Chapter 126: Inescapable Tribulation

The faintly flickering black ominousness and malevolence was like a black rising sun.

The Dragon Qi, present everywhere in the Divine Capital, trembled.

The Downfall Formation was too fierce and vicious.

This thing was a top-tier Hex Art. Even a Dragon Court Prime Minister like Jiang Ziya could not withstand the power of the ominous Downfall Formation.

Lin Yuan had originally been distressed about his own Virtue Merit, but this time he was finally provoked to anger.

Deep within the Divine Capital, in the numerous divine palaces, many Deities were startled from their busy divine duties and immediately noticed the faintly emanating ominous light of a rising sun from the southeast side of the Divine Capital.

At this moment, on the Jade Terrace, a figure of immense divine majesty suddenly appeared. Concentrating his gaze toward the southeast direction of the Divine Capital, his expression changed in an instant.

“Who is this, actually setting up such a vicious formation in the Divine Capital!”

The expression of this immensely majestic divine figure showed some shock.

In his perception, this black sun was truly inauspicious to the extreme. Even his own divine power would feel a sense of collapse and a terrifying feeling of being entangled upon encountering that wisp of the sun’s ominous light.

This Divine Lord of the Divine Court had a terrible intuition: once entangled, even he himself would be in serious trouble.

“Hex Art! What a formidable cultivator!”

Several divine lights nearby had already sensed it and shied away fearfully like snakes or scorpions.

And it was no ordinary Hex Art!

“Has it been clarified? Who is taking action?” The leading Divine Lord’s expression was extremely grave.

Soon, a divine light flew up. His gaze swept over the other several figures emanating brilliant divine light, who were either imposing, dignified, or domineering.

“It has been clarified. It’s the residence of Compiler Lin of the Hanlin Academy!”

“That Lin Jinshi you reported some time ago, the one who fell victim to the schemes of the Five Passages Sect cultivators?”

“Precisely that person. The one who set up the grand formation seems to be his younger brother, a cultivator who is the reincarnation of an Ancient Water Immortal!” That Deity reported the information found in great detail.

Hearing this, the expressions of several Deities varied. When did the Chengyuan Immortal Sect produce such a formidable character?

The leading Divine Lord was somewhat surprised, but then he looked at the many Deities and laughed.

“In that case, it seems the people of the Five Passages Sect will soon have some fun to watch!!”

The other Deities also took pleasure in their misfortune.

“However, the Divine Capital is after all the ancestral seat of our Eastern Peak Divine Court. If this Daoist recklessly uses Daoist magic…” One of the Deities looked displeased.

“The Ancestral Dragon’s sacred ground cannot be defied!”

Hearing this, the Jade Terrace immediately fell somewhat silent. The other Deities’ expressions turned subtle.

“Practicing Daoist arts within one’s own residence, does that violate the king’s law?”

One of the Deities spoke calmly.

“How can it not? Such sinister and unorthodox arts, are they the work of a Mystic Gate cultivator?” Another Deity sneered.

As the Deities were about to start a dispute, a Deity with overwhelmingly dense divine light and majestic divine authority shouted.

“Enough! No more arguing!

This youth must be visiting the Divine Capital for the first time and does not understand its laws. Ignorance is no crime. We can have someone advise him later!”

“Furthermore, this youth is Compiler Lin’s own younger brother. Trying to save his own elder brother aligns with propriety and is excusable under the circumstances!”

Hearing this, the other Deities’ expressions became somewhat strange. This speaker was also a Deity originating from the Chengyuan Immortal Sect.

Naturally, he was protecting this newly promoted True Inheritance Disciple of the Immortal Sect. If it were a disciple from some other minor sect, they would have likely already been arrested on the spot and made to spend some time in the Divine Prison first.

However, the Five Passages Sect, from top to bottom, were rebels, truly an “illegal organization.”

…

Sitting cross-legged on the Ritual Altar, Lin Yuan could sense the changes in the Divine Capital’s Dragon Qi, as well as the multitude of gazes filled with various meanings. But Lin Yuan paid no mind. If he wanted to gain the respect of others, he naturally had to display some corresponding strength.

Moreover, his other identity was a True Inheritance Disciple of the Chengyuan Immortal Sect, a member of the Primal Yang Dharma Lineage. In other words, he had backing and was not afraid of being pushed around.

A cold gleam flickered in his eyes. His killing intent had already arisen. Forming hand seals with both hands, soon three ancient white paper lanterns appeared beside the formation.

These three paper white ancient lanterns were called the Soul-Hastening Lantern, the Soul-Urging Lantern, and the Soul-Extinguishing Lantern.

