Tianyi defended himself without a second thought. All those years of withstanding sudden bolts out of the blue had to account for something, right?
The same couldn’t be said for the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation.
The bolt of heavenly punishment pierced through the gigantic war formation and struck Tianyi. Lightning arced and battered the formation from that single instance, causing it to convulse. The Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation turned hazy as it destabilized for a moment. A film of black and white shrouded the formation and prevented it from breaking.
As for Tianyi, lightning shrouded his figure. His skin melted despite his anomalous physique. Chunks of charred flesh fell off and dissolved within the lightning, but the newly grown skin met the same fate. ‘This is bad.’
Even if someone decapitated him, Tianyi could shrug it off and reattach the head or regrow it, depending on his mood. His true body was the Nine Heavens Universe and his body was just one of the many conduits he piloted. However, the heavenly punishment didn’t just target his body but his core, the inner universe.
The chunks of charred flesh that fell off and dissolved didn’t just represent Tianyi’s physical body, but also a percentage of the energy of the Nine Heavens Universe. Before, it had always been Tianyi one-sidedly consuming the resources of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. Now, he finally experienced how the Heavenly Dao felt whenever he absorbed the energy or land of the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System.
That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System invaded the Nine Heavens Universe through the heavenly punishment. Naturally, the Heavenly Dao didn’t intrude into Tianyi’s inner universe for sightseeing but to consume the nascent universe.
Just like how the Nine Heavens Universe grew stronger when it absorbed a portion of the Nether Realm in the Silent Lightning Timeline, so too would the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System advance if it could consume the Nine Heavens Universe, and by extension, Tianyi.
Tianyi’s mind spun furiously. He didn’t know how or why the heavenly punishment could absorb him now, especially when it failed before. Perhaps it had to do with the weaker Heavenly Dao in the Silent Lightning, or the current heavenly punishment reached the Divine Realm threshold. Whatever the reason, Tianyi knew he couldn’t allow it to continue.
The first impulse Tianyi had was to self-detonate his primary conduit. Once the heavenly punishment lost its target, it would disappear, but he couldn’t guarantee that the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t send heavenly punishment after his other conduits. If all his conduits disappeared, he didn’t know how he would return to the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System. Unless he had no choice, Tianyi didn’t want to resort to this.
He used all his computing power at his disposal to figure out a solution. A week passed in the Nine Heavens Universe, while only a few seconds passed in the Huang Realm. The best and safest solution Tianyi could generate was to hide his existence and, ironically, copy Wuxing’s action.
Heavenly punishment would continue unless its target disappeared or died, but if the price to exterminate Tianyi became too high, the heavenly punishment would end. It had already happened once before in the Nether Realm of the Silent Lightning Timeline. Still, that Heavenly Punishment had only been in the Origin Immortal Realm in power. So, Tianyi had a second hope. While enduring the heavenly punishment, he would minimize his presence as much as possible and hope that the heavenly punishment would lose sight of him.
For the first part of Tianyi’s plan, Tianyi charged toward the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation. Why waste his own energy first when he could use his enemy as a meat shield?
Seemingly sensing Tianyi’s plan, the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation retreated at breakneck speeds. It was for naught as Tianyi’s figure disappeared from the war formation’s front and reappeared behind it. Tianyi hadn’t mastered the Law of Spacetime for nothing, even if the heavenly punishment attached to him followed along.
Tianyi clutched onto the colossal war formation and the shroud of heavenly punishment covered the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation, too. He gained a brief respite since the power of the heavenly punishment split between him and the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation. A thin film resembling a patch of the night sky shrouded Tianyi’s body like a second skin. He could feel the consumption of his energy and the Nine Heavens Universe from the heavenly punishment slow down.
Now, he had to endure as long as possible.
“Insidious cretin!” Emperor Infinity bellowed from the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation.
The Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation’s fist landed on Tianyi’s body, deforming it but not causing any noticeable harm. Since physical attacks had no effect, a taiji symbol appeared in its palm and covered Tianyi’s body.
Tianyi could feel the taiji symbol attempting to absorb his energy and even flesh, but compared to the heavenly punishment, it was akin to comparing the light of a firefly to the full moon—practically nonexistent. And Emperor Infinity soon stopped, not because it didn’t work, but for two reasons. Both of the reasons originated from the heavenly punishment.
