The four great sovereigns were all battle-hardened veterans. Under Jiang Chen's direction, each led their elite forces and charged toward the four respective gates of the formation.
Jiang Chen directed operations from the center.
"Brother Mo, attack the Eastern Gate first — watch out for lightning strikes."
"Canghai, you take the Western Gate. Beware of turbulent astral winds!"
"Jiao Yun, Jiao Feng — await my command and be ready to strike the Northern and Southern Gates at any moment. Remember, those two gates conceal the Dao of water and fire."
The Peerless Sovereign let out a long cry and launched the first assault. His palms spread wide and then clenched tight as he thrust both fists forward, and the two fists soared like twin golden mountains, rumbling toward the Eastern Gate with thunderous force.
The Peerless Sovereign bore Jiang Chen's warning firmly in mind, remaining vigilant against the lightning strikes. Rather than using a weapon, he channeled his sovereign-realm fist energy to batter the gate head-on.
The Ocean Sovereign was not about to be outdone. This was his first chance to distinguish himself before Jiang Chen, so he fought with exceptional fervor. He unleashed his Divine Ability and launched a frenzied assault on the Western Gate of the formation.
Moments later, the two Jiao of Huaishan attacked the Northern and Southern Gates respectively.
In an instant, the entire inner palace was swept by a storm of chaos and dread. The tremors caused by the attacks on the formation made everyone inside the palace feel as though they were aboard a ship tossed about on a raging sea, teetering on the brink of capsizing, hearts pounding with terror.
They all knew the inner formation was formidable, but the scale and ferocity of these assaults were clearly no less impressive. Whether the formation could withstand such overwhelming attacks — in that moment, no one had the slightest confidence.
"Patriarch, they… they actually seem to have seen through our formation? They knew to attack all four gates simultaneously? Could that brat Jiang Chen really be some sort of legendary formation master?" The Scarlet Cauldron Emperor watched the four sovereigns launching their furious attacks from beyond the formation, his mind in turmoil, his face drained of color.
"Hmph, so what if they've seen through it? They won't crack this formation in any short time! You hold the formation and draw their attention — I will find an opening and strike that brat Jiang Chen. It must be a killing blow!" The Yan Family Patriarch's voice was cold as a blade.
"Patriarch, please be careful as well." The Scarlet Cauldron Emperor's only remaining reliance was the Patriarch, and he could not afford for anything to happen to him.
"Hmph! At this point, there is nothing but a bold gamble. Even a sliver of hope is worth staking everything on. What's more, I'd say the odds are at least fifty-fifty." The Yan Family Patriarch's voice carried unwavering confidence.
…
Outside the outer perimeter of the palace, Jiang Chen looked down from his elevated vantage point at the four sovereigns locked in fierce combat below. Even he was secretly impressed. The Scarlet Cauldron Palace's formation was truly extraordinary.
Even with four great sovereigns attacking in concert, and with himself coordinating from the center, they still could not easily tear the formation apart.
As the formation sustained the assault, its various hidden powers began to reveal themselves in turn. At times the outer shell crackled with lightning, and electric serpents — fangs bared and claws extended — danced wildly across the sky.
At other times, seas of flame churned and roiling crimson clouds blotted out the heavens. Then towering waves surged upward, crashing toward the sky. Then savage gales howled and chaotic currents of air streaked in every direction.
Water, fire, wind, and lightning — all four elemental forces activated at once. If the four sovereigns had not each seized a gate and ruthlessly suppressed the formation's ability to resonate and reinforce itself, its power would have been far more terrifying still.
Deep within the formation, the four sovereigns fighting to break it open had long since become thoroughly convinced of Jiang Chen's judgment. They had previously found his extreme caution somewhat puzzling.
Now, having experienced the formation's might firsthand, they finally understood. Jiang Chen's insight truly surpassed their own by a wide margin.
Had they rashly charged in to attack the formation and triggered all of its prohibitions at once, the consequences would have been catastrophic. Even if they survived, they would have lost more than skin.
"Gentlemen, this formation is strong but its consumption is enormous. The Ling Shi of the Scarlet Cauldron Central Domain lack sufficient purity — that is their fatal weakness. They can never bring this formation to its full power. Prioritize your safety and dismantle it slowly, peeling away layer by layer, and you will break through!"
Jiang Chen reminded the four sovereigns. He had no intention of letting them grow greedy for credit, charge ahead recklessly, and hasten disaster.
Jiang Chen was focusing intently when, having cultivated the Seven Apertures Spiritual Resonance, a sudden wave of unease surged through his heart. In the next instant, the ring-shaped seal within his sea of consciousness gave a sharp, causeless throb — as if warning him of something?
"Hmm?" Though Jiang Chen had always been curious about the ring-shaped seal, he had never failed to trust it. Whenever the seal issued a premonition, something was inevitably about to happen.
The Scarlet Cauldron capital was already firmly within his grasp. The imperial family was still putting up a desperate last stand, but Jiang Chen was certain they were turtles trapped in a jar — there was no escape.
The entire capital had also been encircled by the Gold-Munching Mouse clan. The situation was well and truly under control. So why would this warning manifest now?
Even as Jiang Chen's mind raced through the possibilities, he did not hesitate. He summoned the Danheaven Formation Disc in a flash and activated the Eight Desolation Bedrock Array, which materialized as an invisible barrier around his body.
At the same time, he extended his divine sense to its fullest range, probing the void for the subtlest of fluctuations.
At that very moment, Jiang Chen suddenly detected faint currents of airflow rising from below.
"Who's there?" Jiang Chen's eyes snapped open, and beams of golden light shot from his pupils. His mighty Evil Golden Eye unleashed twin rays that swept across the void, stripping away all concealment and illusion, forcing everything hidden back into its true form.
"Heh heh — boy, fall!"
A cold laugh echoed from the empty air. Space beneath Jiang Chen split open and a figure burst forth as if physically tearing the void apart, crawling out from the crack between dimensions.
The figure was a white-haired elder of extraordinary presence. His attack came without hesitation — his withered palm transformed into an enormous spectral hand that surged forward with overwhelming force, crackling like a thunderbolt from the heavens, impossibly fast, reaching for Jiang Chen.
"A sovereign-realm domain?" Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed in alarm. He immediately activated the Eight Desolation Bedrock Array to its fullest.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye—