an old friend.
"What a memorable place!"
The Xuanhuang Home Realm, the Wuji Sacred Sect, the Great Void Hall.
Qi Yun sat cross-legged in the center of the formation, his eyes sparkling with colorful light.
"Everyone's here."
The next moment, Qi Yun raised his hand and gently pressed down on the array's core beneath him.
"Buzz!!!"
A chaotic, colorful aura surged from his palm, like a torrent bursting its banks, instantly flooding into the entire array. The array patterns lit up, one after another, like awakened dragons, meandering across the ground of the Great Void Hall, intertwining and entwining in the void, spreading out over the entire Wuji Sacred Sect.
Wherever the array patterns passed, the void solidified, and the Principle submitted.
The Sword Intent of the Sword Pavilion transformed into a soaring azure light, the flames of the Phoenix Helm transformed into a sky full of crimson gold, the cycle of reincarnation in the Yellow Springs Netherworld transformed into a dark gray mist, and the Dragon Clan's might transformed into a churning sea of clouds.
Dozens of great paths and dozens of colors, under the rule of the [ Primordial Unity ] Dao, converged into a seven-colored pillar of light that stretched across the heavens and earth, piercing straight into the sky!
Within the pillar of light, countless Dao patterns appeared and disappeared, flowing and turning.
There is the Lunzhuan sun and moon, casting their clear light; there is the inverted Milky Way, cascading its silvery glow; there is the blooming lotus, each petal engraved with a complete Principle heaven and earth; there is the long tolling of an ancient bell, each vibration cleansing the filth and impurities of the void.
That was the manifestation of the [Primordial Great Luo Golden Heaven] Grand Array, an unparalleled array forged by Qi Yun using his own Dao as the foundation, the Myriad Wonders of Heavenly Dao Fruit as the source, and the Great Dao of Thousands of True Monarchs as the pillars.
A beam of light shot into the sky, piercing through the grand formation of the Wuji Sacred Sect, through the clouds above the Central Land Plains, through the boundary wall of the Xuanhuang Home Realm, and straight into the deepest part of the outer void!
Above the sky, the barrier, riddled with holes by the Great Tide of Time, groaned under the weight of this beam of light.
Countless fine cracks spread out like a spider web, and from within the cracks, a chaotic light shone through. That was the aura of the outer void, the aura of the Dao King, and the aura of the Great Tide of Time.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening roar, deep and muffled, exploded from the sky.
Something deeper, more ancient, and more terrifying is approaching the Xuanhuang Home Realm!
The will of the Dao King.
"Guard your mind!" True Lord Qingyuan shouted, his Sword Intent soaring into the sky, severing the invading will.
But many more people are unable to resist.
Those Foundation Establishment Realm True Person, those Qi Refining Realm disciples, and those mortals, under the impact of this will, either lost their composure, fainted, or roared madly.
At this moment, the entire Xuanhuang Home Realm was plunged into unprecedented chaos.
Qi Yun ignored all of this.
His entire focus was now on the [ Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Heaven ] formation.
Because that is the key to this war.
"Buzz"
At the heart of the formation, Qi Yun's [ Primordial Unity ] Dao was pushed to its limit.
His eyes shone with a brilliance like two burning Great Sun, and his body was enveloped in a chaotic, surging aura that merged with the entire grand formation.
He could sense that the power of the Great Dao that the True Lord had lent him was flowing, intertwining, and merging within the formation, transforming into a terrifying force capable of shaking the heavens and earth.
"Boom!!!"
Above the sky, from the largest rift, a golden Buddha's hand boldly reached in.
The Buddha's hand was so large that it blotted out the sky and the sun, its five fingers as big as mountains.
Each finger is like a giant pillar supporting the sky, with golden Buddhist light flowing from its fingertips. Within the light, countless phantom images of Buddhas can be vaguely seen sitting cross-legged chanting scriptures, their chanting resounding throughout the universe.
Within the palm of the Buddha's hand, a huge swastika symbol slowly rotated. With each rotation, countless golden Sanskrit characters emerged from the symbol, spreading and intertwining in the void like living things, attempting to bring the entire Xuanhuang Home Realm into its scope of salvation.
The moment the Buddha's hand reached in, the entire sky seemed to freeze.
