198: Chapter 197 The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation and the Inner Demon?

The three of them were trapped within the enclosed Formation space. Raising their eyes, they saw the four Formation gates standing tall.

The eastern Formation gate radiated a towering Sword Qi that pierced the heavens, carrying a chilling, desolate intent; the western Formation gate was deathly still, filled with endless annihilation; the northern Formation gate flickered with changing light and shadow, making the real and the illusory unpredictable; the southern Formation gate was a sea of crimson, with blood-red light blanketing the ground.

Just at this moment, an ethereal and mighty ancient ballad drifted between heaven and earth, echoing through the entire world.

"Neither copper nor iron, nor even steel, once hidden beneath Mount Sumeru. Without the reverse refinement of Yin and Yang, how could water and fire temper its edge? The Immortal Execution sword is sharp, the Immortal Slaughterer causes doom, and the Immortal Trapper brings crimson light on all sides. The Immortal Defiler's transformations are infinitely marvelous, staining the robes of Greater Luo Immortals with blood."

All the observing Cultivators below instantly stiffened all over, their scalps tingling with terror.

Master Yuanxin's pupils contracted sharply as he let out a low, involuntary roar, "This... is the Immortal Execution Sword Formation?!!"

With that single sentence, the entire audience exploded into chaos.

Anyone in the cultivation world who had stepped onto the Immortal Dao had surely heard of the resounding reputation of the Primordial World's number one killing Formation!

That was a supreme killing Formation that slaughtered immortals and gods, existing only in ancient legends.

Everyone stared fixedly at mid-air, their faces filled with utter disbelief as their hearts hammered wildly.

No one could believe that Ye Qingxuan's Epiphany had actually enabled him to comprehend the Immortal Execution Sword Formation!

The crowd of Daoist sect Disciples was utterly dazed, their breathing halting as shock filled their faces.

Zhenyi quickly steadied his mind, carefully scrutinizing the scale of the grand Formation, and immediately saw through the clues:

"It's not complete. These are merely four swords condensed from Sword Intent, and the Formation diagram is only a Medium Grade Immortal Artifact. Its power is less than one ten-thousandth of the complete Formation."

Hearing this, Celestial Master Zhang suddenly came to a realization, his face immediately filling with awe.

"This ballad is triggered by the autonomous resonance of heaven and earth!"

Li Qiye: "The spontaneous appearance of the hymn of heaven and earth is celebrating the rebirth of an Innate killing Formation! Even if it is flawed, it is still the Immortal Execution Sword Formation!"

Everyone instantly understood.

So what if it was incomplete?

That was the Immortal Execution Sword Formation!

Qingling and Bai Yuekui stood side by side, looking at the figure still comprehending the Dao within the Formation, their eyes brimming with unconcealed pride and tenderness.

Shifting the view back inside the Formation.

The three trapped individuals—Ancestor Tianshi, Patriarch Lü, and Zhang Sanfeng—completely collapsed mentally after hearing the ballad of heaven and earth, cursing frantically in their hearts.

At a single glance, they saw through all the details.

Ye Qingxuan had indeed only comprehended the surface; the sword Formation was incomplete, and the four swords and Formation diagram were all low-spec versions.

But no matter how weak the Immortal Execution Sword Formation was, it was still the root of the Primordial killing Dao!

Below the True Immortal realm, however many came would die.

The three of them were merely Heavenly Tribulation brands stripped of their connection to the Heavenly Dao, left with only Mahayana combat power. When all was said and done, they were just here to act as sparring partners and apply pressure. When would they have ever expected to be trapped by a killing Formation of this caliber?

They wanted to run, but there was simply no way out.

Earlier, the Severing Flow sword force had cut off their connection to their original bodies, and now the sword Formation sealed the heavens and locked the earth, leaving them with no path forward or backward.

What felt most aggravating was that none of this was deliberately done by Ye Qingxuan.

He was still immersed in his Epiphany, and all the Formation-setting, enemy-locking, and slaughtering were entirely products of his sword Dao instinct.

