Chapter 455: Xuanyuan Great Formation

Silence fell.

Ding Mu had just declared himself king with supreme authority when this happened. Everyone on the Altar of Heaven-Worship was stunned. The Myriad Kingdom Alliance was hundreds of thousands of miles away; even riding a peak-tier savage beast, it would take dozens of days to arrive. For an envoy's decree to arrive directly... wasn't that too fast?!

"This... impossible! Impossible..."Ding Mu's eyes nearly popped out of his head; he was going mad. "Is this a joke?" He had just become king, forced the other side into inaction, and with victory in sight, this happened. How could he possibly command the world now? How could he gain people's trust? A Conferred Kingdom was bestowed by the Myriad Kingdom Alliance. If the Alliance didn't acknowledge it, no amount of talking would help!

"Your Majesty, this... this is a real envoy's decree. I've seen one before..." A minister nervously stepped forward, seeing his doubt. An envoy's decree, representing the Heavens in their inspection, bore the special authority of the "Myriad Kingdom Alliance" characters, making it impossible for anyone to fake. Just one look was enough to know it was absolutely genuine.

"Guards! The Left Prime Minister is spouting nonsense and undermining the foundation of the state! Execute him on the spot!" Already frantic, Ding Mu spun around abruptly and shouted, seeing the man's lack of tact."Your Highness..." The crowd exchanged glances, unsure whether to obey or refuse. Seeing that no one was obeying his command as king, Ding Mu's eyes turned bloodshot with rage. Just as he was about to continue, a faint voice rang out.

"If the Myriad Kingdom Alliance doesn't acknowledge you, then your kingship is false. No one will obey your commands!" Turning to look, he saw Zhang Xuan already standing nearby, gazing coldly. In fact, even now, Zhang Xuan was a little puzzled. He had prepared for the worst, intending to act regardless of whether the other party was king or not. He hadn't expected the Myriad Kingdom Alliance's non-acknowledgment to occur. The appearance of this decree meant that the other party's claim to kingship was illegitimate. Even if he killed him, no one would dare say anything.

"So what if they don't obey my orders? Do you think I'd be afraid of you without them? Your strength is formidable, but it won't be easy to kill me!" Without his kingly position, unable to command his subordinates, and with the Master Teacher Pavilion not on his side, Ding Mu knew that fighting was his only option left. His face contorted like a starving wolf, he stared intensely at the young man before him, then suddenly reached forward and grabbed the Imperial Seal from in front of the throne. With the Imperial Seal in his hand, his entire demeanor changed, as if he had become a towering mountain, suppressing everything around him. His aura was so strong that even a Half-Transcendent would have to temporarily avoid its peak.

"My Ding Clan has been able to establish a kingdom on hundreds of thousands of square miles of fertile land, be granted a title, and endure for a thousand years without falling. Other kingdoms haven't dared to attack, not because of brute force, but because of... formations!""XuanYuan Royal City, after years of maintenance, with its various buildings integrating the sun, moon, and stars, has long formed a grand formation at the initial stage of Four-star! If you want to kill me, you'll die first! Even if I can't be king, I'll drag you down with me!"With a roar, the Imperial Seal in his hand flew up, instantly activating the formation. The entire Royal City seemed to come alive, and an extremely powerful oppressive force descended from the sky. Everyone present felt a sudden tightness, as if their bodies were constrained by a formation. Any restless movement would result in instant death.

"It's... the Xuanyuan Grand Formation... He actually activated the Xuanyuan Grand Formation!" In the crowd, a minister's face turned pale, his body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground."The Xuanyuan Grand Formation, what is that?" Many people were unaware, and one couldn't help but ask.

"Legend has it that the founding ancestor of the Xuanyuan Kingdom was a formidable formation master. After unifying the kingdom and establishing the nation, he chose this location and used mountains, rivers, and various buildings as the formation's foundation to create an astonishing grand formation. Even a Half-Transcendent realm expert in the initial stage, once caught within it, could be easily slain!""This formation, activated by the Imperial Seal... is the kingdom's ultimate defense. Once activated, no one present can resist it..." The minister trembled incessantly. Just now, Ding Mu had ordered everyone to kill the Master Teacher, but no one had obeyed. Now, he had activated the grand formation, trapping everyone inside. If he decided to settle scores, how could they resist? Hearing this and feeling the wild, rampaging formation around them, everyone's faces turned ashen with terror. They had thought that with no one obeying his orders and his own strength far inferior to Zhang Xuan's, Ding Mu was no longer a threat. They never imagined he had such a hidden card. A formation capable of slaying even a Half-Transcendent realm expert in the initial stage had likely reached Rank 4! Without sufficient strength, there was no escaping it. It seemed... they were truly finished this time!

"You are... an envoy of the Myriad Kingdom Alliance?" Below, the crowd was in a panic. On the back of the savage beast in the air, Wei Yuqing looked at the young man before him, clenching his fists. He had known since the Poison Hall that this "Young Master" had a high and respected status. Otherwise, Gu Mu's teacher, a dignified Four-star Poison Master, would not have respectfully obeyed him. Yet, even so... he never imagined he would be an Alliance envoy. An envoy holding such a token was like the Alliance's King himself. Any vassal kingdom daring to question them could be executed first, then reported! It could be said that as long as they were within the Alliance's territory, they possessed supreme authority. And the person wielding such immense power was merely a teenager... If he hadn't personally witnessed him throwing the token and the subsequent scene, he wouldn't have believed it was real.

