The remaining eight Genesis Realm Emperors exchanged uneasy glances; even Jason Silentwood had not anticipated such a turn of events. He had invited a group of Hunyuan powerhouses not to fill this lake, but to fill his Ninth-Rank Array Disk.
Fan Yuan looked at Jason Silentwood with a grave expression. "Island Lord Silentwood, with our strength, I'm afraid we cannot even touch the edge of the Chaos Lotus..."
As soon as Fan Yuan finished speaking, the Chaos Lotus suddenly became blurry, and a streak of azure light shot forth.
"The Chaos Lotus is about to escape—everyone, act now!" Jason Silentwood called out, tossing out over a thousand array flags and then unleashing his artifact toward the Chaos Lotus.
In truth, even without Jason Silentwood's reminder, as the Chaos Lotus attempted to flee, all seven Genesis Realm Emperors—including Jason himself—unleashed their artifacts simultaneously. At that moment, the domains of the seven Emperors overlapped, enveloping the Chaos Lotus. With the combined assault of seven Emperors, even the natural defensive layer of the Chaos Lotus began to weaken.
A sinister smile curled on Jason Silentwood's lips as he grabbed another five or six thousand array flags. Yet he quickly noticed that one person hadn't joined them in attacking the Chaos Lotus within the grand array.
With a single glance, Jason Silentwood recognized the outsider—it was Darren Rice. What enraged him further was that Darren not only refrained from suppressing the lotus, but snatched Joe Di's two Five Direction Banners and swiftly fled.
Jason Silentwood seethed with hatred, but at this moment, he could do nothing to Darren Rice. His hands only worked faster to set up the array. Besides hating Darren for escaping, he also hated Joe Di. If not for that ant Joe Di ruining his plans, Darren Rice would never have gotten away.
He had long considered this scenario. When he sealed the grand array, Graham Ming had been stationed to prevent anyone from escaping. Yet Joe Di, that ant, had killed his ally Graham Ming earlier.
Had Graham Ming still been alive, Darren Rice would surely have been dragged into the Ninth-Rank Array Disk as a sacrifice to blood-corrupt the Chaos Lotus.
The aura of chaos grew denser and denser, while the lotus's transcendent energy—capable of elevating both body and soul—became ever clearer.
Everyone's divine sense locked onto the shadow of the lotus; at this moment, no one could tear their attention away from it, their breathing quickening uncontrollably.
Darren Rice's escape was not witnessed by Jason Silentwood alone, but at this critical juncture, who would care about Darren? As for the two Five Direction Banners he took—any fool knew Joe Di would not let the matter rest. It was certain Joe Di would set up a Deathtrap Array outside; Darren's escape would be a miracle. Not only would Joe Di not give up, Jason Silentwood wouldn't either. Rather than fighting for the two banners, it was far wiser to vie for the far more valuable Chaos Lotus.
Only when the Five Direction Banners were complete would they truly hold value; compared to the Chaos Lotus, two banners were far less significant.
Crack! Jason Silentwood's divine array split apart, and he shouted frantically, "Everyone, stack your domains and attack the lotus together!"
At such a critical moment, no one would retreat. If the lotus tore through the grand array, all their efforts would be for naught.
Jason Silentwood once again tossed out several array flags, and the Ninth-Rank Array Disk he had concealed within the guardian array erupted in dazzling divine light.
At that moment, Cody Cobb—with eyes narrowed—unleashed a dark red spike, three feet long, straight at Jason Silentwood's nape. The instant the spike was released, Cody and the other six Genesis Realm Emperors suddenly felt themselves bound by a terrifying force, their very domains beginning to shatter.
There were no fools here—everyone knew this was the binding force of the Ninth-Rank Array Disk.
"Island Lord Silentwood, what do you mean by this?" Warren Wraith reacted instantly, roaring in anger.
"What's going on? Naturally, it's to keep the lotus—" Jason Silentwood's words abruptly cut off, as he too sensed a deadly crisis.
