Chapter 438 - 437: The Three Imperial Bloodlines Unite, The Supreme Ancestor’s Array Activates

"We can preserve our strength and watch the Nine Provinces disappear, or we can spend everything we have to create a chance. I will not force you to make that choice, but I will not retreat from it either."

For several breaths, none of the Emperors spoke.

They had spent their lives carrying the responsibility of protecting the Nine Provinces, and each had endured battles that would have broken ordinary cultivators. They had witnessed the deaths of powerful allies, the collapse of ancient formations, and the destruction of the barriers that once protected their world.

Now, the final line of defense had been reduced to four exhausted cultivators facing an enemy whose strength surpassed their understanding.

There was no longer any room for pride.

Emperor Nanheng lowered her damaged fan and exhaled slowly. "If this is our only chance to interrupt the harvest, then I will give the array everything I have left. The Vermilion Bird lineage has guarded the southern territories for generations. I will not allow its final contribution to be mere hesitation."

Emperor Beiming gave a low growl of agreement.

"The Black Tortoise has always represented endurance," he said, tightening his grip around the massive shield. "If our foundations must be spent to preserve the Nine Provinces, then let them become the wall that stands between our world and the abyss."

Emperor Tianxu turned toward the Supreme Grand Elder and bowed once more.

"The Qilin lineage will not abandon this battle," he declared. "Give us the positions, Supreme Grand Elder. We will support your strike."

The Supreme Grand Elder nodded, his expression showing no relief despite their agreement. He knew the three Emperors were making a decision that could permanently destroy their cultivation foundations.

He also understood that his own life would likely end before the consequences of the battle could be measured. Nevertheless, their willingness to proceed had given him the final components needed to attempt the array.

"Take your positions," he commanded. "The formation must be completed before the Demon Emperor finishes pulling the Wonders through the rift."

?

The three Emperors immediately scattered across the astral void, moving to establish the required positions around the Supreme Grand Elder. Their restored cultivation allowed them to cross vast distances in moments, leaving trails of golden, crimson, and black light through the drifting debris.

Each selected a point corresponding to the ancient structure of the Supreme Ancestor’s Array.

Emperor Nanheng reached the southern position first.

She held her damaged Vermilion Bird fan before her chest, and the flames surrounding her body gathered into a dense sphere of crimson light. Although the artifact had lost much of its former brilliance, the bloodline within her remained powerful enough to summon the phantom of an ancient divine bird.

Its wings spread across the astral void, illuminating the surrounding fragments with a fierce red glow.

"Vermilion Bird, Anchor of the South!" she roared.

She drove the fan downward.

The phantom bird released a piercing cry as its claws seized the southern spatial coordinate. Crimson flames spread through the surrounding laws, forming an immense pillar of fire that extended from the depths of the Barrier Realm to the edge of the bleeding rift.

The pillar did not burn the surrounding debris, but instead anchored the position through a complex network of ancient Dao patterns.

Emperor Beiming moved to the northern point.

His Black Tortoise shield expanded once more, and the phantom of the divine tortoise emerged behind him with its head raised and its limbs spread wide. The creature’s shell was covered in countless dark patterns, each representing a defensive law preserved by the Black Tortoise lineage.

When Beiming slammed the shield into the void, those patterns ignited and spread outward.

"Black Tortoise, Anchor of the North!"

The phantom descended.

Its enormous shell pressed against the northern coordinate, and a wave of black light spread through the astral currents. The surrounding space became noticeably more stable, resisting the violent distortions produced by the distant demonic hands.

Beiming’s face tightened as the formation began drawing upon his bloodline, but he maintained his position without hesitation.

Emperor Tianxu took the eastern position.

His golden halberd released a resonant hum as the Qilin bloodline surged through his meridians. Behind him, the phantom of a majestic golden Qilin emerged, its scales shining like polished jade beneath the astral light.

The creature stepped forward, and every movement caused golden Dao patterns to spread across the void.

"Qilin, Anchor of the East!"

Tianxu thrust his halberd forward.

The Qilin roared and connected the northern and southern pillars, completing the first stage of the formation. Golden light spread through the astral void, linking the three anchors into a unified circuit.

The formation did not immediately unleash its power, but the surrounding Dao laws began to gather toward the heart of the formation, where the Supreme Grand Elder waited.

The Supreme Ancestor’s Array had been activated.

It was the Cultivation Council’s ultimate defensive formation, created during an era when cultivators still possessed enough strength to challenge threats that emerged from beyond their established territories.

Its original purpose had been to pool the combined foundations of the three imperial bloodlines and channel them into a single cultivator capable of resisting an enemy whose cultivation exceeded their own.

The formation did not create power from nothing.

Instead, it gathered the Emperors’ spiritual Qi, bloodline strength, and understanding of their respective Dao laws, compressing them into a unified current that could support the Supreme Grand Elder’s temporary Body Integration foundation.

Under normal circumstances, such a process would have placed tremendous strain on the anchors. But the current battle left them no reason to preserve their remaining strength.

A triangular web of golden, crimson, and black light spread across the Barrier Realm.

The three colors intertwined, forming countless intricate patterns that connected the Emperors to the Supreme Grand Elder. The spiritual Qi gathered by the formation grew denser with every passing moment, flowing toward the center in immense streams that resembled rivers of condensed light.

The surrounding astral debris was pushed away as the pressure increased, leaving a vast expanse of clear space around the formation.

The Supreme Grand Elder closed his eyes.

He could feel the combined power of the three Emperors entering his body, reinforcing the unstable foundation created by the Underworld Ascension Method. The gray aura around him grew brighter, and the cracks that had begun to spread across his flesh temporarily stopped widening.

For the first time since his breakthrough, his cultivation stabilized enough for him to gather his strength without immediately losing control.

He knew the stability would not last.

The array could support his output, but it could not restore the lifespan he had burned to reach Body Integration. Every moment spent maintaining the formation was another moment taken from the remainder of his existence.

He therefore abandoned any thought of conserving energy and began concentrating the gathered power into a single attack.

"Hold it!"