Chapter 334: Freedom from the Heavenly Dao's Shackles
Boom!!!
Zuoqiuyang formed a hand seal with his right hand, condensing a Mystic Light above the Void Realm.
That Mystic Light was in the shape of a book, a battle technique evolved from the Heavenly Book.
Boundless Qi, like swaying heavenly fire, instantly blasted the dark mountain forest, making it as bright as day.
At the same time, the three Pavilion Masters of Mountain and Sea Pavilion, the two Chief Disciples of Lingjian Mountain, the two Palace Masters of Asked the Dao Sect, the three clan Elders of Chen Clan, and the Chang Sheng Dian Master, Chai Hu—eleven Upper Five Realms Perfection experts—moved in unison.
The Flying Sword, which shook the Void Realm, and the Divine Thunder, condensed from heavenly light, instantly shattered the layered clouds in the sky from their aftershocks, and the heavens and earth resonated continuously.
The people chasing behind them could barely open their eyes; even those with powerful Divine Thought would feel a needle-like prick if they glanced.
But amidst the powerful, heaven-opening killing techniques, the dozen or so figures that appeared from the forest were like unshakable mountains, pressing down with a rolling black-red Evil Qi.
The earth began to tremble, like a Dragon turning over, and the turbulent ground caused countless people to retreat, their bodies surging with Mystic Light while floating in the air, using it to withstand the terrifying pressure.
And the subsequent battle caused the Nine Heavens to change color.
Countless heavenly thunders ruthlessly pressed down the black-red Evil Qi, only to see it rapidly re-aggregate, with large palms, enveloped in thick smoke, continuously striking down.
Upper Five Realms Perfection is the strongest Realm that ordinary cultivators in this world can reach.
This Realm is the culmination of Profound, Integration Realm, Innate Realm, Boundless Realm, and Divine Travel, refined to a state of natural Perfection, already imbued with the Heavenly Dao, no longer within the scope of the Upper Five Realms.
In an instant, these dozens of heaven-shaking figures suddenly disappeared from their original positions.
But the majestic Immortal Light did not scatter, still fiercely colliding with the overwhelming black-red tide.
From here to the west, the surging Mist River downstream leads to the Great Barren Forest.
In the chaotic battle that shook all directions, Zuoqiuyang, amidst the roaring wind, landed on the mountain peak, a golden light beginning to surge in his eyes, and his Divine Thought surged forth.
He struggled through the dense Evil Qi towards the mountain, heading towards that Linxian Realm aura.
Other great powers also roared over from the battle, successively landing on this mountain, their eyes surging with golden light.
After the Qi Ridge incident erupted, everyone knew that Evil Qi had a natural restraint on Human Race cultivators.
Especially the higher the cultivation Realm, the stronger the influence.
But fortunately, they only needed to observe.
Throughout this journey, countless Sect members and Academy Disciples were observing for him, seeing the enemies for him, and luring out the ambushes for him.
And now, he began to observe for others.
Above the myriad mountains, as everyone's Divine Thought continuously pierced through the Evil Qi, an even more terrifying aura came from the south.
With the appearance of this aura, the gloomy and yellowish sky seemed to brighten instantly, like a clear day after the mist had dispersed, instantly sweeping away the gloom and dullness.
But this brightness did not stop shining; instead, it became very dazzling in a flash.
Beneath the clouds, rolling heavenly light continuously gathered, encircling a huge illusory disk, which, when it swirled, was like a golden, radiating vortex.
That's right, there must be a Linxian Realm in the ruins.
Even though no one dared to think about it throughout this journey, this matter was unquestionable.
After all, in the Qi Ridge back then, the Zheng Family Old Ancestor had shown the world the cultivation of the Linxian Realm.
They needed to see him, to let the Sacred Artifact summon the power of the Heavenly Dao to descend.
Above the high heavens, that terrifying figure carried the white light, Killing Intent continuously surging.
And as Zuoqiuyang and the others forcibly entered the Great Barren Forest, the ten Upper Five Realms Perfection experts, after being corrupted, also pursued, enveloped in endless black-red Evil Qi.
Chai Hu, the Chang Sheng Dian Master, was at the very back. At this moment, he slightly raised his palm, and endless Immortal Light began to brew within his body, finally forming a giant ring behind him.
Suddenly, the air in all directions seemed to be cut open, as if peeled from the sky, with clear boundaries at the cutting points.
