Beneath the long night, heaven and earth were like an abyss.
The Past Rulai Hall was swallowed by dense, black fog so thick one could not see one's own outstretched fingers. Everyone's heart pounded with dread, feeling as though they had plunged into the deepest recesses of hell.
It all came so abruptly: a colossal finger, trailing bloody wind and thunder, descended over the entire magnificent complex of buildings.
Just the tip of its fingernail alone was far vaster than the Past Rulai Hall!
Even before it fully arrived, the ground split apart. Multitudes of black fissures, several feet wide, crisscrossed the land, threatening to tear the entire earth to shreds.
Many were terrified out of their wits. Against such world-shattering might, such a despair-inducing strike, who could stand apart from Past Rulai?
This finger resembled a grand mountain range collapsing straight out of the sky, blotting out the firmament, shattering the night fog across the heavens, and bringing with it wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, causing many below to collapse limp to the ground on the spot.
The void trembled as if about to cave in.
Every building shone as grand formations awakened automatically. Even so, many structures shook violently, and gaping fissures spread across the land in all directions.
Within the Past Rulai Hall, the figure sitting serenely in the darkness extended a single finger. In an instant, it illuminated the pitch-black night sky like a pillar propping up the heavens.
Past Rulai personally struck back. The emergence of this finger set even the dense clouds high in the sky churning violently!
The two fingers collided beneath the long night, as though endless thunder had crashed down from the Ninth Heaven. Countless beams of divine light burst forth in full radiance, tearing open the night sky and blasting the nearby clouds into obliteration.
Such an earth-shattering clash turned the faces of every disciple of Past Rulai's lineage deathly pale. They felt incomparably insignificant; had they faced it directly, their physical bodies and spirits would have disintegrated and blown apart completely long ago.
In truth, the brief contact between those two terrifying fingers had generated a storm of destruction sufficient to devastate this entire territory.
The night fog was swept clean, and even the clouds were blasted apart.
This scene could truly be called a natural disaster.
Fortunately, Past Rulai held ground here. A bright lamp hung high before him, radiating gentle power to ward off the aftershocks and protect all the buildings.
Yet beyond the divine lamp's reach, out in the pitch-black wilderness, grand cliffs collapsed, immense mountain peaks shattered into pieces, and forested lands cracked apart and sank away.
It resembled the blow of a peerless deity, easily piercing the earth, wiping out cities, and shattering the night sky.
"Lu Yu, have you gone mad? How dare you come run wild in my domain!" Past Rulai's deep voice boomed like muffled thunder through the night sky.
"Stitched monster, stop playing dumb!" The night fog surged forward once more as the towering figure gave an imposing roar, giving Past Rulai no face at all.
One had to realize that the terrifying figure within that grand hall possessed immensely senior status—he was the martial uncle of the Present Rulai, an overlord on the Newborn path.
Yet the Six Imperials Patriarch was utterly unyielding, directly rebuking him on the spot.
"Old Past bastard, you dare scheme against my Zizai? Have you lived long enough?!" Six Imperials barked, harsh and fierce.
Evidently, this legendary figure of the Newborn path had arrived in fury today, his words razor-sharp.
Normally, even if figures of their stature were on poor terms, they would remain calm and collected like deities high above the clouds; they would not tear away the veneer of civility so blatantly, maintaining at least a baseline of dignity.
Past Rulai said, "Lu Yu, what is there to be angry about? I wrote to Lu Zizai purely out of appreciation for his talent, wanting him to come over for a chat. You are simply overthinking things."
His answer was an immense foot. Standing tall between heaven and earth, Six Imperials Patriarch raised his foot and stomped down toward the Past Rulai Hall.
Instantly, lightning flashed and thunder roared across the night sky. A torrential downpour mingled with ice and snow, warping the void as the force of this stomp descended once more like a cataclysm upon the mortal realm.
Past Rulai's patience was pushed beyond its limit as well. With a swish, he stepped out of the ancient hall to confront Six Imperials head-on.
Rumble!
Like two divine fiends colliding, they appeared amid the cloud layer in an instant. With a thunderous boom, the long night lit up bright as day. Heavenly light flooded both above and below, and two gigantic figures filled the night sky.
The disciples and grandmasters of this domain fell dead silent. In this world, there actually existed a patriarch capable of clashing head-on with Past Rulai, who had cultivated Chaos force to the realm of great attainment!
In their conviction, on the Newborn path, so long as the ancient sages did not return, Past Rulai was peerless!
High in the heavens, hundreds of thunderbolts struck as deafening explosions rang out.
Two terrifying beings—from whom even ordinary deities would retreat—clashed with full force, both displaying ruthless dominance. Hand seals covered the firmament, and fist radiance tore through the entire night sky.
Beneath the vast expanse, crimson blood rained down, as if the profound and distant dome of heaven were bleeding, soaking the pitch-black skies in an awe-inspiring spectacle.
The scalps of everyone in Past Rulai's lineage went numb, their minds trembling violently at the sight.
For across Past Rulai's palms, many of the centipede-like scars had torn open once more, dripping Rulai blood.
