Chapter 1736: Reckless Abandon

“Ah Zu!” Qiu Honglei's eyes welled up instantly upon seeing Zu An disregard the danger to rescue her.

Zu An had no time to respond. He immediately activated Great Wind to teleport.

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the grand formation's influence, his teleportation range was severely reduced, confined only within the formation's boundaries. Each time he reappeared, the vortex's terrifying suction immediately pulled him backward.

After repeatedly using Great Wind's teleportation several times, he only managed to move a tiny bit away from the vortex, unable to advance even half an inch further.

The Great Wind skill has a cooldown period. With his current cultivation, continuously using it these few times without stopping was already his limit.

Although the interval between each use of Great Wind wasn't long, in this critical moment, that brief pause was enough for both of them to be pulled into the vortex several times over.

The moment he stopped using Great Wind, he was almost instantly dragged backward.

Without hesitation, he immediately activated "Step by Step Lotus." Lotuses appeared under his feet, and he slowly walked outward, as if struggling through a tempest.

It's important to note that the Step by Step Lotus footwork was incredibly miraculous, even capable of escaping certain seals. However, this grand formation was the result of the Libationer's decades-long planning and utilized the power of thousands of Purple Mountain ranges. With the spatial collapse already initiated, even powerful figures like Zhao Hao and the Libationer himself had been sucked in. No matter how miraculous this footwork was, it was merely a desperate struggle against the inevitable.

Zu An took several strenuous steps but found that not only had he not moved forward, he had actually retreated slightly. His heart sank.

In a desperate rush, he could only draw his Tai'a Sword and plunge it into the ground. The Tai'a Sword barely held firm, but the two of them were almost instantly horizontal in the air, like fluttering flags.

Tears like pearls streamed from Qiu Honglei's eyes. "Ah Zu, I've dragged you down. You shouldn't have saved me."

Zu An held her waist tightly. At this point, he was at his wit's end. Hearing her words, he sighed, "How could I stand by and watch you face danger without helping?"

With a resolute expression, he channeled his cultivation and threw her outward. "Catch!"

Given his formidable cultivation, with that full-force push, Qiu Honglei shot outward like a cannonball for a significant distance.

Meanwhile, he could no longer hold on due to the recoil. The ground where the Tai'a Sword was plunged completely shattered, and he spun as he was pulled into the abyss.

Qiu Honglei gasped. She understood instantly that he knew there was no hope for his own survival and had chosen to save her.

Without time to wipe her tears, she flicked her wrist, and a pink silk ribbon shot out, coiling around his waist.

At the same time, a white silk ribbon wrapped around her hand. It was Yan Xuehen, who had not wasted the opportunity from afar.

Given Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue's formidable cultivation, and their position on the periphery, coupled with the grand formation's continuous collapse causing its external influence to gradually diminish, the two managed to stabilize themselves after rescuing Xie Daoyun.

They happened to witness the scene of Zu An desperately saving Qiu Honglei and then throwing her out.

"This kid is truly reckless when it comes to women!" Yan Xuehen had no time to complain. Instinctively, she shot out a ribbon to catch Qiu Honglei.

An immense force instantly transmitted through the ribbon, causing her to lose balance and stumble backward towards the collapsing grand formation.

Fortunately, Yun Jianyue was quick-witted and grabbed her waist.

The suction force was too terrifying at this point. The two grandmasters had lost all pretense of composure and were simply relying on every instinct they had.

Xie Daoyun, who had been sent further away, also quickly formed hand seals. A ghostly hand appeared and pulled the two women, allowing them to barely stabilize themselves.

However, the powerful suction still caused everyone to be drawn step by step towards the collapsing vortex.

Seeing this, Zu An urgently shouted, "Let go quickly, or you'll all lose your lives!"

Qiu Honglei pressed her lips together, shook her head fiercely, and re-wrapped the ribbon tightly around her hand several times.

Yan Xuehen's face was calm as still autumn waters, and she naturally didn't let go. Instead, she used all her lifelong knowledge to try and pull the two people out.

However, a crisp sound of tearing fabric quickly followed. The white silk ribbon, unable to withstand the weight of the two individuals and the terrifying suction, had snapped.

There was virtually no time buffer between the appearance of a crack on the ribbon and its complete rupture, leaving no one time to react.

Yan Xuehen was filled with regret, wishing she hadn't given the Primordial Chaos Ribbon to Chu Yan if she had known this would happen.

However, she didn't hesitate. Instinctively, she lunged forward and grabbed the broken half of the ribbon.

But she, too, was dragged along into the grand formation.

Yun Jianyue was shocked. Without time to think, she rushed forward and grabbed Yan Xuehen's ankle.

Xie Daoyun's face turned pale, but she had no time to think either. She leaped forward, directly grabbing Yun Jianyue, while her other ethereal hand clamped firmly onto the ground.

"Ice-Stone Woman, you're fighting so desperately to save my apprentice this time. If we make it out alive, I will definitely repay this debt." Yun Jianyue felt awkward thanking her for saving Zu An directly, so she used Qiu Honglei as an excuse.

Yan Xuehen was similarly too embarrassed to admit she didn't want to see anything happen to Zu An. Biting her lip, she said, "I'm afraid there won't be such an opportunity."

At this moment, the space within the grand formation rapidly collapsed, its speed unknown times faster than before, and the suction force was also unknown times stronger.

With Xie Daoyun's cultivation, how could she possibly hold on? The ethereal hand generated by her talisman directly shattered, and then the entire group was sucked into the vortex with cries of alarm.

Just then, in another mountain range of Purple Mountain, at the temporary encampment of the Azurefall Palace – originally, the disciples of the Nine Sects hadn't emerged from the Daoist secret realm as expected, but the Emperor was coming for the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, so they couldn't stay on the Golden Summit. Thus, they had temporarily settled in a nearby mountain range, awaiting the secret realm's reopening to welcome their disciples out.

From earlier, Wan Tongtian and Abbess Huo Ling had been observing the anomalies on Purple Mountain from afar, their expressions constantly changing. Even from such a distance, they could feel the terrifying power of heaven and earth. They were fortunate they had decided to stay out of it; otherwise, had they been on the Golden Summit now, they would most likely be like ants.

Just then, a disciple suddenly exclaimed, "The Wordless Heavenly Tome! The Wordless Heavenly Tome!"

The two elders, sensing unusual movements, were greatly alarmed. They hurried towards the sound and saw the Wordless Heavenly Tome, which had been securely placed there, suddenly trembling violently, emitting a peculiar glow all over.

Both their faces changed dramatically. They knew that the Wordless Heavenly Tome was connected to the Daoist secret realm, and if something happened to it, wouldn't all the most outstanding disciples of the various sects be trapped inside?

They were about to cast spells to stabilize the Wordless Heavenly Tome when, to their surprise, it suddenly shot skyward, directly smashing through the roof and disappearing into the clouds. Its pages opened, facing the direction of the Golden Summit, and on the previously blank pages, ancient and mysterious characters seemed to appear, as if scenes were flashing by.

At this point, on the Golden Summit, the originally massive formation had shrunk into a basketball-sized black hole. Immediately afterward, the entire Golden Summit was sucked directly into that black hole. A flash of black light later, the black hole completely closed and vanished.

At this moment, the civil and military officials, who had been on the verge of breaching the Zhengyang Sect's mountain-protecting formation, were stunned. The very formation they had detested so much had vanished.

However, they couldn't feel any joy, because what had vanished was not just the mountain-protecting formation, but everything above the Reception Hall—half of Purple Mountain's main peak had disappeared into thin air!