Volume One: The Tale of the Cloudbound Immortal Palace Chapter 126: Breaking the Formation

Chapter 126: Breaking the Array

The main entrance of the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace is an oval stone gate, standing one hundred meters high and thirty meters wide. Amidst the vast, boundless space, it appears as insignificant as a speck of dust.

Standing before the gate are two guards, each one hundred meters tall. Clad in silver armor and wielding crossed halberds, they stand with pale faces and indifferent, lifeless eyes. These are the standard "Death Sentinels" of the Immortal Palace, elite-tier guards purchased from the Nether Immortal Domain, tasked with verifying the identity of all who enter or exit the main gate.

At this moment, however, this stone gate has become a target for a group of people with a singular, ruthless purpose: to raze the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace to the ground at any cost and seize a long-lost treasure.

In this expanse of heaven and earth, the small stone gate is like a lonely skiff adrift on an infinite ocean, now facing an onslaught of towering waves. Demonic lights flare, black mists shroud the heavens, and a fierce, murderous aura sweeps across the wasteland. Savage beasts loom within the clouds, their low growls constant, and upon their backs sit humanoid figures whose very protective divine auras are potent enough to slay Golden Immortals.

There is no doubt that a group of High Immortal masters has descended upon the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace. Even their mounts possess power of that same caliber; there are over twenty High Immortals gathered here. Such a lineup suggests that the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace is destined to be flattened today, and the scale of this mobilization speaks volumes about the extraordinary value of the treasure they seek.

"Big Brother, the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace is, after all, a sovereign immortal palace with a defensive array. Even with our numbers, we cannot possibly break through an array of Great Immortal level," a tall, fierce man clad in crimson armor whispered through a telepathic message to the figure on his right, sitting atop a Golden-Veined Flame Tiger.

"Hmph, we came prepared. The magic treasure that Yu Hu has been studying for so many years will finally prove its worth today. Keep your eyes open and watch; a Great Immortal array is nothing but brittle clay before that treasure," replied the man addressed as "Big Brother." He was a young man with a spirited, heroic brow, long flowing hair, and a long saber at his waist, his tone dripping with arrogance.

"I see. With that treasure, the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace is surely doomed. Once our four major factions annex it, we will become even stronger. Hahaha..." the fierce man laughed inwardly.

"No, it is not that simple. As one gains, another loses. Yu Hu possesses a powerful treasure, but we of Huo Yuan do not. How would we compete in the future? The four factions appear to be one family, but in truth, we hold each other in check. Especially in the last few centuries, our relations have been far from harmonious. We have only maintained this balance because our strength is evenly matched. Now that Yu Hu has brought out something that breaks this equilibrium, even if the other three of us join forces, we might be the first soft target if they choose to pick us off one by one. Therefore, no matter what, Huo Yuan must seize that Great Immortal relic. Only it can save us!" The leader of Huo Yuan, though young in appearance, was deep and calculating, his eyes flickering occasionally toward the Yu Hu contingent.

"Big Brother, I heard the treasure Yu Hu obtained also came from that Great Immortal's cave dwelling. How does this one in the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace compare?" asked the Third Leader of Huo Yuan. She was a woman with a seductive figure, yet her face was split—half deathly pale, the other half like a green-faced, fanged Yaksha.

"I do not know about the others, but I can tell you with certainty: the treasure held by the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace once slew a Dragon King!" the leader replied calmly.

The two beside him stood stunned, gasping for air. A Dragon King? What kind of existence was that? A single sneeze from such a being would likely annihilate their entire group. How terrifying must that treasure be!

Across from them, three dark-blue flood dragons coiled in the air, their scales shimmering in the demonic mist. Figures stood atop their backs, all dressed in blue. Their leader was tall and thin, wearing a silver necklace with a crystal-clear, spherical blue sapphire hanging from it.

"Let me take the lead and test these palace guard dogs," a voice suddenly cut through the heavy atmosphere. A streak of purple lightning flashed across the sky as the Third Leader of Lei Shan made his move. Riding a bizarre purple bull, he charged toward the gate, brandishing a pair of purple electric hammers. Silver snakes danced, and thunder roared.

In an instant, the two Death Sentinels stirred. Their halberds struck like dragons and snakes, creating a whirlwind that turned the falling lightning into mere dust and smoke.

The Third Leader of Lei Shan let out a roar: "Thunder Mountain Descent!"

He raised his heavy hammers high. They transformed into a towering mountain, surging with electricity, and descended with a blow that shook the heavens, aiming to crush the two sentinels.

The already small palace gate seemed even more insignificant beneath the weight of the massive, phantom mountain. As a vast shadow fell, the stone gate vanished from sight.

*Hum!* Suddenly, just as the Third Leader thought he had crushed the sentinels and the gate beneath his weapon-turned-mountain, a golden ripple spread from the entrance. The thousand-mile space seemed to transform into a golden pond.

"This is... the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace's defensive array!"

The leaders of the four factions fixed their eyes beneath the giant mountain. In the blink of an eye, the mountain collapsed, shattering into powder, yet the stone gate stood tall and defiant, and the two sentinels rose once more.

"Attack!" The leader of Yu Hu leapt from the dragon's back, taking the sapphire from his necklace. In a flash, the gem swelled from the size of a cherry to the size of a fist.

The other two leaders of Yu Hu leapt up, pressing their palms against the first leader's back. He rubbed the sapphire repeatedly. Finally, a brilliant beam of light erupted, shattering the golden ripples on the gate, though the barrier quickly restored itself.

"How can this be? Again!" The Yu Hu leader was shocked, but he immediately ordered another strike.

The two leaders gathered their strength once more. The leader rubbed the gem, and a deep blue beam shot forth—mysterious and profound, as if it had traveled from a distant, unknown nebula.

Yet, it still failed, dissipating before it even touched the gate.

"What is going on? It worked fine before! Is our power not enough?" the Second Leader of Yu Hu demanded angrily.

"Perhaps it is not just power. I think every activation requires significantly more energy than the last. We are draining its inherent immortal power because we do not possess the power of an Immortal King. Ultimately, we are only borrowing the strength of a magic treasure," the Third Leader of Yu Hu revealed.

"If that is the case, then gather the others. I want to see just how monstrously powerful the Sea-Suppressing Pearl can be when we pool the immortal energy of all the High Immortals from the Feng, Yu, Lei, and Huo factions," the Yu Hu leader declared, his gaze fixed coldly on the gate.

Soon, with a call from the Yu Hu leader, the leaders of Huo Yuan, Lei Shan, and Feng Mo arrived to help. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...* Over a dozen streams of dazzling, pure immortal energy poured into the sapphire—the Sea-Suppressing Pearl.

The Yu Hu leader rubbed the pearl, and a blinding blue light expanded, followed by a deep blue beam that shot out like a thunderbolt. It struck the golden ripples, easily piercing through them. The beam tore through the two Death Sentinels, freezing them solid before they shattered into shards of crystal.

The golden ripples vanished completely. No longer hesitant, the four factions charged their mounts into the world behind the gate.

The defensive array of the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace... had been broken.

Inside the palace's small world, the deep blue beam continued to streak forward. It passed over countless immortal peaks and pavilions, finally piercing through the tallest, most majestic main mountain of the Cloud-Misty Palace before dissipating.

With a thunderous boom, the mountain—grand as an ancient giant—instantly transformed into an iceberg before collapsing entirely, reduced to shards covering the land.

On this day, the four factions descended like a flood of beasts, and the Cloud-Misty Immortal Palace faced an unprecedented calamity of destruction.