Qiankun Ancestor bellowed angrily and leapt into the air. Suddenly, a translucent ruler appeared in his empty hand, about three feet long, enveloped in a mysterious aura, and he smashed it down towards Li Qingming.
Li Qingming was greatly shocked, thinking that this snotty old Daoist really wasn't proper and had lost his cool so quickly!
"Bring it on!" Li Qingming jumped off the brown bear. The Qiankun Map emerged above his head to resist the ruler's assault, and casually, he threw out Green Bamboo. The Green Bamboo grew upon contact with the wind, instantly transforming into a long spear. The spear, emitting a cold light, thrust directly at Qiankun Ancestor.
"What a cunning little thief!" Qiankun Ancestor's eyes flashed a sinister light. He dodged the spear transformed from Green Bamboo, changed his hand seals, and yelled at the ruler-shaped Magic Treasure, "Qian Heaven, Kun Earth, suppress for me!"
A hint of mockery flashed in Li Qingming's eyes, and he snickered, "Rotate!" The spear strangely spun around and suddenly stabbed towards the back of Qiankun Ancestor.
At this moment, Qiankun Ancestor, whose full attention was at the front, his eyes flashed ruthlessly, his hands continuously pressing down. However, strangely enough, despite pressing for a long time, the ruler made no progress. Catching sight of the mockery in Li Qingming's beastly eyes, he had a thought, "Not good!" In his panic, he dodged to one side. The Green Bamboo transformed spear swept past Qiankun Ancestor's armpit.
Li Qingming caught the spear flying back and shook his head, saying, "What a pity!"
"Junior, truly not acting like a person's child! Being so cunning!" Qiankun Ancestor touched the Daoist robe that was slashed by the spear and summoned back his Magic Treasure.
"Ha ha, what a joke! In a fight between two sides, who cares about cunningness. Do you know what 'all is fair in war' means?" Li Qingming, with his eyes shining brilliantly, stared at the ruler-shaped Magic Treasure in Qiankun Ancestor's hand, and thought to himself, "Could it be that Magic Treasure?"
"Junior, offer the thing on your head. The old ancestor will spare your lives. Otherwise, don't blame the old ancestor for being ruthless!"
Coincidentally, Qiankun Ancestor also coveted Li Qingming's Qiankun Map.
"Ha ha, what a joke! Who do you think you are, to control our destiny!" Originally, Tongtian and Primordial were watching the drama from the side. Hearing Qiankun Ancestor's words, they could not help but feel a surge of anger, and thus spoke out in mockery.
Qiankun Ancestor glanced sideways at Tongtian and said, "A mere early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal like you is nothing in my eyes! Yet you dare to mock this old ancestor. Better come down and talk!" After speaking, he flicked his sleeve at Tongtian.
But what dumbfounded him happened, Tongtian, as if feeling nothing, sat steadily on Mount Kui. Qiankun Ancestor flicked his sleeves several more times, still to no avail, and got so agitated that his face turned beet red.
"Old man, had enough of flicking? If so, let's start the fight!" There was a fleeting disdain in Tongtian's eyes.
"Young one, don't be arrogant. I will make your souls scatter!" Qiankun Ancestor said as he pulled out three small lamps from his bosom, raised his hand lightly, and alongside the ruler, the three small lamps slowly flew towards the Three Pure Ones.
The Three Pure Ones, considering themselves highly and having reached the Daluo Golden Immortal level, watched Qiankun Ancestor set up the formation nonchalantly.
The serenity and detachment of the Three Pure Ones sent a chill down the spine of Qiankun Ancestor! Witnessing the formation set, he shook off the thought and burst into laughter, saying: "This formation is called 'Qiankun Purgatory Array', created by the old ancestor with all my life's dedication to Array Dao. Even Quasi-Saints cannot escape it! Enjoy these final moments slowly! Hahaha..."
"This formation, named 'Qiankun Purgatory Array', begins with 'Qiankun', suggesting that the ruler-shaped treasure must be an object that stabilizes Qiankun, and ends with 'Purgatory', which undoubtedly relates to those three small lamps," said Tongtian, who possesses the Array Dao knowledge inherited from Pangu's Primordial Spirit and thus is an expert in arrays. After observing for a while, he spoke.
