Chapter 412: Polar Reversal

…

Golden Buddha Sea.

Amidst the vast expanse of ocean, a golden lotus bloomed.

It spanned a hundred zhang in size, its leaves flickering between real and illusory, as if existing within the void.

At its center lay a clear pool that sparkled like a mirror under the sunlight, yet the reflection it held wasn’t of the sky—it was a miniature world painted in hues of gold and crimson.

Sumeru Buddha Realm—this small world born within the lotus was none other than the Burning Purity Holy Land.

“This Venerable One told you—we’d storm the Holy Land one day!”

Chen Huaian stood with hands behind his back upon the ocean’s surface, facing the Sumeru Buddha Realm of the Burning Purity Holy Land. Behind him gathered a dense crowd of Sword Pavilion and Zhenwu Holy Land disciples.

“Elder, didn’t you say we were going to attack the Jade Pool Holy Land instead?”

Su Qinian interjected.

“Don’t we need to rescue Yun Suxin first?”

Chen Huaian shot him a sideways glance. “You talk too damn much.”

Su Qinian felt a chill down his spine.

Turning his head, he saw the Valley Master of Lingxi Valley glaring at him like she was ready to devour him alive. She hadn’t said a word, but it was like the phrase “Save my daughter first” was etched across her face.

“Right now, our priority is breaking through the first defensive line of the Burning Purity Holy Land.”

Chen Huaian’s gaze locked onto the golden lotus, his expression grave. Oddly enough, he couldn’t sense its exact position—as if what lay before them was no more than a mirage.

“This Sumeru Realm is carried atop a Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus and has been refined into a Spiritual Treasure by Monk Burning Karma,”

Zhang Yibai appeared beside Chen Huaian. Though he was but a soul remnant, he looked far better than before.

“This treasure is highly unique. It’s not built for offense, but excels in concealment and defense. What we’re seeing right now isn’t the real golden lotus—just its projection!”

“You got a way to crack it, bro?”

Chen Huaian was just about to attempt Heaven’s Calculation, but paused at Zhang Yibai’s words.

Old Zhang had clashed with Monk Burning Karma for over a thousand years.

Maybe he did have a way to crack the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus Sumeru Realm.

Zhang Yibai stroked his beard, a mysterious smile curling on his lips.

“I’ve never intended harm, but one must always be prepared. Back in the day, I did study how to dismantle the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus Sumeru Realm. Monk Burning Karma never knew that during my visits to the Burning Purity Holy Land, I was secretly researching it.

Chen, my boy, the Golden Lotus is freakishly resilient—intangible and untouchable. To breach it, you have to attack both the real and the unreal simultaneously. And wouldn’t you know it—my Yin-Yang Sword Intent from True Martial specializes in just that. Today, I’ll teach you a Saint-grade formation!”

Chen Huaian’s eyes lit up. Big bro really does have the goods.

He perked up and listened closely.

Zhang Yibai raised his hand to Chen Huaian’s brow, eyes narrowing.

“This formation has no name yet. It’s a Trapping Formation, derived from the Two Yi Eight Trigrams Formation, embodying the transformations of yin-yang, illusion and reality. It can drag real things into the void and pull illusions into the real world...

—as long as the target exists in some objective form!”

As Zhang Yibai began his slow, measured explanation, a flood of information surged into Chen Huaian’s mind.

Thanks to his Original Dao Physique, Chen quickly comprehended the formation’s core principles.

It truly was ingenious—the perfect counter to the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus Sumeru Realm.

Put simply, using this formation was like manifesting a TV commercial product right in front of you.

Right now, the lotus appeared in an illusory form, untouchable and unassailable.

With Zhang Yibai’s formation, it could be pulled into reality.

Within a few breaths, Chen Huaian opened his eyes.

His pupils now shimmered—one gold, one grey—rotating with Yin-Yang Qi. Zhang Yibai knew from this that Chen had already mastered the formation. Even knowing how absurd the Original Dao Physique was, he still couldn’t help but marvel.

