One of Tianyi’s conduits stayed in the war room of Shangri-La II outside the Numinous Sword Sect. Thanks to his view, his level-zero conduit was in the war room, relaying the battlefield changes in real time. It wasn’t done through words, but a three-dimensional model.

Tianyi raised an eyebrow when he saw the miniature Yan Nie turn into a flaming giant and go all out against the Numinous Sword Sect. It reminded him of his own Nine Heavens Nebula Titan and the Five Element Titan used by Ba Shifang.

“Oh, swordsmanship?” He saw the five-colored flame giant take out a broadsword condensed out of flames, but when he swung it, a beam shot out and incinerated everything in its way.

Tianyi was a bit speechless. “You don’t need a sword to unleash that move, right? Well, it does look very cool, so extra points for handsomeness.”

He held his chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Should I teach him the Three States of Qi? I did make it public to the Immortal Court, but it was unexpectedly difficult to learn for many people. But Ba Shifang and Daoyi learned it. Maybe Yan Nie could too?”

Before Tianyi could ponder the question for long, the situation on the battlefield changed. He was the first to sense it because of his mastery over spacetime and the unique role he played, which allowed him to see the entire battlefield.

The entire three-dimensional model screeched to a halt. It flickered before disappearing entirely.

“What happened?” Minister Huang asked.

There was a reason he was the head elder of the War Hall before being promoted to minister of the Ministry of War. His talent in controlling soldiers and army formations was the highest in the Immortal Court. Because of this, the Immortal Court valued him more for his commanding capabilities than his cultivation talent—not to say he didn’t have any. Otherwise, he would not have reached the Extremity Immortal Realm.

Tianyi stayed silent for a moment before replying. “Give me a moment. All of my conduits were destroyed at once.”

At this, the tension in the room rose. Even a level-zero conduit would be incredibly difficult to destroy because of the dimensional boundary that formed their shape. They might not have offensive capabilities, but their defensive power was top-notch. Their defensive power only increased the stronger the conduit was.

If something could destroy all of Tianyi’s conduits, it didn’t bode well for all the immortals inside the Numinous Sword Sect.

A moment later, Tianyi widened his eyes and showed a never-before-seen disbelief.

“What happened?” Minister Huang practically demanded, as a sinking feeling appeared in his stomach.

“Dead, all dead,” Tianyi whispered. “All the immortals inside are dead. Not even the war formations could save any of them. Grand Elder Zhang, Vastlight, and the Cloud Duchess have vanished too.”

Although Tianyi used the word vanished, combined with what he just said, everyone knew that the three sovereigns’ chances of survival were not high.

“I can’t enter. There’s a powerful formation that’s covering the entire Numinous Sword Sect. Judging from its power, it can shroud the entire realm if needed.” Tianyi’s continued words only brought further gloom.

“Impossible.” Even a commander like Minister Huang couldn’t help but deny reality.

As the vanguard, the Immortal Court had dispatched nearly thirty percent of its force. Aside from the three sovereign-level experts and some volunteers, only immortal monarchs and true immortals participated. Their job was to form emperor-level war formations and wear down the Numinous Sword Sect until Divinity Yanxu took action. Then, they would deploy the next wave, which would be led by immortal emperors controlling sovereign-level war formations.

Now, all that went down the drain. The loss of the three sovereign-level experts was a huge blow. Because of their status as Immortal Court officers, Minister Vastlight and the Cloud Duchess had methods of revival, but it was different for Grand Elder Zhang.

That said, it would take a long time before the Cloud Duchess and Minister Vastlight could return to their peak—or even revive. The greatest loss was all the immortal monarchs and true immortals.

It was the Immortal Court’s millions of years of accumulation, and now it was all gone.

As the commander of this operation, Minister Huang held an undeniable responsibility. Even if he could not have foreseen the Numinous Sword Sect’s trump card, someone had to be held responsible.

The only consolation was that the Immortal Court also deployed a large number of demons. They weren’t exactly cannon fodder, but that was semantics.

Now, if the demons knew about the Immortal Court’s losses, they would not be able to make a difference. Even if the demons wanted to, the Immortal Court’s upper combat potential remained almost untouched, so they were not worried about a demon uprising.

