At this moment, the turtle shell, imbued with the Dao rhyme of the Luo Shu, floated above the extreme ice abyss, with chaotic Demonic Qi continuously surging from its cracks. This ancient turtle shell, engraved with mysterious patterns, was precisely the key for Dragon Emperor Ao Pan and Celestial Void Daoist to traverse the void.
Two ethereal figures, emanating profound Dao rhyme, floated on the surface of the turtle shell.
The figure on the left was surrounded by imperial purple Qi, and each half-step he took caused the void to tremble. His golden dragon-patterned robe billowed without wind, revealing him to be Ao Pan, the supreme ruler of the Dragon race in his prime.
The Daoist in green on the right appeared unremarkable, yet with a raise of his hand, he triggered a resonance between heaven and earth. A Bagua formation diagram rotated in his palm, and countless demonic creatures turned to dust before they could even approach him.
"Leave these miscellaneous soldiers to this Deputy Head," Celestial Void Daoist said, lightly waving his horsetail whisk. Starry chains immediately rose from the thousand-mile ice plain. "The celestial dao of this realm has already mutated; you and I must conserve seventy percent of our strength to face the primal demonic tribulation."
Ao Pan laughed heartily upon hearing this, his dragon roar shattering three ice mountains. "This Dragon Emperor wants to see if this selfish celestial dao can truly be considered a true god!" As he spoke, nine layers of dragon shadows appeared behind him, each one spewing forth heaven-burning golden flames.
"Watch your words!" Celestial Void Daoist suddenly formed a hand seal, activating the stars of the heavens. The previously dim sky abruptly lit up with the Twenty-Eight Mansions. "The so-called celestial dao is merely our collective term for the rules of the world. If it truly develops sentience—"
A sharp glint flashed in the Daoist's eyes, and the "Mountains and Rivers Imperial Map" behind him unfurled with a rumble. "—then it's no different from an extraterrestrial demon!"
A deafening roar came from the depths of the ice plain, and countless demonic creatures entwined with chaotic Qi burst forth from the ice.
Ao Pan's eyes ignited with battle intent as he raised his hand to summon his Coiling Dragon Golden Mace. "Whether it's the celestial dao or a celestial demon, whoever obstructs my path—"
Before he could finish speaking, a thousand-zhang dragon shadow, carrying world-burning flames, had already charged into the demonic tide. Wherever it passed, even space began to melt.
Celestial Void Daoist shook his head with a bitter smile, and the Bagua formation under his feet rapidly expanded, transforming all the spiritual energy within a hundred-mile radius into purifying power.
The vastly different Dao rhyme of these two supreme experts of their era perfectly merged within the Luo Shu's radiance emanating from the turtle shell, forcefully tearing open a sliver of hope in the chaotic demonic realm.
A crisp sound of collapsing laws came from the edge of the firmament. The green-robed Daoist ascended against the current, treading on the Xuanwu turtle shell. The trigrams surrounding him actually solidified in the void.
Qing Feng suddenly covered his stinging eyes. Those floating bronze divination lines were clearly living Dao rhyme, each symbol's flickering tearing at the fabric of heaven and earth.
"This isn't an ordinary tribulation method!" Qing Feng staggered, leaning on a broken stele, blood oozing from the corners of his eyes. Within those shattered and reassembled spatial cracks, the celestial trajectories he had missed during his cultivation actually appeared.
When the Ziwei Star's light pierced through the ninth layer of cloud sea, he finally saw that Celestial Void Daoist's feet were not a turtle shell, but a living star chart that was devouring chaos.
In the dark matter wave surging from the abyss rift, the silver-armored Dragon Emperor suddenly tore off three reverse scales from his chest.
Qing Feng's breath hitched. Those were clearly the manifestations of the "River Diagram," "Luo Shu," and "Classic of Mountains and Seas"!
The moment the dragon claw crushed the supreme treasures, the entire timeline began to flow backward. He saw the scene of his own Foundation Establishment failure three hundred years ago replaying.
"So this is a battle at the law level." Qing Feng's Dao heart trembled violently, and the sleeping dream realm in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly opened thousands of vertical pupils.
Those twisted, alien outlines appeared as flowing oracle bone script in the dream realm's vision, each character attempting to alter the rules of the current world.
He finally understood why ordinary spells were ineffective; these monsters were the physical embodiment of loopholes in the celestial dao itself.