At this point, Primordial Venerable spoke, "The ruler-shaped treasure in the hands of the old Tao, called 'Qiankun Ruler' or 'Heaven Measuring Ruler'. As the name implies, it can measure Heaven and Earth, harnessing the power of Heaven and Earth for oneself. Together with Qingmingzi's Qiankun Map, and the yet-unseen Qiankun Tripod, they form the Qiankun Three Treasures."
"These three small lamps are the Innate Three Lamps, namely: Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp, Qingyun Golden Lamp, and Cui Guang Liangyi Lamp. Each contains an Innate Fire within, its power immense. These lamps arranged in formation create a trinity, not only emanating the Innate Fire of the lamps but also forming an encircling position, which is truly ingenious!"
"Talking more does no good, we better break the formation quickly!" Laozi glanced at the mounts of the four, seeing them wilted and dispirited, hence he spoke.
"Master, let's first test the power of this formation before we decide!" Li Qingming raised the beast's head, saying this when a golden spark shot from the southeast corner directly toward the brown bear under Li Qingming.
Li Qingming gently patted the brown bear's head, and it surprisingly flapped its small wings, flying up lightly to avoid the golden flames. It also spat out a mouthful of Blue Extreme Shiny Ice, instantly enveloping the golden flames, which fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
"Huh! This little fellow, having such abilities? Truly an exotic beast!" Tongtian applauded.
The brown bear looked quite pleased, obviously happy about Tongtian's praise. However, this heavy clumsiness got the better of it, as it carelessly forgot to flap its wings, fell from the sky and landed right on the sharp ice on the ground, piercing its buttocks causing blood to flow profusely, making Li Qingming burst out laughing!
Qiankun Ancestor outside the formation, hearing Li Qingming's hearty laughter, was inwardly seething with hatred. He then formed a Seal Technique with his hands, fully activating the great formation.
Within the formation, the Chaos Qi boiled and dark clouds surged, three points of firelight, with the rolling Chaos Qi, continuously contracted and expanded. Soon, they dispersed into countless streams, forming an encircling stance, and fiercely charged toward Li Qingming and the others.
The Three Pure Ones, relying on their superior cultivation. Laozi swung his Flat Stick, batting the flames coming towards him left and right, no flame could come close. Yuan Shi simply, raised an archaic small bell above his head, called Soul Loss Bell. As the bell spun continuously, ripples of light fell along with the rotations, protecting Yuan Shi and his Four Unlikes mount. The flames hit the light of the Soul Loss Bell and vanished without a trace.
Looking at Tongtian, initially batting the flames away individually, he grew weary eventually, and in a burst of rage, he drew the longsword from his back and shouted, "Split the Heavens!"
The flames around him, as if grabbed by an invisible giant hand, all gathered in front of Tongtian, who then slashed down with his sword. Although this sword was not any Innate Spiritual Treasure, having accompanied Tongtian for so long, it was hardly ordinary.
The flames were shattered by a single sword strike, and numerous strands of Chaos Qi surged wildly around.
Already struggling to cope with the flames, Li Qingming, an unintended victim, was scorched by the flames pushed to the sides by Tongtian, damaging his slick and shiny fur.
Li Qingming looked at Tongtian with a hint of resentment, causing Tongtian to get goosebumps all over.
"Hmph, some skills there!" Qiankun Ancestor, resonating with the core of the formation, observing the magic techniques of the four, knew they were tough to deal with, and said sternly: "You think this great formation is so easy to break just because it's named 'Qiankun Purgatory'? Not so simple!"
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As he spoke, his left hand pressed down while his right hand lifted up. Twisting the magic spell, he suddenly split his hands apart, assuming an open and closed posture, and loudly exclaimed: "Heaven and Earth Cracking!"
Inside the array, the sky full of flames disappeared in a whoosh. Endless Chaos Qi, surging like a tide, continued for the duration of a tea time, then suddenly calmed down. Light Qi rose to form heavens, turbid Qi descended to form earth.
The four people within the array looked at this scene, puzzled. Li Qingming said, "What on earth is this old creature trying to do?"
"Cackle. You'll soon find out!" the voice of Qiankun Ancestor was filled with boundless arrogance.
"Boom, crack!"
The sky suddenly fell, and terrifying fissures split open the ground.
The Three Pure Ones were shocked, about to make a move when suddenly a massive scroll soared into the sky, unmistakably Li Qingming's Qiankun Map. A towering Green Bamboo shot up from the ground, its numerous roots covering the cracks on the surface.
