Tai Wuling finally heaved a sigh of relief as he reached the base of the mountain. He blended in with the other true immortal rushing toward the mountain. Looking up, he saw a massive explosion of fire. Instead of flying, he frowned.

Recalling the dishonorable action he used to escape, he couldn't help but sigh. Silently apologizing to Jiang Daoyi, Tai Wuling left. He made sure to do it silently so as not to catch anyone else's attention. He didn't immediately leave the Yellow Mausoleum but found a safe location.

He settled on a hole he excavated that was near an earth vein's node. Perhaps because he absorbed the Yellow God's blood or his action broke down some fundamental aspect, but the Yellow Mausoleum's protection had weakened, allowing him to easily reach the node.

Once there, Tai Wuling investigated the changes in his body. He couldn't discover any trace of the Yellow God's remnant at all, but he didn't let down his guard. He tried to recall the Yellow God's last words, but it was as if a faint haze covered it and prevented him from recalling.

What he did discover was that the Wuxing Core—Tai Wuling paused. How did he know the black sphere's name? This only ascertained his conjecture that the Wuxing Core had somehow saved his life. 'Did it absorb the remnant like it did with the Polar Profound Umbralwater?'

Tai Wuling shook his head. Right now, the more pressing matter was to analyze his changes. As he scanned his body, a smile broke out on his face.

His body had reached the level of an immortal monarch. The boundless power of his flesh seemed to ripple with each movement. Although he couldn't display a monarch's full power, he could contend with a monarch and even hurt them with a simple punch without utilizing his mastery of the laws. The most important thing was that the changes were still occurring.

Tai Wuling's martial body naturally absorbed the earth qi from the vein without any conscious input from himself. He could feel it upgrading, but that wasn't the only benefit. He could feel his soul becoming stronger. It was minute, but the changes were occurring.

After a moment of thought, he wasn't surprised. The spiritual method used the internal to refine the external, while the martial method used the external to refine the internal. In other words, spiritual cultivators raised their qi to temper their bodies, while martial cultivators upgraded their bodies to refine their qi and soul. Soul cultivators were just more extreme than spiritual cultivators, so their fleshly bodies weren't as powerful.

A month later, Tai Wuling opened his eyes. His body had finished upgrading. He clenched his hand and felt his newfound power. Joy danced across his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

In the month of cultivation, Tai Wuling had ascertained that the Yellow God's remnant had fully disappeared. During this time, he noticed the degrading state of the Yellow Mausoleum. Thanks to his new body, he could sense the thinning qi of the pocket dimension. Even without it, he could sense the earth veins weakening thanks to his close proximity.

Tai Wuling stood up. The battle at the core should have ended, and it was time for him to leave. As his figure disappeared into the ground, he muttered, "I should clean up those hyenas."

"Did you find him?" an immortal of the Northbound Longevity Sect from the Anti-Earth Alliance asked.

"No," his compatriot, an immortal of the Yangsource Sect, asked.

Sixty immortals from the Northbound Longevity Sect, Yangsource Sect, Goldlight Sect, Skymist Gorge, and Extremity Night Sect had gathered. They were all old monsters who lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and it would not be long before they disappeared.

"Where's Immortal Skyaxe?" the leader of this squad, an immortal from the Extremity Night Sect, asked.

All the immortals tried to find the Immortal Skyaxe, but they couldn't find him at all, as if he had vanished. Although the pocket dimension had greatly restricted the range of their immortal sense, they were only hundreds of meters apart, more than close enough to sense each other.

"Get ready, the prey may have become the predator," the squad leader said.

All the immortals raised their guard as they tried to probe the area with all sorts of spells, but they couldn't find a trace of their attacker.

"Ahhh!"

All the immortals turned their attention to the source of the shout to see an immortal of the Goldlight Sect disappear into the ground. With perfect coordination, the immortals skilled in earth techniques unleashed their own method in an attempt to save the squadmate. They blasted the ground apart but couldn't find any trace of him.

"It's no use," the squad leader said. "Shinedust's life talisman in my possession has shattered, Skyaxe's, too. It seems that they no longer want to hide it anymore."

"Form the Golden Immortal War Formation!" Under the squad leader's control, the group of immortals split into two groups. Golden qi burst out of their body and intertwined with their fellow immortals until they formed two giant humanoids.

The two golden giants stood over five hundred meters tall and were covered in a layer of golden light. They wore Daoist robes with a dao crown atop their head. The first golden giant resembled the squad leader, and the second resembled its commander.

One of the Golden Immortal War Formations raised its leg and stamped the ground. The second immediately jumped hundreds of meters away and pierced the ground with a punch. Moments later, a man emerged from the ground.

"Tai Wuling," the war formation controlled by the squad leader boomed. "If you ran toward the entrance with all your might, you might have had a chance to survive. Instead, you ran straight into the jaws of death. You have no one else to blame for your death but yourself."

"That remains to be seen!" Tai Wuling shouted.

The Golden Immortal War Formation that had forced him out of the ground released a kick, but Tai Wuling easily jumped over it and into the air with his first reared back. He could hear a snort from the war formation as it punched at him.

A boom echoed as their fists clashed. Tai Wuling crashed into the ground like a cannonball and cracked the land. To the immortals controlling the Golden Immortal War Formation's shock, the collision actually forced it a step back.

"No wonder we were told to eliminate you at all costs. Blame yourself for being too outstanding!" the Golden Immortal War Formation shouted as it raised its leg and stamped down.

