Chapter 1970: Enter the Bureau

"It's going to lose control!"

Just as Shen Yi and the Fetal Origin Mother Coffin soared into the sky, a strange change also occurred at the crossroad, amidst the pouring rain.

The Five Declines of Heaven and Man seemed to be no longer able to bear the mental burden. After a violent spasm ceased, the somewhat gaunt figure beneath his robes suddenly swelled.

A dense gray mist then exploded, spreading relentlessly in all directions along the street, and even the heavy rain couldn't suppress it.

"Beep, beep, beep..." An alarm blared in Liu Guifen's mind.

Even though it was his first time seeing it with his own eyes, he knew this was an unstoppable force of decay, and not even a speck of it could be touched.

"Retreat!" He immediately pulled Wu Siniang back.

Lei Xi'er, however, was quite a distance away, still behind the Five Declines of Heaven and Man on the opposite side, making her difficult to rescue.

Liu Guifen was not a particularly benevolent person. He would certainly save whoever he could, but it would be utterly irrational to charge into the battlefield at this moment.

What's more, he might even be targeted by Beihua, the Corpse Entangler.

"Miss Lei, run!" He could only offer this warning, thinking that she would have to fend for herself.

However, a glance from the corner of his eye revealed that while he wasn't a good Samaritan, Jiang Nayi, whose identity had been revealed by the Dao Ancestor's inheritance and who was lurking behind a low stone, surprisingly displayed great kindness and intervened.

"Spatial Transfer!" Not only did he act, but a profound spatial formation diagram also unfolded beneath his feet.

Judging by his starting stance and the location his gaze was fixed upon, it seemed to be Lei Xi'er?

A spatial attribute? Aren't the Jiang clan mostly cloud attribute users?

Liu Guifen was stunned. On this continent, those who successfully cultivate spatial attributes could be counted on one's fingers: Lord Shou, Ancestor Shi, Saint Ye, and Elder Zhong, right?

Each of them was a preeminent figure among their peers. Liu Guifen could accept their success.

What was going on with this Jiang Nayi? Wasn't he just a surviving orphan of the Northern Region's Puxuan Jiang clan, who only climbed the ranks by flattering Dao Xuanji, essentially a complete good-for-nothing?

But then something even more outlandish occurred. As Jiang Nayi made his move, Wu Siniang, whom he was holding, also moved:

"Spatial Severance Art!" She raised the walking stick she leaned on.

A sweep of starlight, and the space between Jiang Nayi and Lei Xi'er was sliced open.

This included spatial principles and spatial elements.

Lei Xi'er, who was halfway through her transfer, plummeted into the turbulent spatial currents. Fortunately, the dual ancestral source power of her Divine-Demonic Eyes protected her, leaving her completely unharmed.

Only then did Liu Guifen notice a terrifying detail. Under the 'Sorrow Power' of Beihua, the Corpse Entangler, both the Five Declines of Heaven and Man and Lei Xi'er were utterly unable to resist.

Their minds were so disrupted that they could barely counterattack, only able to weep uncontrollably. This was a very normal reaction!

Beihua was a Saint Emperor. Under a Saint Emperor, any Spirit Refiner should react this way.

But the problem was, the trio of 'good-for-nothings' observing from the back all seemed capable of resisting Beihua's Sorrow Power!

"I exchanged contribution points for the Dao Ancestor's inheritance to resist Beihua's influence..." he thought. "How did they do it?"

Wu Siniang only knew the way of Spirit Formations, and clearly couldn't have blocked it, unless she wasn't human, had no sorrowful emotions at all, and had been pretending all along – which was ridiculous!

Jiang Nayi was an even bigger good-for-nothing, not even a fraction as capable as his elder brother, Jiang Buyi, unless a powerful entity had parasitized him and was crying on his behalf – which was utterly absurd!

Yet the reality was that they could all resist... Clearly, Lei Xi'er and the Five Declines of Heaven and Man were the true powerhouses. Why did he have this feeling that the three 'useless dogs' were stronger?

"You..." Liu Guifen muttered, retreating and lowering his head.

As soon as he spoke, Wu Siniang's hands moved ceaselessly, as she simultaneously explained:

"The Lei family tragedy: the Jiang clan was one of the five pioneers. The Divine-Demonic Eyes must not fall into Jiang Nayi's hands. Shen Yi has shown us kindness. Miss Lei is someone he values, so we cannot stand idly by, especially fearing reckoning later."

That made sense! From both a moral and logical standpoint, Lei Xi'er had to be saved by them, and Liu Guifen was immediately persuaded.

"Then I'll also..." Just as he was about to lend a hand, his head swam.

