The peacock is an Innate Divine Spirit, akin to the Heaven-Opening Divine Spirits of the Primordial World, such as Nvwa and the Eastern Emperor.
"The origin of the Immortal Dao comes from the Thirty-Three Heavens; it seems that I shall have to journey there in the future," Zhang Chen pondered silently.
"What are your plans next?" the Innate Peacock looked at Zhang Chen.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen contemplated for a moment before speaking, "Now that you've possessed Monk Hai Chan, if you were to mingle among the crowd, would those people see through it?"
The peacock chuckled proudly, "You underestimate me. Although my cultivation is weakened after possessing Monk Hai Chan, they might suspect something, but what of it? Can they unravel the means of this old ancestor? I have my ways to conceal myself. It's just that I've just been reborn through possession, and should a fight break out, I might have no choice but to flee like a rat."
After hearing the Innate Peacock's words, Zhang Chen smiled, "If you can lure those outside ancestors into the formation, that would be ideal. Killing two or three of them will surely make the others frantic, leading to a fight to the death with the Longevity Ancestor."
"Leave that task to me!" The Innate Peacock smiled mysteriously, then picked up the golden bowl from the yellow sand and said to Zhang Chen, "Return the Vajra Pestle to me, it will serve as my means of protection."
Zhang Chen stretched his hand towards the yellow sand, which churned and flowed, revealing the Vajra Pestle in his grasp.
The Innate Peacock took the Vajra Pestle and then caressed the golden bowl, "Release the great formation and let me out, await my good news."
After saying this, the Innate Peacock turned and dashed out of the formation, leaving Zhang Chen standing inside, silently watching the departing back of Monk Hai Chan.
Meanwhile, the outside ancestors exchanged glances, each pair of eyes fixated on the Innate Grand Array, all at a loss and unable to act.
The Nine Bends Yellow River Array was extraordinarily strange; even those who had entered the Fruit Realm dared not rush into it without caution.
As the atmosphere grew tense and the situation seemed to spiral out of control, suddenly the array's yellow sands roiled and Monk Hai Chan, bedraggled and in tattered clothes, shot out of the Nine Bends Yellow River Array.
Seeing Monk Hai Chan emerge, the ancestors were overjoyed and quickly rushed forward, "Dao Brother Hai Chan, how are you?"
Beside them, the Longevity Ancestor also wore a look of relief. Since Monk Hai Chan appeared, he could clear his name and reclaim the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror.
"Fellow Daoists, you must seek justice for me!" The moment Monk Hai Chan emerged from the array, he started to falsely accuse, "That Longevity Thief Dao tried to harm me, striking me into the array to use it to annihilate me. But thanks to an Immortal True Spirit's guidance, I managed to find the escape path and fled."
Hearing Monk Hai Chan's words, the ancestors' hearts skipped a beat, turning to glare at the Longevity Ancestor, their expressions dark. The East Profound Ancestor stared at the Longevity Ancestor, "Changsheng, what do you have to say now?"
The Longevity Ancestor glared angrily at Ancestor Hai Chan, "How dare you lie with your eyes open? You clearly stole the Heaven and Earth Treasure Mirror and lured me here to frame me, yet you dare spout such nonsense?"
"Even if I were to frame you, I wouldn't throw myself into the Innate Grand Array." Monk Hai Chan's voice was filled with anger, "The formation is exceedingly dangerous; without the guidance of an Immortal True Spirit, how could I have possibly broken through? If you say I framed you, does that mean I no longer care for my own life?"
With these words, the Longevity Ancestor's expression turned colder, "Ha, thief shouting to catch a thief, you set up the formation yourself; of course, you wouldn't fear its power!"
The Innate Peacock spoke with a face of sorrow, "This formation is extremely perilous, capable of obliterating one's cultivation. I've already fallen from the 'Fruit' realm to the eleventh tier; am I also pretending?"
The ancestors had sensed something was off when 'Monk Hai Chan' emerged from the array; his aura was extremely weak. Now, hearing 'Monk Hai Chan's words, that his cultivation was stripped?
They hurried forward to check, discovering Monk Hai Chan's cultivation was indeed diminished, his aura chaotic and pitiful.
A Fruit Realm expert fell from their position, lost cultivation—if this was truly a frame-up, none of the ancestors present could imagine achieving such a feat.
Already biased, the ancestors believed the Longevity Ancestor was the schemer, thus immediately trusting Monk Hai Chan's account.
Seeing the cultivation-diminished Monk Hai Chan, the Longevity Ancestor's pupils shrank as he finally sensed something was amiss. Even if Monk Hai Chan schemed against him, it shouldn't involve sacrificing his own cultivation—that price was too steep. Falling in realms, regaining cultivation would be arduous. Even though he sensed something wrong, he was too entrenched to untangle the mess in a short time.
