A violent gust of hot wind mixed with tiny electric arcs skimmed across Wu Qi's scalp. The atmosphere was filled with electric charge, causing his hair to stand on their ends and crackle while tiny electric arcs were flashing and flicking on them. The same thing was happening to those around him. Everyone was covered in a layer of electricity as they stared at each other in astonishment.
This valley was only a part of Wu Qi's baits, a little trick that he used to cover up his real intention. His ultimate goal, of course, was to use all sorts of tricks to lure the Sovereign into the Myriad Poisons Formation amidst the cluster of rugged hills next to it. However, he never dreamed that everything he had laid out in this valley was destroyed by the Sovereign with just a simple palm thunder.
Although it was only a bait, Wu Qi had meticulously laid out three sets of nested formations in this valley, thinking that this was enough to give the Sovereign some troubles, even though he was a Primordial Immortal. According to his estimation, it would take the Sovereign at least a quarter of an hour before he could escape from this valley.
But, with just a palm thunder, the Sovereign had ripped everything in the valley into shreds, including the two thousand and seven hundred soldiers who were put in charge of the formation banners, and all the arrangements in the formation!
Three sets of nested formations with six underground energy veins as the energy source, hundreds of formation discs and banners, and two thousand seven hundred soldiers who were as strong as Heaven Immortals, all of them were torn to shreds by a palm thunder! It was the simplest palm thunder that even a little Gold Core cultivator could use, the most basic magic for immortal cultivators. And yet, the formation that Wu Qi had meticulously laid out was completely smashed by such a basic magic.
Just now, when the Sovereign raised his hand and unleashed the palm thunder, Wu Qi had detected some strange transformation happening in the surrounding void through his divine sense. Although the electric arc shot out of the Sovereign's palm was as thin as a hair and about a foot long, it came with a strange rhythm that could not be explained clearly. As soon as it appeared, all the natural energy in the vicinity became different in essence; they were converted into surging electric charge, and then quickly converged on that tiny flicker of lightning.
In a short moment, the natural energy within a radius of ten thousand miles was attached to that tiny flicker of lightning, turning into a terrible thunderstorm that poured out in the most violent manner. The Sovereign had only released a tiny seed, but it had grown into a towering tree in just a flash, unleashing an incredible and frightening power. The one-thousand-miles wide valley, three sets of nested formations, and the many soldiers that controlled the formations, vanished into nothingness within this fearsome thunderstorm.
"Schemes and intrigues are convenient at times, but they are, after all, ignoble in essence!" Sitting in the chariot, the Sovereign looked coldly through the bead curtain at Wu Qi and said, "I had expected that this journey would be full of challenges, which is why I made the empty chariot lead the way while I stayed in the back, so I could find out who was trying to make things difficult for me!"
He sighed, then narrowed his eyes and said coolly, "So, it appears that an old friend of mine is trying to kill me, eh?"
Wu Qi chuckled. The chaotic energy in his body was rocking and expanding while the messy natural energy in the surroundings and the purple energy under the ground kept pouring into his body. All of a sudden, he grew taller, from thirty feet to fifty feet; his muscles were bulging, and his black dragon scales stood up like numerous sharp blades. The air rang with his heavy breathing, and shockingly, his breath turned into dark airflow that wheeled restlessly around him like some flood dragons.
With his fists clenched and a cold grin on his face, Wu Qi turned to the Sovereign and said, "Well, so long as the Sovereign is still alive, there will always be an uneasiness lurking in his Excellency's mind. Oh, on top of that, if we are able to kill the Sovereign, the credit is so massive that all of us here will be conferred a rank of nobility!" He burst into laughter, then nodded to the Sovereign and said, "I almost forgot this, we've also captured your son, Li Qinghua...This is also a significant credit!"
The Sovereign sighed, seeming a little dispirited. While shaking his head, he said, "Kill me? What makes you think you can achieve such a feat and claim that amazing credit?"
Wu Qi snorted coldly. That was what worried him now. He had expected the formations laid out with the power of the black gas in this valley to hold the Sovereign back for at least a quarter of an hour. Only after that would he pretend to be fleeing and lure the Sovereign to another place which he had prepared in advance—an open field near the valley with a teleportation formation which would transport them all into the Myriad Poisons Formation.
His strategy was to lure the enemy and make them bloated with pride, then give them a brutal blow in the head with the Myriad Poisons Formation. The smaller formation in this valley was the bait, and the pretentious defeat was what could make them prideful. Then, while the enemy was being arrogant and careless, he would annihilate a group of Gold Immortals following the Sovereign as to weaken their overall strength; finally, he would focus all of his efforts to trap and kill the Sovereign with Myriad Poisons Formation. All these steps had been carefully weighed by Wu Qi in his mind. However, he did not expect that the Sovereign's prowess, the prowess of a Primordial Immortal, was way beyond his imagination. With just a casual palm thunder, the formation in this valley was completely destroyed. How was he going to lure the enemy and make them bloated with pride now?
As they said, schemes and intrigues were of no use in the face of absolute power.
As he thought bitterly in his mind, Wu Qi pointed a finger at the cluster of rugged hills next to the valley and said, "Sovereign, His Excellency is waiting for you in that formation. If you enter the formation and get out, we'll hand you your son and the two dragon pythons. But, if you fail..." He did not finish his words intentionally and only ended it with a burst of cold and sinister laughter.
