Beastmaster of the Ages

Many disciples of the sect weren't aware that there was a tower hidden deep within the mountains near Tribulation Peak. Tribulation Tower was usually closed off, and was only opened during times of war. The entire tower was well-protected by a tough formation from the outside, for the formation core of the Ninefold Formation lay within. Currently, all the formation spirit threads of Taiji Peak Lake were gathered there, where twenty of the sect's fifty-odd third-origin tribulation elders stood guard.

The hundred million civilians were more than enough to power the formation to its limits, to the point that tribulation elders didn't have to chip in themselves. The twenty plus third-origin elders, along with Jian Wuyi, Xuanyuan Xiao, and Xuanyuan Yu each had their own part of the formation to control. Thirteen of those elders were from the Xuanyuan house, five were from the Jian house, and the remaining two were unaffiliated with any of the three houses. It was plain to see that none of them were from the Fang house, as part of Fang Taiqing's own decision to dispel any suspicion or doubt.

The formation core was far too important, and not letting any from his house participate while they were still suspects due to recent events was a way to show loyalty to the goddess. Among the two hundred and fifty thousand tribulation elders of the sect, some eighty thousand were surnamed Fang, so the Sterling House of Fang did occupy a rather important position in the sect. As long as Fang Taiqing could prove himself in this battle, their house would have a bright future in Archaion.

Xuanyuan Dao had considered guarding the formation core, too, but felt that the goddess' body was more important. Not to mention, someone still had to monitor the Nine Dragon Formation. Xuanyuan Lake represented the ultimate legacy of the sect, after all, not to mention the Hexapath Sword Insight Rock that was within it. Thanks to the war, the sect had even moved the Old Deepstar Path into Xuanyuan Lake. If they were able to move the Heaven Cauldron, they would have already done so as well. The safest spot in the sect was no doubt within the Nine Dragon Formation.

While the sect itself might still exist after the Ninefold Formation was breached, the legacy of two hundred millennia would be completely gone if the Nine Dragon Formation was destroyed. Not to mention, even if Xuanyuan Dao wasn't at Tribulation Tower himself, the others of his house were there to take charge.

As Yi Xingyin was now out of the picture, Jian Wuyi was put in charge of two additional layers of the Ninefold Formation to defend against the first wave of enemy attacks, leaving Xuanyuan Xiao and Xuanyuan Yu in charge of the remaining four layers.

The Draconis House of Jian had been loyal to the Xuanyuan house for more than two hundred millennia and had always maintained a low profile, humbly contributing to the sect. So, as the Sterling House of Fang began earning the sect's suspicion, Jian Wuyi's contributions only boosted his house's reputation even more. How he held back the most powerful ghoul king, Si Ling, to help Tianming kill her had attracted many people to his side. After all, Si Ling was someone that terrified many in Archaion even more than Xue Yi or Zi Xiao. Jian Wuyi had more or less been considered incompetent and didn't leave much of an impression, yet now he was suddenly hailed as a hero and elevated to the level of the other two masters of the sect.

Within Tribulation Tower, the corresponding formation cores of each layer were being deployed. Jian Wuyi led the five third-origin tribulation elders of the Jian house, including Jian Wufeng and Jian Qingyuan, and the five third-origin tribulation elders of the Xuanyuan house began powering the five outermost layers of the formation, though Jian Wufeng and Jian Qingyuan were a little stronger than third-origin tribulation elders, strictly speaking. Xuanyuan Xiao, Xuanyuan Yu, and the remaining ten took care of the formation cores of the inner four layers. Countless formation spirit threads began gathering the power of the civilians, causing the nine formation cores to grow bright with terrifying power that shook the entire Tribulation Peak.

"The enemy is attacking!"

"Hold on! Launch a counterattack!"

"The Cloudveil, Frostseal, and Windblade Formations are at full power!"

"Kill them! Show them who they're really going up against!"

Even though the formation cores were sealed off, their power was able to shake the entire battlefield, especially the first three layers of the formation. The Cloudveil Formation was the first, and it had the effect of making the enemies hallucinate. Many samsarans fell prey to its mental tricks. The Frostseal Formation was the signature of Archaion, inspired by its frosty weather. As for the Windblade Formation, its sharp winds would be further enhanced by the chill of the Frostseal Formation to deal double the damage. Through these formations, even those who weren't tribulation elders could make the enemies taste painful defeat.

The elites of the four sects, including Archaion, were only spotted at the fourth and fifth layers of the formation. The enemies, who had been worn down by the earlier layers of the formation, had to be punished by the next formation layer as well as enemy combatants, which made for quite an arduous charge. Despite their numbers, they were slowly being spread thin thanks to the formation layers, allowing the Archaion Sect to hold the advantage. Not to mention, even if the elites at the fourth or fifth layers were beaten back, they could still retreat through the layers without any resistance.

"They want to take Taiji Peak Lake with only double our numbers? Are they insane?"

When the samsarans flooded into the formation, things played out as most people had expected. Even the tribulation elders from Nonahall were feeling the bite. This was the reason why the allegedly powerful Nonahall couldn't wipe out the Archaion Sect that easily.

"They're insane to still try attacking with only their elites after losing their corpse army."

"Die!"

"Exterminate the ghost sect!"

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War cries continuously rang throughout the battlefield.

......

The sounds of war permeated the entire battlefield. Standing in front of the army, Fang Taiqing raised his colorful lance. His long, black hair suddenly glowed brightly before it began shining in multiple burning colors. He was no doubt the strongest one alive with the Rainbow Phoenix Bloodline.

Behind him, his four different-colored phoenixes ignited their wings. He now looked like a flaming war god, something that reassured and greatly boosted the morale of the tribulation elders on his side. He and his four phoenixes and their eight blazing wings looked like they could take on a whole army, sending waves across the entire battlefield and reminding everyone that he was the strongest fighter of the sect, despite not being from the Xuanyuan house.

Many elites had been born in Fang Taiqing's generation, namely, Feng Qingyu, Xue Yi, Zi Xiao, Si Ling, Xuanyuan Dao, and Dugu Jin. Among them, Fang Taiqing was undoubtedly in second place, only behind Feng Qingyu. Though, he'd had enough of being in someone else's shadow.

How he appeared today once more helped him assert his status as one of the few rare talents of the millennium. His burning passion gradually spread to the others as well. With a loud war cry, he received the enemy charge with his comrades. The flames of battle burned as Fang Taiqing pierced through the head of a third-origin tribulation elder with his lance.

"Mother, I'm sorry. I have to engage in a slaughter! The best consolation I can give you is to build you a grand tomb after Her Eminence takes over the world! One day, they will remember us not as the three slave houses of Archaion, but as the glorious Sterling House of Fang that fought and sacrificed ourselves for the goddess' glory! That day should come after Nonahall, Hexapath, and Biritual are all gone, right?"

Wherever he went, his phoenixes followed. The two armies were now clashing in full.

"Die!"

Cries of pain and slaughter rang throughout Ninefold Formation. Everything that was playing out was all within the Archaion Sect's expectations. There was no way the five sects would be able to breach the Ninefold Formation, and their confidence grew more and more... until the Ninefold Formation's power was abruptly turned against the elites of the Archaion Sect.