Chapter 553 496: Pei Yuhang, I Have Finally Met You~

The Five Elements Celestial Pillar Array was self-sustaining, its cycle unending.

Each time Ji Shenyun shattered the Grand Array, the rampaging Power of the Five Elements would surge and re-form like a furious tide. The array's might stacked upon itself with every destruction and rebirth.

The faster she destroyed it, the fiercer the Celestial Pillar Array's counterattack became. And now, this Five Elements Killing Array, a rarity since ancient times, had finally reached an unprecedented peak of power!

"Cough...!"

Xiao Jiuxing let out a muffled grunt, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

His fingers moved like flitting butterflies as he rapidly formed hand seals. The five hovering Tiger Talisman Tokens around him began to vibrate violently, erupting in a blinding light.

"The time has come! It is time for you to witness the mysteries of my Dao Sect's countless arts! Reverse Generation of the Five Elements—!"

Xiao Jiuxing roared, his voice low and raspy but filled with valor and power.

"Profound Water gives birth to Divine Wood! Divine Wood gives birth to Heavenly Fire! Heavenly Fire gives birth to Rich Earth! Rich Earth gives birth to Geng Metal!"

RUMBLE—!

The Five Directions Celestial Pillars thundered and trembled. The vast Spiritual Power, accumulated over a hundred cycles, converged like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, pouring entirely into the western Geng Metal Pillar!

The entire Celestial Pillar erupted in a blinding golden light. Countless ancient Runes surfaced on its body, and it was as if millions of sharp swords were ringing within.

The spectral image of Nangong Jin, standing atop the Geng Metal Pillar, slowly opened her eyes.

Her cold, beautiful eyes were as frigid as ten-thousand-year-old Profound Ice and as sharp as a newly drawn divine blade.

Only one who had taken the Forgetfulness Dao to its absolute limit, like her, could bear the Grand Array's power without producing a Heart Demon.

VMMMM—

The Celestial Extinction Sword in her hand trembled faintly. Where its tip pointed, space itself began to warp and crack.

This single strike condensed the destructive power of a hundred Five Elements cycles. This one strike was enough to threaten even a Mahayana Peak cultivator!

"White Tiger's Celestial Roar, Golden Blade to Shatter the Sky—!"

SHIIING—!

The Sword Aura flared to life, and the world lost all color.

For a moment, everyone was blinded. The only thing they could see was that incomparably brilliant Sword Aura, the sole point of color in a world of chaos.

It tore through the void, severing even light itself in its path, as if to cleave the very world in two!

Ji Shenyun—entangled by the Yellow Dragon, scorched by the Vermilion Bird, shackled by the Divine Wood, and eroded by the Profound Water—finally frowned for the first time.

The next moment, the Horned Giant God's colossal body shuddered. The black-gold demonic flames around it flared violently. The Giant God's biceps bulged as it forcibly snapped its countless restraints and threw a punch straight at the sky-cleaving Sword Aura!

Space collapsed before the might of the fist.

BOOM—!!!

A terrifying shockwave swept out in all directions, instantly clearing the clouds for a thousand miles.

The ground buckled and cracked like waves on the ocean. The Five Directions Celestial Pillars swayed violently, looking as if they might topple at any moment.

As the dust gradually settled—

Nangong Jin's spectral image had grown as dim as a candle in the wind. She took one last, deep look at the silhouetted Giant God still standing before her, then her form slowly dissipated, awaiting the next Five Elements cycle to gather its power anew.

As for the Horned Giant God at the center of it all, it slowly lowered its head to look at its own fist.

A faint, golden trace of blood had appeared on its knuckles.

Ji Shenyun's amused expression vanished, replaced in an instant by a cold, emotionless mask.

It was like a child happily squashing ants on the ground, watching colony after colony perish beneath its fingertip with a smile, until... one large ant finally bit back.

The bite was insignificant, of course, but... it was enough to make the child lose all patience for the game.

Now, Ji Shenyun wanted only one thing: to completely obliterate this "anthill"!

'It's time I got serious. News of my return has likely spread throughout this era by now. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I need to act quickly.'

In an instant, with a great POOF, the colossal Horned Giant God dissolved into a billowing cloud of black and gold smoke.

TAP—

Ji Shenyun's true form landed softly amidst the dissipating smoke.

A majestic, black Empress's Dragon Robe materialized around her flawless, jade-like form.

'Now then... let's end this quickly.'

...

...

Far from the battlefield, under a clear expanse of sky.

Xiao Jiuxing frowned slightly as he watched the scene displayed on the Scroll before him.

"That impossibly massive Dharma Aspect... it's gone."

"Is she preparing to fight us in her true form?"

Yin Wanqing voiced her confusion as well. She didn't understand. If even that colossal Dharma Body was trapped by the Five Directions Celestial Pillar Array, how could the enemy hope to break free using her true form?

'Could her true form be even more powerful than that colossal Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect?!'

"No matter what she's planning, we cannot let our guard down!"

Xiao Jiuxing's deep voice rallied the spirits of the many Void Refining True Monarchs behind him.

Everyone quickly consumed the Elixirs refined by Fu Haixia, the Pavilion Master of Dan Yun Pavilion. Their depleted Spiritual Qi was instantly replenished, and they continued to power the Five Directions Celestial Pillar Array.

They prepared to press their advantage and refine this Demon Fiend once and for all!

However, in the very next moment, everyone present felt as if they had been struck by an invisible sledgehammer. Their eyes flew wide, and they all coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"The Array... it's been crippled! We're suffering a backlash!"

"How is that possible? The Five Directions Celestial Pillar Array's Five Elements cycle is self-sustaining! Even if one Celestial Pillar is destroyed, another should immediately take its place..."

"No! If all five Celestial Pillars were destroyed simultaneously, with not a single one left, the Array would be critically damaged!"

'All five Celestial Pillars were destroyed at once?!'

'How is that possible!'

Everyone's mind went blank. After iterating through the Five Elements cycle over a hundred times, each of the Celestial Pillars had become strong enough to withstand multiple attacks from a Mahayana Peak cultivator.

The strength of its Barrier was enough to trap any Great Power in the current Cultivation Realm until they died!