Li Zihao watched with a grave expression as the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation, a celestial array, continuously spun before him. Rays of sharp light flashed in his eyes, as if he intended to penetrate the formation's secrets completely.
...
Liu Gao, empowered by the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation, had become incredibly difficult to deal with. Li Zihao alone could not defeat him in a short time. Once the formation was fully activated, it resembled a vast celestial canopy. Upon entering, Li Zihao had already felt a sense of suppression. As time passed, this oppressive feeling grew stronger, restricting even a cultivator of the Purple Mansion stage like Li Zihao.
"The Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation is indeed extraordinary, but it is not without its flaws..."
"Everything in this world has flaws, and the flaw of the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation lies precisely in its strongest components: the star fragments..."
"If these star fragments, which serve as the formation's eyes, are destroyed, then your Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation will likely be useless..."
Gazing at the constantly revolving stars, the image of the earth materialized behind Li Zihao, the power of earth laws subtly flowing within it. Li Zihao took a step forward, unleashing the top-grade spirit treasure, the Zhong Shi Jin Jing Shi. The laws of earth struck the heavens and earth, irresistible and infinitely divine. This ultimate strike possessed a quasi-rule essence, capable of reducing everything to nothingness. To block this attack, Liu Gao fully activated the Chen Shu and Xing Tu, two mid-grade spirit treasures. The stars rotated in unison, their energies intertwining to weave a vast map of galaxies. With their movement, the earth-shattering strike was deflected.
"Star Rain Fall, Myriad Streams Descend!"
At this moment, Liu Gao's voice echoed from the sea of stars. A large amount of stellar energy condensed into blue beams, and the countless stars descended like a shower, vast and mighty. Meanwhile, the top-grade spirit treasure, Zhong Shi Jin Jing Shi, hovered above Li Zihao, striking left and right, impervious to all techniques. Each blow shattered several star fragments, even over a dozen. Pressing forward was the mark of a true man.
...
Within the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation, Li Zihao rampaged. No matter how brilliant the starlight or how powerful the stellar energy, it could not stop him. Even Liu Gao, who controlled the formation, showed a flicker of surprise on his face, never having imagined Li Zihao to be so formidable. As numerous star fragments were destroyed, the formation's power weakened considerably.
...
"Earth Split Style One!"
Li Zihao's yellow robes billowed, and his long hair flew. In his heart, apart from the rise and fall of his clan, was the pursuit of the Great Dao. A resolute Dao heart was one of the reasons he had cultivated to the Purple Mansion stage. With a single finger, mountains collapsed and the earth cracked. All formations and divine abilities lost their power at this moment, reduced to nothing. An extremely potent earth law emanated from Li Zihao, manifesting the various calamities that occurred on earth.
Liu Gao mobilized an endless stream of stellar energy, transforming it into an unbreakable net of stars, attempting to block this fatal strike. The net of stars, formed by countless stellar energies, became incredibly fragile at this moment, like a thin piece of paper, easily pierced by Li Zihao. In the cultivation world, only power was fundamental; without power, nothing existed. If not for the augmentation of the Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation, Liu Gao would have been beaten to death by Li Zihao long ago. Li Zihao's earth laws were fully activated, and the sounds of splitting earth echoed throughout the heavens and earth, as if the earth were breathing in and out spiritual energy, nurturing all things.
...
The entire Zhou Tian Xing Chen Wan Yuan Great Formation trembled, and all of this was due to Li Zihao. At this moment, Li Zihao seemed to have transformed into the earth itself, manifesting the transformations of oceans turning into mulberry fields and the changes of millennia.
"The Dao gives birth to One, Heaven gives birth to Two, Earth gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things. Who can resist the power of the Earth!"
Li Zihao's voice resonated, nearing the sound of the Great Dao.
Shattered... Fallen...
The myriad stars began to fall, their descent into the earth and their consumption by it. The city of Xuan Du, the city of stars, fell to the Li family after thirteen days of tenacious defense! Liu Xiu, the princes, and the entire Tian Tu army of fifty thousand elite cultivators all perished. The battle was extremely fierce; not only did many cultivators die, but even the spiritual veins near Xuan Du were shattered.
