Chapter 407: Holding the Masses Hostage
Li Fan, who had once had a close encounter with Zhao Shijie in forbidden literature, instantly recognized her voice.
“【One Heart Heavenly Venerate】, is that her name? Or does it represent her defiance of the laws of heaven and earth?”
“Why would she show herself?”
Several thoughts flashed through Li Fan’s mind in a split second.
Just as Li Fan was filled with uncertainty, the One Heart Heavenly Venerate’s voice rang out again.
“The agreement was made with the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate.”
“Now I am here, where is the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate?”
The voice was clear and spread throughout the heavens and earth.
All the cultivators in the Tianling Province looked at each other in astonishment.
Most of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance members knew that the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate had long since transcended the world, no longer interfering with worldly affairs.
But everyone assumed that the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate was simply living a carefree life, too lazy to bother with these mundane matters.
That was why he hadn’t appeared for so many years.
And he was undoubtedly still alive in the world.
But what did the One Heart Heavenly Venerate mean by her words today?
“Where is the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate?”
A terrifying thought arose in the minds of everyone present.
“No, no, it can’t be.”
Everyone’s eyes were filled with suppressed fear.
“Where is the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate?”
The One Heart Heavenly Venerate asked again.
Her voice was like thunder, echoing through the Tianling Province.
It had the tendency to cross the white mist barrier and spread to other provinces.
In the sky, strands of green light appeared, like a giant net.
They blocked the sound.
The One Heart Heavenly Venerate’s voice gradually faded.
“【One Heart Heavenly Venerate】, please leave.” Ji Hongdao said again.
His face was as cold as ice, devoid of any expression.
“If I don’t leave, what will you do?” Zhao Shijie’s voice, laced with amusement, rang out.
The thousands of Five Elders Association cultivators below all took a step forward in unison.
Ji Hongdao took a deep breath, “After the achieving Heavenly Venerate, she should no longer participate in the disputes of the mundane world.”
“This is the agreement between the Law-Bestowing Heavenly Venerate and the Five Elders Association Heavenly Venerates of that time.”
“Are you truly going to break it now?”
“Boom!” The thousands of Five Elders Association cultivators, who had formed a battle formation, took another step forward in unison.
It showed the One Heart Heavenly Venerate’s determination.
“Very well.”
“If that’s the case…”
A flicker of hesitation crossed Ji Hongdao’s eyes.
But he quickly suppressed it.
His eyes now reflected an icy coldness and unwavering determination.
Ji Hongdao looked up at the sky, bowing and bending his body.
One after another, green lines appeared in the sky.
They rapidly spread from the center to the surroundings, forming a giant net that enveloped the entire Tianling Province in an instant.
Ji Hongdao stood up and bowed again.
The green light became increasingly brighter.
It dyed the entire sky a strange shade of green.
Ji Hongdao then bowed three times.
A moment later…
Countless, densely packed green threads descended from the giant net.
They rushed towards their targets on the ground.
In an instant, the entire Tianling Province seemed to have been trapped in a terrifying green spider web.
“Wait, how is this possible?!”
The cultivators on the Dust Crossing Boat, witnessing the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation unleash its power, finally saw the formation’s true might.
But none of them showed the excitement they should have.
Instead, they were filled with immense terror.
Even more so than when they had just heard about the 【One Heart Heavenly Venerate】 coming to the battlefield.
Because the target of the Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation was not the Longevity Venerate who stood before the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.
Nor was it the thousands of Five Elders Association cultivators who had come to invade.
It was…
All the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance cultivators present in the Tianling Province.
Every green thread that fell meant the death of a cultivator.
High in the heavens.
A distorted apparition formed an abstract painting of chaotic and mottled colors.
Return, return, return, return…
Path, path, path…
At, at, at…
Countless sounds converged and intertwined.
It was impossible to discern their meaning.
They were just a multitude of strange sounds echoing endlessly, forming a grand, chaotic, and distorted celebratory symphony.
Whether it was the young formation masters on the Dust Crossing Boat.
Or Li Fan, who was several provinces away.
They were all in a state of stupor at this moment.
Because this scene was beyond their comprehension.
The Tianxuan Locking Spirit Formation, which was supposed to be used to intimidate the Five Elders Association, was now slaughtering the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance cultivators indiscriminately.
Looking at the dense green lines in the sky and earth of the Tianling Province.
Everyone had no doubt that all the cultivators in this province below the Dao Integration stage had perished in the attack of the Locking Spirit Formation.
“Why?”
Li Fan’s heart was filled with endless confusion.
He had thought that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance would kill the formation masters who had built the Locking Spirit Formation to ensure that its structure wouldn’t be leaked.
But he hadn’t expected that the target of the Locking Spirit Formation would be all the cultivators in the Tianling Province.
“It makes no sense at all.”
“Has the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance gone mad?”
He analyzed one possibility after another in his mind, but he couldn’t find any motive for the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance to do this.
Just as he was racking his brains, trying to understand.
The world suddenly began to shake.
The Tianling Province.
And the Tianpan Province where he was currently.
Both were shaking.
His heart pounded rapidly, as if he had encountered a fatal threat.
Li Fan abruptly stood up, his face grave as he looked towards the heavens.
“This is…”
A meaningless roar echoed faintly from the sky.
The entire world trembled slightly.
At this moment, all the living beings in the Xuanhuang Realm.
All instinctively raised their heads, gazing at the sky.
Great fear was born in their hearts.
The feeling of doomsday approaching, with nowhere to escape, surged through all living beings.
The trembling lasted for a long time before finally stopping.
All living beings showed expressions of relief, as if they had survived a catastrophe.
But they were clueless about what had happened.
The Tianling Province.
Before the survivors had recovered.
“【One Heart Heavenly Venerate】, please leave.” Ji Hongdao said again.
After a long silence.
“Hahaha…”
“Haha…”
“Interesting. Whose idea was this?”
“Staying in the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance is truly a waste of your talents. Why don’t you join me instead!”
Zhao Shijie chuckled, revealing her figure, asking with amusement.
She looked exactly like the image Li Fan had seen in the forbidden book.
And she was exactly as depicted in the legends.
She wore a white robe, her figure alluring.
Ji Hongdao closed his eyes, not daring to look directly at her.
“Please leave, Heavenly Venerate!”
Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, but he remained resolute.
Zhao Shijie stared at him for a moment.
Then she looked up at the sky.
“You have some nerve.”
Before her voice had faded, she had vanished.
The instant the One Heart Heavenly Venerate disappeared.
The thousands of golden rays of light that had been suspended in the air, blocked by her, fell to the ground.
They killed all the Five Elders Association cultivators who had come to invade.
Strangely, these cultivators showed no fear in the face of death.
And there were no signs of cultivators falling from the heavens.
“【One Heart Heavenly Venerate】…”
Ji Hongdao looked in the direction where Zhao Shijie had left, muttering for a moment.
Then he turned around, his expressionless face facing the formation masters on the Dust Crossing Boat.
“Let’s go.”
“The feast is over. It’s time to have a good talk with you.”