And as his left hand descended, a heavy force fell from the sky, and the flying sand and the thick black-red tide instantly exploded under the pressure.
This was the field technique cultivated by the Chang Sheng Dian Master, like the sky collapsing with a turn of his palm.
At this moment, he suppressed all directions, his expression gradually changing from profound to somewhat strained, but he still held on, hoping for the Immortal Light to descend quickly.
But who knew, the Killing Intent that had been brewing for so long never landed.
At this moment, the expressions of the Upper Five Realms Perfection experts surrounding the Great Barren Forest slightly changed.
They saw that in the deepest part of the boundless ruins, where a place once named Central Sacred Mountain lay, there was a monster, or rather, a puddle of a monster.
Its entire body was made of disordered flesh and blood, immense in size, like a giant Dragon coiled on the mountain.
However, the flesh and blood had already dried up; if one had to describe it, it was like a string of dried grapes.
But countless people here could clearly imagine what its full Physical Body looked like, because the Zheng Family Old Ancestor back then also cultivated such a bizarre form.
The Linxian Realm aura that Zuoqiuyang and the others felt in the forest earlier was emitted by it, but the problem was that this monster was already dying, with only a faint aura remaining.
"Something like the Zheng Family Old Ancestor? Why did it become like this?"
Chai Hu couldn't help but gaze over.
Zuoqiuyang spoke with a solemn expression: "They stirred up so much trouble; it couldn't just be to raise a half-dead monster."
"Could it have failed?"
"It was drained."
Zuoqiuyang turned to look at Chai Hu: "Do you still remember what Ji You said about the Bai Family?"
Chai Hu instantly narrowed his eyes upon hearing this: "Someone used it to achieve the Linxian Realm."
"We thought they needed time, which is why they fully prevented us from approaching the ruins, but now it seems they succeeded long ago, yet they haven't shown themselves."
"They caused such chaos in the world just to become a Linxian Realm that doesn't even dare to show itself?"
Zuoqiuyang pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Where are the people who were chasing us?"
Chai Hu instantly snapped back to reality, turning to look behind him, only to see a violent black light suddenly explode in the distance.
That location was where they had flown from earlier, and also where the Immortal Sect members were currently located.
At this moment, deep in the dense forest, countless Immortal Sect Elders were turned into a rain of blood under the crushing power of the Upper Five Realms Perfection experts, and the remaining Immortal Sect members opened their desperate eyes wide under the intense pressure.
They didn't know why their own great powers had suddenly disappeared, nor why the opposing Upper Five Realms Perfection experts had suddenly struck.
Ji You was also thrown back a hundred zhang by the aftershock, violently smashing several ancient trees before barely stopping, a look of bewilderment on his face.
In fact, when the Immortal Light surged in the high sky, he had already felt a slight sense of relief in his heart.
Because, just as he had told Ding Yao, their mission was merely to search the ruins, clear out the Evil Seed, and force those demonic people to show themselves, but they could not participate in the final battle with their combat power.
And as he expected, with the appearance of the Linxian aura in the mountain, a Sect Master-level figure who had been hidden behind the scenes made a move.
Logically speaking, those demonic Upper Five Realms Perfection experts should have been trying their best to prevent them from approaching the ruins, but he never expected that they would abandon those Palace Masters and Pavilion Masters and kill their way back.
They were just small figures, unable to decide anything important. He didn't understand why those Upper Five Realms Perfection experts absolutely had to kill them.
"So—"
At this moment, Bai Rulong's face was pale.
Because amidst the rising Evil Qi, he finally saw his father.
When he left home, his father was only in the Divine Travel Realm, but now he had already reached Upper Five Realms Perfection.
Boom!!!!
Bai Zhengze suddenly attacked, the black light gathered in his hand directly annihilating a group of Disciples from Asked the Dao Sect, Mountain and Sea Pavilion, and others.
Under the powerful palm force, Shang Xiyao and Huo Xingzhong crashed to the ground, heavily slammed into a pit, their mouths overflowing with blood, and their eyes suddenly narrowed.
Bai Zhengze walked coldly into the blood-soaked shattered ground, then lightly pointed his finger, and three imitation Sacred Artifacts instantly let out a resonating tremor, seemingly struggling continuously, causing Immortal Light to splash.