The Daoist in the midst of the bloody battle suddenly turned to look, and beneath his broken mask, a face seven parts similar to Qing Feng's was revealed.
At this instant, the dream realm deep within Qing Feng's spiritual platform uncontrollably expanded, swallowing all the chaotic law currents within a hundred-mile radius.
When chaos returned to clarity, he saw the same innate Dao patterns as the Daoist's sword appear on his palm.
The lines on Qing Feng's brow deepened. At this critical juncture, two glowing white halos suddenly enveloped the two warring figures, and their deep, bone-visible wounds healed at a visible rate.
The spell Celestial Void Daoist was about to form in his sleeve abruptly dissipated, and the frost congealed on Dragon Emperor Ao Pan's dragon claws also turned into mist. Three pairs of eyes simultaneously looked into the depths of the void.
"The laws of heaven and earth are actively repairing themselves?" A chill ran down Qing Feng's neck, and a thin layer of sweat seeped into his palms.
This was completely different from the hundreds of possibilities he had deduced. Were those who defied heaven actually favored by the celestial dao?
Ao Pan suddenly let out a sky-shattering dragon roar, the abnormality of the law chains reflected in his golden eyes. "Damn it, it's not that heaven and earth want to destroy the world at all; some dirty thing is tampering with the laws!"
Where the dragon's tail swept, dark red patterns flickered in the void, remarkably similar to contaminated blood vessels.
This conclusion made Qing Feng stagger back half a step. He had seen similar records in fragmented ancient texts, where certain ancient mighty figures attempted to refine their own will into the laws of heaven and earth, but those legends remained theoretical.
Now, seeing the eerie dark patterns on the law chains with his own eyes, it was as if he was watching someone pouring poison into the source of a river.
Celestial Void Daoist suddenly laughed aloud, his tattered Daoist robe billowing without wind. "So that's how it is! The true heart of heaven and earth has never changed."
His fingertips traced the incomplete horsetail whisk, and he actually used his own essence blood as ink to draw a complete ancient forbidden formation in the void. Tens of thousands of golden lights pierced through the clouds, illuminating the dark red patterns, leaving them nowhere to hide.
"You old scoundrel, you're insane!" Ao Pan's dragon whiskers danced wildly as he tried to interrupt the formation of the forbidden array. "After using the Soul Incineration art, there'll only be ashes left!"
"Dragon Lord, look at the southwest star position." Celestial Void Daoist's body glowed with a glazed light, and his damaged right arm was dissipating. "This Deputy Head just divined that within this death trap lies a glimmer of hope ten thousand years from now."
The final hand seal he formed actually solidified, transforming into a stream of light that merged into Qing Feng's glabella.
The void shattered in the extreme light, and countless dark red patterns twisted and receded like poisonous snakes encountering boiling snow.
Amidst the falling law crystals, Qing Feng clearly saw a crimson-gold scale pass through the spatial turbulence and fall steadily into his palm.
"You usually scold this Lord for being reckless, but when it comes to the real deal, you're crazier than anyone!" Ao Pan spat out a mouthful of blood, his golden eyes sweeping over the still writhing tide of anomalies. "Martyring yourself with a stinky man, how truly unlucky!"
The dragon's roar shattered the nine layers of clouds, and his gilded scales pierced through the void. The sky-obscuring true form of the Yinglong coiled in the firmament, its dragon spine spanning the eight directions, forcefully stitching together the Rift in the sky.
Celestial Void Daoist stroked the turtle shell patterns. Green light enveloped his remnant soul and magical artifact, transforming into a meteor that instantly vanished into the depths of chaos.
Qing Feng suddenly opened his eyes, the scorching heat of the Yinglong's reverse scale still lingering in his palm.
Yun Qingrao was frowning, leaning on the stone coffin, her plain white robes stained with lingering spatial ripples.
The two jade statues suddenly glowed faintly, startling both of them into bowing quickly.
"How rare, even the boy who despises trouble the most has learned manners?" A teasing voice came from within the jade statues.
"Though this junior has no grand ambitions, he understands the importance of gratitude," Qing Feng said, his fingertips brushing over the stone coffin's runes. "Besides, having received such a generous gift from seniors, I should at least prepare a few extra jars of good wine during the Qingming Festival."
Ao Pan's phantom snorted, "Spare me that. If you really want to thank me, then slaughter those filthy abominations clean."
