Chapter 821: Xuanxiao Golden Armor

Jinfeng Ancestor was, naturally, aware of the Wuxing Sect's ultimate trump card, the Five Elements Dao Soldier Grand Array. Back then, Hunyuan Ancestor's cultivation was among the top in the three surrounding regions, and Jinfeng Ancestor had fought him once. Facing Hunyuan True Qi, which could break all five elements, Jinfeng Ancestor was no match. Thus, he had never experienced the power of these Five Elements Dao Soldiers.

Nevertheless, a war array not presided over by a Nascent Soul cultivator would inevitably collapse once he, a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator, infiltrated it.

Jinfeng Ancestor, stepping onto the golden bridge, broke through the Five Elements barrier and descended into the encirclement of five colossal Dao Soldiers. His expression was calm and cold. Under the suppression of the Grand Array's spiritual light, his Profound Gold Dharma Body radiated an even more brilliant golden glow. He managed to resist the erosion of the entire grand array with his own strength.

Behind him, the four Core Formation cultivators of Xuanxiao Dao Palace, leading hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators and tens of thousands of Qi Condensation cultivators, descended from the golden bridge. Within the Five Elements Dao Soldier Grand Array, they formed four narrow, elongated square formations, topped by Xuanguang and his three companions.

From the ground, Chen Mobai looked up at the sky. It appeared as if four immense golden arrows had suddenly materialized, like celestial beings drawing bows in the void, aimed at the five towering giants standing resolutely on the earth, daring to resist. This was another well-known war array of Xuanxiao Dao Palace: the Arrow Released Array! It was this very array that Jinfeng Ancestor had once wielded to crush Kongsang Valley's army head-on, severely injuring Muqin. Regarding its sharpness in offense, this war array was hailed as the best outside of the Eastern Lands.

Jinfeng Ancestor's eyes, subtly shimmering with golden light, gleamed with sharp, chilling intensity. With a wave of his hand, the four golden arrows erupted with even brighter radiance, poised to strike. Chen Mobai and Zhou Shengqing exchanged glances, then smiled and flew upwards.

In an instant, two vast and mighty Nascent Soul auras caused Jinfeng Ancestor's pupils to suddenly contract.

"Fellow Daoist Jinfeng, to gather such a large force and come to my Eastern Barrens, aren't you showing a complete disregard for my Wuxing Sect?" Zhou Shengqing said, looking at Jinfeng Ancestor with a displeased expression, as if genuinely angered.

Jinfeng Ancestor was silent for a moment, confirming that the two individuals before him were genuine Nascent Soul cultivators, not merely empowered by the Five Elements Dao Soldier Grand Array. He couldn't help but say, "If I told you this was a misunderstanding, that I merely brought my disciples out for an exercise and will return immediately, would the two of you believe me?"

Chen Mobai and Zhou Shengqing exchanged glances after hearing this, then both shook their heads.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, it must certainly be resolved. How about this: as long as Fellow Daoist Jinfeng leaves your life behind today, I can guarantee that your Xuanxiao Dao Palace disciples behind you may return," Chen Mobai stated. Upon hearing this, Jinfeng Ancestor knew that today would be a fight to the death.

"You must be Chen Guixian, the Sect Master of the Wuxing Sect. I didn't expect you to have formed a Nascent Soul at such a young age. It seems Hunyuan left behind quite a few Nascent Condensing Pills after his death." Jinfeng Ancestor recognized Zhou Shengqing and had been somewhat prepared for his Nascent Soul formation, as Zhou Shengqing had, after all, killed many Core Formation cultivators, including Zhao Xuankang, above Giantwood Ridge.

However, he had truly never anticipated Chen Mobai also successfully forming a Nascent Soul. How old was this person?

"Since Jinfeng Ancestor is unwilling to resolve this misunderstanding, then today, we can only ask you to die here," Chen Mobai said. He no longer wished to waste words; at this point, it was bound to be a battle to the death.

"The two of you have only just formed your Nascent Souls; your futures are still very bright. Although I am in my twilight years, dragging one of you down with me before I die would be no problem. Do you truly wish for a mutual destruction?" Jinfeng Ancestor spoke again, knowing full well that if he died here today, the lineage of Xuanxiao Dao Palace would be completely severed.

It was at this moment that he suddenly understood why Old Ancestor Baiwu had sent Zhu Jun to offer such terms; clearly, that treacherous fellow had long known that the Wuxing Sect had Nascent Soul cultivators and wanted to see him and them both suffer greatly.

"Fellow Daoist, it's time to go!" Chen Mobai uttered these five words. Then, with a grasp in the air with his right hand, a long sword gleaming with purple light landed in his palm. After upgrading to Fifth-tier, the Purple Lightning Sword had completely stabilized its grade over the past year or so.

Chen Mobai knew very well that Nascent Soul cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm were different from those in the Immortal Sects; they were truly forged through one life-and-death battle after another. Those with slightly inferior combat skills had long since perished. Therefore, even though it was a two-on-one fight with Zhou Shengqing against Jinfeng Ancestor, and with the Five Elements Dao Soldiers backing them, Chen Mobai still brought out his full arsenal.

The Heavenly Origin Pearl also descended from his internal domain into his left palm. At the same time, the Taiyi Five Smoke Net, which he had been safeguarding for his daughter, transformed into multi-colored auspicious clouds and settled beneath his feet. Above his head, the golden Haotian Mirror also radiated flames, continuously rotating to gather the surrounding solar energy.

Jinfeng Ancestor's mouth twitched slightly at this sight. He looked down at the large golden banner in his hand—his natal magic artifact, the Golden Light Banner. Even after centuries of refinement and nurturing, it was merely a high-grade Fourth-tier artifact, stuck just before the threshold of true sentience.

