Chapter 1368: Questioning

Upon hearing this, Gu Huojin's eyes flickered with surprise, but quickly regained calm, and he said nothing.

Seeing that Gu Huojin did not refute, the crowd stirred again.

"Lord of the Reincarnation Hall, what kind of formation is the Three Thousand Dao Divine Formation you just mentioned?" a voice rang out. It was Zhen Shiyin, the old man in a red robe beside Cangwu Zhenjun.

The others turned their gazes sharply toward Zhen Shiyin.

Although the Heavenly Court was unpopular and many were outwardly compliant but inwardly opposed, Gu Huojin's long-established authority kept anyone from daring to offend him. Yet Zhen Shiyin dared to openly speak with the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall at this critical moment.

Cangwu Zhenjun and the Wind-named Dao Ancestor also showed surprise in their eyes.

"It is a formation capable of destroying heaven and earth, yet also of creating them anew," the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall said slowly, glancing at Zhen Shiyin.

"Destroying heaven and earth? Creating them anew? Could the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall explain more clearly?" Zhen Shiyin frowned, clearly not fully understanding.

"If I am not mistaken, the Three Thousand Dao Divine Formation is an earth-shattering formation that can simultaneously operate the three thousand laws of the world. Once activated, it can recreate earth, fire, water, and wind, destroy everything in the world, and return it to chaos. The caster, by leveraging the formation's power, can break free from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, master the Chaos Law—the source of all laws—and ascend to a state beyond the Heavenly Dao, creating a new world and re-evolving all things, perhaps even becoming the sovereign of the new world," the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall continued.

At this moment, the Jade Pool was utterly silent, so quiet that a falling needle could be heard. Everyone listened intently to the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall, their expressions shifting from varied to utterly shocked.

This was understandable, for his words were too incredible, beyond imagination, and impossible not to astonish.

The Dao Ancestors of the Heavenly Court, including Baiyun, were also greatly surprised, but as Dao Ancestors, their minds were far more steadfast, and they quickly recovered.

Gu Huojin remained utterly calm, without a ripple.

Zhen Shiyin's expression shifted several times before finally settling.

But then his body suddenly trembled, as if recalling something, and he turned sharply to Gu Huojin, asking, "Your Excellency, when you mentioned wanting to break through the Heavenly Dao earlier, were you referring to using this Three Thousand Dao Divine Formation?"

With a swish, many turned their heads in unison toward Gu Huojin.

Most of these were cultivators from various immortal domains who had come to attend the Bodhi Banquet.

"To break through the Heavenly Dao, there is only this one method in the world. Fellow Daoist Gu, is there anything wrong with what I just said?" Before Gu Huojin could speak, the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall interjected.

Gu Huojin remained silent, but Zhen Shiyin fixed his gaze on the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall and asked again, "Is what you said true?"

"To activate the Three Thousand Dao Divine Formation, two conditions must be met. First, an extremely vast supply of primordial energy is required. That is why the Heavenly Court has been frantically plundering spiritual materials from various immortal domains all these years," the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall said.

"And the second condition?" Zhen Shiyin pressed.

"Naturally, it is to gather as many of the three thousand great laws as possible. The Heavenly Court has been secretly working on this as well. Everyone knows what ultimately happens to the prisoners captured by the Immortal Prison... Moreover, the Heavenly Court has never stopped collecting treasures containing special law power. The purpose need not be elaborated by me," the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall continued.

The expressions of those in the Jade Pool shifted repeatedly, finally settling into calm, as if they believed the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall's words. Their gazes toward the Heavenly Court faction grew complex.

"Nonsense! What Three Thousand Dao Divine Formation, destroying heaven and earth—pure fabrication! The Heavenly Court extracts law power from Immortal Prison prisoners partly as punishment and partly to refine immortal artifacts. As for collecting materials with special law power, it is also for refining special treasures to resist the Reincarnation Hall. Fellow Daoists, this is the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall's scheme to divide us. Do not be swayed by his instigation!" Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, Baiyun Dao Ancestor hastily shouted.

"Indeed! The Reincarnation Hall has always been causing trouble in the shadows, stirring chaos everywhere. Now they come again with lies!" The dwarf-like old man and others quickly chimed in.

"Fellow Daoist Baiyun, I have long suspected why the Heavenly Court extracts law power from prisoners and once investigated in secret. As far as I know, those extracted laws are not sent to the Hundred Refinement Peak of the Heavenly Court for artifact forging, but elsewhere," Zhen Shiyin said.

Baiyun Dao Ancestor turned sharply to look at him, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Baiyun, given the circumstances, I can no longer trust the Heavenly Court. I have no wish to involve myself in your disputes. Do as you please," Zhen Shiyin said, cupping his hands toward the Heavenly Court faction before flying out of the Jade Pool.

The Lord of the Reincarnation Hall glanced at the Demon Lord, who raised a hand and waved. The demon army parted to both sides, revealing a passage for Zhen Shiyin to fly out safely.

Zhen Shiyin did not truly leave but stopped at a safe spot nearby.

With Zhen Shiyin taking the lead, the other Bodhi Banquet attendees exchanged glances. Soon, some flew out, following Zhen Shiyin outside.

Cangwu Zhenjun and the Wind-named Dao Ancestor exchanged a look and also flew over.

In an instant, over half of the cultivators from various sects in the Jade Pool had left.