“Chen, my boy... lucky for me we weren’t cultivating in the same era. Otherwise, there’d be no Zhenwu Holy Land. Jade Pool and Burning Purity would be your sidekicks...

Scratch that—maybe you’d be an immortal already in under a thousand years.”

“You flatter me,” Chen Huaian gave a modest cupped-fist salute. “I’ve still got much to learn from you, elder.”

Zhang Yibai smiled and returned to the Black Scales Sword.

Chen Huaian took a deep breath and began forming hand seals.

His true essence surged outward, and a Yin-Yang Fish rotated beneath his feet, forming an ever-expanding Two Yi Eight Trigrams Formation.

Waves parted around him like a great force had driven them back, revealing trenches and sand on the ocean floor.

Fish darted in wild terror through the sea, but couldn’t outrun the expanding waves.

Soon, a towering circular wall of seawater formed around Chen Huaian and the disciples—a thousand zhang high, like a vertical cliff.

Beneath his feet lay a massive trigrams formation of equal diameter, slowly spinning.

Even with the water displaced, the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus remained suspended midair.

Its root system, which appeared submerged, wasn’t actually attached to the seabed—rather, the roots dangled into the void, growing translucent.

Compared to the massive formation, the lotus seemed but a drop in the ocean.

Yet despite all the pressure gathering on it, the lotus bloomed defiantly in the wind, unaffected.

…

Meanwhile, inside the Burning Purity Holy Land, the elders and disciples remained calm.

They could see what was happening outside.

“We’ve already sent disciples to the Jade Pool Holy Land for reinforcements. The Real Person will be back soon. No need to panic.”

With Monk Burning Karma away, the person in charge was the Chief Abbot—Master Burning Light.

“Abbot, the Sword Pavilion Patriarch is no joke. Word is he’s already at the Ninth Stage of Void Fusion… If he gets inside, we’re screwed.”

“Hah. He thinks he can get in?”

Burning Light knew just how fearsome the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus Sumeru Realm was.

Forget the Sword Pavilion Patriarch—even Real Person Yuyao couldn’t enter without Monk Burning Karma’s permission.

What could some Ninth Stage cultivator do?

He looked at Chen Huaian, now forming a formation outside the Sumeru Realm, and snorted.

“Parlor tricks.”

…

Golden Buddha Sea.

Chen Huaian’s true essence boiled, his black robes snapping violently in the wind.

As the formation’s energy locked onto the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus, the world creaked with a sound like the cracking of mountains.

This formation was based on converting illusion to reality—and vice versa.

To make the illusion real, something real must be turned illusory in exchange.

Within the thousand-zhang-wide formation, seawater, seabed, and even the fish and shrimp frozen midair—all were sacrifices.

Chen Huaian locked his gaze on the Golden Lotus.

His right hand extended in a loose grip.

He still couldn’t lock onto the Sumeru Realm precisely, but as he slowly moved his right hand, the lotus shifted toward the Yin pole of the Eight Trigrams.

Then, he extended his left hand.

The seawater, sand, fish, shrimp, and coral flowed toward the Yang pole under a powerful force.

Three breaths later—

Above the Yin fish, only the Twelfth-Grade Golden Lotus remained.

Above the Yang fish, a vast, boundless sea.

At that moment, the formation’s momentum reached its peak.

Inside the Black Scales Sword, Zhang Yibai’s heart pounded.

Chen Huaian had just learned this Saint-level formation—and already mastered it to perfection.

Such talent… it was enough to move heaven and earth.

“Never thought the formation I spent years crafting would actually come in handy one day…

Monk Burning Karma—did you ever imagine this moment when you stabbed me in the back?”

Zhang Yibai narrowed his eyes, hands outstretched like he was about to grasp something.

Above the Golden Buddha Sea, Chen Huaian’s left and right hands crossed—and in his pupils, the Yin and Yang energies reversed.

Then, the two spoke—one ancient and solemn from within the sword, the other youthful and powerful echoing across the world.

Chen Huaian & Zhang Yibai:

“Polar… Reversal!!!”

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