"Mmm!" The "Young Master" nodded without explanation, then looked down at the activated formation below, his brows furrowed. A moment later, he looked at the old man beside him. "Is there a way to break it?""Young Master knows, I'm not proficient in formations!" Jin Conghai's face flushed. Although he was a Half-Transcendent realm expert, he was only skilled in poison, not formations. The grand and vast formation below would be difficult to resolve even for a true Four-star initial stage formation master, let alone him. "This formation utilizes the terrain of mountains and rivers, and having been set up long ago and never used, it has accumulated immense energy. Not to mention me, I'm afraid... even Hall Master Kang would be helpless!" After a moment of hesitation, Gu Mu's teacher continued. Even if he wasn't skilled in formations, as a Half-Transcendent realm expert from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance, he still had keen insight and knowledge, easily recognizing the formation's terrifying power. Not to mention him, even Hall Master Kang would likely be unable to solve it. Hall Master Kang was not only the Hall Master of the Master Teacher Pavilion but also the most formidable Grandmaster of Formations in the entire Myriad Kingdom Alliance. If even he couldn't break it, it showed just how terrifying it was.

"I know this formation is powerful, but... do you have a way to save him?" the "Young Master" couldn't help but ask. Breaking a formation and rescuing someone from within it were entirely different; the latter was much simpler."There's no way!" Jin Conghai shook his head again, saying, "This formation has accumulated immense power and is infinitely destructive. Life and death, plunder and destruction, are all at the formation master's whim! To break it, at least sixteen Half-Transcendent experts would be needed, positioned at sixteen different points... Even just to save someone, at least five people of my strength would need to act simultaneously to stop it..." The power of a formation primarily depended on its grade, followed by its scope and size! The larger the area it covered, the stronger it would be at the same grade. This was why formation plates were less powerful. The grand formation below was built according to the terrain of the entire Xuanyuan Royal City, covering hundreds of kilometers, and had accumulated a thousand years of energy without ever being used. Once unleashed, it would certainly be earth-shattering and astounding. Even as a Half-Transcendent expert, encountering such a powerful killing formation, it would be good enough to protect himself. Saving someone... was utterly impossible!

"Then... what should we do? You know, he's Liu Cheng!" Hearing that even his guard couldn't save him, the "Young Master" grew anxious."Don't worry. If it comes to it, I'll just try to force my way in..." Jin Conghai gritted his teeth. He knew the "Young Master's" debt of gratitude to Physician "Liu Cheng." He had specifically traveled from the Myriad Kingdom Alliance to find him this time. If he saw him die before his eyes, wouldn't he regret it forever?"Force your way into what?" Before their voices faded, a puzzled voice rang out from the room. Immediately, everyone saw Sun Qiang, who had finished his cultivation, stand up again. At this moment, Sun Qiang had not only consolidated his Aperture Opening realm cultivation but had also opened three more acupoints. His aura was full, and he was brimming with energy. Zhang Xuan's 'Heaven's Mandate of Master Teacher' earlier had little effect on those of other ranks, but for Sun Qiang, who was on the verge of breaking through from the Dingli realm, it was immensely helpful.

"Your young master is trapped in Ding Mu's grand formation, and it's extremely dangerous. If you can contact Master Yang, hurry! I fear... he might not be able to hold on!" Seeing that Sun Qiang had finished cultivating, the "Young Master" hastily said. Honestly, when he had thrown out the envoy's decree earlier, he should have just captured Ding Mu immediately. If he had done that, this situation wouldn't have arisen. He had come to repay a debt of gratitude, yet he hadn't repaid anything and instead seemed to have caused his benefactor to die before him. How could he face anyone upon returning? (In his view, if he hadn't thrown out the decree, Ding Mu wouldn't have been pushed to desperation and activated the grand formation.)

"Formation?" Sun Qiang glanced down through the window, a look of indifference on his face. "I thought it was something major. For this thing? Don't worry, it's nothing!" It would have been better if he hadn't heard that. Upon hearing it, Jin Conghai stumbled and nearly fainted. "Do you even know what this formation is? And how powerful it is?" It was his young master down there, trapped in a formation that even Half-Transcendent experts couldn't break, yet he showed no concern whatsoever, even appearing nonchalant... Was he incredibly bold, or was there something wrong with his head?"Don't know!" Sun Qiang waved his hand dismissively. "No need to know. It's just a small formation, nothing to worry about!" Tianxuan Kingdom didn't even have formation masters; how could he understand formations? Honestly, even the simplest one placed before him would be incomprehensible. Although he didn't know, he had heard Zhao Ya and the others describe the scene at the Lin Residence countless times, and he had personally witnessed his young master kick to a halt the formation at Lu Chong's ancestral home. He knew that his young master's understanding of formations was unrivaled. In other words, this thing was terrifying to others, but for his young master... it was ineffective.

"'Nothing to worry about'? 'Just a small formation'? Is this how you act as a subordinate?" The "Young Master's" face darkened, his chest heaving. He nearly exploded with anger.