First, when it absorbed Tianyi’s energy, the heavenly punishment also flowed into the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation. It resulted in a portion of the immortals forming the war formation receiving injuries ranging from light to heavy. Not even Tianyi, an energy juggernaut, could absorb the heavenly punishment, much less the Eight Pillar Sect’s war formation. Second, the black clouds roared as if in anger at the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation’s blasphemous actions.
Bolt after bolt of heavenly punishment descended onto Tianyi and the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation. The coat of punishment lightning increased in density and thickness. Emperor Infinity could no longer spare any attention to remove Tianyi as he focused wholeheartedly on defending against the heavenly punishment.
Emperor Infinity knew that the chances of them escaping with even a single survivor were slim, but he must try. The humanoid form of the Eight Trigrams Sovereign Formation shifted into a giant taiji sphere, like the one he created within Zhang Cuiying’s ink tsunami—only far larger and more powerful than ever. Different from the balanced characteristic of the humanoid form, the sphere form strengthened its defensive aspects while giving up the offensive and movement capabilities.
The punishment lightning curved around the taiji sphere, and a vacant space separated the lightning and the sphere itself. During the transformation, Tianyi snuck into the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation and freed himself from the punishment lightning.
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Emperor Infinity noticed Tianyi’s action. He had half a mind to perish with Tianyi and cause an inner devil to form for Xi Mengfei, but he halted his impulse. Knowing that the situation could not continue lest they perish, Emperor Infinity controlled the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation to transform.
Although the transformed Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation fended off most of the heavenly punishment’s assault, the punishment lightning didn’t disappear. The Yin-Yang Reversal displayed by the war formation could not dissipate the heavenly punishment’s energy. Before long, a bolt of punishment lightning pierced the invisible barrier and struck the war formation.
As time passed, more and more pierced the barrier defending the formation. The immortals contributing to the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation received heavier and heavier injuries, and nothing the war formation did could defend against the sheer might of the heavenly punishment. Certain death awaited if they could not escape the dire situation.
Like Wuxing and Tianyi, Emperor Infinity chose the last path of survival—escaping the boundaries of the Huang Realm. Heavenly tribulation and punishment would not occur in the Vast Void, but if they entered any of the realms, not just the Huang Realm, the heavenly tribulation or punishment would form once more. Unless he had no other choice, Emperor Infinity didn’t want to choose this path, either.
All immortals who ventured into the Vast Void would never return unless they immediately retreated into the safety of the Huang Realm. Only the Buzhou Immortal Sect possessed the knowledge concerning the Vast Void and the other realms, leaving all the other forces in the dark. Rather than their being a danger, Emperor Infinity believed that the Buzhou Immortal Sect eliminated all immortals who dared to enter the Vast Void.
He didn’t think the Buzhou Immortal Sect possessed the capabilities to chase him down at this juncture, since they had split their forces on the Heaven and Earth Continents. If he was to ever escape and flee from the Buzhou Immortal Sect and Anti-Earth Alliance, there was no better chance than now. He just had to make sure not to leak his intentions, else they would charge into the Vast Void to duke it out.
The only reason they stood aside and watched was that neither forces wanted to be embroiled in the heavenly punishment.
There was only one problem.
Emperor Infinity turned his attention toward Tianyi, and a decisive light entered the immortal emperor’s eyes.
The sphere-shaped Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation split into two, one black fish and one white fish. Between the fishes was Tianyi’s lone figure. When the two fishes swam to opposite direction, Tianyi chased after them. Although the heavenly punishment still attacked the two fish, the majority of its attention focused on Tianyi.
The two sides played a game of cat and mouse—or rather, cat and fish.
Tianyi would cling onto one of the fish and disperse the pressure from the heavenly punishment. Once this happened, the two fishes would merge into a taiji sphere before splitting apart once more. Then, Tianyi would chase after one of the two fishes, and the process would repeat.
Unknowingly, the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation had inched toward the dimensional boundaries of the Huang Realm. Before Emperor Infinity could successfully execute his plans, Tianyi’s action changed. He vanished without notice, but the heavenly punishment still locked onto them.
