Chapter 2353: Enemy and Friend Arrive Together

**Volume 1: The Tumult of the Seven Mystical Sect**

"Of course I understand that! When we break the formation later, we can make a bigger commotion. Even if Qingyuanzi can resist not using those backup plans, he won't be able to peacefully face the heavenly tribulation. Fellow Daoist Sanquan, I'll be relying on you for this." Huangyuanzi said with a sinister smile.

"Don't worry, breaking the formation is on me," Daoist Sanquan replied confidently upon hearing this.

After speaking, the young Daoist formed a hand seal with one hand, and immediately, white clouds surged forth from beneath his feet, lifting him up and carrying him towards the valley.

Huangyuanzi and the giant man dared not delay, following closely with their own streaks of light.

After flying just over a hundred miles, a rumbling sound suddenly erupted all around them. The nearby void blurred, and the scenery shifted, instantly placing the three in a vast forest of towering trees.

Each tree in this forest was about a hundred zhang tall, entirely black, as if cast from black iron.

The moment the three appeared in the forest, the surrounding giant trees immediately shook violently like an earthquake, tilting and crashing down towards them. Even before they fully fell, strong winds already pressed down.

"How ridiculous to think such a simple formation could trap me!" Daoist Sanquan burst into laughter upon seeing this scene.

Without revealing any treasure, he simply let out a loud shout, and with a flick of his sleeves, rolling yellow energy surged out, sweeping in all directions.

An astonishing scene unfolded.

The black giant trees, once swept by the yellow wind, immediately flew backward like straw and, after a series of muffled thuds, turned into sand-like dust and vanished.

At this point, the surrounding void twisted for a moment before returning to its original appearance.

Daoist Sanquan moved, continuing to shoot forward.

Huangyuanzi and the giant man behind him exchanged glances, pleased.

This time, as soon as the three flew about ten miles, several hills below suddenly glowed brightly. Three talisman formations, each about an *mu* in size, flashed into existence simultaneously on the hilltops. With a tearing sound through the air, dense fireballs appeared, raining down on the trio.

Daoist Sanquan merely curled his lip at this sight. With a flick of a finger from his sleeve, three emerald green light threads flashed out and, with a "boom," transformed into three thick beams of light that shot downwards.

Three earth-shattering roars!

The three light beams, like nimble river dragons, twisted and flashed between the fireballs, directly striking the three talisman formations. They instantly flattened the formations along with the hills below.

Daoist Sanquan's figure did not pause for a moment, his streak of light sweeping directly over the flattened hills.

Huangyuanzi and the giant man exchanged a smiling glance before following.

Clearly, although Qingyuanzi had set up many restrictions, the outer fringes were quite ordinary, meant to deal with those of lower cultivation.

Only the restrictions near the valley were truly core, specifically designed to counter Grand Ascension stage cultivators of similar power.

Inside the valley, Yan Li, who was meditating at the valley entrance, suddenly felt a ripple in her ear and received a solemn telepathic message from Qingyuanzi:

"Yan'er, be careful. My great enemies are breaking through the formations outside. Take the treasures I gave you earlier and go oversee the Eighteen Fiendish Formations."

"Yes, Master. Yan'er will go immediately," Yan Li's expression turned serious. She quickly rose and bowed towards the sky in response.

At this moment, all the restrictions and grand formations in the valley were fully activated.

Layers of colorful light, combined with the incessantly swirling black astral winds in the void, completely obscured any view of the valley's center.

Aside from occasional thunderous roars and clear chiming sounds, Yan Li could no longer sense any activity from the giant platform.

"You don't need to worry. With someone overseeing it, the Eighteen Fiendish Formations' power will increase by at least 20%, enough to block the external enemies for several days. Once I overcome this tribulation, I can personally deal with these great enemies," Qingyuanzi seemed to sense his disciple's unease and comforted her with a smile.

Upon hearing these words, Yan Li felt a slight easing of her mind.

Since her Master still had time to send a telepathic message, he must still have some reserve power under the heavenly tribulation.

Without further hesitation, she activated her escape light, transforming into a yellow streak of light that tore through the air and left the valley entrance.

A moment later, Yan Li stood atop a mountain, a large disk-shaped artifact floating beneath her. Numerous small flags of various colors were densely inserted into it.

She herself was gazing solemnly at a bronze mirror in her hand.

The flickering image in the bronze mirror clearly showed Daoist Sanquan activating a white flying knife. It danced up and down like a river dragon, cleanly dismantling an outer formation covered in golden light.

With another flash, Daoist Sanquan vanished from the image without a trace.

Yan Li gasped at this sight, her delicate brows knitting together.

Although she knew that anyone Qingyuanzi considered a great enemy must also be a Grand Ascension stage cultivator, she hadn't expected the opponent to possess such profound skill in formations.

