Chapter 2786

"Reluctant, indeed," Zhu Yanyi answered seriously. "But I cannot stop what you, the Evil Emperor, intend to do. Even if I am reluctant, what can I do? If you choose to take them all to death, my reluctance changes nothing. The karma is yours to sow. The outcome has nothing to do with us. If we can save the beings of the Ancient Universe, it is because of our compassion. But that does not mean we must sacrifice ourselves to fulfill your wishes. I do not think such reluctance is worth it."

A leisurely smile played on Zhu Yanyi’s lips. This calmness brought a sense of security to the surrounding gods.

"We have done our best. If it fails, it is not our karma. If we ignored it, that would be our fault. But if we are powerless, it is not our responsibility."

It was just a battle of wits. Zhu Yanyi usually disliked using her brain, but that did not mean she lacked wisdom. So, she answered very seriously.

The Evil Emperor did not expect Zhu Yanyi’s answer to be so blunt. She did not know how to proceed.

But he was the Evil Emperor. His methods were still formidable. He smiled wickedly. "I knew you would not want to enter. So, I sent you a gift."

The Evil Emperor took out a token and threw it forward. "Years ago, I accidentally obtained this Wish-Fulfilling Token. I do not know how it was created, but one token grants three wishes. For the first wish, I asked to be released from my seal. I succeeded, but the price was terrible—my cultivation dropped to that of an Evil God. Later, I used the token to gather evil energy. I got it, and my cultivation recovered somewhat, but all the sects I established were destroyed by you two."

As she spoke, the Evil Emperor looked at Zhu Yanyi and Yan Aohan. "Originally, I wanted to use the third wish for a successful possession. But I did not dare. The lessons from the first two wishes taught me that the price was too terrifying. However, since I have reached this point, I can make the wish. The third wish is to send you all into this Eighty-One Fate-Stealing Heaven and Earth Net Array."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Evil Emperor dropped a drop of blood onto the token. The token vanished instantly, and the gods before him disappeared. The three wishes were fulfilled, and the Wish-Fulfilling Token naturally disappeared.

Zhu Yanyi and the others were thus sent into the Heaven and Earth Net Array.

The only thing to be grateful for was that everyone remained together.

"I did not expect the Evil Emperor to have a Wish-Fulfilling Token," one god said. After the initial panic, the gods calmed down.

Zhu Yanyi raised her eyebrows slightly. "Even if she did not use the token, we would have entered sooner or later. We could not just watch all the beings of the Ancient Universe die."

"Empress Yan, why did you chat idly with that Evil Emperor just now?" Hua Emperor asked, speechless.

"How else can we show our dignity? Besides, if we entered the array just because she asked, that would be embarrassing," Zhu Yanyi said seriously, clearly indicating that her previous words were true.

Yan Aohan stood by, dumbfounded. "Wife, how do we break this array?"

Since they were inside, they had to break it. Regarding arrays, Yan Aohan knew he was no match for Zhu Yanyi, so it was better to ask her.

Zhu Yanyi looked around and said, "The Eighty-One Array consists of eighty-one formations. Except for the final grand formation, we must first break the first eighty. Once we start breaking these eighty, we cannot stop. This means we need to rest well before starting, because no one knows how much energy each formation will require."

Hearing this, the gods realized the array was not easy.

Indeed, if it were easy, the Evil Emperor would not have used it.

"I am not worried about the eighty formations. I am worried about the array eye," Zhu Yanyi said to the gods. "I have said that the key to breaking the array is finding the eye. But we can only look for it after breaking the eighty formations. No one knows what the cost of activating this array will be. You all know the Evil Emperor’s character. She will not welcome us gently."

The gods fell silent. Indeed, as Zhu Yanyi said, the Evil Emperor was not easy to deal with. Since she set up this array, it would certainly not be simple.

After thinking for a moment, the gods said, "Let’s not worry about that now. Let’s break the eighty formations first."

There was no room for retreat. No one expected the Evil Emperor to have a Wish-Fulfilling Token. But since they were in, the Emperors did not complain.

