Tian Annan’s heart sank, and the expressions of the powerful figures from various countries who remained turned grim.

"Retreat, quickly retreat!" Mu Beichen and Gong Hongru shouted loudly. Even though they were hundreds of zhang away, they could feel the fierce vibrations brought by that array. In terms of power, this array was by no means weaker than the seal formed by the combined forces of a thousand powerful individuals, just with a different purpose.

Those who stayed behind and were within the array’s range felt it even more acutely. Immediately, some harbored thoughts of retreat and quietly began to move back. At a time like this, they could not afford to worry about matters of face.

To cultivate to this level, who among them had not faced life and death? In a certain sense, the path of cultivation is one where the victor is king. Many so-called geniuses fall halfway, and only those who survive can reach the peak. At such a critical juncture of life and death, they couldn’t bother with face.

Of course, as they would say, this is the detached calm that one achieves after living for hundreds or thousands of years and seeing through the world.

"Stop, all of you stop! Just a little more effort, and we can completely seal the Jiuyou Netherworld. No matter how powerful this array is, it can’t harm us in the slightest!" Tian Annan shouted loudly.

Damn girl and her prophetic crows! Tian Annan cursed inwardly. But so what if she was right? The Netherworld Prison Rift was only a few inches from fully closing. With their strength, just a few more hand formations were needed. There was no way he could give up at this point.

Upon hearing Tian Annan’s words, many who had been thinking of retreating stopped again. Indeed, the Netherworld Prison Rift was only a few inches from closing completely. Once successfully sealed, the Jiuyou Netherworld and the Holy Court Continent would be completely isolated, and no matter how powerful that array was, it couldn’t harm them in the slightest. Giving up now was not worth it.

Thinking this, they steadied themselves and resumed forming hand formations.

What they didn’t know was that this momentary change of heart would bring upon them a catastrophic disaster.

The ground continued to tremble and collapse, yet the powerful figures who remained kept forming hand formations. Most of them were at the Sword Saint Realm; even if not, they were Semi-Saints. The Wind Control Technique was hardly a problem, especially considering their status; who wouldn’t have a few decent magic artifacts or even divine artifacts on them? Even falling into a ten-thousand-zhang deep abyss wouldn’t harm them.

Four inches, three inches, two inches, one inch...

The rift slowly closed. In mid-air, the invisible seal shone with a brilliance like a giant net woven from all kinds of Outer Heaven Meteorite Gold, rapidly tightening.

Tian Annan’s face flushed with excitement, and the people around him were also on the verge of cheering.

Just then, from that almost fully closed rift, a red beam of light shot up to the sky, like a crimson longsword splitting the earth.

Before anyone could understand what was happening, they saw the red light covering the sky, resembling fiery clouds. The seemingly substantial seal began dissolving under the erosion of that red light. Most frighteningly, everyone could feel that the Holy Saint Gang Qi they infused into the seal over these days was also dissolving.

In the sky, the fiery red light grew denser, like a river of lava flowing through the sky, crisscrossing to form the pattern of an array. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Han Yan’s heart sank suddenly. This array looked identical to the one they saw underground through the Heavenly Secret Mirror!

Mysterious and profound rhythms appeared between heaven and earth, with the array in the sky and the one underground echoing each other. The vast and unmatched power of the array fused with the Holy Saint Gang Qi of the powerful figures from various countries, traversing heaven and earth.

"What is happening?" In extreme shock, almost everyone’s minds went blank for a moment.

"Hahahaha, all our painstaking efforts were not in vain. The Netherworld King shall emerge, and my Netherworld Prison shall unify the Holy Continent, slaying the gods to avenge the grievances of a million years ago!" At this moment, a wild laughter sounded.

A young man with long purple hair, wielding a long sword, looked up and laughed wildly. It was Xu Ming, who had been defeated by Han Yan at Beining Pass and escaped.

The earth collapsed rapidly. Below, a gigantic array appeared, with its center like a massive black hole, sucking in the collapsing giant stones and mudflows, along with the Holy Saint Gang Qi the strong ones infused into the seal.

An exceptionally majestic figure slowly appeared within that black hole, rising upward.

Even though he was far away, his form was so large, so magnificent, that everyone could clearly see his features. Standing three zhang tall, his face was steadfast and cold, as if carved from the hardest rock. His chest, shoulders, and thighs were clad in dark red battle armor, with a horned battle helmet on his head. The rest of his body was exposed, showing firm, knotted muscles full of power.

His eyes, looking out coldly, were full of cruelty and the intent to kill.

Everyone who met his gaze felt a chill in their heart, unable to even muster a hint of fighting spirit.

"The Netherworld King, this is the legendary Netherworld King." An old man, whose strength had reached the Sword Saint realm, spoke with a trembling voice.

The Netherworld King is the most powerful being in the Jiuyou Netherworld. Legend has it that back in the day, even the plane’s mighty beings, the so-called gods, paid a heavy price to seal the Jiuyou Netherworld. In countless wars spanning over millennia, numerous god-like strong masters, beyond the imagination of ordinary cultivators, paid with their lives, nearly half of them perishing at the hands of the Netherworld King, until a peerless strong one among the gods appeared, defeating and imprisoning the Netherworld King, finally sealing the Netherworld.

If not for his defeat, not even the gods could have sealed the Jiuyou Netherworld.

All the anticipation, all the confidence, vanished in an instant. Facing such a formidable being, one that even gods supposedly struggled against, no one could muster the will to resist. Amid cries of alarm, the powerful figures of various countries either performed the Wind Control Technique or summoned their magic artifacts, fleeing swiftly.

Only at this moment did they truly believe everything Han Yan had said was true.

Previously, they seemed to have the upper hand, almost sealing the Netherworld. But it was an illusion, or rather, it was the Netherworld Beast’s intentional display to deceive them. In truth, the Netherworld Beast laid that array to harness their power to break the prohibition and release the Netherworld King. Sadly, they were self-satisfied, dismissing Han Yan’s words.

Regrettably, there is no medicine for regret in this world. Now that they have awakened, it’s too late, and now even escaping is too late!