Sovereign of the Ashes

Cultivators of the Jie Sect excelled in formations.

In addition to the battle formations arranged beforehand by the Magus Civilization on the battlefield at the border of the Grand Cosmic World’s star domain, the cultivators of the Jie Sect had directly deployed their sect’s greatest formation, the Myriad Immortals Formation!

Against the Amenkha Empire, the Jie Sect had brought everything it had.

The Three Poles Formation formed by Celestial Venerable Duobao and the others was essentially a smaller formation operating within the Myriad Immortals Formation.

In truth, the Jie Sect’s most powerful battle formation was created by combining the Myriad Immortals Formation with the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Hailed as the deadliest formation in the Immortal Realm, it stood alongside the Yao Clan’s Heavenly Star Grand Formation and the Wu Tribe’s Twelve Capitals Gods Grand Formation as one of the Immortal Realm’s three greatest formations.[3]

Unfortunately, after the fall of Sect Master Tongtian, the four Immortal-Slaying Swords were either damaged or lost. Without them, the once-mighty formation gradually faded into the history of the Immortal Realm.

Even so, the Three Poles Formation was not to be underestimated. Celestial Venerable Duobao, the Golden Spirit Mother, and the Bull King served as its three main formation nodes.

In terms of individual strength, these three Rank Eight sages were not necessarily stronger than Vivian, the Fire Phoenix, and the Cosmic King.

However, with the formation reinforcing and linking their power, the three were able to confront Makhast head-on while he remained in his second unsealed state.

“What the hell is this?” Makhast threw a punch, intending to break the formation through brute force.

The blow had originally been aimed at Celestial Venerable Duobao. However, under the influence of the formation, its trajectory suddenly shifted toward Bull King.

“MOO!”

A thunderous bellow burst from the Bull King’s mouth.

For him to cry out in his mother tongue, one could only imagine how painful Makhast’s punch must have been!

A massive fist-shaped imprint appeared across the Bull King’s belly.

Wisps of black mist seeped from the cracks across his skin, spreading everywhere.

No matter how thick or resilient the old bull’s hide was, it could not fully withstand Makhast’s brutal strike.

While the Bull King endured the blow, Celestial Venerable Duobao and the Golden Spirit Mother attacked from opposite flanks with perfect timing.

Celestial Venerable Duobao wielded a heavy square seal that had reached the level of a low-tier world-class secret treasure.

It was a replica he had forged based on the Chan Sect’s renowned innate spiritual treasure, the Heaven Overturning Seal.

As his name suggested, Celestial Venerable Duobao was exceptionally skilled in artifact forging.[1]

Although the replica could not compare to the genuine Heaven Overturning Seal, it was still a world-class secret treasure that had been forged using materials from Mount Buzhou in Primordial World.

Perhaps because he possessed so many treasures, Celestial Venerable Duobao seemed to regard even an artifact of this level as nothing particularly remarkable.

He wielded the replica of the Heaven Overturning Seal without the slightest hesitation.

Against Makhast, he poured his full sage power into the seal, determined to inflict as much damage as possible, even if it meant destroying the world-class secret treasure in the process!

The massive seal hurtled straight toward Makhast’s head.

Just before impact, it expanded into a towering mountain range that stretched beyond the limits of sight.

Yes, Venerable Duobao had created this spiritual treasure by refining the largest mountain range of a large-sized plane.

Driven by his immense sage power, the mountain range descended with enough force to destroy an entire medium-sized plane.

Yet in the face of such a terrifying attack, Makhast merely raised his fist and punched upward.

BOOM!

Violent tremors shook the surrounding space as waves of power swept out in every direction.

Vast sections of the mountain range immediately began to collapse. Countless immortal runes flared across its surface, but even they could not halt the destruction.

Under the might of Makhast’s second unsealed form, the replica of the Heaven Overturning Seal actually began to split apart from the center!

What terrifying power!

Despite his shock, Celestial Venerable Duobao did not hesitate for even a moment.

Under his control, the enormous mountain range continued bearing down on its target.

Even if this acquired spiritual treasure was destroyed here, Celestial Venerable Duobao had no intention of withdrawing it.

At the same time, the Golden Spirit Mother transformed into a massive golden phoenix.

With a piercing screech, she swept forward, her razor-sharp wings slashing directly toward Makhast’s cheek.

For members of the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and similar races, their bodies were often their most formidable treasures.