They had come to face more difficulties. They knew this long ago.

Black Emperor said, "Empress Yan, let’s not worry about the array eye for now. We will deal with it when we find it. Our most important task now is to figure out how to break the array."

Zhu Yanyi thought for a moment and said, "Breaking the array is not difficult. I will observe the formations, and you will take turns breaking them. This way, the array can be broken, and everyone’s energy consumption will not be too high."

The gods agreed with this.

These were not mortal arrays. The arrays here relied more on spiritual power and fortune, so breaking them would consume a lot of energy.

"I will tell you how many people are needed for each formation. You can decide who goes," Zhu Yanyi said. Identifying the array and arranging the breaking process required a lot of energy, so she could not participate in the actual breaking.

The gods had no objections to this.

Zhu Yanyi looked around. "Alright, you rest first. I will observe this array."

Zhu Yanyi sighed and began to examine the array.

The Eighty-One Fate-Stealing Heaven and Earth Net Array, as the Evil Emperor said, focused on stealing fortune. The first formation already showed the importance of fortune. If one was not careful and failed to break the formation in one go, the gods breaking it would perish.

Therefore, there was no room for testing. One had to break it with one hundred percent certainty, or perish.

It had to be said that the Evil Emperor’s intentions were truly vicious. Fortunately, Zhu Yanyi was very proficient in arrays.

However, Zhu Yanyi’s arrays were mostly for saving people, while the current array was mostly for harming people.

Zhu Yanyi observed the array with her divine sense and then said, "This first formation requires three gods to break it from three different directions."

After Black Emperor and the gods discussed, they sent out three gods.

Then, Zhu Yanyi carefully told them how to break the array, how to move, how to find the key point of the first formation, and how to break it.

Zhu Yanyi explained very carefully and seriously, emphasizing some key points repeatedly.

After sending the three gods in, Yan Aohan took out a bottle of spiritual water and gave it to Zhu Yanyi. "Drink. You will need to explain the array later."

Zhu Yanyi nodded, did not refuse, took it, and drank the spiritual water, then waited for the formation to be broken.

Actually, breaking the first thirty formations was not difficult, as long as one was careful. But since many Emperors were not very familiar with arrays, Zhu Yanyi was somewhat worried.

However, there were a few she could rely on. For example, in the Supreme Universe, except for Fire Emperor and Fire Empress, who needed more instructions from Zhu Yanyi, the others had some understanding of arrays, though not as deep as Zhu Yanyi’s.

Of course, apart from the Supreme Universe, Cloud Emperor also had some understanding of arrays. After all, his cloud changes were unpredictable and close to the诡道 (treacherous path), so he naturally had some understanding of arrays.

Zhu Yanyi usually saw through the array, found the way to break it, and then let other gods break it.

Even with clear arrangements, the speed was not fast.

Moreover, the first thirty formations in the array were relatively simple. The later ones became increasingly difficult.

Because they were difficult, the time to break the later formations would gradually increase. Therefore, the time for the earlier ones had to be short.

So, Zhu Yanyi had to analyze each formation very accurately to help the gods break the array as quickly as possible.

It took one year to break thirty formations, which was quite fast.

"Wife, take a rest," Yan Aohan said, looking at Zhu Yanyi’s tired appearance. He felt heartbroken.

Cloud Emperor also spoke up. "Although we have ninety-nine years, breaking thirty formations in one year is already fast. Rest first. We will still need you later."

"Yes, yes," the gods urged.

Zhu Yanyi thought for a moment, then took out a bottle of spiritual liquid and drank it before saying, "I will sit in meditation for a while."

She indeed needed rest. In this year, Zhu Yanyi’s spiritual power was highly concentrated, but the vastness of the array caused her spiritual power to deplete quickly.

Regardless, Zhu Yanyi knew she could not collapse. So, when the gods suggested she rest, she did not refuse but began to regulate her breath.

