All preparations were complete, and the various observation parties had been settled along the outer perimeter. Security at the scene was tight.
Jiang Chen's words carried a chilling edge of killing intent. No one dared mistake them for a joke.
In an instant, the clamor at the site fell dead silent. Not a sound stirred, as if even the insects had sensed Jiang Chen's lethal resolve.
The Ling Shi had long since been arranged — Jiang Chen had sent people to keep placing them in position, one after another.
Now all that remained was for Jiang Chen to trigger the first mechanism, which would set off a chain reaction, one link pushing the next, until the entire formation roared to life.
At this stage, the rest would follow naturally.
Every core region of the formation had been fortified by Jiang Chen with an airtight net. At such a critical moment, even if the King of Heaven himself descended to the mortal realm, he would not be allowed to derail this. Anyone who dared cause trouble would receive an iron fist to the face.
"The auspicious hour has arrived — activate!"
Jiang Chen channeled divine power and triggered the first mechanism. The moment it engaged, wave after wave surged outward, pushing along the formation's meridian lines at speeds invisible to the naked eye. One wave drove the next, and more and more meridian lines lit up, like lanterns being kindled one by one across the darkness of night.
The sheer grandeur of the spectacle drew thunderous applause from the crowd.
Jiang Chen, however, remained unmoved. His Heavenly Eye Divine Pupil scanned every direction like a falcon on the hunt.
At that moment, the survival passage within the formation's core region began to materialize.
This passage would remain open for no longer than half a cup of tea. If the window was missed, it would seal shut for good.
Just then, led by
For any cultivator brandishing a jade slip, the Four Divine Beasts granted passage without hesitation.
Those who tried to slip through under false pretenses, without a jade slip, were struck down by the Four Divine Beasts without mercy. The grim spectacle left many onlookers white-faced and trembling.
Half a cup of tea was not a long time. Still, it proved sufficient for over a thousand alien cultivators to file out. Every one of them looked haggard, their garments in tatters.
Twenty thousand years of suppression had reduced them to something barely distinguishable from savages.
Fortunately, these people understood the gravity of the situation. Once outside, they huddled in the corners, not daring to cause the slightest disturbance, obedient to every order.
Jiang Chen commanded, "Mang Qi — take them to the designated area. No one moves without permission."
Mang Qi complied without a word, leading the group to the open ground that had been set aside.
Meanwhile, the momentum of the All-Heavens Myriad Spirits Divine Lock Formation restarting shook the earth itself, its might resounding between heaven and land.
All manner of celestial and terrestrial anomalies manifested one after another.
The formation was truly magnificent — this was only its restart, and already the display was this staggering. One could only imagine how spectacular the sight must have been when the formation was first laid down and its full power first summoned.
After a long while, the formation finally finished restarting.
Jiang Chen exhaled a long breath. Against all expectations, the restart had proceeded with remarkable smoothness. As those formation meridian lines gleamed with resplendent light, the entire structure coalesced into a single unified whole.
With the formation running as an integrated system, offense and defense merged into one. Even if remnants of the Demon Race tried to break through and sabotage it, they would find the barrier nearly impossible to crack.