In contrast, Chen Mobai, if Jinfeng Ancestor wasn't mistaken, possessed items none of which were inferior to his Golden Light Banner. Even the pearl and sword in his left and right hands emitted fluctuations that made his eyelids twitch. Could these be Fifth-tier artifacts?

At this moment, Jinfeng Ancestor was filled with regret. He had originally believed that with his own strength, combined with Xuanxiao Dao Palace's full deployment, he could easily overwhelm a rustic sect like Wuxing Sect and transform the Eastern Barrens into his personal backyard after sweeping through it. Who would have thought that the Wuxing Sect was so adept at hiding? Zhou Shengqing had formed his Nascent Soul long ago but had then vanished for decades. It was clear, without a doubt, that they had been waiting to ambush him.

Jinfeng Ancestor now regretted why he hadn't come to the Eastern Barrens decades earlier, even at the cost of depleting his essence, to completely wipe out the Wuxing Sect. If it had only been Zhou Shengqing, he would have been 100% confident in killing him. But with Chen Mobai now present, Jinfeng Ancestor knew his chances of victory were extremely slim. After all, this person had led the Wuxing Sect to exterminate several other major sects in the Eastern Barrens, gaining a notorious reputation. He had also killed Xuanshu, his most favored disciple, in direct combat. Clearly, he was a prodigy on par with the Sacred Land Dao Sons, and his strength would only be more terrifying after forming a Nascent Soul. Jinfeng Ancestor resented himself for giving the Wuxing Sect time to develop, allowing them to wait for Chen Mobai to form his Nascent Soul.

Just as his resentment simmered, Chen Mobai had already activated the Purple Lightning Sword in his palm. With a thunderous roar, a beam of purple lightning, carrying a sword light capable of piercing the firmament, descended upon Jinfeng Ancestor's head.

Jinfeng Ancestor immediately shook the large banner in his hand, and a brilliant golden light erupted, resembling a golden crescent blade, colliding with the Purple Lightning Sword. But in an instant, the golden crescent blade shattered. "It's definitely a Fifth-tier flying sword! What is this boy's origin? He absolutely couldn't have been cultivated by the Wuxing Sect!"

After this initial exchange, Jinfeng Ancestor immediately assessed the Purple Lightning Sword's grade. He quickly pulled a palm-sized set of golden armor from his storage bag. With his Profound Gold Dharma Body resonating, the armor instantly expanded and enveloped him. The Purple Lightning Sword struck his helmet, emitting a brilliant spark and forcing Jinfeng Ancestor back two steps.

"Oh, this armor is quite good!" Chen Mobai looked with some surprise at the helmet, which only had a faint white mark, and once again felt fortunate that he had not been careless or reckless. Cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm truly had many trump cards.

"Junior Brother, this is a thousand-year-old artifact passed down by Xuanxiao Dao Palace, called the Xuanxiao Golden Armor. It's said to incorporate a piece of Fifth-tier Profound Gold, and when combined with the Profound Gold Dharma Body, nothing less than Fifth-tier can break its defense," Zhou Shengqing explained at this moment. Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai looked at the Purple Lightning Sword, wondering if it had only achieved a 'fake' Fifth-tier upgrade.

Given his artifact forging expertise, he could naturally tell that although the Xuanxiao Golden Armor used Fifth-tier material, it was only of peak Fourth-tier quality, without any trace of spiritual fluctuation. One could only say that the artifact forging level here was too backward, but this only made the newly upgraded Purple Lightning Sword appear somewhat incompetent by comparison.

*Master, this person's helmet is made of Fifth-tier material. I can cut through him if I aim for a different spot.* Sensing Chen Mobai's skeptical gaze, the Purple Lightning Sword immediately explained. So, the Fifth-tier Profound Gold in the Xuanxiao Golden Armor had been used to forge the helmet.

Chen Mobai's expression slightly dawned upon hearing this. He then once again controlled the Purple Lightning Sword, sending it slashing towards Jinfeng Ancestor's waist.

With a *boom*! Jinfeng Ancestor activated his escape light, attempting to evade the Purple Lightning Sword. However, the latter, determined to prove itself, chased and sliced into the escape light almost instantly, empowered by Chen Mobai's vast Pure Yang True Qi. The Xuanxiao Golden Armor immediately erupted with dazzling light, but under the Purple Lightning Sword's sharp edge, it couldn't even resist for a single breath, being cut open as if it were leather.

Beneath the golden armor lay Jinfeng Ancestor's Profound Gold Dharma Body, cultivated painstakingly for nearly a thousand years. However, its brilliant golden spiritual light only slightly slowed the Purple Lightning Sword's penetration.

With a *squelch*. The Purple Lightning Sword had already cut into Jinfeng Ancestor's waist, blood gushing out, and the excruciating pain caused his escape light to momentarily falter.

As Chen Mobai's thoughts stirred, intending to slice this formidable enemy in half, a dense golden light, mixed with fresh blood, suddenly condensed into a talisman that landed on the Purple Lightning Sword.

"Lock!" As Jinfeng Ancestor spat out a mouthful of heart's blood into the golden light talisman, accompanied by a verbal command, Chen Mobai felt his connection with the Purple Lightning Sword suddenly severed.

"Treasure-Trapping Golden Light!" He immediately recalled this spell, but wasn't it only supposed to seal up to Fourth-tier artifacts? However, Chen Mobai quickly realized that cultivators in the Heavenly River Realm often held back a portion of their teachings. The Treasure-Trapping Golden Light he had obtained from the Profound Gold Ganoderma's storage bag might not have been the complete version.

*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!* Jinfeng Ancestor had just sealed the Purple Lightning Sword and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when streaks of azure light needles pierced towards his seven orifices. Zhou Shengqing had made his move!