Ancestor Tianshi took a deep breath, suppressing his overwhelming sense of absurdity, "Let's try going all out! See if we can charge out!"

"Good!"

The three of them held nothing back, pouring out all the Origin power within their brands.

Patriarch Lü's Heavenly Escape Sword Art traversed the void, and tens of thousands of Pure Yang Sword Qi crazily bombarded the Formation walls;

Zhang Sanfeng unfolded the Taiji Dao, using harmonious Dao force to crazily deflect force and break the seal;

Ancestor Tianshi filled the sky with Talismans as divine thunder roared, unleashing all of his top-tier Daoist Divine Abilities.

The three of them practically exhausted all their strength and used every trick at their disposal, frantically assaulting the domain blockade of the Formation.

But the result was meaningless.

The four Formation gates merely shuddered slightly for a fraction of a second before calming back to normal.

Looking at the unmoving Formation space, Zhang Sanfeng let out a helpless, long sigh, "It's useless. The Immortal Execution Sword Formation requires four beings of the same level working together to break it open. With just the three of us... there is no hope."

Patriarch Lü gritted his teeth, his belly full of anger with nowhere to vent, "Just wait! When this poor Taoist returns to my original body, I am going to give Gu Changsheng a thorough beating!"

Ancestor Tianshi agreed without hesitation, "Count this old Daoist in!"

Zhang Sanfeng chimed in, "Take this poor Taoist along too. It's been quite a while since I last stretched my muscles."

As his words fell, the sword Formation officially began to rotate.

Sword auras surged like a tide across the sky, their killing intent drowning the entire Formation domain.

Layer upon layer of slaughtering Sword Intent washed down, causing the Dao bodies of the three to shatter inch by inch and collapse layer by layer.

In a mere two breaths.

Three faint yet crisp sounds of annihilation rang out one after another.

The Heavenly Tribulation brands carrying the original consciousness of the three Daoist bigwigs were completely obliterated by the Immortal Execution Sword Formation! The consciousness of the three smoothly returned to their original bodies.

Ye Qingxuan stood quietly in the void, his double pupils slightly closed as the thick Dao resonance around his body slowly flowed, still in a state of deep Epiphany.

A moment later, the sword Formation dissipated, and five-colored light circulated around Ye Qingxuan in the air.

Yet his aura continued to rise; the phantoms of the three bigwigs had been obliterated, and the Heavenly Tribulation Origin was instinctively absorbed and devoured by Ye Qingxuan.

The purple-gold tribulation clouds churned for a moment, and then grew eerie and still.

Ye Qingxuan also stood motionless in mid-air, creating an incomparably bizarre scene.

Qingyun scratched his afro as he looked at the silent tribulation clouds, "Why stopped moving? Is the Heavenly Tribulation gone? But there were only eleven bolts in the ninth stage?"

Li Qiye: "The Heavenly Tribulation hasn't stopped. Moreover, the twelfth bolt has already descended."

Wang Songxi said thoughtfully, "This poor Taoist remembers that records left in Patriarch Sanfeng's notes state that for the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, the final tribulation is the Heart Demon Tribulation!"

Celestial Master Zhang added, "It's an external demon!"

At this moment, Liangbing turned to look at Li Qiye with a face full of curiosity and asked, "Heart Demon? What is an external demon?"

Li Qiye looked at his new Disciple and patiently explained slowly.

"The Heart Demon Ye Qingxuan must face right now is the Formless Heavenly Demon. The Heart Demons Cultivators encounter when breaking through from the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul are merely transformed from one's own obsessions, desires, and stray thoughts, belonging to internal demons that originate from oneself."

"However, the Heart Demon tribulation of this final stage of the Nine-Nine Immortal Ascension Tribulation is different."

His tone suddenly grew grave, his gaze locking tightly onto the silent and bizarre tribulation clouds above.

"What Ye Qingxuan is facing is the Formless External Demon."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hearts of all the Cultivators sank.

Internal Heart Demons could still be suppressed by the Dao Heart and seen through via obsessions.