He didn't know why; perhaps he had been hurt in the fall, scrambling his memories?

Liu Guifen forgot the idea of intervening, feeling as if his thoughts had been rearranged, returning to his previous self-preservation mindset.

"But I still think we should run first!" After saying this, he frantically pulled Wu Siniang back, choosing to evacuate from the spreading decay first.

Useless... Wu Siniang truly hadn't expected Liu Guifen to be so spineless; even after all that had been said, he still wouldn't help her.

She also didn't understand why a mere Jiang Nayi had suddenly mastered spatial power, but the situation didn't allow her to ponder further.

Everything was developing in a favorable direction.

"Teleportation Art!" He casually threw out a jade pendant.

With another burst of starlight, Lei Xi'er, disoriented by the Sorrow Power within the turbulent spatial currents, was transferred into his hand.

"Heavenly Oracle Art..." Seeing this, Jiang Nayi was also stunned.

He had wanted to rescue Lei Xi'er, which was certainly not out of kindness, but because the Demon Ancestor's divine oracle within him had given instructions.

He figured it was related to the Divine-Demonic Eyes.

The old witch opposite him kept interfering, which was infuriating. Could she also be an emissary of the Demon Ancestor?

But she clearly didn't look like one!

Though the old witch used the way of Spirit Formations to fend him off with her two moves,

after swallowing the 'Human Pill', even though Xu Xiaoshou's power always came belatedly and painfully, Jiang Nayi's fundamental understanding had significantly improved.

"That must be the Heavenly Oracle Art, right?" In recent years, the Heavenly Oracle Divine Cult had risen in the Southern Region. When his family was annihilated and he was desperate, Jiang Nayi had indeed gone to the Southern Region to seriously investigate it.

The Heavenly Oracle Divine Cult had been confirmed to exist since the ancient Saint Ancestor and Demon Ancestor eras, with various historical relics to corroborate it.

The cult only revered one 'Dao Ancestor', which was very peculiar, as this figure was clearly not among the Ten Ancestors, seeming to have been fabricated out of thin air. However, the devotion of their faith was well-founded.

For example, the Way of Heavenly Oracle encompassed the Way of Stars, and the starlight accompanying its techniques was representative of this.

Furthermore, the Way of the Art Ancestor drew inspiration from the Way of the Dao Ancestor, and similarly, starlight accompanied the manifestation of its techniques.

It was just that the Art Ancestor's cultivation was imperfect, and after becoming evil, even this 'righteous' energy was erased by the Malevolent Yin, fully degenerating into 'evil'.

It sounded like a demonic cult that could alter people's memories; at least, Jiang Nayi had never heard of any 'Dao Ancestor' before this.

He repeatedly sought confirmation and found that not only did the Heavenly Oracle Cult's oracle masters believe this, but later, if he randomly grabbed a passerby in the Southern Region, they would all respond, "Of course there's a Dao Ancestor, are you stupid?"

So, in the history of the Southern Region, had there always been eleven Ancestors instead of ten?

The Southern Region, a land of sin, was truly full of twisted reasoning and heretical teachings. It truly lived up to its reputation!

Jiang Nayi was severely frightened by such strangeness and soon after left the Southern Region to avoid being influenced, hiding in a temporal rift.

It was precisely because of this 'on-site verification' that Jiang Nayi knew the Heavenly Oracle Divine Cult was actually just boastful in the current Spirit Refining era.

There were no truly prominent figures in the cult currently; even the supposedly miraculous Nangong Youshu was just a rumor, with no real accomplishments.

Those truly skilled in Heavenly Oracle Art were still the former Dao Hall Master. Oh, and the Dao Department. Oh, and perhaps the Qianshi Dao clan.

"Are these two from the Dao clan?" They didn't look like it at all. As Jiang Nayi's thoughts reached this point, he once again received instructions from the Demon Ancestor's divine oracle.

He immediately moved, no longer fixated on Lei Xi'er. After letting the old witch have her, he withdrew and swiftly moved towards the two of them:

"You two!" he called out. "Once the power of decay erupts, the consequences will be unimaginable. You two, both exceptional talents and masters of the Heavenly Oracle Art, could you lend me a hand to create a grand formation and intercept the power of decay within the crossroad?"

Upon saying this, Jiang Nayi paused, momentarily stunned. How could the Demon Ancestor's divine oracle instruct him to be so kind? Could there be a hidden mystery that he simply hadn't deciphered?

"This, naturally..." Liu Guifen's heart wasn't bad; he couldn't engage in combat, as it was life-threatening.

However, creating a grand formation outside was something he could do. Just as he was about to nod, he saw Wu Siniang frown:

"No."

"Why not?" Jiang Nayi looked over.

