Chapter 56: The Grand Celestial Formation

The sun shone upon the vast land, its rays not particularly intense, yet they nourished the entire primordial world. Upon the clouds in the heavens, Emperor Jun and Taiyi floated silently, their faces dark as iron as they stared at the twelve ancestral witches blocking their path.

Suddenly, from the distant east, a thunderous roar resounded, shaking the heavens and the earth. With a single deafening crash, the anxious hearts of Emperor Jun and Taiyi plummeted into stunned despair. Emperor Jun knew well the origin of that sound—it was the shattering of Xi He’s primordial spirit. A deep sorrow overcame both Emperor Jun and Taiyi, their faces etched with profound melancholy. Once, Xi He had given Emperor Jun a strand of her hair, saying, “If my hair does not fall of its own accord, then I am safe.”

Xi He, being of the three-legged golden crow lineage, possessed feathers and hair brimming with spiritual essence, thus her words carried weight. Emperor Jun gazed quietly at the hair drifting down from his body, clenched it tightly in his fist, and roared in anguish, “Xi He—!”

No matter how grave the obstacles ahead, I must see you one last time.

A night as husband and wife brings a hundred days of affection; what, then, of companions who have shared millennia together?

“May I ask where the two of you are headed?” Zu Wu Dijang stepped forward, floating calmly amidst the clouds, his gaze locked unwaveringly on Emperor Jun and Taiyi. Seeing Emperor Jun’s loss of composure, Dijang knew his chance had come.

“Must we report our destination to the likes of you?” Taiyi stepped forward, his voice cold as he faced Dijang. He knew his brother’s mind was clouded with urgency, and the battle had to be settled quickly. Outwardly, Emperor Jun appeared unruffled, yet inwardly anxiety gnawed at him. Steadying his emotions, he understood that only by maintaining a calm demeanor could they hope to overcome their formidable foes.

At this crucial moment, not a hint of worry could be betrayed, lest the enemy seize upon any weakness; otherwise, both he and his brother would be doomed. Thus, Emperor Jun’s expression remained placid, which only provoked Dijang further.

“Let me tell you something,” Dijang added, fanning the flames, “the demise of your wife and children was all the work of our Witch tribe’s schemes.” He wanted to test the limits of Emperor Jun’s restraint.

“Courting death!” At these words, Emperor Jun erupted in rage, charging forward without hesitation.

Dijang alone intercepted Emperor Jun, and they clashed furiously, while Taiyi faced the remaining eleven ancestral witches by himself, the tide of battle swiftly turning in favor of the Witch tribe.

In his fury, Emperor Jun ignored the other ancestral witches and lunged straight at Dijang, unleashing a blast of solar true fire. But Dijang, known as the “God of Space,” deftly dodged left and right, evading the attack. Emperor Jun, relentless as a machine gun, fired round after round at Dijang. Dijang taunted him, “Come on, I’m right here!” The scene, though almost comical, brimmed with deadly peril.

The sun in the sky nourished the earth with its virtuous essence—if one were to be struck by this solar true fire, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Meanwhile, Taiyi’s battle was growing ever more desperate. He fought furiously, striking the Chaos Bell again and again to ward off the ancestral witches’ onslaught. Yet this could not last; his magical power was finite, and once it was spent, he would be at their mercy.

Were the ancestral witches not anxious? On the contrary—they were desperate. The longer the battle dragged on, the closer the demon army would arrive. They had to eliminate one of their foes before then, to secure the foundation of their victory.

Seeing their attacks fail, the ancestral witches’ tempers flared. With tacit agreement, the eleven nodded to each other, signaling the start of their combined assault.

Witnessing this, sweat beaded in Taiyi’s palm as he gripped his weapon, his vigilance at its peak. Inwardly, he cursed, “Why haven’t those demon saints come to our aid yet?”