Silence descended, and the golden giant removed its foot to see nothing but crushed dirt and rocks. Hundreds of meters away, Tai Wuling emerged from the ground with a pale face. He gritted his teeth and suppressed the blood rising to his mouth.

Aside from the commander's strength, a war formation's strength was determined by the power of the war formation. An immortal monarch's base strength was determined by the number of elemental qi they fused, with zero being the weakest and five being the highest. Likewise, a monarch-level formation emulated that trait.

As someone who mastered the Law of Fire, the Law of Earth, and near mastery of the Law of Water, the Law of Wood, and the Law of Metal, Tai Wuling could determine that Golden Immortal War Formation he clashed with was one that possessed immortal qi merged with five elements!

Tai Wuling couldn't understand. To form a single monarch-level formation possessing immortal qi merged with five elements required at least one hundred true immortals; the Eight Pillar Sect was the same. How could they accomplish it with thirty? Were their formations so refined that they only needed thirty? Furthermore, its qi was perfectly withdrawn, and only upon the moment of impact did he discover this fact!

He needed to relay this information to the elders of the Eight Pillar Sect as soon as possible. If the Eight Pillar Sect's formations needed three times more immortals to form a monarch-level formation, that meant the Anti-Earth Alliance could field thrice as much top-tier combat strength as them!

Tai Wuling used Earthwalk, intent on escaping. The Golden Immortal War Formation closest to him tried to stop him, but it would be too late. At least, he had thought so until a domain emerged from the second Golden Immortal War Formation.

The law contained with the domain wasn't complete, and Tai Wuling easily ignored its effect on his body, but it didn't affect just him but the land too, preventing him from using Earthwalk.

During this time, the first Golden Immortal War Formation was already upon him, forcing him to jump out of the way. His skin exuded golden light as he ran away on foot. The second war formation didn't let him as it pelted him with spell after spell.

Tai Wuling gritted his teeth as he jumped out of the way of another spell. Although getting hit wouldn't kill him, its danger toward him was far more than the Divine Flame Lord's strongest strike. The Divine Flame Lord's spear strike was powerful, but it only just crossed the threshold of the monarch level despite its profundity. The Golden Immortal War Formation was backed by immortal qi merged with the five elements, easily reaching a peak monarch's power.

In short, taking one hit would spell disaster.

He narrowed his eyes and suddenly ran toward the closest Golden Immortal Formation. Despite its immense size, its movement wasn't awkward at all. It easily shifted its feet so that it stood in front of him like an impassable wall.

Tai Wuling gritted his teeth as a fiery aura glowed beneath the golden light. His skin turned red as he unleashed his most powerful instantaneous attack. The Golden Immortal War Formation took three steps back.

'Only three!' Tai Wuling thought with languish. He gritted his teeth and summoned a talisman into his hand. Mysterious runes shone brightly as he activated and directed the attack at the Golden Immortal War Formation.

A surging wave of light spilled forth and crashed into the Golden Immortal War Formation. It took over ten steps back, but the talisman wasn't done yet. More waves surged and overlapped. Each overlap doubled the power, forcing the golden giant to its knees.

Tai Wuling thought this would be the chance he needed. Who knew that the second Golden Immortal War Formation would ignore its companion's plight and focus on attacking him. Steeling himself, Tai Wuling crashed into one of the attacks and used the knockback to carry him to his destination, a seemingly ordinary piece of land.

He spat out a mouthful of blood as he tried to stand up. Tai Wuling could feel his body start to heal his injuries, but it was not fast enough. Numerous wounds littered his body, and blood freely flowed out.

"It's over," the Golden Immortal War Formation said.

The talisman containing his master's Eightfold Light attack had used up all its energy. The Golden Immortal War Formation that received the attack head-on continuously leaked qi, showing damage but would not collapse anytime soon.

The Golden Immortal War Formation that received his master's Eightfold Light charged at him while the second one kept its distance. Tai Wuling shook his head. "What a pity."

Seconds before the Golden Immortal War Formation reached him, cracks appeared on the ground for thousands of kilometers, and earthen light erupted. The land quaked, mountains exploded, and endless pits opened. It was as if the apocalypse had come.

"That bastard, he must have caused the earth vein to erupt!" the Golden Immortal War Formation controlled by the squad leader shouted. The war formation immediately formed a protective barrier to shield itself, but it was too late for the other one.

The earth vein node continued to erupt until it lost all power, furthering the Yellow Mausoleum's decay. Tai Wuling coughed as he climbed out of the rubble. Whatever was left of his clothes had turned to rags, and dust coated him, making him appear like a mud man.

"Dammit," Tai Wuling said as he stared at the sole Golden Immortal War Formation. It continuously leaked qi and looked like it would disintegrate at any moment, but it was still more than enough time to kill him. "I didn't want to use the last one."

Tai Wuling pulled out a second Eightfold Light Talisman refined by his master, Emperor Infinity. Without a second thought, he activated it, but he never thought the Golden Immortal War Formation would be even more decisive.

Cracks appeared all over its surface as power thrummed. Tai Wuling recognized what it was doing. It was going to self-detonate. Even if not aided by a complete law, the explosion produced by a peak monarch was not something he could withstand even at his peak state.

"Dammit!" Tai Wuling shouted as he urged the Eightfold Light Talisman to halt the Golden Immortal War Formation, but it was too late as a bright light filled his vision. The last thing he saw was a circular disk flying in front of him.