The Golden Spirit Mother was a female cultivator with a remarkably fierce and aggressive fighting style.

While the three Rank Eight cultivators of the Jie Sect kept Makhast occupied, intense battles erupted across the other fronts.

The main force confronting the Rank Eight imperial general was Zhao Gongming of the Jie Sect.

Although he bore the title of “God of Wealth,” Zhao Gongming’s combat strength was not to be underestimated.

Despite still being at Rank Seven, he was able to exchange blows with a Rank Eight opponent.

This was partly due to the support of the Myriad Immortals Formation, but Zhao Gongming’s own strength played an equally important role.

The twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls in his possession radiated dazzling divine light.

In truth, however, this world-class secret treasure was incomplete. The remaining twelve Sea-Calming Pearls were currently in the possession of the Lamp-Bearing Buddha of the Buddhist faction.

Zhao Gongming of the Jie Sect and the Lamp-Bearing Buddha had first become enemies because of these very treasures.

Although incomplete, the twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls, when gathered together, still possessed the power of a mid-tier world-class secret treasure.

Each time they struck the Rank Eight imperial general, vast waves of necromantic and dark energy erupted from his body.

“I may despise those Buddhist monks, but I have to admit that their methods would probably be more effective against these evil creatures of the Amenkha Empire.”

After whipping the strand of Sea-Calming Pearls once more, Zhao Gongming could not help but sigh.

“Ah... If only my little sisters were here. With the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array, the four of us could have easily suppressed this monster.”

At the thought of his three younger sisters, the middle-aged-looking man’s expression darkened.

For more than a hundred thousand years, he had never truly escaped that grief.

He had exhausted every means at his disposal to send a sliver of Yunxiao’s divine soul and true spirit into the Reincarnation Underworld.[2]

Yet even now, he did not know whether he would ever have the chance to see his sisters again.

Besides Zhao Gongming, those battling the Rank Eight Imperial General included Emperor Chen Gou of the East Pole, Jiaoming of the Phoenix Clan, and a Rank Seven knight from Magus World.

However, Emperor Chen Gou had just been sent flying by a single strike from Makhast. So, for the moment, most of the pressure fell upon Zhao Gongming and the others.

Elsewhere, the Great Sages of the Yao Clan brought by the Bull King were locked in battle with the monster kings of the Amenkha Empire.

Among overlord-level beings, these Great Sages were not particularly powerful.

However, they all shared one outstanding trait. As members of the Yao Clan, they each possessed an exceptionally formidable lawful body!

One after another, the Great Sages of the Yao Clan revealed their true forms and charged directly at the monster kings.

From a distance, they looked like a group of colossal beasts beating each other senseless.

As the higher-ranking powerhouses clashed, the lower-ranking legions were also locked in fierce combat.

While the cultivators of the Jie Sect relied on the Myriad Immortals Formation to repel the enemy, the creatures of the Yao Clan relied on sheer numbers.

Although the Golden Spirit Mother had brought only a small number of Phoenix Clan members, each phoenix was accompanied by numerous renowned spiritual birds and divine fowls of the Immortal Realm.

As the former rulers of the skies in Primordial World, several of these spiritual birds had already reached the peak of the Quasi Sage Realm. Their performance on the battlefield was especially striking.

With Makhast’s arrival, the fierce melee finally erupted in full force.

As for the Gluttonous Snake Overlord, it had only just been teleported back here and had yet to comprehend how drastically the situation had changed.

For a moment, it could do nothing but stare blankly at the battle unfolding before it.

1. Translator’s Recap from Chapter 1839: Duobao actually means “many treasures”, so this character’s name is actually Celestial Venerable of Many Treasures! ☜

2. Fun Fact: Zhao Yunxiao (Lady of the Cloud Firmament) is worshipped as a goddess of childbirth in Chinese folk religion. She is the oldest of the Holy Mothers of Three Skies. ☜

3. Important Translator’s Note: The Wu Tribe here refers to the group from Primordial World. Yes, they were previously translated as the “shamans“. The character “Wu” can be translated as shaman/sorcerer/witch, which was why I originally chose “shaman”. However, after doing more research into a future character, I realized that “shaman” isn’t really the best term for them. Going forward, I’ve decided to keep “Wu” untranslated. I’ll share more about the Wu Tribe and their lore in a future chapter. For now, please accept my apologies for not researching this thoroughly enough when the term first appeared! Thankfully, this term change mainly affects Chapter 1865, which has already been fixed. ☜