With the spiritual liquid, Zhu Yanyi’s recovery speed was quite fast. After about ten days of meditation, Zhu Yanyi opened her eyes and said, "Let’s continue."

Each formation had its own characteristics. To break the array, Zhu Yanyi needed to constantly observe, and each attempt had to succeed.

Zhu Yanyi’s understanding of arrays was truly unbelievable. She could quickly find the key point of almost every formation. But once the speed increased, the overdraw of spiritual power also accelerated.

Zhu Yanyi discovered a problem. Looking at the formation in front of her, she fell into deep thought.

"What’s wrong? Can’t this formation be broken?" Yan Aohan asked concernedly.

Zhu Yanyi shook her head slightly. "It’s not that it can’t be broken, but this formation…"

"What’s wrong with this formation?" Yan Aohan asked.

Hearing Zhu Yanyi’s tone, Yan Aohan knew there was definitely a problem with this formation, so he asked hurriedly.

Zhu Yanyi pondered for a while before saying, "This is a time-acceleration formation. Once we touch this formation, the entire time for breaking the array will accelerate."

"Does the time accelerate even if we break this formation?" Yan Aohan asked again.

Zhu Yanyi nodded. "To break the formation, we must activate it. Once activated, time will accelerate. Even if we finally break the formation, the acceleration of time in the Heaven and Earth Net Array will become an inevitable outcome."

"Is there no way?" Black Emperor and others came over, asking concernedly.

"Unless someone’s speed is faster than time, and they use that speed to break the array. Although time will still accelerate, the effect will not be as great," Zhu Yanyi said seriously.

"In that case, I will break it," Immortal Empress spoke up.

Seeing everyone’s puzzled looks, Immortal Empress smiled. "My specialty is speed. My speed is now faster than light, so it should be useful."

Zhu Yanyi’s eyes lit up. "Immortal Empress, I will tell you how to break the array."

Then, Zhu Yanyi pulled Immortal Empress aside and began to explain how to break the array.

The other gods did not disturb them at all. After all, this formation was too difficult. Even though Immortal Empress’s speed was fast, they had to prevent any mishaps. So, while Zhu Yanyi explained the breaking method to Immortal Empress, the other gods did not go over, mainly because they dared not disturb them.

Zhu Yanyi explained it once, then had Immortal Empress repeat it to ensure nothing was missed before saying, "I will activate the array in a moment. Immortal Empress, you start. Go as fast as you can. Every second faster gains us time."

Immortal Empress made an OK gesture. "I am ready, Empress Yan. Start."

Zhu Yanyi looked at Immortal Empress, confirmed she was ready, and then said, "In that case, let’s start now."

As soon as the word "start" fell, Immortal Empress rushed into the array, and Zhu Yanyi watched the array with a serious face.

From entering to exiting, Immortal Empress took five minutes.

Seeing the formation disappear, Zhu Yanyi smiled. "Good. Immortal Empress’s speed only reduced our time by five months."

Hearing the result, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad. I did not expect you to have a god who controls speed. This was unexpected," the Evil Emperor appeared again.

At this moment, the Evil Emperor’s expression seemed particularly lazy. "I originally thought you would lose at least thirty years. I did not expect you to have a speed-controlling god. This was unexpected."

"That is because you never properly understood some sayings, like 'He who has the Way has many helpers; he who loses the Way has few.' This array is just like that. No matter how powerful you, the Evil Emperor, are, you are only one. But we have many gods here."

Zhu Yanyi did not seem surprised by the Evil Emperor’s appearance. Since she could calculate the gods so well, she would naturally watch them. And since she was one of the array eyes, appearing was naturally very simple.

"She who has the Way has many helpers? To be honest, I, the Emperor, have never believed this," the Evil Emperor said, looking at Zhu Yanyi. "Since you believe in this so much, I will simply increase the difficulty here. I suppose you will be very happy."

"Is there something wrong with your head? Do you see us happy?" Zhu Yanyi sneered.

"It is best that you are not happy. If you are not happy, but I am, that is even better," the Evil Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, and the wickedness on his face became even stronger.