Glancing thoughtfully at the cluster of rugged hills, the Sovereign said indifferently, "That 'His Excellency' you mentioned...is he King Yang Qiu, or that old scumbag King Yang Shan?"
Upon hearing the Sovereign's insulting remark for their old master, the Yang Qiu brothers snapped in unison, "How dare you! Shut up!"
The Sovereign shook his head and gave a soft snort. Immediately, a deafening thunderclap rang out right inside the four brothers' ears. Their eyes went wide with all the blood vessels in them burst up. Blood came spewing out of their eyes, and soon from their seven orifices. The soft snort had turned into countless thunderstorms wreaking havoc in their spiritual oceans, which almost ripped their souls into pieces.
Lucky for them, Wu Qi was quick to jump into action. As soon as he saw what happened, he pulled out four bone talismans, crushed them, and slapped them onto the backs of the four brothers' heads, then rapidly punched a vast amount of purple energy into their bodies with his fists. The four bone talismans were crafted by mighty Oracles in the Directorate of Celestials, having the effect of calming down one's mind and soul while expelling evils. When the spirit light rushed into the brothers' spiritual ocean, the thunderous tunes were quickly driven away, and their souls were put to a calm state. Meanwhile, the purple energy Wu Qi punched into them was quickly healing their bodies, fixing and mending the broken blood vessels in their brain.
Barely escaping from death, the four brothers gave the Sovereign a look of terror as they stepped back reflexively. Grabbing Wu Qi's hand, Yangqiu Fengbo clenched his teeth and whispered, "My good brother, we owe you one! F*ck, this old evil Daoist's cultivation base is simply..."
Wu Qi, too, was looking helplessly at the Sovereign. The gap between their cultivation bases was just too huge!
Clenching his teeth, Wu Qi suddenly threw his head back and let out a loud cry, "Please do me a favor, Your Excellency! Castrate Li Qinghua and throw his little earthworm here so that the Sovereign can have a good look at all his future grandsons!"
In the next moment, King Yang Qiu's cold and emotionless voice was heard coming out of the Myriad Poisons Formation, "As you wish...Well, do you want me to cut it away in one whole piece or slice it?"
A shrill scream rang out from across the distance, and was followed by Li Qinghua's howl, "Help me, dad! They are taking off my pants!"
The Sovereign's face twitched and his complexion suddenly turned black and blue. "How dare you to do something so despicable!" He growled, his voice hoarse. "You lot are simply...Fine, I'll enter your formation! King Yang Qiu... although you are a mere junior, you are many times more despicable, mean, nasty, and evil than your scumbag father! I swear I'll cut you into ten thousand pieces, burn your corpse, and scatter the ashes in the winds today!"
While fuming, he pointed a finger at Wu Qi and snapped, "Lead the way, little boy! Once I break out of your formation, I'll tear you into pieces, send your soul into the transmigration, and make you reincarnate as a girl in your next life. I'll make sure you suffer endlessly in the brothels for all your future incarnations!"
The Sovereign's threat was very powerful. Upon hearing that, Wu Qi could not help but shudder while looking at him with a curious expression. 'I can accept the fact that he has the ability to send someone's soul into transmigration, but is it true that he can decide what someone will reincarnate into? Is a Primordial Immortal's cultivation base really so heaven-defying? The Six Paths of Reincarnation is the Law controlled by the Heavenly Dao. Could it be that it has become the Sovereign's private property?'
Unless...Wu Qi suddenly recalled the melodious chanting!
Laughing coldly and keeping his form of a fifty-feet-tall dragonman, Wu Qi led the Sovereign and his party striding toward the Myriad Poisons Formation.
After exchanging glances with one another, Yangqiu Fengbo and all the military officers burst into laughter, then leaped into the sky and plunged into the formation. It was true that the Myriad Poisons Formation was very powerful, but it required strong experts to preside over the various important parts in it. Otherwise, the enemy could easily shake its foundation. As soon as they entered the formation, they saw countless wisps of rainbow smoke rising from each and every hill and valley, which converged and transformed into a thin layer of rainbow cloud that engulfed the entire area.
Laughing sarcastically, the Sovereign said, "A formation that is only a thousand miles wide? Heh, what is this? Have you seen the ancient formation laid out by the Heaven which covers one whole outer heavenly realm? What can you do with a formation as small as this?"
Wu Qi looked back at him and said indifferently, "The power of a formation is determined not by the extent of its coverage, but by its ability to kill. Do you agree?" After gently patting the two dragon pythons coiled around his neck, Wu Qi smiled at the sovereign and quickly disappeared into the formation.
With a complicated expression, the Sovereign sat in the chariot as he glanced up at the sky, then at his surroundings. Finally, he stared at the formation shrouded in rainbow clouds and murmured under his breath, "Well, well...It's actually not bad to become a Buddha in the Buddhist League...Hmph! After studying the Dao of immortality for countless Aeons, I now have to cultivate Buddhism from scratch...But at least, Lord Buddha has promised that I can keep my life in this cataclysm, and he will provide shelter for my clan. What else can I ask for?"
With a cold grin on his face, the Sovereign drove the chariot into the Myriad Poisons Formation while the hundreds of Gold Immortals in the purple cloud next to him cheered and cried in unison, charging into the formation after the chariot.
The bloodcurdling hiss and roar of venomous insects and poisonous beasts could be heard from within the formation, and plumes of rainbow smoke towered into the sky. The whole formation was completely activated. Before long, miserable screams that one let out before dying echoed throughout the formation.