But otherworldly formless heavenly demons were external demons drifting outside the Laws of heaven and earth. They did not belong to oneself and descended into the tribulation out of thin air, specializing in devouring the Dao Heart, distorting one's Dao path, and tampering with one's original intent.

At this moment, Lin Lei suddenly raised his hand to signal.

Everyone present turned to look at Lin Lei, wanting to know what this Martial Ancestor wanted to ask.

Lin Lei asked, "Senior Qiye, Senior Wang just said that this is the final tribulation of the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Does that mean the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation and Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation don't have a Heart Demon Tribulation?"

Master Yuanxin gave a helpless look at this reckless fellow who was even bolder than Qingyun, and explained:

"The Heart Demon Tribulation is exclusive to the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. Ordinary Cultivators only encounter external demon tribulations at Breakthroughs after reaching the Heavenly Immortal realm. The Immortal Ascension Heart Demon Tribulation only exists in the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and you will inevitably encounter it when you undergo tribulation in the future."

Master Yuanyi: "In the future, Lin Lei will definitely face the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and furthermore, not just Lin Lei."

Celestial Master Zhang: "And several of you. Your Aptitude is not bad to begin with, and after being baptized by the world's Origin, it is highly likely you will face the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation."

Master Yuanxin: "Especially the two of you, Qingming and Qingling. Qingyun and Qingmo might be a bit lacking, but you two must be careful."

As these words fell, everyone present cast sympathetic looks toward the geniuses. Heavenly Tribulation brands could take physical form.

Qingming's face turned a bit green, and the same went for Zhang Yuzhuo, Duyuan, and Zhou Wei.

Qingling, on the other hand, didn't care at all. Since the Ancestor Tianshi and the others could control their brands, she refused to believe Ye Qingxuan couldn't. If he dared to control his brand to hit her, she would punish him by forbidding him from getting into this lady's bed!

(Bai Yuekui: He can get into mine! Yun Huan: Getting into mine is fine too! Lin Yao: ...)

With Lin Lei's Aptitude, it was bound to be the Nine-Nine Tribulation. Now that Ye Qingxuan had crossed the Immortal Ascension Tribulation a step ahead, when Lin Lei underwent his tribulation in the future, he would most likely encounter Ye Qingxuan's brand.

Lin Lei himself instantly realized the crux of the matter, his heart instantly panicking.

Second Elder: "This? Xiao Lei, you wouldn't be this unlucky, would you?"

Lin Lei quickly got over it: "It's fine, Grandpa. It's just a brand, not Big Brother Ye himself. Even if I really can't beat it, I can slowly grind it down and drag out the time to win."

Lin Lei's words made those geniuses let out a sigh of relief. That's right, it was just a brand, not Ye Qingxuan himself. How powerful could it be? (Extremely powerful!)

Next, everyone watched as Ye Qingxuan stood quietly beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. Many people were somewhat curious, wondering just how terrifying this Heart Demon Tribulation truly was.

"Nothing will go wrong. For Qingxuan, this Heart Demon Tribulation is not even as threatening as the Lightning Tribulation at the beginning."

Hearing the voice, everyone looked over. It was Qingling who spoke.

As the ones who understood Ye Qingxuan best, they were clearer on this than anyone else.

Heart Demons, whether internal or external, possessed the primary ability to distort a person's Dao Heart.

But wanting to distort Ye Qingxuan's Dao Heart? What a joke! They had all witnessed just how firm Ye Qingxuan's Dao Heart was.

Anyone who does not conform to my heart is a demon. Able to reach this step, do you think his Dao Heart would have any obsessions or flaws?

The crowd of Shangqing Disciples watched Ye Qingxuan's two wives smiling over there and suddenly realized something.

Qingming slowly spoke, "All who do not conform to my heart are demons."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Sect Heads of various factions instantly recalled the evaluations of Shangqing Disciples regarding Ye Qingxuan's disposition back then, and their hanging hearts immediately settled.

Zhenyi said with a hint of gloating, "I wonder what kind of situation that Heart Demon is in right now. I hope it doesn't get bullied too miserably by Qingxuan."

At this moment, within Ye Qingxuan's spiritual platform...