Chapter 670: 292. Lei Jun with a sword in hand, Cardinal Divine Xiao Ying-Yang (Chapter combined two into one)_4

Even though the primary effect of Qingxiao Manor was not displayed in magical combat, the Taiyi Primordial Tower and the North Abyss Divine Spear were both powerful magical treasures, comparable to the Celestial Master Seal and the Celestial Master’s Sword,

The former enjoyed the reputation as Shushan’s number one treasure, while the latter was a divine weapon renowned for its fierce offensive power,

Besides those, there existed the Thousand Leaves Butterfly King—a great demon rivaling the Human Race’s Ninth Heavenly Layer cultivators—possibly entangled with the Mortal Tao Country,

Adding to that, there was the mysterious Emperor...

Lei Jun roughly calculated that if the Mortal Tao Country put everything on the line, the corresponding lot should not have simply been a perfectly neutral lot,

However, that perfectly neutral lot might have revealed two third-rank opportunities, and naturally, the risks matched such fortune, 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

If there were two moderately unlucky lots, perhaps those were also their doing,

Their further arrangements meant that their goal was not merely to attack the Celestial Master Mansion, but likely another plot lay behind it,

The Altar of Wanfa Sect, and those former relics like the Heavenly Palace Chapter Tablet and Sun Jade Seal...*Lei Jun speculated,*

*His mood remained calm,*

If, when Heavenly Principle descended in the east, the enemy could still restrain themselves,

Then, after the emergence of the Solitary Eagle Khanate in the northwest, which further drew and splintered the strength of the Great Tang cultivation world, the Mortal Tao Country taking this opportunity to stir up trouble was somewhat within the expectations of Lei Jun and the others,

"Mortal Tao Country," he said to his master, Yuan Mobai,

Yuan Mobai stayed unruffled even in the face of change; his movements showed not the slightest hesitation, and as he nodded, his figure vanished where he stood,

Meanwhile, Lei Jun sent word separately to Xu Yuanzhen, Tang Xiaotang, Shangguan Ning, and Zhang Jingzhen, who were stationed beyond the mountain,

Upon Dragon Tiger Mountain, a blinding brilliance quickly gathered, forming a massive beam of light that shot straight into the heavens, within which countless Talisman Scriptures revolved, wondrous as the Star River of the universe,

Yuan Mobai sat upright within the Altar of Wanfa Sect, fingers poised in a spell before his chest, his expression serene and steady amidst chaos,

As the ancestral altar opened, and countless dazzling rays shot into the sky, the entire Mountain Defense Array of Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion began to operate,

As the great formation expanded, boundless, intricate lights wove together, layering and intertwining to form many profound formation patterns which, stacked upon each other, created what seemed like a colossal, heaven-piercing three-tiered altar,

This altar enveloped the entirety of Dragon Tiger Mountain, isolating it from the outside world,

Within the Supreme Pure Thunder Mansion Cave Heaven, streaks of purple Nine Heavens Divine Thunder descended, fusing together with the giant altar, making thunder light flash across the altar’s surface in a unity of offense and defense,

The great array of Dragon Tiger Mountain, once activated, shot radiance skyward, illuminating all directions,

In the distance, several shadows gradually emerged under the brilliance,

Seeing this, the visitors ceased concealing themselves, choosing instead to reveal their true forms,

Three men and one woman,

Two wore Taoist robes with white interiors and black exteriors; the other two dressed in hemp garments,

Each represented the traditional attire of cultivators from Pure Yang Palace and the Mount Shu Sect, respectively,

The Pure Yang Palace cultivator, white-haired yet childlike in face, was none other than the most senior Supreme Elder, Rong Guangchen,

An eighth-level Infant Transformation cultivator of the Taoist Alchemy Cauldron Sect, now in full Perfection,

Another, appearing as a middle-aged Taoist, was the former Pure Yang Palace Black Tortoise Elder, Gu Han,

An eighth-level Infant Transformation cultivator, first layer, of the Taoist Alchemy Cauldron Sect,

One, though robed in hemp but possessing a nobly composed and gentle bearing, was a Mount Shu Sect practitioner—none other than the former sect leader, Fu Dongsen,

An eighth-level Celestial Travel cultivator of the Taoist Refinement Sect, having achieved Perfection across four seas,

The woman, possessed of a steady aura and piercing gaze, was the former Supreme Elder of Mount Shu, Wei Qiyue,

An eighth-level Celestial Travel cultivator, mastery over two seas, of the Taoist Refinement Sect,

Eyeing the dazzling Nine Heavens Divine Thunder atop that enormous altar, and seeing Dragon Tiger Mountain shrouded completely within, Fu Dongsen and the rest realized their presence was now exposed,

Though discovered and unable to press their surprise attack, the four powerhouses of Mortal Tao Country who had arrived here had no intention of retreating,

The ambush had failed—so they would mount a direct assault,

Fu Dongsen said nothing, his hands sealing a spell before his chest,

Then, above his head, a cold blue brilliance appeared—the North Abyss Divine Spear manifesting in full,