"When I say no, it's no."

"By establishing a grand formation, the power of decay can be contained, the Sorrow Power won't spread, and Miss Lei can regain her senses," Jiang Nayi argued. "As Miss Lei's friend, you have this ability but won't act. Are you perhaps eyeing her Divine-Demonic Eyes?" He stared intently at the old witch, following the divine oracle's instructions.

Liu Guifen was stunned and looked at Lei Xi'er in Wu Siniang's hand. Just as he was about to speak, Wu Siniang loudly interjected:

"JIANG! NA! YI!" Her shout was imperious, as if scolding a disrespectful servant or lecturing a dog for eating at the table.

Not only was Liu Guifen stunned, thinking, "Do you two know each other?" Jiang Nayi was also bewildered, muttering, "Who are you, old hag, to speak to an emissary of the Demon Ancestor like that? Do you want me to pull out your tongue?"

"Repeatedly obstructing me, are you perhaps an emissary of the Demon Ancestor?" Jiang Nayi blurted out, following the divine oracle's instructions. "Are you trying to seize the Primordial Demonic Body while Miss Lei is incapacitated?" Even as he spoke, he felt his statement was contradictory. He was the Demon Ancestor's emissary, wasn't he?

To his surprise, the old witch's eyelids twitched upon hearing this, as if she feared being accused of such a grave crime, and she quickly released Lei Xi'er from her hand:

"Nonsense!" Her reaction was swift; she immediately turned the tables: "The Jiang clan's weasel paying respects to the Lei family's orphan – aren't you the one with ulterior motives?" After speaking, she glanced at Liu Guifen from the corner of her eye, seemingly wary of him.

Jiang Nayi shrugged indifferently. In the past, he hadn't been able to inherit the Lei family's eyes due to insufficient talent.

Today, he also didn't covet the Divine-Demonic Eyes; his talent was still insufficient.

Being innocent, he feared no false accusation. On this point, because his aptitude was too poor to be compatible with the Lei family's eyes, Jiang Nayi was instead fearless:

"Then observe my formation, and prove your stances!" he declared. "You don't need to act, just don't interfere. Otherwise, if Shen Yi returns and sees us standing idly by, I hope you'll still be alive to make your excuses after one strike from his staff."

That was the honest truth! Shen Yi didn't seem like the type to give anyone a chance to make excuses!

Regardless, with Jiang Nayi having gone this far, Liu Guifen couldn't be left behind. He was still inclined to save Miss Lei, so he nodded in agreement:

"Alright."

Although Wu Siniang didn't know what madness this good-for-nothing Jiang was up to, the two words "Shen Yi" were indeed intimidating, and she no longer dared to interfere:

"What do you intend to do?"

Jiang Nayi smirked, standing within the City of Dead Pagodas, and turned to look back at the crossroad: "Watch closely!"

He suddenly seemed as if a deity had possessed him, his aura inexplicably turning mysterious and powerful. His ten fingers pointed into the air, spirit threads dancing from his hands, effortlessly weaving principles in the void.

"This..." Wu Siniang's eyes immediately widened in shock.

This move utterly amazed her. That good-for-nothing Jiang Nayi had actually mastered the Heavenly Oracle Art, and was using it with such proficiency?

"Weaving the Heavenly Dao?" Liu Guifen's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Could it be that the Northern Region's Puxuan Jiang clan still harbored a master, and Jiang Nayi had hidden his abilities so deeply? In terms of Heavenly Oracle Art mastery alone, he was even more skilled than what Liu Guifen had acquired with millions of contribution points!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... The grand formation was set up very quickly. In less than a quarter of an hour, a shroud of smoke and clouds covered everything inside, obscuring all movement.

From the outside looking in, the City of Dead Pagodas seemed to have become a ghost town, with no one inside and attracting no attention.

"What formation is this?" Liu Guifen wanted to use contribution points to discern its essence.

But his reserves weren't much; thinking to save what he could, he looked at Wu Siniang beside him.

Wu Siniang's face was filled with shock, as she murmured in surprise, "Profound Cloud Boundless Formation?"

"What formation?"

"The Sacred Palace's Grand Formation..."

This truly surprised Liu Guifen. The Sacred Palace's Grand Formation – wasn't that the protective formation of the Sacred Palace on Mount Siling?

Though he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he had certainly heard some rumors about it. This formation was naturally formed, arising with Mount Siling itself, and its very existence possessed the strength of a Saint Emperor realm.

Later, it was continuously improved by the Sacred Palace's Dharma Integration lineage, and finally became controllable by humans, surpassing even the protective mountain formation on Mount Guizhe of the former Sacred God Temple.

One was innate, the other acquired.

