Please be my partner.

As the saying goes...

When a king changes his surname and receives the mandate, he must be cautious at the beginning.

Change the calendar, change the clothes, trace the origin of heaven, and follow its will.

This "Tianyuan" can also be called the origin and beginning of all things.

There was no need for Mr. Bai to continue moving. The white and black pieces fell onto the chessboard one after another, and the speed became faster and faster.

The chessboard grew larger and larger, already exceeding nineteen lines in length and width. Against the backdrop of black and white chess pieces, it formed a splendid picture of mountains and rivers, as if to hold the whole world in its palm.

The large formation set up by the four forces was influenced by the Splendid Mountains and Rivers Picture and was uncontrollably integrated into it, giving the original ink painting scroll an extra magnificent brilliance.

The only thing that seems out of place in this painting is the Jinding Mountain, which emits brilliant golden light.

After a moment of silence, Bai Lao sighed and said softly, "I'm sorry, old friend, this is also for the sentient beings in the Mountain and Sea Realm."

In the background of the scroll, the chessboard makes a slight vibration, as if it is comforting and nostalgic.

Bai Lao's eyes closed slightly, and when he opened them again, he had regained his usual calmness and indifference, and shouted softly, "Break!"

Suddenly, crisscrossing lines appeared on the painting of mountains and rivers, and even the sky and the earth seemed to be cut apart.

Amidst a series of rumbling sounds, the chessboard shattered and the scroll was torn apart.

At this moment, Jinding Mountain seemed to have suffered unprecedented damage. The light became extremely dim, and countless cracks appeared in the outer mountain protection formation, and were still spreading rapidly.

"Buzz!~"

Without any earth-shattering movement, the protective formation of Jinding Mountain collapsed bit by bit, revealing the nine layers of heaven and earth within it.

Emperor Huanglong immediately looked at Old Bai, hesitantly saying, "Old Bai, your life-saving magic weapon..."

The others also looked at it at the same time. They all knew that the black and white chessboard was Bai Lao's natal magic weapon, and it was also a top-level treasure of the formation. It was a precious thing that Bai Lao had held since he entered the Tao.

And now, in order to break the protective formation of Jinding Mountain, he actually blew himself up.

Of course, from this perspective, it is enough to reflect the preciousness of the black and white chessboard and Mr. Bai's attainments in formation.

Bai Lao's aura had become extremely weak at this moment, and he couldn't even float. He fell back to the ground and sat cross-legged, waving his hands slightly and saying with a smile: "It's okay, it's just an external thing."

"Everyone, don't forget what you promised me before."

Emperor Huanglong said in a deep voice: "I will definitely not let Elder Bai down!"

Chapter 582 Delay

Watching Bai Lao's aura slowly dissipate, Emperor Huanglong sighed, then his eyes became firm and he shouted, "Farewell, Bai Lao!"

"Congratulations to Mr. Bai!"

"Congratulations to Mr. Bai!"

"..."

At this moment, the momentum of the four forces reached its peak. Under the command of their respective top masters, they rushed towards the Jinding Mountain in the sky, which had lost its protection.

Although Jinding Mountain has lost its mountain protection formation, it is itself a treasure with the ability to distort space. It is impossible to rush directly to the top layer from the outside. No matter where you enter Jinding Mountain, you will only appear at the first layer at the bottom and need to climb up layer by layer.

Therefore, for the elite forces from all four directions, the moment they enter Jinding Mountain is the most dangerous, because they will be dispersed and teleported to random areas on the first floor.

But, to their surprise, there were no expected enemies or traps on the first floor.

After the four forces gathered together, they began to climb up layer by layer. They were unstoppable along the way and almost... no, it should be said that they encountered no decent resistance at all. It was basically the original arrangement of Jinding Mountain.

However, when they reached the fifth floor, something changed.

As a place for spiritual practice, Jinding Mountain naturally possesses all the functions of a mountain gate, and even more.

In the past, every time Jinding Mountain appeared in the world, it would lead a group of people into it to take the entrance test, and the test location was part of the area divided from the first to the fifth floor.

The fifth level tests one's comprehension on the surface, but secretly it also tests one's luck. After all, the roads in the fog are chosen randomly. If the skills recorded in the area one arrives at are more in line with one's own, it will be easier to pass the test and get better results.

Melen did not set up any obstacles in the areas from the first to the fourth floor. Because of the existence of the test area, these floors were like a sieve with passages everywhere.

The fifth level is the final stage of the test, and there are only a few fixed ascending channels, which makes it easier to make arrangements and also makes it easier for him to concentrate the power in his hands.

After completing the fifth level test, you will be officially admitted to Jinding Mountain.

The high tower area on the sixth floor is a training area set up by the semi-immortal strongmen of Jinding Mountain. Disciples of Jinding Mountain can choose which lineage to join in this area.

The seventh floor is the residence of the semi-immortal masters and core disciples of Jinding Mountain.