It seemed that while there were many outer restrictions, they definitely wouldn't hold the opponent back for long. To truly buy time for her Master, she would have to rely on the Eighteen Fiendish Grand Formations under her control.

Thinking this, Yan Li dared not delay any further. With a single hand gesture towards the artifact beneath her, several formation flags shook, transforming into wisps of green smoke and disappearing.

About a quarter of an hour later, fierce winds raged around the valley, kicking up sand and stones. The ground suddenly split open with cracks, from which surging blood-red mist erupted. It rolled outwards, completely enveloping the entire valley.

Following several piercing shrieks, wails of ghosts and howls of wolves rose from within the blood mist. Countless huge black figures vaguely flickered within, and waves of baleful aura surged skyward, actually dispersing a significant portion of the black clouds in the sky.

In a short amount of time, Yan Li had activated all eighteen profound formations surrounding the valley.

If it were just a single formation, it would be nothing to a Grand Ascension stage cultivator.

However, these Eighteen Fiendish Formations were uniquely designed as interlocking arrays, with each linked to the next. What seemed like facing one formation actually meant having to contend with all eighteen simultaneously.

Thus, if one couldn't break all eighteen formations at once, they would have to patiently dismantle them one by one.

This was also why Qingyuanzi remained exceptionally calm, even knowing that powerful enemies had invaded his tribulation site.

Indeed, half a day later, when Daoist Sanquan and Huangyuanzi fought their way to the vicinity of the valley and clearly saw the state of these Eighteen Fiendish Grand Formations, their expressions immediately darkened.

When Huangyuanzi also learned the profound secrets of these formations from Daoist Sanquan, his face turned even paler.

"So, you're saying we have to break each of these formations one by one to enter the valley?" Huangyuanzi asked, gnashing his teeth.

"I'm afraid that's the only way. However, with this type of interlocking formation, the hardest one to break is the first. Once one is broken, the others become much easier to dismantle due to the reduction in cumulative power. But precisely because of this, the restriction of this first formation is equivalent to the combined power of all eighteen formations; it will truly take a great deal of effort to break," Daoist Sanquan replied after a moment of thought.

"Hmph, Qingyuanzi is indeed cunning, but if he thinks this can stop me, he's gravely mistaken. Fellow Daoist Sanquan, how long will it take to break these formations?" Huangyuanzi snorted and asked.

"If Fellow Daoist is willing to assist with the Nine Illusory Ruyi Gate, about four days should be enough," Daoist Sanquan said after considering.

"Four days is too long; Qingyuanzi might finish his heavenly tribulation early. How about this, at a crucial moment, I'll use the Mother-Child Corpse Yin Lightning to assist you. We must clear all the formations outside the valley within three days," Huangyuanzi said menacingly.

"Mother-Child Corpse Yin Lightning! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist to have even prepared this treasure. With this item, breaking the Eighteen Fiendish Formations within three days will naturally be no problem," Daoist Sanquan's expression changed slightly upon hearing the name of the treasure Huangyuanzi mentioned, but he quickly returned to normal.

"Very good. Fellow Daoist Bumie, you don't need to make a move. Just conserve your energy. When it's time to fight Qingyuanzi, that's when we'll truly need your full power," Huangyuanzi nodded, turning to the giant man.

"Huang brother doesn't need to tell me that. This Venerable One also knows that only my cultivation method can perfectly counter some of Qingyuanzi's divine abilities," Venerable Bumie grinned, speaking carelessly.

Huangyuanzi gave a sinister laugh and said no more. With a flick of his hand, a radiant light enveloped a translucent miniature archway, which he then tossed out with a shake of his wrist.

Thunderous sounds surged high in the sky, and after a dazzling white light erupted, a fifteen-zhang-tall archway descended from the heavens.

Huangyuanzi's figure flickered, blurring as he appeared atop the archway, gently tapping it with one foot.

With a roar, the archway, accompanied by clusters of lightning, flew towards the opposing grand formation.

Daoist Sanquan chuckled, formed a hand seal, and shot forward, closely following the archway.

The giant man rubbed a curved horn on his head with a large hand, a sinister smile on his face, before slowly and unhurriedly flying over.

Above a swamp somewhere in the Abyss, the void suddenly twisted unusually. Then, with a piercing shriek, a hundred-zhang-long dark green sword light flashed into existence and effortlessly sliced downwards.

Immediately, a crisp sound echoed above the swamp, and the entire sky was split in half by a shimmering green sword mark.

Then, with a roar, a black giant ship over a thousand zhang long forcibly squeezed out from the sword mark, flashing into this space.

On the massive deck at the front of the giant ship, a man in green robes stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression exceptionally calm.

"Senior Han, is this where your close friend lives?" a black-robed woman behind the man asked, scanning the surroundings.

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Xuepo, do you find it strange?" the man replied with a slight smile.