But they were not true Sacred Artifacts after all, and in the end, their Killing Intent was ruthlessly worn away, and they were tightly clutched in his hand.
Having lost the protection of the Sacred Artifact's Origin, the four direct Disciples' expressions were extremely solemn, because they originally only had the cultivation of the Innate Realm, and now without the Sacred Artifacts, they could no longer block another attack.
But who knew that at this moment, Bai Zhengze suddenly soared into the sky, as if he wasn't trying to kill them, but rather holding the three Sects' imitation Sacred Artifacts, like a black meteor, whistling westward.
Seeing this scene, everyone was stunned.
Even those Divine Travel Realm demons who had narrowly escaped death under the Palace Lord couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, seemingly because they hadn't received this mission.
Ji You's mouth slightly opened, and a face of captivating beauty suddenly appeared in his mind.
"It's been difficult for Yuan Chen to control the Sacred Artifact, so I gave him a wisp of the Sacred Artifact's Origin, and he's been refining that wisp of the Sacred Artifact's Origin these past few days."
"Sacred Artifact Origin?"
"It's for testing. If he isn't repelled by the Sacred Artifact Origin, then he can wield the Sacred Artifact."
"Is the Origin of the spirit mirror the same as the Origin of the furnace?"
"The Seven Sect Sacred Artifacts are inherently of the same Origin."
"Will giving out a wisp of the Sacred Artifact's Origin affect you?"
"A little more or a little less of the Origin power doesn't matter much, but it's connected to my Sacred Artifact. If it's taken by someone with ill intentions, there might be trouble."
Ji You shot up, grabbed Peng Elder not far in front of him, roared, and then plunged into the dense forest.
The Linxian Realm is the strongest Realm, but there are still Linxian Realm cultivators in this world who wield Sacred Artifacts.
So Ji You had always wondered how they resisted the suppression of Sacred Artifacts.
Until this moment, he suddenly remembered his casual chat with Yan Shuyi in the New Year.
The Sacred Artifact Origin is precisely the basis for the wielder to control the Sacred Artifact.
But according to the tsundere's statement, the Sacred Artifact Origin can only be extracted by the wielder.
They had no trump card; it was the Six Great Immortal Sects who had traveled thousands of miles to launch a world-wide punitive expedition, bringing them their trump card—
But even having lost control of the Sacred Artifact, the five great contemporary Sect Leaders were still supreme Linxian, and the most dangerous was his tsundere.
Amidst the flying sand and rolling stones, the powerful aura that had penetrated deep into the Great Barren Forest swiftly retreated.
Before long, the Upper Five Realms Perfection cultivators of the Six Great Immortal Sects arrived on the scene.
After Zuoqiuyang landed, he looked at the shattered corpses all over the ground and also saw the grave expressions of countless people.
"What happened?"
Peng Elder took a deep breath: "After the two Palace Lords left, those demons suddenly came back and killed countless Elders."
Chai Hu's brows furrowed instantly: "Why did they come back to kill?"
"For the imitation Sacred Artifacts of Asked the Dao Sect, Mountain and Sea Pavilion, and Chen Clan. Ji You said they wanted the Origin power of the Sacred Artifacts; that thing can control Sacred Artifacts."
The succession of power within Immortal Sects has always been secretive. Even though the phrase "take charge of the Sacred Artifact" is often spoken, not many know the method, and many people present had never even heard the word "Origin" before.
At this moment, the Palace Lords, Pavilion Masters, and more than a dozen others narrowed their eyes.
Even though the Disciples of the Sect and the members of the Sects felt that the Immortal Sects were superior, and thus looked down upon those united millennial Sects.
But these Palace Lords had never underestimated them.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have used themselves as bait and then invited the Killing Intent of the Linxian Realm.
But they hadn't expected that this punitive expedition was actually a trap, meant for them to deliver the items.
Using the aura in the mountains as bait to divert the Killing Intent meant that everything was within their predictions, even the direct Disciples of each Sect.
"The succession of power in the Immortal Sects, every generation will be accompanied by struggle and obstruction, as well as distracting thoughts that greatly shake the Dao Heart."
"So, the matter of the tide, though a calamity, is also an opportunity. Saint should establish his prestige in the world, and also display Divine Power for the Sect, to quiet down the other Young Masters."
"They should also know who the rightful successor is, and they should know that Young Master doesn't act simply because of his magnanimity."