Normally, only disciples who meet certain conditions are eligible to enter the sixth level. New disciples do not have this opportunity.

Unless one is truly gifted enough to obtain the status of a core disciple upon entry; or one has a strong enough background, such as a semi-immortal ancestor.

Of course, this was in the past. Now Jinding Mountain is no longer managed. As long as you can pass the assessment on the fifth level, you can climb the tower directly. No one will care anyway.

After gaining control of the Golden Summit Mountain formation, Nasus focused on modifying the rules of the fifth layer, aiming to turn it into the first line of defense against the four forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

When Old Bai broke the Jinding Mountain protection formation by self-destructing his own magic weapon and sacrificing himself, Melen immediately felt it.

Although this was beyond Mellen's expectations, he remained calm.

At this moment, there were twenty dogs standing or lying behind Mellen, each of them exuding the aura of a demigod, and two of them had reached the peak of demigod. They were all transformed from the group of demigods suppressed in the ancient exile land. Except for a few left in the outer world of the Mountain and Sea Realm community, the rest were all here.

With a slight wave of his hand, the demigod dogs immediately turned into streams of light and disappeared.

Mellen asked casually, "How long do you think we can delay?"

Nasus pushed his glasses up and said, "Based on the layout of the fifth floor and the relative strength of our forces, we can hold out for three months at most. The sixth and seventh floors have many formations, but they're basically useless. The defenses between the seventh and eighth floors are very strong, and if used properly, we might be able to hold out for two or three months."

"Tsk, so short?" Mellen shook his head slightly and continued to ask, "How is the control of the eighth floor going? I think these two artifacts are quite good. It would be a shame if I can't take them away."

"Also, aside from the Patriarch's Hall, there's nothing special about the ninth floor?"

Nasus said, "Merlen, don't even think about taking those two artifacts. Both the tripod and the bell are part of the Golden Light Hall, and the Golden Light Hall is connected to the entire Golden Summit Mountain. You can't take them away."

Mellen said nothing more.

Nasus continued, "The ninth floor only has the Grand Master's Hall. It doesn't have what you're looking for. Do you want to go and pay your respects to the Grand Master?"

Mellen curled his lips and said, "To be honest, Spike should be the one who got started. Why should I worship him? If anyone should worship him, it should be Spike."

Spike: ...

Nasus waved his claws and said, "Thanks to their continuous attacks, Xiaoyin and I have finally discovered a loophole in the operation of Jinding Mountain and have completely controlled all permissions. Now we need to remove all valuables before they can reach us."

Having said that, Nasus no longer paid attention to Mellen, as he still had a lot of "blind boxes" to open.

Melun looked at Xiao Liuli, who was curling up with her tail, and said, "You should go to the fifth floor as well and delay as much time as possible."

Spike nodded slightly and walked away.

The fifth floor.

When the four forces arrived, they immediately fell into panic because of the thick fog, which was so thick that they could hardly see their hands in front of them. More importantly, the fog could confuse their perception. In such an environment, they would completely lose their way after just a few steps.

Even for a top semi-immortal powerhouse like Emperor Huanglong, the range of his detection is suppressed to within ten thousand meters. For a powerhouse of their level, this is no different from being blind or deaf.

In just a few moments, half of the elite troops who came to attack Mellen were lost, and even if the remaining ones stood still and gathered together, they would be blind.

In this situation, even if there are constraints, it is useless. Those top masters cannot guide their subordinates all the time. The most urgent task is to find the passage to the sixth floor and leave this area.

Naturally, there were formation masters among the four factions. Although they couldn't compare to the world's top masters like Old Bai, it wasn't difficult for them to figure out the current situation. Combining ancient records with the information provided by past examiners, they quickly came to a conclusion...

The rules of the fifth floor have been tampered with, but the passage will not disappear out of thin air. At most, it will only be closed or covered up. Now we need to find the corresponding 'switch' to open this door.

Just as the top experts were busy studying how to reach the sixth floor, the atmosphere in the teams of the four forces gradually became strange.

In order to avoid getting lost, the elites of the four forces gathered into groups as much as possible, and then connected themselves with ropes. Relying on this clumsy method, they slowly explored the fifth-level area, and by the way, searched for those who were lost when they first entered the fifth level.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. They soon discovered that the fog was not safe. Along with the occasional roars of beasts, large numbers of people in the exploration team often disappeared. It was clear from the broken ropes and bloodstains on the ground that these so-called "disappearances" were most likely to be fatal.

As the top experts took action, the four forces soon realized that there were ferocious hunters in the fog, and all of them were above the level of semi-immortal.

These hunters are unaffected by the fog and can attack them at will.

In this situation, it is difficult for elite teams to conduct effective exploration, because once they leave the protection of the strong, they will die when facing hunters.

The top masters have no way to deal with these hunters. Many of them are confident that they can defeat the hunters with a crushing force, but the hunters never confront them head-on. Once they find themselves being chased, they turn around and run away immediately.

