Chapter 1475: Nine Provinces Great Array

Although it had grown significantly in size, its design remained essentially the same, and a familiar sensation emanated from it.

Of course, the Nine Cauldrons were far more powerful now than when they had been with him; this was clearly their true form.

Watching Yu use the Nine Cauldrons to suppress the Nine Provinces, Zu An's heart bled, knowing they couldn't be retrieved once used for such a purpose.

He knew these Nine Cauldrons had been forged by Yu, but he was their current owner. Moreover, he had brought them to this world and used them to open Yu's true tomb.

From a distance, Yu glanced in his direction, as if he had heard his complaint.

Feeling that immense pressure, Zu An's breath caught, and he quickly said, with an air of compliance, "Senior, feel free to use them; it's quite alright."

The two figures were on a much higher level than Xiang Liu or the Demon Emperor; even a small ripple from their battle could turn them into dust. It was best not to attract their attention.

At that moment, Gonggong's expression turned solemn (Zu An wondered how a mere skull could display such a vivid expression). After seeing the water spouts suppressed, he immediately cast a spell, forming a water blade several hundred zhang long. With a swing, the mountains in its path were cut down like tofu.

Zu An: "..."

He quickly mounted his Wind and Fire Wheels, carrying the three women, and flew into the air. He had barely left when the mountain peak he had just been on began to slide down, revealing a smooth cross-section where the blade light had passed.

Thinking of the moment his hair stood on end, Zu An's expression grew serious. Such a blade strike felt like a divine punishment; could a human truly withstand it?

At that moment, Yan Xuehen gently pushed him away. "Our injuries have almost recovered now," she said. "We can fly on our own; you don't need to hold us."

Yun Jianyue also shot him a sidelong glance. Having come to this unknowable place, she had been taken advantage of quite a bit by this brat. It was best not to mention it to Hong Lei when they returned, to avoid any misunderstanding.

"My apologies, I'm used to holding you," Zu An apologized sheepishly, though his mind wandered slightly. If Yu Yanluo felt like a piece of white jade when hugged, then Yan Xuehen was like a cold jade, and Yun Jianyue was like a fiery Wuyang jade. Each had their unique qualities, making it truly difficult to say who was superior.

The three women's expressions were peculiar. Why did his words sound so strange?

However, their attention was soon drawn to the battle below. They saw Yu draw a circle above his head with both hands, which quickly formed a transparent light barrier, resembling the shape of the Nine Cauldrons from before.

For a moment, Zu An thought he was watching Xiongba perform the Tri-Force Unity Technique.

Just then, Gonggong roared, and his blade had already struck the light barrier around Yu.

It wasn't just one strike; several afterimages of blade light followed, overlapping almost instantly. With a tremendous roar, a blinding divine light erupted from the center, and water mist exploded everywhere. The powerful shockwave pushed Zu An and his companions back dozens of miles, making it impossible for them to steady themselves.

Fortunately, their high vantage point offered an unobstructed view, allowing them to still see what was happening.

As the swirling mist subsided, Yu's figure gradually reappeared. The illusory Nine Cauldrons surrounding him remained bright and intact, without a hint of damage.

Zu An and his companions were stunned. Gonggong's terrifying attack hadn't broken through his opponent's defense at all.

Was this how powerful an earth element cultivator could become when they reached the pinnacle of their art?

At this point, Yu slowly spoke. "I gave you a chance," he said. "Now it's my turn."

With a wave of his hand, the sky suddenly darkened, as if a giant meteorite were falling.

Gonggong's face fell in shock. "Yu, you cheated!" he cried. "You were just using the Nine Cauldrons to draw on the power of the Nine Provinces to set up a grand formation!"

Only then did Zu An and the others clearly see that it wasn't a meteorite at all, but a Nine Cauldron magnified countless times, descending from the sky to press down on Gonggong.

Gonggong tried to evade, but the scope was too vast to escape. So he roared, and dark energy surged around him. His entire body expanded many times over, and countless arms, formed from water, sprouted from his back.

