58: Close the door and beat the dog

"Buzz—"

As Su Qingxue injected the last trace of mana into the core Formation Plate, an invisible light curtain, unseen by the naked eye, instantly soared into the sky, like a giant inverted glazed bowl, enveloping the entire Chu City within it.

The great Formation, activated!

However, in the next moment, a scene that was inconceivable to everyone outside the city occurred.

"Creak—"

The huge, tightly closed gates of Chu City actually slowly opened on their own!

The Empty Fort Strategy?

Or... a trap?

Outside the city, in front of the army.

The three Golden Core Stage Great Generals looked at this eerie sight, glancing at each other, momentarily not daring to order an attack.

"Great General, what exactly is this Chu He up to?" A lieutenant rode forward, his face full of doubt.

General Wang, the leader, frowned deeply and said after a moment of silence, "When things are abnormal, there must be something wrong. Since that Chu He dares to open the city gates, he must have something to rely on. Pass down my order: the entire army is to stand by and not act rashly! Everything will wait for the instructions of the three Enshrined Old Ancestors!"

Above the clouds.

Three figures stood side by side; they were the three Nascent Soul Enshrined ones of the Imperial Family.

The leader was the Imperial Ancestor who had lived for nearly a thousand years. His hair and beard were all white, and his face was withered as if he might drift away with the wind at any moment. However, in his cloudy old eyes, a heart-palpitating glint flashed from time to time.

Beside him were the Xuanming Two Elders, who looked exactly the same but had Auras of Yin and Yang respectively.

"Big brother, what kind of game is this junior playing? Opening the great Formation and then the city gates—is he looking down on us?" The younger of the Xuanming Two Elders, the hot-tempered Xuan Di, let out a cold snort.

"Be patient."

The more somber-faced Brother Xuan spoke slowly, "This boy's actions are contrary to common sense; there must be a conspiracy. Old Ancestor, what do you think?"

The Imperial Ancestor stared intently at the city below, which was enveloped by the light curtain, his Divine Sense scanning it over and over again, attempting to find a flaw.

However, although the light curtain seemed as thin as a cicada's wing, his Divine Sense was like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to penetrate it in the slightest.

"What a great Formation!"

After a long while, the Old Ancestor slowly spat out those four words, his voice hoarse but carrying a hint of gravity.

"This Formation is of an extremely high grade, connected to the heaven and earth Spiritual Veins, and seems to... contain some kind of Luck power, incredibly profound. In all my life, I have never seen anything like it."

"Then what should we do? We can't just wait here forever, can we?" Xuan Di was somewhat impatient.

"No rush."

A glint of calculated shrewdness flashed in the Old Ancestor's eyes. "There are only two possibilities for him opening the city gates. One, it's a bluff, wanting to lure us into the city to use the terrain to deal with us. Two, he has absolute confidence in this great Formation he laid down, believing that we... cannot break the Formation!"

"Hmph, what a joke!" Xuan Di sneered. "With an expert like you, Old Ancestor, at the Late Nascent Soul stage, Great Perfection, plus us brothers and the 'Dragon-Locking Seal', what Formation in the world can stop us?"

"Carefulness is the key to a long life."

The Old Ancestor shook his head and then ordered, "Pass down the command: have General Wang send ten thousand vanguard troops to test the waters. Remember, only attack the city gates, do not enter the city!"

"Yes!"

The order was quickly passed down.

Outside the city, the war drums thundered.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

Ten thousand Imperial Guard soldiers clad in heavy armor formed a massive square Formation. Holding spears and shields, they marched with steady steps, letting out sky-shaking battle cries as they launched a charge toward the wide-open city gates!

"Kill!!!"

Ten thousand troops charged, their Aura like a rainbow, making the earth tremble.

However, at the very moment they stepped into the hundred-zhang range in front of the city gates.

Another abnormal change occurred!

The wide-open city gates seemed like the mouth of a giant beast waiting to devour people, and the space inside the gates suddenly underwent a bizarre distortion.

The first thousand or so soldiers in the front didn't even have time to let out a scream before they vanished into thin air within the distorted space, as if they had never existed.

Seeing this, the soldiers behind were scared to the point of their Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and they hurriedly stopped their steps.

But it was too late.

The distorted space was like an invisible vortex, generating a massive suction force that pulled them in, continuously devouring them toward the inside of the city gates.

"Ah! Help!"

"It's a Spatial Trap!"

Screams and cries of alarm rang out together.

In just over a dozen breaths of time, the ten-thousand-man Vanguard Army was swallowed clean by the bizarre city gates, leaving not even a single drop of blood behind.

Outside the city, the remaining two hundred and ninety thousand troops were deathly silent.

Everyone was so frightened by this bizarre and terrifying scene that their hands and feet went cold.

Above the clouds.

The Xuanming Two Elders and the Imperial Ancestor also had a drastic change in expression.

"Spatial power! This great Formation actually contains Spatial Laws!" Xuan Di lost his voice in horror.

"What ruthless methods! What a poisonous trap!" Brother Xuan's face was as dark as water.

The Imperial Ancestor's pupils also shrank suddenly.

He finally understood Chu He's intention.

This was not an Empty Fort Strategy at all.

This was... Inviting the Gentleman into the Jar, closing the door to beat the dog!

Those wide-open city gates were a blatant trap, an entrance leading to death!

"Old Ancestor, what do we do now?" Brother Xuan asked.

"Forceful attack!"

Killing intent surged in the Imperial Ancestor's eyes. At this point, any scheme was useless; the only way was to break through with sheer force!

"Although this Formation is strong, the core must be in the city! The three of us will work together to activate the 'Dragon-Locking Seal' to seal off this area of heaven and earth, and then directly blast open his turtle shell from above!"

"Once the Formation is broken, the people in the city will all be mere ants!"

"Good!"

The Xuanming Two Elders responded in unison.

The three no longer hesitated and flew up simultaneously, arriving atop the massive black Dharma Platform.

They sat cross-legged, frantically injecting their own vast Nascent Soul mana into the ancient black seal in the center of the platform!

"Buzz——"

The Dragon-Locking Seal was activated!

Streaks of black divine light soared into the sky from the seal, weaving into a massive black net in the air that covered a hundred-mile radius.

The massive net slowly pressed down; everywhere it passed, space solidified and Spiritual Qi became sluggish.

The entire Chu City, along with the surrounding hundred miles, was completely sealed off!

Having done all this, the Imperial Ancestor slowly stood up. He formed hand seals, mobilizing his Late Nascent Soul stage, Great Perfection mana, which had been amplified by the Dragon-Locking Seal, to condense a massive black hand that blotted out the sun above his head.

"Chu He, you brat, get out here and meet your death!"

Accompanied by a roar, the massive black hand, powerful enough to shatter mountains and rivers, crashed down toward the defensive light curtain below!