High above the Star Luo Empire.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda hovered suspended in the air, serving as the eye of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.
At the base of the pagoda, a massive black-and-white Eight Trigrams array pattern slowly rotated.
The range of the formation extended outward from the central area of the Star Luo Empire, like an inverted transparent mirror surface.
Through this "mirror," one could see the pitch-black cloud layer above.
Under the effect of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, the area of the thunderclouds was projected across the entire world. No matter where one was, the sky appeared almost completely obscured by flickering thunderclouds.
"This can be considered Kyōka Suigetsu, right!"
"Only in moments of utter despair do people think of that faint glimmer of hope."
"And that hope... is Qian Renxue..."
Ning Rongrong let out a soft sigh.
How hypocritical she truly was!
The way she was collecting faith was by turning the spearhead around—giving them a common enemy and pressing them so hard they could barely breathe.
After all, throughout history, only a shared enemy could make opposing sides set aside their prejudices.
Whether soul beasts or humans, it was always the same!
"The thunderclouds from Di Tian and the other soul beasts' tribulations will be blocked by the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation."
"That will be enough."
"Eighteen pieces of hundred-thousand-year soul bones involving rules, along with four hundred and fifty ten-thousand-year soul bones serving as the formation's foundation, to draw in heaven-and-earth primal force and construct the array."
"This is the maximum reserve that the Star Dou Great Forest, the Extreme North, and Lan Fozi could provide. Any more would require killing soul beasts or soul masters."
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda trembled slightly...
"It's about to begin." Ning Rongrong's eyelids fluttered as her gaze turned toward the golden-haired woman in the direction of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. "Qian Renxue, don't disappoint me!"
"A breakthrough method that exhausts the entire foundation of all races like this can't be done a second time."
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda stood suspended in midair.
A hazy glow enveloped Qian Renxue's entire body. Under the buffs from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, her six-winged angel appeared even more radiant.
Sensing the coverage range of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, Qian Renxue couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
"Ning Rongrong really has so many tricks." A formation covering the entire planet—even in the fragmented memories left by the Angel God, she had never seen anything like it!
However, Qian Renxue also knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such things.
She took a deep breath, connecting to the linkage point of the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, and transmitted her voice through the array.
"Heaven and earth are undergoing strange changes. The Abyss world is about to invade the Douluo Continent. As a descendant of the Angel Clan and the Saintess of Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue, I will unhesitatingly defend the order of the continent."
"Whether soul beasts or humans, for the sake of our shared home, we should all set aside our prejudices and join hands against the enemy."
"May the Angel God protect (fool) you!"
As Qian Renxue's words fell, the six-winged angel statue emitted a gentle light.
The bewildered commoners and soul masters gradually regained their composure under the influence of this sacred aura.
"The Angel God has manifested!"
Throughout the Heaven Dou Empire, excited voices from commoners rang out.
The sky was falling.
What they feared most was having no one to hold it up.
They didn't know what the Abyss was—they only knew that the ceaseless lightning falling from the sky was being mysteriously blocked.
At the same time, Qian Renxue's gentle voice brought shock, making it seem as though all of this was brought about by the Angel God.
Countless commoners surged toward the statues of the Angel God—or rather, toward Qian Renxue—and began to kneel and pray.
Praying for peace and harmony!
Meanwhile, Spirit Hall and even the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had already deployed members to maintain order.
...
"I'm actually fooling people here!" Qian Renxue felt the continuous stream of faith power gathering from the statues. She could even sense the emotions of others.
This kind of "abundance" was something she hadn't seen in all these years.
Qian Renxue looked up at the sky. One bolt of lightning after another fell continuously, only to be absorbed by the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, then another fell and was absorbed again.
"Using the soul beasts' tribulation to collect faith." Qian Renxue inwardly complained, "Ning Rongrong, you have more potential to be a divine con artist than I do."
She, Qian Renxue, could never have thought of such a heartless and shameless method.
Suddenly, Qian Renxue seemed to sense something. Her gaze involuntarily shifted downward.
From the opened abyssal passage, strangely shaped abyssal creatures poured out—some resembling mantises, some like rats. In short, they looked extremely unappealing to the eye.
"The Abyss has arrived." Qian Renxue knew that the real show was about to begin.
The Star Luo Empire had already been sealed off. Only those holding Ning Rongrong's array disks could enter.
As the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation in the sky grew stronger, the barriers of the formation would also strengthen.
The lightning tribulation was the energy source for the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation.
Ning Rongrong suddenly appeared beside Qian Renxue, her voice calm: "Focus on your breakthrough. You don't need to worry about anything. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with you."
"Understood."
Qian Renxue nodded and once again entered deep cultivation.
How to condense a god position—Xue Di had already obtained some information about this from Bo Saixi previously.
In the books Bo Saixi gave during her last visit to the Extreme North, there were records of how Bo Saixi condensed her god position through faith, along with the precautions.
But what Qian Renxue wanted to do was not to follow the path of her predecessors. She intended to ignite the divine fire and, borrowing the Angel God's god position and faith, achieve God King.
A faint sword chime rang out. Ning Rongrong, who had been standing very calmly, transformed into white light.
She descended to low altitude.
"Abyss scum! This is not a place you should come to."
A faint surge of zhenqi flowed.
Encircling her surroundings, the Glazed Holy Sword erupted with a terrifying sword intent.
"Sword Technique—One Sword Frost Chills Nineteen Provinces!"
In an instant, the Star Luo Empire resembled snow in June. Countless snowflakes drifted down to the ground.
Sword qi tore through the void and landed amid the swarm of abyssal creatures pouring out like locusts.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
At a visible speed, the abyssal creatures turned into ice sculptures one after another. They fell to the ground like dumplings being dropped, shattering into powder.
The abyssal breach was directly frozen solid by extreme ice.
This scene was also broadcast live through the soul guidance devices that had been set up in advance, appearing on projection screens across the continent from every angle.
At the same time, the voice was transmitted across the continent via the soul guidance devices.
"I, Ning Rongrong, Young Sect Master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, stand in place of Imperial Teacher Ning Fengzhi to guard the path for Heaven Dou Emperor Qian Renxue until she emerges."
"I sincerely hope that all forces across the Douluo Continent will set aside their prejudices, join hands against the enemy, and completely eliminate the evil abyssal creatures."
"Hmph, a mere little brat thinks she can stop our Abyss."
"Overestimating yourself!"
A dark red light blade flew out from the abyssal passage, followed by a youth with a妖异 appearance, holding the Heavenly Saint Splitting Abyss Halberd.
Bang!
A trace of blood overflowed from the corner of Ning Rongrong's mouth as she retreated dozens of meters to block the blood-red energy.
"Listen well, natives of the Douluo plane!"
"The Abyss is unstoppable!"
As he spoke, he erupted with the terrifying aura of a first-level god.
Under the spread of his aura, the entire space slowly began to distort.
"Unstoppable? Abyss creature, do you think the Douluo Continent has no one capable?"
A blood-colored aura suddenly filled the sky and dove downward.
"Divine Skill—Eternal Creation!"
A sea of blood flooded the sky. The abyssal youth, who had only just steadied himself, retreated more than ten meters before blocking the charged strike.
"Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, represents Spirit Hall to guard the path for Spirit Hall Saintess Qian Renxue!"
"Hahaha, with you trash, you think you can stop the Abyss!"
"A mere second-level god, plus one human who doesn't even seem to be a god—what makes you think you can stop the Abyss?"
"Then how about adding us!"
Once again, two figures rapidly descended.
(End of chapter)