Chapter 1661 : 9-Tier Ancient Ship

Eldrin gave a slight nod upon hearing this.

This Dragon Nirvana Demon Venerable was someone he had long heard of—a rare variant of the Nirvana Dragon lineage, whose innate talent was considered a prodigy even among the Great Luo Immortal clans.

Even the Western Abyss Dragon King, a being at the Celestial Immortal realm, found himself overshadowed in the presence of this Nielong Yao Zun (Demon Venerable).

This time, as Demon Venerable Nielong underwent his heavenly tribulation in the Western Qi Divine Abyss Sea, he placed his seeds upon nearly a 100 Ninth-Level Earth Immortals from the demon race, nurturing several existences who had reached the Half-Step Celestial Immortal realm.

At present, the Western Abyss Dragon King’s assault on the Sea of Returning Abyss, along with the deployment of 20-7 Half-Step Celestial Immortals, was likely orchestrated under the command of the Netherdrake Demon Venerable.

At this thought, a faint glimmer flickered in Eldrin's eyes as he said, "Legend has it that the Nether Dragon Clan is an exceedingly rare lineage among dragonkind, counted among the most powerful branches of their race."

"It seems we may yet cross paths in this great tribulation."

Lyra (Person Name) nodded and continued, "Over the past 1000 years, the Western Abyss Dragon King has struck 3 times, yet failed to breach the 8 Trigrams Grand Formation on every occasion."

"Although the hundreds of millions of demon army are vast, without 9-order ancient vessels, our thousands of immortal veins continuously supply immortal spiritual energy. They likely couldn't breach our defenses even after tens of thousands of years."

At this point, a faint glimmer flickered in Lyra's eyes as she said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Western Abyss Dragon King must be devising ways to deal with us right now." Hearing this, Eldrin glanced at the countless demon beasts surrounding them and responded, "There are only 3 methods that can break the 8 Trigrams Immortal Formation."

"First, if a mighty figure at the mid Celestial Immortal stage were to take action, they could forcibly breach the 8 Trigrams Grand Formation by leveraging a high-powered Innate Treasure and divine abilities."

"Second, if 5 or more early-stage Celestial Immortals join forces, they might also be able to break the grand formation within a 1000 years."

"Third, it can be breached by deploying massive armies supported by ancient ships of Rank 9 or higher."

Upon hearing this, Lyra's gaze involuntarily trembled faintly.

Among these 3 conditions, a mid-stage Celestial Immortal expert would almost never take action personally. Such beings command awe across the realm, their status and prestige far surpassing that of half-step Celestial Immortals.

They were all high-ranking figures within the grotto-heavens and generally would not intervene in the Heavenly Tribulation.

In the distant past, before any unwritten rules were established among the major grotto-heavens and even the Great Luo realms.

At that time, if you dispatch a mid-stage Celestial Immortal to enter the tribulation, I shall send a late-stage Celestial Immortal to intervene—even those at the Great Perfection realm of Celestial Immortality would be compelled to descend into the fray.

When key figures fell, some Great Luo ancient sects fought with true fury, even triggering scenarios where supreme orthodoxies were completely annihilated.

To bring a few disciples through their Heavenly Tribulation, only to bring about the sect's utter destruction and leave it severely crippled—the price was far too steep.

After a series of grand and tumultuous battles, the 3 immortal courts, the 100 spirit clans, and even the major grotto-heavens reached a tacit understanding: high-level powerhouses would no longer intervene in the tribulation of the Dao.

They tacitly permit conflicts among peers, and generally, Heavenly Immortals would not intervene. Of course, whenever a true Heavenly Immortal seed enters tribulation, some cave heavens would still dispatch early-stage Heavenly Immortals to interfere.

At its core, this was the Hidden Realm leveraging its own profound foundations to exert pressure, though the suppression targeting those outside the Hidden Realm remained confined to the early stages of the Celestial Immortal realm.

Moreover, these early-stage Celestial Immortals, mindful of their status, typically served only as the final guardians of the mountain, never intervening until the most critical moments.

After all, when a Celestial Immortal expert completely cast aside dignity to strike, the very nature of the Heavenly Tribulation had transformed—what relevance could a Half-Step Celestial Immortal possibly hold now?

