Chapter 57: The Power of the Supreme Treasure

When Tianlong’er saw Zhang Xiao act so arrogantly, delight surged in his heart. This formation was an ancient array, passed down only among the direct disciples of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Though he had not finished refining it, it was enough to trap most Nascent Soul masters. “Dragon Soars, Tiger Roars!” Tianlong’er shouted, and the scenery around Zhang Xiao changed rapidly—in an instant, he found himself in a wasteland of death, the ground littered with bleached bones, desolate on all sides, not even the faintest sound of insects.

On the barren earth, aside from scattered bones and withered grass, not a trace of life remained. Seeing this, Zhang Xiao mused, “Could this be an illusion array?” But then he reconsidered; his state of mind was as steady as a mountain. After enduring the Heart-Tempering Path of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, mere surroundings could not easily ensnare him. Just then, a thunderous rumble interrupted his thoughts—a blood-red dragon suddenly burst from the ground, its aura thick with the stench of blood as it soared into the clouds. Immediately, countless drops of blood-rain fell from the sky. Zhang Xiao summoned a protective shield before him, but as the blood-rain struck the shield, his expression changed—these were no illusions, but real, tangible drops. In the blink of an eye, the blood-rain corroded his shield entirely. Hastily, Zhang Xiao summoned the Heavenly Sound Bell above his head to protect himself, then activated Divine Footwork, speeding forward—leaving only afterimages in his wake, moving ten times faster than before. Yet his face remained grim, for no matter how he used Divine Footwork, he could not step out of this formation, as if this space were truly real, not a mere illusion conjured by the array.

After a long while, Zhang Xiao stopped, gazing at the desolate landscape before him in shock. “A self-contained space—damn it.” He hadn’t expected Tianlong’er’s mastery of formations to be so formidable. The array had indeed formed its own space. Cursing his earlier arrogance, Zhang Xiao realized that unless he perfected Divine Footwork to the realm where each step traversed a world, he could not exit this space. Since Divine Footwork failed, only brute force could break the array. He began carefully studying the space. Though he had never specialized in formations, his Maoshan Sect boasted the greatest expertise in artifact forging among the nine factions, and forging was intimately linked with formations. Zhang Xiao thus had some understanding of arrays. After thorough examination, he breathed a sigh of relief—the array Tianlong’er deployed was unfinished. Though it claimed to be a world, its rules were incomplete. In essence, it could only trap people, nothing more. As for the blood-rain from the sky, with the Heavenly Sound Bell—a ninth-grade treasure—above him, Zhang Xiao paid it no mind.

Nevertheless, he still had no immediate way out, for this truly was a self-contained space—a feat only achievable through formations, not even Nascent Soul masters could casually create such a domain. This demonstrated the miraculous nature of formations, truly capable of capturing the workings of heaven and earth. If given the chance, Zhang Xiao would love to delve into formations someday, but now was not the time. Outside, Zhou Yuan faced several attackers alone; even with his extraordinary talismans, he couldn’t hold out much longer. Zhang Xiao had to break the array immediately—not out of concern for Zhou Yuan, but because he needed to question him about something. Otherwise, his heart would remain unsettled. With this thought, Zhang Xiao looked at the desolate land before him.

A cold smile appeared at his lips. “Hmph, Tianlong’er, you must have spent no small effort refining this array. Watch me break it—I'll make you regret it bitterly.” With that, Zhang Xiao erupted with Buddhist power, golden light radiating from his body as he sat like a Buddha in the midst of heaven and earth. The previously gloomy sky was immediately lit up by the Buddhist force he unleashed.

Outside the array, Tianlong’er felt a sudden pang of dread. He spat a mouthful of blood onto the formation and infused it with all his spiritual energy. Nourished by his blood and robust spiritual power, the array—previously on the verge of collapse—quickly stabilized. Tianlong’er breathed a sigh of relief, but the expenditure left him badly depleted. He knew he had no strength left to compete for the Five-Colored Cloud Banner, and could only smile bitterly. He had never expected that his own machinations would ensnare him; he merely wanted to trap Zhang Xiao, but Zhang Xiao’s strength was so astonishing that he nearly broke the array. Now Tianlong’er was caught between a rock and a hard place—if he left, he would lose the painstakingly forged array disc. If not for this, he would have withdrawn already. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiao, within the array, found the space not only unshaken by his efforts, but more solid. He laughed coldly. “Hmph, you’re willing to pay dearly, but this still can’t hold me.” With a shout, his Buddha Wheel unfolded above his head. Unlike before, this time, his avatar seated in the center of the Buddha Wheel also bore a wheel. A golden sword rested within his avatar’s wheel. Zhang Xiao sat cross-legged, his form unified with his avatar. “Go!” Suddenly, his avatar’s eyes snapped open, and the golden sword shot from the Buddha Wheel, slashing forward.

