Chapter 1403: Shi Qianjue
At the peak of Saint Wood Peak, Qiu Yu laughed and said, "Zhang Ruochen actually dares to come and storm Wuding Mountain. He really doesn't take the Moon-Worshipping Cult seriously. I, this young master, will now lead the Fire Clan cultivators to go and repel him."
"Hold on."
Ouyang Huan, seated in a wheelchair, emerged from a patch of resplendent saintly light.
"Today, Young Master Qiu Yu is the groom and should be accompanying the guests at the wedding feast. Such a trivial matter can still be handled by the Moon-Worshipping Cult."
Subsequently, all the saints of the Demon Sect present followed Ouyang Huan as he departed, heading toward the mountain gate.
The wedding feast continued.
However, the attention of all the cultivators was no longer there; it was entirely focused on the foot of the mountain.
"Use the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron to blast open the mountain-protecting grand formation."
Zhang Ruochen, lacking patience, stood up and flew above the Golden Step Dragon Carriage. He activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, opening the fourteen acupoints in his palms. Vast saintly qi surged forth, flowing into the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron.
At the same time, the saints of the Sacred Bright Remnants behind the Golden Step Dragon Carriage each shot out a pillar of saintly qi.
Instantly, the destructive aura emanating from the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron intensified more than tenfold, forming a colossal golden vortex hundreds of miles in diameter.
Those golden ancient characters revolved around the vortex, then continuously crashed into Wuding Mountain.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
Each golden ancient character fell like a small star, striking the mountain-protecting grand formation. The semi-transparent defensive barrier trembled incessantly, creating ripples.
The aura emitted by the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron suppressed most of the Moon-Worshipping Cult disciples in Wuding Mountain, forcing them to lie prostrate on the ground, unable to stand.
Ouyang Huan sat atop a formation tower halfway up the mountain, his gaze icy as he sent out sound wave ripples: "Zhang Ruochen, don't go too far. Do you really think the Moon-Worshipping Cult is a place where you can act recklessly?"
"If you don't open the mountain-protecting grand formation, I, this Crown Prince, naturally have no choice but to forcefully blast it open."
Zhang Ruochen raised his hands, supporting the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron as if holding it aloft, exuding a majestic aura that looked down upon the world.
Yan Kaixuan roared loudly: "If you know what's good for you, open the mountain-protecting grand formation immediately and respectfully welcome His Highness the Crown Prince up the mountain. Otherwise, once we break through the grand formation, we will have no choice but to unleash a massacre, turning Wuding Mountain into a river of blood."
Ming Jiangwang said, "We have come to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, not to create slaughter. Please don't force us."
"Such arrogance! Today, let's see how you plan to turn Wuding Mountain into a river of blood. Activate the Great Saint inscriptions and unleash the power of the attack formation to suppress and kill these arrogant fools who provoke the cult."
Ouyang Huan's voice spread throughout Wuding Mountain.
The next moment, the spiritual veins beneath Wuding Mountain surged rapidly, releasing vast amounts of heaven and earth spiritual qi and saintly qi.
At thirty-six locations within the mountain, black demon pillars burst through the ground, rising up.
These black demon pillars, each a hundred zhang in diameter and a thousand zhang tall, resembled thirty-six bizarre, rugged stone peaks. Great Saint inscriptions surfaced on the pillars, and each shot out a black beam of light, attacking the area below the mountain.
"Boom."
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron blocked most of the black beams, but several still struck the vast Copper Furnace Plain.
Even a single beam created a massive crater over a dozen miles in diameter upon impact. Dense black mist spread outward from the crater, extending thousands of miles.
The sky was filled with oppressive dust; even though it was noon, it seemed as if night had fallen.
Using saintly eyes, one could see a truly shocking scene. Around the craters where the beams landed, there were countless earth fissures stretching thousands of miles, and the area for a thousand miles was sealed by ice.
Such a terrifying attack, even a Saint King, if hit, might not survive.
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he roared: "Break!"
The saints of the Sacred Bright Remnants exerted their strength simultaneously, joining Zhang Ruochen in controlling the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron as it slammed violently toward Wuding Mountain.
"Sizzle."
On the surface of the mountain-protecting grand formation, dense lightning appeared, forming a giant bowl that covered the sky above Wuding Mountain.
However, struck by the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, the lightning bowl sank inward and finally shattered with a loud crash.
The first layer of Wuding Mountain's mountain-protecting grand formation was breached.
The Golden Step Dragon Carriage surged forward, and the saints of the Sacred Bright Remnants finally stepped into Wuding Mountain.
Immediately after, they continued to control the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, beginning to attack the second layer of the formation.
"How is this possible?"
In the formation tower halfway up the mountain, Ouyang Huan could no longer remain calm, a look of shock on his face.
The disciples of the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect and the guests attending the feast were even more terrified, their faces pale, unable to believe that the strength of those Sacred Bright rebels was so terrifying.
"Wuding Mountain's mountain-protecting grand formation is said to be able to withstand attacks from a Great Saint. How could it be broken so easily?"
"That bronze ancient cauldron is no ordinary item. It's likely an extremely powerful Supreme Sacred Artifact. When activated by a group of saints, its power is beyond normal comprehension."