Suddenly, the war room became shaky. The war room was in the deepest part of the palace, which was at the center of Shangri-La II. It was impossible for Shangri-La II to experience an earthquake or turbulence because it was in the Vast Void. This only meant that something disrupted its movements.

Outside the Numinous Realm, right above the Numinous Sword Sect, a colossal yellow dragon with nine claws on each hand appeared. One of his hands was striking the dimensional boundary of the Numinous Realm, which had taken on a dark tint.

At the moment of contact, tears appeared in the Vast Void. The scene of apocalypse resembled a real-life example of the strongest spear trying to penetrate the strongest shield. Reality itself seemed to tear itself apart at the paradox.

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At this moment, Perfected Huanglong was not angry. More than anything, he was solemn, because he recognized the formation Divinity Yanxu used. “Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. I didn’t expect it to reappear in the modern era.”

His mind spun. Ever since that war, the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation had never appeared again. If the Numinous Sword Sect actually inherited the Lord of Numinous Treasure’s legacy, it did not explain why the Numinous Sword Sect was so limited. At the very least, they should have the Ten Thousand Immortal Formation instead of the Ten Thousand Sword Formation.

Unless the Numinous Sword Sect discovered the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation recently?

But why now, of all times? Perfected Huanglong couldn’t help but think of the original owner of the Four Immortal Extermination Swords. Was it his intention or plot?

Although Perfected Huanglong was still attacking, he had also contacted and informed the Concealed Emperor.

Afterward, Perfected Huanglong renewed his attack on the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. He used more and more strength. The reason he had held back was caution, but even if the Lord of Numinous Treasures had survived, he should not be in his peak state. He and the Concealed Emperor should be more than enough to deal with him.

As his power increased, so did its effect on the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. Perfected Huanglong saw more and more weaknesses in the formation.

“Sure enough. The Immortal Extermination Sword Formation was a peak killing formation in the primordial era. Most divinities were as weak as mortals in front of it. It’s already amazing enough that a newly ascended divinity like you could use it—but that’s it.”

Perfected Huanglong continued to attack. His strikes became more exquisite, and the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation trembled. The entire Numinous Realm quaked from the aftermath, and at the epicenter, the land split, and magma spewed out around the Numinous Sword Sect.

Inside the Numinous Sword Sect, Divinity Yanxu gritted his teeth. Perfected Huanglong’s might exceeded his expectations. Their clash had already affected the millions of denizens of the Numinous Realm. If this continued, it was not impossible for the Numinous Realm to shatter.

Disregarding the amount of Karmic Sin it would incur, it was impossible to allow the Numinous Sword Sect’s territory to disappear. Left with no choice, Divinity Yanxu summoned Sovereign Saberbane and Sovereign Southsword.

Once they arrived, he took the Immortal Slaying Sword and Immortal Slaughtering Sword and integrated them into the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation Diagram, raising the power of the number one killing formation.

Because the power increased, Divinity Yanxu could no longer control it as easily as before. In fact, it showed signs of running amok. Before the enemies destroyed the Numinous Realm, he might achieve this act himself.

So, after relaying instructions to Sovereign Southsword, he swiftly left the Numinous Realm and engaged Perfected Huanglong in the Vast Void.

Once outside, the defensive formation turned offensive. The range spread to over a million kilometers and engulfed Perfected Huanglong inside. Countless black sword lights tinged with either red or green cut toward the yellow dragon.

The red-tinted black sword light slashed with a ferocious power that resembled blazing fire, while the green-tinted sword light sliced through the air seamlessly, as if it felt no friction. Each attack cracked a scale on Perfected Huanglong’s body.

Although each sword light only cracked a scale—never breaking or drawing blood—there were countless sword lights. If Perfected Huanglong could not block them, his body would soon turn into a bloody mess.

Just as Divinity Yanxu was marveling at the power of the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation, which allowed him to effortlessly suppress a famous divinity from the primordial era, his sword lights no longer worked.

When the sword lights neared Perfected Huanglong, he would lose control of them. The sword lights still flew toward the yellow dragon, but they would harmlessly fly past him before making a U-turn like some sort of satellite. Even when they left the immediate vicinity of Perfected Huanglong, those sword lights were no longer under his control and clashed with the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation.

