Chapter 16: The Clan-Protecting Formations

"So strong." Ji Ning gazed at the Lord of All Fiends in the distant void. "No wonder he's a Ancestral God. Relying solely on the Star-Hand, I'm completely at a disadvantage." This Lord of All Fiends, who during the ancient war of destruction had rescued a large group from the World God 'Nuwa' right under her nose, was the most feared figure in Nuwa's camp.

"Form the formation."

"Form the formation."

"Form the formation."

"Form the formation."

Lord Sanqing, Buddha Tathagata, Shennong, and Fuxi each began to command their own Celestial Immortals and True Immortals. Kuafu, Jade Cauldron, Xingtian, Carefree Dao Lord, and other True Gods and Dao Ancestors also swiftly took charge of large numbers of Celestial Immortals and True Immortals.

"Final battle." When the Yellow Emperor's voice rang in the ears of every immortal and demon in Nuwa's camp,

all the Celestial Immortals immediately waved their hands, putting away the scattered immortals and demons under their command. In an instant, the countless figures of immortals and demons on the battlefield became sparse. The vast majority of ordinary immortals and demons had all vanished. The Celestial Immortals and True Immortals also quickly stowed the thousands of Celestial Immortals under them into immortal mansion treasures and cave-heaven treasures.

On the battlefield, the countless immortals and demons of Nuwa's camp vanished almost in an instant, leaving only True Gods, Dao Ancestors, Celestial Immortals, and True Immortals.

"Boom~~~"

Lord Sanqing gathered three thousand six hundred Pure Yang True Immortals around him. Vast and mighty dharma power surged, attracting a massive amount of primal chaos energy. With Lord Sanqing's methods, he frantically absorbed it... In an instant, a huge formation took shape. Above the formation appeared a massive phantom of 'Lord Sanqing', beneath whose feet was a huge deep-green scroll. Around the phantom floated four Chaos Divine Swords, their aura overwhelming.

"The Nuwa Mends the Heavens Formation!" The mighty cultivators of the Unbound Gate side also hurriedly commanded their formations and the Ten Thousand Things Envoys. When they saw the great formation formed by Lord Sanqing in the distance, their hearts turned cold.

The three clan-protecting formations left by Nuwa.

What does 'clan-protecting' mean?

Nuwa was worried that Chaos alien races might invade in the future, so she expended boundless effort to create these three clan-protecting formations before she could leave in peace!

Back in the battle of the Zhulu Great World, one of the three clan-protecting formations, the 'Pangu Opens the Heavens Formation', had been displayed, but it was only led by the True Immortal 'Ji Min', with just over five hundred Celestial Immortals and True Immortals under him... a simplified version of the Pangu Opens the Heavens Formation.

Now, with 'Lord Sanqing' as the core and three thousand six hundred Pure Yang True Immortals assisting... it was the complete 'Nuwa Mends the Heavens Formation'.

Every move it made drew upon the power of heaven and earth, no less than that of a first-class Ancestral Immortal!

And with Lord Sanqing's own high level of insight and the fearsome power of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation... one could imagine how terrifying he was.

...

"Rise." Buddha Tathagata pressed his palms together. Around him, five thousand eight hundred Celestial Immortals also drew upon equally vast power from heaven and earth, rapidly coalescing into a massive divine body, but it still bore Tathagata's appearance.

This formation was one of the three clan-protecting formations: the 'Pangu Opens the Heavens Formation'.

Gathering the power of five thousand eight hundred Celestial Immortals, with Tathagata as the core... the incarnated Pangu was in no way inferior to an Ancestral God! With Tathagata's high level of insight and the power of his palm techniques, he feared no one.

...

"Form the formation." Fuxi also led three thousand six hundred Pure Yang True Immortals to form the Nuwa Mends the Heavens Formation.

"Form the formation." Shennong led five thousand eight hundred Celestial Immortals to form the Pangu Opens the Heavens Formation.

"Condense." Carefree Dao Ancestor led two thousand two hundred Celestial Immortals and True Immortals to form the 'One Yuan Two Rituals Formation'.

The three clan-protecting formations.

The Pangu Opens the Heavens Formation, commanding Celestial Immortals, incarnates Pangu, and excels in close combat.

The Nuwa Mends the Heavens Formation, commanding True Immortals, gathers overwhelming dharma power, and excels in long-range attacks.

The One Yuan Two Rituals Formation is highly resilient. On the battlefield, wherever there is danger, it goes; wherever it is needed, it holds the line. It can attack from a distance or advance as a whole formation!

The three clan-protecting formations... their power is overwhelming!

Even if Chaos alien races invade, even if Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals invade... relying on these formations and the high level of insight of the mighty cultivators in Nuwa's camp, they can repel foreign enemies!