"It's said that the Azure Heaven Floating-Tu Tower of Lingxiao Heavenly King was suppressed by it."
...
Qiu Yu's gaze was sharp as he spat coldly: "Relying on a Supreme Sacred Artifact to storm Wuding Mountain? Zhang Ruochen is truly naive."
A Saint Ancestor of the Fire Clan spoke up: "Cult Leader Shi, if you don't act now, once those Sacred Bright rebels break through the second layer of the mountain-protecting grand formation, tens of millions of cult disciples will be exposed before them. At that time, Wuding Mountain might indeed become a river of blood, with corpses piled high as mountains."
"Rustle."
An immensely overbearing demonic qi emanated from a secret realm, spreading to cover the entire cult headquarters.
At that moment, aside from the saints, all living beings in Wuding Mountain knelt on the ground, shouting in unison: "Greetings, Cult Leader!"
All the saints, including the great figures among the saintly realm at the wedding feast, dared not remain seated. They all stood up and respectfully bowed toward the direction where the demonic qi was most concentrated.
A Great Saint was the emperor of the saintly realm, and all beings must pay him homage.
Wisps of ink-black demonic qi converged to form a majestic and sacred figure.
It was a projection of Shi Qianjue, towering thousands of zhang tall.
At the foot of the mountain, the saints of the Sacred Bright Remnants naturally felt an immense pressure, as if heaven and earth had solidified. They could no longer advance, unable to breathe or circulate their saintly qi normally.
Shi Qianjue's voice was thunderous: "I must give face to the Ming Emperor. Zhang Ruochen, if you retreat now, I will consider this as if nothing happened and will not pursue your provocation against the Moon-Worshipping Cult. How about it?"
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists tightly, breaking free from the suppression of the saintly path, and said loudly: "I, this Crown Prince, have come to Wuding Mountain only to borrow your site for a sacrificial ceremony. As a Great Saint, you should have the magnanimity of a Great Saint. Do you really fear that I, this Crown Prince, will destroy the Demon Cult with my cultivation? Why not take the initiative to open the mountain-protecting grand formation? After the sacrifice, I will leave immediately and will not harm a single cultivator of the cult. How about that?"
"Come to Wuding Mountain for a sacrifice? What do you intend to use as an offering?" Shi Qianjue said.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the direction of Saint Wood Peak, and he said: "Wutong Qiu Yu. This man killed my brother, a crime unforgivable. It is fitting to use him as an offering to sacrifice to heaven and earth."
"Claiming to sacrifice to heaven and earth is false; sacrificing to the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree is the truth, isn't it?"
Shi Qianjue was an extremely formidable figure; nothing could escape him.
Clearly, he already knew of the existence of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and the Qiankun Realm. He continued: "Zhang Ruochen, no matter how great the resentment in your heart, you are still a member of the Kunlun Realm. And Qiu Yu is the hope of the Kunlun Realm. If you kill him, you will sever the future of the Kunlun Realm. Are you sure this is the right thing to do?"
A Saint Ancestor of the Fire Clan snorted coldly: "The Kunlun Realm has given birth to heaven and earth saintly qi, accelerating the cultivation speed of all living beings. Even the Empress was able to become a god because of the change in heaven and earth rules. And all of this is thanks to Young Master Qiu Yu. As Young Master Qiu Yu's cultivation grows, the changes in the Kunlun Realm will surely be even greater, bringing unimaginable benefits to all living beings."
The cultivators present deeply agreed, all nodding.
They could all sense that the heaven and earth rules had indeed changed, making the Kunlun Realm more suitable for cultivation. Qiu Yu's birth had indeed benefited the world.
"Zhang Ruochen, for your own selfish interests, you want to use Young Master Qiu Yu as an offering to the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree. How vicious! You want to destroy the hope of the entire Kunlun Realm," a saint-level powerhouse said indignantly.
Qiu Yu stood proudly, a smug smile on his lips as he looked with pity at Zhang Ruochen, now the public enemy of the Kunlun Realm.
Yan Kaixuan's face flushed with blood as he roared: "So what if we destroy the hope of the Kunlun Realm? Qiu Yu stole our Crown Prince's princess. Our Crown Prince wants to destroy him. If you have the guts, come out and fight one-on-one!"
"That's right, come out and fight one-on-one! Our Crown Prince will turn you back into your original form in ten moves and teach you how to be a tree in no time," roared the Devouring Demon Dragon.
Qiu Yu's gaze darkened, and he was about to respond.
The Fire Clan Saint Ancestor beside him quickly stopped him, shaking his head, and transmitted a mental message: "Today, our goal is to seize the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree. Let the Moon-Worshipping Demon Cult first eliminate the strong among the Sacred Bright rebels, then capture Zhang Ruochen later."
Qiu Yu nodded and held back.
The Fire Clan Saint Ancestor stepped forward, bowed to Shi Qianjue, and said: "Cult Leader Shi, those Sacred Bright rebels have no regard for the Moon-Worshipping Cult. They must be given a painful lesson. If Cult Leader Shi finds it inconvenient to act due to your status, our Fire Clan is willing to take over."