In this way, the top strongmen from the four forces were unable to do anything to the hunters, because if they chased them, they might fall into the latter's trap and put themselves in danger.

Without the help of an elite team, the research progress on the passage naturally slowed down. It took the strong men from the four forces a full month to barely explore the fifth floor.

The fundamental rule of the fifth level is still to test your understanding, but the conditions have changed. The test needs to be conducted at nine specific nodes. Only after passing all nine nodes can the passage to the sixth level be opened.

The skills arranged at those nine nodes were not randomly generated, but the most unpopular, rare and difficult ones.

Upon seeing this, the four forces immediately gave up the option of opening the channel normally through the test and prepared to crack it by brute force.

The four forces were divided into nine groups and deployed at nine nodes respectively.

In this situation, those elite troops can form a formation and defend, which can play a certain role.

Of course, the demigod dogs would not miss this opportunity. They no longer fought alone, but gathered together to continuously attack the nodes in order to interfere with the deployment of the four forces.

Whenever support arrived, the demigod dogs would not fight and would turn around and leave without hesitation.

Under this wolf pack tactic, the strong men from the four forces were exhausted from coping, feeling like they were losing sight of the big picture.

The four forces had thought about setting traps, but under the cover of the fog, the demigod dogs had an absolute information advantage and it was basically difficult for them to fall into an ambush. Even if they were, they could easily escape.

On the contrary, setting a trap requires a large number of people, and if it fails, all the previous efforts may be wasted.

As the demigod dogs and the four forces were struggling with each other, Spike was observing silently.

Spike has not taken any action since entering the fifth floor. He is waiting for the perfect opportunity.

And this opportunity soon appeared.

Just as the demigod dogs split into two groups and attacked two nodes respectively, attracting the attention of forces from all sides, Spike brazenly launched a surprise attack on one node.

As Spike launched his attack, a golden figure that had been hovering above the node suddenly opened its eyes and said indifferently, "You ignorant insect, who gave you the courage to challenge me?"

A golden light flashed, and in an instant it blocked Spike's way.

Spike seemed to have expected this. Golden electric light burst out from his body, his speed suddenly increased, and he used his claws to hit the face.

"Boom!~"

After the attack, Spike's eyes were calm, but a burning fighting spirit rose from his body. The golden figure looked at Spike with a solemn expression.

Only then could he see clearly that the golden figure was actually a giant demon named Kunpeng.

The Great Demon Kunpeng looked at Spike and said, "The Hunter is surrounded by several powerful demons. Knowing this information, how could we not be on guard? Therefore, every node is guarded by a powerful emperor-level warrior. No matter what happens, they will not act rashly."

"You're so unlucky to have met me. Today I'm going to take you down first and see what other tricks that hunter has!"

Spike showed disdain and emitted a mental wave: "On the contrary, I think meeting you means I'm lucky."

The great demon Kunpeng showed a look of disdain and said, "You are so sharp-tongued! My Pengtian bloodline is also the most elite bloodline in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and can easily dominate its peers. You are much weaker than me, yet you dare to speak so arrogantly?"

Spike was too lazy to talk nonsense with the great demon Kunpeng. A river of fighting spirit rose up, blowing away the fog around him.

The great demon Kunpeng was not to be outdone, with golden light flashing all over his body.

The two powerful men collided with each other with a loud bang, a collision of gold and gold.

The body of the giant demon Kunpeng was like lightning, and it moved around in circles at a speed far exceeding that of moving through space.

Spike is not weak at all. Its body is invisible and each particle can distort space, combine and transform at will, and appear in any direction.

Spike has enough combat experience with the Pengtian clan and knows how to curb the opponent's speed advantage.

As the battle continued, the great demon Kunpeng became more and more frightened. It did not expect that Spike could match its speed. This was simply a unique thing for it.

The intensity of the battles among top-level semi-immortals is extremely high, and the aftermath alone is enough to injure ordinary semi-immortals.

Spike did not forget his purpose, so during the battle, he deliberately directed the aftermath towards the node.

Several rounds of golden lightning and golden blades flashed by, and the formation master's month-long arrangement was completely destroyed.

After completing the basic goal, Spike also turned most of his attention back to the Kunpeng demon.

The great demon Kunpeng failed to protect the node layout, which made it lose face. In its rage, it showed its true strength and wanted to tear Spike to pieces.

Unfortunately, Spike's innate ability is simply superb when applied to defense. Each particle has world attributes and can easily absorb most of the attack effects. Even if it cannot be absorbed, it can be transmitted to each other through the connection between particles.

As long as these particles are not annihilated in an instant, the attack will be just a tickle to Spike, and he can fight in this state forever!

However, the current environment is obviously not suitable for a long battle. There are more than ten emperor-level strongmen coming from the four forces this time. They can maintain a one-on-one situation for a while, but as the battle continues, it will inevitably attract other emperor-level strongmen. By then, even Spike will probably be in trouble.