The Patriarch was injured... This scene left all the disciples and grandmasters petrified in disbelief. Was Chaos force not invincible within the Newborn path system?
"Six Imperials is also wounded; blood is dripping from his fist as well!" a grandmaster said.
The flesh on Six Imperials's right hand was torn, blood spilling down; he was not unscathed either.
It could only be said that both patriarchs were fighting in earnest. From the very start, they unleashed killing intent, eager to slay each other on the spot and wage a bloody duel right then and there.
Rumble!
Every drop of blood was as radiant as lightning, twisting the void as it fell. If it showered the ground below, the destructive power would be unimaginable.
Everyone was fleeing, terrified of lingering underneath.
As the nearby lightning and heavenly light crisscrossed, the splashing blood of the two powerhouses actually doused them, plunging the area back into darkness on the spot.
"They said Six Imperials Patriarch was already at death's door after the battle on the Plain of Divine Demise, yet who would have thought he endured and emerged even stronger? Could he be on the verge of stepping into the Seventh Realm? How else could he counter Chaos force?"
A grandmaster's heart turned cold as he felt the immense pressure.
Boom!
In the night sky, six qi swirled around Lu Yu's body, bringing forth a terrifying spectacle. The entire pitch-black dome of heaven was ripped apart, and the six qi swept down overwhelmingly, covering the ground.
"Run!"
Many cried out in horror. Even with the mountain-protecting grand formation active, could it possibly withstand an all-out strike from an enraged Lu Yu?
Sure enough, several mountain peaks collapsed, and ancient buildings exploded. The entire night sky was pierced through by the six qi, threatening to reduce everything to ruin like shredded paper.
Past Rulai let out a soft cry. Wind and clouds churned as boundless light rained down. An immense Hunyuan lotus bloomed upon the ground, blocking the six qi and radiating dazzling heavenly light to protect everything on the surface.
"Lu Yu, fight me in the Mist Sea!" Past Rulai said, his facial muscles twitching. Along the hideous centipede scars on his face and neck, fine trickles of blood seeped out.
"Our Patriarch's Chaos force has not erupted in full! His physical body is injured, so he cannot unleash his full might. Otherwise, he would crush all before him, and Six Imperials would never be able to withstand it!" a master on the ground declared.
Rumble!
As if heaven and earth were splitting apart, a massive hand reached down with shocking suddenness. Swirling with Six Imperials force and carrying thick immortal radiance and white mist, it sought to snatch that master up.
Past Rulai moved to intercept it at once.
Even so, the giant hand still grazed the master. With a wet pop, the man exploded on the spot.
Everyone on the ground felt their hair stand on end. That had been a master who had cultivated for many years, yet right now he was as fragile as a candle flame, snuffed out by a mere touch.
A dark shadow fell over their hearts, and they inwardly took heed: one must never speak carelessly of a patriarch, or one would die without even knowing how.
Under a patriarch's blow, even just being grazed by Six Imperials force, that master never reformed. Normally, an expert of that level should have been able to reconstitute their flesh and blood and reconverge their spiritual light.
"Lu Yu is unfathomable. He truly must have touched upon the Seventh Realm!" someone said with a trembling voice.
Otherwise, how else could one explain his ability to counter Past Rulai, whose Chaos force had reached great attainment?
In the night sky, thick mist spread, resembling layer upon layer of hazy dimensions. Past Rulai and Six Imperials stepped inside, and the terrifying ripples they radiated instantly vanished.
Though they could still be seen, everyone felt as if the two had entered an entirely different world.
"That is... the Mist Sea!" a grandmaster murmured.
At the very least, one had to be a "mighty patriarch" to step into that enigmatic realm. The Mist Sea existed between reality and illusion, capable of linking to mysterious domains.
"Lu Yu, I do not wish to fight you fiercely. How about we let things rest tonight?" Past Rulai said.
Six Imperials Patriarch said coldly, "You have already laid your designs on my Zizai, yet you wish to act as if nothing happened? Now that this old man has arrived in person, how could a single word from you brush it aside!"
Past Rulai said, "I truly only wished to have a conversation with him. I heard that he died prematurely in his prime, and that you spared no expense of your own lifespan to preserve a single wisp of his vitality, keeping him neither living nor dead. I did not expect him to reappear in this era, which made me curious, and so I wished to meet him."
"Old Past bastard, your heart has already fallen into the abyss! Do you think I don't know what you are scheming? Speaking such words before me is pure hypocrisy! In truth, I even suspect you are no longer your original self!"
"My heart remains as it was. What exactly do you want before you turn the page on tonight?" Past Rulai said coldly.
He had not anticipated that Lu Yu, rumored to be gravely injured and on the brink of death, would mount such a ferocious assault that very night, refusing to let an offense rest till morning.
Lu Yu was usually gentle, but tonight he was exceptionally domineering. He said, "Let me crush your own grandson to death in one grip, and the matter is settled."
Someone had dared target Lu Zizai, touching his reverse scale!
Past Rulai said chillingly, "Do you truly think that because my body is impaired, I dare not fight you to the death? Even if I must shed divine blood, I can still send you on your way!"