Facing the fierce gazes thrown by everyone, and looking at Ancestor Hai Chan whose cultivation had plummeted, Ancestor Changsheng already knew that no matter what he said, the others would not believe a single word.
"Things have come to this point, what need is there to explain? It's simply that the clear will remain clear, and the muddied will remain muddied. If you fellow Daoists trust me, I will definitely find out the truth and give you an explanation. If you don't trust me, then please leave the mountain, as Five Villages Temple does not welcome you." After saying this, Ancestor Changsheng flicked his sleeve and turned around abruptly to leave.
At this point, what else could he say? He knew that even with a thousand words, facing Ancestor Hai Chan, whose cultivation had mysteriously been diminished, he was unable to open his mouth to explain.
The ancestors watched the back of Ancestral Master Changsheng as he left, all with looks of anger on their faces, but then Ancestor Xuanji said, "Clearly, it's this scoundrel who secretly plotted against us, wanting to calculate against us, and after being exposed, he still acts so high and mighty. Truly a bastard! Now Daoist Hai Chan is the victim, and with both evidence and testimony present, he still refuses to admit it. How could I have been so blind as to know him!"
"Hai Chan, what exactly happened? Tell us in detail," Ancestor Fu Lu asked from the side.
Ancestor Hai Chan showed a look of trauma: "The grand array behind us is called the Nine Bends Yellow River Array. Once caught inside, one's cultivation will surely be obliterated, reduced to mere mortal flesh. That Longevity Thief Dao secretly plotted against me, lured me here, and caught me off guard, pushing me into the array. Fortunately, the Immortal True Spirit woke temporarily to guide me out, yet it's a pity that the spirit awoke too late and my years of cultivation were mostly obliterated, reduced to nothing."
At this time, Monk Hai Chan seemed genuinely emotional, standing there weeping bitterly, his performance truly top-notch in the world.
Seeing Monk Hai Chan weeping, everyone felt a mix of emotions and did not know how to comfort him.
"Don't worry, we will definitely seek justice for you," Fairy Dongqian said.
"Indeed, since he has betrayed us, we cannot let it go at that," said one of the Three Immortals from Overseas.
"Fellow Daoists, that Longevity Thief Dao has obtained an immortal's legacy, holding various secret treasures. If we wish to 'reason' with him, this grand array must be broken! This array can obliterate one's cultivation, and if we fall and are thrown into the array, it will be a dead end!" Ancestor Hai Chan lamented.
"We can't see through this array, how do we break it?" Ancestor Xuanji asked.
"I received guidance from the Immortal True Spirit, there is a way to break the array. I wonder if you, fellow Daoists, dare enter the array with me to help break it? This array is extremely vicious and can't be broken without the combined efforts of you all!" Monk Hai Chan said.
Hearing this, several people felt a bit hesitant, as the situation made everyone uneasy and there was distrust among the ancestors.
Ancestor Hai Chan's eyes swept over the crowd subtly, then he said again, "This Nine Bends Yellow River Array contains a peculiar power that can only be refined and absorbed through our joint efforts, seizing the creation of this array. That strange power can obliterate one's cultivation; if we want to suppress Ancestor Changsheng, we must utilize this power."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, hesitating and standing in front of the array with hesitation on their faces.
"I say, if we don't use the power of the array, how can we be a match for the Longevity Thief Dao in the Qingcheng Mountain Range? Now that the thief has set his sights on us, even if we wish to stop, he will not let it go easily," Monk Hai Chan, seeing everyone's hesitation, said provokingly, "Even if we hand over the Immortal True Spirit, now that things have come to this point, will he let us go? If we leave the mountain now, who can stop the Immortal Slaying Sword? It's better to join forces and end all troubles up the mountain."
Upon these words, the ancestors looked at each other, all having cultivated for tens of thousands of years, were all strong-willed and decisive people. Seeing the miserable state of Ancestor Hai Chan, they all realized there was no retreat, so they gritted their teeth and nodded in agreement with Monk Hai Chan's proposal.
Only Moonlight Fairy asked again, "I must ask, do you really have the means to break the array? If you can't break the array, we will all be lost."
"Since I could come out, how could I not know how to break the array?" Monk Hai Chan said confidently.
Hearing Monk Hai Chan's reassurance, the ancestors all nodded: "If so, we will go with you."
Monk Hai Chan nodded, "Fellow Daoists, follow me into the array."
Inside the array
Zhang Chen watched the commotion outside, frowning: "The peacock has tricked everyone in, who do I rely on to kill Ancestor Changsheng later?"
But seeing everyone had been persuaded, he couldn't stop it and could only let everyone walk in.
As everyone walked into the endless yellow sand, suddenly a sigh came from the sand: "Peacock, you've tricked everyone, who will help me restrain the Longevity Thief Dao?"