Within the Tribulation Tower, the power the formation was generating could clearly be witnessed. The five layers at the very front were more than enough to greatly impact the attacking army of samsarans. When the battle first started, they were taught a harsh lesson and piled up casualties in droves.

While Nonahall's troops might be able to hold on, thanks to the hate that fueled them, the other four sects' troops, even Heptastar's, didn't dare to charge with all they had and focused on self-preservation. Nonahall ended up suffering the most casualties, a cause for celebration for those in the Tribulation Tower if there ever was one.

"This time around, our enemy couldn't match the power of our formation with numbers. If even half a million of their samsarans manage to survive, it's my loss!" Xuanyuan Xiao cheered.

"The troops in the other three directions aren't really giving it their all. Looks like they're about to give Nonahall a lot of trouble. I wonder what those two old ghoul kings are thinking..." Xuanyuan Yu pondered.

"They were too impatient and launched an attack the moment they came. Even if the imperial son can take care of their weaker troops, they can still bring an army of ten million to take on most of the brunt of the formation. At least they wouldn't be fighting such an uphill battle."

"That's right. They were patient enough during the siege of Tianming City. What in the world are they going to try now?"

Everyone still had quite a few doubts about the situation, but the truth that the numbers of Nonahall were being thinned was plain to see.

"Sect Master Jian, give it a slightly stronger push and destroy Nonahall! When Sect Master Fang retreats beyond the fourth layer, you can rest up," Xuanyuan Xiao said.

"Alright, no problem," Jian Wuyi said as he scrutinized the state of the battlefield with his sharp eyes.

Looks like Nonahall isn't able to push on at all... This won't do. His lips curved into a smile. Only with the Ninefold Formation gone can the killing intensify. Let's switch things up!

With both hands, he grasped the formation cores for all five layers and controlled the entire thing. The elders around him only passively helped him out. At the last moment, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath, seeing a green-robed figure in his mind's eye. "Qingyu, the era of the Jian house is finally here."

His calm voice belied the passionate gaze on his face. "Time to turn it up a notch!"

He was now at the eye of the storm. The power generation by the formation spirit threads was now his to control. No doubt, Xuanyuan Xiao and the rest were relieved to see that. As long as Jian Wuyi could push the five layers to their limits, they would definitely obtain a landslide victory.

"Now, let's blast them to the depths of hell!"

The five layers went full throttle. "Now, die!" he yelled with all his being, forgetting himself and letting himself loose after all the repression over the years. He didn't even remember why. He couldn't figure out why even though he got married and had a child and what seemed to be a fulfilling life that many others envied, especially with his wife being someone as beautiful as the coral fairy, he still never felt satisfied. Due to their different views and wavelengths, they always argued. His only moments of peace were when he trained his swordsmanship, and his ambitions and passions only flared up when he recalled the oath he had made to that person in his youth.

"Humans only have one life, so might as well use it to shake the world! Why should our house, the esteemed House of Jian, submit for the rest of eternity? Why can't we be the rulers of the world instead? Hahaha!"

He laughed maniacally and gathered more and more energy from the formation spirit threads in his control. It began uncontrollably surging as the power of the five layers grew, then culminated in an explosion that covered the entire battlefield! The fighters from Nonahall, Quadform, Heptastar, and even Archaion and their allies were caught in the blast! Nobody seemed to notice in that chaos that the entirety of Hexapath's forces were spared by the grand explosion.

"What?!" Everything fell into chaos at that moment, and those in the Tribulation Tower immediately noticed the change. Apart from those of the Draconis House of Jian, everyone was shocked.

"Jian Wuyi, are you insane?! What are you doing?!" Xuanyuan Xiao snapped with a look of disbelief.

"Stop now!"

"Halt!"

Jian Wuyi ignored them and continued laughing. He had been suppressing this laughter for far too long. Xuanyuan Xiao and Xuanyuan Yu looked each other in the eye. Almost immediately, everyone except for the Jians charged toward Jian Wuyi with their lifebound beasts.

"Stop what he's doing!"

Jian Wuyi drew his sword and said, "I've already had my fun, so I'll stop it myself." He slashed the formation cores, easily breaking them as their controller. With a loud rumble, a huge explosion occurred in the Tribulation Tower. Jian Wufeng, Jian Qingyuan and the other three gathered around Jian Wuyi, all of them looking like they were ready to kill.

The formation cores of the five layers, including the Cloudveil, Windblade and Frostseal Formations, all dimmed and crumbled. By then, Fang Taiqing and the rest had only retreated to the sixth layer. Otherwise they would've been completely exposed to Nonahall's troops. The sudden change shook the entire battlefield, making everyone dumbstruck.

"What in the world is going on?"

"The first five layers disappeared? Is this a gift from Archaion?"

"Are they trying to get themselves killed?!"

Those from Nonahall couldn't believe what they were witnessing. They felt a huge wave of hope following their initial debilitating losses, so much so that they went on a killing frenzy, unleashing all the pent-up frustration they’d had brewing since their loss at Tianming City.

"Kill! Die!" they cried as they charged toward the sixth layer. This was really good news for Nonahall, but an absolute, fatal nightmare for Archaion. Though many of its tribulation elders had escaped into the sixth layer and weren't directly attacked, they were still horribly dejected at the sudden turning of the tides. Even the third-origin tribulation elders were completely stumped, let alone the young Heaven Branch disciples, including the recently recovered Xuanyuan Yucheng and Xuanyuan Muxue.

With five layers of the Ninefold Formation gone, it was akin to the sect losing an entire half of its military might.