……

The Nuwa camp was deploying their formation.

The Heartless Gate camp was also deploying their formation. They too commanded a great number of celestial gods and true immortals... some were sent to control the Myriad Creatures Emissaries... But when they saw the three great clan-protecting formations of the Nuwa camp reveal their full might for the first time, they were all terrified.

"Demon Lord, our fortune is weak, while the Nuwa camp's fortune is strong. Our great formation can absorb far less of the world's primal power than theirs."

"Our fortune is weak, and our formation is weak too... The gap is too great."

"Demon Lord, what should we do?"

Almost everyone in the Heartless Gate was panicking.

They knew that the Nuwa camp had three great clan-protecting formations, but after all, the Nuwa camp had never truly revealed the real power of those formations before! Previously, they had only used simplified versions, since the Sanqing Daoist, Tathagata, and the others had never personally commanded them... Now that they were commanding them in person, the sight chilled the Heartless Gate to the bone.

Not to mention the Heartless Gate, even the experienced and knowledgeable Great Demon Lord Cixiu changed expression drastically.

"Prepare to attack." Great Demon Lord Cixiu, leading his servants and a host of alien true gods from the Ancient Ruins, was waiting in the distance to strike at any moment, but when he saw the formation formed by the Nuwa camp, he too stood frozen.

"This formation..." Great Demon Lord Cixiu, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, could no longer stay composed. He exclaimed in shock, "That Nuwa, isn't she just a native? And she became a World God not long ago before leaving this Three Realms. Having just become a World God, and as a native with limited experience... how could the three clan-protecting formations she created be so powerful?"

"Trouble." The Blade Venerable beside him said in a low voice, "Master, these natives are weaker than us because they are all true gods and third-class ancestral immortals... But now these so-called clan-protecting formations have greatly increased their strength. Look at that Tathagata; the 'Pangu Body' he has formed is definitely comparable to a patriarch god's body. With his palm techniques... even if the two of us join forces, we might not be able to do anything to him."

"Hmm." Great Demon Lord Cixiu nodded.

Tathagata excelled at defense.

Back then, even when the two of them joined forces, they could only occasionally wound Tathagata, and never managed to capture him. Now that Tathagata had the 'Pangu Body,' combined with his palm techniques, he was absolutely invincible.

"These native leaders all have very high levels of insight, and their weaknesses... have also been compensated for by this formation." The Blade Venerable frowned. "They are not to be trifled with."

"I knew it—a chaotic world that gave birth to a World God... would not be so easy to invade." Great Demon Lord Cixiu gritted his teeth. "Let's watch and see how the Heartless Gate handles this. If the Heartless Gate loses disastrously, we will abandon the Three Realms and leave quickly."

"Mm-hmm." The Blade Venerable nodded.

Although both the Great Demon God Cixiu and the Blade Venerable had desperate measures they had not yet used, given the depth of Nüwa's camp, even if they fought to the death, they could not seize the Three Realms. They could only rely on the means of the Frivolity Sect.

...

Though panicked, the Frivolity Sect had no choice.

"Tathāgata, Sanqing, Fuxi, Shennong—the four great formations they command... you need not engage them. Go and block the other formations led by True Gods and Patriarchs." The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons immediately gave orders.

"Yes."

The group of great cultivators from the Frivolity Sect all breathed a sigh of relief. Their number was not small; for instance, the 'Four Ancestors of Source River' faction led by Source Elder had now merged into the Frivolity Sect.

This large group of great cultivators also commanded two great formations.

Some were three True Gods leading three thousand nine hundred Celestial Gods, forming the 'Immeasurable Demon God Formation.'

Some were six Patriarchs leading five thousand one hundred True Immortals, forming the 'Great Annihilation Formation.'

These were two formations that Lord Huanmu had created with immense effort, but they were far inferior to Nüwa's formations. For instance, the 'Great Annihilation Formation' required six Patriarchs and five thousand one hundred True Immortals, while Nüwa's camp's 'Nüwa Mends the Heavens Formation' needed only one Patriarch and three thousand six hundred True Immortals, yet the latter was still stronger in power!

Of course...

The stronger the commander, the greater the formation's power. The formation commanded by Sanqing was far more powerful than the 'Nüwa Mends the Heavens Formation' led by an ordinary Patriarch.

Now that they did not have to face the formations commanded by Sanqing, Fuxi, Shennong, and Tathāgata, the great cultivators of the Frivolity Sect all felt more confident.

"The fiercest ones—we don't need to block them."

"We still have the Nine Envoys of All Things, so we can at least put up a fight against Nüwa's camp."

"But we don't know how the Demon Lords plan to deal with those terrifying existences in Nüwa's camp." The other great cultivators of the Frivolity Sect were also filled with worry.