He seemed to transform into a giant, each arm as thick as a small mountain. He roared skyward, pushing upwards.

With a thundering crash, the enormous illusory Nine Cauldron collided with the giant form of Gonggong. Where Gonggong's feet stood, the ground instantly shattered into pieces, as if the earth itself could not bear the weight.

But Gonggong actually managed to hold it up!

Zu An and the others were marveling, but soon, a change began to occur.

They saw many of the giant arms formed from water around Gonggong's body begin to give way, shattering directly and falling as torrential rain.

Gonggong's own massive body was pressed down, bending forward. His feet could no longer support him, and one leg knelt on the ground. He could only barely resist by relying on the strength of his back.

"Gonggong can't hold on!" Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue exclaimed in unison.

The Demon Emperor, hiding in the shadows, made the same judgment. He was grateful he had decisively turned against Gonggong earlier and not accompanied him, instead seizing the opportunity to drain Fu You's cultivation.

As the Demon Emperor, his palace treasury naturally contained some secret techniques of the Blood Race for absorbing human vital essence and cultivation. However, he viewed these as crooked paths, as the absorbed cultivation was impure and inferior to what he could gain through proper cultivation, so he had rarely used them.

But now, to recover from his injuries and temporarily boost his combat power, he didn't mind using one. He had originally come out full of confidence, intending to get revenge on Gonggong, but who knew he would witness Gonggong's battle with Yu, and his heart immediately sank by half.

The realms of these two far surpassed his own. How could he possibly fight them?!

However, he soon became excited. As an unparalleled expert who had cultivated to the peak in his own world, he had long been uncertain of the path forward. Now, witnessing a battle between two high-level figures with his own eyes, he felt the flow of the Great Dao within him, and insights flooded his mind.

Once he returned and secluded himself for a few months to slowly digest these new insights, he would likely break through the bottleneck that had stagnated him for nearly a century. How could Zhao Hao of the human race be his match then? At that time, he would let the world know who was truly the strongest under heaven.

Gonggong roared, and his aura suddenly surged dramatically. His muscles bulged, and he forcibly lifted the great cauldron above his head by another third, even showing faint signs of standing upright again.

A beam of light shot from Yu's eyes, striking directly upon the illusory great cauldron.

The great cauldron instantly flared with light and pressed down again.

Gonggong gritted his teeth, his entire body trembling, but he slowly bent downwards. First, his feet knelt on the ground, then his waist could no longer straighten. Finally, his entire being was completely crushed by the great cauldron, and his figure was no longer visible on the ground.

After a while, the illusory great cauldron gradually blurred and vanished, leaving a deep pit in the ground, but there was no trace of Gonggong's corpse.

Aside from that collapsed section of ground, there was no other unusual phenomenon.

"Did Gonggong just find an opportunity to escape elsewhere?" Yu Yanluo asked curiously. "Aren't Earth Immortals able to ignore spatial distances to some extent?"

Yan Xuehen shook her head slightly. "No," she said. "That illusory great cauldron just now came with confinement rules; the surrounding space couldn't be traversed. And while this ground looks normal, there's a faint, astonishing power hidden within it. Unless I'm mistaken, Gonggong has been completely sealed beneath here. Of course, it's likely not literally beneath the physical ground, but sealed into a special dimension."

"I didn't expect someone with your cultivation level to possess such insight," Yu said, glancing in their direction, a hint of admiration in his tone, clearly acknowledging her judgment.

Learning that such a powerful Gonggong had been dealt with so quickly after only appearing for a short while, both Zu An and his companions, and the Demon Emperor in the distance, were filled with sighs of lament.

After casually uttering that remark, Yu intended to depart. He had completed his mission and was about to dissipate, wishing to take one last look at this world in his final moments.

Zu An hastily called out to him, "Wait a moment! You damaged my property, shouldn't you offer some compensation?"