Chapter 1730: Collateral Damage

Zhao Hao knew this was no small matter. If he were banished to some unknown void, even with his cultivation, he would only be waiting for death. Therefore, he attacked without holding anything back.

He transformed into a giant golden-armored divine general. The Buddha manifested by Master Jianhuang earlier was already immense, but compared to this golden-armored divine general, it looked like a mere infant.

Such a colossal sight could not be concealed, even by the mountain-protecting formation. When the civil and military officials on the mountainside saw it, they were all moved to excitement, prostrating themselves and shouting, "Long live the Emperor!" The officials loyal to Prince Qi turned pale at the sight of such a divine miracle. Although Prince Qi hadn't informed them of the plan, intelligent individuals could vaguely guess that with the Emperor demonstrating such power, Prince Qi was surely doomed to fail.

If the officials on the mountainside were involuntarily kneeling and trembling from such a distance, imagine the state of those on the Golden Summit. Fortunately, the Grand Sacrificer's formation blocked the immediate impact, allowing Yun Jianyue and the other women to barely withstand it. Still, a spiritual shiver involuntarily ran through them, making them feel incredibly insignificant, realizing they had even harbored thoughts of competing with such power. Zu An likewise felt a profound sense of dread from the colossal figure, feeling his spiritual resolve waver. He quickly glanced downwards, and only then did he gradually compose himself.

When Zhao Hao attacked with his full might, the power was extraordinary. As his fist swept through, a faint black rift could be seen appearing in the clear blue sky—a mark where space itself had been torn apart by his fist's force! The speed of his full-force punch was incredible; it slammed into the surrounding grand formation almost instantly. The previously transparent formation immediately flared with a brilliant blue light, followed by sounds like shattering glass. A gaping hole appeared where the formation met his fist.

The Grand Sacrificer's expression changed. He transformed into a white ethereal blur, directly rushing forward to block Zhao Hao, who was on the verge of breaking through the formation, pushing him back. He then used his body to shield the hole, employing all his skills to repair the grand formation. Zhao Hao was widely acknowledged as the greatest master in the world, but when it came to unparalleled breadth of knowledge and skill, the Grand Sacrificer was unrivaled. This was evident from his numerous personal disciples, each specializing in vastly different fields. Some even lamented that if the Grand Sacrificer hadn't divided his attention across so many areas and had instead focused solely on cultivation, his achievements might have surpassed Zhao Hao's.

Thus, he poured all his lifelong learning into maintaining the grand formation. Almost simultaneously, bright array patterns began to appear on the ground at the center of the formation, followed by the emergence of a vortex. Initially, the vortex was small, but it grew steadily larger. Then, the entire space within the formation began to collapse; all buildings, trees, sand, and stones—everything—was drawn into the vortex.

"Get out of the way!" Zhao Hao roared repeatedly, trying to escape through the breach he had just created. With his cultivation, such a vortex ordinarily wouldn't have affected him. However, the grand formation, which the Grand Sacrificer had planned for so many years and now powered by the geomantic forces of countless peaks across Mount Zi, was extraordinary. It was designed to transport the entire space to the void. Even he couldn't help but panic. At this moment, he couldn't unleash another full-force strike like before and could only hope to escape through the newly created breach.

Unfortunately, the Grand Sacrificer remained steadfastly guarding the spot and had cast a spatial severance skill, preventing Zhao Hao from crossing through that opening. He tried to push back the Grand Sacrificer, but while the Grand Sacrificer's cultivation was weaker, it wasn't by much, making it impossible to determine a victor in a short time. Meanwhile, the grand formation activated rapidly. Only a few breaths after the vortex appeared, the entire space began to collapse like a sphere, accelerating faster and faster until even Zhao Hao could not resist being pulled inward.

"Stabilize!" At this point, Zhao Hao no longer had the mind to fight the Grand Sacrificer. Instead, he channeled all his power, his entire body glowing with brilliant golden light, surrounded by phantoms of various rare beasts and exotic creatures—clearly manifestations of his various cultivation techniques and skills. Even that wasn't enough. He summoned the Human Emperor Seal and placed it above his head. The Seal emitted waves of divine light, enveloping him, which finally allowed him to stabilize his body.

