Primordial Era: Refusing Hongjun's path to sainthood, I attained the Dao of Hunyuan.

Chapter 170 The Transformation of One Qi into Three Pure Ones Occurs Again

Tongtian, leading his disciples, stepped forward to greet Laozi and bowed, saying, "Senior Brother has also arrived."

Laozi said, "Junior brother, now that I'm here, you should dismantle the formation. After all, the three of us jointly established the 'Investiture of the Gods' by order of our master. What you've done now is a violation of the will of Heaven. Not to mention, you were also violent yesterday, killing Guang Chengzi and the others right before their eyes. How can that be justified?"

Upon hearing this, Tongtian angrily retorted, "Senior brother, why do you only side with Yuanshi? You only know that I killed his disciples, but you don't know that he killed many of my disciples long ago. This time, setting up the formation here is also an act of revenge, but you went down the mountain for his sake and instead ordered me to withdraw the formation."

"If you want me to withdraw my troops, first have Yuanshi hand over all those under his command who killed my disciples so I can deal with them. Then I will let it go."

Lao Tzu shook his head and said, "How can I listen to your sophistry? Fine, since you've put on this show, let me see what you're capable of."

"Senior Brother, may we enter the formation?" Tongtian said, leading his disciples back into the formation.

Laozi then said to Yuanshi, "I will first enter the formation to see the truth of the matter." Yuanshi Tianzun nodded and did not stop him.

After all, he knew that Laozi controlled the Taiji Diagram, and this treasure could transform into a golden bridge, suppressing even earth, water, fire, and wind. Although the Zhuxian Sword Formation was fierce, it could not trap Laozi.

After a while, Laozi left Grand Master Xuandu behind and rode his green ox alone through the Immortal-Trapping Gate into the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

However, the Zhuxian Sword Formation was different from before. Previously, Tongtian had asked his four disciples to help set up the formation, but now, Tongtian was the only one sitting alone on the central high platform.

However, all four array gates were empty, and the four direct disciples—Daoist Duobao, Holy Mother Jinling, Holy Mother Wudang, and Zhao Gongming—were nowhere to be seen.

However, Tongtian considered that Laozi's cultivation was profound and that the four of them would be easily harmed if they were present. Therefore, he sent the four of them out of the formation and let him fight Laozi alone.

Laozi entered directly through the Immortal-Trapping Gate and found the great formation empty, with only Tongtian present. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Junior brother, although your Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation is brilliant, it ultimately originates from the Four Symbols. I have the Taiji Diagram; how could you not know the principles of mutual generation and restraint?"

Tongtian sneered, without answering, and unleashed a palm-sized thunderbolt from his hand. The loud sound shook the precious sword on the Immortal Trapping Gate.

As soon as the Immortal-Trapping Sword moved, a beam of sword light slashed towards Laozi.

Laozi neither dodged nor avoided it. Suddenly, a pagoda appeared above his head, with as many as forty-nine stories, which was exactly the number of the Heavenly Dao. It was the first treasure of merit, the Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.

Once the pagoda appeared, it remained unmoved, allowing the sword light of the Immortal-Trapping Sword to strike it, but it was as if a mud ox had entered the sea, leaving no sound.

Laozi laughed loudly, "Brother Tongtian, stop being so rude! Watch my flat cane!" He ignored everything else, urged the green ox, and went straight past the Immortal-Trapping Gate to the formation.

Laozi brandished a flat crutch and struck at Tongtian's face. Seeing Laozi move so freely as if he were in an empty space, Tongtian was furious and drew his Qingping Sword to parry the crutch.

The two sages fought fiercely in the chaos of the formation, exchanging blows back and forth, and the battle was incredibly intense.

Fortunately, it was within this great formation; otherwise, such a great battle across the Three Realms would have shattered the Three Realms after several rounds.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Laozi laughed at Tongtian and said, "You do not understand the ultimate Dao, so how can you presume to establish a religion?"

Another flat blow came straight at him.

Tongtian roared in fury, "What path do you have? You've only talked about inaction, what have you accomplished? Now that you're here, you can't even do inaction."

Upon hearing this, Lao Tzu couldn't help but feel angry. Although his expression remained unchanged, the flat cane in his hand became even heavier.