The oppressive aura emanating from the Buddha's hand was not mere suppression, but something more fundamental—the Dao!
All the True Lord felt their own Great Dao tremble slightly, as if a subject were seeing his king.
But Qi Yun's expression remained calm.
He raised his hand and gently touched the golden Buddha's hand.
"Buzz"
Within the formation's core, a chaotic Sword Qi aura shot skyward!
The moment this sword was drawn, the world changed color.
The Sword Qi clashed fiercely with the Buddha's hand!
"Clang--!!!"
A clear and resonant metallic clang exploded out, causing the entire Great Void Hall to tremble!
The Buddha's hand paused slightly, and the rotation speed of the swastika mudra in the palm suddenly decreased.
The sword light shattered inch by inch under the crushing force of the Buddha's hand, turning into countless chaotic light fragments that scattered across the sky.
"This formation is quite well-organized."
Before he finished speaking, the five fingers of the Buddha's hand were slightly bent, and the Buddha seal with the word "" in the palm suddenly shone brightly!
The light did not spread outward, but rather collapsed inward, condensing into a single point of extreme light.
Qi Yun frowned slightly, but remained calm. He changed the hand seals in his hands again.
Within the grand formation, all the power converged into a torrent at the same moment, crashing headlong into the Buddha's hand!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
An indescribably terrifying explosion erupted!
Above the sky, countless fine cracks appeared on the surface of the golden Buddha's hand!
Golden Buddhist light emanated from the cracks, like flowing magma, exuding a terrifying aura that could incinerate everything!
The Buddha's hand slowly retracted.
It wasn't that they were repelled, but rather that they actively withdrew.
Its movements were unhurried and unhurried, as if the earth-shattering attack just now was nothing more than a gentle Fresh Breeze.
" The Great Tide of Time is just beginning to rise; I am in no hurry."
The World-Honored One's voice came from the heavens above, peaceful and serene.
"Your formation is very interesting."
When the tide reaches its zenith, I will return to learn from you.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Buddha's hand completely retracted into the crack.
The golden gaze lingered in the void for a moment, giving Qi Yun a deep look before slowly fading away.
The other gazes also disappeared one after another after the World-Honored One left.
The crack in the sky was still there, but the suffocating sense of oppression had lessened considerably.
"Phew----" True Lord Qingyuan let out a long sigh of relief, his hand holding the sword trembling slightly.
The other True Lord also concealed their auras, their faces pale. Although they had not directly participated in the battle just now, the energy they supplied to the entire formation was still greatly depleted.
Qi Yun remained seated cross-legged, his eyes sparkling with light, his expression serene.
His robes had several tears, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
But those eyes were even brighter than before.
" Primordial Unity Daoist Hunyuan," True Lord Qingyuan slowly spoke, "Has the World-Honored One—retired?"
"I've withdrawn," Qi Yun said calmly, "But only temporarily."
"He'll come again soon." Qi Yun raised his gaze, looking at the not-yet-fully-healed cracks in the sky.
And he wasn't the only one.
Silence fell over the hall.
The Great Tide of Time have only just begun; the real tests are yet to come.
"But at least we held off the first wave." Qi Yun's voice was calm, yet carried a reassuring strength.
Fellow Daoists, you have done very well.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over each True Lord in the hall.
"In the days to come, the formation will need to operate constantly. I, Qi, will be stationed at the core of the formation, never leaving its side."
"Fellow Daoists may take turns resting, but not all of you may leave."
The great formation needs the support of your Great Dao.
"We humbly obey Primordial Unity Daoist Hunyuan's decree!" Dozens of True Lord responded in unison.
Qi Yun nodded slightly and said no more.
He closed his eyes and focused his mind on the great formation.
The days ahead will be even more difficult.
The World-Honored One will come again, and the other Dao King will also come.
When the Great Tide of Time reach their zenith, the power they can unleash will be even greater than it is now.
Even—in person!
It must be him.
Great Void Hall, the grand formation slowly began to operate.
The seven-colored beam of light still shot into the sky, illuminating the entire heavens.
At the heart of the formation, Qi Yun sat cross-legged, his body surrounded by boundless colorful energy that flickered in and out of existence. Behind him, a supreme and profound azure sky of the Great Dao was constantly becoming more solid and clear.