Many disciples of the sect weren't aware that there was a tower hidden deep within the mountains near Tribulation Peak. Tribulation Tower was usually closed off, and was only opened during times of war. The entire tower was well-protected by a tough formation from the outside, for the formation core of the Ninefold Formation lay within. Currently, all the formation spirit threads of Taiji Peak Lake were gathered there, where twenty of the sect’s fifty-odd third-origin tribulation elders stood guard.

The hundred million civilians were more than enough to power the formation to its limits, to the point that tribulation elders didn't have to chip in themselves. The twenty plus third-origin elders, along with Jian Wuyi, Xuanyuan Xiao, and Xuanyuan Yu each had their own part of the formation to control. Thirteen of those elders were from...