Those remaining were sparse, less than a third.

"You..." Baiyun Dao Ancestor was both shocked and furious at the sight, but seeing Gu Huojin still composed and unfathomable, he dared not forcibly stop the others from leaving.

Chen Ruyan's beautiful eyes flickered, but she did not leave.

Yinming Dao Ancestor also remained, standing motionless, still blocking the demon army.

The number of cultivators in the Jade Pool was already small, and with most gone, the disparity with the surrounding demon and barbarian allied forces grew even more pronounced.

"Hehe, Hall Master, impressive. With just a few words, you've divided most of their combat strength!" the Demon Lord said with a slight smile, transmitting his voice to the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall.

"You flatter me, Demon Lord. It was all because Guhuojin himself acted against the Way and lost popular support; otherwise, no matter what I said, it would have been useless." The Palace of Reincarnation Master transmitted back.

"You have worked hard, Palace Master. Leave the rest to us." The Demon Lord transmitted, then raised his hand and waved it forward.

Rumble!

The demon domain army immediately advanced, their footsteps echoing in unison, shaking heaven and earth.

The army of the Primordial Wilds domain also moved forward, tightening the encirclement.

Accompanied by the uniform and heavy footsteps, an endless pressure surged from the army, pressing down on the Heavenly Court members within the Jade Pool.

...

As thunderlight crackled from Han Li's palm, a sizzling sound arose, and wisps of green smoke emerged from the crown of Meng Yuan's head and his seven orifices.

Whether Meng Yuan's final curse was an angry rant or a magical prophecy, Han Li had no interest in hearing it.

After a moment, the aura on Meng Yuan's body completely faded. Zishan and Dongli Hu exchanged glances, their expressions growing even more solemn.

Han Li lifted the head, already charred black on the outside by the Divine Thunder of All Creation, but still uneasy. A silver light flashed in his palm, and a small silver flame figure darted into the head.

"I'll return you a whole corpse..." Han Li casually tossed Meng Yuan's head back onto the mutilated body.

With a whoosh, the corpse immediately burst into blazing silver flames.

"Now, it's your turn." Han Li looked at Dongli Hu and Zishan, speaking slowly.

"No choice, we have to force an attack. If we still can't win later, don't worry about me. Just burn through everything in this Ten Directions Ten Thousand Immortals Formation." Dongli Hu sighed deeply and said.

Zishan was silent for a moment, then nodded.

A crystalline light flashed in Dongli Hu's eyes, and he waved his hands in the void. Ripples of intense law fluctuations spread around him, and behind him in the void, the phantom images of towering mountains materialized out of thin air.

"Han Li, dare you take this Mountain-Crushing Fist?" Dongli Hu shouted loudly.

"Why wouldn't I dare?"

Han Li laughed heartily, casually tossing aside the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword in his hand, letting it transform into the Sword Spirit Boy and fly to the side.

The next moment, he dashed forward, and a layer of golden spiritual domain instantly spread out, enveloping the oncoming Dongli Tiger.

Han Li's body shimmered with golden light, and countless golden ripples rippled throughout the entire spiritual domain. The previously relentless Dongli Tiger suddenly felt as if trapped in quicksand, each step forward greatly hindered and extremely difficult.

Yet he still roared loudly, clenching his fist and smashing it toward Han Li.

As his arm thrust forward, the phantom images of mountain peaks behind him began to dissipate, transforming into streams of light that flew into his arm, then surged into his fist, causing half his forearm and his entire fist to burst with dazzling golden light in that instant.

At the same time, within several immortal domains of the True Immortal Realm, countless towering peaks had their spiritual energy depleted, their mountain roots severed, and without any warning, they exploded.

The might of this single fist bore the force of a hundred mountains.

Seeing this, Han Li was not alarmed but delighted, and a feeling of exhilaration surged within him.

"Come on..."

He roared, and from the five temporal manifestations behind him, including the True Word Wheel, beams of light surged forth, flew into his body, and gathered at his fist, condensing a power of Five Elements Extinction.

With a fierce gaze, Han Li threw a punch.

A thunderous boom erupted!

The five immensely powerful time law forces converged into a single colossal golden fist, which collided head-on with Dongli Tiger's mountain-like giant fist. The two rare and formidable forces clashed and instantly exploded.

In an instant, a violent and terrifying force swept in all directions, directly compressing the surrounding void, causing it to recede layer by layer, and in that moment, strands of spatial fissures appeared.

Unfortunately, those fissures were too minute and lasted only briefly before vanishing.

The massive explosive wave pushed both Han Li and Dongli Tiger back tens of thousands of li. Han Li stamped his foot in the void, producing a crack, and then charged forward again.

"How is that possible?" Dongli Tiger's heart tightened; his clenched arm was still trembling slightly.

In a pure contest of strength, he had actually lost to Han Li.

But at that moment, a sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out.

A figure leaped up from behind Dongli Tiger, holding a bow in one hand and drawing the string with the other, an arrow condensed from purple flames nocked. Releasing the string, the arrow transformed into a streak of purple light, shooting toward Han Li at an inconceivable speed.

The True Word Wheel behind Han Li spun rapidly. He swept his hands before him, and layers of ripples condensed from time law power formed like a shield in front of him.

Yet the purple flame arrow pierced through the air, and upon entering the time law ripples, it was completely unimpeded, passing straight through and shooting toward Han Li's heart!