Li Qingming laughed heartily, "Old Dao, what else can you do?" His hands manipulated the Seal Technique, and successive Heavenly Thunders fell from the sky, continuously bombarding the Qiankun Ruler controlling the array from above.
With the booming, the Qiankun Ruler trembled incessantly, and the whole array began to collapse.
In desperation, Qiankun Ancestor raised his right hand upwards, and a dark green giant hand appeared out of nowhere,
"Sky Splitting Claw!"
Qiankun Ancestor struck with a claw, and the overwhelming claw shadow fiercely grabbed towards the Yuqing Divine Thunder.
Upon collision, the already stabilized heaven and earth by Li Qingming again showed signs of cracking, but at this point, Li Qingming was out of options.
"Stay!"
At this moment, Tongtian raised a small banner called "Six Soul Banner".
This banner could bind and collect souls, and also control elements like earth, water, fire, and wind. It refrained the beginning breakage of heaven and earth.
"Infinite Taoist Venerable!"
Laozi called out a Taoist name and casually threw his Flat Stick. The Flat Stick transformed mid-air into a lotus swaying in the wind. This lotus bloomed in thirty-six grades, and its roots and leaves were huge, emitting a peculiar charm.
"A flower blooms and withers, all becomes void!"
Laozi spoke, and as his words fell, the lotus began to sway left and right, its roots wildly surging, growing unknowably far.
The three Innate Lamps in the corners vibrated, and the roots of the lotus curled up the three small lamps to Laozi's side. Laozi took the lamps, leaving behind the Eight Sceneries Palace Lamp, handed the Qingyun Golden Lamp to Yuanshi Tianzun, and the Cui Guang Liangyi Lamp to Tongtian.
Thus, missing items for the array formation, the "Qiankun Purgatory Array" collapsed on its own. The Qiankun Ruler emitted mournful wails, about to fly back into Qiankun Ancestor's hands. Li Qingming, quick to react, raised the still unretrieved Qiankun Map and wrapped it around the Qiankun Ruler.
Under the traction of Qi, the Qiankun Ruler was enveloped by the Qiankun Map, falling into Li Qingming's hands.
This series of events happened in the blink of an eye, and Qiankun Ancestor hadn't reacted yet. Feeling his magic treasure being seized, he suddenly came to his senses, grinding his teeth and glaring at the four people, saying, "Despicable juniors! Snatching my magic treasure, I will not let this go!"
Li Qingming completely ignored his fierce words, stroking the Qiankun Ruler with his hand, constantly muttering, "What a treasure, what a treasure! Following that old Dao really wronged you!"
Primordial Venerable looked at Qiankun Ancestor with a bit of sympathy, thinking in his heart, "This old fellow is indeed pitiful. Once fallen into my disciple Qingming's hands, it's impossible to get it back! This old fellow really lost it all!"
Isn't that losing it all? Aren't those three Innate Lamps still in the hands of The Three Pure Ones?
Qiankun Ancestor's eyes flickered, silently contemplating, "Now, without my magic treasure, relying on my own strength, I can't defeat these four. Why not avoid this calamity for now. After I recuperate, it'll be good to scheme again!"
Tongtian took a few steps forward, addressing Qiankun Ancestor, "Old man, we have battled for some time, yet I still do not know your name. I don't slay nameless individuals under my sword. Quickly state your name, so I can leave you a complete corpse!"
"I am Qiankun Ancestor, one of the first beings after the creation of the universe! All of you are juniors, yet you seek to kill me, truly infuriating! If I must die, I won't make it easy for you!" Qiankun Ancestor's face showed ferocity, and he suddenly charged at the four individuals. Mid-air, his body continuously expanded and grew larger.
Seeing this, Laozi said, "Not good, this Daoist is planning to self-destruct! Prepare your defenses!" Saying so, he pointed to the blue sky, and the Flat Stick soared up, protecting Laozi.
Yuanshi Tianzun again raised the Soul Loss Bell, protecting himself. Tongtian held the Six Soul Banner, protecting his surroundings.
Li Qingming also raised the Qiankun Map above his head, intently watching Qiankun Ancestor in the sky, thinking to himself, "Damn, how could this old bugger be so ruthless! Desperate to take a few down with him even in death…"
Only to see Qiankun Ancestor in the sky suddenly contract and shoot off in the opposite direction, leaving behind his words echoing in the air:
"You juniors, I have urgent matters! I'll settle this with you next time!"
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