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The formation was terrifyingly powerful. Though called the Sky-Shroud Formation, it was more like a Heaven-Locking one, sealing off the very heavens and earth above the ruined Lotus Pathway.

Nothing short of an Infinite Dao cultivator could break it. That was how overbearing it was.

The Heavenly Court had delayed its appearance precisely to set up this formation. They needed absolute certainty, no more chances for the Infernal Lord to escape from their grasp. Too many such incidents had already tarnished their prestige, and that was something the Heavenly Court could never permit.

“Holy Elder, save me!” Ancient Void cried out to the old man holding the golden decree high above the clouds. Though he had boasted that he would rather die than bow, no one truly wished to die.

“Infernal Lord, have you reconsidered?” the Holy Elder’s majestic voice rolled across the sky again.

“Execute them,” Xu Zimo replied calmly, ignoring him.

Paimon and the others brought down their demonic blades with a thunderous crash.

From the heavens came a deafening rumble, as if some divine being had truly grown enraged, yet Paimon’s group did not stop.

Four severed heads hit the ground, eyes still wide open.

The Holy Elder’s body blazed with divine might, his aura sweeping across the land like a heavenly storm.

Though he was himself a Sage Monarch, within this formation he could merge with heaven and earth. Here, he was the true sovereign, the ruler of all within this domain.

He raised his right hand. A pillar of lightning, hundreds of meters thick, surged down like a celestial flood toward Xu Zimo.

Thunder detonated violently, the air splitting with crackling explosions.

Xu Zimo could feel it, that single strike already surpassed the level of an ordinary Sage Monarch. He retreated swiftly, but even so, the residual force hurled him backward. His robe was torn and scorched in several places.

“My lord, let us combine our strength and try to break this formation!” Paimon said grimly.

“No need,” Xu Zimo shook his head. “This battle isn’t ours to fight.”

Paimon and the others exchanged confused looks. “What does my lord mean?”

Xu Zimo smiled faintly and raised his voice toward the heavens. “How long are you of the Radiant Court going to sit and watch?”

“The Radiant Court?” The crowd stiffened. Even the Heavenly Court’s people paled slightly.

They had not accounted for the Radiant Court’s involvement before coming. Though they had promised the Huo Heavenly Clan that, after eradicating the Ancient Demon Race, the Heavenly Court would help them withstand pressure from the Radiant Court, the truth was different.

In the Heavenly Court’s eyes, the Huo Heavenly Clan was nothing but a pawn. They would never truly go to war with the Radiant Court, not yet, at least.

Thus, until now, the two great powers had rarely clashed directly.

But Xu Zimo’s call seemed to stir a response.

At the edge of the sky, apart from the Holy Temple’s glow, a blazing light suddenly erupted.

Golden radiance poured down like a true sun descending, flooding the heavens and earth with its brilliance and heat.

From within the void, an actual sun rose, and unlike the ethereal world of the Holy Temple, this Radiant Court truly resided within a living sun.

“It’s said,” came the voice of the Violet Mist Saint Sovereign, “that before an ancient world perished, the Radiant Court’s overlord seized its dying sun. He poured countless resources into restoring it, then relocated the entire temple into that sun.”

Though the Violet Mist Saint Sovereign didn’t know many details, the event had once shaken all Nine Heavens, and every great cultivator had heard of it.

That sun might have been damaged, its former power diminished, but it was still the sun, radiance without end, fire without limit.

From within it came a hearty laugh.

“Holy Elder, it’s been a long time.”

The speaker stepped forth, a middle-aged man in a golden robe, exuding the commanding aura of a ruler. Under the blazing light, his robe gleamed so brightly it was almost hard to look at, and his golden eyes shone like twin suns.

“That’s the master of the Light God Temple, one of the seven branches under the Radiant Court,” the woman known as the Inferno Crucible Envoy explained softly.

The Radiant Court was a vast organization, composed of seven great subsidiary divisions, and the Light God Temple was one of them. Clearly, the Radiant Court took this matter seriously, they had sent a branch master himself.

“So, it’s the Light Lord Sage Monarch,” the Holy Elder said coldly. “To what do we owe the pleasure of the Radiant Court’s presence?”

“The Huo Heavenly Clan was one of our Radiant Court’s subordinate forces,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch said with a faint smile. “Naturally, we had to come see what’s become of them. Besides,” his gaze shifted slightly, “our temple’s saintess is here.”

“Saintess?” The crowd murmured in surprise, turning their eyes toward the Inferno Crucible Envoy.

Even Xu Zimo was momentarily stunned, he hadn’t expected that the Radiant Court would send its own saintess to serve as the Inferno Crucible Envoy.

“My name is Murong Qing,” the woman said, meeting Xu Zimo’s gaze and finally revealing her identity.

“Heh... No wonder you were so sure the Radiant Court would appear,” Xu Zimo said, understanding now. With their saintess here, of course they wouldn’t remain silent.

“Light Lord Sage Monarch,” the Holy Elder said, “the Heavenly Court came only to slay Ancient Demons. Once the task is done, we will leave, your saintess will not be harmed.”

“Your battle with the Ancient Demons is none of our concern,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch replied lightly. “But this land belongs to the Radiant Court. You can’t fight here. Take your war outside if you must.”

“Are you trying to shield the demons?” the Holy Elder asked icily.

“That accusation is far too heavy,” the Sage Monarch shook his head. “I’ve already said, you may do as you wish elsewhere, but not on the Radiant Court’s ground.”

“And if we insist on killing him here?” the Holy Elder narrowed his eyes.

“Then I, unworthy as I am, am willing to exchange a few blows with you,” the Light Lord Sage Monarch replied evenly.

“Very well,” the Holy Elder sneered. “But if you wish to fight me, you’ll have to break my Sky-Shroud Formation first.”

“A formation as vast and mighty as this?” the Light Lord Sage Monarch chuckled. “I fear I’m not its equal. So instead, I’ll borrow something. Bring forth the primordial relic.”

At his command, the ancient blazing sun above blazed even brighter, flooding Godfiend Abyss Heaven with the brilliance of a thousand suns. From within that radiance drifted out a massive meteorite, glowing like a star.

As it appeared, waves of Dao rippled through the void. Layers of Dao rhythm rolled outward as though they would pierce the heavens themselves.

The meteorite shimmered with seven-colored starlight, and upon its surface, flowers of the Grand Dao blossomed, proof of its extraordinary power.

“This is the Leviathan-God Wind-Striking Stone,” said the Light Lord Sage Monarch with a smile. “Let’s see if it can break your formation.”

Within the stone, the phantom of a leviathan constantly darted about, as though an inner world was alive within it.

“A fine stone indeed,” the Holy Elder said coldly. “The God Beast Leviathan once transcended its tribulation upon that very rock, bathing it in the calamity of heaven and earth. Later, even an Infinite Dao being blessed it himself.”