Without the Open Gate Banner, the Eight Gates Banners couldn’t be considered an artificial Dao armament, but there was nothing Tang Jie could do about this but sigh.
Since six had been lost, the final banner must have been lost somewhere in the Rosecloud Domain, so he could only task the disciples of the Basking Moon Sect to search for it. Fortunately, the Basking Moon Sect was at its peak of power and would have no problem scouring the world for it.
After marking all the materials he wanted with his Divine Will, Tang Jie turned his attention toward Flowing Wind and the other Immortals.
Those three were currently in battle with the insects, which, despite their savagery, were ultimately helpless against the Earth Immortals. Not only that, the three grew stronger as they fought and seemed to show signs of escaping.
The Azure Dragon was rather perplexed. “The Miniaturization Formation should have been far above the level of Earth Immortals, so why are things like this?”
As a master of formations, Tang Jie explained, “It’s because the formation has already been broken once. When I came here, I wondered why the defensive power of the formation seemed rather weak, and I only understood when you told me that the remains belonged to Wind Holder and not Reverend Five Origins. Wind Holder already damaged this formation once.”
“Wind Holder isn’t capable of that!” the Azure Dragon firmly said.
“If someone helped him, he could have done it,” Tang Jie replied.
It was precisely because of Wind Holder that there was a break in the Dao Formation, which had allowed Tang Jie’s original body to go against the Dao and use a part of its strength. This same flaw was also allowing the three Earth Immortals to gradually adapt and show signs of breaking out.
He soon arrived at their side. When they all learned that Tang Jie had released the Azure Dragon and strengthened the Mother Cloud combat puppet, they became full of confidence and readied for a fight.
Tang Jie said to the dragon, “Which one do you want to deal with?”
The old dragon knew that his freedom meant he had to work, so he pursed his lips and said, “The one with the mirror.”
The one he had chosen was Flowing Wind.
The old dragon was skilled in energy observation, and he could tell at a glance that Flowing Wind had the weakest energy signature. This undoubtedly made him the weakest, so he chose him as his opponent.
Tang Jie smiled. “Alright, he’s yours. The others will deal with Mou Siming while I will handle the Flame Celestial Sovereign.”
He raised his hand and pressed down on the jade mirror several times, halting the formation. With another move, he completely released the seals of the formation, upon which the entire world began to transform.
Everything around them rapidly shrank. While they were growing, those massive creatures were becoming tiny, and that befuddling fog was replaced by a clear sky.
It was like they had ascended from their world to a higher plane, even their senses evolving.
Tang Jie pensively gazed at this sky that seemed both familiar and strange, feeling something from it.
Alas, before this feeling could be fully experienced, there was a sharp bark.
In the distance, Mou Siming and company appeared, rushing at them.
Tang Jie chuckled and pointed into the distance, upon which the world began to shift again.
Numerous formations were activated all at once, a heavy fog descending that was thick with traps.
The girls and the combat puppet charged at Mou Siming, holding him down with the help of formations, while the dragon rushed at Flowing Wind.
Although Tang Jie had planted a seal in him so that he wouldn’t turn traitor, he was still thinking at every moment about his freedom. He had only broken free of the Eternity Sarcophagus, and he was already thinking of how to get away from Tang Jie, even thinking about killing him. Thus, he had chosen the one he had regarded as the weakest, Flowing Wind.
As he rushed at Flowing Wind, he started to think about how he could fight in a way where it seemed like he was fighting at full power while also not defeating Flowing Wind too quickly.
Yes, he would use the Hundred Cloud Transformations of the Divine Dragon! With all of its numerous variations, it put on quite the show of force, which was bound to convince Tang Jie that he was giving it his all.
Thinking this, he smiled at Flowing Wind. “Kid, take this.”
He extended a hand, and a dragon claw emerged from the clouds, swiping at Flowing Wind while stirring up an impressive storm in the process.
But he failed to notice his claw passing through an azure cloud. As the claw reached through the cloud toward Flowing Wind, the cloud suddenly condensed, and the dragon felt his Immortal energy being severed. The dragon claw instantly came apart into a ball of Immortal energy. And besides that, the azure cloud turned into a vortex and sucked up all that Immortal energy.
The dragon’s Immortal energy was devoured.
The dragon was stunned, but he failed to notice the problem. Thinking that he had fallen for some sneak attack, he shouted, “Kid, you dare to steal my Immortal energy? Hurry up and die!”
Another dragon claw swiped at Flowing Wind.
This claw came down with the force of a mountain, manifesting all sorts of weather phenomena as a proper attack from a Titan should. As the reincarnation of a True Immortal, even when limited by the ice dragon’s cultivation, the Azure Dragon could still unleash some powerful Immortal arts.
But Flowing Wind simply dropped his head and thrust out a finger. The azure cloud in the sky shifted once more, turning into a finger and stabbing at a certain point in space.
There seemed nothing special about this point, but it was actually the Immortal energy node of the Azure Dragon’s claw. His Immortal art was instantly undone, and the cloud once more sucked up his lingering Immortal energy.
The old dragon was dumbfounded this time. Such accuracy in targeting the weak points of his attacks would require something on par with Tang Jie’s Celestial Eye. But the old dragon knew that this wasn’t Insight, for there was a familiarity to it.
“Fate!” the dragon shrieked.
This power was clearly the power of Fate.
He had chosen someone who had entered the Dao of Fate as his opponent!
The Azure Dragon knew that he had made a grave mistake.
Those who entered the Dao of Fate could not be judged according to their Immortal energy, but according to their Dao Arts. The Dao of Fate was renowned for its bizarrity, and this person was clearly a genius who had both entered the Dao of Fate and cultivated a Fate Dao Art.
Normally, the old dragon wouldn’t have been scared. The Azure Dragon was the master of Fate, a supreme Titan of the Dao of Fate.
But he had chosen reincarnation in order to break his natural limit, which had cost him both his draconic body and his powers over Karma and Fate. No longer could he mobilize the power of these Great Daos, let alone use Dao Arts.
In other words, he was completely helpless against his opponent’s Fate Dao Art.
Flowing Wind finally raised his head, smiling at the dragon. “I was wondering who it was. So it was the reincarnation of the Azure Dragon! Alas, despite your grand ambitions, you ended up as a slave to a human. Well, you’re still half an Azure Dragon. If I catch and refine your divinity, I can absorb your Fate Dao Wills and enhance my fortune. Through the Overflowing Heaven Mirror, I could see that Tang Jie had entered the Dao of Fate, so beating him wouldn’t be easy, but if I devour you, my chances will be much better.”
He waved his hand, and the cloud wrapped around the dragon.
The old dragon was far too familiar with this move, crying out, “The Ethereal Rain Divine Connection, the Genesis Cloud, the Overflowing Heaven Mirror… You’re her successor… her successor… Save me!!!”
The Azure Dragon was calling for help!