...
The spiritual veins on the earth were the foundation of nurturing all life. Once the spiritual veins were broken, the land could no longer grow spiritual treasures. The struggle between the four great families and the Liu imperial clan had led to the disappearance of order in the Purple Province's cultivation world. In other words, the current Purple Province cultivation world was in utter chaos. Cultivation cities were destroyed by human warfare. Places consumed by flames were enveloped in smoke, mountains and rivers were broken, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was drained for various reasons. Many spiritual veins were gone. The scene was incredibly tragic. The once picturesque Purple Province, with its beautiful mountains and clear waters and abundant blessed lands, was now littered with severed limbs and fallen corpses.
...
The armies of Wang, Kong, Li, and Qin, after achieving victory on various battlefields, surrounded the imperial capital Chang'an, the stronghold of the Liu imperial clan, from the east, west, north, and south. However, they did not rush to attack. Instead, they were actively recruiting cultivators to join their ranks. In recent years, due to the rapid development and overwhelming influence of the four great families, other forces, regardless of size, dared not openly confront them, resorting to low-key actions for fear of attracting attention. Especially during this period, with the four great families achieving victory after victory on the battlefield, appearing unstoppable, smaller and larger forces were even more hesitant to reveal themselves. Consequently, when the "recruitment order" was jointly issued by the four great families, almost no force, family, or rogue cultivator dared to disobey. Regardless of their willingness, for the sake of their own lives, they had to comply.
The number of cultivators gathered from all directions continued to increase: ten thousand, twenty thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, three million... In just half a month, the four great families had gathered over three million cultivators. These more than three million cultivators, either by coercion or enticement, were temporarily obeying the command of the four great families.
...
To be frank, this war, which had caused turmoil for decades, had resulted in the deaths of nearly ten million human cultivators, directly or indirectly involved in the conflict from the beginning until now. Such a massive deficit had a significant impact on the Purple Province's cultivation world, leaving it nearly barren. This catastrophe was initiated by the master-disciple pair Wu Tao and Ye Yu, fueled by the four great families and the Liu imperial clan, and exacerbated by various factors, leading to the current situation. Moreover, this catastrophe was far from over; it was, in fact, escalating. Now, with the "recruitment order" from the four great families, over three million cultivators had gathered. Adding the four great families' own one to two million cultivators, the total reached four to five million. Coupled with the Liu imperial clan, all consolidated in the imperial capital Chang'an, the number of cultivators engaged in battle reached a staggering seven to eight million. If this war could be concluded swiftly, it would be better. However, if it were to stagnate for a long time, it would be dire, as it would mean the disappearance of a large portion of the cultivators in the Purple Province. The deaths of tens of millions of cultivators would be a matter with endless repercussions, even for a complete cultivation world. It was possible that the Purple Province's cultivation world itself would be destroyed.
Regarding this, many "smart people," including the high-ranking officials of the four great families and the Liu imperial clan, were aware of it. However, it was precisely because of their "intelligence" that they disregarded the consequences. Just as Wu Tao had thought before, once a war began, it was difficult to stop without external intervention. The arrow was already on the bowstring; it had to be fired. Moreover, neither the high-ranking officials of the Liu imperial clan nor those of the four great families wanted to stop; they all believed they would be the ultimate victor. To minimize their losses, the high-ranking officials of the four great families deliberately placed the more than three million conscripted cultivators on the front lines. Since it could not be hidden, and their power was great, the high-ranking officials of the four great families acted quite openly in this matter. They clearly showed favoritism, pushing other cultivators to the front as cannon fodder while keeping their own disciples in the rear. Most cultivators realized this, but for various reasons, not a single one chose to resist. Ordinary cultivators were like this, and so were the heads of the first-rank families. They were all shrewd individuals whose wisdom, depth, and vision surpassed those of ordinary cultivators. During these ten-plus days of rest, ordinary cultivators might tremble and pray to heaven to be assigned to the rear, to protect their lives. However, these seemingly obedient heads of major forces had already secretly negotiated numerous times, reaching various self-preservation agreements. Where there are plans, there are countermeasures. Sometimes, things are just that simple. No one is foolish.