Lin Yuan had deliberately refined them in the Primordial World to amplify the deadly killing power of the Downfall Formation!

Then Lin Yuan’s gaze fell upon the Ritual Altar. Lin Yuan casually picked up several straw figures. His fingers moved slightly, and a purple light appeared in his hand, transforming into a star chart imprint.

Purple Star Astrology pierced through the fog of Fate, tracing back to the root.

Lin Yuan’s gaze seemed to sink into that boundless purple light. His spirit soared limitlessly, arriving at a mysterious place. Here, there was a vast and mighty River of Fate, boundless and endless, with countless branches representing innumerable unpredictable futures.

Lin Yuan did not intend to investigate the future, but rather to investigate the fixed past.

A purple light surged toward the elusive past, using his own life-force aura as the foundation, breaking through space to spread.

Rumble!!

After a moment, as if the void had shattered, the purple light contracted. Several auras were forcibly pulled out and locked onto the five straw figures.

There were five auras. Two of them were quite familiar to Lin Yuan.

They were Mu Heng and Qiao Xiaoyun.

Besides these, there were three rather unfamiliar names: Primordial Lord Zhangtai, Daoist Lingchi, and Qiao Chongyuan!

Lin Yuan’s gaze swept over them, and he nodded slightly.

No tough opponents.

Hex Arts like the Downfall Formation also had limits. For instance, no matter how much the people of the Five Passages Sect sought death, they would not dare to move against princes of the Great Zhou Ancestral Court.

Nor would they easily target people connected to certain mysterious existences, otherwise they might very well be killed by the backlash of the Hex Art.

Pointing a finger, a small banner appeared before him. Lin Yuan used his finger as a brush, writing his own birth date characters on the banner’s surface, forming hand seals with his other hand.

He casually grasped that small banner. First, he gently shook it toward the straw figure with the dimmest spiritual light. Immediately, the surrounding eighteen Downfall Formation banners trembled slightly. A vast black energy surged forth from them, pouring into the five straw figures.

Thump!

With just one shake, the auras on the five straw figures immediately trembled!

Seeing this, Lin Yuan’s expression shifted slightly, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

It was already taking effect. This Downfall Formation was not a pure killing array, but focused on the character “capture.” Once struck by the downfall technique, it was easy for the Downfall Formation to capture the soul.

Once all three Hun souls and seven Po souls were captured, death would come silently.

However, Lin Yuan did not have time to stay here indefinitely. Waving the Downfall Banner over the five straw figures once, Lin Yuan instructed Lian Feng not to enter and to let the formation operate on its own. Then, Lin Yuan left the Lin Manor and headed straight for a Daoist temple on the outskirts of the Divine Capital.

…

Outskirts of the Divine Capital.

A figure in a dark Daoist robe.

From afar, at the foot of the mountain, Lin Yuan saw a resplendent, golden Daoist temple on the mountainside. This temple had very good Incense Offering. On the mountain path, one could see numerous pilgrims coming and going in an endless stream.

Lin Yuan focused his mind, activated his Earth Escape Technique, and entered the temple. Soon, he located a certain altar. Lin Yuan saw with his own eyes that on one of the Ritual Altars, there was a blood-red straw figure with the birth date characters of his elder brother, Lin Min, written on it. A faint light gleamed in his eyes. Lin Yuan transformed into an escape light, a pale golden streak sweeping past, instantly snatching the blood-red straw figure into his hand.

At that moment, Lin Yuan twitched slightly. He saw an ice-blue light, like a rainbow, instantly shooting through the air toward him.

“Audacious fool! How dare you barge into our Five Passages Sect… Huh?” In that instant, the young Five Passages Sect disciple charging toward him suddenly changed expression dramatically. He had already seen the faint, elusive immortal light emanating from Lin Yuan’s body. This young disciple instantly turned grim-faced.

Those few elders had just left with that Uncle-Master Lingchi not long ago. They were no match for a Scattered Immortal. He turned and fled. Lin Yuan’s expression was icy. He released the Heavenly River Gui Water Sword, instantly piercing several holes through this figure’s chest.

Over there, several more Five Passages Sect disciples hurried out from the side. Seeing this scene, they were greatly shocked. This was a Yin Spirit True Lord of the Five Passages Sect, a rather famous figure among the younger generation, and he had been killed just like that.

In great terror, many Five Passages Sect disciples came to their senses. Knowing they couldn’t escape, they decisively knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

Lin Yuan did not pay attention to these Five Passages Sect disciples. A trace of strangeness appeared in his expression. Within this Daoist temple, Lin Yuan detected something unusual.