Although the latter was the Dao Hall Master's proud creation, however strong the Dao Hall Master might be, how could he compare to a formation naturally formed by heaven and earth?

And this formation, had it now been replicated by a mere Jiang Nayi?

"You actually possess such power?" Liu Guifen had truly underestimated him and now regarded Jiang Nayi with new respect.

Wu Siniang grew annoyed seeing signs of Lei Xi'er waking up, and even more so because she hadn't fully understood this formation. "It's a pity, though," she remarked. "It still differs slightly from the Sacred Palace's Grand Formation. It probably only captures its form, not its essence."

"Heh heh." Jiang Nayi neither confirmed nor denied it. Of course, he couldn't give much of an evaluation himself; everything was set up according to the instructions and power of the divine oracle and the Human Pill. He didn't know how to refute it, nor did he know where this formation was powerful.

"Why did you choose the Sacred Palace's Grand Formation?" Liu Guifen asked curiously. As the formation's creator, Jiang Nayi couldn't see Beihua or the Five Declines of Heaven and Man inside anymore.

Presumably, with this formation activated, the Demon Ancestor could better act against the two inside, right? He casually replied, "It can hide secrets."

"Senior Heaven and Man..." Beside them, Lei Xi'er groaned softly and slowly regained consciousness.

In reality, she had been conscious all along, but being in the City of Dead Pagodas, she seemed to be affected by the residual blood-evil power of the Demon Ancestor, unable to fully control her body.

Beihua's appearance and the intervention of his Sorrow Power made matters worse, and her situation only improved after she was out of the crossroad.

She knew exactly what was happening, but the situation was treacherous, so she naturally chose to act as if she didn't know what had just transpired.

The three people beside her were all somewhat strange! She could recognize the face of Jiang Nayi from the Northern Region's Puxuan Jiang clan even when her consciousness was hazy.

What was terrifying was that all three of them had mastered the Heavenly Oracle Art, and their proficiency was not low.

This immediately made Lei Xi'er feel isolated and helpless.

Considering the worst-case scenario, she even considered all three of them to be Dao Qiongcang, staging a play right in front of her, aiming to seize the Way of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man or Beihua.

In such a situation, it was best to feign ignorance. Since she couldn't afford any complications, as soon as Lei Xi'er awoke, she suppressed even her hatred for the Jiang clan, and her first glance was towards the Five Declines of Heaven and Man inside the grand formation.

"Grand Righteous Qi!" she thought. "He has Grand Righteous Qi!"

Another voice had already echoed in her mind. From her memories as Mu Zixi, this power of the Grand Void had only ever appeared on one person.

Not to mention that person's relationship with Xu Xiaoshou, just considering the friendship the Five Declines of Heaven and Man had shown to her and her senior brother, ever since Void Island's Sin Hall One.

To stand by and do nothing while he faced death? She truly couldn't do it!

"I have to catch up, I must catch up..." Lei Xi'er stomped, cracking the floor, and was about to leap into the air.

At the same time, she unleashed the power of her Divine-Demonic Eyes, black and white energies swirling in her gaze, but was shocked to find that she couldn't penetrate the grand formation.

For the first time, something in the world existed that her Divine-Demonic Eyes couldn't penetrate. For the first time, the combined ancestral source powers of divinity and demonic nature were blocked by a mere grand formation.

It was as if even an Ancestral God would pass by, unable to see what was happening inside the formation.

Jiang Nayi, who exactly was he to be able to set up such a grand formation? No, he was definitely not Jiang Nayi!

"Snap." Her wrist tightened, and just as she was about to get up, she was entangled by spirit threads.

Lei Xi'er tried again to control herself from looking directly at that Jiang clan remnant, but at this moment, she couldn't help but lower her head and examine the spirit threads wrapped around her wrist.

The threads were like spider silk, one end bound to her hand. The threads were clearly just simple spiritual energy compressed, with the other end shooting out from Jiang Nayi's wrist.

It was an extremely strange gesture, but Mu Zixi had seen it before. The first time she saw it, Xu Xiaoshou had used this 'puppet string manipulation' method to bounce around on the wall outside her window, like a Spider-Man.

And this detail, known only to the senior brother and sister, Dao Qiongcang clearly couldn't imitate.

Immediately, Lei Xi'er calmed down from the tension of being surrounded by wolves.

Liu Guifen and Wu Siniang were still unaware, but she could vaguely see an unseen figure behind the puppet-like Jiang Nayi, speaking from beyond the chessboard:

"Little junior sister, where are you going?"

"To save someone."

"A mere Grand Void, going to sacrifice yourself?"

"...Then you go?"

"Of course, who else but me?"