"Old Past bastard, just you try!" Lu Yu deployed a wondrous art, his single form dividing into six bodies. Every figure was incomparably majestic, crowned with a golden-beaded imperial diadem, holding a jade tablet, and flanked by hovering imperial seals.
Ignoring the mist-veiled space, all six figures teleported forward, tearing at Past Rulai's limbs and head, intending to rip him apart alive right then and there.
With a thunderous boom, Past Rulai's body dissolved into a cloud of golden blood mist. It dispersed abruptly and reformed in the distance. His voice was freezing cold as he said, "Do not force me to unleash the supreme Chaos force to slay you here!"
"Arrogant fool!" Lu Yu was fearless.
In the next instant, both unleashed radiant light capable of tearing through the sea of night mist. Like heavenly fires blazing, the glare caused intense pain to those watching outside; even across layers of dim space, it scorched their eyes until bloody tears streamed down.
One could well imagine the heights to which both powerhouses had pushed their heavenly light. It was enough to shake the world, representing the pinnacle duel at the highest level of the Newborn path.
In this mysterious sea of mist, it was as though two massive suns had slammed together. Endless heavenly light poured forth, vast and boundless, submerging the domain until nothing could be seen.
Outside, many were shaken to their souls. What an astounding, terrifying power!
When the heavenly light finally dispersed, many of the centipede-like scars across Past Rulai's body had torn open, dripping with fresh blood. He stared at his opponent before him, his expression grave, and said, "You have also cultivated Chaos force?!"
Lu Yu also bore traces of blood, but he replied calmly, "This is my improved and refined Six Imperials force, currently progressing toward the Seven Imperials force. As for the force you display, rather than Chaos force, it would be more accurate to call it a mutated Past Rulai force!"
Clearly, Six Imperials Patriarch did not acknowledge that his opponent had mastered the silk book method; what both displayed were mutated forms of force.
Past Rulai said, "Lu Yu, you still do not know what kind of opponent you are facing. If you remain obstinate and fight me to the bitter end, you will perish here."
Six Imperials Patriarch said nothing, striking directly!
Past Rulai understood that his opponent's will was forged of iron, determined to fight to the bitter end. At this point, he no longer spared his own body; even if his stitched-together form were damaged once more, he would not hesitate.
With a boom, an ancient Bodhi tree manifested abruptly behind him. He sat cross-legged upon the ground, chanting scriptures as though severed from the outside world.
Around him, vegetation turned lush and dripping green, each blade humming with Dao rhythm. Every leaf swayed, inscribed with scriptures, as if sacred texts were preaching the Dao to all living things.
Beneath the Bodhi tree, Past Rulai attained enlightenment. Zen chants resonated between heaven and earth, deafening to the ears. Suddenly, a hundred thousand grass blades took flight, carrying scriptures like sharp swords slashing toward Six Imperials Patriarch.
Crowned with his imperial diadem, Lu Yu possessed an overpowering aura. Around him, vague images of the sun and moon manifested, alongside hazy silhouettes of deities. He sat high in the Ninth Heaven, sacred and majestic. With a casual downward swat of his palm, it seemed as if he would overturn the world.
Across this domain, heavenly light intertwined as wondrous phenomena clashed violently.
Between the two powerhouses, the void seemed to crack. The ancient Bodhi tree disintegrated, the sun and moon shattered, and the phantom deities burned away. The bodies of both men swayed violently, their hair disheveled and stained with blood as they tumbled back into the Mist Sea.
"No wonder. You have seen 'scenery' beyond Yujing and obtained a heritage from beyond this realm," Past Rulai said.
Lu Yu replied, "Likewise. You have as well!"
Past Rulai continued, "I once caught a distant glimpse of the Great Thunder Sound Temple and was unexpectedly irradiated by the Past Hall there. What did you see?"
Lu Yu did not reply. Instead, he mobilized his power, preparing for the final struggle.
Past Rulai said, "I presume you must have been bathed in the light of that legendary scenery from beyond the realm—the Lingxiao Treasure Hall."
"Right now, it is time for this battle to end!" Lu Yu answered.
Light and mist rose as a hazy treasure hall appeared to manifest, hanging high above the Ninth Heaven.
Six Imperials Patriarch ascended into the sky, taking his stance with his back against that hazy scenery. His aura rose continuously, turning majestic, sacred, and mighty as he looked down upon his foe.
Past Rulai's garments around his massive body were shredded, exposing hideous wounds across his flesh. Behind him, a Past Hall slowly emerged, shrouded in heavy fog.
That hall was ancient and battered, appearing as though materialized from heavenly light yet also existing in reality.
Upon the floor of the Past Hall lay a straw mat wrapped around a blood-drenched body, covered in cracks like a corpse.
Its features were faintly discernible, bearing a striking resemblance to Past Rulai.
"This is my true body. Let me show you what true Chaos force is!" The battered body on the straw mat, seemingly on the verge of breaking into pieces, opened its eyes and abruptly sat upright, actually uttering such words.
Chapter 386