However, Tongtian, though not yet activating the formation, relied solely on his own strength to fight Laozi within it.

However, the great formation devours all spiritual energy within it, and whenever the two individuals' supernatural powers dissipate, they are also devoured by the great formation.

Ultimately, all of this feedback came back to Tongtian, which is why the longer the battle went on, the more energetic Tongtian became, and his strength did not diminish at all.

Therefore, Tongtian was not afraid of Laozi and fought him to a standstill.

Although Lao Tzu was not afraid of exhaustion, he did not want to prolong the battle. After fighting for many more rounds, he thought for a moment, then picked up the green ox and jumped out of the circle.

Then, he pushed up the fishtail crown, and three streams of energy emerged from the top, transforming into three Taoist priests: one old, one young, and one middle-aged.

But these are exactly the appearances of the Three Pure Ones.

Tongtian was not surprised when he saw this, as he had long known about Laozi's method of transforming Qi into the Three Pure Ones. He simply sneered, "Senior Brother, your method is outdated and can do nothing to me."

Lao Tzu said, "It's not that I can't do anything to you, I've just broken your formation. Without the support of this Immortal Slaughtering Formation, how can you act so recklessly?"

The three Daoist figures that Laozi transformed into each flew towards a different array gate, and Laozi himself also headed towards the Immortal Trapping Gate.

Tongtian feigned great distress, unleashing palm thunder in quick succession and shaking four swords, with streaks of sword light slicing down, yet he still could not stop Laozi and his three avatars.

Although the three avatars were in a sorry state, they still managed to reach the sword gates of the other three sects.

Laozi arrived first, summoned the Taiji Diagram, and immobilized the Trapping Immortal Sword. Seeing that the other three avatars had also arrived, he laughed and said, "Tongtian, watch me take your sword and break the great formation."

However, as soon as Lao Tzu finished speaking, before Tongtian could even reply, his expression changed.

It turned out that although he had frozen the Immortal-Trapping Sword in place, when he tried to retrieve it, the sword seemed to have taken root.

It was firmly fixed to the Immortal-Trapping Gate and could not be removed at all.

"How could this be?" Laozi was pondering this when, in an instant, the other three avatars screamed in agony.

Tongtian laughed heartily, and the swords on the four array gates shone brightly, unleashing a continuous barrage of thick sword light.

Lao Tzu himself was protected by the Xuanhuang Pagoda, so he was unharmed, but how could his three incarnations withstand it?

In just a few rounds, they were all shattered into dust, yet they still transformed into wisps of pure energy that flew back to the top of Laozi's head.

"Boom!"

The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation was fully activated, and Laozi felt dizzy as he was spun back to the center of the formation.

The four array gates surrounded him, and the four swords vibrated continuously, unleashing endless sword light that slashed wildly.

It struck so hard that the Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Exquisite Pagoda shook violently.

This first treasure of merit is known as having unparalleled defense, with defensive power surpassing even that of innate treasures. However, at this moment, it seems that it is not entirely invincible.

There is always the danger of being breached by the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.

While maintaining the formation with his magical power, Lao Tzu entered a state of detachment and tranquility. He opened his eyes and carefully observed the great formation.

At this moment, the Zhuxian Sword Formation was activated by Tongtian, and the space within the formation seemed to transform into a boundless chaotic universe.

The machine roared incessantly, unleashing endless sword energy. Its power was truly terrifying!

Finally, Lao Tzu seemed to have figured something out, and with a flick of his wrist, he took out the Tai Chi diagram, which transformed into a golden bridge.

With a whoosh, the golden bridge extended out, carrying Laozi away from the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.

"The Qiankun Cauldron, Nuwa's junior sister's Qiankun Cauldron, how come it's with you?" Laozi's voice finally came from outside the formation, echoing within the Zhuxian Sword Formation.

When Tongtian saw that Laozi had escaped, he stopped the great formation, and the endless sword energy also disappeared and was collected.

He shook his head slightly, a hint of regret in his voice.

Unexpectedly, Laozi still saw through the clues and discovered the Qiankun Cauldron. Otherwise, given more time, he could have completely trapped Laozi in the formation.

Unfortunately, the Taiji Diagram was too powerful, suppressing his Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, allowing Laozi to escape from the formation in an instant, which was impossible to stop.

(End of this chapter)