A pitch-black spatial rift tore open before Zhang Xiao, shaking the entire space. He recalled the golden sword and dashed into the rift. Outside the array, Tianlong’er’s face changed abruptly—blood streamed from his seven orifices, and a crack split open in the array before him. Zhang Xiao squeezed through the fissure, giving Tianlong’er no chance to react. He used Divine Footwork to appear beside Tianlong’er and struck his brow with a palm. With a thud, Tianlong’er’s head burst like a watermelon, his brains splattering. Zhang Xiao finally relaxed; the formations of Dragon Tiger Mountain were simply too formidable. Had he not used the golden sword, forged from the Buddha Ancestor’s Wheel, to forcibly cleave open space, even breaking through to Nascent Soul might not have freed him. So, to be safe, Zhang Xiao killed Tianlong’er the instant he escaped the array. A round disc dropped from Tianlong’er’s corpse, and Zhang Xiao picked it up, rejoicing. Tianlong’er’s luck was truly abysmal—when Zhang Yifan died, he only dropped an ordinary spirit treasure, which everyone ignored, but Tianlong’er dropped his array disc. The higher the grade of the formation, the more it required such a disc. Though this was not the disc for the array that had trapped Zhang Xiao, it was still extraordinary.

Zhang Xiao stowed the disc and stood silent, not going to aid Zhou Yuan. Nearby, Zhou Yuan wielded a golden brush, hastily painting talismans all around, but facing the combined assault of Song Qing from Mount Shu and four top experts from the Demon Sect, he could only defend passively. If not for Ouyang Zhongshi, Li Peng, and Ge Tianming having battled Zhang Xiao for so long and expending much of their power—especially Ge Tianming, who was nearly drained and afflicted by the Devouring Heart Curse, exhausting his spiritual energy to remove it—he would never have tangled with Zhou Yuan so long.

When the crowd saw Zhang Xiao break free and slay Tianlong’er in a single move, they were both anxious and shocked. Especially Song Qing of Mount Shu, who saw that among the five great righteous sects, only Maoshan and Mount Shu Sword Sect remained; as for the unconscious Monk Yuanzhen, no one cared. Meanwhile, the four demon sect masters were still standing, though three could fight no longer, leaving only Yang Wansan of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. Zhou Yuan was nearly spent, but Zhang Xiao was still present—the fate of the Five-Colored Cloud Banner was impossible to predict. While everyone guarded against a sudden attack from Zhang Xiao, he stood unmoving, coolly observing. Seeing this, Zhou Yuan shouted, “Senior brother, why aren’t you coming to help me?”

Zhang Xiao laughed coldly. “Help you? First tell me: what punishment will I face for killing Wang Yanbo? Don’t try to fool me with excuses, or I’ll kill you too.”

Zhou Yuan’s expression changed—he hadn’t expected Zhang Xiao to be so shrewd, already guessing that he and the sect leader were plotting against him. But how could Zhou Yuan speak of such matters? “Senior brother, help me first—after the contest, our master will give you a proper explanation.”

“No need to trouble the sect leader; you can answer, junior brother. If you won’t, I’ll ask someone else. Surely it’s not a secret.” As he spoke, Zhang Xiao looked toward Ge Tianming.

Ge Tianming, already battered by Zhang Xiao, stiffened under his gaze, feeling immense pressure and fearing Zhang Xiao might target him next. At that moment, Ge Tianming suddenly had an idea and smiled. “Heh, Daoist Zhang, I do know what punishment awaits those who kill their own sect’s founding disciples. Did you kill one of your own sect’s founding disciples?”

Hearing Ge Tianming’s words, Zhang Xiao’s heart sank. “So, the sect leader really did set me up.” His expression darkened as he glanced at Zhou Yuan, who realized the truth was exposed. If Zhang Xiao learned the consequences of killing a founding disciple, he would never help Zhou Yuan—he might even kill him outright. Zhou Yuan steadied himself and shouted, “I don’t want the Five-Colored Cloud Banner anymore. Let’s join forces to kill Zhang Xiao!”

Song Qing of Mount Shu withdrew his flying sword and stood aside, while Ouyang Zhongshi and the other demon sect experts ceased their attacks and looked to Yang Wansan, since only he still had fighting power among them. Zhang Xiao remained icy as obsidian, standing silently, as though waiting for their decision. “No! Kill him quickly—he’s stalling for time to restore his spiritual energy!” Song Qing suddenly cried out in alarm.