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Daoyi frowned and lifted her sleeve. She felt like a miniscule weight within had disappeared.
“Tianyi?” she asked. As she expected, the chibi Tianyi in her sleeve had disappeared.
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Tianyi had swapped places with the chibi version of himself. The strength of each conduit did not depend solely on their connection to the Nine Heavens Universe, but there was a slight correlation. His strongest conduit had escaped to the safety of the inner universe, while his weaker conduit took its place. Judging by the actions of the heavenly punishment, Tianyi’s attempt at concealing his presence failed.
Emperor Infinity knew none of this. He only saw that the heavenly punishment had focused its attention on him once Tianyi disappeared. Without Tianyi to act as a decoy, he couldn’t hide his intentions any further. The Eight Trigrams Sovereign Formation changed its shape once more.
The sphere became a white torso with two black-tipped wings sprouting out. An avian head with a beak and a long slender neck grew out of the top. From its bottom, a feathered tail sprouted along with two scaled legs longer than said neck. The Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation took on the form of a predominately white crane.
This new form focused on speed and maneuverability. It could not outspeed the bolt of heavenly punishment, but it was still fast enough to escape the Huang Realm in a matter of seconds. Zhang Cuiying and the Eternal Night Emperor had noticed Emperor Infinity’s intent, but they were too slow and too late to stop him.
Emperor Infinity and the rest of the true immortals who formed the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation felt hope rise in their chest as they neared the dimensional boundary. Suddenly, an explosion occurred within the war formation and killed tens of immortals. The explosion didn’t just end at one; more and more explosions blossomed.
When Emperor Infinity turned back, he saw tens of humanoid figures formed of starlight and crafted in Tianyi’s image. He knew who caused this. “Stop!”
If Tianyi stopped now, he would be an idiot. Despite Emperor Infinity’s best efforts, the damage had already been done. Too many true immortals had died, causing the Eight Trigrams Sovereign War Formation to fall apart. Once it fell apart, the heavenly punishment struck those closest to Tianyi, killing them instantly.
“I’ll kill you!” Fury filled each of Emperor Infinity’s words as he charged toward the source of the stellar incarnations. Upon reaching his target, all he saw was a miniature Tianyi.
The sight caused him to pause for a brief second, but he soon regained his bearings. He reached out and grasped the tiny Tianyi in both his hands. White light emitted from his left hand while black light emitted from his right. “Xi Tianyi, even if I die today, I will kill you!”
The chibi Tianyi opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, a bolt of heavenly punishment struck both of them. It severely injured Emperor Infinity and disintegrated the tiny Tianyi.
Emperor Infinity spat out a mouthful of blood filled with charred chunks. Just as he prepared himself to suffer another bout of punishment lightning, the heavenly punishment unleashed a bolt of punishment lightning not at him or anywhere in the Earth Continent, but towards the Heaven Continent.
Although bewildered, Emperor Infinity did not let this chance go. “Go! The heavenly punishment won’t target us. Flee and survive, so that the Eight Pillar Sect may rise again and strike down the treacherous Buzhou Immortal Sect!”
The injured but surviving members of the Eight Pillar Sect immediately executed their grand elder’s command. They were too injured to continue battling, and their only hope was to flee. While they fled, Emperor Infinity glared at the Voidink Emperor Formation and the Eternal Night Emperor, who were chasing down the remnants of the Eight Pillar Sect.
He charged, but before he could fly even a hundred meters, a portal opened up near him. Tianyi charged out with his fist reared back. With a sickening crunch, Tianyi’s punch landed on Emperor Infinity’s cheeks. Then, Tianyi wrapped his arms around him, tying them together.
“I knew it, you were the target of the heavenly punishment,” Emperor Infinity said.
Tianyi sneered. “If you want to blame someone, blame your precious disciple, Tai Wuling—or whatever Wuxing was. Had it not been for him, the heavenly punishment would have never become this powerful.”
“Hah, even if I die, I’m taking you down with me!”
“That remains to be seen. Unlike you, I can withstand a bunch more rounds from the heavenly punishment!”
As if to mock Tianyi, the black clouds containing the punishment lightning dispersed without warning. Tianyi snapped his head up with wide eyes. ‘Oh, come on! It must have been running on fumes and chose this time to end, just to mock me!’