Chapter 2571: Five Luminaries Demon Suppression Heavenly Evolution Formation

The Wushan Goddess exclaimed, "Her soul is being extracted! Now, perhaps only a tiny shred of her true self remains, which is why her body has become almost transparent."

As the daughter of the Red Emperor, her knowledge and insight were naturally extraordinary.

Zu An, consumed by anxiety, asked, "Is there a way to save her?"

"We must destroy the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and then find a way to return the lost souls to their bodies..." Before the Wushan Goddess could finish, Zu An had already charged forward.

He drew the Tai'a Sword, and a brilliant sword light shot straight out.

However, the black mist around the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was like a solid substance. The sword light dimmed with each step it took closer, finally dissipating into the banner as if a mud ox had plunged into the sea.

Zu An's expression changed. The black mist surrounding the Ten Thousand Souls Banner was extremely corrosive; it could even corrode sword energy directly!

Unwilling to give up, he took out the Sun-Shooting Bow and shot an arrow at the Ten Thousand Souls Banner suspended in mid-air.

A white light, like a shooting star, instantly struck the dark Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Yet, the power capable of shooting down the sun merely made the entire banner tremble!

Even with Zu An's psychological preparation, he was still dumbfounded by the sight.

The Wushan Goddess quickly explained, "The maximum power of your arrow requires absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth. But in this area, that energy has long since vanished, leaving only the demonic energy of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. Naturally, this arrow can hardly harm it."

Xi He's gaze swept across the surrounding layout. "The entire hall is set up with a complex grand formation, even connecting the entire Heavenly Palace to this Ten Thousand Souls Banner. If you try to destroy it with force, it's equivalent to attacking the entire Heavenly Palace. Not to mention you, even the Heavenly Emperor himself couldn't do it."

The entire Heavenly Palace had been refined over countless ages by countless gods, imbued with an unknown number of profound defensive formations. In a sense, the entire Heavenly Palace was a supreme artifact, so Zu An's attacks naturally found it difficult to harm.

Zu An frowned. He even unleashed his Seven-Colored Divine Light, hoping to retrieve the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

As expected, the Seven-Colored Divine Light flashed, but the Ten Thousand Souls Banner remained suspended in the air.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was indeed integrated with the entire Heavenly Palace, and he did not yet possess the ability to retrieve the entire Heavenly Palace.

Xi He looked at the girl on the distant altar and said in a deep voice, "If we can't destroy the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, we'll have to destroy her. Otherwise, once the banner is fully refined, Di Jun will be unstoppable, and the entire world will likely suffer immensely."

"Absolutely not!" Zu An knew this was the most rational approach, but how could he possibly abandon Xiao Xi?

Xi He glanced at him and said nothing more.

The Wushan Goddess opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing. Nothing she could say now would be appropriate.

Zu An scanned his surroundings, his knowledge of formation arrays rapidly cycling through his mind. Soon, he had a rough idea. "Di Jun is indeed formidable to be able to link the Ten Thousand Souls Banner with the Heavenly Palace. However, this also creates a hidden danger. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner is the most yin and evil object in the world, while the Heavenly Palace itself symbolizes light. They are fundamentally incompatible."

"Di Jun must have used some special method to temporarily suppress this conflict. If we disrupt that balance, the entire Heavenly Palace will naturally help us suppress and purify the Ten Thousand Souls Banner."

Both Xi He and the Wushan Goddess's eyes lit up. Given their knowledge, they naturally understood the feasibility. "How should we do it, then?"

"I've thought of a 'Five Luminaries Demon-Suppressing Heavenly Evolution Array' that could achieve a similar effect. However, it requires unleashing purifying power simultaneously from five directions. Even with my teleportation, I can only manage three positions at most." Zu An fell into distress, quickly pondering how to solve the problem.

The Wushan Goddess suddenly spoke, "Aren't Xi He and I here? Although I don't like fire, I am, after all, of the Red Emperor's bloodline. I can draw upon the fire essence within it to purify the surrounding demonic energy. Xi He is the Sun Goddess, and the sun is naturally the bane of all demons. She should have no problem handling one position."

Xi He nodded. "Indeed. But you're so heavily wounded, are you sure you can do it?"

"Don't worry, I am a goddess after all," the Wushan Goddess said, a confident smile gracing her beautiful face.

Knowing that Xiao Xi likely couldn't hold on much longer, Zu An stopped deliberating and quickly explained the key points of the formation to the two women.

Then, he took out a formation plate from the Lapis Lazuli Orb, and quickly inserted formation flags into various spots around the hall.

The Wushan Goddess and Xi He also moved to their designated positions in the southeast and southwest corners, respectively, according to the plan.

Xi He sat cross-legged, and her body soon glowed with scorching light, like a red sun standing there. The surrounding black mist instantly receded and melted away, like candles encountering fire.

The Wushan Goddess formed hand seals, then cut a small incision on her finger. As the power of the Red Emperor's bloodline activated, fierce flames ignited around her body, their power surprisingly no less than Xi He's beside her.

Seeing this, Zu An felt relieved and wasted no more time. His figure moved like lightning, at times circulating the Grandmist Primordial Scripture in the true north, at others unleashing Phoenix True Flames in the northwest, and then casting White Lotus True Fire in the northeast.

He pushed his teleportation and shape-shifting abilities to their limit. To an observer, it would have seemed as though three Zu Ans were simultaneously channeling power in their respective positions.

Even with Zu An's formidable cultivation and physique, this exertion brought him to the very edge of his limits.

But thinking of Xiao Xi, he gritted his teeth and persevered with all his might.

The purifying powers from the five directions activated, like five stars illuminating the dark night sky.

The surrounding formation flags also lit up one by one, fully activating the Five Luminaries Demon-Suppressing Heavenly Evolution Array.

The black mist throughout the hall grew increasingly faint. Sensing danger, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in mid-air suddenly quivered, and a dense black mist permeated the area, quickly enveloping the five glowing positions.

"Oh no!" All three felt their vision plunge into darkness, and the light radiating from their bodies gradually dimmed, like flickering candles in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

Zu An felt a surge of anxiety. While continuing to teleport between the three positions to maintain the formation from memory, he pondered how to break through the current situation. He could still barely hold on; after all, his cultivation technique could purify demonic entities, and as the Lord of the Underworld, these demonic energies composed of living souls could hardly harm him.

However, both Xi He and the Wushan Goddess were injured, and it would be problematic if they were affected by this demonic energy.

Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he found that the surrounding black mist seemed to transform into a true cosmic starry sky. Then, he seemed to sense several eyes slowly opening within the universe.

Each eye was colossal, like an entire galaxy suspended there, with different lights and runes flickering around its periphery.

Zu An found it difficult to describe the exact appearance of those eyes with words, but he had one distinct feeling.

He felt divinity.

It was different from the gods of the Heavenly Court; rather, it was a higher-tier divinity, as if representing the very source of the universe.

Just by coming into contact with those eyes, he felt as if he was about to be drawn into them, as if he might be instantly annihilated by one, or perhaps merge into another.

Unlike the bizarre situation Zu An was facing, the Wushan Goddess was now blushing profusely, for she found herself in a wedding chamber on her wedding night, and the groom beside her was none other than Zu An!