Thus, whether it was to have a mid-stage Celestial Immortal make a move or to gather 5 or more great early-stage Celestial Immortal experts, both were nearly impossible tasks.

Then the only possibility was that the Western Abyss Dragon King intended to summon a Ninth-Order Ancient Vessel.

At this thought, a faint glimmer flickered in Lyra's eyes as she said, "How could the Dragon King of the Western Abyss possess a 9th-tier ancient ship?"

Eldrin remained composed, his gaze serene as he stated, "The Western Abyss Dragon King possesses none, but the Netherdrake Demon Venerable may very well have such an ancient vessel in his possession."

At this point, Eldrin glanced toward the direction of the Abyssal Blessed Land and said, "The Ninth-Level Ancient Vessel is not to be underestimated. It would be wiser to wait until Ancestor Qiyuan makes his breakthrough before closing the net."

Heaven and earth roared as the void trembled.

Beyond the 8 Seas of the Abyss, countless demon immortals, ancient ships, mystical treasures, and supernatural powers were relentlessly assailing the 8 Trigrams Immortal Formation.

Beneath such boundless might, the vast 8 Seas of the Returning Abyss trembled incessantly, stirring waves a 1000 layers high. Tsunamis of immeasurable scale swept across the expanse, only to be quelled by the magic power of countless immortals.

The great war raged on, and in the blink of an eye, another 3 1000 years had passed.

During this period, the 8 Trigrams Immortal Array fully manifested its power. As Lyra (Person Name) channeled her energy to its peak, it evolved into a domain of the 8 Trigrams.

This 8 Trigrams domain was exceedingly overbearing. Any demonic beings below the Ascension Realm who charged into its confines would be instantly annihilated by the 8 supreme powers before they could even launch an attack against the grand formation.

Countless demonic immortals drove innumerable fiend tribes and demonic beasts to assault the 8 Trigrams formation. Wave after wave surged forward only to be annihilated by the defensive arrays, their sole achievement being the negligible depletion of the formation's energy reserves.

For thousands of years, the great war raged on, with the 8 Trigrams Grand Formation slaughtering hundreds of millions upon billions of demon tribes and demonic beasts.

However, the gains the demon race reaped from paying such a tremendous price were substantial. The immortal spiritual energy reserves of the celestial islands and blessed lands in the Eldritch Abyss Sea had now been depleted by more than half, reaching a critical threshold that began to affect the formation arrays.

"They are launching their final assault."

Gazing at the demonic army gathered beyond the sea, Eldrin murmured under his breath, his gaze deepening with solemn intensity.

The others immediately raised their heads upon hearing this, their gazes piercing into the depths of the void. A faint, chilling glint flickered in their eyes.

In the boundless void, hundreds of thousands of demon immortals began swarming forth in waves, accompanied by several 1000 Earth Immortal progenitors and tens of thousands of ancient celestial-class vessels tearing through the firmament.

Even more terrifying was that at the edge of the endless void, an ancient vessel—vaster than the Great 1000 Worlds and stretching hundreds of millions of miles in length—was slowly approaching.

Nirvana Dragon.

"Who would have thought that the Demon Venerable Nielong would actually be willing to lend him a ninth-rank ancient vessel."

Divine Lord Liuli murmured softly, a ripple of emotion shimmering in her gaze. She turned to Eldrin, her expression turning gravely solemn as she spoke, "The Nirvana Dragon Vessel carries a Tier-9 Annihilation Cannon. Such a weapon is forged by harnessing the essence of a microcosmos, supplemented with the refinement of Primordial Chaos Gold."

Its full-force strike was equivalent to the full-powered blow of a mid-stage Celestial Immortal.

Upon hearing this, Eldrin’s gaze darkened slightly. The power of such a colossal cannon was immense—if unleashed at full force, it could very well sink the entire Abyssal Sea.

Although the 8 Trigrams Immortal Formation was powerful, it was ultimately only a Taiyi Immortal Formation. It was likely to be shattered on the spot after withstanding just a few strikes.

At this thought, Eldrin couldn't help but remark, "If we allow this Annihilation Cannon to fire unimpeded, I fear even the 8-Trigrams Grand Formation would fail to withstand its power."

"Even if we cannot hold them off, it matters not."

Lyra's gaze sharpened with a flicker of battle intent as she spoke calmly, "We've been preparing for quite some time, just waiting for them to enter."