[Ding! Detected that the Yao Race is utterly routed and in desperate need of support. Please make your choice!]
[Choice 1: Rush to their aid, lead the Yao Race, and defeat the Pangu Dharmakaya. Reward: Nine Revolutions Heavenly Art!]
[Choice 2: Remain unmoved. Refuse to have anything to do with the Yao Race. Reward: One strand of a Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation.]
Looking at these choices, Ling Xiao laughed on the spot.
"Defeat the Pangu Dharmakaya?"
That was practically a suicide mission. Based on his judgment, the Pangu Dharmakaya condensed by the Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation possessed a combat power nearly equal to a Saint's Physical Body.
While he was currently at the Hun Yuan Golden Immortal Perfection, the gap between that and a true Saint was as vast as the heavens and the earth. The saying "All under Saints are but ants" was not a joke. As long as one had not Achieved Sainthood, regardless of how strong a Quasi-Saint was, they remained beings of two different worlds. Overstepping that boundary for a challenge was fundamentally impossible.
In lower Realms, one could challenge those above them easily, but at this level, it was pure fantasy. Unless he could comprehend a thousand different Laws to the Hun Yuan Golden Immortal Perfection, he might have a ghost of a chance.
"System, I think you are sincerely trying to get me killed!" Ling Xiao complained. The first choice was meaningless.
He might as well take the "free" Fragment of the Jade Disc of Creation.
Had the choices been different, he might have considered stepping out for a stroll, but he had zero interest in either leading the Yao or fighting a shadow of Pangu.
Meanwhile, the Queen Mother of the West and the East King Duke arrived near the battlefield. They froze as they watched the phantom of Pangu slaughtering everything in its path.
Wait... what had they come here for again?
They forgot!
Should they just go back?
"Too powerful. No wonder the Wu Clan is so arrogant; they actually have the Great God Pangu backing them!" an immortal official lamented. Just one look was enough to make his spirit tremble, let alone actually fighting.
The entire Great Desolation was created by Pangu. How was anyone supposed to fight this?
"Immortal King, should we head back? This 'Order'... ahem, this dispute over the Orthodox Lineage of Pangu is their family business. It has nothing to do with us!" a male immortal suggested. He had heard they were coming to "maintain order," but he hadn't expected to run into a literal god.
But he had clearly misread the situation. The East King Duke's true goal was the Primordial Violet Qi; it had nothing to do with "Order."
"No rush. Let's watch first! We carry a heavy responsibility; how can we flee before the battle?"
The East King Duke spoke with an air of righteous indignation, though his eyes were flickering as he searched for an opening. He could already sense that Kunpeng had been beaten into a state of near-death.
The scene was terrifying, yes, but it was extremely advantageous for him. As long as the Witches weakened the Yao—or better yet, wiped them out entirely—and left Kunpeng crippled, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He only wanted the Primordial Violet Qi. Nothing else mattered.
Sharing this sentiment was Styx, who had also slunk to the edge of the battlefield. He was waiting with bated breath, hoping Kunpeng would just hurry up and die.
"Kunpeng, oh Kunpeng... I want that Primordial Violet Qi. Don't hold on; just go peacefully!" Styx whispered, his crimson eyes fixed intently on the struggling bird.
At this moment, Kunpeng was like a candle in the wind, his situation critical. The Pangu Dharmakaya struck with indiscriminate attacks; every movement of its hand resulted in the fall of countless Living Beings.
The Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation contained countless overlapping dimensions of space-time, specifically countering spatial movement. Any Living Being caught within the array simply could not escape the range of the twelve divine pillars.
However, the Twelve Ancestral Witches had formed the array in a hurry. In their excitement to slaughter, they had accidentally caught their own tribesmen in the range. They were now agonizing over whether to deactivate the array, as their own kin were suffering casualties.
Within the array, the Sanqing were desperate. Relying on their Innate Supreme Treasures, they frantically dodged the phantom Pangu's attacks. Their only saving grace was that the phantom lacked independent consciousness and was somewhat clumsy; otherwise, they would have been finished long ago.
"Third Brother! Can you set up the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation?" Yuanshi roared. In a flash of desperate inspiration, he remembered that his brother was also a master of arrays.
"Setting the array takes time!" Tongtian shouted back, his expression grim.
"Big Brother and I will hold him off! Do whatever you must!" Yuanshi pressed, giving Tongtian a guarantee. He and Laozi would act as the shield.
"Fine!" Tongtian nodded heavily.
Yuanshi and Laozi brandished their Innate Supreme Treasures and charged. They didn't intend to trade blows with the Pangu phantom head-on; they were merely baiting it to buy time.
Rumble!
Tongtian had just pulled out the Four Swords of Slaughtering Immortals when Yuanshi and Laozi were swatted back. A mere glancing blow from the titan's hand sent them flying, vomiting blood as their Physical Bodies began to break down.
If not for their Innate Supreme Treasures, they would have been turned into a mist of blood instantly.
"Big Brother! Second Brother! Are you okay?" Tongtian asked in alarm.
"I can hold!" Yuanshi spat through gritted teeth, climbing back up to charge again.
Laozi said nothing, but he gave a heavy nod, his eyes filled with a resolute, unwavering light.
Their behavior seemed to "touch" the phantom Pangu. It turned around and casually swung its gargantuan hand downward.
"We can't hold it! Run!" Yuanshi's face changed instantly. He summoned the Auspicious Clouds of the Heavens and several other protective Magic Treasures over his head.
Tongtian was so spooked he abandoned the array entirely. The three of them fled in a unified blur. The interior of the array was already a sea of blood and soaring Evil Qi.
"Sanqing! Stay the hell away from me!" Kunpeng roared in terror as he saw the three of them transforming into streaks of divine light, racing toward him—with a giant hand following right behind them.
The Pangu palm possessed a peerless Divine Power. It pressed down slowly, shattering space-time into a singular point of origin, leaving nothing but the light of total destruction in its wake.
Countless Living Beings perished in this single strike. Even with their treasures, the Sanqing were caught in the shockwave; their Dao Bodies shattered again, wounding their very Origin.
Kunpeng, however, bore the brunt of the collateral. He was physically blown apart into four or five pieces. His Divine Soul shrieked in agony as his shattered Physical Body desperately tried to knit itself back together. His injuries were far worse than the Sanqing's. Had the palm hit him directly, his soul would have been extinguished instantly.
"Sanqing! I curse your entire***..." Kunpeng shrieked in a high-pitched scream. He had almost died just now, and it was entirely because of those three bastards.
He thought it was over, but the nightmare continued.
Pangu's next attack was already coming. Every movement resonated with the heavens and the earth; the very ground was trembling, seemingly unable to bear the weight, on the verge of sinking into the abyss.
"No!"
Kunpeng roared in despair. The Sanqing felt the same hopelessness. As descendants of Pangu, were they truly going to die at the hands of their own Father? How ironic and bitter!
Rumble...
Just as the massive hand was about to descend, the array shook violently. The light of the twelve divine pillars began to fade rapidly. Then, with a thunderous boom—
The Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation disintegrated. The Pangu phantom shuddered and dissolved into a cloud of drifting Evil Qi.
In an instant, the crushing pressure blanketing the world vanished.
Because this was the first time the Twelve Ancestral Witches had formed the array, they lacked the necessary experience and stamina. In the end... they simply couldn't last long enough.