Divinity Yanxu put down the arrogance born from controlling the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. The sword lights became more focused and faster. If, before, the sword lights resembled a peasant army, they had now transformed into a standing army led by a capable general.

“Not bad, not bad. The Immortal Extermination Sword Formation is still so powerful even when controlled by a rookie divinity like you!” Perfected Huanglong said. “But don’t think that just because you control it, you can defeat me!”

Although nothing seemed to have changed, the sword lights could no longer crack Perfected Huanglong’s scales—if they even managed to make contact. The out-of-control sword lights struck the sword lights swimming within the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation, wasting its energy.

Soon, Divinity Yanxu discovered that he and Perfected Huanglong had reached a stalemate. Perfected Huanglong couldn’t escape the range of the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation or reach Divinity Yanxu, but Divinity Yanxu could not hurt Perfected Huanglong, and his essence was depleting fast from using the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation.

Since that was the case, Divinity Yanxu changed his objectives. Originally, he wanted to kill Perfected Huanglong and instill fear in the Immortal Court so that they would not dare attack the Numinous Sword Sect for at least a million years. In that million, the Numinous Sword Sect would attack the Immortal Court.

Ten years was not too late for a gentleman to seek revenge—let alone sword cultivators. This debt must be repaid.

Divinity Yanxu detected Shangri-La II outside of the Numinous Realm. Once upon a time, the Numinous Sword Sect also used the mobile fortress as a springboard to attack the Divine Beast Pseudo System, but tens of thousands of years later, it was now used to attack the Numinous Sword Sect.

Then don’t blame me for destroying you! Divinity Yanxu thought. Since he couldn’t kill Perfected Huanglong, he would kill all the forces the Immortal Court brought. With such losses, it would also take a million years to recover—and give the Numinous Sword Sect time to catch up.

The Immortal Extermination Sword Formation expanded dramatically. The current size was already the largest Divinity Yanxu could control without weakening it, but even if he weakened the offensive power, Perfected Huanglong should not be able to escape easily.

He wanted to encompass Shangri-La II. Just because the divine dragon could defend against the sword formation didn’t mean the mobile fortress could—much less the immortals inside. And within the formation, Perfected Huanglong would not be able to reach them in time to save them.

Divinity Yanxu’s eyes widened. Just as he was about to succeed, the entire mobile fortress disappeared. In its wake was the Nine Heavens Sovereign. He knew that the Nine Heavens Sovereign had countless incarnations, so he crushed it in anger.

If he was lucky, that would have been the Nine Heavens Sovereign’s true body—but he doubted it.

Without a target, Divinity Yanxu focused on Perfected Huanglong again. Before he could do it for long, he noticed the Concealed Emperor outside.

The Concealed Emperor radiated a divine light. Wherever the light touched, reverence for the Concealed Emperor would form. Were it a regular formation, it would have attacked Divinity Yanxu. Although the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation did not rebel, his control slipped—especially in the areas closest to the light.

“Tch.” Divinity Yanxu tried to wrest control back, but the results were not worth the effort. The only way he could avoid it was to distance himself. So he did.

His actions made him drift farther from the Numinous Realm, but Divinity Yanxu didn’t think too much of it. If all else failed, he could still return to the Numinous Realm and seal it off by using the Allheaven Jianmu Tree and the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. It was a last-ditch resort, but it would at least buy the Numinous Sword Sect time to formulate another plan.

After leaving a few million kilometers, Divinity Yanxu stopped. He could sense that the Concealed Emperor was purposely leading him away. He would not be a herded sheep, so he wanted to move back toward the Numinous Realm.

While he was fighting the two divinities, the Immortal Court had renewed their assault on the Numinous Sword Sect, forcing them to reveal their second trump card—the Allheaven Jianmu Tree.

Just as he moved a few hundred kilometers toward the Numinous Realm, the Nine Heavens Sovereign teleported into his path. He held a strange sphere between his hands, but Divinity Yanxu did not care.

The Concealed Emperor and Perfected Huanglong together could not hurt him inside the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation. What could one immortal sovereign do?

Divinity Yanxu found out the moment the strange sphere touched the number one killing formation. “Impossible!”