Rebirth of Nezha in the Investiture of the Gods

After meeting Nuwa, Tongtian immediately distanced themselves from Yuan Shi and the others, diving deeper into the great formation.

Now that the only threat capable of breaking the formation had been eliminated, it was only natural to unleash the formation's full potential. Facing Yuan Shi and the others head-on was clearly not the optimal strategy.

Among those present, the weakest were Saints, and they all understood this principle. Tongtian knew they understood, just as Yuan Shi and the others knew as well.

Thus, the moment Yuan Shi saw Tongtian and Nuwa with the intention of slipping away, he recklessly drove the Pangu Banner into action.

The Pangu Banner, being one of the three treasures of creation, was immensely powerful. The most terrifying aspect of this treasure was its ability to release Chaos Sword Qi.

There was no need to elaborate on how formidable Chaos Sword Qi was; it was an attack even Saints had to evade. Even Tongtian could only wield such an attack through the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation, while Yuan Shi could directly utilize it through the Pangu Banner.

This alone demonstrated the heaven-defying power of the Pangu Banner. Of course, it also came with limitations. After all, it was only a magical treasure, not a formation, so it could not release Chaos Sword Qi without restrictions. Given Yuan Shi's current cultivation, he could at most release three Chaos Sword Qi attacks.

Unlike the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation, which could be used at will, if the Pangu Banner had no limitations, Yuan Shi would have been invincible in the Primordial World.

After all, magical treasures were far less restricted than formations, which was why the Heavenly Dao was impartial, granting neither absolute advantages nor disadvantages.

Tongtian faced the incoming Chaos Sword Qi and remained unflustered. What of Chaos Sword Qi?

"Yuan Shi, you disregard the bonds of the Three Pure Ones and invite these two outsiders from the West to assist you. Take this sword of mine first!"

With a swing of the Qingping Sword, Tongtian unleashed a green streak of light, directly clashing with the Chaos Sword Qi.

The two Sword Qis collided, and there was no doubt that Chaos Sword Qi absolutely dominated over Tongtian's Qingping Sword. However, Tongtian and Nuwa seized this opportunity to slip away.

Yuan Shi was about to pursue but was stopped by Laozi. "Junior Brother, don't be impulsive; breaking the formation should come first!"

"Senior Brother, you may be right, but the four disciples I ordered to extract the swords have already been sent out of the formation by Nuwa. Even if we can stabilize the four swords, we still cannot break the formation in one go. Why not settle this with Tongtian directly?"

Yuan Shi's words were not without reason. With four Saints gathered here, even confronting the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation head-on was not an unwinnable scenario.

"Junior Brother, you are mistaken. If the formation can be directly broken, then breaking it must be the priority. Watch this higher technique of mine!"

Laozi gave a deliberately profound smile, and three streams of pristine air swirled around him—One Qi Becomes Three Pure Ones!

The Three Pure Ones manifested as avatars out of thin air, introducing themselves to the gathered Daoists. Their appearance was just as shocking as when Tongtian first witnessed One Qi Becomes Three Pure Ones.

"Your great technique, Daoist. I, too, have an avatar to assist you in retrieving the swords!"

The leader among them, Jie Yin, whose cultivation was second only to Laozi, was the first to regain composure. Seeing through the intricacies of Laozi's Daoist Skill, he created an avatar of his own.

"I, Bao Chuan, greet the esteemed Daoists!"

The avatar Jie Yin conjured was benevolent yet imposing, embodying two starkly contrasting temperaments in perfect harmony.

"Splendid—Daoist Bao Chuan, please! Let us proceed to retrieve the swords!"

Taiqing's avatar cast a meaningful look at Bao Chuan, then stepped forward first, while the other three each headed toward a different Sword Gate.

On the Eight Diagram Platform, Tongtian's face turned grim at the sight of this scene. He had not expected Laozi to be so shameless—not only aiming to dismantle his Slaying Immortal Sword Formation but also jeopardizing the very foundation of his Jie Sect.

One must understand, the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation was the supreme treasure of the Jie Sect. If the four swords were taken, what face would he have left as the leader of the Jie Sect?

"Senior Brother, what shall we do?"

Nuwa, despite being a Saint, was still a woman. In this critical moment, she found it hard to make a firm decision and turned to Tongtian for guidance.

"Junior Sister, I must trouble you to confront the avatars of Senior Brother Laozi. As for me, I will take on the other four directly—victory or defeat is yet to be determined!"

Tongtian sneered coldly. Laozi's move ultimately boiled down to two objectives.

If Tongtian sent Nuwa to deal with the avatars, he would be left alone and would surely be overwhelmed by four-to-one odds.

If Tongtian chose not to let Nuwa confront the avatars, the four swords would be seized anyway. Defeat would be inevitable, and the loss of the Slaying Immortal Four Swords would be something Tongtian could never tolerate.

It had to be said—Laozi truly understood Tongtian's mindset. And indeed, anyone in Tongtian's position would likely make the same choice.

Nuwa, following Tongtian's instructions, moved to deal with the avatars. Simultaneously, Tongtian unleashed Palm Thunder, and the Slaying Immortal Formation surged with a boiling fervor—a boundless mist of crimson light began to spread!

This crimson mist was no mere illusion—it was Sha Qi!

It was no wonder the Slaying Immortal Formation was hailed as one of the Primordial World's Three Great Arrays. This credit was largely owed to the presence of Sha Qi. In times of great catastrophe, the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation became exponentially more powerful.

This was because the formation could absorb Sha Qi from catastrophes to empower itself. When Tongtian deployed it at this moment, the calamity had not yet peaked, and neither had the formation's power.

If it had, Laozi's avatars would not have dared to take even a single step inside the formation.

One only needed to recall the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity. When Luo Hou wielded the Slaying Immortal Sword Formation back then, it required the joint effort of four near-Saint-level experts, including Hong Jun, to break it. In the end, only Hong Jun survived.

And that was only because of Hong Jun's abundant magical treasures. Had he not had that advantage, Luo Hou might very well have triumphed.

Why was this the case?

The Dragon-Phoenix Calamity had accumulated a peak of disastrous fate at that time. Deploying the Slaying Immortal Formation under such conditions amplified its power to the utmost extreme.

The mist roiled, the killing aura surged. Tongtian summoned four streams of Chaos Sword Qi in succession, concealing them within the crimson mist, directing them toward Laozi and the others.

Laozi, sensing the Sha Qi, immediately knew something was amiss. Tongtian had begun counterattacking, so he promptly summoned the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Linglong Tower.

Jie Yin also brought out the Twelve-Petal Golden Lotus of Merit for defense. Tongtian's concealed Chaos Sword Qi became two merged streams, aiming directly at Zhunti and Yuan Shi.

Meanwhile, Nuwa managed to intercept Laozi's and Jie Yin's avatars. Though these were only avatars, they were no weaker than their original selves.

Even in the face of Saints, they showed no signs of retreat. After all, their main bodies were among the most formidable Saints.

The term "Saint" held no particular deterrent for them.

"Three Talents Dao Formation!"

Taiqing let out a cold cry as the Three Pure Ones avatars assumed positions according to the Three Talents alignment, forming a formidable array.

"Daoist Nuwa, listen to my advice—retreat swiftly!"

Bao Chuan urged kindly, his hands unraised, yet countless Illusion Realms began to unfold without limit.