The Grand Hall Of Region Prince Jiang.
On the highest mountain peak that once stood between the two regions of Azure Cloud, a Grand hall had been raised. The original Jiang Chenghuan had once said that he wanted his Jiang family to endure for eternity. But if a family does not build its foundation high, how can it possibly last forever?
And now, the Grand Hall of Prince Jiang was receiving some special attention.
The Jiang family's grand formation had been activated, but high in the sky above, a dozen or so cultivators were floating, having already spent a great deal of time trying to break it.
An old man was using the art of Go to break the array. Black and white game pieces continuously fell upon the Jiang family's six Rank 5 grand formations, and he was already on the verge of shattering the foundations of three of them.
The old man was a Rank 5 Formation Master.
But besides this man, there were three others in the sky.
One of them was a woman who seemed to have descended from the heavens. She was dressed in simple elegance, like a pure white snow lotus.
As she floated in the air, one could see the white, embroidered cloth shoes on her feet. Her white robes were unadorned, and the only ornament on her hands was a single storage ring.
Her face was pure, and her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, unburdened by the accessories other women might wear.
She was not stunning at first glance, but the longer one looked, the more pleasing to the eye she became.
She was like a sheltered young lady from a noble house. But the Skynet agents dared not underestimate this seemingly frail woman, for she was none other than the infamous Miss Dongfang Xuan of the Dongfang family.
It was because of this woman that the great Dongfang family would not be able to recover its strength for the next thousand years.
Dongfang Xuan had not spoken a word since arriving in the Azure Cloud Region. S
he simply stood with her head raised slightly toward the heavens, her brow furrowed in a deep frown.
She had yet to make a move, and it was unclear what she was so wary of.
As for the other two, one of them had a majestic air about him.
He sat upon a large, golden throne, dressed in golden robes. His every movement was graceful, like an emperor among mortals. Beneath his throne, a massive formation diagram slowly rotated, adding to his imposing presence.
An ordinary person would not be able to help but bow their head before him.
The final person was an old, decrepit man leaning on a cane. His clothes were worn, and he looked like a kind-faced old grandfather from a farming village. A small bronze bell hung from his cane, swaying silently in the wind.
The man on the golden throne looked leisurely toward the great hall, at the middle-aged man who also sat upon a throne.
For some reason, the sight of the ruler of Azure Cloud Region, Jiang Chenghuan, sitting there in his black armor, left Han Yun feeling deeply annoyed.
He was especially irritated by the way the ruler of Azure Cloud Region remained so calm and unconcerned despite being surrounded by their Skynet forces, looking as if victory were already in his grasp.
Inside the Grand Hall of Prince Jiang, there were thirty-four Nascent Soul cultivators, and only two were at the Divinity Transformation realm.
Of those two, only the Jiang family's ancestor, Jiang Ning, had a respectable cultivation level. The rest were useless!
"This Region Prince, Jiang Chenghuan, has grown accustomed to lording it over this insignificant region. Does he really think he can face me, Han Yun, just by relying on a few Rank 5 spiritual arrays?"
A smirk played on Han Yun's lips as he shouted at the old man breaking the array, "Old Daoist Poxu, how much longer are you going to take with this formation? If you've gotten too old for this, you might as well get the hell out of Skynet and stop embarrassing yourself in front of me!"
"Ah, hehe…"
The old man breaking the array wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Not daring to say more, he gave an awkward smile and continued his work.
He cursed under his breath, "Only knows how to throw his weight around with a little old man like me. If you're so tough, why don't you try that with Dongfang Xuan? You damned coward, bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"
"Alright, that's enough."
The old man leaning on his cane smiled faintly.
"Han Yun, our Fellow Daoist Poxu's skill with formations is rare indeed, but this is a six-layered grand formation, after all. It is impressive that he can break it at all, so why pressure him?
Besides, his true expertise lies in laying arrays, not breaking them.
He once spent a century laying an array on the Northern Border that killed countless members of the Demon Clan. If he hadn't violated military law, how would he have ended up in prison and become one of us? So, treat him with a little more respect."
Hearing this, Han Yun remained motionless but glanced at the old man whose white hair danced in the wind.
He gave a cold snort. "Old Man, you never reveal any of your true abilities. If I had someone like you under my command back when I was a Prefecture Lord, you would have died a violent death long ago!"
That was his name—Old Man. Han Yun had joined Skynet but still knew nothing of the old man's background, only that the old bastard was ranked sixth, one spot above him.
"But you can't be a Prefecture Lord anymore, can you?"
The Old Man let out a hearty laugh. "As a Prefecture Lord, you managed to get all the cultivators of Twinroads Prefecture to unite against you. They nearly started a rebellion. If the Void Refining experts hadn't been showing deference to your official position, they would have taken your life long ago. If you ask me, an official post just isn't fundamentally incompatible with you. As for your ambitions to be a king…"
The Old Man looked Han Yun up and down. "Don't bother with such things. If you don't have the destiny for it, then don't dream the dream. Take a word of advice from an old man like me; it'll do you no harm."
"You!"
Han Yun was furious but didn't dare to speak his mind. Skynet's rankings were based on cultivation strength, but this old man was different.
He had been inconspicuous in Skynet until the day the previous sixth-ranked member decided to provoke him for no good reason.
The result… the Old Man became the new number six.
The Old Man paid Han Yun no mind and turned to Dongfang Xuan. Of all the people in Skynet, he only held a measure of respect for her and the God of War.
He spoke in a gentle voice, "Young Lady Dongfang, you seem unusually calm today. Is it because of those explosions we heard?"
The Old Man also looked up toward the heavens.
The moment he heard those explosions, he had a bad feeling.
"Mm."
Dongfang Xuan acknowledged him. Her bright eyes gleamed. "Prince Qian has fallen into a trap, and we are all in it with him. I have foreseen it. Senior Baimei of Azure Mist Mountain does not have long to live."
"What?!!"
The Old Man's brow furrowed, while Han Yun's face contorted with rage.
"I said it long ago! Prince Qian is a useless piece of trash! We should have killed him and had my body double take his place!"
As he spoke, his golden throne began to turn, ready to depart.
But Dongfang Xuan shook her head. "We can no longer leave."
She could see it.
High above in the sky, the soul of a woman was drifting toward them.
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