Its chill was as cutting as its edge,

Gusts of frost swept outward,

All the surrounding mountains, rivers, and vegetation below instantly froze over; in the South, where spring birds once sang amidst fragrant blooms, there now stretched a vast, snowy plain,

With the North Abyss Divine Spear appearing overhead, it was as if Fu Dongsen had unleashed the signal to strike,

The first to act, however, was the oldest among them, Rong Guangchen,

This Supreme Elder of Pure Yang Palace began to radiate waves of white-gold flame,

These white-gold flames spread on both sides, momentarily resembling the outstretched wings of a divine bird,

Rong Guangchen walked forward, step by step,

Passed down through the Pure Yang Palace lineage, the platinum-hued Pure Yang True Fire, at this instant, slowly took on the form of the Vermilion Bird,

Then, it condensed and retracted,

With each step Rong Guangchen took, the white-gold Vermilion Bird seemed to merge entirely into his body,

His steps grew lighter, yet his presence became ever more imposing,

At this moment, Rong Guangchen showed not a trace of age or decline,

He seemed once more at the height of his prime, revealing the supreme might of an eighth-level, pinnacle Infant Transformation cultivator of the Taoist Alchemy Cauldron Sect,

Facing the gigantic three-tiered altar enveloping the main peak of Dragon Tiger Mountain, Rong Guangchen approached unhurriedly, then raised his hand—his fingers shaped like a bird’s beak—and struck downward as if to peck,

Purple Nine Heavens Divine Thunder and platinum Pure Yang True Fire instantly collided in a ferocious clash,

But in the very next moment, the icy blue radiance solidified into a terrifying pillar of light, shooting toward Dragon Tiger Mountain at blinding speed,

The reason Rong Guangchen attacked first was that Fu Dongsen, commanding the North Abyss Divine Spear, did not immediately dispatch it, but instead channeled his mana for a mightier blow,

Thus, as the North Abyss Divine Spear hurtled from afar, its strike was even more formidable,

First, Rong Guangchen had tempted the defense mechanisms of Dragon Tiger Mountain’s array into activating, and then, in the blink of an eye, Fu Dongsen’s more terrible attack followed, posing the true danger of this assault,

The Altar of Wanfa Sect now quaked with thunder,

Fu Dongsen’s hands did not pause, unleashing the North Abyss Divine Spear repeatedly,

He focused all blows on a single point, piercing and battering in quick succession,

Within the ancestral altar, Yuan Mobai, commander of the Dragon Tiger Mountain’s defenses, not only noticed the spear’s edge at once, but also sensed waves of chilling cold pouring out of the powerful magical treasure,

That force of extreme frost continued to gather—it could seemingly even freeze both the fiery blaze and divine thunder,

The masculine divine thunder retaliated, breaking through layers of frost,

But at the same time, Rong Guangchen pressed both palms to the altar, his every ounce of power and forceful intent rapidly shifting in nature,

The white-gold flames vanished,

The Vermilion Bird ready to soar disappeared,

In their place appeared the Black Tortoise,

And the Pure Yang energy, rushing from peak to abyss, birthed a force of profound cold—extreme Yang giving rise to Yin,

This power merged with Fu Dongsen’s North Abyss Divine Spear,

Their joint offensive began to freeze the thunder upon the surface of the towering three-tiered altar, layer by layer,

But just then, the purple lightning gathered on the array’s surface converged even tighter,

It then focused upon a single point, transforming into a razor-sharp sword beam of purple thunder, which struck out in counterattack, flying directly from the altar,

The sword light swept first at Rong Guangchen, forcing him to instantly externalize his Golden Core, all his power reining back in defense,

The sword light flashed again, disregarding the North Abyss Divine Spear’s ongoing assault, cleaving apart the world itself as it slashed straight for Fu Dongsen in the distance,

Fu Dongsen recalled the North Abyss Divine Spear to block the blow,

But as the strike landed, within the purple lightning, black thunder suddenly appeared, coiling and spiraling together,

Purple and black lightning interwove and evolved, radiating a sense of yin-yang harmony, a mystique far surpassing that of the ordinary Nine Heavens Divine Thunder,

"Shenxiao Thunder, Yin-Yang Pivot!"

With a single sword strike, it split the North Abyss Divine Spear apart and sped toward Fu Dongsen,

Another magical treasure formed a barrier around Fu Dongsen’s body, shielding him from disaster,

But that treasure was instantly cleaved in two by the intertwined purple and black sword light,

And as the artifact broke apart, it exploded all the more violently,

Fu Dongsen looked closer and saw, atop the mountain-sized three-tiered altar, a towering Taoist in a purple robe,

It was Lei Jun,

A massive, black Xuánxiāo Five Thunder Talisman hovered above Lei Jun’s head,

From the talisman, a black thunder dragon extended its head, letting out a silent roar,

Waves of Mysterious Thunder wrapped and layered over Lei Jun’s form, then converged in his right hand,

In his right hand, he gripped a magical sword, its blade inscribed with talismans, laced with purple thunder, which now intertwined again with black lightning,

In this moment, the Celestial Master’s Sword of Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion rested in Lei Jun’s grasp, its tip leveled at the foes massing beyond the mountain,