Zhao Hao burst into laughter. "This grand formation is nothing more than this!" His heart settled; he was confident that if he just held out for a while, the vortex would naturally disappear, and then he could deal with his opponents at his leisure.

On the other side, Zu An, who had initially felt the terror of the vortex and was preparing to take the women to safety, suddenly had an idea when he saw this. At this moment, if he could just knock down the Human Emperor Seal, Zhao Hao, relying solely on himself, would be unable to resist the vortex.

Just as he was about to draw his Tai'e Sword, he saw the Grand Sacrificer raise his hand. A scroll flew out from his wide sleeve, slowly unfurling to vaguely reveal the back of an exquisitely beautiful woman. Zu An's heart stirred. This seemed to be the painting from the Grand Sacrificer's bedroom, which had previously appeared unremarkable, thought to be merely a memento of a past lover. Could it also be a divine artifact?

The scroll unfurled, quickly wrapping around the Human Emperor Seal and enclosing it. In that very instant, the divine aura of the Human Emperor Seal briefly vanished. However, in that same instant, the scroll immediately burst into flames, turning to dust almost in the blink of an eye. Clearly, it was not a divine-grade weapon and could not withstand the power of a true divine artifact. A trace of sorrow and pain appeared on the Grand Sacrificer's face as he gazed blankly at the scattered ashes for a moment.

But even isolating the Human Emperor Seal for just an instant was enough. Without the Human Emperor Seal's protection, Zhao Hao could no longer resist the collapsing space. He lost his balance completely and tumbled directly into the vortex. The vortex's terrifying suction force, if not for the restraining formation, would likely have been enough to swallow the entire Mount Zi. Zhao Hao lost his balance within it, and it was impossible for him to regain his footing.

Just as he was about to be completely pulled into the vortex, Zhao Hao suddenly extended his arm far out and grabbed the Grand Sacrificer's shoulder. Zhao Hao's expression was somewhat distorted, like a drowning man clutching at a straw, refusing to let go. However, the Grand Sacrificer's stability was far beyond that of a straw; with his cultivation, maintaining his footing was no problem. He just needed to hold on a little longer until the vortex naturally collapsed.

To everyone's surprise, the Grand Sacrificer let out a soft sigh. "Does Your Majesty think I still cling to life at this point?" With that, he tapped his foot, no longer resisting, and instead surged deeper into the formation.

"No!" With that impact, Zhao Hao could no longer hold on. Almost instantly, he plunged into the vortex along with the Grand Sacrificer. He clearly struggled for a few moments inside; it was a testament to his profound cultivation that he could still flail about in the vortex. Ultimately, however, he could not resist. He finally vanished completely into the vortex.

At the same time, with the Grand Sacrificer no longer shielding the breach in the grand formation, a powerful suction force surged outwards. Guan Chouhai, Xuan Bajing, Li Changsheng, and others, along with some remaining corpses on the scene, were instantly sucked in.

Zu An's expression changed, and he urgently flew outwards with the women. "Quickly, run!" Everything had happened too fast. One moment he was thinking of knocking down the Human Emperor Seal to give Zhao Hao a push, and the next, this situation had unfolded. The other women also realized the danger and quickly used their fastest movement techniques to flee outwards. Unfortunately, if even Zhao Hao couldn't resist the collapsing space's suction, how could they?

Xie Daoyun, with the lowest cultivation, was the first to falter. She cried out as she stumbled backward, dragged towards the vortex by the powerful suction. Zu An's heart sank at the sight, but without a moment's hesitation, he used Great Wind Teleportation to appear beside her. Just as he was about to pull her back, another cry of alarm rang out. It was Qiu Honglei, who had also lost her balance and was rapidly being pulled backward. Yun Jianyue's expression drastically changed. She tried to grab Qiu Honglei but grasped only air. Seeing Qiu Honglei about to be sucked to the edge of the vortex, Zu An quickly pushed Xie Daoyun out of his embrace with one hand, while simultaneously using the recoil to swiftly reach the vortex's edge and grab Qiu Honglei's hand.