The Magic Artifact activated on its own!

Old Jiang Ba was stunned. Just as he was about to say something, the attacks frozen in midair silently vanished, as if they had never existed.

A deathly silence descended upon the summit of Mount Fu.

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at Old Jiang Ba—Li Sanbai, Dongfang Xun, and even No-Face, the monster in the blood pool far below.

"What... what kind of Magic Artifact is this? It's terrifying!"

Zou Qingsheng sucked in a cold breath, his eyes glinting with endless greed.

He knew that Old Jiang Ba and Su Daiyi were ordinary people. If so, couldn't he just snatch it from them? Heavenly treasures belong to the virtuous. And he, Zou Qingsheng, was a man of virtue! After all, he was concerned for the lives of ordinary people and had led the other eleven Martial Ancestors to slay Xu Lai. Therefore, the Magic Artifact on Old Jiang Ba... he would have it!

Unlike the shock and greed of Zou Qingsheng's group, Dongfang Xun and the blood pool monster were simply stunned. They had witnessed the strength of this Magic Artifact with their own eyes. Especially No-Face, deep underground. Her seductive face was a mask of frost; her avatar had been destroyed by this very Magic Artifact.

"Li Sanbai, let those idiots keep attacking!" No-Face's voice was cold.

Of course, she knew that trash like Zou Qingsheng were no match for Xu Lai. But she wanted to use them to probe Xu Lai's limits. Besides, even if they only managed to wear down some of his combat strength, it would be worth it. They were just a bunch of minions, fated to die sooner or later. They might as well contribute something to her before they died. That would be a worthy death.

* * *

"Yes, Master." As his master's words echoed in his ears, Li Sanbai spoke in a deep voice, "What are you all dawdling for!"

"Everyone, stop holding back! Use your most powerful Secret Techniques! Losing a few years of your lifespan is better than dying!" Zou Qingsheng finished quickly, then roared, "KILL!"

BOOM!

This time, Zou Qingsheng and the others put their lives on the line. Yet Xu Lai simply stood with his hands behind his back, not even bothering to lift an eyelid, let alone counterattack.

Their attacks stopped in midair once again.

It was because the Nameplate Talisman in front of Old Jiang Ba had suddenly flown into the sky, gathering the surging Spiritual Energy around it. Incredibly, it coalesced into a hundred-zhang-long Divine Dragon!

The Divine Dragon's enormous body seemed to be forged from lightning. Its whiskers were tens of meters long, and its dismissive gaze toward all living things made everyone's heart pound in their chests, nearly stopping their breath.

A dragon... There was actually a Divine Dragon within that Magic Artifact!

"Is your Magic Artifact real?" Gao He suddenly turned to look at Dongfang Xun, having heard many rumors that Dongfang Xun peddled so-called "Dragon-Sealing Jade Pendants."

Dongfang Xun was speechless.

His face turned a frightening shade of red from sheer embarrassment. His so-called pendants were just cheap wholesale goods from black market stalls. Forget sealing dragons, they couldn't even seal an ant...

Dongfang Xun explained hoarsely, "It's a Magic Artifact created by Senior Xu Lai, not by me."

Xu Lai?! Gao He was startled, then suddenly remembered that the Nameplate Talisman had the character 'Xu' on it. That 'Xu' character seems familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere before. Gao He fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, the appearance of the Thunder Dragon made Zou Qingsheng and his followers tremble all over. Their legs shook so uncontrollably that they nearly fell to their knees. In their pathetic state, continuing their attack was out of the question; it was a struggle just to remain standing.

But a dragon has scales that grow in reverse—to touch them is to court death.

Having been provoked twice in a row, the Divine Dragon lifted its massive claw and slowly lowered it from the sky.

Zou Qingsheng watched helplessly, but he was paralyzed by the terrifying draconic might, unable to escape!

BOOM!

The claw descended, and the twelve Martial Ancestors, led by Zou Qingsheng, were crushed into a pile of gore, utterly annihilated.

The mountain peak was eerily quiet, so quiet it was unsettling. Even the blood pool and the howling yin wind seemed to retreat in fear.

Old Jiang Ba was dumbstruck. He stared at his hands in astonishment. So... the Magic Artifact Xu Lai casually gave me is this powerful. It was powerful enough to effortlessly crush Eighth and Ninth Grade Martial Dao experts—masters ordinary people might never see in their lifetime—like ants.

Only at this moment did Old Jiang Ba begin to vaguely understand just how terrifying Xu Lai's strength truly was.

What grade of Magic Artifact is this? Could it be a Spiritual Artifact?! Li Sanbai was shocked to his core.

Aside from studying Formations, he had also dabbled in Artifact Refining. But refining was more expensive than Array Setting, and it also demanded immense talent. Twenty years had passed, and Li Sanbai could only refine First Grade Magic Artifacts—Mortal Instruments.

The Artifact Refining technique No-Face had obtained was, in fact, given to her by that man named Jing Ke from two thousand years ago. It was a refining method from the Immortal Domain.

First Grade: Mortal Instrument. Second Grade: Treasure Instrument. Third Grade: Heavenly Instrument. Only the Fourth Grade was a Spiritual Artifact!

Li Sanbai found it hard to believe and refused to accept that Xu Lai, a man decades younger than him, could have so much more talent in Artifact Refining than him!

However, Li Sanbai's questions were destined to remain unanswered.

WHOOSH—

The Thunder Dragon's whiskers fluttered in the wind. It transformed into a streak of light and returned to stand before Old Jiang Ba, reverting to a plain, unadorned Nameplate Talisman.

GULP.

The remaining Eighth Grade Martial Ancestors standing with Gao He, who had yet to attack, swallowed hard, their eyes filled with immense relief.

They were relieved that they had been rational enough. Relieved that they hadn't chosen to attack Xu Lai. Otherwise... their bodies would be among the corpses under that dragon's claw.

Yet, they looked toward Xu Lai with expectation. His Boundary can't just be the Ninth Grade. Could he be in the Divine Gate Realm? A Divine Gate expert in his twenties... If word of this got out, it would shock the entire world!

With this in mind, they all silently positioned themselves behind Xu Lai, evidently planning to cling to this powerful ally.

"Senior Xu, Li Sanbai's Formation is very strong. Do you have any way to break it?" Gao He asked with the utmost respect.

"This counts as a Formation?" Xu Lai said indifferently. "It's nothing more than a three-year-old's child's play."

Gao He and the others felt their scalps tingle. If this doesn't count as a Formation, then what does? The entire Mount Fu range is shrouded within it, filled with blood pools and skeletons. What a terrifying scene!

A shrill roar came from not far away. It was Li Sanbai. "XU LAI!"

If he had been able to maintain his composure before, watching the internal strife like an amused spectator, now his anger was completely ignited. His eyes were bloodshot and terrifying.

He took a furious step forward and shouted, "I set up this array with 7,177 Spirit Stones, each engraved with seventy-seven Array Patterns and capable of countless variations! Yet you claim... this doesn't even count as a Formation!"

With a voice strained to its limits, Li Sanbai took a second step forward, demanding, "Do you understand Formations at all? Do you know Array Patterns? Can you even set up an array?"

Xu Lai remained silent, as if the questions had struck a nerve and left him unable to respond.

But if any Cultivators from the Immortal Domain were present, they would be looking at Li Sanbai as if he were an absolute fool. The Supreme Emperor, not understanding Formations? That joke was funny enough to last for thirty epochs.

Not receiving a response, Li Sanbai took a third step forward, his voice thundering, "Xu Lai, I am asking you a question!"

"Do you—" he roared, "—even understand FORMATIONS?!"

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