Shang Xiyao sharply pinched his fingers, his eyes filled with Killing Intent.
In his memory, the old Dao protector who had watched over him since childhood and always offered him advice was gone.
Similarly, Huo Xingzhong and the Chen Clan's twin direct Disciples also had gloomy expressions, realizing that their close companions had disappeared—
The Disciples of the Six Great Immortal Sects, having narrowly escaped death, had barely caught their breath when they received an imperial order to immediately pursue westward.
However, as they traveled towards the Great Barren Forest, the Evil Qi from the ruins began to gush forth, now covering all directions. Although it didn't suppress Spirit Origin, it obstructed their Divine Thought.
Especially since the other party had deliberately hidden information, they had no idea where these people had gone.
But just as they crossed the Mist River, they saw a strip of white cloth constantly fluttering in the Evil Qi.
Chai Hu took the cloth strip: "It's the fabric of my Tianshu Academy's immortal robe."
Peng Elder heard him and said, "It must be a mark left by Ji You; he went after them early."
"With this surging Evil Qi everywhere, even we can't see, yet he can?"
At this moment, Ji You was sprinting wildly across the dark ground. With each step, the raging Qi fiercely shattered the hills.
He could indeed see, just like back in Qi Ridge, he could look up and see the malevolence constantly swaying and rising from afar—
As he sprinted, Ji You continuously accelerated, but just as he reached the border between Qing Province and Liang Province, his figure suddenly paused.
The winds and clouds across the sky at this moment had condensed into a gigantic vortex, and the howling yin winds uprooted large trees.
Immediately following was a tremendous roar, a sound as if something had shattered from the sky, and a powerful wave of Qi spread across the heavens.
Ji You looked up at the sky at this moment, and in a flash, he saw countless wounds.
At this moment, in a desolate teahouse downstream of the Mist River, an aged figure walked out of a room. As crackling sounds continuously emanated from his body, his wrinkled skin suddenly began to smooth out, and his full head of silver hair instantly turned black from root to tip.
Especially his vital energy, which transformed from withered to incredibly surging in an instant, and his aura began to swell boundlessly.
And there were five others like him.
"So this is the freedom of breaking free from the Heavenly Dao's shackles; it's truly moving."
"Let's stretch our limbs, get used to our Physical Body, and then we should go see our old friends and Elders."
Old Ancestor Chu Yu of the Chu family chuckled, and together with his son Chu Xiong, they ascended into the sky, one heading due north, the other to the northwest.
The other figures also rose into the Void Realm, heading in all directions.
At this moment, in Shengjing City, countless people involuntarily felt their Dao Heart tremble violently, sensing a profound chill crawling up their spine.
It wasn't caused by external force, but from within their hearts. That feeling was as if something had been drawn out of their own bodies.
Chong Wang didn't even change out of his sleeping clothes, immediately rushing to the top of the main pavilion. All the other Sects remaining in Shengjing also came here, looking up at the distant sky: "What happened—"
Qiu family head clutched his chest: "My Dao Heart is trembling."
"Could it be the ruins—"
"It must be the ruins."
All the cultivators in the city felt the abnormality in their Dao Heart and involuntarily began to discuss. And just amidst this clamor, everyone suddenly saw that the great formation outside the city walls had dissipated; it wasn't turned off, but rather dissolved.
The Mystic Light filled the sky instantly shattered into fragments, disappearing into the air in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, the Tianshu Academy's mountain-protecting great formation also dissipated.
However, these two great formations were connected to the Tianshu Academy's Sacred Artifact, the Heavenly Book, and such a situation had never occurred in a thousand years.
This scene made everyone in Shengjing change their expressions.
Although the tide had suddenly receded yesterday, no one could guarantee that they wouldn't return, so how could the great formation dissipate at this time?
The people from the Immortal Supervision Department also learned about this matter at this time and immediately dispatched several small teams, waking up all the officials guarding the great formation from their sleep.
"Sir?"
"The great formation has failed, investigate immediately!"
"The great formation...?"
The formation officer followed the Immortal Supervision Department outside and found that the Mystic Light of the great formation was completely gone. His face instantly turned pale, and he immediately ran frantically towards the city wall.
However, after investigation, they found that there was no problem with the formation base and the formation core. But they did not breathe a sigh of relief because of this; instead, their expressions became even more solemn.
If there was no problem with the great formation, then the problem must be with the Sacred Artifact.