Jason's face turned pale in an instant. This was the perfect moment for the Blood Corruption Ritual; as long as the lotus was corrupted by the blood of six Genesis Realm cultivators, it would immediately slow down, unable to escape into the void, and finally fall into his hands.
Yet at this crucial moment, someone ambushed him. But who could possibly do so? This was his Ninth-Rank Array Disk.
Jason Silentwood frantically burned his essence blood, desperately trying to tear open the life force locked by the spike, but still found himself powerless.
Spurt! Though the spike hadn't completely torn his Spiritual Sea apart, it left him gravely injured, with a crack forming in his Spiritual Sea.
The other Genesis Realm Emperors who had been bound by the Ninth-Rank Array Disk now found themselves able to break free. Without hesitation, several of them burst out of Jason's array, guarding their bodies closely.
With the domains and blood rituals of the Emperors gone, the Chaos Lotus flashed with azure light and vanished without a trace.
Cody Cobb was stunned. Though he hadn't detected Jason's placement of the Ninth-Rank Array Disk, he had guessed as much. When they entered Jason's binding array to act against the Chaos Lotus, he had sensed the disk's presence.
In Cody Cobb's view, Jason's disk was surely meant to trap the lotus. He had launched a sudden attack on Jason, then used his trump card, hoping to slay Jason and the other six Emperors.
What he hadn't expected was that Jason's disk was actually designed to trap the Emperors themselves. If he hadn't struck Jason in that crucial instant before the disk bound them, he too would have been trapped and sacrificed to corrupt the lotus.
At this point, any further ambush against the Emperors was pointless—the lotus had already escaped. There was no reason to remain, and Cody Cobb, having understood the sequence of events, left without hesitation, not lingering for even a moment.
...
Joe Di sat at the exit of the Eightfold Formation Seal, clearly sensing his two Five Direction Banners drawing closer. He sneered inwardly—Jason Silentwood, that old turtle, had finally arrived. He was certain Jason hadn't obtained the lotus and only wanted to take his two banners.
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As the figure rapidly approached within Joe Di's divine sense, he frowned—why was it Darren Rice instead of Jason Silentwood?
Darren Rice dared to snatch the Five Direction Banners? That shouldn't be possible. No matter why he dared, now that he'd taken the banners, he shouldn't expect to leave.
As Darren Rice stepped into the Deathtrap Array set up by Joe Di, Joe heard him call out, "Daoist Joe, I helped you retrieve these two banners. I'm leaving now—the banners are yours."
With that, Darren tossed the two banners into the void, as if he were discarding ordinary items rather than two innate array flags.
Joe Di instantly understood Darren Rice's intent. After a brief hesitation, he chose not to lock the Deathtrap Array and let Darren go.
The moment Darren Rice dashed out of the Eightfold Formation Seal, he let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, and without a word, rushed out of Fenghorn Fortress.
Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he would never dare to take Joe Di's Five Direction Banners for himself. Darren Rice took away two banners because he knew Joe Di would never let the matter rest. With Joe Di's mastery of arrays, if he didn't set up a deathtrap formation at the exit, Darren would have to be blind not to notice. The reason he took the two banners was to pay Joe Di for safe passage.
Joe Di had no idea what was happening. Darren Rice had just left, and the second cultivator to rush over caught him off guard—it was Cody Cobb.
Before Cody Cobb could charge into the deathtrap array, he shouted loudly, "Daoist Joe, we are friends, not enemies! Ji Hongsen and the others are coming up behind me, and I have no intention of helping them. If you are willing to let me pass, I will remember this favor..."
As his last words fell, Cody Cobb had already entered the deathtrap array.
Joe Di knew that since he had set up the deathtrap array here, everyone inside could easily guess it. Even if nine people came at once, he would have to let a few go. Now that Cody Cobb had openly stated his intentions, Joe Di decided not to fight him.
Sure enough, after Cody Cobb dashed through Joe Di's deathtrap array, he vanished in an instant, just like Darren Rice before him.