At that moment, Jumang stepped forward to lead the formation of the Five Elements Array: Jumang of the East as the Wood God, Rushou of the West as the Metal God, Zhu Rong of the South as the Fire God, Gonggong of the North as the Water God, and Houtu at the center as the Earth God. At the same time, Qiangliang led the Heaven’s Punishment Array against Taiyi. This array was even more formidable, for included within it was Zhuo Jiuyin.

Zhuo Jiuyin, known as the “God of Time,” could freeze the flow of time at will—his signature skill. Yet among Golden Immortals of the Great Luo, such power was less effective against their peers; in battle, a single instant could decide the outcome, and even a brief moment of immobilization could be fatal.

A scream tore through the air, snapping Emperor Jun out of his frenzied battle. It was Taiyi’s voice. Emperor Jun’s heart clenched in panic; he stopped his assault and turned toward the source of the cry. What he saw—

His brother’s crown had been knocked off, hair disheveled, blood smeared across his lips, and his face clouded with despair. Unbridled fury erupted within Emperor Jun, as if a volcano had burst forth. Seeing his brother so battered, the last of his restraint was obliterated.

Dijang seized the moment when Emperor Jun was distracted and drove a fist toward his abdomen, the force of the blow sending Emperor Jun hurtling into the heavenly palace atop Buzhou Mountain, crashing through buildings that tumbled into ruins in his wake.

Dijang laughed with satisfaction, clearly relishing his triumph. The other ancestral witches, having finished their own battles, came forward to congratulate him: “Big brother, that was a tremendous blow—far beyond our own strength,” and other such praises, bringing a flush of pride to Dijang’s face.

Taiyi, witnessing his brother sent flying by Dijang’s fist, quickly rose to rush to his aid.

Just as the ancestral witches basked in their victory, a commanding voice rang out: “Form the Celestial Star Array!”

From the sky, countless golden beams shot upward into the outer heavens, where the myriad stars gathered under their radiance, converging above Buzhou Mountain.

The ancestral witches stared in astonishment—what were the demons up to now?

Once all the stars were in position, countless meteors wreathed in fire appeared above the heavenly palace, like a herd of wild stallions galloping down toward the ancestral witches.

The ancestral witches hastily summoned their divine powers to block the meteors; they could neither retreat nor evade, for below them stood the sons of the Witch tribe. The meteors rained down like a shower of shooting stars, smashing into the Witch warriors below, while the ancestral witches struggled bitterly to hold them back.

Dijang and Zhuo Jiuyin joined forces to control a swath of meteors, making them vanish; only when Emperor Jun searched did he realize that they had somehow been redirected above his own head, where he and the others quickly unleashed their treasures to smash the falling stones.

The other ancestral witches used their own magical powers to destroy the meteors, directing their people to flee and counterattacking when possible. Yet the heavenly palace, protected by the star power of the Celestial Star Array, was utterly unscathed by the witches’ attacks; not a single demon soldier was harmed.

Emperor Jun, beside himself with fury, thought, “You dare torment us so—your days of triumph will come to an end!” The ancestral witches, seeing their attacks so easily thwarted, were driven to frustration. How could they fight like this, when their blows never reached their foes, and when they finally did, the star power merely neutralized them?

Seeing the dire situation, Houtu acted swiftly, conjuring countless spheres of primordial turbid energy from the earth’s depths—her domain as the Goddess of Earth. These primordial energy balls were fired upward, rapidly absorbing power and swelling to rival the size of meteors, hurtling straight for the heavenly palace.

In the sky, Emperor Jun stamped his foot in rage, and with a flash he revealed his true form as a three-legged golden crow, radiating ten thousand brilliant rays of light that instantly obliterated the energy spheres without a trace.

Drained, Emperor Jun collapsed to the ground. The demon saints hurried to his side, but he waved them off, saying, “It’s nothing—just a bit of magical exhaustion.” Then he sat quietly to recover his strength.

Now fully conscious, Taiyi took up the baton of command. “Give them a grand offering!”

The assembled demons shouted in unison, “Yes!” Their demonic energy poured forth without limit, culminating in the birth of a colossal super-star above the heavenly palace.